Hamilton Hamilton PPost ost
NOVEMBER 2020
COMMUNITYNEWS.ORG
Loss of a legend
Township purchases vacant strip mall
Athletic icon Chuck Giambelluca dies at 77 of COVID-19
Council approves $700,000 bid for Whitehorse Plaza
By Rich Fisher
The voice was unmistakable. Deep, slightly nasally, and loud. Boy, was it loud. But that’s good, because everyone wanted to hear what that voice had to say, whether they agreed with it or not. As the center of attention at Fred & Pete’s Deli, Broad Street Diner, the backroom of Mercer Locker Room sporting goods store or in the Broad Street Park dugout, Chuck Giambelluca could be heard. “Oh yeah,” Tinker Johnson, who played for and coached with Giambelluca on BSP, said with a laugh. “You knew he was there. And he wanted you to know he was there!” Sadly, he is there no longer. The voice has been silenced way too soon for anyone who knew him. Giambelluca, an A-list celebrity in Hamilton Township and Mercer County athletic circles, was claimed by COVID-19 on Oct. 9 at the age of 77. “He was simply the best there was,” stated Rider pitching coach Mike Petrowski, the only man besides Giambelluca to manage Post 313 to a New Jersey American Legion state championship. “He molded and changed so many lives.” Giambelluca is most famously associated with Broad Street Park, which he managed from 1970 to 2005 See CHUCK, Page 10
FREE
By ROb AnThes
Hamilton Township fire chief Richard Kraemer gives Mayor Jeff Martin a fist bump during a ceremony Oct. 13, 2020 to mark the dissolution of the township’s nine fire districts and the formation of a single fire division. The change takes effect Jan. 1, 2021.
Their courage Closer to andconsolidation compassion Mayor signs inspire us all. paperwork to form
idation will save the township Board previously approved roughly $1.5 million a year, the fire service consolidation on Sept. 9 by a unanimous Martin said. vote. Council approved the “We are going full steam single fire division ordinances by a unanimous for aJanuary 1,”written Martinin chalk Oneahead morning, message appeared vote Oct. 6. said. in front of an RWJBarnabas Health facility. The words Martin also signed MemUnder the current strucBy ROb AnThes couldn’t been simpler, or more soul stirring, orandums of Agreement ture, have Hamiltonians receive or more accurate. between the Township of fi re service from one of nine, Mayor Jeff Martin signed the paperwork needed to offi- autonomous fire districts. Hamilton and fire unions Firecially consolidate the town- Each of the nine districts fighters Mutual Benevolent five elected Association Locals 84 and 284 ship’s fire districts into the is governed by “Heroes andhere.” have Oct. 13. Hamilton Township Fire Divi- commissioners work Now, all that’s left are sion last month, effective Jan. their own individual budgets. With the signing of the ordi- many formalities and details 1, 2021. nances, all nine districts will that will take a lot of time but After five years of effort, Three words of gratitude and encouragement that there are no expected stum- be consolidated and become aren’t necessarily as contencapture the courage and compassion of health part of a newly formed Ham- tious as the negotiations and bling blocks remaining after workers and across America. procedures To share your that have passed ilton here Township Fire Division Martin gave the OK to the thanks or toby support our Emergency Response Fund, said. already, Martin funded municipal taxes. required ordinances and The next step is coordinaThe Department of Commemorandum of agreements visit rwjbh.org/heroes at a ceremony Oct. 13. Consol- munity Affairs’ Local Finance See FIRE, Page 12
Hamilton Township wants resident input after township council approved the purchase of the long-vacant Whitehorse Plaza Shopping Center. The derelict property at 1750 Whitehorse-Mercerville Road (near the intersection with Klockner Road) formerly was home to businesses like ShopRite, H&R Block, and Radio Shack. It has been vacant for more than 15 years, frustrating many. Former mayor Kelly Yaede, in an September 2019 interview with the Hamilton Post, called the property “the bane of my existence.” But, apparently, Whitehorse Plaza Shopping Center won’t be a bane to the township much longer. Council unanimously voted Oct. 6 to acquire the property for $700,000, and redevelop it for public use. The township says the 8.4-acre property had been appraised at nearly $6.5 million. A township press release said the sale is conditional, pending the township’s due diligence to identify potential or existing environmental contamination. Council appropriated an additional $50,000 for the township’s due diligence and closing costs. The agreement only covers See PLAZA, Page 14
And please, for them, stay home and safe.
See our ads in SIX09 section pgs 4 and 9
See our ad on pg 28
1179 NEWARK, NJ