The Courier-News from Bridgewater, New Jersey • Page 11

MEC-NEW Second Section I wi uuuruun iNews A Gannett Newspaper Plainfield, New Jersey, Thursday, July 23, 1970 Phone 757-4000 Page 21 CO for foes ol ax new fight Readers Ask discovered that the two was actually 20 a $15 building permit and a $5 certificate of occupancy. LAST NIGHT a group of them gathered at the home of Robert Gada of 3 Tiffin Place to decide on a course of action. They decided to work up a petition, a tactic that got 300 signatures in two days before the July 6 meeting. This time, however, they have more time. The township committee isn't scheduled to vote By MIKE DONNELLY BRIDGEWATER Local above-ground pool owners are busily putting on more sail following the shift in current Monday night of the pool tax controversy.

The owners thought they had reached calmer waters when, at the July 6 Township Committee meeting, about 100 of them were told that the $20 building permit and $10 certificate of occupancy would be changed to a single, $2 fee. But at Monday's meeting, they on the rates until Aug. 3, and with an estimated 1,500 pool owners, they're hoping for a flood of signers. There's more than a $10 difference between the current rates and the proposed rates. TW current one must be paid every time the pool is erected.

In addition, the building permit fee must be paid when the pool is taken down. Under the new rules, owners pay only once. In the opinion of James Cobb of 5 Tiffin' Place, "They're throwing us a bone." He points building inspector, his assistant, his clerk and the zoning officer only total $32,600. This takes care of their argument that the money is to cover the of making the inspections'." ACCORDING to Gada, he has been inspected as well as inspecting. He says he has had several visits from the building inspector since the controversy started and the tax assessor dropped by Tuesday night, to look at his pool.

"He admitted Monday night," Gada says, "that the pool is tax exempt under state law." Though the chances of being taxed for his pool are slim, Gada faces a more uncertain money problem. On July 1, the township notified him he was violating the law by not getting a permit. Beginning five days after that, he became subject to a $200-a-day fine. Meanwhile the owners are going after signatures. They've divided the township into six sections, are hoping for all the help they can get, and a big turnout on Aug.

3. out that an in-ground pool costs $30 and a building permit for a house only costs $100. The owners acknowledge the need to inspect the pools for safety, though they don't under-, stand why it takes four separate trips, to accomplish it. According to Gada, "They only make five inspections for a house." Gada has been making inspections of his own and, according, to his figures, the township took in $50,000 in building permit and certificate of occupancy fees last year. "The total salary of the iiiijm mi.

iim.mii ii ubilhii. jii nullum ihuiuj wrironvndWSf wwsB 'V 1 1 Vandlalis: Lai suspected fire wmmmmmm wmmmm .121 1 1 liiii 2 area residents termed the building "very valuable" historically. The early history of the dwelling indicates it was built in 1746 by William Logan, a blacksmith. In 1761, it became a tavern run by Col. John Mehelm, quartermaster general of the Continental Army under Washington in the Revolutionary War.

He also was a member of the Colonial Assembly and later became one of the people appointed to depose the last colonial governor in New Jersey, William Franklin, a son of Benjamin Franklin. On July 27, 1777, Washington wrote that he stayed at the house while deciding which way the British Army was moving. At that time, he was on his way from Morristown to Philadelphia, to intercept the who were moving up the Delaware. The property came into the possession of the Emmons family in 1864 and was sold to Durling in 1966. The home was called "New Bromley" in its early days.

This is the origin of the name of the road. TEWKSBURY TOWNSHIP Fire, which the owner believes may have been set by vandals, yesterday destroyed a 209-year-old house on New Bromley Road which George Washington once used as a headquarters. A. Carlton Durling Whitehouse, owner of the Durling Farms milk bottling plant there, owns the farm property on which the historic house stood. He said that vandals in recent weeks had broken windows and doors in the house, which he was having restored.

They may also have deliberately set the fire, he said. Durling said he will ask police to investigate. All that remains of the building are a few timbers standing on the north side. Firemen from Oldwick, Whitehouse and Whitehouse Station were at the scene about four hours, from 12:30 a.m., but the blaze had gained too much headway when it was discovered for the house to be saved. Tewksbury Township's new zoning map declares the two-story frame building a historical site.

