June 2, 2018 Pine Barrens Tribune

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Undercut by Underfunding Lakes School District Claims It Was Shorted on State Aid

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Graduate Returns to Steer Alma Mater Shared Superintendent Takes Helm at Pinelands Regional After Facing ‘Confrontation’

By Douglas D. Melegari Staff Writer

LITTLE EGG HARBOR—Dr. Melissa A. McCooley, embarking on her 20th year as an educator, took over the reins of the Pinelands Regional School District (PRSD), the home of the Wildcats, as superintendent this week.

“I cannot express in words how much this opportunity means to me,” said the 1994 district grad. “As a graduate of Pinelands, I have a great deal of pride for the school and community.”

McCooley, who also serves as superintendent of the Little Egg Harbor School District (LEHSD), filled the regional school district’s top leadership position through a shared superintendent agreement that has widespread support— although her appointment was not without a certain degree of controversy.

The PRSD and LEHSD received the go-ahead from the New Jersey Department of Education on May 16 to proceed with the agreement.

The Pinelands Regional Board of Education voted unanimously to enter into the agreement on May 23 and the Little Egg Harbor Board of Education voted 6-1 to carry out the agreement on May 25. Dr. Donald Gross cast the lone dissenting vote “for reasons I have confided to the board attorney.”

“I look at this as trend-setting for South Jersey,” said Susan Ernst, Pinelands Regional Board of Education president, of the agreement. “It is very common in North Jersey, but not so common here.”

The agreement was signed by Ernst and Little Egg Harbor Board of Education President August Daleo during a short ceremony in LEHSD’s Frog Pond Elementary School media center on May 25. The ceremony was part of a special Little Egg Harbor Board of Education meeting.

Daleo, Ernst, and McCooley exchanged hugs and kisses after the signing as several top officials from both school districts looked on—including Dr. Cheryl Stevenson, who had been serving as the regional school district’s interim

Photo By Ryan Marchese

Dr. Melissa A. McCooley.

See RETURN/ Page 15

INDEX Automotive.................... 27

Health............................ 14

Marketplace................... 22

Business Directory........ 20

Hobbyist........................ 19

Opinion...........................11

Community.................... 12

Local News...................... 2

Worship Directory.......... 12

Dental Column............... 17

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More Removal of Asbestos Roofing from Pinelands Regional High Due to Take Place This Summer

By Douglas D. Melegari Staff Writer

BASS R IVER—As highly publicized invasive repairs to the br ick, exter ior windows, curtainwall, and steel of Pinelands Regional High School are set to begin later this month, a less publicized element of the project—but quite a significant one—was discussed at last month’s Bass River Board of Commissioners meeting.

Pinelands Regional Board of Education member Tom “Tommy” Williams (Bass River) appeared before the commissioners and said more asbestos roofing material will be removed from the high school this summer.

“There is still a small portion of roofing that will be coming off—this summer—that is already known as an asbestic-containing material,” he said. “It (the removal) was all figured out in the specs and everything else.”

Careless removal of asbestos-containing roofing material at the high school last fall, including the tossing of the contaminated debris into open-top containers, was followed by instances of contamination, foul odors and illnesses at the site.

The incidents contributed to an emergency closure of the high school from October of last year to January of this year.

Fallout over the way last year’s roof work was managed has led to a series of

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resignations, calls for an investigation and litigation.

Williams assured the commissioners and residents attending the meeting that there will not be a repeat of the carelessness.

“It (the roofing) will be taken off properly and disposed of properly,” he said.

Williams reiterated a previous school board announcement that New Roads Construction, a firm contracted by the board to oversee all district construction, has been replaced with Epic Construction.

“We now have Epic,” he said. “Now, for the other firm—we entered into an agreement for them to part ways with us. We have hired a new construction firm.”

Williams, in a later interview in the parking lot of the Bass River Municipal Building, provided more specific details about the upcoming roof work.

“The small portion of roofing that will be coming off is over the front hallway of Pinelands High School,” he said. “The area of roofing to be removed is about 40 to 50 feet in length.”

Williams st ressed repeatedly in the interview that the “removal will be done right.”

The board of education member, who is also the chair of an ad hoc committee that is See ROOFING/ Page 16

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Borough Council Honors Four in Man's Rescue From Icy Lake

By Mark Hatoff

For the Pine Barrens Tribune

MEDFORD LAKES—When Jeffrey Reis heard his neighbor scream for help this past New Years’ Eve after falling through the ice of Lower Aetna Lake in Medford Lakes Borough, he immediately reacted without a second thought.

The 27-year-old lifelong Medford Lakes resident rescued the man in his 40s with the help of his cousin, Shannon Skinner, and neighbors Casey Reed and Steven Heicklen, saving the man’s life.

In recognition of their heroism, the four received a proclamation from the Medford Lakes Borough Council at a recent meeting.

“From a councilman’s point of view, I couldn’t be prouder of what these four individuals did,” said Councilman Dr. Gary Miller. “They all went the extra mile and risked their own safety to help.”

Reis, a Life Scout (the second highest honor in Scouting), was skating with his cousins and nephew when he heard the man’s cries for help.

“I remember seeing him working on the

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ice and 10 minutes later, I heard him scream out,” Reis said. “All of a sudden, he was gone.

I started racing over there. Steven grabbed a kayak to prevent himself from falling through the ice when he helped grab him.

Casey brought a stretch ladder.”

The man was in the icy water up to his neck before his rescuers reached him.

“You go through shock when you’re in freezing water,” Reis said. “If we were a minute later in getting him out, he probably wouldn’t have made it due to hypothermia.”

Reis said that after removing the man from the water with the help of the ladder, he and Skinner carried him to the back door of his home, where the victim’s mother, a nurse tended to him.

Reis added that he returned to the victim’s home about 90 minutes later to check in on him and found that he had largely recovered from the ordeal.

“The proclamation was a surprise,” Reis said. “(The council) didn’t need to do that.

Just a handshake would have been fine. If I saw something like that happen again, I would do the same thing.”

Southampton Incumbents Spar Over Past Votes on Budget and Ahern Building

By Douglas D. Melegari Staff Writer

SOUTHAMPTON—Four Republicans vying for two seats on the Southampton Township Committee have spent the final days ahead of a June 5 primary explaining their past accomplishments and outlining their priorities for Southampton over the next three years, with two incumbents clashing over past votes.

The four men running in the Southampton Republican primary are James Bryan, Ronald Heston, William Raftery and Ken Sullivan.

Br yan and Rafter y have received the endorsement of the Burlington County Republican Committee and are r unning together as a ticket in Column One on the ballot.

Heston and Sullivan have also formed a ticket, urging residents to vote “Column Four for the Future of Southampton.”

Heston and Raftery, while not running together, are incumbents.

“I believe I a m a lot more fiscally conservative than Ron is, if you take a look at our voting records,” said Raftery, who is also Southampton’s deputy mayor.

Raftery pointed to a township committee vote on a 2017 municipal budget that he believed showed the differences of opinion the two men have on fiscal matters—particularly taxes.

The 2017 budget adopted by the committee last April by a 4-1 vote imposed a 1.5 cent local-purpose tax increase to generate revenue to pay for a local road program. Raftery cast the lone dissenting vote.

“If you take a look at the voting record, I thought the township’s surplus should have been returned to the taxpayers,” he said of a $1.2 million surplus the township had at the time the vote was cast.

T h e c o m m it t e e o p t e d t o t a ke t h e mu n icipalit y’s su r plus dow n to about $650,000 last year. However, the surplus would have needed to have been dropped to

around $500,000 to avoid an increase in taxes.

Heston, at the time, said municipalities that have bragged about not raising taxes for several years in a row often find themselves in trouble and then implement a large local purpose tax increase.

He said the committee implementing small, incremental increases in taxes that the residents can budget for won’t put residents in a precarious situation.

“I don’t think we want to be in a position where it catches up to us because we were too thrifty to add a half of a penny that adds up to $7 a year additional,” said Heston last year, who was of the belief that if the township drained a significant portion of its surplus, it might not have any room for maneuverability for emergency expenditures. “A budget is a guess. I think we have to guess on the safe side.”

A campaign literature piece provided by the Heston and Sullivan campaign says that during the past five years, Heston has “helped maintain one of the lowest tax rates in Burlington County.”

“This year, there is a zero (percent) increase in your local purpose tax,” the piece said of the township committee’s unanimous decision on a 2018 municipal budget.

Raftery said both he and Heston did vote to keep the local purpose tax flat this year, but that Heston’s 2013 vote in favor of the municipality acquiring a for mer Aher n building site on Route 206 in Southampton for $1.3 million further shows the differing viewpoints the two men have on fiscal conservatism.

The purchase, also which won approval from the other township committee members serving in 2013, before Raftery’s committee involvement, was authorized so that the municipality could permanently relocate its municipal offices and Public Works Department to the site.

However, the Public Works Department was See VOTES Page 24

Stalemate Over Rescue Squad Cut Delays Tabernacle Budget Passage Broadband Approvals Expected to Expedite Internet Access

By Mark Hatoff

For the Pine Barrens Tribune

TABERNACLE—An objection to a largerthan-expected proposed cut to a Tabernacle Rescue Squad (TRS) contribution is delaying approval of Tabernacle’s 2018 municipal budget.

The budget figure, as currently proposed, would include a $23,000 cut to the township’s TRS contribution instead of the $5,000 cut originally contimplated. The revision has resulted in a public hearing on the budget being voted down by Kimberley Brown, one of only three (of five) committee members present for the latest Tabernacle Township Committee meeting.

The stalemate over the budget reduction came about following an April 23 discussion of ways to avoid a tax increase.

At the earlier meeting, it was suggested that the original $4,377,562 budget could be reduced by cutting capital-improvement expenditures by $35,000, workman’s comp/ rescue squad insurance by $10,000, trash collection by $5,000, buildings and grounds

maintenance by $10,000, fire company contributions by another $10,000 and rescue squad contribution by $5,000. These cuts would have made for a total reduction of $75,000, which should have resulted in a new budget figure of $4,302,562.

However, the new proposed budget figure increases TRS’s cut in aid from $12,000 to $35,000. The TRS received $27,000 in aid as part of the 2017 budget.

