Times Talk
Tim Carney
STONE HARBOR HAS A NEW MAYOR
He did it the old-fashioned way: “I must have knocked on more than 650 doors over the past two years,” said Stone Harbor’s new mayor, Tim Carney just moments after hearing results read from the two polling booths in the borough’s fire house on 96th Street.
According to Cape May County records, Carney, a Republican, garnered 251 votes while Bob Ross, an independent, recorded 220. Officials reported a higher-than-normal turnout for this election, which didn’t surprise Carney. “The citizens of Stone Harbor are looking for a change in leadership,” Carney concluded.
Two Republican incumbents on the Stone Harbor Borough Council, Bernadette “Bunny” Parzych and council president Frank Dallahan, ran unopposed. Also in Stone Harbor, Maggie Day and Liz Hodges were elected to the school board. Meanwhile, at the other end of the island, Dorothy “Lynn” Schwartz ran unopposed for Avalon’s school board.
E-Z Pass only will be accepted beginning April 1, 2025 on Ocean Drive bridges.
IT SHOULD BE AN E-Z TRANSITION
It’s no joke: On or about April 1, the Ocean Drive bridges will no longer accept cash, coins or tickets for crossing all bridges, including the Townsends Inlet and Grassy Sound bridges here on the Seven Mile Beach.
Like many highway systems and bridges, they will be switching to a cashless payment system. In case you weren’t aware, the Atlantic City Expressway is expected to do the same by the summer of 2025. According to the Cape May County Bridge Commission, approximately 90% of the drivers currently using the bridges already utilize the E-ZPass system, which the bridges added in 2018. After the spring conversion, if you don’t have E-ZPass, the system currently in place will take a photo of your license plate and mail an invoice to the owner of the vehicle. You’ll have 30 days to make payment.
Current toll collectors are expected to be reassigned as bridge tenders – the person charged with opening the spans for passing boats, as required by the U.S. Coast Guard on a 24/7 basis – so obviously that aspect won’t be affected by this system change. The county is expected to announce a “buy back” program for any commuter tickets that still exist.
This building, in use since 1974 at Avalon Bay Park, will be replaced.
AVALON BAY PARK WORK COMMENCES
As Avalon’s Bay Park Marina at 55th Street on Ocean Drive was just concluding its 50th anniversary season, laborers from the Fred M. Schiavone Construction Company in Malaga erected a safety construction fence around the facility on Nov. 4, pausing only to allow a straggling boater to remove his boat using the launch ramp.
So began the $8.68 million revitalization project on the park. Included in that total is $1.1 million from Cape May County Open Space Funding. The contractor is the same firm that built Surfside Park for the Borough. Work is scheduled for weekdays only, with a completion date of on or before May 21, 2025.
FALL REORGANIZATION FOR SHPOA
Chris Yates was sworn in as the new president of the Stone Harbor Property Owners Association during its fall membership meeting Sept. 14 at the Harbor Square Theatre. The board also presented two $3,000 checks, one to the Helen L. Diller Home for Blind Children and the other to the Stephen Ludlam American Legion Post 331. The funds represented the proceeds from the Harbor Hustle run. Attendees were also treated to an informative presentation by Dr. Lenore Tedesco, the executive director of The Wetlands Institute on the Scotch Bonnet Marsh Enhancement. And trustee Geoff Wollery advised the membership on the REAL program, part of the state’s initiative to protect against climate threats.
WHILE YOU WERE AWAY …
Don’t be surprised if you found a “door hanger” from the South Jersey Gas Company on your door when you came back to the island. Apparently, there’s been a massive program to replace the old gas meters with a more modern model. We only say “apparently” because neither borough office had any information from South Jersey Gas on the motives for the change. And written requests from Seven Mile Times and from this writer, as a local homeowner, to South Jersey Gas asking for an explanation and additional information went unanswered. So, we are left only with the explanations from their website: improved meter reading accuracy; enhanced customer experience, and increased reliability. So much for the enhanced customer experience.
Part of the beach that will be backfilled looking north from 14th Street.
