Herald Through Bypass and 17 Stents, Patient Still Upbeat NEWS By JOE HART Patricia Carter, a retired staffi ng coordinator started experiencing chest pain,” Carter told at the hospital, has had double bypass heart the Herald. “I got my fi rst stent that year.” COURT HOUSE — A former employee at surgery, over 30 cardiac catheterizations and Stent’s are wire metal mesh tubes used to DI GESTS Burdette Tomlin (now Cape Regional Medical 17 stents placed in her cardiac arteries to keep prop open arteries during angioplasty to pre- Center) and heart patient for the past 11 years the blood vessels open. vent blockages. Carter has stents in all three DeMarzo Keeps Seat wants to caution Cape May County residents to “It started in when I was 48 years old. I of her main cardiac arteries: right coronary, WILDWOOD — Superior Court Judge stop smoking, start dieting and exercising. didn’t take very good care of myself and I (Page A6 Please) Valerie Armstrong upheld a decision that allowed Wildwood Commissioner Gary DeMarzo to keep his seat, while on leave as a Wildwood Police offi cer. Mayor Ernie Troiano Jr. and Commissioner Bill Davenport had asked Armstrong to fi nd (Page A2 Please) ALWAYS AVAILABLE On Deck ONLINE In years past it was known as the Tulip Index...See Page A3 Festival; now Cape May simply calls it their Spring Festival, and it begins this weekend, continuing through May 3. Of course, there are still plenty of colorful tulips blooming around town to go with the PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY BY THE SEAWAVE CORP. historical Victorian elegance. Vol. 45 No. 16 Copyright 2009 Seawave Corp. All rights reserved. April 22, 2009 1508 Route 47, Rio Grande NJ 08242-1402 See the rest of the story inside on page A24. Attorney Says ONLINE Lady Mary Hit ACTIVITYPast 7 Days By Large Ship www.CapeMayCountyHerald.com MOST POPULAR ARTICLES: By JACK FICHTER Two Year-Old Airlifted after Fall from Second Story CAPE MAY — An attorney hired by Royal Posted: Thu, 04/16/2009 - 6:37pm Smith, who was initially believed to be the 2449 reads, 4 Comments owner of the Lady Mary, has requested the hearing not be continued until the boat is Lower Police Arrest Villas Woman “examined in its current resting place.” on Drug Charges Smith has offered the theory the Lady Mary Posted: Mon, 04/20/2009 - 3:24pm may have been struck by a large merchant ves- 2272 reads, 20 Comments sel, according to Stevenson Weeks, an attorney with Wheatly, Wheatly, Weeks and Lupton of MOST WATCHED VIDEOS: Beaufort, N.C. UPDATE: Vessels Collide 47 Miles Weeks has requested the Lady Mary be off Cape May Coast examined by either divers or ROVs taking Posted: Tue, 04/14/2009 - 3:29pm, 399 Views photographs or video. Rescue Swimmer Off ers Testimony at Lady “Any conclusions as to the loss until the Mary Hearing vessel has been examined is based upon noth- Posted: Thu, 04/16/2009 - 9:20am, 179 Views Tina Giaimo ing but speculation as you have advised that Riley Wilson charmed participants and demonstrated a great sense of rhythm at a percus- the surviving eyewitness, Jose Arias, doesn’t MOST ACTIVE SPOUT OFF THREADS: sion jam April 18 led by Mark Jacopec as part of the 31st annual Cape May Jazz Festival. know what happened,” said Weeks in a letter should all employees have to take a Drummers ranged from age 3 to 70. to Commander Kyle McAvoy who is leading mandotory drug test? the Marine Board of Investigation. 1909 Views, 95 replies Weeks said Royal Smith was very familiar with the vessel, “it’s seaworthiness and han- Whats happining to my country Jury Selection Begins in Trooper dling characteristics.” 1089 views, 42 replies Smith said a large merchant vessel was Higbee Vehicular Homicide Trial spotted in the vicinity during the rescue op- After Seven Years eration. By LAUREN SUIT The prosecution is expected to call witnesses On April 15, another fi shing vessel working St. Simeon’s Has who said they did not see the speeder go by in the Elephant Trunk area, the same zone COURT HOUSE — Jury selection began April before the crash. where the Lady Mary sank, was involved in 20 in the case of State Trooper Robert Higbee, Higbee, now 36, was indicted fi ve months a collision with a large merchant vessel, said New Reverend charged with two counts of vehicular homicide later in February 2007 and remains suspended (Page A4 Please) in the deaths of two Upper Township sisters. without pay from the State Police. Since the By LAUREN SUIT On Sept. 27, 2006, just after 10 p.m., Hig- crash, Higbee has worked in marketing and has Herald Feature bee’s patrol car crashed into a minivan, the operated a sports training business. NORTH WILDWOOD — Before the