Brown was not pleased by this revision, saying “this cut could result in the possibility of the squad having to balance bill residents.”

“What happens if the balance billing is higher, which we won’t know until the end of the year?” she asked. “How do we cover it?”

Township Solicitor Peter Lange said the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) opinion requires that the township provide roughly the amount of support that equals the balance billing.

He said that if the township contributes indirectly to the squad (which it does), then See BUDGET/ Page 17

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Pemberton Street Repaving Expected To Begin This Summer

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By Dominick Cella Staff Writer

PEMBERTON BOROUGH—Repaving of Pemberton Street is expected to get underway sometime this summer now that potholes on the roadway have been filled, Borough Engineer William Wentzien informed Pemberton Borough Council at its May meeting.

The council also accepted the resignation of Kris Abbondanza, who will be retiring as court administrator after 17 years on July 31.

“We thank her for her service and regret to accept her resignation,” said Mayor Harold Griffin, noting that it will be up to Municipal Judge Krisden McKrink to hire a replacement.

Wentzien, of Abbington Engineering, said base mapping of the repaving project had been completed, its engineering is about 85 percent complete and he anticipates being able to go to bid and start work on the road during the summer months.

“As required, we have been going back and forth with the NJDOT and have had no major hiccups,” he said.

“There is a trough going down the middle of the street which hasn’t been paved in several years,” said Griffin, who added that curbs adjacent to the road should also be redone as part of the project.

The mayor said he expects nearby Elizabeth Street to be repaved next year by the county, which has it on the list of roads scheduled for repair.

Wentzien also said he expects a demolition estimate for the former Pemberton Borough Middle School building, which closed in 2008, to be submitted by the end of the month. This will allow council to introduce a bond amount at its next meeting.

In other business, council passed resolutions

allowing for two “in rem foreclosures” on a property at 76 Jarvis St. and a vacant lot on Hanover Street.

“This process can take anywhere from six to eight months, after which the properties can be put up for public auction,” Griffin said.

The only resolution during the meeting that was met with resistance was one that was added to the agenda at the last minute that allowed for the hiring of summer public-works employees Jordan Lee and Thomas On. It was passed by a 3-2 vote.

Municipal Clerk Donna Mull said the workers will be utilized for basic duties such as mowing grass and painting curbs, but are especially needed to complete extra projects this summer, such as decorating 96 antique light poles throughout the borough with flowers.

T he d issent i ng votes were cast by Councilwomen Norma Ward and Bonnie Haines, who both said they preferred to hire only one summer worker.

Council President Robin Mosher said 11 additional names will be added to the borough’s Honor Roll, a brick memorial with iron placard displays of the names of veterans who have lived in or near the borough.

This will bring the total number of names on the memorial to 360. The memorial is located next to Pemberton United Methodist Church at 42 Hanover St. Council also unanimously approved submissions of low and high bids on a new lawnmower. The bids were $9,181 and $12,0439, respectively.

Borough Council scheduled a special meeting at the Pemberton Borough Municipal Building on June 11 at 6:30 p.m. to further discuss a proposed traffic ordinance introduced at the last special meeting. A regularly scheduled monthly meeting will take place on June 18.

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Medford Lakes School District Claims State Underfunding It

By Mark Hatoff

“Every year, we get close to the fiscal cliff you always hear about, but this year is when it probably hit us the hardest,” Dent said.

“After finding out what our state aid was, we found that our budget was about $600,000 over what it (could) be, and we spent the next couple of months deciding what we could cut. Unfortunately, when you get to a certain level, the only thing that starts making bigger numbers is staff.”

Dent said that the district only brought back a portion of the positions left vacant after some staff members retired or resigned.

The district, he said, also decided to cut all six of its part-time kindergarten assistants, resulting in a $60,000 savings.

“As important as kindergarten is, the assistants are not part of that program now,” he said. “When it comes to what we’re mandated to pay and what we’re not, that was one of the positions that we had to cut in order to make ends meet.”

Dent said that the district saved another $50,000 to $54,000 by not replacing a retired special education teacher.

“We also wanted to hire a full-time Learning Disabilities Teaching Consultant (LDTC) for the Child Study Team, an important role, but we only have the money for a part-time, not full-time position,” he said.

The district also has had to scrap plans to add 100 Chromebooks for its classrooms, which it now can’t afford.

These cuts don’t include what the district has already been doing without for the past five years—a funded sports program.

“We had to eliminate it, so all of our sports have been totally run by parent volunteers and not supported by the district,” said Board

For the Pine Barrens Tribune

MEDFORD LAKES—The Medford Lakes Board of Education approved a resolution calling on the state to provide the district with an amount of funding to which it believes it is “rightfully entitled” at its May 23 meeting.

W hile the resolution was ter med an “Objection to the State of New Jersey’s Funding Formula for Public Education,” it wasn’t the formula itself, but the way it was being applied that has the district crying foul.

The board expressed concern about unfunded and underfunded mandates from the state and federal government and the fact that the district is the fifth most underfunded district in South Jersey, getting only 50 percent of the amount in state aid that it should under the state funding formula, according to Superintendent Anthony Dent.

Dent said that as a result of the situation, certain positions have been curtailed and plans for various programs and technology resources have been put on hold.

Medford Lakes will be receiving $1,281,507 in state aid for the 2018-19 school year.

According to the funding formula cited by Dent, the district should be receiving $2,567,569.

The district’s total budget is $8,569,542.

Dent said that although state aid to the district has actually increased from $1,144,817 in the 2016-17 school year, the amount is inadequate and does not provide for certain needs, such as Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and English as a Second Language (ESL) services.

Since the district is committed to providing these services without interruption, their costs have had to be compensated for in other areas, forcing the district to make some difficult decisions for the upcoming school year.

See UNDERFUNDING/ Page 25

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Real Meaning of Memorial Day Stressed at Medford Ceremony

By Dominick Cella Staff Writer

M EDFOR D —W h i le Me mor ia l D ay Weekend has come to be seen as the unofficial start of summer barbecue and beach-picnic season, Medford Township Mayor Charles “Chuck” Watson made it a point to remind Medford residents of the real meaning of the occasion at Monday’s annual ceremony and parade—as did retired Navy Captain Nile Mills, this year’s grand marshal.

Evoking General Douglas MacArthur’s sentiment that “No man is entitled to the blessings of freedom unless he be vigilant in its preservation,” Watson, speaking on behalf of township leaders, employees and residents, expressed gratitude to “those who serve today and those who served in the past.

“The men and women who choose to serve our country and protect our freedom and liberties deserve our recognition,” said the mayor to an assembled crowd of more than a couple hundred residents. “It is an honor to hold this annual Memorial Day parade in observance of those who have sacrificed the most, and may we always remember freedom isn’t free.”

Mills, a highly decorated 30-year Navy veteran whose citations include a Meritorious Service Medal with gold stars and National Defense Medal with a bronze star, urged those present to “remember these men and women are everyday heroes and make every day a day of remembrance.”

“It was a nice surprise to be asked to be (chosen) grand marshal,” said Mills, who moved to Medford from Denver shortly after 9/11 to do defense-related work and whose deployments have included Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm and short assignments at the Navy Judge Advocate General (JAG) HQ as well as a

stint at the Pentagon under the chief of Naval Operations.

He added that he thought there were “a lot of other current or former service persons that are equally or better qualified” for the honor.

Led by Veterans of Foreign Wars Troop #7677, the parade stepped off from Medford Memorial Middle School at 11 a.m. and followed its traditional route up Mill and Trimble streets and onto Main Street for a half-mile march to township Veterans’ Monuments.

The Shawnee High School Marching Band followed, along with several Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops and members of the Medford Police Department, Medford EMS, Union and Taunton Fire Companies, the Civil Air PatrolAir Victory Museum Composite Squadron and Medford Masonic Lodge #178.

“Historically, Memorial Day began as an opportunity for the nation to remember and recognize the sacrifice of lives lost during the Civil War,” said Mills to those assembled for a wreath-laying ceremony at the monument. “It has since been expanded to recognize the men and women who have paid the ultimate price to maintain the freedoms they fought to protect.”

Among the local and national heroes cited by Mills were Sgt. Steven J. Saluga III, a Medford resident who died in Vietnam; Howard Karg, one of the last American casualties of World War I; Nile Clarke Kinnick, Ensign Jessie L. Brown, the first African-American Navy fighter pilot who gave his life in North Korea during a support mission, and Larry Borschel, a Marine from mills’s high school who was killed in a mortar barrage in Vietnam.

“If I were younger, I’d do it all again,” said Senior Master Sgt. Scott Lambert, former flight engineer in the U.S. Air Force and a commander of the Medford Township Veterans of Foreign Wars for two years, of his experience in combat.

Photos By Dominick Cella

Members of VFW Troop #7677 carry the colors in Medford's Memorial Day Parade.

Fred Hartman, 94, a veteran of Patton's 3rd Army, is recognized for his service.

VFW Troop #7677 gives a 21-gun salute.

The Medford Fire Deptartment displays one of it's 'veteran vehicles'.

JROTC students raise and salute the flag.

Two pups enjoy the Memorial Day parade.

A VFW #7677 wreath.

A Shawnee High School band member plays Taps.

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Pine Barrens Tribune

Defeated Medford Lakes Candidate Says He’ll Call for Nepotism Inquiry

By Mark Hatoff

For the Pine Barrens Tribune

MEDFORD LAKES—While approval of a Medford Lakes 2018 municipal budget was the principal piece of business conducted at Medford Lakes Borough Council’s meeting last week, a shouting match between recently defeated council candidate Joseph Aromando and Mayor Thomas Cranston became the focal point of the meeting.

Aromando, a 29-year borough resident who lost his recent bid for one of the two open Medford Lakes Council seats, and who habitually questions council decisions, initiated the squabble by stating his intention to file an Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request to see if the municipality’s nepotism policy had been violated.

Nepotism refers to the practice among those with power or influence of favoring relatives or friends for positions of employment in the public sector.

Borough Solicitor Douglas Heinold said the borough has an anti-nepotism policy and it is included in its policy manual.

“OPRA states that if a document exists, you have to produce it,” he said. “The best we can do is to produce a document that shows that an employee signed off on (reading) the manual.

I don’t think we’re alone (as a township) in not tracking that policy.”

