Pine Barrens Tribune October 22, 2022 to November 4, 2022

CONGRESSIONAL FACE-OFF

Pemberton Police Seek Grant for Gunshot Detection System as Attorney General Promotes Usage to Combat Gun Violence Results of Technology Have Been Challenged, However, By Various National Organizations; Second Grant Sought for License Plate Readers

By Douglas D. Melegari Staff Writer

PEMBERTON—A gunshot detection system is a tool that the Pemberton Township Police Department is hoping to secure through competitive grant funding currently being offered by the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office (OAG).

Sunbury Village has accounted for the majority – but not all – of township shootings in recent years, but when Councilman Paul Detrick asked during an Oct. 19 Pemberton Township Council meeting if the system would be for that community, Mayor David Patriarca replied that he was “not going to give the chief’s operational plan as to where he may put something like that” away.

“If he (Police Chief Jay Watters) wants to divulge that, it would be up to him as the operational officer for that,” declared Patriarca, also a former township policeman.

By Douglas D. M elegari Staff Writer

SOUTHAMPTON—It

Civic League on Oct. 19, with

main attraction of the affair the four congressional candidates running for an open seat in the state’s Third Congressional District, with three of them, Republican Bob Healey, Libertarian Christopher Russomanno, and Gregory Sobocinski, an independent running under the declared party of “God Save America,” challenging

two-term Democratic Rep. Andy Kim.

In fact, when the moderator attempted to move on to the next audience member’s question for the candidates (questions were originally supposed to be aimed only at one particular candidate for the sake of time at

However, in response to another question from Detrick about whether the system is a “permanent installation or is moved around the township,” the mayor replied that he believed that the type of system the municipal police department is looking to purchase is a “permanent system.”

“The ones I have been looking at are stationary,” Patriarca said. “This may be a portable. You may be able to relocate it. I don’t see it as you move it right in and you take it right out kind of an installation, because you have to have numerous microphones for these

Photo By Tom Valentino

LeisureTowne resident Jack Roberts, poses a question on Oct. 19 about assault weapons to the four candidates running in the Third Congressional District for an open seat, following the shooting of his daughter during a Highland Park, Illinois, Independence Day Parade back on July 4.

By Douglas D. Melegari Staff Writer

SOUTHAMPTON—An Oct. 12 decision by the all-Democratic Burlington County Board of Commissioners (formerly known as the Board of Chosen Freeholders) to “reject bids” (for the second time this year) for the county’s annual road overlay program, has turned into a political lightning rod for Burlington County Republicans in these final weeks of campaigning as they hope to take back in this November’s General Election one seat on the county governing body, which turned all-Democratic back in 2020.

That was demonstrated by Jeff Fortune, a Republican small businessman who takes pride in employing people with checkered pasts and giving them a second chance, and who is challenging Democratic County Commissioner Allison Eckel, telling approximately 75 people who gathered for a LeisureTowne Candidates’ Forum in Southampton Township on Oct. 19 that the county commissioners have “dropped the ball” with respect to the “road overlay program.”

“Our county commissioners decided to drop the ball on state funding to pave Red Lion and Eayrestown roads,” declared Fortune as he evoked two county roads in Southampton that were listed in the bid specifications for the annual road program to be resurfaced. “C’mon folks! How can they be that blind? How can you be that arrogant?” Eckel did not make an appearance at

the local forum, instead simply sending in a statement that was read aloud by the moderator, contending a “prior commitment” to a Scouting event “several months in the making” is what prevented her from attending what’s viewed as the county’s single mostimportant candidates’ event of the year, hosted by the LeisureTowne Civic League.

This newspaper, however, has since learned from a county spokesman the bids received came in about $1.2 million over budget, with the county spokesman emphasizing that the county commissioners have a responsibility to “provide prudent fiscal oversight.”

According to a press release from the Burlington County GOP that was put out just hours prior to the event commencing, the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) awards the county “approximately $10 million to pave the county roads in the greatest need of repair.”

The county, on April 27, 2022, according to a county commissioners’ meeting resolution, obtained by this newspaper through an Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request, authorized the solicitation of bids for the “2020 state overlay program,” which the county Republicans pointed out entails some “34 miles of roads over 13 municipalities.”

Nine bids were received, according to the public record, on Sept. 7 of this year, but on Sept. 14, the county governing body “authorized the rejection of all bids received.”

By D ouglas D. M elegari Staff Writer

SOUTHAMPTON—It’s a program that a Republican candidate for county sheriff says “‘was’ near and dear to my heart,” and has provided intrinsic benefits to both the Burlington County Sheriff’s Department’s officers and local teenagers.

But Michael Ditzel, currently one of two lieutenants in the sheriff’s department, and a past undersheriff of the agency when it was under Republican control, maintained during a LeisureTowne Candidates’ Forum on Oct. 19 that the sheriff’s department’s all-important Police and Teens Together program, also known as P.A.T.T., in which youth are given the chance to play the role of law enforcement, has “gone away” under

almost three years now of Democratic control of the agency.

Ditzel, in fact, currently one of the agency’s nine supervisors, and currently the fifth-highest ranking county sheriff’s officer (who had at one point been the secondhighest ranking sheriff’s officer under former Republican Sheriff Jean Stanfield’s tenure before she retired back in 2019), charged during the forum that he has had to sit back and “watch the agency crumble” under the leadership of Democratic Sheriff Anthony Basantis, the latter who has apparently decided not to seek re-election, now wrapping up his current, single term that commenced in January 2020.

James Kostoplis, a Democrat who has served as undersheriff of the agency since

Rejection

as Demonstrated During

Even Though They Were

Photo By Tom Valentino Michael Ditzel, currently a lieutenant for the Burlington County Sheriff’s Department, attends a LeisureTowne Candidates’ Forum

Oct.

By Sarah Beauregard and Johannie Dufour Translated by Jasmine Heesaker

Wanda the witch and Greg the ghost are two friends who live hidden in a clearing near Stonehill. Every year on Halloween night, they disguise themselves as humans to collect delicious sweets.

As Wanda waits for her partner in crime at their usual meeting place, she hears a commotion:

“My candy for the trick-or-treaters was stolen!” exclaims a man dressed as a pirate.

“Mine too!” an elderly woman shouts from her balcony.

“Same here!” yells a young couple in unison.

The neighbours soon gather in the street and begin exchanging theories on how their candy was stolen. Suddenly, Greg shows up, looking mischievous and wearing a sheet, so no one suspects he’s a real ghost.

“It was you!” Wanda accuses him immediately.

“What!? I’m not a trickster,” he answers with a wink.

“We’re just about to go trick or treating,” Wanda replies. “We must give them back their candy!”

“That’s right, so you’d better find my great hiding place right away!” laughs Greg. “I figured it all out when I ‘borrowed’ the candy last night. If you solve my riddle, they’ll get their candy back.

“Here are my three clues:

1. I’m full of colourful treasures of all shapes and sizes.

2. You must wear good shoes when you visit me to stock up.

3. I provide you with the vitamins you need to stay healthy.”

“That’s tough,” says Wanda. “Treasures that keep you healthy? A good pair of shoes?

Is the candy at the toy store? They sell colourful things, but not vitamins. It can’t be the grocery store either since you can go there in sandals.”

Wanda glances at the worried crowd. She must guess the answer quickly! She paces back and forth, thinking about it. Then, suddenly:

“I know!” she exclaims triumphantly.

She bolts down the street as Greg chases after her with a sneer.

When she makes it to the U-pick farm up the road, the young witch looks everywhere for a potential hiding place. Wanda sees a row of pumpkin boxes and rushes over to discover one filled with treats.

“I did it!” she exclaims. “But we’ll never be able to return all the candy in time.”

“I told you I had everything planned,” replies Greg. “Lend me your broom.”

Wanda cautiously hands over her broom. Greg re moves the sheet he’s wearing and transforms it into a massive sack of candy, which he ties to the broom handle.

“It’s time to save Halloween,” he says, smiling.

“Well done,” she replies while mounting her broom.

On this memorable Halloween night, the town of Stonehill is showered with candy. The costumed children look up in awe and open their bags to col lect the falling treats. Afterwards, some say they saw a strange shooting star, while others swear they heard joyful laughter echoing through the sky. Of course, no one will ever suspect that the candy showers are the work of a kind-hearted witch and a prankster ghost.

board games to celebrate Halloween

By Douglas D. Melegari Staff Writer

PEMBERTON—An approximately $1 million lawsuit that was brought against Pemberton Township back in 2014 by 33 current and former officers of the Pemberton Township Police Department, who alleged that they were owed overtime compensation for “pre-and post-shift work,” in addition making “claims of retaliation,” has ultimately resulted in a court recently awarding $26,308.67 in collective unpaid overtime wages over a twoyear period to the 30 officers who ended up sticking with the suit all the way to trial, the Pine Barrens Tribune has learned, with the retaliation claims ending up being dismissed.

