v. 1 . 1 ' Herald - Lantern - Dispatch 12 March '86 15

v HK^I IlHi — I ["B . :.rr Dor it Ward OUT OF BUSINESS — This club, the Baybreeze on Sea Isle City Boulevard, offered yearround teen dances. It closed last September because of lack of interest.

Teenagers: Nothing to Do But Hang Out—

( From page 1 > lamented Jay, 15, of Rio Grande. TEENS WITH CARS say they travel to Margate. Cherry Hill and Philadelphia for entertainment. Those who are too young, or don't own a car, have to rely on rides from friends or parents, or they hitchhike. Mostly, though, county teens look for house parties. "That's what you have to do, try and find a party somewhere," said one Green Creek girl, "unless you want to go to a movie, and the movies take forever to get down here. " These parties sometimes include alcohol or drugs and the chance for sexual encounters, outlets for the boredom many teens feel. THE COUNTY HAS the highest alcoholism rate in the state. 9.7 percent, compared to 6 percent statewide. No statistics are available for teens, but at one time or another, alcoholism "experts" have claimed that 19 percent of the county's youth 14 to 17 years old are "problem drinkers" and "nearly 5 percent of seventh graders" are problem drinkers. The numbers usually used to justify applications for state or federal funds to fight alcoholism, are considered unreliable and unproven. "If you're a kid in a family with an alcoholic, you're at much higher risk of having an alcohol problem." said Patricia Devaney, director of county Human Services. "If the (county) prevalency rates are true, kids down here may be in a high-risk group." THE ENVIRONMENT is conducive to drinking and drugs because maybe there's not enough to do," said Dr. James Manlandro, a specialist in alcoholism treatment. "Part of it may be the geographic isolation, and the social environment promotes it. "The adult population encourages drinking." he continued. "It's kind of what people do down here." Tami Stewart of the Dennis Township Recreation Commission said concern about teen drinking caused the commission to decide against holding a teen dance. Stewart said the commission felt they would be liable for those who drank. There are activities available, but the question remains whether they're "cool" enough for today's sophisticated teens. SCHOOIJi PROVIDE numerous activities such as clubs, athletics, plays and dances. Recreation departments, for the most part, offer athletics and games such as ping pong and billiards. Churches run activities through youth fellowship groups, and Boy and Girl Scouts have trips and camp-outs in addition to merit badge work. County 4-H programs are geared to the interests of each particular group, ranging frorr livestock to computers. "Some children are perfectly happy to have (a group like ) the Boy Scouts in addition to their church or school.", said Community Development Specialist Ruth Stuenckel, of the state division of Youth and Family Services (DYFSh "But, realistically speaking, that doesn't cover a whole lot of children. "There is the potential for a bad situation down here," she added. "Children have a lot of idle time; they're unable to work in winter because their summer jobs don't exist." MANY RECREATION directors said that teen activities are hard to program because of competition from schools, churches and organizations like the scouts. Some, however, say the teen years are characterized by restlessness and short interest spans, and that teens want a place of their own. "For the most part, there's not that many things they feel like they want to do." said Dave Haberle of Avalon Recreation Department. "What they really want is a place to hang out without supervision, and that's not going to happen." "Teenagers are in such a state of change they want to do 10 different things and don't know what 10 they want to do," said Greg Arnold, of Middle Township's department. Arnold said his department ran a survey

in area schools to determine what programs teens wanted. He said it showed that youths just wanted a plaice to go. and not specific programs. BUT ONE TEEN DANCE CLUB, the Baybreeze on Sea Isle City Boulevard in Sea Isle City, folded last year for lack of interest. Lou Steelman of the Sea Isle City Recreation Department said its owners had trouble heating the building in winter and didn't make enough money to continue operating. Recreation coordinators said they seek input from teens, but there is little response. In Avalon. however, a committee of concerned youths worked to get a teen dance, on April 5 in Community Hall. It will be the first held in quite a while, Haberle said. Previous dances were "virtually unattended" he said. Also next month will be a Teen Arts Festival in Ocean City April 25. County youths are invited to participate in various performing and visual arts workshops, and will receive assessments of their work. Ocean City is "very affluent when it comes to pocket change." according to Recreation Director Donald Pileggi. and may not have the same problem as the rest of the county. "TEENAGERS WHO live in Ocean City have access to bowling alleys, skating rinks and movies (across the bridge in Sommer's Point)," he said. "It's not difficult for kids to scatter and move. You have a geographic problem (in the rest of the county.)" Pileggi said a favorite teen hangout is "Sodas." in Margate, a soda fountain t^at paters to teenagers. For youths who want to stay close to home. Ocean Cith has boardwalk arcades that are open year-round. Stuenckel agrees that the ability to get around may be a county-wide problem. "I think the biggest problem in this county is that there is no public transportation." she said. "Even if you have the greatest programs in the world, perfectly geared to that age group, the problem is how are the kids going to get there?" DYFS WORKS WITH Youth Advocacy Program (YAP) in Pleasantville. an organization that supplies companions for adolescents, much like the Big Brother program. YAP counselors "have difficulty in this county finding things to do." Stuenckel said. "They end up piling in the car and going off to a mall somewhere tout of the county)." Recreation departments are trying to offer different activities to draw teenagers I Middle4ias a graffiti club that encourages would-be vandals to paint recreational' murals. In Lower on Saturday nights, the Recreation Center hosts a rock band com- I posed of local teens and young adults, "Renegade." The Recreation Center splits its basket- i bail court with netting. On one side are bouncing balls and squeaking sneakers ; on the other, the sound of Led Zeppelin. Ozzy Osbourne and Jimi Hendrix. Renegade's audience, which ranges from 100 to 150 youths, sits on bleachers behind a small dance area. "AS A MOTHER it's good for me because I know where my kids are." said Kathy Cor- I illo of Villas, mother of two band members. I "Also, I know they're getting other kids off the street." Band members say the opportunity to play keeps their energies focused on music, not drugs, and gives their audience a chance to get off the street. Corillo said teenagers in Lower have very few places \o go. "Everybody complains about the kids hanging around at the 7-11 and on street corners, but nobody wants to spend any money to get anything going," she said. Corillo and band members said com- I munities need to give teens an alternative I to drugs, instead of waiting until the pro- I blem develops and starting rehabilitation I programs. "But, they'd rather spend a pound for the I cure, instead of an ounce for prevention," I said Sean Hagerty, ,22, Renegade's lead I singer. I

