Gazette Leader Newsnotes 10-28-09
Oct, 28-2009 2:33 pm
Correction
The graphic accompanying last week’s article entitled “Your Tax Dollars at Work: The Cost of Your Public Works Department,” which ran at pages 10-11 of the Oct. 21 edition of the Wildwood Leader, contained an error regarding Wildwood’s public works budget. The graphic incorrectly displayed Wildwood’s municipal budget of $27 million, rather than Wildwood’s public works budget of $4.9 million. The budget figures within the article text were correctly reported.
Towns explore COWCO/JCOW replacement
NORTH WILDWOOD – At a special meeting here Monday, City Council authorized a call for bids and proposals by third parties capable of providing building plan reviews and construction inspections for the city, beginning in January.
Council authorized solicitation of bids for a service agreement with an outside contractor who would provide services not only to North Wildwood, but Wildwood Crest as well.
Both municipalities served notice this August that they would be withdrawing from the Construction Office for the Wildwoods (COWCO) effective Dec. 31. That agency succeeded the former Joint Construction Office of the Wildwoods (JCOW), which disbanded as a result of controversy over its inspections of hundreds of condominiums constructed during building boom years on Five Mile Beach. According to the Department of Community of Affairs and private litigants who filed a flurry of lawsuits against JCOW, inspectors permitted construction that did not meet fire code.
COWCO’s shared services agreement terminates Dec. 31, and officials here say they hope to have a new arrangement in place well before that date.
Ballot position determined for recall election
WILDWOOD – Last Wednesday, Oct. 21, City Clerk Christopher Wood conducted a drawing in his office to determine the order in which six candidates for two city commission seats will be placed on the ballot in the city’s Dec. 8 recall election.
Names of the six candidates were placed on ping pong balls, drawn from a box by an assistant clerk.
Candidate John Roat won the top slot on the ballot. Roat was one of the original members of the recall committees that formed to seek the recall of Mayor Ernie Troiano and Commissioner William Davenport, whose efforts resulted in the recall election being scheduled.
Roat is running under the slogan “The People’s Government.”
Last week’s drawing determined that after Roat, Davenport and Troiano’s names will appear on the ballot. The two incumbents are running as a team under the slogan “Continued Good Government.”
Candidates Al Brannen and Edward (“Chip”) Harshaw, who also are running as a team, will then be listed. Also a recall committee member, Brannen was instrumental in gathering the more than 697 signatures of registered voters that were required to trigger the recall election. He and Harshaw are running under the slogan “Had enough taxes yet?”
Resident Ernesto Salvatico will occupy the sixth ballot position.
On the Dec. 8 ballot, a voter first will be asked to indicate – in the privacy of the polling boot – whether he or she wants to recall Troiano and/or Davenport. The voter then will complete the second part of the ballot, choosing two of the six candidates listed on that portion.
Two-Mile Beach clean-up scheduled
WILDWOOD CREST – “Become a part of something wild and wonderful for wildlife!”
That’s the invitation issued by Friends of Cape May National Wildlife Refuge, who are sponsoring a Beach Clean-up at the Refuge’s Two-Mile Beach Unit this Saturday, Oct. 31, from 9 a.m. to noon.
Volunteers will meet at the visitor’s station building, located on Loran Drive off of Pacific Avenue, just south of Wildwood Crest. The entrance is between Two Mile Inn / Crab House and Wildwood Crest, according to organizers.
Volunteers of all ages are welcome to help clean up litter and debris that washed up on the beach during the course of the summer. Refuge staff members will be on hand to transport the trash from the beach.
To sign up or for more details, send an e-mail to friendsofcapemayrefuge@gmail.com.
Beach Patrol leaders discuss strategy
NORTH WILDWOOD – Even in the off-season, this city’s Beach Patrol engages in continuing educational efforts, and this month two members of the North Wildwood Beach Patrol exchanged helpful information about rip tides with some peers from the other side of the globe.
On Thursday, Oct. 15, Beach Patrol Chief Tony Cavalier and Senior Guard Tim Fynes attended a workshop on Rip Currents and Surf Zone Safety at the University of Delaware. Two additional New Jersey beach patrols – those of Cape May and Ocean City – also sent representatives.
The all-day event featured Dr. Rob Brander of the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia.
Brander and attendees discussed the challenges, limitations, and future directions of rip current and surf zone safety education. Cavalier said that although Australia’s rip currents are nothing like New Jersey’s, “their strategies for dealing with them are the same.”
“We all tell swimmers to ‘relax, raise your hand, and yell for a lifeguard,’” he noted.
Cavalier said communities in Five-Mile Island have placed signs at the street ends of all beaches explaining this basic strategy, which will permit swimmers who are in trouble to be carried past the breakers, where they gain more control until they are rescued.
