Here is Saturday night's "super moon" rising over the Webster Road beach...
We followed up on Butch's letter to the County Freeholders by attending yesterday's Freeholders' Meeting and followed that up with a telephone discussion with County Engineer Dale Foster this morning. Here's where we are:
Crosswalks: There is work about to start around the blinker on the bridge approach to solve a "ponding" problem at the base of the bridge. A painted crosswalk at Williard will be provided as soon as that work completes (within a month). That will give us three crosswalks and they will try to fill in with additional crosswalks over time. The crosswalks use a special plastic paint (so it doesn't have to be re-done every year) that is prepared at the county facility in the southern part of the county, and the most they can do up here is two in one day. We believe we'll actually get some additional crosswalks in time for the summer season. Unfortunately, it does not appear that we will be able to get crosswalks painted in Whale Beach where there are only "paper streets" (beach access points). These would be categorized as "mid-block" crosswalks and are extemely hard to justify against the engineering criteria.
Speed Limits: The County has engaged a traffic engineering consultant to do a study to justify lowering the speed limit. The preliminary indications are that a 30 mph limit in Strathmere can perhaps be justified but 25 mph is unlikely. We asked about the 25 mph limit from 22nd to 26th Street in SIC and it was explained that it is much easier to justify extending an existing (25 mph) limit than creating a new one.
At their February 28 meeting the Township Committee passed a resolution supporting our requests for marked crosswalks and a 25 mph speed limit, and offered some manpower help for installing the crosswalks. The county may reach out to them for help with traffic control.
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On March 19, the Strathmere Fishing and Environmental Club www.strathmerefishing.org/ held its annual Legislative Forum on fishing issues at the Firehouse.
Congressman Frank LoBiondo attended and offered input and answered questions, but had to leave early.
Shown below, left to right, are SFEC Vice-President Rob Coffey, State Senator Jeff Van Drew, Assemblyman Nelson Albano, Assemblyman Matt Milam, Captain Tony Bogan, Member of Executive Committee of the Save the Summer Flounder Fishery Fund (SSFFF), Captain Adam Nowalsky, Chairman of the Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA) of New Jersey, Ed Goldman, Member of the Marine Fisheries Council of the NJ Division of Fish, Game, and Wildlife, and Executive Director Jim Donofrio of the RFA.
Once again, there was an excellent turnout
Of particular note was the discussion on the increase this year in the quota for summer flounder (Thanks, SSFFF!). How that increase will be allocated ("keeper" size, bag limit and length of season) will be determined next month.
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Did you know that Atlantic City was the largest gambling center in the country during the first half of the 20th Century?
This and many other fascinating facts are covered in the non-fiction book, Boardwalk Empire, which relates the history of Atlantic City from an island covered with dunes to the advent of gambling competition from surrounding states. A slice of the book (the Prohibition Era) was adapted into the hit HBO series. It's a fascinating read for anyone who loves the South Jersey shore. The Schiavo Library www.strathmerelibrary.org has it if you'd like to borrow it.
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Below is a pretty amazing picture, taken by Lynn Fayter.
Since Atlantic City Electric built the new highline from Sea Isle (see the 12/17/09 Newsletter), we have had almost no power outages in Strathmere.
On Friday evening, February 25, however, the whole town lost power (in the middle of a very strong windstorm) from just after 6:00 pm until just after 6:00 am Saturday morning.
Winter residents and those folks in town for the SFEC Winter Social the next night had a long, cold, dark night!
Here's why! The wind snapped two power poles at 21st Street in SIC and brought down the wires.
Lynn was driving by and snapped this through her windshield while moving (the police would not let her stop).
The Strathmere Improvement Association includes all owners in Strathmere and Whale Beach and many visitors. It was founded over 50 years ago as a community organization with the simple objective of making Strathmere a better place. We are proud of the organization's many accomplishments over the years.
Once again, thanks for your continuing support!
Butch Vandegrift - President
Linda Bateman -Vice-President
Donna Diefenderfer - Treasurer
Dorothy Addario - Recording Secretary
Ken Weaver - Corresponding Secretary
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