However, because there was a judgement against the township in a civil matter involving the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the municipality is also required to pay the police officers’ legal fees, according to both Pemberton Business Administrator Daniel Hornickel and Pemberton Mayor David Patriarca, with the parties having recently settled to pay $390,000 in total to the cops (collectively), which includes the entered judgement (which ended up being doubled by the court) and attorney’s fees.

Considering the municipality was originally facing a $1 million suit, on top of its own legal fees, as well as facing the prospect of having to pay the plaintiffs’ attorney’s fees in the ballpark of “hundreds of thousands of dollars,” the township, in an Oct. 26 statement provided to this newspaper, emphasized that they believed the settlement is a “win” for the

taxpayers.

The township also called the final judgement in collective unpaid overtime wages one that is “modest,” and a “paltry amount” considering what the officers had originally sought from the court.

Patriarca, in suggesting to this newspaper the suit was frivolous, pointed to a “time clock policy” that had “specifically prevented the sworn police officers from performing any work before or after their shifts without obtaining authorization,” with the township release containing his remarks adding that it came about as members of the local PBA “were unhappy with the status of ongoing collective bargaining negotiations at the time” and was filed “on the eve of the mayor’s re-election.”

The case involving the officers, Thomas Stewart II, et. als, v. Pemberton, was filed in U.S. District Court. The suit had alleged that “the defendants,” or the “township,” had failed to pay them “overtime wages for pre-and post-shift work” between November 2011 and October 2014 and then “retaliated” against them after they had filed their initial complaint in the court on Oct. 30, 2014.

Specifically, the former and current employees of the police department brought claims for violations of the FLSA, retaliation under the FLSA, violations of state wage and hour law and retaliation under state wage and hour laws.

According to a copy of a Pemberton Township Council resolution “authorizing” the settlement agreement, the plaintiffs in the

By Bill B onvie Staff Writer

EVESHAM—The GOP contenders for three open Evesham Township Council seats in next month’s general election, including that of mayor, bring some qualifications to the table that could well pose a serious challenge to the three incumbents now running for re-election on the presently all-Democratic council.

Should mayoral candidate Dennis Mehigan and his running mates, Bonnie Olt and Michael Thompson, manage to win over more voters than the current mayor, Jaclyn “Jackie” Veasy, Deputy Mayor Heather Cooper and Councilwoman Patricia Hansen, it would put this most populous of Burlington County municipalities back under the control of a Republican majority,

as it was prior to the election victories of the latter council members back in 2018 (the other two incumbent Democrats, Eddie Freeman III and Ginamarie Espinosa, having been elected two years later).

Besides having deep hometown roots in Evesham, both Mehigan and Olt possess considerable experience in financial disciplines. Mehigan has spent more than 20 years as a certified public accountant as well as being a certified fraud examiner, a specialty he has also utilized during his 15year tenure as manager for a multi-state law firm with 65 attorneys, while Olt has served as a credit risk analyst for the federal National Mortgage Association, commonly known as Fannie Mae, since 2019 and a project analyst

November 8th

Following Verdict in 2014 Suit Brought Against Pemberton Township by Some 30 Current and Former Cops, Settlement of $390K Reached

U.S. District Court Found There Had Been Violation of Federal Labor Law, Opening Door to ‘Fee Shifting,’ But Did Not Find Evidence of Retaliation; Settlement Covers Plaintiffs’ Attorney’s Fees, Plus Monetary Judgement

GOP Challengers for 3 Evesham Council Seats, Including Mayor’s, Combine Community Ties with Experience in Finance, Business Dennis Mehigan, Michael Thompson and Bonnie Olt Hoping for Chance to Revitalize Downtown, Be More Responsive to Retailers and Residents

Photo Provided

Republican hopefuls for Evesham Township Council, from left to right, Michael Thompson, Bonnie Olt and Dennis Mehigan.

New Addition Added to Pemberton Police Headquarters to Provide Locker Room Space to Township Officers and Offices for Senior Staff

Weeknight Ban on ‘Disturbing Noises’ to Start Earlier in Pemberton

By D ouglas D. M elegari Staff Writer

PEMBERTON—Regulations regarding “noise” have been tightened in Pemberton Township, to now include an earlier prohibition on “loud and disturbing noises” during most weeknights.

Previously, yelling, shouting, hooting, whistling or singing on the public streets, was prohibited in Pemberton Township “particularly between the hours of 11 p.m. and 7 a.m.”

But now such activity is prohibited in town “particularly between the hours of 9 p.m. and 7 a.m., Sunday through Thursday, and between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. Friday and Saturday.”

“This just adjusts the times when you are supposed to refrain from loud and disturbing noises,” explained Councilman Paul Detrick during an Oct. 19 Pemberton Township Council meeting in which the new regulations were approved. “Otherwise, the ordinance remains essentially the same as it was before.”

Resident Michelle Forman declared “this is a good thing,” noting that she has discussed noise problems in town for some 20 years.

“I love it!” Forman declared. “This is a really good thing.”

However, Forman maintained that she felt the language of the ordinance is such that it almost gives one the “impression” that loud noises are allowable outside of the specified times.

“There are limitations to noise levels pertaining to all hours of the day,” replied Mayor David Patriarca.

However, according to Detrick, “while there is probably a limit to everything, in general, if you want to be in your backyard, having a BBQ and playing music, this tells you when you ought to shut down.”

Councilman Donovan Gardner indicated that a violation of the noise ordinance during the daytime would possibly kick-in if one knocked on their neighbor’s door, and mentioned, “you can turn it down a little bit, I am trying to sleep,” and the request was ignored.

By D ouglas D. M elegari Staff Writer

PEMBERTON—A new addition for the headquarters of the Pemberton Township Police Department, located at 500 Pemberton-Browns Mills Road, is nearing completion.

Made of three modular units, according to Pemberton Township Mayor David Patriarca, the addition has “probably added about 40 percent of usable space for the police department.”

The addition, he said, was attached to the “back” of the existing police department facility.

“When you go inside, you don’t realize it was three modular units put together,” the mayor maintained. “It is basically a new unit there.”

The new space, according to Patriarca, will consist of offices for senior policing staff, including for the department’s lieutenants and police chief, the latter title currently held by Jay Watters.

“It also has a common area in there that they can use for training purposes,” Patriarca said. “There are also two, brandnew locker rooms, one for the male officers and one for the female officers.”

Those locker rooms, he explained, are “equipped with showers, bathrooms, etc.” for use by the officers.

Overall, according to the mayor, the addition will “relieve some of the space being occupied in our smaller police department currently” and “allow them to utilize that space for other purposes within the department.”

The department’s facility, with the added addition, “looks and feels more like a building,” Patriarca contended, “as opposed to what was there previously,” noting that what had been there “kind of just felt like a couple of construction trailers.”

“This is a much nicer feel,” declared the mayor, a former township cop himself, in regard to the department with the added addition.

Patriarca told this newspaper in an Oct. 25 interview that “everything is accessible now from the inside,” which is part of the intent of the project, whereas before, officers wishing to use certain police department facilities had to go outside first to the construction trailers that had been set up.

Another of the reasons behind the “whole new upgrade,” Township Solicitor Andrew “Andy” Bayer explained, is to “improve the workspace for the police officers.”

That is important, the mayor added, because “we have experienced some officers who find the grass is greener on other side of the fence and they’ll move on to another department,” and the “most received

response” when an officer decides to leave the department has been that they want to “work closer to home.”

“Well, if we can make it nicer for them here, and give them something in which they don’t mind driving a little bit to come to work, we’ll do that,” said Patriarca of the project’s impetus. “We have a lot of good officers, and we are getting more and more younger officers who are coming on who really have an interest in our community, and serving our community, and we want to keep them here. But we have to do that by providing amenities that make them feel comfortable.”

At the same time that the police department has had an addition put on it, the township’s Department of Public Works, the mayor noted, has been working to repaint the municipal building, which is part of the same complex as the police department.

The “sprucing up of the building,” he maintained, has made it look “crisper,” pointing out that all of the paint work has been done by Public Works, resulting in a “substantial savings” to local taxpayers.

As for the police department addition project, Patriarca said $1 million was budgeted, and somewhere between $850,000 and $900,000 was spent thus far. Pemberton Township Council, on Oct. 19, awarded an additional $16,165 contract to Mill Creek Contracting, LLC, for curb and sidewalk installation around the revamped police station.

