New Jersey Nightly News; 01/22/1980

With Cameron and with sports. Good evening. The Newark school system has more than two and a half million dollars left over from the last school year budget that according to an audit report scheduled to be released at a school board meeting tonight. Word of that budget surplus comes just one year after the Newark school system cut back programs and laid off more than a thousand employees claiming there was no money. Sandra Cantu has more on the story. January 1979 Newark schools were in chaos as they face the loss of eleven hundred workers and the disruption continued for months as teachers threatened to strike. There were protests from parents to cries against the program cuts ranging from the elimination of art and music to the actual shortening of Newark school day. And it was all done in the name of short money. Even after the city came through with an extra six million dollars in funds school officials pointed to a multimillion dollar budget gap. Layoffs and program cuts they said were the

only way out. But today school superintendent Alonzo patrols admitted that an independent audit paints a different picture for the tune of more than two and a half million dollars plus the trail's disputes that figure saying the surplus is only one point six million. And whether he or the auditor's are right the superintendent still defends the cuts in staff and programs that he made last year. We didn't do that with every penny and not lay off some of the people that we could with Clearly we could not have. All of those. People. If we had not made that love. The question would be what about this school board president calls the trail's irresponsible accusing the superintendent of misleading School Board staff and parents. He claims on the one hand that this year he has a surplus because of. Good. Management. If that's in fact the case we might as well have planned for good

management in this school year and not have to have cuts at all. If there was going to be a surplus then clearly there was no need to make the cuts. At that point in the school year the entire school program was disrupted. We could engage additional analysis with a demand of the school kept employees on kept the programs intact. The showdown should come at tonight's board meeting. Sharif says patrols will have to answer to the board and to the people of Newark in Newark. I'm Sandra King and the 6 million dollar budget deficit and possess that county is forced the layoff of nearly 20 percent of all that county's workers. The first phase of the massive layoff program has already been implemented and when it's all over sometime in March as many as 400 of the county's twelve hundred employees will be out of work. Nearly all departments are affected. The layoffs include everyone from clerk typist to administrators. However officials claim no vital services will be severely curtailed. Among those scheduled to be let go is to Reims soups of Coffee County purchasing official who currently faces

deportation proceedings for alleged Nazi war crimes. The Hackensack meadow lands face a grim financial future unless mass transportation is improved soon. That was the word today from state officials who met to discuss Madeleine's development at a summit conference. Raj Wells has more. For years people used to make jokes about the Hackensack meadow lands the area was looked upon as a massive wasteland and a hodgepodge of garbage dumps. But seven years ago the jokes stopped in the Meadowlands Giants stadium was built along with a racetrack. The Hilton Corporation built a high rise hotel and Hart's mountain built a luxury garden apartment complex. More than 280 million dollars was spent on development and 18000 new jobs have been created in the area. But with the development came problems it's the traffic. The area is less than six miles from the Lincoln Tunnel and was congested even before all the development in the last seven years. Today state officials and local business leaders met to map out a plan for the creation of an effective transportation

system to and from the Meadowlands. The basic objective is to bring together representatives of the private sector with representatives of the public sector at all levels local county state as well as the commission. But to map out a strategy of implementation for the change it needs in the future of the Netherlands. The businessmen here say they would like to see existing roads improved to accommodate the crunch of rush hour commuters. The group also plans to lobby bus companies to make more frequent stops in the Meadowlands. And if demand increases Conrail will add more trains that will stop at the recently built Harmon co commuter station. Most of the businessmen to today's conference say the meeting was more than just a planning session. It was more like a survival meeting. Many people doing business here in the Meadowlands say have solutions to the serious Commuter Transportation problems aren't found soon. They're afraid this area could become what it once was. In the Meadowlands. I'm right well the Exxon company impose a $2 limit on

gasoline purchases at eight stations on the Garden State Parkway today. The company is also raising prices by 5 cents a gallon on the highway. A company spokesman said the $2 limit was necessary because Exxon could have run out of gas by January 26 without it. Exxon currently has $3 limits at those stations. And there may be no such thing as a free lunch but come Friday in New Jersey there will be free breakfasts commuters on the Garden State Parkway between Neptune and Newark and Jersey City will be offered free Danish and coffee Friday. It's part of a state plan by a highway officials to encourage commuters to use a bus that runs between the three cities. The energy saving Buch Bus project began two weeks ago but the first day no passenger showed up. So officials added another bus to run an hour later. But then only a couple of people climbed aboard. Hence the free breakfast idea. Fresh from the victory in the Iowa presidential caucus the Carter administration sent one of its own to New Jersey today. Cabinet Secretary Jack Watson met with local officials to make sure they know they have friends in