Clearly not satisfied with this explanation, Aromando continued to voice his objections.

“So, you really have no way of knowing,” he said. “Legally, I think that this is a legitimate issue and the public is entitled to know if someone had received a position or gotten a raise or a promotion because of their relation to somebody.”

After listening to Aromando continually restate his intentions to make an OPRA request, Mayor Thomas Cranston began to prod him for more information.

“Just ask me your specific question,” Cranston said. “You obviously have someone specific in mind. Why can’t you just say the name?”

Aromando declined to go along with the mayor’s request.

“I did ask a specific question,” Aromando said.

He added that he never said Cranston was violating anything.

“Well, right now, I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about,” Cranston shot back, his voice rising. “You come up here and berate and accuse the council members of something week after week. You obviously think some borough employee is related to me. Give me a specific name and I’ll answer you.”

“Your whole council is dirty,” Aromando shouted in response, causing Cranston to bang his gavel and call an end to the meeting.

Earlier in the meeting, council unanimously approved the 2018 budget on second reading.

The budget of $4,926,829, which is $65,649 less than the 2017 budget, still includes a tax increase of $31.50 per average home in the district.

Borough Administrator Dr. Robert Burton indicated he was pleased with the budget and an associated capital plan.

The capital plan has already resulted in the purchase of a new plow, fire vehicle and patrol vehicle, as well as Tabernacle Road fencing and repaving of a bike path there. It has also allowed for road improvements on Pocahontas and See CANDIDATE/ Page 25

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EDITORIAL

Tapped-Out Taxpayers Deserve to Learn Feasibility of Having Shared Superintendent The ultimate success of a shared superintendent between the Little Egg Harbor Board of Education and Pinelands Regional Board of Education is something that we will be monitoring very carefully.

Susan Ernst, Pinelands Regional Board of Education president, said the agreement has the potential to be “trend-setting in South Jersey.”

It certainly does have that potential.

As the nearby Lenape Regional High School District and its sending town elementary districts contend with decreased state funding, greater operating costs and tapped-out taxpayers, it seems reasonable for township officials to at least explore whether such an agreement could be feasible here and investigate this concept further.

Last week, Shamong Township’s mayor called on the Lenape Regional Board of Education to find “3 percent in annual savings” by 2020. We feel reviewing the efficiency of administrative staff and related operations is a good place to start searching for savings.

We wonder if the superintendent of a smaller municipality, and hence smaller school district, such as Medford Lakes or Woodland, can take on the added responsibility of supervising a regional district to save taxpayers some money.

But, we’re cautiously optimistic that a shared-superintendent agreement is an answer to reducing the taxpayer’s burden­—because even a full-time superintendent couldn’t manage the roofing debacle in the Pinelands Regional School District and had to resign.

Guest Commentary submitted to the Pine Barrens Tribune can be submitted by an appointed or elected official, political candidate, organization leader, or community leader. Guest commentary submitted to the Pine Barrens Tribune must include the name, photo, address, affiliation, title, and phone number of the writer.

Commentary may be edited for length, clarity and taste. Due to space limitations, commentary should be about 450 words or less.

Death is Not Just Brought About

By Gun Violence Al Finkelstein, of Medford, and Shannon Watts, of Moms Demand Action, both need to recognize death is not just brought about by gun violence.

Automobiles kill tens of thousands, opioids and other drugs kill tens of thousands, tobacco kills thousands, alcohol kills thousands and Jihad kills tens of thousands.

Also, Finkelstein and Watts should remember that third-world dictatorships kill.

Finkelstein isn't the only American who lost family in Nazi-occupied Europe.

Without the second amendment and firearms, there would be no USA. Sadly, it is people who kill people, not guns.

Do you want to solve the problem of gun violence in American schools? Arm school personnel and make access to a school only possible through one guarded entry and exit point. At least do this for starters.

This Constitutional issue belongs in Trenton and Washington D.C. Keep it there where it belongs, don’t bring it to Medford.

Lance Silver Medford, New Jersey

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Letters submitted to the Pine Barrens Tribune must include the name, address and phone number of the writer. Letters may be edited for length, clarity and taste. Due to space limitations, letters should be 150 words or less. Due to the volume of letters received, we cannot guarantee every one will be printed.

SOCIAL MEDIA

SOUND OFF Please comment on our Facebook and Twitter pages. Twitter: @PineBarrensNews with the hashtag #SoundOff or Facebook: www.facebook.com/pinebarrenstribune.

(Re: Letters To The Editor | Concealed Carry Reciprocity Bill Threatens New Jersey’s Strong, Sensible Gun Legislation) N.J. laws may be strong, but are they sensible? All law-abiding citizens should be able to carry. ~Joe Rattigan

(Re: Letters To The Editor | Concealed Carry Reciprocity Bill Threatens New Jersey’s Strong, Sensible Gun Legislation) Elect the left and they will tell you what to eat, drink, watch, think, and say. Americans are incapable of taking care of themselves. The left will tax bad behavior and limit access to bad ways of thinking by controlling social media.

Remember, the feelings of others are more important than your Constitutional rights. By the way, if any part of this letter is correct, what is up with Chicago? I'm a big boy. I'll take care of myself. I'm voting for Tom MacArthur. America First. ~Jack McGinnis

(Re: Park And Road Improvements Coming Soon In Shamong) It is always about the parks. How about the roads and bridges? ~Vince Neuroth

(Re: Pemberton Mayor Tells BMIA Township Taxes Along the Lowest) This mayor and his administration have not done one darn thing to improve Pemberton Township since they've been in office. The middle of town looks like it did since the1980s with abandoned businesses, homeless walking the streets, panhandling, and welfare and assistance places of living smack dab in the middle.

The town has many unpaved streets throughout too, with plenty of abandoned houses. With the taxes being so low, you'd think businesses would be thriving with less—not a growing number-of abandoned houses. Now should we mention the "Old Acme" is still undeveloped? Please Mr. Mayor, don't pat yourself on the back about Pemberton Township having the lowest taxes. ~Joe Anderson

(Re: Pemberton Mayor Tells BMIA Township Taxes Among the Lowest) Our taxes are low, but our services are non-existent. Our police dept. is a skeleton crew. We use Pemberton Borough Fire Dept. and have no squad. I pay for my garbage pick-up. I have well water and septic that I maintain out of my pocket. Our schools are mostly federally and state funded. So, while yes our taxes are low, I’m not sure what we actually get for almost $5,000 a year. ~Sherry L Jankowsky

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Email Story Ideas and Community Events: news@pinebarrenstribune.com Due to space limitations, the Pine Barrens Tribune cannot guarantee that every event submitted will be printed.

JUNE

root causes of financial problems, paying off debt, credit card traps, mutual funds, and understanding life insurance policies. To register, visit http:/www.bclc.lib.nj.us/calendar/ how-money-works-common-senseguide-financial-success-1.

'Pine Barrens People'

Location: Vincentown Details: Bob Ritter, President of the Southampton Historical Society, will give a presentation on ‘Pine Barrens People;’ including some of the interesting people who have shaped the history of the Pine Barrens.

7:30 p.m., at the Old Town Hall, 25 Plum Street, Vincentown. After the presentation, strawberries and ice cream will be served. Free and open to the public. For more information, call 609-859-0524.

Location: Evesham Details: Enjoy a cup of tea and a biscotti, then learn to prepare lemonwalnut biscotti by hand. You will leave with about three dozen biscotti to bake at home. This program is for adults. You will need to bring a mixing bowl, mixing spoon, a firm spatula and measuring spoons.

Registration required, 609-267-9660.

Evesham Branch Library.

Location: Browns Mills Details: Get rolling on bike safety!

The Pemberton Community Library is teaming up with the Burlington County Sheriff’s Department to ensure safe summer adventures. 16, Broadway, Browns Mills. Children 12 and under will receive a free helmet and safety gear; parents will get a bike map and tips on how to navigate streets and trails in Burlington County. Please register at http:/www.bcls.lib.nj.us/calendar/ bike-safety-Saturday.

Location: Tuckerton Details: The Tuckerton Branch Library will host “Brain Games: Keep the Mind Sharp,” an interactive workshop, presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield. The event will feature games and exercises to stimulate different brain areas and improve memory. 119 Bay Avenue, Tuckerton. To register, call 609-2961470.

and Selling Books

Location: Browns Mills Details: A presentation on ‘How Money Works; A Common Sense Guide to Financial Success’ will be held at the Pemberton Community Library, 16 Broadway, Browns Mills. The discussion will include:

Bike Safety Seminar

Games: Keep 07 Brain the Mind Sharp

How Money Works

Location: Medford Details: The Pinelands Jazz Festival, featuring Philadelphia area jazz musicians, will be held at The Flying W, 60 Fostertown Road, Medford, from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m.

on 05 Presentation History of Making

Location: Evesham Details: Doug Palmieri, owner of the Old Book Shop of Bordentown, will speak on the history of book making and selling in early America with a focus on Ben Franklin and Thomas Paine’s Common Sense. Mr. Palmieri will follow the presentation with book appraisals; he suggests 1 or 2 books or a donation of $5 to the Friends of Evesham Branch Library.

Registration requested, 609-2679660.

Pinelands Jazz Festival

and Take' 06 'Make for Biscotti Lovers

Technology Class For Adults

Location: Jackson Details: Microsoft Excel Basics. 2 p.m., at the Jackson Branch Library, 2 Jackson Drive, Jackson. Learn to use a spreadsheet to organize and calculate data. Participants should have mouse and keyboard skills. To register for this free class, call 732-928-4400, or visit theoceancountylibrary.org/events.

Medford Lakes Colony Office. 609654-7747.

Koehler Trio 08 Kyle Jazz Concert

Location: Tabernacle Details: Cited in Downbeat Magazine as one of the jazz world’s premier organists, Kyle Koehler and his trio will be in concert at Lord of Life Lutheran Church, 1 Winchester Ct., Tabernacle, 7:30 p.m.

09 Garden Tour

Location: Medford Lakes Details: The Medford Lakes Garden Club, Inc. is hosting a 2018 Garden Tour, June 9, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (rain date June 10). Tour tickets are $15 and are available at Spotts Hardware, Wild Bird Oasis and

Annual Proud to 10 4th Be Country Music &

Western BBQ

Location: Atco Details: Hosted by Rolling Thunder NJ, Chapter 2, all you can eat BBQ. $25 per ticket; children under 5 free.