\ County Growing; Older, Richer People - — — — 7 — — 7 J

(From page 1 ) ft The 1980 figure was 16.733 persons, or 20 I percent of the population, compared to the | state's 12 percent figure I And since 1980. older persons have accounted for 22.5 percent or 1,267 of the I population increase. THE REPORT concludes that the county will be home to 98.900 people by 1990 (a 20 percent increase over 1980) and 143.900 | by the year 2020. By that time, the report projects, the proportion of older persons will have increased to 23 percent of the total. And those "older persons" are a "partial" explanation, the report said, for the county 's rapid increase in personal income _ from 1975 to 1983. Personal income increased by 52 percent from 1975 to 1983. compared to 27 percent in the nation and 22.5 percent iri the state. And per capita income jumped 30 percent in the same time period, compared to the nation's 17 percent and the state's 20-5 percent. A KEY INGREDIENT: the so-called "transfer payments" of Social Security, and investment income, that go to retirees. This includes dividends, interests, and rental income. Transfer payments jumped by 137 percent compared to 99 percent in the state and 101 percent in the nation. Despite the image of the elderly being poor, many of those coming to Cape May County are retirees who have sold their homes and assets elsewhere and bring their investment income here. Earned income paid to workers increased in the county by 156 percent in the same 1975-83 time period, compared to 106 percent in the state and 100 percent in the nation. Despite that, however, the county's per capita income in 1983 still was 91 percent of the state average. THE COUNTY'S CIVILIAN labor force swelled by an estimated 4,900 from 1983 to 1984, a 10 percent rate that was five times the nation s growth and more than double the state's rate. And employment increased at a 11 percent rate, compared to the nation's 4 percent and the state's 6 percent. This growth rate exceeded the expanding labor force and lowered unemployment rates by about 1 percent from 1983 to 1984 to an annual average rate of 11 percent, well above the state's 6 percent average The jobless rate is the result of the seasonal resort economy, which is responsible for unemployment rates as high as 20 percent during the winter. That means the county qualifies as a "labor surplus area" eligible for federal procurement preference. ALL SECTORS of employment had increases since 1977, with the overall private sector showing an 18.6 percent increase of 3,500, from 18,800 to 22,300. c But of the variqps categories of employment, only one exceeded the state's rate of growth; finance, insurance and real estate. It had a gain of 400 persons or 35.5 percent compared to the state's 26 percent.

But in other areas of employment. •Trades increased from 8.300 to 10,100. a 22^percent gain compared to the state's 23:4 percent. The most significant trades gains were in eating and drinking places, food stores and retail establishments. •Construction increased a surprisingly small 16 percent, from 1.442 in 1977 to 1.677 in 1984. •Service employment increased from 5.000 to 6.700. a 34 percent gain compared to the state's 53 percent • TRANSPORTATION, communications. and public utilities employment increased by 100 jobs or just another 1() percent. compared to the state average of 25.5 percent. •Manufacturing actually declined from 1977 to 1984. with the loss of about 700 jobs to a total of 800. That 46 percent decrease far exceeded the state's 6.4 percent loss •Government (local, county, state, federal and schools > is the county's largest category of employment with about 7,500 But growth comparisons were not made in this report except for federal jobs, which are about 300 today and were more like 200 six years ago. There were about 1,200 state jobs in 1984. according to the report, and the "local" number ranged from about 5,000 in December 1984 to 6,000 in June. The report commented that "...only food processing still exists on a sizable basis in the county; the others have dwindled to a mere fraction of their 1977 levels." Only 3.6 percent of the county's jobs are in manufacturing compared to the state's 26 percent figure. Tourism Slowing? — ■. ( From page l ) the gaming industry in Atlantic City." But the tourist industry, lifeblood of the county, "is expected to expand only marginally in the years ahead due to the limited seasonal period and the rapidly diminishing supply of land for future development." Citing "the Canadian dropoff" and focusing on the Wildwoods. he asked. "How much more can occur, where will the tourists come from?" But he saw a continued, "incredible demand" for beachfront lots that would make those communities either the location of high-rise condos or the homes of only the very wealthy.

St. Patrick's Daylh Wj • Monday, March 17th • X If your Irish and you want to showv.k^pF^ follow the Rainbow to Hoys 5 & •( ' ® St. Patricks Party Decorations. Tcaj Lapel Pins and Green Corsages. > fr 4 St. Patricks Day Greeting Cards. J ' jTr Green Hats & Much More. \