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Vol. 4 – No. 44 ♦
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FR EE
July 18, 2020 – July 24, 2020
BLOWING THE LID OFF
Amy Kennedy Rallies 2nd District Dems in Hopes of Ousting Van Drew from House Party Unites Behind Wife of Ex-Congressman After Win Over Favored Rival By Bill Bonvie Staff Writer
Photo By Borough of Medford Lakes
Piles of cardboard boxes are placed in front of overflowing recycling containers on May 26 prior to the Borough of Medford Lakes installing lid restraints on the containers.
Past Councilman Spars with Town Manager Over Lid Restraints on Recycling Containers, Revealing Previous Recycling Can Theft Case That the Accused Says Was Political Payback By Douglas D. Melegari Staff Writer
MEDFORD LAKES—The placement of bars last month over the lids of recycling containers at a Burlington County recycling drop-off site within the Medford Lakes Borough Department of Public Works’ yard so that the lids can only be opened by a maximum of 5 inches, forcing residents to abide by a cardboard recycling policy stipulating that all cardboard must be broken down and flattened before being placed in the containers, has resulted in public wrangling in recent days between the municipality’s administrator and a former councilman. Joseph Aromando, a 31-year borough resident who has attempted some 12 times within the last decade to regain a seat on council after a 2002 defeat, and often questions the policy-making body’s decisions, even sometimes getting into heated arguments, has “bombarded” borough officials over the past two weeks in a series of postings in area social media groups over the new policy, and has even ridiculed the municipality’s residents, asking why they allow themselves to be “subjugated by local officials.” Aromando’s chiding of the residents came as many of them defended the municipality’s decision, contending that whole boxes waste space inside the containers, and that the lid
restraints are not nearly as important of an issue compared recent world events—though the former councilman’s postings have drawn dozens of comments and brought a number of issues to light, including a theft case that the accused contends was political payback. “They (officials) know that they can get away with this stuff because the people of Medford Lakes fall into three categories: The Kool Aid drinkers who blindly support everything local officials do without question; the chronically apathetic who never vote and don’t care about anything that doesn’t affect them directly; or the sheep who mindlessly accept and follow anything they are told and like it,” Aromando wrote. “Anyone who doesn’t fall into one of these categories is labeled by our town officials and their supporters as ‘rabble-rousers’ and ‘agitators’ that do not deserve to be called a ‘Laker.’” Aromando, on July 5, shared in the Facebook groups a YouTube video created and posted June 19 by the borough introducing residents to the “new dumping procedure for cardboard,” with one man seen in it demonstrating how to insert the cardboard into the containers with the new lid restraints in place. “The lids are locked,” said a man narrating the video, who this newspaper later learned is the borough’s supervisor of Public Works.
“They will only open to 5 inches. Please flatten boxes. Lift lid—slide box in—close lid. Thank-you. And please don’t put any boxes outside the dumpsters.” Aromando, as he shared the video, in response to its contents, asked, “Is this real?” “Whoever came up with this plan does not care much about recycling, and they certainly do not like people very much,” he wrote. “Has anyone taken a ride past the recycling drop off today? A real mess. Please stop this madness.” Borough Manager Dr. Robert Burton, also a former mayor of and resident of Medford Lakes, in response to a comment from Aromando quipping “tell me this is better than before,” posted photographs of the recycling center purportedly from both May 26 and July 5 so that residents could compare whether the new policy had any positive impact. The photograph purportedly from May 26 depicted huge piles of cardboard boxes placed in front of overflowing recycling containers, with some of the boxes placed in the containers preventing the lids from closing, whereas the other purportedly from July 5 showed far fewer boxes, but still some, placed mostly along the sides of the recycling containers, and the lids of those containers closed.
M AYS L A N DI NG — I n b o t h s t yle and substance, the online campaigns of Democrat-t u r ned-Republican 2nd Cong ressional Dist r ict Rep. Jeff Van D r e w o f D e n n i s To w n s h i p , C a p e May C ou nt y, a nd h is newly m i nt e d Democr at ic r ival, A my Ken nedy, a n Atlantic City native who currently resides in Brigantine, couldn’t be more different. But then, this particular contest—one that has also had a direct impact on the 3rd Congressional District race—is anything but politics as usual, and its outcome will likely resonate well beyond South Jersey. That’s partly because it’s a rare occasion when a member of Congress opts to change parties in mid-stream, as Van Drew famously did after becoming one of only two members of the House to decline to vote in favor of impeaching President Donald J. Trump back in January. The other factor that makes this competition so noteworthy is the last name of the challenger. Kennedy, married a decade ago to the late Sen. Ted Kennedy’s youngest son, Patrick, who served eight terms as a U.S. representative from Rhode Island before declining to run again in 2010. Amy Kennedy, who was endorsed by Democratic Governor Phil Murphy, also has already achieved the distinction of having definitively defeated another female Democratic contender, Brigid Callahan Harrison, who was the choice of the South Jersey Democratic party establishment and its power broker, George E. Norcross III. Harrison, a political science professor, posted a YouTube concession video on the night of the primary calling on all Democrats to get behind her now-former rival in ousting Van Drew in November. “Tonight, after a primary that has been tough for all of us, we stand together,” Harrison declared in that video. Kennedy’s primary win has also been hailed as a victory for the progressive wing of the party. “Activists and voters in South Jersey just knocked the most powerful and reactionary political machine in America flat on its back, and New Jersey will never be the same,” said Sue Altman, the head of NJ Working
See LID/ Page 8
See KENNEDY/ Page 5
INDEX Business Directory..... 9
Local News................. 2
Pinelands Graduation.... 6
Job Board................. 10
Marketplace...............11
Worship Guide............ 8
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