Lower seeks food donations
LOWER TOWNSHIP – Township manager Mike Voll is once again asking for nonperishable food donations for families in need.
Voll said his office has been contacted by Lower Township Rescue Squad Chief Kevin Hart, who collects and distributes to local food banks, and families. Hart said “We can’t keep our shelves stocked, it goes out as fast as it comes in,” according to a press release from Voll.
“Many of us are so blessed and should take this opportunity to help others during these challenging economic times,” said Voll. “We can make a difference by dropping off the nonperishables to Township Hall, 2600 Bayshore Road or a check made out to the Lower Township Rescue Squad. Please note in the memo area ‘Food Bank.’ We really need you to respond by helping the less fortunate. It will do your heart good!”
Officials mark completion of beach replinishment
CAPE MAY – Inter-agency partners held a ceremony to mark the completion of a more than $9 million beach replenishment project aboard Coast Guard Training Center Cape May Wednesday.
Representatives from the Army Corps of Engineers, the Coast Guard and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) dispersed the last load of sand from the more than 620,000 cubic yards of sand placed on the Training Center Cape May's beaches. The Coast Guard base is considered a feeder beach, and ocean currents will carry sand placed here to popular recreational beaches in the City of Cape May.
The last beach replenishment occurred in spring 2009. Since then, some of the worst coastal erosion in more than 20 years allowed water levels at Training Center Cape May to reach record heights. This allowed sea water to threaten the infrastructure of the training center as well as several areas used for training. This high coastal erosion also began impacting recreational beaches in the City of Cape May.
The increased threat posed by coastal erosion to Coast Guard operations at Training Center Cape May prompted the Army Corps and the Coast Guard to make this project a high priority. The agencies partnered with the N.J. DEP and began work on the project in October 2011.
The Army Corps was the lead agency for this effort and contributed more than
$7 million to the project. As the lead agency, the Army Corps also coordinated all aspects of the project's planning and execution. The Coast Guard supported the Army Corps contributing more than $1.2 million and provided critical support and logistical services to the Army Corps' and its contractors. The N.J. DEP contributed more than $800,000 to the project and ensured alignment with environmental laws and concerns as well as coordinating with local municipalities.
In addition to pumping sand from offshore to the beach, the Cape May project included a redistribution or "backpassing" of sand. Approximately 70,000 cubic yards was excavated from an area where there was an excess, in the vicinity of Convention Hall, and trucked to an area where there was a need, in the vicinity of Wilmington Ave.
The Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company, the principal contractor on the project, pumped the 620,000 cubic yards of sand from the borrow area offshore to Coast Guard Training Center Cape May. A subcontractor, Arthur R.
Henry, Inc., executed the backpass operation.
Police investigating home and vehicle burglaries
LOWER TOWNSHIP – Due to the recent surge in residential and vehicle burglaries in the last two weeks in North Cape May and the Villas sections of Lower Township, police are asking homeowners to be mindful when leaving their residences or vehicles and to secure all accesses.
Several unsecured vehicles and homes were burglarized recently, according to police.
The Lower Township Police Department is asking that all homeowners be vigilant of their residence as well as their neighbors and report any suspicious activity to the police.
It is also important to secure your vehicles and remove any valuables that may be seen by anyone passing by.
Information can be reported to Lower Township police on a confidential tip line at 886-1619, ext. 156.
Coast Guardsmen make MLK Day a call to service
CAPE MAY – Local Coast Guard made Dr. Martin Luther King Day a day of remembrance and a call to service through educational and volunteer opportunities.
Coast Guardsmen have dedicated their lives to helping others, and Dr. Martin Luther King Day 2012 was no exception. Service members stationed aboard Training Center Cape May volunteered in partnership with Jersey Cares to paint an Arc of Cape May County home for people with developmental disabilities and answering the President's national call to service initiative.
“We encourage our people to use Martin Luther King Day as an opportunity to help others locally in a service project with our neighbors and friends,” said Cmdr. Owen Gibbons, executive officer of Training Center Cape May. “We remember the great strides made in advancing Dr. King's quest for equality, freedom and justice for all by encouraging people use Jan. 16 as a day of service rather than a day off.”
Personnel here also used Martin Luther King Day 2012 as a day of remembrance to honor King’s legacy and the principles he stood for. Recruits viewed King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech during their normal training schedule.
Service members have contributed thousands of community service hours to numerous charities in Southern New Jersey in 2011. Most notably, Coast Guardsmen volunteered more than 1,700 hours at Cape May Elementary as part of Partnership in Education, and service members also volunteered more than 252 hours at the Community Food Bank of New Jersey/Southern Branch.
