Cape May Beachgoers May Soon See Sunglass-Wearing Octopi

CAPE MAY – Two students from Richard M. Teitelman Middle School were the winners of this year’s Beach Tag Design Contest. Mayor Edward J. Mahaney presented the designs to the public and congratulated the young artists on their talent and creativity during council’s regular meeting Nov. 18.
Every fall since the 1970s, the city has sponsored a beach tag design contest for school children in Cape May, West Cape May and Lower Township. Once the entries have been submitted, city council and beach tag personnel review the designs and select two winners; one for seasonal tags, the other for weekly tags.
This year’s seasonal tag design winner was Jill Ruchser of Cape May. “I made my design an octopus wearing sunglasses because it’s my favorite sea animal,” Ruchser explained. “My art teacher told me to make a design that is creative and that will be good for the beach tag.”
Ruchser’s whimsical artwork will grace nearly 38,000 tags for the 2014 summer season. In addition to a certificate of recognition, Mahaney also presented Ruchser with a $50 gift card.
“It came out beautifully and it’s a purplish color we haven’t had in a while,” said Mahaney. “Our beach taggers were very impressed.”
The winner of the weekly tag design was Jesse McCrea. McCrea was unable to attend the meeting so Lower Cape May Regional School District Superintendent Chris Kobik accepted on her behalf. McCrea’s design, which will appear on 60,000 tags, featured a fish jumping out of the water. According to Mahaney, the weekly tags come in different colors rotated every week for 14 weeks.
Mahaney praised the students’ art teacher, Colleen Ferraro, for her continued support of the contest. “She personally takes this to heart,” said Mahaney. “Because whenever I see her she reminds me we’ve got all these great entries.”
Kobik and School Board Member Harry Sundstrom shared in Ruchser’s win, as they, along with Mahaney and Ruchser’s family, proudly posed for a photograph.
“Thank you so much for this wonderful program,” said Kobik, addressing council. “Congratulations to the young ladies and thank you for your continued support of our kids in the school programs.”
Later in the evening an ordinance was introduced, amending chapter seven to authorize the issuance of on-street parking permits. City Manager Bruce MacLeod said that when the program was first developed in 2010, it allowed for only a six-month permit from May 1 to Oct. 31.
“After four years of the program, and general review, we thought that it was time to revisit this particular ordinance, and as such I recommended to council this ordinance reflect that we create a second level of permit which would represent a 12 month period,” said MacLeod.
The six-month permits will require a $350 annual fee, an amount unchanged from last year. The 12-month permits will cost $500. The ordinance will come up for a second reading and public hearing on Dec. 17, said Mahaney.
To contact Kirby Reed, email kreed@cmcherald.com.