More Than 10,000 COPIES Distributed Weekly and Now Direct Mailed to OVER 2,250 HOMES in LeisureTowne and 195 HOMES in Hampton Lakes
Countdown to Christmas
Becoming Worldly Wise Shamong Third Graders Given Virtual Tour of the Globe
So Much To Do, So Little Time
PG 4
www.pinebarrenstribune.com
Vol. 3 – No. 13 ♦
PG 16
Symptom Symposium
Seniors Taught to Recognize First Signs of Pneumonia PG 9 Facebook.com/PineBarrensTribune
@PineBarrensNews
The News Leader of the Pines
♦
To Advertise Call: 609-801-2392
November 24, 2018 – November 30, 2018
Pemberton Mayor Wins Fourth Term By Mark Hatoff and Douglas D. Melegari
Team Coverage
Photo By Douglas D. Melegari
Pictured from left to right are Pemberton Volunteer Fire Company personnel Adam Behr, Bill Guenther, Bob Herkowitz, Craig Augustoni, Joseph Schmidt, Susan Lucas, Brian Warrick, Jason Baalman, Alan South and Thomas “TJ” Gemignani.
HOMETOWN HEROES Browns Mills Firefighters Speak About Their Efforts to Retrieve Three Fire Victims from Raging Inferno By Douglas D. Melegari Staff Writer
BROWNS MILLS—Stories of valor are rising from the ashes of a Willow Boulevard residence that burned to the ground last month, leaving two dead and another injured, in the Browns Mills section of Pemberton Township. In an exclusive interview with the Pine Barrens Tribune, Pemberton Township Volunteer Fire Co. Chief Craig Augustoni, Browns Mills Fire Station Captain Thomas “TJ” Gemignani and Browns Mills Fire Station Battalion Chief Alan South recounted their arrival and efforts to extinguish the raging Oct. 16 house fire. The three men were the first firefighters to arrive at the conflagration, which authorities later learned was purportedly started in the home’s attached garage by resident Kurt Smith.
“I don’t really remember the ride out there,” South said. “I just remember responding to that call and saying, ‘Just get me there.’ When we pulled up, I jumped out of the fire truck before it stopped moving.” Once out of the fire truck, the three firemen said they were told that up to eight individuals were trapped inside the burning residence. Gemignani and South went inside to conduct a search and rescue operation. As the smoke and flames became more intense, Augustoni said Gemignani and South emerged from the residence with one of the victims. With the potential for seven more people trapped inside, Gemignani and South sprinted back towards the blaze to retrieve more victims, but not before encountering Augustoni, who was
PEMBERTON—Longtime Democratic Pemberton Township Mayor David Patriarca has been elected to a fourth term, according to new unofficial election results released by Burlington County on Nov. 16. The new tally from the Nov. 6 general election showed that Patriarca, who became the township’s mayor in January 2007, received 3,965 votes compared to his Republican opponent, Jack Tompkins, who only got 3,669 votes. The new vote tally includes all provisional ballots that were cast on Election Day and later determined to be qualified ballots that could be counted in the tally. A raw vote tally released by Pemberton Township on Nov. 6 showed Patriarca with 3,506 votes, leading Tompkins who got 3,240 votes. However, unofficial election results issued by Burlington County Nov. 7 showed Tompkins with 3,448 votes, holding a slight lead over Patriarca, who was listed as having only 3,409 votes. See WINS/ Page 13
Plan to Replace Youngkin Revealed By Douglas D. Melegari
increasingly concerned for the safety of the firemen in light of the deteriorating situation. “Alan (South) looked at me and said, ‘Chief, we are going back in there. This is the call you train us for,’” Augustoni recounted. Eventually, the firemen got an accurate occupancy count and retrieved all three victims, though one, George Pikunis, 92, was already dead and another, Lore Smith, also 92, was fighting for her life by that point before later dying at nearby Deborah Hospital. Pemberton Township Police officers, when they arrived at the scene, assisted Gemignani and South by helping to lift one of the victims out of a bedroom window. Gemignani said that while in the home, See HEROES/ Page 11
Staff Writer
MOUNT HOLLY—Burlington County Democratic Party leaders have announced how they plan to replace Democratic Freeholderelect George Youngkin, who has committed to resigning immediately after being sworn into office for the first time on Jan. 2. Youngkin, who received 92,543 votes as of last check with the Burlington County Clerk’s Office—10,000 more than two Republican incumbents—suspended his campaign in late September amid revelations that he was once accused of physically abusing his ex-wife and harassing another, unnamed woman. After Youngkin learned of his unanticipated win on Nov. 6, he did an about-face and announced that he intended to serve on the Burlington County Board of Chosen Freeholders. Following a Nov. 7 meeting with County Democratic Chairman Joe Andl, Youngkin See REPLACE/ Page 22
INDEX Automotive................... 23 Dental Column.............. 11 Local News..................... 2 Business Directory....... 14 Health........................... 10 Marketplace.................. 20 Community Events......... 9 Hobbyist....................... 12 Opinion........................... 8 Christmas Countdown.. 16 Jobs.............................. 21 Worship Directory........... 9
****ECRWSS**** LOCAL POSTAL CUSTOMER
Vincentown, NJ Permit 190
PAID Presorted Standard US Postage