By CHRISTOPHERSOUTH

Cape May Star and Wave

CAPE MAY COURTHOUSE – The Free MealCenter being set up onRoute 9 in Burleigh has along way to go before itopens, but it was getting ahelping handtoward that goalSaturday.

Many handsactually, asabout 20 peopleeach from BoyScout Troop 79of UpperTownship andthe Church ofLatter DaySaints of JesusChrist in CapeMay Court House were onhand to help with the day’sactivities included land-scaping, painting insideand out, repairing picnictables, putting up vinyl sid-ing on the building, and fix-ing the main sign.

Meanwhile, volunteercarpenters from Local 1743were working inside totransform three rooms intoone large dining room.Douglas Jewell, the cen-ter’s board chairman andonsite manager, said about25 carpenters have donatedtheir time, as haveplumbers and electricians.Jewell said removing thewalls was the only thing forwhich they needed a per-

mit.According to Jewell, the

building they took posses-sion of on March 15 hadbeen empty for two yearsand was a couple of yearsaway from being a tear-down. Jewell said the 4,000square foot building on twoacres of ground was per-

fect for what hewanted to do,but was lackingkitchen equip-ment. Since theproject began,the center hashad about$30,000 worthof kitchene q u i p m e n td o n a t e d ,including arange hood

from the former Tisha’sRestaurant in Cape May.The city of Cape Maydonated the hood. Jewellsaid they need at least onemore 12-foot hood, an icemachine and a dishwasher.

Jewell would also like todo the concrete kitchenfloor in ceramic tile.

“We need about 2,000square feet, but it willcome,” he said.

Jewell is optimistic peo-ple will provide what isneeded to open The FreeMeal Center, but there areongoing needs as well.

“The big thing is money.We are purchasing the

Please see Free, page A7

Christopher South/Cape May Star and Wave

Mr. LCMR paints the town red!Derrick Lutz, above center, turned up the heat at the Mr. LCMR competition at Lower Cape May Regional High School, April 22. Lutz per-formed a lip-sync and dance routine to Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance,” but at the end of the night, Chucky Nagel walked away with the Mr.LCMR crown, as well as being named Mr. Congeniality and winning the talent award. See page A10 for more photos.

Commissionerurges residentsto vote for newmayor in 2013By CHRISTOPHER SOUTH

Cape May Star and Wave

WEST CAPE MAY – In2009 West Cape MayCommissioner RamseyGeyer ran on a slate withincumbents Peter Burke andMayor Pam Kaithern, butafter a nearly a year on thejob, Geyer is no longer seeshimself as being in agree-ment with Kaithern.

In March, Geyer posted acomment after a story on theCape May County Herald’swebsite suggesting peoplenot reelect Kaithern. Thecomment came at the end of apost critical of the way theborough handled a water lossproblem that has cost resi-dents $695,000 over the pastseven years. Geyer, whomade the comments underthe user name “wcm resi-dent,” said Kaithern was thecommon denominator in thelast three administrationswhen the problem occurred.

Please see Mayor, page A2

WEATHER ALMANACBY WAYNE ROOP

APRIL – Normals: 61˚/44˚, 3.58”High Low Precip.

15 72˚ 48˚16 76˚ 50˚ .09”17 66˚ 47˚18 60˚ 43˚19 66˚ 46˚20 68˚ 40˚21 59˚ 44˚ .45”

By CHRISTOPHER SOUTHCape May Star and Wave

CAPE MAY – The City ofCape May filed an action withthe Superior Court of NewJersey seeking a declaratoryjudgment on the referenduminitiated to stop meters frombeing placed on the east endof Beach Avenue.

The city is asking the courtto rule on the validity of thepetition for a referendum,claiming ordinances pertain-ing to traffic and parking arenot subject to referendum.

“We’re asking for a declara-tory judgment,” City SolicitorAnthony Monzo said. “We’renot suing anyone, we’re notasking for damages. We’rejust asking the court to decideif issues of parking and trafficregulations are not subject toreferendum.”

But in a statement from theFriends and Neighbors ofEast Cape May (FAN ECM), agroup formed to fight theplacement of parking metersin a residential portion ofBeach Avenue, the group saidthe petitioners are beingsued.

“They had to find defen-dants. The petition was certi-fied as good, now they need tofind an object to take this tocourt. The defendants are thesupervising committee offive. It’s like choosing any ofthe voters, and they are try-ing to shoehorn these ordi-

nances into the narrowexemptions that exist in thevoter referendum statutes,”James Testa, a FAN ECMspokesman said.