Previously, Joseph and Company was awarded a $7,450 contract for the plumbing and sewer installation inside the addition, and ARH Associates (the township’s contracted engineering firm) was awarded $29,500 for field survey and site preparation work for the addition project.

On March 17, 2021, council had authorized the purchase of a 36.5 x 52-foot modular building from Modular Genius Inc., through the Keystone Purchasing Network, for $644,697.

Once the curbing and sidewalk around the police station is completed, along with a “punch list” of items, the mayor expects the addition to open and be occupied.

“By the time you factor in the municipal employees and so forth (with Public Works having painted the walls and installed drop ceilings inside the addition), it is a substantial investment into that department, and rightfully so,” declared Patriarca of the close to $1 million investment into the police department retrofitting. “They have certainly outgrown the space that they are in. So, this should make a better working environment for the officers, and hopefully they will finish out their careers here.”

Yelling, shouting, hooting, whistling or singing remains prohibited any time of the day in the township if it “annoys or disturbs the quiet, comfort or repose of persons in any office, dwelling, hotel, motel or other type of residence, or of any persons in the vicinity,” according to a copy of the new noise ordinance obtained by this newspaper.

Additionally, the playing, use or operation of any “radio receiving set, television, musical instrument, loudspeaker, amplifier or other machine or device for the producing or reproducing of sound” with “louder volume than is necessary for convenient hearing for persons who are in the room or building in which the machine or device is operated, and who are voluntary listeners,” or what is “clearly audible at a distance of 50 feet,” is now also prohibited between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. Sunday through Thursday, and between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. Friday and Saturday, versus what had been any day between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m.

“It is moving it back to 9 p.m.,” said Municipal Solicitor Andrew “Andy” Bayer in explaining the intent of the ordinance.

The changes were the result of recommendations from the “administration,” Detrick noted.

“If they didn’t turn it down, they would probably say, ‘We got a neighbor here who is playing loud music. Can you come and talk to them?’”

Gardner suggested that the intent of the ordinance is to provide some guidelines for someone who has a “big rock band in their backyard on a Saturday,” but Forman, who has had past issues with dogs in her neighborhood, inquired if a provision could be added for “barking dogs.”

“Generally speaking, when you have a specific ordinance regarding the dogs, it is better to have that,” replied Detrick, with Gardner pointing out there is already an existing township ordinance regarding animals that addresses barking dogs.

Exceptions to the noise rules have always broadly applied to municipal government, law enforcement and other emergency operations, as well to places of worship.

An added exemption has been carved out specifically for “activities of municipal or public utilities or municipal Public Works to respond to emergencies, public health or safety issues or to repair critical infrastructure.”

“I’d love to have a quieter town,” Forman declared. “I’ll just love it.”

By Bill B onvie Staff Writer

PEMBERTON—Longtime Democratic Pemberton Township Mayor David Patriarca is once again being opposed by former Republican Councilman Jack Tompkins, who has joined forces with two newcomers to the political arena who are hoping to establish a GOP presence on the township’s now solidly Democratic fivemember council.

Running on the Republican side of the ballot along with Tompkins in next week’s general election are Pemberton township natives Dan Dewey, who recently retired from the automotive business, during which he arranged for vocational students to be trained by Subaru to become apprentices and eventually employees at dealerships, as well as having spent 30 years on the Burlington County Institute of Technology Advisory Board, and Joshua Ward, a Medford Township restaurateur and a former commander of the U.S Naval Sea Cadet Corps at Fort Dix who currently serves with the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary in Manahawkin and as a member of the

Berkeley Township Underwater Search and Rescue Squad.

Tompkins, a retired U.S. Air Force NCO who was elected to the fill the unexpired 14-month term of Councilwoman Sherry Scull but lost a re-election bid in 2016, last challenged Patriarca four years ago, garnering a total of 3,669 votes compared to the 3,965 that won the incumbent mayor a fourth term.

This time, he told the Pine Barrens Tribune in an Oct. 25 phone interview, he is hoping that popular momentum in favor of the GOP, in contrast to the “blue wave” of 2018, will turn the tide and get him elected, as well as helping his running mates oust Democratic incumbents Gaye Burton, the current council president, and Jason Allen.

Should all three manage to succeed in that effort, their goal, they say, will be to create a friendlier climate for business in Pemberton Township, which has been attempting to revitalize a commercial district that has had its share of struggles in recent years.

“I don’t have a crystal ball, but if I had to guess, I would say this election is going to be

Photo By Douglas D. Melegari

The Pemberton Township Police Department with its new addition.

Tompkins Again Seeking to Replace Patriarca as Pemberton Twp. Mayor, with Two Newcomers Hoping to Oust Council Members Burton and Allen Republican Trio’s Goal Is to Make Township a More Inviting Locale for Business

OVERLAY

The county commissioners, also on Sept. 14, authorized the “re-issuance and advertisement of the solicitation of bids for the 2020 state overlay program,” according to the public record, this time receiving five bids by an Oct. 4 deadline.

But, on Oct. 12, the county commissioners passed 4-0 a resolution rejecting those bids too (with Commissioner Tom Pullion abstaining), following a review reportedly conducted by the county purchasing agent, county solicitor, Department of Public Works, and Division of Engineering, and a subsequent recommendation. The reason for the latest rejection, according to the public document, is that “the lowest bid substantially exceeds County of Burlington’s appropriation for the budget.”

“It is further recommended that the county enter negotiations to award the contract,” the Oct. 12 resolution rejecting the bids continued.

It is permissible in local and county government that when bids for a project exceed the allotted budget, after two tries, a governmental agency can instead negotiate to award a bid, rather than award one to the lowest responsible bidder.

County Republicans, however, maintained in the press release that the Democratic commissioners have “dragged their feet for six months.”

David Levinsky, the county’s public information officer, later told this newspaper that “in general” the county awards a bid “within 45 days” of a project being advertised for bid solicitations, but that in this instance, the county, since April, “had to make some addendums that caused the process to be longer.”

The GOP, in its press release, also charged that “even if the board were to pull itself together in time to award a contract in the coming weeks, it would then be too cold to

SETTLEMENT

case sought more than $1 million in “wages and damages.”

The retaliation allegation, according to a detailed court-issued opinion narrative obtained by this newspaper, stemmed from when about a month after the October 30, 2014, complaint was filed, on November 5, 2014, the township changed schedules for “patrol police officers from 12 to eight-hour shifts,” and then two days later, the police locker room was said to be “unavailable” for “renovations.”

begin work,” maintaining that the county commissioners could thereby miss a deadline and have the $10 million relinquished.

“They will relinquish $10 million because we didn’t act on fulfilling our commitment to pave those roads,” Fortune told the crowd at the LeisureTowne forum.

The GOP press release went further in charging that “residents will endure roads in disrepair through at least next year,” maintaining, “Burlington County’s allDemocrat Commissioner Board has made history in the worst way – by not paving even one mile of county roads as part of the annual road overlay program.”

According to the bid specifications posted online, the roads that are supposed to be part of the 2020 overlay program (the year involved in the title is based on the funding source year) involve portions of Marter Avenue in Mount Laurel and Moorestown townships, Woodlane Road in Westampton Township, Irick Road in Westampton, Eayerestown Road in Lumberton, Mount Holly-Smithville Road as well as Powell Road in Eastampton Township, Monmouth Road in Eastampton and Springfield townships, Mount Holly-Jacksonville Road in multiple towns, Burlington-Bustleton Road in Florence Township, BordentownCrosswicks Road in Chesterfield Township, Chesterfield Road in Chesterfield, Main Street in Chesterfield, Wrightstown-Cookstown Road in New Hanover and North Hanover townships, Browns Mills-Cookstown Road in New Hanover, Westfield/Tom Brown Road in Moorestown, Red Lion Road in Southampton, Tuckerton Road in Medford, as well as Eayerestown Road in Southampton.

Levinsky, after being presented with the allegations from the GOP, responded that the county’s annual overlay program is actually “another county success story.”

“Last year, the county repaved just over 28 miles of roadway in 17 municipalities, and it completed dozens of outstanding items and ‘punch list’ work on those roads this year,” he said. “And the Burlington County Division of Roads and Bridges filled close to 5,000 potholes and used over 3,000 tons of asphalt fill while performing emergency repairs and other small paving jobs on both county roads and local ones as part of shared service agreements with various municipalities.”

He pointed out that while the “commissioners are committed to maintaining and enhancing infrastructure,” the members are also “elected to provide prudent fiscal oversight to ensure both taxpayer dollars and grant funds are spent appropriately and efficiently.”