Cash bar. 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Atco American Legion Post 311, Atco. For more information, visit Rollingthunder-nj2.org, or call 609971-3544.

Waging Peace: 100 Years of Action

Location: Medford Details: A traveling display from the American Friends Service Committee will be the feature of an open house at the Medford Quaker Meeting House, 14 Union Street, Medford, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The display reflects a century of Quakers’ efforts on challenges that have continued to the present day.

For more information, visit www. medfordfriendsmeeting.org.

PEMBERTON TWP. SENIOR CITIZEN COLUMN

Seniors ‘Rock’ to Songs from the Silver Screen

By Ebba Liguori

For the Pine Barrens Tribune

PEMBERTON—One of the most popular trips for Pemberton seniors is a visit to the American Music Theatre located in Lancaster, Pa. The shows at this venue are always first-class, professional productions.

The spring program this year was titled “Songs of the Silver Screen” and it included more than 40 award-winning songs featured in popular movies, beginning with “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” from 1939’s “The Wizard of Oz.” A nine-member live orchestra accompanied the singers and dancers involved in the program and performed some of the numbers as instrumentals, not only providing outstanding music but sounding amazingly like a full symphony orchestra.

Most of the musicians played more than one instrument, and just observing them switch from one instrument to another was most enjoyable.

The excursion to the theatre began with bus drivers Marty Gravenstein and James Peagler as they helped 90 seniors board two buses reserved for the trip.

The weather was pleasant and temperatures were perfect. The commute was uneventful, and the seniors arrived ahead of schedule to a lunch destination in East Earl, Pa. the Shady Maple Smorgasbord, where the seniors were escorted into the main dining area for a most delicious buffet.

Meal choices were extensive, with several different soups, an unlimited salad bar, and almost every entrée one could imagine.

Desserts included pies, cakes, puddings, ice creams and toppings. There is no way anyone left Shady Maple still hungry.

A lower-level, 40,000 square-foot gift shop proved to be a shopper’s paradise for the seniors, offering items that many never knew existed. Across from Shady Maple’s parking lot, a farmer’s market and Goode’s Department Store also beckoned with yet more shopping opportunities. There was even a spring flower outdoor market, where gorgeous plants were available at wholesale prices.

See SENIORS/ Page 23

See More Events On Our Website: pinebarrenstribune.com

Our Sunday Schedule:

Communion Service: 8:15 a.m.

Contemporary Service: 9:30 a.m.

Traditional Worship: 11 a.m.

2 Hartford Road Medford, N.J. 609.654.8111

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It is as easy as just calling the businesses you support every day; your dentist, gardener, and auto repairman. You will be paid a generous commission for each sale and have fun doing it!

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Aloe Vera Has 10 Impressive Uses

A

loe vera made a couple of headlines recently. The first was when the actress Drew Bar r ymore dabbed some on a facial sore and it instantly took out the redness. The second was when Prop 65 regulations in California called out a known carcinogen in aloe vera called “aloin.”

Don’t worry, aloe will never get banned!

Not to be morbid from the get-go, but ext racted compou nds f rom this spi k y succulent were used in the Middle East during ancient times to clean dead bodies and prepare them for burial.

Plants of aloe vera give us two different substances, one is called “gel” and the other is called “latex. Both have medicinal value.

The gel is the clear part that comes from the center of the leaf. You know it well… it looks like jelly and it’s what you put on the skin for cuts and minor burns. The aloe latex is visible just beneath the plant’s outer skin, and it is yellow in color. This has a laxative effect on the body.

Aloe is very useful for psoriasis, food sensitivities, diabetes, gastritis and gingivitis.

If these topics interest you, I have a longer version of this article which I’ll email to you next week if you sign up to receive my free health newsletter at suzycohen.

Right now, here are 10 things you can use your aloe plant for: 1. Moisturize Yourself Mix some into your favorite lotion and put on your face or arms.

2. Heal Bug Bites Dab aloe gel directly onto painful or itchy bug bites, or combine the aloe in the palm of your hand with some hydrocortisone cream.

3. Cool Off Burns Squeeze a dab of aloe vera into traditional burn ointment and use on superficial burns.

Suzy Cohen AMERICA’S PHARMACIST 4. Soothe Eczema Itch You can buy any salt or sugar scrub that feels good to you and just mix in aloe vera gel.

5. Ease Dandruff Find a selenium sulfide-based shampoo and add some aloe vera gel to the shampoo, then massage your scalp.

6. Fix Gingivitis Squeeze some aloe vera gel onto your toothbrush and brush like normal.

7. Shave Your Legs Instead of using expensive, perfumed shaving cream on your legs, use aloe vera gel.

8. Get Moving There are commercially prepared products used as dietary supplements, which might help constipation. Some people like these, others react poorly.

9. Succulent Facial Do you want softer skin and more radiance without spending a fortune on fancy creams?

Apply the gel to your cheeks and forehead, and rest for 15 minutes. Rinse and pat dry.

10. Soothe a Sunburn Snap off a stalk from your aloe plant and apply the clear gel onto the sunburned area for a natural cooling balm. It helps with redness and inflammation.

These sound great and they are for most people. Occasionally with aloe, you hear of unexpected problems such as diarrhea, skin or eye irritation and possibly dehydration from the laxative effect.

This information is not intended to treat, cure, or diagnose your condition.

For more information, please visit www.SuzyCohen.com. © 2018 SUZY COHEN, RPH. DISTRIBUTED BY DEAR PHARMACIST, INC.

Saturday, June 2, 2018

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Pine Barrens Tribune

♦ Page 15

RETURN: Shared Superintendent Takes Helm After Confrontation

(Continued from Page 1)

Photo By Ryan Marchese

Photo By Ryan Marchese

August Daleo, president of Little Egg Harbor Board of Education, gets into a heated argument.

An outspoken reporter from another media outlet questions whether the Little Egg Harbor Board of Education participated in a cover-up over the shared service agreement.

and acting superintendent.

Stevenson took over for Dr. Maryann Banks in December 2017 after she left for medical reasons amid a debacle involving the careless removal of asbestos roofing at Pinelands Regional High School.

Banks was appointed as PRSD’s interim superintendent when Dr. Rober t Blake resigned in June 2016. McCooley’s selection marks the first time the regional school district has had a permanent superintendent since Blake’s resignation.

Stevenson did not want to serve as PRSD’s superintendent on a permanent basis, desiring to keep her original position of Curriculum and Instruction director, which she held on to during the last several months while serving as interim superintendent.

“I should tout Dr. Stevenson for her hard work over the last seven months,” Ernst said.

“Director of Curriculum and Instruction is a huge job that encompasses many duties. Add to this the daily duties of a superintendent and (supervising) a huge construction project.

She has been a busy person and I can’t thank her enough.”

Gina Frasca, for mer president of the Little Egg Harbor Board of Education who was instrumental in hiring McCooley as the elementary district’s superintendent and serves as a history supervisor at Pinelands, was also in attendance at the ceremony.

Last year, Frasca described McCooley as a “positive product of our communities’ schools,” poi nt i ng to he r complet ion of educational prog rams at Tucker ton Elementary School, Pinelands Regional, Stockton University, Rutgers University, Marygrove College and Rowan University.

In addition to a doctorate in Educational Leadership, she holds bachelors’ degrees in Psychology and Elementary Education and masters’ degrees in Curriculum & Instruction and Administration.

Before being hired to lead the LEHSD, McCooley worked as a teacher, a literacy specialist, an assistant principal, a director of curriculum and instruction, and an assistant superintendent.

“The most important lesson I have learned in my 20 years in public education is that one size does not fit all,” McCooley said.

“Opportunities such as magnet programs, workforce readiness, and college-level academics need to be provided to ou r students.”

T he shared super i ntendent said she recognizes, in comparison to other middle and high-school districts in the area, that the PRSD is a bit behind in regards to what is

all be provided on the website like my current contract is.”

T he back and for th escalated when McCooley was asked again if the public had gotten a chance to view the agreement before the board vote, and if each board member read it.

McCooley said the “public wouldn’t get it until we sign it,” which further escalated the disagreement.

“Very good—so, we have a board that is basically conflicted,” the reporter said.

“We have no public hearing on the matter as Pinelands did and the public still is not aware, at this time, of the details of the contract so that if anybody wanted to object, they would have no information. Is that all correct?”

McCooley repeated that a public hearing on the shared superintendent agreement was held last month at nearby Pinelands Regional Junior High School.

“That was at a Pinelands BOE public meeting,” the reporter said. “Do not confuse it with Little Egg Harbor!”

Eventually, Amy Houck, solicitor for both the Pinelands Regional and Little Egg Harbor boards of education, and Ernst explained the reason for holding the hearing at Pinelands Regional Junior High School. Both women also said the executive county superintendent overseeing the agreement didn’t require a public hearing.

“Pinelands wasn’t even asked to have a public hearing,” Ernst said. “Pinelands was requested at an executive cou nt y superintendent meeting that Mr. Daleo and I attended, on April 5, to have ‘some kind’ of a hearing. I said, ‘What do you want—a public hearing or a town hall. I am not sure what it is that you want.’”

Er n st said t he execut ive cou nt y superintendent told her to “simply discuss the matter at a board of education meeting where the public can respond and that is good enough.”

“That is what we did,” Ernst said. “They did request it (the discussion) be at Pinelands.

So, that is what we did.”

The repor ter accu rately pointed out that when the matter was discussed at the Pinelands Regional Board of Education meeting that was used as a hearing on the matter, the board did not mention McCooley’s name or the district it was negotiating with for a shared superintendent agreement.

“They couldn’t announce the district,” the reporter said. “Therefore, what I am saying, doesn’t anybody feel some sort of idea that this was covered up?”

Board members and district officials in the

offered to the vast array of students.

“In general, my goal is to reach the pinnacle of potential for the PRSD,” she said. “It is my goal to put Pinelands on the map and provide the students with every opportunity possible so they can be successful in life.”

Unusual Measure Taken McCooley, however, said she found it difficult for her to express the details of her new endeavor after a “confrontation” erupted immediately following the ceremony.

