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Vol. 3 – No. 39 ♦
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FR
EE
May 25, 2019 – May 31, 2019
Environmentalists Praise Selection of New Chair for Pinelands Panel
Photo By Ryan Marchese
Jeffrey Bonicky, who resigned as a member of the Pinelands Regional Board of Education.
Richard Prickett Named by Governor Murphy to Replace Sean Earlen
By Bill Bonvie Staff Writer
‘SO WITH THAT, GOOD NIGHT’
Pinelands Regional BOE Member Quits During Meeting,Claiming His Effectiveness Was at an End After 15 Years; Resignation Follows Hiring of New High-School Principal By Bill Bonvie Staff Writer
LITTLE EGG HARBOR—While the hiring of a new principal for Pinelands Regional High School may have been the most significant item on the agenda of a May 15 Pinelands Regional Board of Education meeting, it was the unanticipated and sudden departure of a long-time member of the board that ended up getting the most attention. Troy Henderson, the current principal of Little Egg Harbor Township School District’s Frog Pond Elementary School, was quickly hired to replace Shaun Banin, whose resignation had been accepted at the board’s latest meeting on April 29.
The meeting, which had begun with an evacuation caused by the sounding of a fire alarm (that was subsequently explained as a “test”), took an unforeseen and somewhat startling turn when Jeffrey Bonicky, a board member who had long represented Little Egg Harbor in the four-town district, announced that he was quitting his post. He then abruptly walked out the back door of the junior high school media center before the meeting had ended. Prior to exiting, however, Bonicky, who was the only board member to have voted against Henderson’s hiring (another board member having abstained), offered a brief explanation to his colleagues that he felt he could no longer play a meaningful role
on the board. He then proceeded to pass down to Board President Susan Ernst what he said was a letter of resignation that would take effect immediately upon being received. “It has come to a point in my time serving this board—I’ve done it for 14 or 15 years...that I feel that my effectiveness is no longer effective,” stated Bonicky, referring to unspecified “decisions and recommendations” that were apparently behind his decision. “I hope this board can make future decisions based on the students’ best interests, continue to celebrate our staff, our teachers and See NIGHT/ Page 26
TRENTON—Richard Prickett, who has been a member of the New Jersey Pinelands Commission for the past seven years, has been named as its new chair by Democratic Governor Phil Murphy, replacing Sean Earlen, a Burlington County appointee who was named to head the 15-member panel back in 2016 by Murphy’s predecessor, Republican Gov. Chris Christie. Murphy called Prickett, who was also appointed to the commission by Christie back in January 2012, “an exceptional individual to serve in this critical leadership position,” citing both his experience serving on the commission and his extensive background in environmental science. The choice of Prickett to head the commission was widely hailed by state environmentalists, who have been vocally opposed to Earlen and the direction in which he was taking the commission. Particular criticism was directed at Earlen, who currently heads the Burlington County Republican Committee, in regard to his approval of two natural-gas pipelines that would traverse the northern and southern ends of the region. His removal was called for by some 5,000 signers of a petition delivered to the governor last October. See PANEL/ Page 25
INDEX Calendar Preview................ 5 Dental Column................... 13 Health................................ 13 Here's My Card.................. 18 Hobbyist............................ 17
Jobs................................... 22 Senior Column................... 10 Leo the Lion....................... 24 Scanner............................... 8 Local News.......................... 4 Worship Directory.............. 11 Marketplace....................... 21 Opinion................................ 9
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