2£ Herald - Lantern - Dispatch 25 December '85

SHOP AT HOME IN CAPE MAY COUNTY ~1

-- Tp- ', «- >■ "A Doru Ward SHUTTERBUGS — Three Lower Cape May Regional photography students snap away at the Cape May beach. From left are Colleen Trimble. 15. Marie Gilmartin. 16. and Sharon Buehler." 15. Colleen is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. David Trimble of Erma. Marie is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Tom Gilmartin of Cape May and Sharon is the daughter of Mrs. Judy Hrannan of Villas. f

State Will Ease Retrofit Rules

( From Page 1 ) Bed and breakfast inns of up to 10 rooms and owner-occupied will not be required to have special fire-rated doors on rooms, or to install fire barriers, but must have smoke alarms. Connolly said CHARLES DECKER, chief of the state Bureau of Construction Code EnforceNew Business t From Page 1 > decks of cards a year and there is only one other supplier. He said his firm will start with customers in Atlantic City. Reno, l^ake Tahoe and Latin America. And he said business potential looks good because Americans have discretionary income and he sees casino gambling expanding "eventually to all areas." West Virginia has recently okayed casinos, he said, and he expects to see them in Miami and the Poconos next LAWS BOUNCED BACK from a Chapter 11 filing for his Laws Color Litho Inc in 1982. Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Reform Act gives firms protection from creditors while they reorganize and restructure their debts. That was cited as one of the reasons freeholders removed him from his $l-a year job as airport manager in December 1982 with only then-Freeholder -Director Anthony T. Catanoso backing I-^ws Laws stayed on the seven-member Economic Development Commission, but sources suggested the airport manager issue, discussed behind closed doors, was a factor in his decision to locate the new plant elsewhere. Laws said he will continue to live in Town Bank and his sons. Robert and Glenn, will operate Laws Color Litho Inc and Coastline Advertising The latter prepares and places the county's tourist promotion advertising. Boards Okay t From Page 1 > Fowler dissented. "I object to the parking." she told^tWs newspaper "I think they should show me what they want to do before doing it." Brunson agreed, but told this newspaper she voted "to see this project move along THE COURT EXPANSION project is mandated by litigation. The Cape May County Bar Association vs. the Cape May County Board of Chosen Freeholders, according to Lainanna. The case currently is on case management order, meaning that when the expansion is completed to the association's satisfaction, the litigation will dissolve, he said. Courthouse employes will move to temporary facilities at the county airport after completion of a new records room adjacent to the court house The records room should be completed in early spring, and the renovation will take 18-24 months to complete That would bring courts employes back to Court House by the spring of 1988 All non-courts employes, approximately 48. will be moved to Crest Haven, according to Sturm.

ment, said provision will be made in the ; code to permit special discretion in the ap- > plication of safeguards to historical buildings. Decker said national, state, or local historical certification of structures will be accepted, but that the special treatment will not be extended "to just old buildings." Connolly said hotels of four stories or higher will be required to be in compliance with the code by early 1987. All other hotels will have three years to meet code requirements, he said. ABOUT 100 property owners attended the meeting held in the Flanders Hotel, and reaction to the code modifications was generally favorable. "I think it's a step in the right direction." said Ocean City Mayor Jack Bittner. But Bittner joined others in asking whether the state could help by making low-cost loans available. Dane Wells, representing the Cape May County Chamber of Commerce, said he felt the code would have only a limited impact unless the state backs it with an active fire prevention program JAY SCHATZ, president of Cape May Vintage Homes Association, told Connolly he was "heartened" by the changes and word that fire inspectors will have some latitude in interpreting the code. B Michael Zuckerman. director of Mid Atlantic Center for the Arts, urged that a special category be developed for historic museum-houses such as Cape May's Physick Estate which serves as headquarters for the center. Zuckerman recommended that the code require fire inspectors to consult with established historic preservation groups. He said historic museums should have the 1 right to appeal aspects of the code to 1 organizations such as the state Office of New Jersey Heritage. Preservation New Jersey, and the Museum Council of New Jersey WILLIAM MARCH, a Cape May building contractor and co-owner of The Summer Cottage, a bed and breakfast inn. urged state officials not to reuqire the replacement of original doors in Victorian homes. Noting the problems associated with settlement and sagging door frames, March estimated it could cost as high as $1,000 to replace the doors Connolly said he expects the code to be adopted as law by March. But Don Charles, a lawyer representing Ocean City property owners, said more time is needed. "I suggest there be no rush to judgment." said Charles. "A reasonable delay might be well worthwhile." JOHN DUNWOODY. president of the Cape May Chamber of Commerce, told Connolly the group was "concerned with maintaining the integrity and historical significance of Victorian buildings" in the city. Cape May. Dunwoody said, has 600 Victorian structures. 300 of which are operated as businesses. Dunwoody declined to comment on the changes announced by Connolly. "I want to wait until they are published so they can be reviewed, and we can see if more public hearings are necessary." he said.

