House Lake Lily getting of the bulkhead, paths, week landscaping Page B1 Page A8

165th YEAR NO. 14 CAPE MAY, N.J. Serving America’s National Historic Landmark City WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, 2019 $1.00 City wants to confi rm beach replenishment Beach Safety Committee seeks timeline, fears one delay could lead to others By JACK FICHTER ment in its budget in time. arrive in September while beaches Hendricks said Avalon was seeking INSIDE Cape May Star and Wave The main portion of this beach were still open and during hurricane support from surrounding towns to nourishment, 400,000 cubic yards of season. pressure the federal government to CAPE MAY — Will Cape May sand, was scheduled to be dumped “Are they going to be laying the provide beach replenishment. Retreat rather receive beach replenishment this on the Coast Guard base beach. The pipelines? Are they going to be bring- She said the city manager would than replenish year and will it be under way during sand migrates south to the city’s other ing the dredge? Are they going to be contact the Army Corps to confi rm hurricane season? Those questions beaches. working on the beaches?” he asked. that beach replenishment is sched- may be the best are being asking by the city’s Beach The city receives a small portion Deputy Mayor Patricia Hendricks, uled for Cape May and ask for a more Safety Committee. of the project, 42,000 cubic yards City Council liaison to the committee, precise timeline. option for The city is expecting beach replen- at Wilmington Avenue at Poverty said the Borough of Avalon received “When we have that information, shore towns. ishment in September. The replenish- Beach. notice it would not receive beach we’ll also be trying to work to make ment was originally scheduled for At a March 25 meeting, Beach replenishment for 2019. She said the sure that we have a congressman’s Page A3 January but funding was not in place Safety Committee Chairman Dennis federal government cannot appro- set of eyes on this as well,” Hendricks reportedly because the U.S. Coast DeSatnick said he was concerned the priate funds to take sand away from Guard did not include the replenish- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would Hereford Inlet. See Con rm, Page A3 Sandman fi fth-, sixth-graders donate to homeless ministry By JACK FICHTER Cape May Star and Wave

