Anxious? Don’t Be, We’re Only 10 Years into This Century

A naysayer might voice an opinion that nothing ever happens in Cape May County. How wrong they would be? Let’s get on a little time machine and travel back to that magnificent January of 2000 when we just lived through the treacherous Y2K and nothing terrible happened.
(Remember how all computers suppose to zero out, and lots of folks withdrew their dollars from banks, just in case the machines went kaflooy and they couldn’t get money ever again?)
For new year-rounders to this vacation mecca, when the new century began, Chayanne Emerald Bryant was the first baby born at Burdette Tomlin Memorial Hospital (now Cape Regional Medical Center) on Jan. 2 at 3:50 a.m. to Dwayne and Ronetta Bryant of Wildwood.
The Herald put out a special New Millennium edition, something like the Christmas edition. It asked 41 county residents and officials their thoughts on the future.
Looking back, some statements seem as prophetic today as they did then.
We’ll begin with County Engineer Dale Foster’s assessment: “By 2010, the county expects to complete final design on the replacement of the Two-Mile Bridge on Ocean Drive in Lower Township between Cape May and Wildwood Crest.
“In addition, construction should be completed on the upgrade of Ocean Drive and the replacement of the Mill Creek and Upper Thorofare Bridges.
“Traffic congestion at Two-Mile Bridge will be reduced due to fewer bridge openings from the higher bridge and an expanded toll plaza with additional lanes.”
Of the Garden State Parkway overpasses, “The construction of these much-needed overpasses will probably occur within the next 10 years or so.”
Then President Dr. John May of Atlantic Cape Community College wrote that the Cape May County campus “will play an essential role in serving the county’s citizens…” The grand opening was held Aug. 24, 2005, and the student population swelled immediately.
William J. Hughes of Ocean City, former ambassador to Panama and 10-term Second Congressional District representative warned, “As we enter the new millennium, Americans must reassert their fundamental responsibilities as citizens.
“It begins with registering to vote and then exercising that right. It also means becoming informed about government, the candidates for elective office and the issues of the day.”
Russell Blair, interim agricultural agent at Rutgers Cooperative Extension wrote, “The environment is a very important commodity in Cape May County and our local growers have been changing their management practices to optimize the resource conservation. Expect this to continue into the future.”
Since then, some farmers have switched from seasonal crops to vineyards to support local wineries.
David I. Von Savage, county Republican chairman, foresaw a “shift back to the traditional family.” He wrote, “The shift is back to the traditional family, back to individual responsibility, back to delayed gratification, back to a belief in God, and back to the absolutes of right and wrong. Fortunately, for future generations, the boomers were steeped in the values they once rejected. These boomers have the benefit of knowing right from wrong.”
Freeholder Director Daniel Beyel placed great hope on education. “…In my eyes, the most exciting and noteworthy item we will be witnessing is the community college and the expanded role of education in our daily lives. The college will provide affordable higher education, job training, and retraining so that our residents are competitive and have the skills to secure rewarding employment and self-sufficiency.”
Technical School District Superintendent Wilbur J. Kistler Jr. told of the growing importance of producing technology-literate graduates.
“It’s quite possible that within the next 10 years, or even sooner, that all students will have laptop computers that they will take to class and home at the end of the day to do their homework,” he wrote.
“In our school we are already doing things we hardly imagined when our full-time high school opened in 1993 and we know the uses of technology will continue to increase at record speed,” he wrote.
Retired Stone Harbor Police Chief Steve O’Connor, former president of the Cape May County Police Chief’s Association, looked into the future and, in five years, envisioned “all police departments in Cape May County consolidated.” An internal e-mail system would make communications “a snap,” he wrote.
All officers would be “college educated, county residents, and have completed a vigorous selection process established by the police department.” O’Connor also saw the future use of electronic gadgets for law enforcement use, including a “scanner that detects any foreign objects on a suspect or in their clothing, from weapons to pieces of paper.”
Within the last two weeks, County Sheriff Gary Schaffer introduced iris detection for identification use at the jail. News reports, last week, talked of total body “naked scanners” at airports to detect explosives or weapons on a person.
County Planner James Smith gazed into the future and saw a growing county population that would impact mainland schools.
Robert Fothergill, executive director of the Lower Township MUA championed reuse of precious water resources. “We must eventually have published data to assist us as to what amounts of water can be taken from its respective water bearing zone, so as to guarantee proper yields without causing damage to the overall supply,” he wrote.
After seven years, the U.S. Geological Survey recently released a $2.2-million study of county water supplies which still left many questions unanswered.
Stick around; the rest of the story may be printed in the next decade.