That is why, he noted, the “county’s record of having the lowest average county tax” in 2019, 2020 and 2021 is a “testament to their (the county commissioner’s) leadership.”

“In the case of the current year’s overlay plan, the county solicited bids twice already in 2022 and on both occasions the bids received greatly exceeded the engineer’s cost estimates,” Levinsky explained. “The county is now in negotiations on an acceptable contract and is hopeful that work will be able to commence soon.”

Additionally, on Nov. 10, 2014, according to the narrative, the township had issued a “press release” after the complaint was filed, calling the lawsuit “frivolous” and denying any allegations in the complaint.

After the November 2014 township press release maintained “the residents of Pemberton Township deserve much better than the nonsense filed by the 33 plaintiffs” and pointed out the township planned to defend the lawsuit “vigorously,” on or about Nov. 13, 2014, the township was alleged by the plaintiffs to have filed “internal affairs complaints against the plaintiffs,” though “no action was ever taken on these complaints.”

In defending itself against the alleged

He added that “while the paving is weatherdependent,” work has “successfully been completed during winter months on several occasions previously.”

The county, he noted, is also “readying a request for bids for next year’s program” and “there is no reason that work cannot be undertaken simultaneously to this year’s resurfacing.”

The Pine Barrens Tribune , in locating online the copies of the five bids the county received on Oct. 4, learned that they ranged anywhere from $12,624,513 to $15,996,051, or ran approximately $2 to $5 million above the reportedly $10 million contribution from the state.

However, Levinsky pointed out to this newspaper that the county can also contribute funding toward any road overlay program, and while he said he did not know the specific bid values, and he was not at liberty to reveal the county engineer’s estimate (due to the active negotiations), he could say that the bids were “approximately over by $1.2 million.”

But still, Fortune charged during the LeisureTowne event that rejection of the bids is an example of where “our current administration thinks the rules don’t apply to them.” In light of Eckel not showing up to the forum, and the fact that two affected roads are in Southampton where LeisureTowne is based, Fortune tried to convince attendees “many people here have a lack of representation in Mount Holly,” something he repeated several times over the course of his allotted five minutes to the local seniors.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he said of attending the LeisureTowne forum in person. “I would move heaven and hell to be here, in person, to see your faces. I am running to serve as a check and balance on the one-party rule here in Mount Holly, in Burlington County. We have such a lack of representation; such individuals as you don’t have a voice. We need someone who is going to come in and represent the voiceless.”

Eckel, in her statement, however, maintained “community involvement is a duty” that her father, a Vietnam Navy Seabee, taught her at an early age, pointing out that as a “military spouse” who at one time lived in Germany, she led the Family Readiness Group for the 561st DENTAC during the unit’s deployment to Iraq.

“This was the first time I saw how my education and energy can be used to serve my community by connecting people with the resources offered by the government,” she wrote. “I was responsible for the well-being of the unit’s families on the base, as well as those back in the states.”

It’s that service, she maintained, that “set the tone for the types of community opportunities” she sought when she and her family settled in Medford, including serving on the township’s Economic Development Commission.

“As a county commissioner, connecting people with government resources is the most important part of my job,” she wrote. “The county’s resources address our quality of life in Burlington County.”

She added that “we offer” items such as

wage and hour law violations, the township responded that it has maintained a timeclock policy since June 10, 2010, prohibiting pre-and post-shift work, and that the plaintiffs also failed to file any grievances.

But the plaintiffs reportedly argued that the township and police department’s then-leaders were actually aware that the officers were doing pre-and-post shift work from November 2011 through October 2014 and “intentionally disregarded” the timeclock policy.

Robert Lewandowski, who was the township’s chief of police between November 2007 and July 2010, reportedly testified that it was “cultural knowledge” that officers were “expected to prepare their vehicle and

“food security, housing security, workforce development, economic development, infrastructure, support for veterans, support for those with disabilities, programming for parks and a vast trail system, open space preservation, farmland preservation, and, of course, the county’s high school and community college.”

She also pointed out in the statement that she currently oversees the county’s departments of Resource Conservation and Parks, Military and Veterans Services, and Public Safety, as well as is the county governing body’s liaison to the Board of Social Services.

“My challenger attacks my integrity with spin, misinformation and sometimes flat out lies,” she declared in the statement. “Some people call that a normal campaign, but I don’t play those games. I am here to do the job. I am here to serve my community the way my father taught me. I am proud of my record and work I have done this year – and the good things we are working on in the county.”

After the LeisureTowne forum concluded, however, the county GOP put out a second press release sharply criticizing Eckel, who last year unsuccessfully ran for one of two 8th District Assembly seats, for “being absent” from the forum for a “second year in a row.”

“It is a shame Allison Eckel blew off this important event,” said Fortune through the release. “The LeisureTowne Civic League works hard to put on this event each year, and voters show up to hear directly from the candidates. Well, Allison Eckel robbed the voters of that opportunity Wednesday night. This is just another example of how Allison Eckel thinks the rules don’t apply to her and that she can do whatever she wants, whenever she wants.”

Fortune, in attending the function, revealed “unfortunately, in my life, my wife and I lost a child, so I always thought it was important to give back to our future.” He also revealed that his uncle “ended up dying in streets of Philly with a needle in his arm.”

The loss of a child led him to run for local school board, while the loss of his uncle, he explained, caused him to partner with the City of Philadelphia in participating in the Fair Chance Hiring Initiative.

“I believe in giving people a second chance, not only allowing them to pay their debt back to society, but to give them a sense to be part of it – a sense of, ‘Hey, I am working, paying my finances, and paying my bills,” Fortune said. “Most importantly – giving back, a sense of self worse, as when they come from drug rehab, they are lost. But they are looking for a chance to give back to society.”

Having his company employ “many people returning from incarceration and drug institutions” is “such a fulfilling role for me,” he declared.

Eckel, in her statement aired during the forum, noted she and her fellow county commissioners are “committed to continuing to keep the county tax rate flat while continuing to support” the long list of services she touched upon.

“And, I always have plans for ways we can improve communications, deliverability and efficiencies,” she wrote.

equipment before the scheduled start of their shift.”

“Even after the timeclock policy was implemented in June 2010, plaintiffs have testified that Chief Lewandowski and (subsequent) Chief (David) Jantas were aware of, and encouraged, officers to disregard the timeclock policy during their respective time as chiefs,” the narrative states. “Two plaintiffs have testified that officers were told to clock in within seven minutes of their scheduled shift and to ready their vehicles before the start of their shift.”

One officer apparently testified that Jantas told him “they (the township) can make the

Photo By Tom Valentino

Jeff Fortune, a Republican candidate running for county commissioner, says he would not have it any other way than attending in person the LeisureTowne Candidates’ Forum on Oct. 19.

policies, but I run the day-to-day operations and we are going to do what we have to do to make it work.” However, Jantas, in his testimony, reportedly stated, he was not “aware of any practice or efforts by officers that did any work prior to the start of their work” and he “was never put under undue pressure to be in early” from his superiors when he first began working in 1994.

Former Pemberton business administrator Dennis Gonzalez also reportedly testified that he “was not aware” of the pre-and-postshift work being conducted by officers until an accident involving an officer who was performing such work in October 2013, and upon learning of the work, ordered it must “absolutely stop” and directed Jantas to “explicitly prohibit” others from violating the policy.

While three plaintiffs had ultimately “voluntarily dismissed their complaints against the township,” 30 former and current police officers moved forward with having a “trial.”

Following what was described in the resolution a “multi-day trial,” the District Court issued a “final judgment” in favor of the plaintiffs in the aggregate amount of $27,623.95 (having also only found overtime claims before 2013 valid).

However, because the court “did not believe or accept the sworn testimony of the thenpolice chief that he was unaware of the patrol staff and the sergeants performing pre-shift work” despite “his direct order forbidding the work and the township policies and PBA (Policemen’s Benevolent Association Local 260) agreement the township administration put in place to ensure no uncompensated work was performed,” the court increased the amount owed to $53,247 in a judgement entered on April 19, 2022.

A lieutenant had also testified in the matter that “officers are not mandated in any way to perform duty off the clock.”

In the event of an “adverse verdict” in a FSLA matter, defendants become liable for “fee shifting,” and in this case, the municipality was required to pay the plaintiffs’ attorney fees, estimated to have racked up to $589,785.73.

Indian Harbor Insurance Company, the township’s insurance carrier, per the resolution, “disputed coverage for litigation,” but agreed to “contributing a large percentage” of any settlement amount.