RIO GRANDE — Seven- teen students from the Sand- man Consolidated School ar- rived in a school bus March 29 to The Branches, bringing items they collected to the organization that helps the area’s homeless population. Jack Fichter/CAPE MAY STAR AND WAVE Jessica Menzano, secre- Joel Gonzalez connects wires to a World War II-era telephone tary for Lower Township at Fire Control Tower 23 at Sunset Beach. The telephone, Board of Education, said known as an EE-91, eased communication with a bunker. the students brought cases of water, ChapStick, health products, jackets, gloves, hats, shampoo and Easter baskets. WWII phones The fi fth- and sixth-grad- ers worked with the school’s Wellness Committee. “We asked the children what they would like to do back online at for the community and so they came up with this idea Jack Fichter/CAPE MAY STAR AND WAVE themselves and got together and put a cart out in the Students from Sandman Consolidated School took a bus to The Branches, where they do- lookout tower school and put a nice sign on nated items such as cases of water, ChapStick, health products, jackets, gloves, hats, sham- it saying what they were col- poo and Easter baskets they had collected at the school. By JACK FICHTER Lighthouse known as Battery lecting and when we would Cape May Star and Wave 223 by telephone, he said. be coming here,” Menzano facility, where breakfast and in their cars, some of them food and clothing. Lockhart Welch said such phones said. lunch is served six days per have homes, some of them confi rmed all the items were SUNSET BEACH — A operated from a Fire Control Branches Director San- week. sleep in motel rooms and given away free of charge. working EE-91 telephone Switchboard used in harbor dra Lockhart took students “By lunchtime, this place sometimes they don’t have a Another student asked if from World War II was in- defense here. on a tour of the facility, will be full,” she said. place to stay.” anybody could donate items stalled from the ground fl oor “There was one of those beginning with a room of Lockhart said during She said some are fortu- to the organization. to the top of Fire Control switchboards on this side of clothing and personal care Code Blue alerts, when the nate enough to stay in a motel “We exist by stuff that peo- Tower 23 by men in uniform the defenses in Battery 223’s products for the homeless. temperature is forecast to for a period of time. ple drop off,” Lockhart said. March 23. plotting and switchboard She pointed out a supply of drop below 32 degrees, the “You can imagine that in “Our food is all donated.” Their uniforms were from room,” he said. blankets, sheets and pillows Branches is open 12 hours the wintertime, it’s really, re- The Branches does not World War II, but they were The switchboard would and a shower available to the per day, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. ally hard for a lot of folks that have a kitchen in which it can not time travelers. Instead receive power from a set of homeless. A student asked where live in the woods,” Lockhart cook but has enough equip- they were members of the batteries and a generator, The room also had refrig- homeless persons slept at said. “There is no homeless ment to warm up food, she nonprofi t Army Ground Forc- Welch said. A lead cable erators and freezers filled night. shelter in Cape May County.” said. At the end of the day, es Association. The orga- with 300 to 500 conductors with food used to prepare “That’s a really good The Branches was started bag lunches are given away nization focuses on coastal also crossed the bay to Fort meals at the Branches and question,” Lockhart replied. 10 years ago by St. Mary’s so clients have something artillery-related restoration. Miles, headquartered in Cape given to the homeless. Lock- “Some of them sleep outside, Episcopal Church in Stone for dinner as the Branches Much of their work is done Henlopen, Del., he said. hart said as many as 60 some of them sleep in the Harbor. A student asked if at Fort Hancock-Sandy Hook Welch said two switch- persons per day come to the woods, some of them sleep the ministry gave away the Proving Ground National board rooms were located at See Sandman, Page A8 Historic Landmark managed Fort Miles, one in the harbor by the National Park Service. defense command post and “We do electrical, we do another tied to Battery Smith, Need, outreach continue in warm weather concrete, we do telephone which housed the two 16-inch By JOHN ALVAREZ change to aid those who drove past the bus stop in hides in plain sight. communication. We do all guns. Special to the Star and Wave need to escape from the Whitesboro,” said Chris “As of now, the homeless kinds of stuff to make the “Within the defenses, there cold. Even in Cape May South, a volunteer for Cape are back in the woods,” said (gun) battery come back to were probably somewhere CAPE MAY COURT County, where the Code Hope, a faith-based home- Denise South, director of life,” said Shawn Welch, trea- in the neighborhood of about HOUSE — As the spring Blue watch was supposed less outreach organiza- Cape Hope Homeless Out- surer and a board member. 500 phones,” he said. “This season begins, all of our to end in the beginning tion. “One of the guys who reach. “Some will have jobs Known by locals as the tower probably had about thoughts turn to activities of March, the last one oc- were a regular Code Blue now, though they may only World War II observation three.” and events inclined toward curred March 8 with as- recipient was there. He’s be part-time work. Here, tower, operated by the Mid- Project documents were the warmer weather. Sadly, surance it could have been been hanging out at the bus in Cape May County, we Atlantic Center for the Arts found showing schematics of in many folks’ minds, this sustainable until March 15 shelter.” have the unique problem and Humanities, its wartime the phone system for Tower excludes proper treatment if needed. What so many in Cape with the homeless popu- purpose was to use optical 23, which was a fi re control and care of the homeless So now with the winter May County and others lation seeking seasonal instruments to aim large guns station for only Battery 223. community. weeks behind us, every- southern New Jersey may employment. The lack of capable of fi ring on enemy Welch said other towers had In the colder months, it is thing should be OK, right? fail to realize is that when year-round employment ships. Soldiers would com- multiple functions but Tower certainly easier for people “I was out to the Cape the weather gets warmer, municate with the bunker on to donate clothing or spare Community Church and the homeless population See Need, outreach, A8 the beach near the Cape May See WWII phones, A5

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