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January 19, 2019 – January 25, 2019
Tabernacle Taps Newest Member of Committee to Lead TRS Talks
By Mark Hatoff
For the Pine Barrens Tribune
Photo By Tabernacle Fire Co #1
Deputy Mayor Kim Brown and her husband, Steve Sr. (left).
Photo By Joe Giuliani
Kim Brown is sworn in as deputy mayor of Tabernacle Township.
AN AFFIRMATION OF ENDURING LOVE Swearing-In Ceremony a Poignant Occasion for Deputy Mayor, ALS-Stricken Husband By Mark Hatoff
For the Pine Barrens Tribune
TABERNACLE—Committeewoman Kim Brown had someone special in attendance when she took her oath of office to become Tabernacle’s new deputy mayor at the township's reorganization meeting on Jan. 2—her husband, Steve Sr. While there may be nothing unusual for a loved one to be present when one is sworn in for public office at a committee meeting, this occasion was anything but typical. Since Steve Brown has Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), a progressively degenerative and ultimately fatal nerve
disease, it was a considerable effort for the wheelchair-bound father of four children— with three sons and one daughter—just to leave home to attend the ceremony. Also, due to the outdated and not exactly handicapped-accessible structure of Tabernacle Town Hall, it would have been very difficult for him to join his wife upstairs on the second floor, where the committee meetings are held. The building has no elevator, but rather an old stair lift. So, when Township Solicitor Peter Lange was about to administer her oath of office, Brown asked if her swearing-in could be moved to the downstairs lobby
so that her husband of 36 years and former high-school sweetheart could witness it. “That was probably the most emotional moment that I’ve ever experienced in town hall,” said Mayor Joseph Barton after committee members and some well-wishers had returned to the upstairs meeting room following Brown’s oath. “Thank you, Kim for having your husband here.” Kim Brown, now beginning her 20 th year on the committee, earned a unanimous vote as the township’s new deputy mayor, replacing Stephen Lee IV See LOVE Page 11
TABERNACLE—Newly-minted Tabernacle Township Committeeman Samuel Moore has been tapped to act as a public-safety liaison to Tabernacle Township in the wake of the departure of Public Safety Director Arch Liston, who was the chief negotiator in a failed threemonth attempt to resolve a Tabernacle Rescue Squad (TRS) contract dispute with the township. Liston, who had overseen the ongoing TRS negotiations, left a recently-created public safety director’s post on Jan. 9, after his resignation was approved by the committee on Dec. 27. Moore, a former member of the New Jersey Forest Fire Service was elected in November of 2018. He filled the seat recently vacated by longtime Committeeman Richard Franzen. Moore was chosen for the liaison position during a Jan. 2 Tabernacle Township Committee reorganization meeting, by a 3-1 vote. Committeeman Stephen Lee IV cast the lone dissenting vote. Moore’s appointment to serve as a publicsafety liaison was part of a three-pronged resolution. The resolution was introduced by Joseph Barton, was chosen as mayor for a second consecutive year. Lee also cast the lone dissenting vote on the resolution, also ultimately approved by a 3-1 vote. Lee cast opposition to the measure after asking that the item be postponed until absent Committeeman Joseph Yates IV could be present to consider it. Barton, prior to the approval of the resolution, specifically asked that the committee authorize Moore to work with the TRS and Township Solicitor Peter Lange to resolve the TRS contract dispute. He also asked that Moore help the Tabernacle Fire Company #1, Tabernacle Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) and Tabernacle Rescue Squad to better coordinate their efforts. “I would also like him to help get a fire truck in the Tabernacle Public Safety building,” Barton said. Moore, whose family has been in Tabernacle for seven generations, told the Pine Barrens Tribune that he is very excited to have the opportunity to serve Tabernacle in his first public-office position. “I look forward to doing great things for the town,” said Moore, also a lifelong blueberry/ cranberry farmer who spent over 25 years working with the New Jersey Forest Fire Service until retiring in June 2018. “I felt it would be an honor to serve because I think I have a lot of things to bring to the table. I put a lot of good thought into things. I am a voice of reason and See LEAD Page 10
INDEX Beyond Auto......................19 Health................................12 Local News..........................2 Here's My Card..................14 Marketplace.......................16 Coloring Contest Winners...............................5 Hobbyist............................13 Opinion................................8 Dental Column.....................4 Jobs...................................17 Worship Directory................9
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