The dispute stemmed from the Little Egg Harbor Board of Education’s vote on the shared service agreement.

Daleo, prior to the vote, said that four of the seven elementary district’s board members had conflicts of interest in the matter and were “direct or indirect beneficiaries of employ ment of the perspective shared superintendent.”

Boa rd member Mat t hew Malesk i is employed as an assistant principal in the PRSD, Daleo said, adding that Maleski’s wife also works in the PRSD. He also cited the fact that board member John Bellone was hired as PRSD’s facilities manager on April 18 and that the facilities manager is ultimately supervised by the superintendent.

Board member James Becker is employed as a teacher in the PRSD, Daleo said, and board member Martha “June” Palen’s daughter, who is employed as a paraprofessional and energy education specialist in the LEHSD, is supervised by the superintendent.

After detailing the various conflicts of interest, the board invoked the Doctrine of Necessity by a 6-0 vote, allowing the body to legally act on the shared superintendent agreement even though a quorum of the board had conflicts of interest. Dr. Gross abstained, despite saying “he was all for shared service agreements.”

The doctrine can only be invoked by a governing body in New Jersey when a matter is required to be voted upon and the vote cannot otherwise happen because of conflicts of interest.

The “confrontation” commenced when a reporter from another media outlet asked the Little Egg Harbor Board of Education— during public comment—if it had held a public hearing, on its property, about the agreement and if the details (hours shared and compensation) had been made public prior to the vote.

“It was held at Pinelands Regional,” McCooley said. “Yes, that (the details) will

room pushed back on the notion of a cover-up.

“No!” said several officials at the same time, while an employee in the room said aloud “Why is this guy so angry?”

Resident Jamie Carnes, a known supporter of the agreement, rebutted the notion of a cover-up and suggested residents in the community are disinterested in the process.

He pointed to low public participation at recent board meetings.

“The public was well aware of this,” he said. “I believe I am the first one who comes up here and screams at them (the board) if they do one little misstep. So, I know for a fact they have followed everything they could have done. I know there was almost nobody in this town that didn’t know about this.”

Reaction to Carnes’ rebuttal caused the need for Daleo to briefly use his gavel.

Impartiality Questioned McCooley’s name was leaked to the media through district sources. The Pine Barrens Tribune first learned through a source that McCooley was under consideration for the job in November 2017. At the time, the source said some PRSD faculty were concerned that McCooley would replace Stevenson with Frasca “as payback” for getting her the top spot in the LEHSD. Stevenson, in an interview with the Pine Barrens Tribune earlier this year, said she was going to retire within the next few years. The source described a very cozy relationship between Frasca and Stevenson, casting doubt on the impartiality of the PRSD superintendent selection process.

The reporter, who spoke at the May 25 meeting, pressed officials if the executive county superintendent, an official acting on behalf of the state’s Department of Education, was made aware that four of the seven Little Egg Harbor Board of Education members had a conflict of interest in the matter.

“At the time—at the beginning—they did not (get notified) because Mr. Bellone was not at Pinelands,” one official said. “So, there wasn’t a conflict there.”

McCooley provided a conflicting answer as the reporter continued to press the issue.

“Yes, it was in a detailed plan that we sent to him,” she said.

McCooley, just hours after the meeting, provided a copy of that plan to the Pine Barrens Tribune.

The plan advised the executive county superintendent of only two of the four Little See RETURN/ Page 18

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ROOFING: More Asbestos Removal Planned for This Summer (Continued from Page 2) overseeing the construction, has now appeared at three Bass River Board of Commissioners meetings since the start of the New Year. Last December, township officials committed to researching what it would take to recall Williams after he was reportedly ignoring construction inquiries and not providing them with a monthly report.

The invasive repairs at the district’s high school will force the closure of the building during the 2018-19 school year.

The high school’s students are expected to have their classes at Pinelands Regional Junior High School (either in the permanent building or temporary trailers), causing occupancy issues that will force the displacement of incoming seventh graders.

As a result of the expected displacement, the seventh graders are scheduled to have classes at Little Egg Harbor School District’s Frog Pond Elementary School.

During the April and May meetings of the commissioners, Williams also discussed lesser-known impacts the displacement will have on Pinelands Regional School District students.

Deputy Mayor Nicholas Capriglione asked Williams whether the district’s students will still have the ability to take part in shop courses.

Williams said some specialty classrooms will not be accessible due to the relocation, resulting in a reduced number of educational activities for courses requiring those specialty classrooms.

“The hor rible thing about the whole thing, Nick, is it will be (offered)—but at a reduced amount of activities that they can do,” Williams said.

A district parent in the meeting room became angered by the admission that some students won’t have access to needed equipment for their coursework and questioned why these details were not mentioned at previous board of education meetings.

“You are saying the kids are missing half of the stuff that they are entitled to as seniors and everything else like workshop and home economics,” the Pinelands mother said. “I am not blaming you Tommy, you know that. It is things they never bring up that are common sense (to bring up).”

T he pa rent also repeated ly pressed Williams on whether regional school taxes would be reduced to account for the fact that the students won’t be having their classes at the high school during the upcoming school year.

“You are paying taxes for the whole school district, grades 7 through 12” Williams said.

“The whole school district.”

The school board member also offered specifics about the supervision of the seventhgrade class. He said seventh graders will still fall under the Pinelands Regional School District umbrella even though they will be having classes in a school operated by the

Little Egg Harbor School District.

“Our staff will be there,” Williams said.

“Our vice principal will be there. Our guidance people for that grade level will be there so that we can assure that the seventhgrade classes get the attention they need and deserve. It will be a seventh grade.”

Seventh graders, he said, will be bused at the end of the day to the junior high school for sports and other extracurricular activities.

Saftey Concerns Aired William’s discussion of the planned closure of the high school prompted several residents to ask him about parking arrangements for the high school’s seniors who drive to school.

The school board member said seniors will be allowed to park in the high school’s parking lot. The high school is across the street from the junior high school, meaning the students will have to cross heavily traveled Nugentown Road.

Upon hearing the parking plan, several residents urged Williams to work on having Nugentown Road closed until the project is completed.

“If you close that road, you don’t have to worry about a thing,” said one resident.

“Everybody can make a left turn and go down towards the (Tuckerton) Acme store or around the block.”

Williams said Nugentown Road is a county road and closing it requires certain permissions.

“What are they going to do, arrest you (if you close the road)?” one man asked.

A woman in the room shouted out that pretty soon district taxpayers are going to be asked to pay for a shuttle service for the high school’s seniors.

“They will have shuttles,” the woman said.

“Give them time, they will have shuttles.”

Williams said school resource officers will be placed at a crosswalk during student arrival and dismissal times.

“The kids go back and forth across it now for all their athletic stuff,” he said.

Williams added that closing the district’s high school was not the board’s original intention when they proposed a $53 million referendum—later approved by voters—to fund the improvements.

“The original plan was not the debacle and mess with the roof,” Williams said.

“Everything that went on with that is stuff that should have come to light sooner than it did…it created a frenzy with the public and now it has set us so far behind that the only way to get this done is to close the high school.

Let the fence go up around the high school, let nothing occur in there, let everybody out of that building and let us get it done.”

Commissioner Louis Bourguignon asked Williams to hold those responsible for the debacle accountable.

“My vote will always be for people to be held accountable,” Williams said.

Pinelands Regional High School re-roofing project.

Pinelands Regional High School's roof gets worked on last fall.

Photo By Vince Deblasio

Photo By Vince Deblasio

CUTTING YOUR ADVERTISING BUDGET WHEN BUSINESS IS SLOW IS LIKE SAYING

“I’ll throw some logs on that fire when it warms up in here!”

Chris Lochhead, Marketing entrepreneur

PINE BARRENS TRIBUNE (609) 801-2392

Saturday, June 2, 2018

Pine Barrens Tribune

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The Mouth:

Gateway to Your Health What Everyone Needs to Know about Bleeding Gums and Heart Attacks: Part 1 People with gum disease are nearly twice as likely to have a Dr. Richard heart disease!

Weber What is the connection? The gums are the pink tissues that surround our teeth. They are filled with lots of blood vessels. The heart is the super powerful muscle that pumps blood throughout our bodies. The heart itself needs a lot of oxygen, so while it pumps most of the blood to the rest of the body, it keeps some for itself via blood vessels called coronary arteries. If these blood vessels get blocked, the heart doesn’t get enough oxygen and segments of your heart can actually die!

Our mouths have billions of bacteria. They form into the soft white yucky stuff that accumulates on your teeth (dental plaque). When the bacteria go under your gums, your body’s immune system takes notice! Unfortunately, our immune systems aren’t good enough at

fighting plaque to kill or remove it, but it sure does try! The blood vessels in your gums get wider to try to bring more defense cellsa process called inflammation.

Because the immune system can’t remove the plaque, you end up with a constant/chronic inflammation.

When your gums are inflamed, bacteria or pieces of bacteria can get into your bloodstream and then into the walls of the blood vessels.

When this happens a different kind of plaque can form in the bloodvessel walls, causing them to thicken, the passageway for blood to get smaller and the pressure in the blood vessels to go up.

To recap: bacteria on teeth> gums get inflamed>bacteria gets in bloodstream>bacteria in blood vessel walls.

In the next segment we will see how this can lead to a heart attack!

♦ Page 17

BUDGET: Proposed Rescue Squad Cut Delays Vote (Continued from Page 4) Tabernacle doesn’t have to balance bill.

“So that leaves them (the squad) with the possibility of having to balance bill the residents,” Brown said. “There are a lot of seniors who get transported and I’m sure they can’t afford the balance billing. That’s my concern.”

The committee voted on a resolution that, if passed, would have allowed the scheduling of a public hearing on the budget amendment on June 4. The vote was 2-1, with Brown voting no because of her concerns.

In order to pass a resolution on a budget, a majority (or three votes) is needed, and since Mayor Joseph Barton and Committeeman Richard Franzen were absent, that majority was not reached. As a result, no such discussion of the budget will take place at the next meeting.

“This is uncharted ter ritor y for me,” Lee said. “If we’re going to handcuff the whole budget process because of the ambulance service, I think it’s irresponsible.

Unfortunately, all we had to do was to vote for this to have a discussion and now we won’t even have that opportunity.”