Washington during this election year. Steve Taylor reports. The official reason for watching this visit was to explain Carter administration policy on small cities and rural areas to the people who govern those areas. But a lot of Watson's time was spent issuing friendly advice to the mayors and freeholders like these suggestions for a shore politician concerned about Beach Preservation. I will get ready you will know. And Watson invited officials to call him at the White House when they get blocked by federal bureaucrats. That's the kind of suggestion that makes friends for the president an important consideration in a state with a presidential primary this June. Governor Byrne who joined watching at a news conference said he thought the president's chances in New Jersey and other primary states were improved by his win yesterday in the Iowa caucus. A victory that Burton called a surprisingly large and.

If true Iowa. If you go do you believe you were going to watch and didn't bring the mayors any specific promises of new money. Just Best wishes from a president running for re-election in Perth Amboy. I'm Steve Taylor. A state appeals court has upheld a six year old subpoena for a reputed organized crime figure. The court said some mon Rizzo Dickov a contact known as Sam the plumber must continue to testify before the state commission of investigation but the Sci. must set up a date for that testimony as quickly as possible. The Cavalcanti had been called before the FBI 17 times since his original subpoena in 1973 but he's only showed up on seven occasions. Recent Published reports say the kava Conti is one of those federal investigators want to question and their new probe of organized crime in New Jersey. Engineers of the Salem nuclear power plant are still trying to locate that small leak of what they call slightly radioactive water. The leak is somewhere in the

holding tank for use of fuel rods. But officials say there is no danger to the public once the leak is found a diver may have to enter the tank to fix it. The leak however is not affecting Salem ones generating power. Members from the Clean Water Action Project invited reporters today to visit the ADA Zee resource recovery company in New Brunswick. More than a thousand barrels of chemical waste have been dumped there. Many of those drums are leaking posing a possible health danger. It was the clean water action project that first called attention to the situation in January 1979. So today the group cut a cake and celebrated what it called the first anniversary of that January event claiming nothing has changed at the chemical site except maybe for the worst. There are 30 individual private wells within this area within a half a mile of the site and we're concerned about potential contamination of those wells. The state has conducted no tests of those wells to the state.

State environmental officials claim however some of the chemical dangerous chemicals have been removed and more will be taken out when money becomes available. And tomorrow Governor Brewer meets with a special commission on hazardous waste. We plan a report on that and a closer look at the whole hazardous waste problem in New Jersey. Now here's the weather forecast for the state tonight will have partly cloudy skies with a chance of snow flurries toward morning. Low temperatures will be in the mid 20s to near 30 throughout the state. Tomorrow it will be partly sunny and windy with a chance of flurries. Temperatures will be in the upper 20s to low 30s and the outlook for Thursday partly sunny windy and cold. This is farmer's week in New Jersey as declared by the State Department of Agriculture.

It's a way to not only to honor the state's food producers but also to highlight their problems. We have a series of reports tonight on the New Jersey farmer beginning with Matt ahead who's been attending the statewide farmer's week conference in Cherry Hill. Whether migrant workers strike inflation pesticides energy and the list of problems of New Jersey farmers goes on and on. At the conventions work session today farmers and state officials exchange ask questions and try to come up with solutions to some of those concerns. But the issue that got the most attention centered around the right to farm according to the farmers their job is to produce food. And when it's a power they start harassing them about noise odor chemicals and how many cows can graze on an acre. Their rights are threatened. Well if you're going to stay you have to spray when the bugs are there. You can't schedule your spray to spray two weeks from now. You need to do that job when the problem is there in order to produce these crops efficiently and at the price of consumers.