The township and 30 current and former law enforcement officers – Thomas Stewart II, Peter Delagraza, Michael Geibel, Shannon Fallen, Robert A. Shinn, Jason Luis, Arthur H. Shinn, John Hall, Daniel Matthews, Anthony Luster, Wayne Davis, Vincent

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for more than five years before that.

Thompson is the proprietor of a local insurance agency that provides all kinds of coverage and represents some 70 different carriers in 13 states, having previously been a sales agent for Liberty Mutual in Evesham for seven years.

In addition to their professional areas of specialization, each of the trio’s members has a background of service in various municipal and civic capacities.

Mehigan, for example, has served for the past six years on the Evesham Township Board of Education, where he has chaired the finance committee, as well as being a member of the personnel and policy committees, and was also a member of,

Cestare, Jason M. Gant, Michael C. Brewer, Bruce Phillips, Sean Smith, Shannon Lagaff, Thomas Lucas, Andre Byrd, David Geibel, Perry J. Doyle, Robert Hood, Kenneth M. Volk, John P. Laffan, Shaun Meyers, Michael Bennett, David Sawyer, Charles Bennett, Stephen Price, and Justin Kreig – arrived at a $390,000 settlement agreement for both the attorney’s fees and judgement in late July of this year, according to public records.

The settlement was formally authorized by Pemberton council during its Aug. 3 meeting, and signed by Patriarca that same day, with a separate council resolution authorizing an emergency appropriation of $69,382.66 also approved on Aug. 3, which represents the township’s contribution toward the settlement that is not covered by insurance, according to Hornickel.

The plaintiffs and their “respective heirs, family members, executors, agents and/or assigns,” in exchange for payment, according to a copy of the signed and executed settlement agreement obtained by this newspaper, “fully released and forever discharged” the township and its representatives from any “claim, complaint, charge, duty, obligation, demand, grievance or cause of action and/or relating to or arising from the facts upon which this action was based.”

The agreement also contains a “no admission of liability” clause noting “this agreement is not and shall not in any way be considered or construed as an admission of wrongdoing and/or liability by the defendant of any kind, including, but not limited to, discrimination, retaliation, tortious conduct, or of any violation of any laws, common laws, or federal, state, and local laws, statutes or regulations, or of any employment policies, township policies, regulations, standard operating procedures, practices, contracts, or agreements, of any alleged duties owed by defendant, or of any unlawful or wrongful acts whatsoever by defendant.”

“Notwithstanding the judgment, the defendant wholly denies wrongdoing of any kind and is entering into this agreement to amicably resolve any and all disputes in anyway related to the action with the plaintiffs, and to avoid continuing litigation costs and risks,” it is added in the settlement agreement.

The court, however, had previously found there “is evidence that patrol officers were doing pre-and-post-shift work without extra pay during the period of November 2011 through October 2014,” and that with respect to the retaliation claims, “the mayor asked Chief Jantas to conduct research and look into changing patrol schedules to save money in overtime costs,” and that “the change in shift hours was associated with ‘manpower’ and ‘feasibility’ issues with the police department,” with the “plaintiffs having offered no contrary evidence.”

Additionally, it is noted that the “defendants presented evidence that access to the locker

as well as school board liaison for, the municipal Planning Board for four years until his term expired in June, and has been a coach with Marlton Recreation Council Youth Sports.

Olt has also played an active role in educational oversight, having served on the local school board for 16 years and on the Lenape Regional High School District Board of Education for the past five years before resigning to run for council, as well as having been previously involved in parent organizations while her own children were in school.

Thompson holds the distinction of being current district governor of Rotary International District 7505, which encompasses some 73 chapters of the service organization in South and Central Jersey (a role in which he has helped the Sunrise Rotary Club of Medford promote its fundraising drive to purchase ambulances

room was never actually removed, but temporarily suspended for renovations, and that the mayor testified that it was done to “eliminate extraneous access” and to stop “officers from coming in whenever they wanted to,” with the court determining “this evidence is undisputed.”

As for the alleged internal affairs complaints, the court determined, “in any event, no action was taken against plaintiffs as a result of the internal affairs complaints and plaintiffs did not suffer any adverse employment action,” and noted the “plaintiffs offer no evidence to the contrary or show that the township had no legal right to file internal affairs complaints.”

“Finally, plaintiffs assert that defendants retaliated by circulating ‘a false press release attacking the plaintiffs in an attempt to smear them,’” the opinion concludes. “Press releases are legitimate means for local government agencies to share information and updates with their constituents. The press release here, not surprisingly, presents the defendants’ side of the story and includes a statement that the ‘frivolous lawsuit shall be defended vigorously.’ While it is strongly worded, it is clearly not retaliatory conduct.”

The township’s statement to this newspaper on Oct. 26 of this week about the settlement started out by contending that “33 sworn police officers and members of the Local PBA 260, unhappy with the status of ongoing collective bargaining negotiations at the time, filed a lawsuit against the township and the mayor in October of 2014, on the eve of the mayor’s re-election, alleging that the township failed to compensate patrol officers and sergeants for duties they alleged to have performed before and after their scheduled shifts.”

It then pointed out that “a large percentage of the plaintiff officers have since retired from service.”

“Through their initial court filing and several subsequent amendments to their complaint, which included purported acts of retaliation, the sworn police officers sought more than $1 million from the Pemberton Township taxpayers in unpaid overtime wages and damages,” the statement continued.

The sworn police officers alleged in court filings they performed 25 minutes of pre-shift and 15 minutes of post-shift work for which they were not compensated. Eight years later, after dismissing all of the officers’ purported retaliation claims, and one full year of wage claims as a matter of law, the Federal Court granted a modest judgment in the officers’ favor.”

While the Oct. 26 statement contended that “the federal judge found the officers’ witnesses to have provided conflicting testimony about how much overtime they purportedly worked,” the municipality acknowledged that the “judge also disregarded the sworn testimony of the township’s former police chief, who testified that the sworn officers were ordered not to perform any overtime work without

to transport injured civilians in Ukraine that was chronicled in previous editions of this newspaper, as well as coordinating a campaign to support a beleaguered Ukrainian orphanage).

In addition, his achievements as a board member of the Marlton Business Association and chair of Marlton Day on Main Street have included leading an effort to better coordinate the events being sponsored by various local organizations so that they didn’t conflict with each other, he told this newspaper.

Thompson’s civic activities have also included membership in the Marlton Elks and serving on the board of the Evesham Education Foundation and the Township Council’s Economic Advisory Committee until Veasy asked him to step down, he maintains, following his decision to change his political affiliation from Independent to Republican and announce his candidacy for a council seat.

their supervisor’s approval and that he was completely unaware they were performing unsanctioned overtime work.”

“The judge found the officers weren’t performing any post-shift overtime work whatsoever and also determined that the officers performed only 10 minutes of pre-shift work – a stark contrast to the sworn officers’ claims that they were working 40 minutes of unpaid overtime per shift,” the township maintained. “The Federal Court awarded the police officers $26,308.67 in collective unpaid overtime wages over a two-year period, or $876.95 per plaintiff. Considering the average officer worked about 400 shifts over that twoyear period, the damages compute to about $2.19 per officer, per shift.”

However, the municipality in the statement recognized that “unfortunately, the total expense to the taxpayers was far greater than the judgment amount because the law requires the township to pay the sworn police officers’ legal fees.”

“These fees, along with the township’s attorney’s fees, ran into the hundreds of thousands of dollars,” the Oct. 26 statement continued. “Because the officers sued for more than $1 million and received the paltry amount awarded by the court, this is clearly a win for the township and its taxpayers.”

It was also pointed out that the township’s insurance carrier covered about half of the total damages, “a huge savings to taxpayers.”

“I fought this fight on behalf of our taxpayers and residents because the mayor’s office, as the Appropriate Authority under law, enacted a Time Clock Policy in 2010, more than three years before the alleged pre-shift work allegedly occurred, that specifically prevented the sworn police officers from performing any work before or after their shifts without obtaining authorization from their sergeant supervisors,” said Patriarca through the Oct. 26 statement. “We enacted this policy to insulate the township from liability for the exact claims brought by the sworn police officers. Unfortunately, some of the police department’s command staff, and the named sworn police officer’s blatantly disobeyed the township’s policy for their own personal benefit.

“The police department is a quasi-military organization, and all sworn officers are required to directly obey all orders from their supervisors, which included compliance with the Time Clock Policy. As a former Pemberton Township Police Officer, I find it inconceivable that a sworn police officer would directly disobey an order of the police chief and that the chief’s command staff, including the police sergeants who filed suit, and who did not enforce the department’s orders regarding overtime. But that is what the Federal Court found in this case. There was clearly a breakdown in the chain of command under the former police chief.”