Rever- two sisters, Christina, 19, and Jacqueline, 17, He and his wife, Bethany, have a 14-month- end Father Thomas Meyers began his work at Becker were riding in. They were pronounced old daughter. Forces Fugitive St. Simeon’s-By-The-Sea Episcopal Church in dead at the scene. Higbee rejected the state’s fi nal plea offer, July 2008, the church had gone nearly seven Now, over two years later, a jury must decide opting for trial. A conviction could mean up to years without a priest. whether Higbee acted recklessly when he ran a 20 years in prison for Higbee, instead of the To Surrender Likening it to a fl ock without a shepherd, stop sign at the intersection of Stagecoach and 4-year concurrent terms offered in the plea Meyers said that many Tuckahoe roads. agreement. By AL CAMPBELL members of the church Higbee has told investigators he was pursu- Jacqueline, 17, was a senior at Ocean City were starved for direc- ing a speeder that night and was attempting High School. She belonged to clubs for art, CREST HAVEN — Just hours after the April tion. to close the gap between himself and that history, drama and Latin. She spoke Italian 15 edition of the Herald hit the street, a wanted “One challenge other driver when the collision took place. (Page A2 Please) man surrendered himself at the Cape May was to help them re- County Correctional Center. awaken their sense of It was the first such incident since this faith through the wor- MUA Resolves Failed-Parts Matter newspaper initiated publication of photos ship that we have,” and offenses of persons wanted by county law said Meyers who comes By LESLIE TRULUCK also discovered to be defective. enforcement agencies on April 1. from the Anglo-Catholic A joint fi eld investigation into observed According to Sheriff Gary Schaffer, Quinton high-church tradition. SWAINTON — Years of contract negotia- structural problems revealed that three operat- Hatcher, wanted for violation of probation, “But the biggest chal- tions amicably concluded March 26 as the Cape ing units had signifi cant damage and were shut “Saw the wanted poster in the Herald, and lenge was to reach out May County Municipal Utilities Authority down in September 2008 “to prevent complete turned himself in at the jail.” to former members that MEYERS signed an agreement with Parkson Corpora- structural collapse,” the agreement states. “This is what I was looking for. This is start- for one reason or an- tion for the replacement of failed processing Authority board members deliberated in ing to work,” said Schaffer, who took offi ce in other had left the church.” units at the Ocean City Regional Wastewater closed sessions for months over the failed units January. He noted that reconnecting with those that Treatment Facility. and the $1 million contract with Parkson. “The word is getting out. We are increasing had left the church was a problem faced by In 2004, the authority upgraded six Rotating Units are needed prior to Memorial Day our efforts to pick up wanted persons, and all churches. Biological Contactors (RBCs) at the plant with because of seasonal fl ow increases. with citizens’ help, we will be able to do it,” Meyers said that many of the church pro- new Rotating Biological Reactor (RBR) technol- Parkson committed to retrofi tting, repair he added. grams had fallen by the wayside and he is ogy, manufactured by Parkson to clean sewage, and replacement of the RBRs, with complete The wanted persons publication project is working to rectify that. He is planning a men’s made from fi berglass because they are 30 to 40 stainless steel units, at no additional cost to being done in concert with Cape May County bible study, a women’s prayer group and hopes percent more effective at removing pollution, the CMCMUA. Prosecutor Robert Taylor and Sheriff’s Depart- to establish a music program. Executive Director Charles Norkis said. New 25-foot long 12-foot diameter stainless ment. “I would love to have a children’s choir Structural failure forced six refurbished steel units are worth more than the original “The criminal has no greater enemy than here,” he said. RBRs manufactured by Parkson to be decom- contract, at about $1.4 million, Norkis said. police and the people working together, Meyers, 66, was born and raised in Mon- missioned by March 2008 and replaced with Norkis said Parkson already began delivery said Schaffer. mouth, but his fi rst profession as an English hybrid fi berglass/stainless steel components. of new units last week, before the agreed upon “If we get the public working with us, crimi- language teacher brought him to France, where However, because fi berglass is fl exible and April 30 deadline.