In the supermarket we have to do these jobs and provide a good quality product. The farmers agree they are not against protecting the environment but forcing them to comply with overly strict regulations puts them at an economic disadvantage with farmers in other states. Tomorrow morning when day four of the convention convenes the first order of business will be an address by Governor Burton some of the farmers say they've got a lot to talk to him about and they sure hope they get the chance in Cherry Hill. I'm can't man a hand. And besides listening to farmers at the conference we also spend some time on New Jersey farms taking a closer look at where the state's farmer is today and where he may be heading. New Jersey agriculture statistics paint a rosy picture of 100 more farms in 1080 than in 1979 the first such increase since 1944. But as often is the case statistics don't tell the whole story. Experts say the increase in the number of farms is due to

inflation and to a change in the definition of just what constitutes a farm today anyone who produces and sells at least $1000 worth of products is counted as a farmer and that number counts a lot of part time as well as full time farmers. Therefore any estimate of the average farm income would be distorted by low incomes of part time farmers. Yet in 1978 alone New Jersey farmers sold more than one million dollars in products each and every day. Many of those products came from a lot of very small under 50 acre farms and a lot of very large over 150 acre farms at the expense of the mid-size New Jersey farm and farm land is so expensive today that many farmers are forced to rent rather than own a good portion of the land they farm. That trend is likely to continue but it's not the only change the 1980s will bring. New Jersey's nickname of the Garden State could someday be replaced by the grain state reflecting a change in what the New Jersey farmer plants and harvest.

Today one third of the state's harvest of crop land is in soybeans and grain. That's four times the amount grown 10 years ago. This by no means is the end of New Jersey vegetable or dairy farmer but grain is more mechanized and less labor intensive than dairy or vegetable farming. And the UN availability and rising cost of labor have made grain farming more attractive and profitable at least until the Russian grain embargo alert the mills are not taking any more corn right now when the prices drop at least 40 cents a bushel. And how long this will hold we do not know. The cost of production the price of fuel has risen so. That 40 cents. Could be the breaking point but Jersey Farmer George Miller didn't break when others got out of poultry farming. Instead he stayed what farmers used to great farming more than one thing dairy grain and poultry sticking with the poultry business some experts say may be a wise move. The energy crisis may make egg

farming in New Jersey profitable once again. Shipping costs from the south are expected to rise and New Jersey is strategically located within a 250 mile radius of 60 million people may pick up the slack. Yet some New Jersey farmers disagree poultry is a dying business in New Jersey because many forms have been put out because of odor of the Balkans moving in. Taxes have been high the price of grain is. Made the cost to feed. Unbearable pretty there and the cost to the price of eggs per dozen has not changed in the last well 20 years. Acer The farmers are getting now for eggs the same price that eggs were wholesaling for in one thousand fifty three. The industry that's coming into New Jersey and the people that are moving in. There's just. The great demand for housing and. The price of land for foreman. And you just.

Can't take it. And the tax situation too is eliminating the former but the New Jersey farmer has proved to be a hearty source. He survived the big development push of the 50s and 60s that chewed up 40 to 60000 acres of farmland each year. However during the past decade farmers have slowed that land lost to a total of 70000 acres or just 90 farms. Yet the crane is still a menace. I think the challenge immediate challenge is a fuel situation and available land bigger parcels the land for. Farming because for grain with bigger equipment to utilize the fuel. The biggest advantage you need larger fields and these are becoming hard to come to. That's what one farmer sees as the challenge of the 80s. Here with me to discuss the future of farming in New Jersey are Dick Cheney. He's the director of the state of proppant of agricultural division of rural resources and Ernest coaster

Jr. He's a grain and dairy farmer from Ringrose. Welcome gentlemen. Mr. Chelm day what would you outline as some of the major problems facing farmers in the coming decades. The main problems that seem to have emerged out of our convention and farmer's week activity is farmland preservation. The right to farm issue so that a farmer can be permitted to farm and use the best management practices to mint environmental regulations. Adequate credit to farm the support of a million dollars each farmer needs to operate his farm each year. The farm labor problem the need for adequate pesticides of the right kind to control diseases and insects in matter of uniform ordnances at the local level. Needed enabling legislation at the state level marketing problems more direct farmer to consumer marketing and the whole area I think of resource recovery of producing gasohol from corn. Crop Production using waste hot water heater using our biodegradable materials for animal

feeds Minamata lots of them. Mr. Brewster I was at the. Convention briefly this morning and one of the problems that I heard was over regulation by state and local governments. You certainly must have had some kind of experience with overregulation. Oh yes we have one township in our area that has a zoning ordinance that requires a two entries into a field with a concrete 10 foot wide concrete Center which is expensive and the purpose of this is for a fire engine to get in the field there hasn't been a fire in IT fields and they won in a fire engine will be in there for as long as I can think of. Also we have. Limitations on the height of the farm structure silos things like this and the economical way to build a silo is high enough to not short around as a city official a stitch on me. How are you trying to grapple with some of the regulation problems that farmers are facing. We are driving to work with a land grant colleges with the New Jersey AG society with all individuals that are interested in this problem to try to bring