Prior to that, however, the mayor and council had seen fit to recognize his contributions to the local scene with a “Power of One” award two year ago, he noted. He was also honored with a “Citizen of the Year” citation by the Evesham Police Department earlier this year.

In separate phone interviews conducted by the Pine Barrens Tribune, all three candidates indicated that one of their primary goals should they be elected to the council would be to find ways to optimize the township’s desirability as a business-friendly locale.

In Mehigan’s view, “our business environment in Evesham Township needs to be revitalized,” which he called “one of our top focuses.” And while he wouldn’t say the current council has “done nothing” toward bringing this about, he is also of the opinion that local businesses “do not feel they are

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MEDFORD—Authorities are investigating an apparent weekend carjacking of a woman that took place at a Wawa store in Medford Township, located at the intersection of Eayrestown Road and Route 70.

One arrest has since been made in the case, as confirmed on Oct. 27 by Lt. James D’Averso, a spokesman for the Medford Township Police Department, but the “investigation is still active.”

Three male suspects, according to a press release from Medford Police, dressed in dark clothing, “approached the victim while she was waiting at the air pump in the rear of the building” around 2:30 p.m. on Oct. 22.

That’s when one of the suspects, police said, “physically removed the victim” from her 2015 Black Nissan Rogue.

The woman was uninjured in the incident, police maintained.

The suspect who removed the victim from her vehicle was described by police as weighing around 140 pounds and is believed to be in his late teens or early 20s. He was later observed operating the Nissan towards Eayrestown Road, according to police.

“Security video obtained of the incident showed the three suspects exit the parking lot with no additional victims reported,” Medford Police reported. “This incident is currently being investigated by multiple law enforcement agencies.”

An individual who had revealed over the

weekend on social media the existence of this incident had reported that the stolen vehicle has since been recovered, which D’Averso on Oct. 27 confirmed to this newspaper is in fact the case.

When asked if any arrests have yet been made in the carjacking, he replied, “one adult has been arrested,” but noted the “investigation is still active.” D’Averso declined to release the identity of the person who was arrested due to the active investigation.

“As it relates to the alleged carjacking, we are working with several agencies identifying possible suspects involved in this incident,” D’Averso added.

The case is one that he described is a “top priority” currently for the police department.

“It is at the top of the list to get figured out,” he added.

There were also online reports that this incident was somehow connected to other carjacking attempts in the vicinity of Medford Township. When asked about those reports, D’Averso said he “can’t comment” on that, but added “we got information from other agencies” that was “similar” and “so we pieced some things together.”

But given that information came from other agencies, D’Averso said he was not at liberty to comment further on what that information entailed.

represented and well supported” by the present membership of that governing body.

Mehigan added that when he looks at the conditions and situation in the township today, he can’t help feeling he would have done things differently over the past few years and that he and his running mates are considerably better qualified than those they seek to replace “to make improvements moving forward.”

Thompson, whom Mehigan credited with being particularly proficient in this regard, elaborated on those sentiments.

“I’ve been approached by multiple business owners who are very unhappy that they get no communications, no support, no help and no results from the township,” declared Thompson, adding that he’s also been called, emailed and texted by residents with similar complaints about the lack of response from council members and the township administration.

Some of that alleged lack of responsiveness, Thompson contended, may be due to dissatisfaction within the ranks of municipal employees, noting that he had spoken with a number of them who were “very unhappy with the way the town is being run and the way they’re being treated personally,” which he believes is a factor in the township having lost so many of its employees during the last few years.

Such complaints, in his view, indicate the need to “sit down with everybody and make an assessment of their strengths and weaknesses,” which is one of the things he and his running mates hope to be in a position to do. He would also like to arrange to have regular town hall meetings between council members, business owners and residents in order to “give everybody an opportunity to be heard and to speak on their concerns or ideas of things they want to see happen.”

Thompson’s other goal if elected would be to fill the vacancies that now exist in Evesham’s business district and make it

MAYOR

really close,” Tompkins told this newspaper. Should the vote go in his favor, Tompkins believes that both the supervisory skills he cultivated while in the military and the more than a decade of experience he subsequently had working for a communications company will serve him well in his ability to perform the job, especially since part of what he did in the latter capacity was helping police and fire departments with their electronic communications capabilities.

He has also been deeply involved with the Disabled American Veterans organization, having served for three years as a chapter commander as well as on a state level. In addition, prior to the pandemic, he worked for a couple of years with the Browns Mills Improvement Association, as well as with the Presidential Lakes Civic Association since 2015, participating in community cleanups that helped in obtaining grant money to finance scholarships for high school students, and has even played Santa Claus in free photo sessions for neighborhood kids.

What he and his running mates would most like to do, he maintained, is to “promote Pemberton pride” and “do the right thing” for the people of the township, which, in addition to encouraging local business, would include making the most of its “phenomenal recreation department” to foster youth sports and creating more opportunities for lower-income residents.

Tompkins, in response to a question, said he’d also like to be the “squeaky wheel” that

might encourage the federal government to take over the former campus of Burlington County College and use it as a Veterans Administration clinic – a prospect he said he has already discussed with GOP congressional candidate Robert Healey, Jr., who “indicated he would look at it if he gets elected.”

“It would be something I would definitely want to pursue if I could,” he contended.

Dewey, who noted in an interview with this newspaper that his family has resided in Pemberton Township for over a century, recalled a time when the town boasted four auto dealerships, which provided jobs that helped support the community, as well as a couple of butcher shops and two bakeries.

“Now there are none,” he pointed out. “You’ve got a Dunkin’ Donuts, but that’s not a bakery. Half the stores are empty.”

He also decried what he characterized as unnecessary regulation that impede the development of commercial ventures, claiming that a sign, “the most important thing needed to succeed in business,” would currently cost between $9,000 and $10,000 to put up due to such bureaucratic hurdles.

“If we get elected Nov. 8, this town’s going to be open for business,” he asserted. “And we’re going to be taking a good look at all these regulations.”

Ward, in a separate interview, expressed a desire for the community “to get back to a bottom-up rather than a top-down approach to politics,” meaning that the residents should have more of a say in decisions. While acknowledging he’s had no first-hand political experience as of yet, he indicated that has been out campaigning hard and that

the impression he’s gotten is that “people are looking for a common-sense approach to politics.”

His years of experience in the hospitality industry, he maintained, have made him well qualified “to converse and communicate” with the public—something he believes the town’s present leadership doesn’t do nearly enough of. In addition, his having worked as an employee of Tuckerton Seaport in a statefunded waste management program to reclaim Barnegat Bay provided him with some firsthand environmental training, he noted.

Ward also said he thought there’s still a place in the township and always will be for small businesses, and that he would like to see “the old mom and pops come back and be what they used to be.”

Instead, he contended, “you’ve got warehouses getting built, and that’s not going to supply anything good to the community” while “there are a lot of empty businesses in town that need to be revitalized and infrastructure that’s just become dilapidated.”

Ward added that he thought a big problem is the current administration, which has had 16 years to fix such problems, but “we haven’t seen anything from it” in the way of results.

Asked by the Pine Barrens Tribune if he would care to respond to those allegations, Patriarca replied that his administration had actually “corrected a substantial amount of problems in 16 years and continues to work to correct problems daily.” In fact, he contended, “one of the things we’ve been successful at doing is finding the solutions.”

He also claimed that “doing things from

more family friendly.

“We’ve lost too many family-owned enterprises here in town that we should have helped to stay here,” he asserted, pointing to Randolph’s Bakery, which closed its doors after 40 years, as an example. With three potential buyers having indicated an interest, “had someone stepped up on a municipal level, we would still have that business here in town,” he maintained.

Olt proposed taking a similar approach to revitalizing the business district.

“Part of our plan would first be to assess the number of vacant properties that we have and put together a committee of property owners as well as business owners,” she said. “We want to be able to offer a thriving community where people can fulfill all their needs without having to leave town.”

As for the current leadership, while she “wouldn’t necessarily say that they’re doing things to discourage business, I don’t think they’ve done enough to attract it,” she declared, citing as an example “the number of planning board meetings that have been cancelled.” Finding out from local business owners what can be done to help them stay in town and including planning and zoning officials in such meetings is also an essential part of the process, she added.

Both Thompson and Olt emphasized that they would be flexible and receptive to good ideas, no matter where they originated.

Were he and his running mates to win the election, Thompson told this newspaper, and the two remaining Democrats on the council to propose a great idea, “I’m going to support it,” he declared.

