Hamilton Post
AUGUST 2019
COMMUNITYNEWS.ORG
A nose for the job
State says Plunkett ‘grossly failed’
Discovery by trio of Mercer K9 officers leads to largest cocaine seizure in U.S. history
Health officer’s license at stake after DOH investigation
By Michele alPerin Even if 17.5 tons of cocaine represents only a fraction of the illegal drugs flowing through the United States, the 15,582 bricks nosed out by eight K-9 dogs in Philadelphia on June 17 was “the largest cocaine seizure American history,” Robbinsville Police Sgt. Scott Kivet said. Three out of the eight canine handlers and their K-9 dogs who searched out the drugs were from Mercer County— Kivet and Quori, Ewing Police Officer Brittney Fornarotto and Jax, and Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office Detective Sgt. Joe Angarone and Bela. The dogs scoured a large Liberianflagged container ship and pinpointed cocaine with a street value of about $1.1 billion hidden in just seven of thousands of containers on the ship. Other agencies involved in the big bust were Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the U.S. Coast Guard, all under the Department of Homeland Security, as well as state and local law enforcement partners. The three officers got a call to come directly to the port where, Angarone said, the “three football field-long” ship MSC (Mediterranean Shipping Company) Gayane was docked. They were told the containers would be both on and off the See DOGS, Page 12
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By roB anthes ranthes@communitynews.org
The 10U Hamilton Hurricanes finished the season with a 54-5-1 record and a state championship. Pictured are (front) Francesca Castellano, Charlize Taylor, (back) Ellie Miller, Ava Umansky, Kennedy Daferede, Bianca Walsh, Kailyn Prekop, Kelsey Loughlin, Amber Buck, Mckenna Fisher and Ryane Riddell.
Hurricane season
Three Hamilton teams qualify for softball national tournaments By rich Fisher
Two years ago, the Hamilton Girls’ Softball Association decided to have their teams join the United States Specialty Sports Association softball travel program in order to get high caliber competition and to keep its players from straying elsewhere. In doing so, they play teams who draw from a large talent pool that encompasses numerous towns. And then there are the Ham-
ilton 10U Hurricanes, who are as homegrown as it gets. They are one of three Hamilton teams who have made the USSSA National Tournament, and have done so with virtually all township products. Only one lives in Bordentown, and she is a Mercerville School graduate who resided in Hamilton up until a year ago. Before the Nationals in Salisbury, Maryland, on July 17, the Hurricanes had won eight of the 10 tournaments they played since the fall. They finished second in the remaining two. “All the tournaments we played in were competitive except one,” manager Mike Walsh said. “Where we used to play against pretty much nearby
area teams, we are now playing with the top travel teams in the state—the New Jersey Mystics, South Jersey Mystics, Renegades, New Jersey Flights and New Jersey Flames. At least one or two of them were in every tournament we played in.” In Maryland, the Hurricanes finished pool play undefeated, and ended the tournament with a 5-2-1 record. They outscored their opponents, 60-12. The national tournaments are set up like regionals, as there are four held at different sites, but they feature national competition. Hamilton was in the Eastern Nationals, but that includes teams from as far as Utah. To qualify, a squad See HURRICANES, Page 14
The New Jersey Department of Health notified embattled Hamilton Township health officer Jeff Plunkett last month of its intent to revoke his license, citing a failure to ensure safe and sanitary conditions at restaurants and the animal shelter in the township. DOH local public health director Shereen Semple laid out the case against Plunkett across five pages, listing numerous complaints in a July 10, 2019 letter. DOH says Plunkett failed to inspect restaurants annually, and misled the public about the frequency of those inspections. It also alleges that Plunkett never inspected the township animal shelter before issuing its annual license, a charge that has been echoed in several other governmental investigations released in recent months. “The above investigative findings evidence that you grossly failed to discharge your duties as health officer,” Semple wrote, later concluding, “Because the violations are serious and place animals and public health, safety and welfare at risk, the Department intends to revoke your health officer license.” See HEALTH, Page 16
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