some practical Miss into the rules and regulations as they are written rewriting them where necessary in particular in terms of their influence me trying to encourage those who have unfortunate responsibility to enforce them in a realistic way so that a farmer is able to follow the best management practices or follow the latest state of the art in carrying out his farming operation. And that's a big task. Mr coaster despite some of the problems there seem to be some places farmers are still generally optimistic I found. Apparently even with the energy. Costs high energy costs that can. In part be a boon to New Jersey farmers because you're surrounded by good healthy markets and there's a good healthy market right here in St.. Being right on top of the most. Viable market in the country. We should have a good chance to market our commodity here in the area. For instance a lot of cabbage coming in from California the low cost bus and fifteen hundred dollars in fuel transportation costs are fifteen hundred dollars. So the transportation costs now are getting to the point where they're all

setting the price of production. Also we're having in the West they're having water. Problems and we'll be able to produce food even though they don't have water up there so I think New Jersey didn't have a good situation to produce food stuff for the. Local metropolitan area at a reasonable cost. This generally farmland preservation The first thing you mentioned was also a big item. Where does that stand. The department is in the midst of a study now implementing yes 49 to 5 which legislation was signed by the governor on October 31 in which we will be trying to develop a plan of action to preserve farmland in this state. In essence doing the research behind the various techniques that localities can use and preserving the maximum number of acres possible. This will require a great deal of study. And I'm sure some state and they'll be able in legislation as well as perhaps establishing a model ordinances so that again farmers can follow the best management practices. If we do these things we can make a profit in agriculture in New Jersey.

Thank you very much both of you. Then Jersey jams talk about the future teams a future that in other sports news in just a moment. Bill Perry is still on vacation so Trista Gaspar is here again with sports Trish thank you carrying the New Jersey Gems how the news conference today to announce the signing of a new player and a change in plane flights. A team which is now 10 and 11 seen as a sort

of Fresh start of the middle of the season and Bill Mullen has more. What is the future of women's professional basketball. That question is on the minds of players coaches and owners alike. This is a particularly rocky time for the league with two teams folding within the past month. But the New Jersey Gems are apparently not a part of that negative trend. They saw the number one draft choice will be in Harrah's out of Washington. In addition the gems are planning a major move a move they hope will boost sagging attendance figures. The new site at least for the time being is the county college of Morris and Dover Jem's president Bob Milo believes this will be quite a help for the team. We're looking at Mars Karalee as a viable site right now. I like Morris County of course I'm from Mars Kerry so I guess I'm a little biased. We're going to try it out this Saturday night with a New York story. See where we go when tested in perhaps next year. People are quite skeptical about the future.

What are your feelings about that. We were never promised a franchise or backyard and that's what we're doing. We believe in our players are superstars and we believe that the people will back up the organization we are the first time professional sports northwest in Morris County. I'm in college wrestling now. One also has everything. They vice and Howard have what every coach wants a national title in only three years of coaching he had 9 all-Americans and last year he led a Trenton State squad to a 15 NL record and a national championship. They realized every coaches

dream early in his career so what's next. You've got a remote of it yourself you know I'd set a goal of the National Championship for Trenton for myself and. And we we probably got a little earlier than I ever expected it in that that was some breaks with some transfers and stuff like that now. Fortunately in Division 3 No one's ever won the tournament twice are back to back on. I've just set my goal that we want to be the first team never do it. One reason Trent state wrestlers are so successful is because it's usually a family affair co-captain Brit mock learned from his brothers both for high school and college champs and Burgess followed their lead last year he was the national runner up in his weight class. Do you think that every way that is a big advantage to have your family in the same sport. Oh no doubt of it pass it of as you like the ball the littler and I have this they'll beat me up you know I mean they still take you still hang with me you know you know I get tense $1000 still they're great supporters and they they're like that and that's sports.

Karen thank you for this. Once again our top stories tonight the Newark school district which slashed spending last year has more than a two and a half million dollar budget surplus that according to an audit to be released at the school board's meeting tonight and several hundred New Jersey farmers have gathered is done to discuss mutual problems during the state's annual farmers week convention in Cherry Hill. And that's the news for Trista Gasper as I'm Karen Stone. Good night for the New Jersey nightly news. New Jersey Nightly News is a joint presentation of New Jersey Public Television and. The program is broadcast weeknights at 6:30 p.m. on Channel 13 and at 7:30 PM on New Jersey Public Television.