Monzo said the city’s posi-tion in the matter is not justabout east Cape May orBeach Avenue, but the wholeintegrity of traffic and park-ing regulations in the city ofCape May.

“What the city does notwant is to have, through ref-erendum, residents deciding

Please see Judge, page A3

‘We’re not suing anyone, we’re not asking for damages.’–City Solicitor Anthony Monzo

Cape May seeks judgement on referendum

By MARIA ANDY-TETTAMANTI

Special to the Star and Wave

CAPE MAY – Most folks donot truly know my father, GusAndy. Sure, he’s the propri-etor of the La Mer BeachfrontInn, a fixture at city councilmeetings and a die-hard CapeMay denizen for over fourdecades – but to many, thelaconic Greek is an enigma ofsorts. A hard-working her-mit, if you will.And he likes tokeep it thatway. But it’smy wish toshare with youthe very com-plicated puzzlethat is myof ten- ta lkedabout dad.

He was bornC o s t a sAntoniades in1938 in a smalln o r t h e r nGreek villageby the name ofV e l v e n d o .Quaint and rus-tic, Velvendoboasts aromat-ic peach orchards, cafés andsweeping mountain views.Hilly and verdant, the villageis reminiscent of a picturepostcard depicting a sleepyEuropean town. My dad livedin a spacious brick homealongside his parents,Vasiliki and Yioryos and sib-lings Maria, Yiannis andKaterina.

Oftentimes, when my fatherreflects on his childhood, hismain memory is, morosely,

World War II. Like manyfamilies during the war, Nazitroops forced his family out oftheir home leaving them noother choice but to escapetheir beloved country ofGreece. My dad always talksabout this dark period of hislife with saddening storiessuch as, “We had nothing butold salami to eat for days,”and “We didn’t have electric-ity for months” or “My father

had to flee and live in themountains” and “My aunt losther hearing due to a nearbybomb explosion” to“Everything we had wastaken away from us.” Sure, Ifound these accounts infinite-ly annoying as a child butnow I really think highly ofmy dad for having thecourage to live through a life-shattering war – but it wasthe challenges ahead thatreally make me admire him.

In 1951, at the age of 13, myfather and his family movedto Chicago in search of a bet-ter life – the so-calledAmerican Dream. Withoututtering a smidgen ofEnglish, the Antoniades fami-ly was forced to assimilate toentirely new language andculture. Trying hard to makeends meet, my father workedas a dishwasher and his par-ents were janitors. My father

c o n s t a n t l yreminds usthat the entireclan workedlong hoursand struggledfinancially formany years.Adding on totheir strife,his eldest sis-ter Mariapassed awayat the age of 8due to a braintumor. Withc r u s h e dhearts andspirits, thefamily movedto Miami insearch ofw a r m e rw e a t h e r

because his youngest sisterKaterina developed a chroniccold and needed a better cli-mate. Matters were destinedto look brighter.

In Miami, my father attend-ed Miami High School andworked as a paperboy.During the summers, hisfamily would visit a relativewho owned a cotton candystand in Wildwood. In

Please see Father, page A2

My big, fab Greek father

Cape Ma WaveStar156th YEAR NO. 16 CAPE MAY, N.J. 50¢SERVING AMERICA’S NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK CITY

SPORTSSoftball team beats

Bridgeton twice, B1

George Moore hits two home runs, B1

Cape Storm Rugby inplayoffs, B1

CAPE MAYOLSOS celebratesShakespeare, B8

EVENTSSee local event

listings, A4

INSIDE

4/29 9:17 9:38 3:04 3:05

4/30 10:03 10:23 3:52 3:50

5/1 10:50 11:07 4:40 4:35

5/2 11:37 11:54 5:28 5:21

5/3 12:27 6:18 6:10

5/4 12:43 1:21 7:09 7:04

5/5 1:36 2:20 8:01 8:04 Last Quarter 5/6 New Moon 5/131st Quarter 5/20Full Moon 5/27Apogee 5/6Perigee 5/20

APRIL/MAY 2010T IDE TABLE

HIGH LOWam pm am pm

THURSDAY, April 29, 2010

Parking Metersare on as of

May 1. Feed a meter,save a ticket.

Free Meal Centerreceives local help

Photo courtesy of Maria Andy-TetamantiGus Andy and his ever-expanding family at a family gathering.

The Cape MayStar and Wave

loves your email.☺

cmstarwave@comcast.net

Douglas Jewell, right,talks to a volunteer out-side the The Free MealCenter in Burleigh.