Hamilton Post
JUNE 2019
Heads of the class
COMMUNITYNEWS.ORG
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Conspiracy or crime? Prosecutor, council say 329 shelter animals euthanized prematurely; Mayor alleges charges are political scheme By RoB Anthes ranthes@communitynews.org After nearly a year of simmering, a controversy surrounding the Hamilton Animal Shelter finally boiled over last month, amplifying an already tense political atmosphere in the township and sending Mayor Kelly Yaede on a defensive campaign weeks before the first primary election of her career. Behind all the political intrigue and finger pointing, though, is a real issue.
No one—not even Yaede— denies that animals died and laws were broken at the Hamilton Animal Shelter and, because of this, people could go to jail. On May 3, the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office announced township officials Jeff Plunkett and Todd Bencivengo each had been charged with two counts of third-degree animal cruelty and one count of second-degree official misconduct. The MCPO said its investigation revealed that in a 34-month period between Jan. 1, 2016 and Oct. 1, 2018, staff at the Hamilton animal shelter had euthanized nearly 330 animals before holding them at least seven days, the minimum number required by state law. Both men have long ties to Hamilton’s municipal government. Bencivengo retired in March after serving for years
as the supervisor of the Hamilton Township Animal Shelter. Plunkett works as the Hamilton Township health officer and the director of the township Department of Health, Recreation, Senior and Veterans Services. Plunkett has served as township health officer since 1995 and as the head of the recreation department since 2016. The animal shelter falls under the township health department. Then, on May 7, an investigative subcommittee led by Republican councilwoman Ileana Schirmer and Democratic councilman Rick Tighe released a 43-page report on the shelter that depicted a facility run haphazardly, without rules or oversight. This lackadaisical approach, the report suggests, allowed animals to be euthanized in an inhumane and occasionally illegal manner. See SHELTER, Page 12
Wild campaign nears end Three of four races contested in June 4 municipal primary By PhiliP seAn cURRAn
The Class of 2019 at Hamilton’s three public high schools—including the Top 10 seniors featured starting on Page 24—will graduate June 19, 2019. Steinert High kicks things off 3 p.m. at Cure Insurance Arena, with Nottingham following at 7 p.m. Hamilton West’s fesitivities are 7 p.m. at the Trenton War Memorial.
Hamilton Township voters will have an unusually full slate of candidates to pick from when they go to the polls for the primary election Tuesday, June 4. On the Republican side, there are challengers in both the mayoral and council races, with incumbent mayor Kelly Yaede facing off against David Henderson for mayor. At the council level, five candidates— Bill Argust, Rich Balgowan, Vinnie Capodanno, Tony Celentano and Cynthia Simon—run-
ning for two ballot slots in the general election. Things are slightly cleaner on the Democratic side, where township council president Jeff Martin runs unopposed for the party’s mayoral nomination. Three candidates— JoAnne Bruno, Pat Papero and Nancy Phillips—seek the two Democratic nods for township council. But the names are only part of the story in what is turning out to be a wild campaign season in Hamilton. *** Hamilton Mayor Kelly Yaede faces two challengers, one on her political right and the other on her left, if she wants to keep the job she has held since
November 2012. Her first test will be against fellow Republican David Henderson, a former supporter turned adversary, in the primary. If she wins that, Democratic council president Jeffrey Martin will be waiting for her in the general election in November. Yaede, 50, has built her political resume one step at a time: a member of the Hamilton Board of Education, later a Hamilton councilwoman and then the first female mayor of the ninth largest community in the state. During that time, she had to overcome invisible obstacles, like being told the community would never elect a woman, she See PRIMARY, Page 16
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