Later, during the last public comment, TRS Captain Steve Cramer expressed his frustration regarding the evening’s discussion.

“I listened to the discussion of the committee last month and thought it was good,” he said. “I thought you made the right decision. I don’t know what happened between the end of that meeting and this meeting, but you’re not (messing with) the squad members.

I’m afraid that you might be losing track of the people being helped.

“I don’t want to put a grandmother, who is on a fixed income, that happens to have a problem with respirator y issues, into collections until we figure out what in-kind (aid) means. It seems like that emotion has gotten in front of the facts and figures.”

On a more positive note, Deputy Mayor Stephen Lee IV said that Verizon had just approved 46 Fios applications to provide broadband internet service in Tabernacle.

“This has been after about three years’ worth of work, and it’s huge for us, since many of us don’t have access to high-speed internet,” he said. “Once Verizon receives the applications and payments, we can finish the

process.”

Brow n also said that her review of candidates for the township’s new chief financial officer to replace the retiring Terry Henry had been reduced to two, and she would probably be recommending one of them by the next scheduled meeting on June 4.

Lee estimated that he and Committeeman Joseph Yates I V, who have both been interviewing candidates for the new publicsaftey-director position, will be making a recommendation soon.

Township Engineer Dante Guzzi and Township Administrator Douglas Cramer reported they had a productive meeting with Shamong Township, representatives from the office of Sen. Dawn Marie Addiego (R-8th District) and Senator Chris Connors (R-9th District) about proposed Carranza Road improvements.

“Connors will be reaching out to the Department of Transportation to consider a special discretionary grant to enable us to finish paving the entire length,” Douglas Cramer said. “We’ll hopefully be able to get some funding for the balance of this road project.”

The committee approved five resolutions.

The first recognized the appointment of Robert C. Sunbury as the new Office of Emergency Management (OEM) Coordinator and Joint Insurance Fund (JIF) Safety Coordinator, replacing Col. William “Corky” Lowe, who retired recently.

A financial consultant with Thrivent, Sunbury was appointed to the position by Barton.

The placement of temporary signs in the public right of way was approved for the Tabernacle Historical Society for the week of May 27 in order to promote its upcoming Annual Strawberry Social on June 2 at the Tabernacle Community Center.

The committee authorized the release of executive session minutes for two meetings in 2016, four meetings in 2017 and four meetings in 2018.

An assignment of a tax sale certificate for 11 Moore Road to DSHC Enterprises, in exchange for payment in the amount of $4,342.49, was accepted.

A liquor license was renewed for Tabernacle Inn on Route 206. The restaurant has been closed for a while.

Ta your news Take to the next level!

Follow us on: PineBarrensTribune @PineBarrensTribune @PineBarrensNews www.pinebarrenstribune.com

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Pine Barrens Tribune

Saturday, June 2, 2018

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RETURN: Shared Superintendent Takes Helm After Confrontation (Continued from Page 15) Egg Harbor Board of Education members who had a conflict of interest in the matter.

“Two members of the Little Egg Harbor Board of Education are employed at the Pi nela nd s Reg ional School Dist r ict ,” according to the plan. “The two members are aware that they will have to step down from the board of education prior to the start of Dr. McCooley’s shared term. Due to the fact that their terms were slated to expire in 2018, the board members do not have a concern with resigning.

According to the plan, a Pinelands Regional Board Member has two children employed at the Little Egg Harbor School District.

This board member may be conflicted on all matters related to Dr. McCooley’s contract and evaluation. This issue has been presented to the School Ethics Commission and a decision is forthcoming.”

McCooley told the Pine Barrens Tribune that the executive county superintendent was not made aware of the additional conflicts of interest.

“The county superintendent’s office was not notified of the third board member being conflicted,” she said. “At that point in time (when Bellone was hired by Pinelands), the report was in the (New Jersey Department of Education) Commissioner’s hands and he did not request that information. After invoking the Doctrine of Necessity at a board meeting, we must notify the School Ethics Commission within 30 days. The notice outlines who is conflicted and specifically why.”

McCooley, when asked if the Little Egg Harbor Board of Education members who have conflicts of interest will resign from the board, as the report promises, said the board

members may not need to.

“We have sent a request to the School Ethics Commission for a formal ruling on this due to the fact that there are currently conflicting cases regarding this matter in New Jersey,” she said. “Once the ruling comes back, the board members will either be allowed to remain on the board or they will have to resign. If they resign, we post for their spots and then the board interviews candidates.”

McCooley also addressed whether the Pinelands Regional Board of Education member mentioned in the plan actually does have a conflict of interest and needs to take action.

“The Pinelands Board member with children employed in the LEHSD was able to vote ‘yes’ on my contract,” she said. “I have to assume the School Ethics Commission ruled she was able to.”

Ernst, at the Little Egg Harbor Board of Education meeting, after watching the “confrontation,” said she felt like a “frog in a pond”—a clever play on words, given that the back and forth took place at Frog Pond Elementary on Frog Pond Road.

She said the two school districts are not only saving taxpayers money, but are performing a better service for the children “because our children will now be able to work closely due to the collaboration between the two schools.”

“I am thrilled,” said Ernst of McCooley’s selection. “Pinelands has been two years basically without a permanent superintendent.

The process was long. The process was arduous. I believe the Pinelands BOE came up with the best decision out of 41 candidates.”

McCooley, according to a new contract

obtained by the Pine Barrens Tribune, will split her time between LEHSD (50 percent) and PRSD (50 percent). There is a caveat that the superintendent may spend more time in a particular district during certain times of the year to address an issue “so that educational and administrative needs that may occur are met.”

McCooley’s salary has been bumped up to $189,689, from $169,689 when she served as the superintendent of only one district. As Ernst explained last week to the Pine Barrens

“I look at this as trendsetting for South Jersey. It is very common in North Jersey, but not so common here.” ~Susan Ernst, President of the Pinelands BOE Tribune, McCooley is receiving an additional $15,000 for overseeing another district and $5,000 for overseeing a high school and this compensation is reflected in the increased salary figure.

The $20,000 the PRSD will pay the LEHSD is a far cry from the potential triple-digit figure salary the four-town school district could have faced if it had to hire its own superintendent.

“Having one superintendent, PreK through grade 12, provides a continuity of instruction and programs, better relationships with parents, constant articulation among both school districts, and a savings to the Little Egg Harbor taxpayers,” said McCooley after

the ceremony. “As a community, we need to get off social media, stop pointing fingers, and do what is best for the future...our students.”

W h i le t he move t o h ave a sh a r e d superintendent has garnered widespread support throughout the PRSD, the social media comments McCooley alluded to involve the Frasca concern.

McCooley initially addressed the social media comments in an Aug. 8, 2017, YouTube video where she posted a screenshot of one commenter posting, “Hey, just heard she’ll be giving Gina Frasca a new job too!! Gina washes McCooley’s hands then McCooley washes Gina’s in return. Washie…washie.”

“I completely understand that everyone has their own ideas and not everyone is going to agree on what is happening in the school district,” said McCooley in the video.

“However, it is very concerning when there are some very vulgar things being posted on Facebook. As adults, we have to remember that we represent this community and we are models for our students.”

McCooley also said in the video that if a student posted a similar comment on social media, it would be concerning enough to where it would have to be addressed through the LEHSD. “It is ext remely dishear tening when parents are putting such things on Facebook, knowing that number one, our students could be reading them and that we should be role models for our students,” she said, adding that it would be “impossible for me to hire a board member to work in this district.”

McCooley, whose YouTube video illustrates her technological savviness, also told the Pine Barrens Tribune this week that “there are some with hidden agendas.”

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Saturday, June 2, 2018

Pine Barrens Tribune

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♦ Page 19

CROSSWORD PUZZLE

Well, Five Does Come Before Six

A

lthough I pride myself in being a somewhat mentally sound person, sometimes I question the very thought of my own sanity.

There are some things that people say without thinking, even when they know better and folks are impulsive enough to say them anyway.

Take, for example, the other night when I made a request to my husband, aka the Morning Man, that had me downright questioning my own sanity.

I often check out of conversations mentally. Worse yet, I sit and listen to an all-important dissertation regarding environmental change and in the middle of it, I find myself pondering whether or not we’re out of eggs.

That being said, I’m starting to wonder if I need some sort of gatekeeper to sit between my mind and my mouth to filter what comes out. Apparently there needs to be some checks and balances so that a person isn’t walking around a social setting with her foot in her mouth.

What a person really needs to do is to think through requests that she asks of others and to make for dang certain that she wants those requests to be carried out.

What I said to my husband the other night that really made me wonder if I was mentally sound was this, “Hey Pat, make sure I’m up around 6 tomorrow morning, will ya?”

To those of you who think I’m exaggerating, embellishing or blowing things out of proportion, I must say that you have never met my handsome husband of many years, Mr. Morning himself.

Pat lives for mornings. He accepts them as a challenge that he plans to accept. Whether it’s a Saturday, a day off, or a planned retreat in the Poconos, he arises at or around 5:30 a.m. and feels that he’s a better person because he has faced the test of dragging a tired body out of bed, head-on.

Sadly enough for Pat, he married me, the polar opposite of the Morning Man. I love my sleep, I adore my pillow, and I’m really happy that I have created my level one, two and three zones with my top sheet and coverlets.

I am a grown woman, perfectly capable of setting her own alarm clock. I can also set a timer and, when need be, ask Siri to notify me of the set time.

Yet this appointment was serious enough that I felt

LORI CLINCH COLUMNIST

I needed serious backup.

I’m a snooze button kind of gal. I set my daily alarm for 6:40 a.m. That way I can smack it on the head twice and then listen to the seven o’clock news before giving the dang thing another smack before my final rousing at 7:10.

It’s who I am, how I roll, and how I prepare myself for the loathsome task of crawling out of bed.

After lo, these many years of being married to Pat, one would have thought I would have taken this all into consideration before asking him to wake me up at 6 a.m. on this all-too-important morning.

But I acted without thinking it through. I simply made the request and did not regret doing so until five o’clock the next morning when Pat woke me with a start, saying, “Hey! Don’t you have to be up before six?”

If there is one thing you should know about me it is this, I am not a pretty person to awaken. I don’t roll over like a princess, yawn like a beauty queen or respond to a poke in the ribs like Ms. America.