There was no dollar estimate of damage, but Photo by Ed Schuetz A midnight bloze of undetermined cause, destroyed this unoccupied dwelling in New Bromley Tewksbury Township, early yesterday. The building, labeled "an historical site" by the township's zoning map, was undergoing restoration before the fire that leveled the structure. Chickens fly high school coop Underground Assets A major oil company closed a North Plainfield service station I ran two years ago. My problem is I own the gas that is in the underground tanks and I can't get paid for it. In round figures the gas is worth $215.

P. Plainfield A Through HELP! your gas has been changed into cash. Evidently, there was a change in ownership of the company and that led to the delay. No Holiday Pay We work for an area bank which closed on holidays which fell on Saturdays. Employes are generally paid extra for working on Saturdays, but as we were closed we were not paid.

There was no time off given to compensate. It seems there is a law requiring regularly scheduled employes to be paid for holidays. Names Withheld A Regretfully, it seems you've been misinformed. The state Wage and Hour Bureau told HELP! there is no state labor law requiring an employer to pay anyone for legal holidays not worked. Holiday pay when no work is done and extra pay when work is done on holidays arises by reason of contract or other agreements made with an employer.

A Real Fan A bunch of us were talking baseball the other day and someone brought up the lady fan who used to sit in the bleachers at Ebbetts Field and really root for the old Dodgers, particularly when Leo Durocher was the manager. The only trouble is, no one could remember her name. Could it have been "Hatpin Mary?" J. Plainfield A No, but "Hatpin Mary" got a lot of TV exposure as the famed "lady" fan of professional wrestling when it was in vogue on TV. She applied a hatpin in the proper place to the wrestlers' anatomy.

You fellas were talking about old leather lungs, Hilda Chester. Recently she was seriously ill, but it is believed she is still living. A Loiv Blow This is a' case of out and out robbery and I need HELP! I was advised there would be repair my dryer. I eas advised there would be $10.95 service charge and I agreed. The man said it needed a fan belt which he installed in 20 minutes (by actual time) at a cost of $3.

Then on top of this I was charged $11 for labor. Is there a consumer bureau I can complain to? S. C. Plainfield A Almost $25 for a $3 fan belt highway robbery but legal. It is conceivable that this could be handled like a minimum charge at a restaurant.

However, file a complaint with the store and with the Office of Consumer Protection. HELP! already filed with the Better Business Bureau, but was advised that it cannot dictate prices charged. To those of you who might need similar repairs in the future: Ask first if there is both a labor and a service charge involved. If so, try elsewhere. Bring Everything I'm about eligible for Social Security benefits and I'm not too sure where or what to bring to the office when I go to apply.

Can I get some L. Plainfield A Of course. You are to go to the office in Elizabeth, which is directed by Ralph Jones, and don't worry about bringing too much. First, bring not only your Social Security number but the number of all dependents; proof of age (and if you don't have it, don't wait until the last minute to try to get it) data on earnings for the past year and the current year. Your last year's income tax copy handles one situation and your employer can give you an estimate of the current year (if self-employed, you can supply the latter); a marriage certificate, if a wife or widow is filing; discharge papers if there was military service; dates and records of prior marriages; name and address of school if there is a child between 18 and 22 attending school; address of doctors and hospitals where treatment has been received.

If you're not sure about anything else you might need, contact your Social Security office before attending. course for nearly 20 years. "When Jonathan Dayton opened in 1937 as the first regional high school, there were about 10 commercial vegetable farms and eight garden nurseries in the district, which comprises Berkeley Heights, Clark, Garwood, Kenilworth, Mountainside and Springfield," he said. "That has dwindled to SPRINGFIELD The chickens have flown the coop at Jonathan Dayton High School here. They've done so at hiuman insistence, because a once-flourishing vo cational agriculture department at the school, which served the entire Union County Regional High School District, has been eliminated.