BACKPASSING PLANNED FOR AVALON
The Borough of Avalon is planning a sand backpassing project for the early spring of 2025. Targeted for March and April, the project is expected to supplement areas from 9th to 17th streets. Precise areas and sand totals won’t be determined until after the traditional nor’easter-rich winter months have passed. The movements will occur primarily overnight, giving residents full access to the beaches during the day. The project is expected to be completed before Memorial Day weekend.
The Little Library at 215 39th Street.
LIBRARY CLOSED? A ‘LITTLE’ ADVICE
Both Avalon and Stone Harbor have robust modern library facilities filled with tons of books. If you haven’t already, you should apply for a card. Your local library offers books, videos, and tapes to loan and a wide array of special informative and enjoyable programming. But what happens really late at night, or especially early in the morning when you are looking for something to read?
Thankfully, the Seven Mile Beach has multiple “little library” locations around the island. Located on both public and private property, they are normally small post-mounted weatherproof boxes where you can “borrow” a book at any time night or day 24/7. So, stop by, “borrow” a book; read it and then return it. Better yet, if you have a book to contribute, add it to the small collection for someone else to enjoy.
Here are two locations worth a visit: In Avalon, the Avalon Free Public Library has just installed a Little Library on 39th Street in front of the Avalon Historical Museum. In Stone Harbor, there’s a great one on 93rd Street beside the Stone Harbor Elementary School.
The 2024 Scholarship recipients (from left) Madeline Mau, Alexis McPhail, Naudia Graham, Ilexia Navarro and Isabelle Nutt.
DILLER HOME PRESENTS SCHOLARSHIPS TO 5 ALUMNI CAMPERS
The Helen L. Diller Vacation Home for Blind Children presented its 2024 scholarship awards during the annual Barefoot Ball fundraiser at ICONA Windrift in September. This is the third consecutive year the foundation has provided scholarships to alumni campers. The winners for this year are Naudia Graham, Madeline Mau, Ilexia Navarro, Alexis McPhail, and Isabelle Nutt.
“As we celebrate our third year of awarding scholarships to our deserving alumni campers, it would not be possible without the generous donors and the community of Avalon,” said Emily Mulhern, the camp supervisor. “The way we can extend the mission of the home through supporting higher education each year proves just how special this organization is. We look forward to continuing our scholarship program for years to come to help support our campers in ways that go beyond the Seven Mile Island.”
Graham is a political science major at Loyola University Maryland in Baltimore.
Mau attends New York University, where she majors in music technology and minors in disability studies and teacher education.
McPhail is a student at the University of Pittsburgh where she majors in biology on the pre-med track.
Navarro is majoring in law & justice studies at Rowan University.
Nutt attends Rowan College at Burlington County, where she is majoring in education.
Scholarships are awarded in the amount of $5,000 per year for up to four years. To apply for the scholarship, applicants need to have attended the Helen L. Diller Vacation Home for Blind Children at least one summer, prove acceptance to a college, university, or training program, and complete the scholarship application.
For more information, go to dillerblindhome.org.
YACHT CLUB OF STONE HARBOR HONORED
Congratulations are in order. Not sure how many bells equates to “Wow!” But they are certainly in order for the Yacht Club of Stone Harbor, which has been honored as a Platinum Club of America. The honor, bestowed in November, recognizes the YCSH as one of the finest clubs in the country. Its ranks include 4,100 private clubs and more than 100 yacht clubs. Recognition comes after a rigorous process that judges facilities, service, and service to members, as measured by peers at other clubs. Even more impressive, the YCSH was ranked among the top 30 yacht clubs in the country.
Post 331’s Jon Ready (left) and Art Faint (right) present the donation to Melinda Willis and RJ Morrison of the Veterans Memorial Home.
POST 331 DONATES TO VETERANS HOME PROJECT
The Veterans Memorial Home in Vineland received a donation of $15,000 from American Legion Post 331 on Sept. 23. Post 331 trustee Jon Ready and historian Art Faint went to the home to present the donation targeted for the home’s service flagpole plaza project and to discuss the various aspects of the project that could be supported by Post 331 and other American Legion posts within New Jersey.
Discussions were held with Melinda Willis, the home’s assistant CEO, and RJ Morrison, the home’s life enrichment manager and plaza project manager. The project is in the planning stage and would consist of creating a paver-based plaza for ceremonies and include the addition of six flagpoles displaying the service flags of the home’s resident military members. The Veterans Memorial Home has been providing long-term care services to New Jersey veterans from every war or armed conflict since the Civil War.