Olt likewise promised to be “open to all possibilities,” and “would say nothing is off the table as long as it benefits the town.”

“I’ve always been a believer that the most creative solutions come from everyone having a voice,” she maintained.

But she also believes that elections should be more about qualifications than party affiliation, and that with their particular skill sets and backgrounds, she and her running mates can do a better job of moving Evesham Township forward into “the uncertain economic landscape of the future.”

the bottom up is how we’ve operated since we came into office.” Listening to residents and acting on their requests, he said, is the way his administration has always done things. As for small businesses, he maintained that he would also “love to see a butcher shop, a bakery, seafood stores.”

“We’ve had them,” he pointed out. “But people aren’t opening them, and it’s not for government to open those types of businesses.”

Warehouses, however, are huge revenue generators for the town, he pointed out, with the one that’s now open on the last property of a five-lane county highway set to bring in half a million dollars a year in taxes, and another $3.5 million square-feet of warehouse space scheduled for development along Route 206, well removed from the residential population, projected to add “in excess of $3 million a year in revenue to the municipal budget and an additional $3 million to the school budget,” as well as potentially providing hundreds of jobs.

“Our approach to responsible development is what is going to allow Pemberton to be an affordable community for our residents,” Patriarca declared.

But such efforts, he emphasized, take years and sometimes decades, an example being the redevelopment of the Browns Mills Shopping Center, which began back in 1994.

“As long as we stay focused, we’ll get there,” the mayor contended. “But it’s not the time to hit the reset button. We can’t afford to start over.”

Two Evesham Pedestrian-Involved

By Douglas D. Melegari Staff Writer

EVESHAM—Two separate motor vehicle collisions that left pedestrians injured are under investigation in Evesham Township, including one that involved a child.

The first “pedestrian-involved motor vehicle crash” occurred on Oct. 20, around 3:20 p.m., in the 200 block of Stallion Court, according to a press release from the Evesham Township Police Department.

Responding officers reported that they found a 7-year-old Marlton child “located in the street, suffering from serious bodily injuries.”

Both the Evesham Police and Fire departments attended to the child, it was reported, and coordinated a medevac helicopter landing to be able to airlift the child to Cooper Hospital in Camden for treatment.

The Frances S. Demasi Middle School, which is located a short distance from the crash site, was placed into a “shelter in place” mode so that the medevac helicopter could land for the medical transport, police noted in the press release.

The child, after being transported via air to Cooper, “underwent surgery” and is currently listed in “critical, but stable condition.”

“Our hearts and minds are with a young boy who was seriously injured by a motor vehicle near a local school yesterday afternoon,” said Evesham Mayor Jacklyn “Jackie” Veasy in an Oct. 21 statement about the initial pedestrian collision. “Although we cannot share details to protect the family’s privacy, we will continue to pray for this boy’s healthy recovery in the weeks and months ahead. We ask all of Evesham Township to please join us in keeping this child and his family in your thoughts and prayers as they move forward.”

The mayor, in the statement, also commended the “quick actions of our local police, fire and EMS personnel.”

“Evesham’s first responders are without a doubt some of the finest serving anywhere in our state, and their skills and professionalism were on display yet again yesterday as their actions helped save this young boy’s life,” Veasy declared.

While the mayor had reminded local motorists in the wake of the pedestrian collision involving the child to “please remain alert while driving, be aware of your surroundings, and be prepared for sudden or unexpected situations,” another such collision occurred just a couple days later in the township, this time in the Kings Grant section of the municipality.

According to a second press release from Evesham Police, on Oct. 25, around 12:40 p.m., officers responded to the area of Kings Grants Drive and East Coventry Circle for a report of a pedestrian who was struck by a vehicle.

“Upon the first officer’s arrival, the pedestrian, who was later identified as a 51-year-old male and Marlton resident,

was located unconscious in the shoulder of the roadway with critical injuries,” police reported.

The pedestrian was quickly transported to Cooper for treatment. There is no further word on his condition as of press time.

In the first, unrelated pedestrian crash, police reported that the person who struck the child stayed on scene, as compared to the second incident, in which the driver of the vehicle who hit the 51-year-old man was alleged to have “fled” the scene of the collision.

“During the on-scene investigation, officers located a vehicle hood emblem from a Nissan,” police reported. “Additional officers immediately began checking the area for a Nissan with body damage that could have been attributed to a recent motor vehicle collision.”

An officer, according to police, ultimately located a black Nissan with a “shattered windshield, consistent with a pedestrian motor vehicle collision,” on the unit block of Canterbury Court.

The officers then reportedly canvassed the immediate area and were able to locate video footage showing the driver parking and exiting the vehicle shortly after the motor vehicle collision.

“Officers then checked the area on foot and located the driver, Nicole Bosco, 25, of Vineland, nearby on Canterbury Court,” it was stated in the second press release.

Bosco was then arrested on scene and charged with third-degree knowingly leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident resulting in serious bodily injury, as well as for driving while intoxicated, which is a traffic offense.

Bosco was released on her own recognizance with a mandatory court date, police reported.

“We ask residents to join us as we offer our love and support to an Evesham resident who was struck by an automobile in the Kings Grant section of town yesterday,” said Veasy on Oct. 26 in another statement following the second pedestrian collision. “We cannot share further details due to privacy concerns, but we do ask that you please keep this individual and their loved ones in your prayers as we wish them a speedy and healthy recovery.

She also “once again” commended the response of local first responders “who continue to serve as one of the finest groups of first responders any township could have.”

“We’re so proud to support these amazing men and women, and we are so fortunate to have them supporting us in return,” she declared. “Finally, we cannot stress enough that every motorist driving in our township should be mindful while they travel through Evesham. Please remember to always drive carefully, always be alert, and always obey the traffic laws.”

The investigation into the initial pedestrian crash is ongoing, with police reporting that the driver in that incident has thus far cooperated in the investigation.

Pemberton TownshipResidents! Areyou HAPPY with:

1. 600 more homes being built on a former junkyard, pig farm/dumpsite? (The impact on our infrastructure, schools and the traffic through town with only one entry on Lakehurst Rd to the development?)

2. Additional homes proposed for the Greenberg Farm on South Pemberton Rd ?

3. Additional homes proposed off of Pemberton Blvd in Browns Mills?

4. More warehouses?

5. Township being our new trash company? (More employees, more debt to buy equipment)

6. Township being in the real estate business?

7. Country Lakes Beach being closed?

8. Our tax dollars paying over $3.5 million for the “Old Acme” site just to tear it down?

Then Vote for the current administration!

If you areNOT HAPPYand WANT:

1. Responsible planning determining the true cost to

TABERNACLE—A Tabernacle

Township man riding a motorcycle was killed in an Oct. 23 crash in the municipality after reportedly failing to negotiate a curve on County Route 532 and striking a utility pole, New Jersey State Police reported.

According to Trooper Charles Marchan, a state police spokesman, based on a preliminary investigation conducted by the agency, Jeff D. Barner, 67, of Tabernacle, was operating a BMW motorcycle in the westbound lane of County Route 532, in the area of milepost 4.5, when around 9:27 a.m.,

he “failed to maintain directional control while negotiating a curve in the roadway.”

Barner’s motorcycle, according to the State Trooper, then “exited the roadway to the left and struck a utility pole.”

Barner was ejected as a result of the crash, Marchan described, and sustained fatal injuries.

The crash remains under investigation and there is no additional information available at the moment about it, according to the spokesman.

schools when new housing is planned

infrastructure

2. More financial accountability

to Restore and promote local small business development

to Increase

Restore Pemberton

Nov.

Train Rides Through the Woods of New Gretna

Location: Bass River Twp.

park. The rides are provided by a group of dedicated volunteers who have revitalized the park and laid out the railroad track, based on the historical Tuckerton Railroad. The volunteers maintain the railroad and walking trails, and are constantly expanding them.

Events and special promotions happening locally this month!

Nov. 14

To promote your December event on this page contact Jayne Cabrilla at 609-801-2392 or email jcabrilla@pinebarrenstribune.com

2022 Annual Poetry Contests

Location: Medford Twp.

Nov. 7

trains

free, but donations are very much appreciated. The train rides

outdoors.

Location: Vincentown (Southampton Twp.)

Details: The Southampton Historical Society is hosting a program, “The Forgotten Founding Father: Thomas Paine,” at 7:30 p.m., at the Old Town Hall, 25 Plum St., Vincentown. We often think of the Founding Fathers as Jefferson, Adams, Franklin and Washington, but rarely think of Thomas Paine. Paine’s “Common Sense” inspired the idea of American independence and is one of the best-selling books of all time. Paine would go on to write several other pamphlets that would garner him fame and some that would leave him ostracized by the very people that had praised him earlier. This presentation by the Burlington County Museum Curator of History, Marisa Bozarth, will discuss Paine’s early life, his writings, his imprisonment in Europe, and why he should be remembered as a critical factor in our independence. This program is free and open to the public. For more information, call Kathy Rosmando at 609-859-0524.