Dedication set for bridge honoring vets
LOWER TOWNSHIP – The Cape May County Veterans Memorial Bridge, located at the end of the Garden State Parkway, will be dedicated for the second time in 49 years on Saturday, Nov. 7, at 11:30 a.m.
The public is invited to attend the dedication ceremony, which will take place to the right of the bridge approach traveling south toward Cape May. The USCG Band and Color Guard, veterans, dignitaries and community groups will participate in the program.
The bridge, which spans Cape May Canal, was completed in 1960. Members of the Cape May 400th Anniversary Committee recommended that it be named in honor of veterans, and a state law was enacted in September designating it the Cape May County Veterans Memorial Bridge.
For more information on the dedication ceremony, contact County Clerk Rita Marie Fulginiti at 465-1018.
Wildwood encourages ‘Global Connect’ sign-up
WILDWOOD - Wildwood is encouraging residents to sign up for its Global Connect Emergency Notification System.
Global Connect is similar to the “Reverse 911” systems through which a city’s emergency management team can reach thousands of residents quickly in the event of a crisis. The system already is in place for Wildwood’s land phone lines, and the city is encouraging residents and property owners to add their cell phone and out-of- town phone numbers to the database. There is no charge for the service.
“We set up this system to provide advance warning in case of severe weather or other emergency situations,” said Commissioner Bill Davenport, the city’s emergency management coordinator.
Global Connect also allows the city to contact special groups – such as first responders – or particular streets or areas affected by an emergency.
To sign up or for more information, visit Wildwood’s website at www.wildwoodnj.org or contact Deputy Emergency Manager Michael Bailey at 523-8676.
Wildwood police chief receives state certification
WILDWOOD - Chief Steven Long of the Wildwood Police Department has received the Certified Chief Law Enforcement Executive designation from the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police.
The certification program is designed to elevate professional standards and individual performance among New Jersey law enforcement executives. Applicants for the certification must complete courses in areas including command and leadership, emergency management, supervision techniques, executive management, missing and exploited children, safe schools, ethical decision-making and community policing. In addition to experience and training requirements, involvement with community, civic and charitable organizations is also required.
Wildwood Commissioner William Davenport, who oversees public safety, said Long’s certification “improves our ability to work cooperatively with other law enforcement agencies and to receive future grant money for special projects.”
Long, a Cape May County native, joined the Wildwood Police Department in June 1985 after several summers as a seasonal officer. He holds a degree in Criminal Justice from Stockton State College, and in 2005 graduated from the F.B.I. National Academy in Quantico, Va. He was promoted to chief in April 2007.
Halloween Night at the Knights
NORTH WILDWOOD – The Ladies Auxiliary of the Knights of Columbus will sponsor a Halloween celebration on Saturday, Oct. 31, from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m., at the Knights of Columbus Hall here, 206 New York Ave., North Wildwood.
Tickets are $22 in advance and $25 at the door.
Come enjoy food, wine and beer, soda, prizes, terrific music – and great spooky fun!
For tickets or more information, call Diane at 522-8538.
Join the Pumpkin Run
WILDWOOD-- The Wildwood's Boardwalk 5K Pumpkin Run & Pumpkin Walk will take place on Saturday, Oct. 31. The race starts – rain or shine – at 10 a.m. at the Wildwoods Convention Center, on the Boardwalk at Burke Avenue in Wildwood.
Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. at the convention center. The fee is $25 for those 18 and over, and $10 for all others.
The run benefits the Education Foundations of Margaret Mace, St. Ann's, Wildwood Middle, Glenwood Avenue and Crest Memorial Schools.
Got Crest photos?
WILDWOOD CREST – The borough is seeking photos for inclusion in its 2010 municipal calendar, a commemorative issue that will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the year in which the borough was established.
The Centennial Committee wants pictures – both old and new – of borough events, or personal social events that occurred in the borough.
Submit photos to Borough Hall, 6101 Pacific Avenue, marked to the attention of Commissioner Joyce Gould, or via e-mail to wildwoodcrestpier@yahoo.com or jgould@wildwoodcrest.org.
For more information, phone 522-5176, ext. 111 or 523-0202.
Fall back this weekend
This Sunday, Nov. 1, at 2:00 a.m., our part of the world reverts to Standard Time, so set your clocks back one hour (say, from 2:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m). We lose an hour of daylight during Standard Time, but some say we thereby are more likely to spend an extra hour or so sleeping each night.
Local fire companies suggest that when you change your clocks, you also take the time to change the batteries in your fire alarms and CO detectors. That change should also help you sleep better, they say, because it will make your home safer for you and your family.