POST 331 DONATES TO FIRST RESPONDERS
American Legion Post 331 thanked local first responders for their service to our communities with donations presented on Sept. 24. Representatives of the Avalon Fire and Rescue Departments and Stone Harbor and Middle Township Fire Departments were each presented with a $1,000 donation at ceremonies held in Avalon and Stone Harbor. These donations were part of Post 331’s program to give back to the community.
In Avalon, the presentation was made to Rescue Chief Kevin Scarpa and Assistant Fire Chief Robert Ferguson in front of the Avalon Public Safety Building. At the Stone Harbor Fire House, the presentation was made to Chief Roger Stanford and Volunteer Fire Company #1 members Mike Gihorski, Robert McClure Jr., Eric Staeger, and Jimmy Haralampoudis. Middle Township firemen Byram Salmons, Mike Clark, and Bill Ritchie received their donation in Post 331’s historic 1895 building. Presenting the donations were Post 331 trustee Jon Ready, chaplain Jim Betz, and historian Art Faint.
Family and friends join in honoring fallen heroes.
RUN FOR THE FALLEN
The 16th Annual Run for the Fallen made its way through the Seven Mile Beach on Sept. 26. The run was to honor and remember Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard who have given their lives during the global war on terror. The run is actually a relay involving members of the military from Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. They run 195-plus miles from Sunset Beach at Cape May Point to the New Jersey Vietnam War Veterans Memorial in Holmdel. The run is held to honor the heroes and their families. A different hero is honored each mile with a special mile marker. Family members in attendance are honored at each mile marker.
Erin Rawls delicately demonstrates how monarchs are tagged and tracked before release.
JUST PASSING THROUGH
It’s an annual spectacle experienced by Seven Mile Beach residents, the migration of thousands of birds and butterflies that come through Avalon on their trip south for the winter.
Erin Rawls, the outreach coordinator at The Wetlands Institute, gave an informative and entertaining presentation on “Migration at the Avalon Coastline” with more than 40 attendees Sept. 11 at the Avalon Community Hall.
Rawls touched on many species that pass by our island and spent a significant amount of time talking about the amazing migratory patterns of the monarch butterfly. She also demonstrated how these fragile monarchs are tagged in order to track their migratory habits.
The event was sponsored by the Avalon Environmental Commission and the Avalon Free Public Library.
Tina Sacco and Josh Otton with Bruno after his rescue.
ALL IN A DAY’S WORK
This must be why they call them the dog days of summer.
On the afternoon of Oct. 28, the Stone Harbor Fire Department received a call for mutual aid from the North Wildwood Fire Department. It seems that Bruno, a dog, swam too far from shore and was caught in the treacherous currents of Hereford Inlet. Unless assisted, it was doubtful the dog could survive.
The Stone Harbor Fire Department quickly launched a rescue crew on a personal watercraft. The crew quickly located Bruno, who happily hopped on the back of the watercraft and was safely ferried to his owners on the North Wildwood beach.
Dune grass planting in October at 34th Street.
GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY FOR DUNE GRASS
Thirty hearty souls including Avalon Mayor John McCorristin and Councilperson Barbara Juzaitis spent part of their day Oct. 19 planting more than 10,000 plumes of dune grass on Avalon’s beachfront. Following a quick “how to” by Craig Rothman at Community Hall, the planters got to work. The planting marked Avalon’s 50th anniversary of being proactive and working to protect the island’s fragile dune system.
Dredge in action on Stone Harbor Blvd.
SCOTCH BONNET MARSH RETENTION UPDATE
Depending on when you read this issue of Seven Mile Times, The Wetlands Institute’s marsh restoration program should be wrapping up – or already completed. Site preparation began Sept. 25. Dredge materials started pumping Oct. 10, and The Wetlands Institute is hoping to complete this critical project on or about Nov. 20. You may have noticed the dredge pipes off the north side of Stone Harbor Boulevard. The dredge spoils are being used to build up and restore marshes, which have been impacted by rising seas levels, to a good new elevation. It is an amazing program by The Wetlands Institute. To learn more about this remarkable program, visit wetlandsinstitute.org.