“What’s the matter with you?” I called out in the darkness.

“It’s five o’clock!” Pat responded.

“And?” “You said you needed to be up before six,” said Mr. Morning Man. “You’d better get up now so you can get a jump on it!”

I had to put some serious effort into resisting the urge to smack the poor man on top of the head.

Probably would not have been as effective as hitting the snooze button, but I must contend, it might have felt twice as good.

On the bright side of things, I got out and about early enough to pick up some eggs.

Lori Clinch was born and raised in North Platte, Nebraska, a hotbed of material for writers whose passion it is to make people laugh. She is the mother of four sons and the author of the book “Are We There Yet?”

© 2018 LORI CLINCH

Across 1 Alloy componen 6 Twosomes 11 Time for preparations 14 "It was you," in a Verdi aria 15 Word on mail from Spain 16 Unit of RAM 17 King of the Hill winner 20 Repeated phrase in Kipling's "Recessional" 21 Certain balloter 24 "Milk's favorite cookie" 25 Phil Collins' old group 26 Grilling aids 29 Bigheadedness 30 Adjust for the new tax year 31 It's rarely paid to a car dealer 35 Large merchant ships 38 Chihuahua cheer 41 Spread all over 42 Persian Gulf island nation 46 Instrument to which an orchestra tunes 47 Turned down for easy reference 48 Recovery site?

52 Scholar's motivation 56 Single 57 Make dim 58 Mello __ 59 '60s radical gp.

60 Buttonholes, e.g.

61 Teed off Down 1 "Alice" diner owner 2 Factor in MLB's Cy Young Award 3 Quaint contraction 4 Prime minister after and before Churchill 5 Light bulb units 6 Edmond __: the Count of Monte Cristo 7 "__ Can": 2008 slogan 8 Prado hangings 9 Like many Gallaudet College students

10 Prefix with gram 11 Female political refugee 12 Thin layers 13 Picnic game that can get messy 18 Piedmont city 19 Be half-asleep 21 Candle count, perhaps 22 Ask to be excused, with "off" 23 __-Cat 26 Inspiring msg.

27 Ryssdal of NPR's "Marketplace" 28 Corner key 30 Turning meas.

31 "Cowboy Man" singer 32 Rose-rose link 33 Caesar known for being funny 34 Fore site?

35 Many moon missions 36 Make a comeback 37 Makes before deductions

38 Galley tool 39 Twist facts 40 Pull the plug on 42 Jeer leaders 43 Lago contents 44 English king who was a son of William the Conqueror 45 Original "SNL" cast member 47 Key above C 49 HQs for B-2s 50 Longtime Steelers coach Chuck 51 Half of sechs 53 Kind 54 N.Y. Mets' div.

55 Word on U.S. coin

Solutions on Page 27

The perfect GARDENER COLUMN Add life to your garden with birdhouses

Are you a fan of gardening and birdwatching?

Then why not combine your two hobbies by incorporating birdhouses into your landscaping!

Here are a few tips for creating a garden filled with colourful blooms and the chirps of winged creatures all summer long.

SPECIES TO CHARM First off, determine which types of bird you’d like to attract. To avoid disappointment, find out which birds typically frequent your area.

Next, go get some quality birdhouses from your local gardening centre or hardware store. Ask a salesperson to help you choose the best models for the types of bird you’re looking to attract. You’ll need to consider the size of the entrance and the available nesting space inside of the birdhouse.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR Choose birdhouses with the following features: • Mold-resistant materials (cedar wood is an excellent choice) • A design that allows optimal ventilation and drainage • A roof that juts out a bit over the entrance • A door that allows easy access to the inside for cleaning • A look that’s harmonious with the rest of your landscaping

Page 20

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Pine Barrens Tribune

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Pine Barrens Tribune

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SENIORS: Silver Screen Songs Stir Memories (Continued from Page 12) Between it all, you can bet the luggage compartments of both buses were loaded when the occupants boarded for the next part of the journey.

The ride from Shady Maple to the American Music Theatre took about 30 minutes, and soon seniors were taking their seats in the theatre for the phenomenal performance that many were still raving about several days later.

Wess Cooke, one of the group’s favorite singers and guitarists, was in excellent form, as was Piper Hepler, a young performer who has appeared regularly onstage at the theatre since 2011.

A small gift shop is available at the theatre, which gave many of the seniors an opportunity to go shopping again! Choices here included many musical-themed gifts as well as some unusual jewelry items and accessories.

The group plans to return to this venue for an early staging of its Christmas show, “The First Noel,” on Nov. 14, with tickets going on sale toward the end of August.

Christine Pinto, voice instructor at Pemberton Township High School, has invited area seniors to a choral recital on Monday, June 11, at noon, in the school auditorium’s lobby.

There is no charge to attend the recital and

light refreshments will be served following the program. All seniors are invited to attend and support the local students, even those who don’t participate in activities at the senior center.

During the next few months, senior trips will include visits to the Hunterdon Hills Playhouse (for a performance), Dutch Apple Dinner Theatre (for a show), Atlantic City (for a cruise), Tomasello Winery (for a meal) and Toms River (for a cruise on a stern-wheeler paddle boat).

Further details about these trips are available on Pemberton Township’s website under “Senior Services.”

Tickets for the June, July, and August trips are available daily between 9 a.m. and noon at the Pemberton Township Senior Center, located conveniently across from the Browns Mills U.S. Post Office.

Resident seniors are also welcome to stop in daily between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. to register and sign up for programs at no charge. In addition, those who cannot drive can take advantage of a free senior bus service.

Nourishing meals are served every day at the center by reservation, and coffee, tea, and snacks are available daily, as is the June issue of the Senior Gazette. So, stop by for coffee, make new friends and enjoy the many advantages that Pemberton Township has to offers to its seniors.

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VOTES: Sparring Over Past Votes (Continued from Page 4) the only municipal entity that was relocated to the site, from its facility on Buddtown Road.

The move ended up being temporary.

The township committee turned around and sold the Ahern building in 2015 for $1,000,105, taking about a $300,000 loss. Fees paid for extensive engineering and architectural work that was completed, to prepare for the building’s retrofit, and to move equipment back and forth, were also deemed a loss.

Raftery said that while he voted for the site to be sold to L&L Concrete and advocated for the sale of the lot when he got on the township committee, he did so because the township was losing money on their purchase.

“I argued the sale should occur sooner rather than later,” he said. “The building was in a poor location and it was too big for our needs. I argued I’d rather see the township lose some money, before it gets worse, and return the building to a ratable so that we can make money.”

Raftery said Heston’s decision to support purchasing the building “at list price,” and then rehab it, was of particular concern to him.

“I dare say there was no negotiation,” he said. “I don’t know of many entities in 2012 and 2013 that got list price during the peak of economic troubles—certainly not in commercial real estate. The property was purchased for $1.3 million and shortly after the listing, the township bought it for $1.3 million” Raftery said the building was “purchased for the wrong reasons, although I am sure what the reasons were.”

“T here a re on ly t wo people on t he committee who were on it when the building was bought—Mayor (James F.) Young (Sr.) and Ron Heston,” he said. “You have to ask them. But, I know, taking a $40,000 ratable off the books was not a wise decision.”

At the time the township sold the building to L&L Concrete, Young blamed the Pinelands Commission. He said that the commission originally told the township that it could not make improvements to the municipal buildings on Buddtown Road and Retreat Road. He said the township later found out that it could make improvements and no longer needed the extra property.

“I was not there when the township was initially told it couldn’t be built on,” Raftery said. “I just know that it could be built on when I was there.”

Heston said he had no regrets about his vote to purchase the Ahern building for use by the Public Works Department. He added that he was not involved in the negotiations for the sale of the building, but did know they were ongoing.

“It was the right choice for their use,” he said. “The purchase gave the men the space to carry out their duties to keep the fleet running.”

He said the building allowed department employees to fill their dump trucks with road salt in advance of winter weather and store them inside, otherwise impossible with the small and mostly open Buddtown Road facility.

“During bad weather in the winter, it allowed the trucks to be loaded with salt and ready to go, stored inside without the men having to climb on them to clear off the snow, before spreading salt,” Heston said.

Heston, while not mentioning Raftery by name, said a “new member” was appointed to the committee and wanted the building sold no matter the cost to the township.

“He said and I quote, ‘Just take the loss and tell the public you made a mistake,’” Heston said. “That person is the one who pushed for the sale of the building that resulted in a $300,000 loss to the taxpayers, and it is still

costing the taxpayers because of the increased cost since then for a new building.”

R e c e n t l y, S o u t h a m p t o n Tow n s h i p demolished its Buddtown Road Public Works Department building—where department personnel had returned to in the wake of the Ahern building sale to L&L Concrete—and is now constructing a new one at the same location. The work is being performed at a cost of $1,049,949.

As construction takes place, the township has been leasing a building from Catherine Hass, on Route 206 in Southampton, for $1,800 per month, for six months, to run its Public Works operations and store its equipment.

The demolition, construction and lease a g r e e me nt h ave r e c eive d u n a n i mou s

Contenders' Priorities

committee approval.

Raftery, who earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Rutgers University after spending 18 months serving in Vietnam, said increasing township ratables remains a top priority for him.

“One of the things we have going for us is that we have major highways splitting our area,” he said. “I would love to encourage commercial development to increase ratables.”

The deputy mayor, who cofounded a mortgage financing business, said he was particularly interested in seeing commercial proper ties on Routes 206 and 38 being developed.

“I want to look into classifying these areas as an economic zone, particularly from Birmingham Road to Route 38 where the roadway is being widened to four lanes,” Raftery said.

Other priorities for Raftery going forward are to keep potential raises for municipal employees and taxes at a minimum and “recognizing that many of our folks are on a fixed income.”

Heston’s priorities include “continuing to fight” the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) for changes to be made, on its dime, to a traffic signal at Route 206, Main Street and Retreat Road.

Cu r rently, t he sig nal system at t he intersection does not provide turn arrows for left turns.

“We have what I consider a very dangerous intersection at Route 206 and Main Street,” said Heston last year. “We have the roadway prepared for left-hand turns. We do not have the traffic signals that would allow a left-hand turn.”

The township, through some of Heston’s direction, has requested that the NJDOT install left-turn arrows at the intersection.