A Time to Reexamine And Make the Most

By STANLEY KOTZEN Holiday times invariably demand a pause for reflection on the year past and the one to come. My most searing memory of 1985 seems almost trivial in its apparent insignificance, and perhaps that is why it remains such a recurring thought. It centers around one word from a radio newscast in September. As oft-used, four-letter adjective "only" is the word that continues to haunt me in my effort to sort out what is meaningful in a world often turned chaotic. Driving in my car to school early one monring, I was listening to a newscaster read from the wire the account of a tropical storm off the coast of Florida that had come ashore during the night and brought with it nature's wrath and destruction. IN REPORTING the toll of the storm he reeled off the enormous figures in estimated property damage and concluded with "only one life was lost." ONLY one life! It could have been the empty roads or the slowly emerging dawn or a particularly reflective mood, but as I redigested those words, their meaning dug deeper into my consciousness. Imagine that! "Only one life!" We are so overwhelmed with big numbers that I can understand a newsman's attempt to focus on what was significant by comparison, but that is our tragedy as well as his. How do you suppose the adjective "only" was received by the victim's family? Do you think they were consoled by the fact that they were part of a special distinction? It is very much like saying that Christmas is a time when much of the world celebrates an event that is only the birth of a baby. ONLY! THE YEAR WAS 1983

when millions of dollars were raised by millions of people to save the starving millions in Africa. It was a year when cities took action to take thousands of homeless off the streets and hundreds of victims succumbed to natural manmade disasters in the form of hurricanes, earthquakes, and airplane crashes. International terrorism narrowed and focused our collective grief some, but generally we have become callous and matter-of-fact about the significance of each individual. We have lost a sense of close community caring about one another. We have eroded a sense of personal loss at individual suffering and replaced it with a collective surrender. What can I do? I'm only one person. FOR THOSE who feel

isolated, statistics of property damage are constant reminders to detach themselves from mankind, and the news medih are never at a loss to provide us examples of the futility of life. However, at this time of year in particular, there is ample opportunity to look around and notice one another, to make life so personal that we refuse to accept any human suffering in a casual manner of speech. The holiday season is a time to re-examine and make the most of one's life. If we ever expect the world to become a better place, it is the only chance we have. Stanley Kotzen, Cape May Regional High School principal, regularly writes "From the Principal" for this newspaper.

ENGAGED — Mr. and Mrs. Charles Chabot Sr. of Villas have announced the engagement of their daughter. Cheryle Anne, to Thomas Pohlig III of Villas. Both are graduates of I-ower Cape May Regional High School and employed in Court House by Seawave Corporation which publishes this newspaper. A March, 1986, wedding is planned.

8 Lower Dems Quit, Beat Purge

< From Page 1 ) In her resignation letter, she apologized in advance for missing the meeting because of family commitments BESIDES CALFINA, Kenney and Merrill, club members John Moyner, Marie McConaghey, Nancy Smith, Ed and Anne Myers were asked to answer charges at last week's meeting. All resigned instead. Because the resignations were submitted. however, the club's membership didn't vote on whether to accept them or follow through with the option of expelling the eight because they didn't attend. Failure to attend, they were notified, would be considered an admission of guilt to the charges. "No action will be taken until the January meeting." a club member said. "At this point in my life," Calfina observed. "I'm not interested in voting for anybody or working for anybody because they belong to a political party." She gave the same reason for resigning as local party chairman last month after she was criticized at a county committee meeting for not supporting Democratic candidates Nov. 5. Calfina said she will remain active in

politics "as an independent person," thereby dismissing speculation she would join local Republican ranks. Kenney said last week that the dissidents have been approached by township GOP leaders. While she had not made up her mind then about joining the GOP, another source said it's unlikely Kenney or the others would do so. IKKEWB