Chickens, were made plump for the dinner table and beef calves were raised on school grounds by students at one time. But no more. "The influx of residential and industrial development sounded the death knell for agriculture as a course offering," said Adam LaSota, who taught the a few vegetable farms and a turkey farm." The last agriculture courses were ended at the close of the school year in June. The first of 1,550 students to take agriculture met in what is now the print shop at Jonathan Dayton. The first instructor was William N.

Peigelbeck, who still lives in Edison. M.mm.iinp-iniuinniiiiii rt su iriv rs III Pill JSillf i i -r mj 4. I ft if af 1286 3 Clffl If 'ill1 1 V- i 'jf fc ii iiiiiiiiiiiirlinihiiiiii inirifiTTiiiiif; 'in ii8 1 'iv'1' Road hazard in Fanwood's Route 28 during reconstruction is a raised manhole in a section awaiting more pavement to raise the street level. 4 Courier-News Photos by John A. Schneider Traffic is two way, but squeezed a bit, as it detours around Route 28 construction at Martine Avenue in the heart of Fanwood, where the state highway is being rebuilt and widened.

Widened Route 28 may open in September Reader's Corner the gathering place for those wishing to aid others, like Mrs. L. D. L. of Plainfield who's planning an old-fashioned garden wedding reception for her daughter and has been trying without success to rent or borrow two white wicker chairs with fan backs for the occasion.

Anyone who could possibly help please mail replies to HELP! FANWOOD Barring bad weather, the reconstruction of Route 28 (South Avenue) in Fanwood and Scotch Plains will be completed by Sept. 1. It will widen from a two-lane to a four-lane highway. The early fall completion date is estimated by Padalino, who has been on the' job here since it started last September, as a senior engineer for the state Department of Transportation. The construction extends from Terrill Road at the Plainfield line to the Westfield line a heavily traveled stretch of about two miles.

There hae been some com plaints by motorists and residents along the state highway that the road work has been taking too long, according to borough officials. They had hoped for completion of the project by June 30, but the contractor, the Halecrest Company, has received an unspecified extension of its contracted completion date to make up for such things as bad weather which prevented work and traffic which hampered it. "I'm disappointed it has taken this long, but the job can only go so fast. It's a difficult job, working with traffic and everything else," said Mayor workers clearing away grass clippings and adding other finishing touches, he said. A condition of the state work is that the borough will prohibit parking on both sides of Route 28.

Beetham said an ordinance to this effect is planned. Borough officials have pressed for the Route 28 reconstruction for the past several years. It has been a narrow and rutted concrete roadway without curbs in the Fanwood stretch. Westfield officials had objected to widening the state highway in their town, because they were concerned that its widening would funnel more traffic into WTestfield Plaza. Route 28 because of holes in the road and raised manholes during the project.

In the last few weeks, Beetham said there has been "good progress" on the work. "You can see it's being finished," he commented. The Halecrest Company has increased it work crew. It bagan with 25 men and now has 40 workers and 10 different machines on the project. IN ADDITION to reconstructing the road, storm drains to control flooding are being installed.

All of the drains are in except for a 50-foot section of cross drain, according to Roland M. Beetham. HE NOTED that in addition to regular local policemen who have been directing traffic around the construction work, the contractor has hired four additional policemen to direct traffic. Borough officials have met several times with state officials about the Route 28 work, to ask that it be speeded, that intersecting streets not be blocked and that street openings for storm sewers not be left uncovered too long, the mayor said. He also said that some cars have been Damaged along Padalino.

The eastern part of the road, from Westfield Avenue to Het-field Avenue, including the paving, will be completed within a few weeks. At Terrill Road, a stretch of sub base remains to be installed. The contractors are planning to work in stretches of 1,000 feet on what remains to be done, alternating on east and westbound lanes. The Terrill Road intersection is the last part to be completed. Full curbs will extend the length of the road, Padalino said.

Planting of grass has been completed in some areas and the Sept. 1 date should find the HELP! is a public service column which attempts to solve problems after reader efforts have failed. Send problems and COPIES of supporting documents to The Courier-News, Plainfield, N. J. 07061.

HELP! cannot accept phone calls, personal interviews or return materials. Send your name, address and phone number. All letters must be signed with full name. HELP! reserves the right to withhold publication and to edit any correspondence received..