The NJDOT wrote back to the township that it has to share the costs for an upgrade, if justified by a study. The committee has not unanimously agreed to share the costs of the project.

The 16-year school board member and Southampton Tow nship Zoni ng Board chairman of 15 years, has so far, instituted a letter-writing campaign and roasted state officials over their cost-sharing demand.

“I want to continue to fight the state over the cost to do a survey for turn arrows at Route 206 and Retreat Road,” Heston said.

I n t h e w a ke of t h i s p a s t M a r ch’s wet snowstor ms which left por tions of Southampton without power for more than two days, Heston said another priority of his is to create an interconnect between the town’s two main electric service providers: Jersey Central Power and Light and Public Service Electric and Gas. Southampton is the only municipality in New Jersey that is served by the state’s three main providers of electricity, providing for a possible opportunity to have power come from more than one direction, through a

Photo Submitted

(From Left To Right) James Bryan, Bill Raftery, Ronald Heston, Ken Sullivan. switch, if there is damage disrupting the normal source.

“Working through the BPU to have an electric interconnect between Public Service and Jersey Central in order to stop the power blackouts in our area is another priority,” Heston said.

Heston, who has “overseen paving and improvement of 38 township roads,” is also pledging to continue the recently implemented local road program.

“Conducting a complete review of the condition of all our roads, on a yearly basis, in order to stay on top of changing conditions due to seasonal weather and stor ms is important,” said the Southampton resident of 66 years and recent widower.

He st on’s t ea m mat e’s pr ior it ie s a nd platforms are very similar.

“I want to continue the fight with the state to install turn arrows at Route 206 and Retreat Road/Main Street too,” Sullivan said.

“Southampton Township should not have to pay $25,000 for a survey. I want to continue to keep Southampton Township taxes low.”

Most notabe, however, is Sullivan’s pledge to not privatize the Public Works Department.

Last year, some members of the committee enter tained the idea of privatizing the depar tment’s trash collection ser vices.

Officials were directed by the committee to produce a cost comparison of in-house collection versus contracting with a hauler. A few months later, privatization lost committee support.

“I say keep the Public Works Department— do not privatize.” said Sullivan, who started a handyman business in 2006, has lived in the LeisureTowne section of Southampton since 2009, and donated trees for past Arbor Day celebrations at Southampton School #1.

Raftery’s teammate has a different view about the work ethic of many of the township’s workers and efficiency of the township’s services, disseminating pamphlets throughout town saying he will “bring a common-sense voice and a blue-collar work ethic to the committee.”

“I want to bring a blue-collar work ethic back to the township building,” Bryan said.

“A lot of people don’t like working with the people in the township building. They get frustrated whenever they have to interact with them. They (the workers) don’t realize they are working for the people in this town.”

Bryan, a 25-year veteran of the New Jersey State Police who retired with the rank of lieutenant, said that he has been “unable to get straight answers” from the township about who is responsible for the loss of $300,000 from the Ahern building sale.

“I went straight to the township building and asked, “Who voted for this?’” he said.

“I could not get any straight answers. It gets lost that the people in that building are here to serve the people…Information—good, bad or indifferent—you own it.”

Bryan is calling for more transparency in town hall and the implementation of “21st century technology to improve productivity and efficiency, while reducing operating costs.”

“The people working in the township offices do not provide good customer service,” he said.

Br y a n s a id t ow n s h i p of fic i a l s a r e using “outdated practices” and following “antiquated regulations,” as he described how contractors stand in line for lengthy periods of time in the township building waiting to receive their permits.

“There is a better way to manage this than having contractors stand in line,” said the retired cop who served as the New Jersey State Police’s regulatory compliance expert and helped create the first-ever electronic “E-pay” system in the history of the agency.

“They can do it electronically. There is always a better way to do a job with technology and increase productivity to reduce operating costs.”

Tow n sh ip Ad m i n ist r at or a nd Cle rk Kathleen D. Hoffman said Bryan’s description of the township’s customer service is “not at all” true.

Bryan, a 23-year township resident, said the township’s tax payment policy needs to be changed too.

“We should be able to pay our taxes online without a 3 percent convenience fee,” he said.

“No one wants to pay more to pay their taxes online. Amazon does not charge 3 percent to do business with them online.”

Also of concer n to the Southampton Township Recreation Association member is “the lack of a conduit between the residents and the township committee.”

“A lot of people can’t make the meetings if you are active in sports, like I am, and there is no real way to interact with the township committee unless you attend the meetings,” Bryan said. “I think there should be a lot more Facebook interaction with posts that say, ‘Here are the issues on the agenda. We would like to hear what you have to say,’ instead of the thinking that we know what the people want.”

The 2012 retiree of the state police, who worked at the agency’s Red Lion Barracks in 1988, is also hoping to improve relations between the New Jersey State Police and the municipality.

Communication problems between the two entities were disclosed by the committee last year.

“I am well-versed in communicating and I believe I will fix whatever is broken,” said Bryan, who helped grow the private-detective unit of the state police, which enforces laws regulating the private detective industry, from a six-person unit to a 24-person unit. “You have to have open lines of communication and I believe I can assist in that endeavor.”

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♦ Page 25

UNDERFUNDING: Medford Lakes District Says It’s Underfunded (Continued from Page 7) President Kim Bezanis.

Dent said it gets harder each year for the district to be without a sports program.

“This gets harder and harder because, as those parents and students move on, you need another crop to come in each year,” he said.

“For the district to run these sports, it would probably cost us $80,000 a year.”

Dent explained that the board’s resolution was adopted from a similar version created by the nearby Delanco School District, sent out as an example to other small school districts.

“I forwarded it to our board and they decided that the resolution was something that they would like to join in on,” he said.

Bezanis said that a letter, along with the resolution, will be sent by the board to Sen. Dawn Marie Addiego (R-8th District), as well as members of the local congressional delegation and assembly.

“With the resolution, our hope is for us to get our name out to the political bodies, along with other local districts that have the same struggles, in order to get their attention,” Dent said.

In other meeting business, Dent spoke about the possibility of making Neeta Trail one way during school hours in order to improve traffic flow and increase safety.

He said he had consulted last week with Medford Lakes Borough Administrator Dr. Robert Burton, who was looking into the possibility of having something like the sandwich-board one-way sign that Nokomis School put in place.

“Staff and parents would still be able to leave the way they are supposed to, but during the beginning or the end of the school day, where we’re used to seeing some people coming in the front way, if that sign board is there, they won’t be able to do that. My assumption is that for at least the first month or two, there would be some police presence there as well.”

At the beginning of the meeting, Neeta School inducted nine seventh-grade students into its 2018 National Junior Honor Society.

They are: Hailey Dilks, Samuel Beamer, Michael Haussman, Anna McConnell, Sean McCartney, Katherine Schaefer, Brooke Summerville, Dana Ulriksen, and Emmeline Weimer.

CANDIDATE: Calls for Inquiry on Nepotism (Continued from Page 10)

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Lenape trails, for which the borough received state aid.

In response to a question from Aromando, Burton said $856,000 budgeted for equipment was a little deceiving.

“When you look at the road improvements for $430,000, $230,000 of that amount will come from a grant,” he said. “Also, while we don’t yet have it in town, we found a new asphalt machine to purchase that was tested through very hard winters in Michigan. We appropriated money to purchase this machine.”

Cranston praised everyone who worked on the budget for a job well done.

Burton also updated council on the status of work now underway on Dixontown Road and Lenape Trail.

“We had a little issue with what was done (on Dixontown Road) a couple of years ago,” he said. “Some of the areas around the edges of the road had folded a bit. We put a temporary fix of a cold patch on the road, but we plan to fully mold and repair it in the next two to three weeks. I ask people to use caution when driving through it.”

The second phase of repaving on Lenape Trail is almost completed, he said.

The administrator further reported that the Medford Lakes Colony, a dues-paying recreational membership group, is working on replacing the slip line of a Beach 4 dam with a new pipe. The work should be completed within two weeks.

The work was necessitated, he said, by the collapse of part of an old pipe, which, although not as bad as it sounds, was resulting in lower water flow.

In other business, council granted a permit for a temporary dumpster to be allowed on Conestoga Trail.

Heinold said a resident, who is doing a home renovation, had expressed concern about putting a dumpster in her driveway, which could crack the bricks, requiring a costly repair, and could also break the limbs of a red maple tree. He said the resident wanted permission to put the dumpster in the road, instead, for about five to six days, and that there would be room for traffic to get by.

Heinold said PJ Whelihan’s restaurant asked

for relief on alcohol sales restrictions during Sunday morning hours on Oct. 28, which is when the Philadelphia Eagles will be playing in London at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time.

Heinold was asked by council to produce a blanket extension ordinance to allow for special hours for selling alcohol when requested by any business.

Borough Manager Mark McIntosh said engraving for a redesigned Veterans Memorial monument at the borough’s Leon E. Todd Memorial Park has been completed. A ribboncutting ceremony subsequently took place on Memorial Day. The engraving of the monument, with four new quotes, was a project initiated by Shawnee senior and Girl Scout Francesca Bonamo, who will be receiving a Gold Award (the Girl Scouts’ highest honor) for her efforts. Bonamo presented her plan for the project to council last year.

“The engraving looks fantastic,” McIntosh said. “It’s also very timely to have this done before (Francesca’s) 18th birthday in a couple weeks.”

He added that Councilman Bill Fields had also just attended the Eagle Scout ceremony of her brother, David, and called the Bonamos “quite an amazing family to have two children achieve what they have achieved.”

Cranston discussed a Small Towns Roundtable he had attended, hosted by Governor Phil Murphy.

“I think that some past administrations have thought that smaller towns like ours are more expensive, but I think that this council and prior councils have demonstrated that this is not the case,” he said. “Smaller (townships) can be more efficient.”

Cranston added that the governor had appointed two special services czars to investigate shared-services possibilities, and said that there’s no intention to coerce any municipality to enter into any such agreement.

“I’m cautiously optimistic about that statement,” he said.

The council also granted the Shawnee End Zone Club a license to conduct a 50/50 and merchandise raffle on June 8 at the Medford Lakes Country Club and approved yearly alcoholic beverage licenses for PJ Whelihan’s and the Medford Lakes Country Club.

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