New reward offered in Himebaugh case
MIDDLE TOWNSHIP – A reward up to $25,000 is being offered for the whereabouts of Mark Himebaugh, who has been missing for 20 years.
Eleven-year-old Himebaugh had gone to explore a small fire in his neighborhood and never returned to his Del Haven, Middle Township, home on Nov. 25, 1991.
Years later, a new reward is on the table, officials announced at a press conference Wednesday, Jan. 11.
If Himebaugh is found alive, $25,000 would be offered, and $10,000 would be given for information leading to his remains.
A client of a local attorney put up the money, but Middle Township Police Chief Chris Leusner did not know the identity of the donor. Media coverage of the 20th year of his disappearance prompted the person to offer the reward.
“And I am hoping this [new reward] will bring closure to my son’s case,” said his mother, Maureen Himebaugh, who still lives in Del Haven.
Leusner said he hopes the new reward will encourage someone to report information.
Several years ago, a reward had been offered but has since been dissolved.
Of the new reward, Maureen said she felt grateful and appreciative.
“He’s in all our hearts,” Maureen said. “But we want the closure.”
County Prosecutor Robert L. Taylor called the donor’s reward “heartening.”
Leusner said the police department will continue to work on the case until it has been solved. Taylor offered similar words.
Tips continue to be investigated, though nothing have come from them, Taylor said. A few have come from as far away as Mexico, he said.
“We have all the options on the table,” Leusner said.
Law enforcement officials have been faced ups and downs with the case, Leusner indicated. The case has drawn federal, state, county and local police agencies.
The Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office, the Middle Township Police Department, the New Jersey State Police Missing Persons Unit, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the Himebaugh family continue to aggressively investigate the case.
Anyone with information about Himebaugh can contact the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office at 465-1135, the Middle Township Police Department at 465-8700 or Cape May County Crime Stoppers at 465-2800.
People can also anonymously report information by texting the Cape May County Sheriff’s Office at 847411 or visiting www.cmcsheriff.net.
Celebrating Valentine’s Day with veterans
RIO GRANDE – Cape May County Veterans' Bureau is sponsoring a Valentine's trip to the Wilmington V.A. Hospital and the New Jersey Veterans Memorial Home in Vineland Wednesday, Feb. 15.
Cape May County school children are making Valentine's Day cards to be distributed to the hospitalized veterans at both facilities.
Additionally, veterans' organizations and auxiliaries are collecting donations from businesses. About 400 gift bags will be distributed along with the cards.
Cape May County Fare Free Transportation will provide the transportation to the Wilmington V. A. Hospital and the New Jersey Veterans' Memorial Home. Buses will depart from the Social Services Building, 4005 Route 9 South in Rio Grande, between 8:30 and 9 a.m. Refreshments will be available before departure in the Social Services Building.
Organizations, auxiliaries and the public are welcome to participate. Seats can be reserved by calling the Veterans' Bureau by Feb. 10 at 886-2762.
Volunteers In Medicine to celebrate 10 years
CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE – Volunteers In Medicine of Cape May County will celebrate its 10th anniversary at a brunch Sunday, March 11.
The event will take place at noon at the Avalon Golf Club, 1510 Route 9 North, Cape May Court House.
The clinic is open five days a week and since opening in 2002, the organization has cared for more than 3,600 patients in need with over 20,000 patient visits.
The clinic is operated by a small number of part-time staff and over 100 volunteers, including physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, RNs, LPNs and administrative and support volunteers.
In addition to primary care, the organization continues to add specialty clinics, including orthopedic, gastroenterology, pediatric, chiropractic, podiatry, acupuncture and massage therapy.
Cost for the lunch is $50. Reservations can be made at www.vimcmc.org or 463-2846. Donations can be sent to Volunteers In Medicine, 423 Route 9 North, Cape May Court House, NJ 08210.
Christie signs bill allowing for November school elections
TRENTON – Governor Chris Christie Tuesday signed into law legislation allowing for local school board and budget elections to be moved from April to November.
Christie said the bill would allow for local government savings and increased voter participation.
The legislation, A-4394/S-3148, establishes procedures for moving the date of a school district’s annual school election to the day of the general election in November. Under the first procedure, the date of the annual school election may be moved to November upon the adoption of a resolution by the board of education or the governing body of the municipality.
Alternatively, a ballot question would be presented to a school district’s voters for their approval if a petition is filed with the board of education, signed by not less than 15 percent of the number of legally qualified voters who voted in the district at the last presidential general election. The district would then hold a vote on the petition in the subsequent November election.
A district that has moved its annual school election to November would not require voter approval for a base budget, but any proposal to exceed the 2 percent tax levy cap would be presented for voter approval in November. District board members elected in November would take office at the beginning of January.