Details: The Medford Arts Center is hosting its 2022 Annual Poetry Contests. High School students attending schools in Burlington County may submit up to three poems per entrant to: poetrycontest@ medfordarts.com , using “2022 High School Poetry Contest” in the subject line and including your name, address, high school, grade and contact number. Residents of Burlington County over the age of 18 may submit up to three poems per entrant to: poetrycontest@medfordarts.com , using “2022 Adult Poetry Contest” in the subject line and including your name, residential address and contact number. Submission deadline is Nov. 14, 2022. A celebration of awards will be held Dec. 12 at 7:30 p.m. For more information, please see medfordarts.com .

Nov. 19

Free Holiday Event

Location: Vincentown (Southampton Twp.)

Details: Trinity Episcopal Church is hosting a free event on Saturday, Nov. 16, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., at 18 Mill St., Vincentown. There will be Christmas carol singing, cookie decorating, ornaments, chocolate-covered pretzel dipping and pizza! This family-fun event is open to the public. For more information, call 609-859-2299.

The Forgotten Founding Father: Thomas Paine

But Watters later told this newspaper on Oct. 24 that “the intent is to install the system in the Sunbury Village area if we are awarded the money,” pointing out, that at this moment, “We have not been awarded any money yet to make a purchase, but we did in fact submit an application to be considered for funds to be able to purchase a system in the future.”

“While our 2022 shooting stats have significantly declined township wide vs. 2020/2021, the fact is that Sunbury Village is the location for both of the shootings that we have had this year, and several the prior two years,” said the police chief in explaining why the intent is to install the system in Sunbury. “The good news is that the systems are able to be moved if we ever wanted them to be set up in another area.”

According to a research brief published in 1998 by the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Institute of Justice, “gunshot detection systems use acoustic sensing technology to identify, discriminate and report gunshots to the police within seconds of the shot being fired.”

A gunshot detection system, it is noted, is comprised of sensors to detect the sound of a gunshot, transmitters to send a message to the police dispatch center and a computer to receive and display that message.

When a signal arrives at the police station, the dispatcher decides whether or not to send a unit to respond to the signal, according to the brief.

However, gunshot detection systems reportedly cannot detect shots that are fired indoors, or that are blocked by a building or other obstruction. The systems may be in boxes, mounted on poles, disguised as birdhouses or rooftop vents, or otherwise unobtrusively located, the department notes.

Redwood City, California is a community where a system by manufacturer ShotSpotter was tested for the research brief, with it noted that particular system “uses a triangulation algorithm to pinpoint the location of the apparent gunfire and allows users to replay the sound of the gunfire noise.”

“The test area covered about 1 square mile, which was divided into 319 sectors, each identified as either a ‘hot spot’ (one with a relatively large amount of gunshot activity) or a ‘cold spot’ (one with a relatively small amount of gunshot activity),” according to the research brief. “On June 26 and 27, 1997, blank rounds were fired at 32 locations – 22 hot spots and 10 cold spots – using one of three weapons at each site: an MP–5 assault rifle, a .38 caliber pistol and a 12-gauge shotgun. The researchers determined that the ShotSpotter accurately detected 80 percent of the shots fired in the field test; 72 percent of the shots

were also triangulated, with a 25-foot margin of error in pinpointing the exact location of the gunshot.”

It is also noted that “the type of weapon fired affected the system’s ability to detect the shot,” with the MP–5 rounds “much more difficult for the system to detect” than either the pistol or shotgun rounds.

Police response times to technologygenerated reports of gunfire were then compared to response times to citizen generated reports, with a two-month field study also involving a system in Dallas, Texas.

“For the most part, there was little difference between response times to technologygenerated reports of gunfire during the test period and response times to citizen-generated reports before the test period,” the research brief noted. “However, the mean response time to citizen-generated reports of gunfire during the test period (about 30 minutes) was about 30 percent less than the mean response time to technology-generated reports (about 45 minutes). Nonetheless, the overall mean response time during the test period (to the technology-and citizen-generated reports combined) was about 41 minutes, just 2 minutes longer than the mean response time before the test period (to citizen-generated reports only).”

Researchers had concluded that using the technology “did not change in any substantial way the speed with which the police responded to reports of gunfire,” according to the research brief.

A further summary of the two-month field trial as maintained by the Justice Department’s Office of Justice Programs says “results suggested that the implementation of gunshot detection technology in Dallas reduced officer response times by about 1 minute, a 7-percent reduction, but it increased the total patrol officer workload by 287 percent as a result of an extra 151 radio runs resulting from the alerts from the system.”

But in a description on ShotSpotter’s website, the company maintains such technology “enables rapid response to gunfire” pointing out that 80 percent of gunfire is actually “not reported to 911,” and therefore, can “save the lives of gunshot wound victims in your community” as well as “improve evidence recovery and leads.”

“80 percent of shootings are NEVER called in,” the firm emphasizes on its website. “… It’s like a digitized 911 call for gunshots that is faster and more accurate than our 50 plus year-old emergency call system to make sure your agency knows about all gunfire and can respond immediately to help save a life.”

In further pointing to the impacts a system such as the one offered by ShotSpotter can have on a community, the firm maintains that “reporting” of gunfire without a gunshot detection system was less than 12 percent compared to it being greater than 90 percent with one.

Additionally, dispatch times, the company

contends, is around 4.5 minutes without ShotSpotter, compared to less than 60 seconds with it. Victim transport times, according to the company, also decreased from some 10 minutes to about six minutes.

The size of a crime scene was also found to be reduced from 780 feet away from where shots were fired to 82 feet, according to ShotSpotter, which claimed the number of recovered shell casings went from near 50 percent to 89 percent when its gunshot detection system is deployed.

Both NBC News and The Hill published reports earlier this year reporting that the use of gunshot detection systems are expanding rapidly in the U.S., though such systems have faced criticisms.

The Hill report notes that more than 130 cities and towns across the country have now installed the ShotSpotter systems, according to a report released earlier this year from the group, Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (STOP), up from about 85 cities in 2018, the result of increased federal funding, particularly in the wake of the school shooting massacre in Uvalde, Texas.

Albert Fox Cahn, STOP’s executive director, told the national media outlet, that the technology is “expensive, dangerous and just doesn’t work,” with the media outlet pointing to reports from “academics” and “independent government watchdogs” that have found that the “technology suffers from serious false positive problems.”

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), last year, also contended that there are “four problems” with the ShotSpotter gunshot detection system, “including its methodology, effectiveness, impact on communities of color, and relationship with law enforcement.”

But still, on Jan. 27, Democratic Governor Phil Murphy and then-Acting Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck announced a $7 million investment in “gunshot detection technology and other law enforcement equipment” to “reduce gun violence” using federal American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds.

“Combating gun violence is a multi-faceted problem that requires a multi-faceted approach,” said Murphy at the time. “The funding announced today will provide resources to both law enforcement agencies and community partners, equipping them with much-needed resources as we continue to fight the epidemic of gun violence. Today’s announcement allows us to make our communities safer, while we continue advocating for commonsense gun safety measures.”

In addition, the governor and Attorney General’s office announced that 25 non-profit organizations will receive $8.2 million in grant funding for community-based violence intervention (CBVI) programming, the largest such investment in New Jersey’s history.

“Today’s historic investment in gun violence prevention reflects the Murphy Administration’s commitment to protecting

the safety of all New Jersey residents,” said Bruck, who has since been replaced with Attorney General Matt Platkin. “I applaud Governor Murphy for recognizing that we cannot reduce gun violence unless we invest in both law enforcement and the community, and for demonstrating that one of the best ways to strengthen public trust is by ensuring public safety.”

A joint press release from the governor and attorney general about the investment into gunshot detection systems maintained it is also part of a “technology-driven violence reduction” effort that will “allow communities across New Jersey to acquire and enhance gunshot detection technology and related infrastructure improvements, making it easier for first responders and law enforcement to more effectively respond to – and reduce – gun violence in New Jersey’s communities.”

“The funding will allow recipients to acquire a fully integrated network of three distinct systems, including an acoustic detection system, a video management system, and a system of automatic license plate readers,” the press release continued.

“When combined, these systems allow first responders to more quickly render lifesaving medical aid to victims of gun violence and assist law enforcement in identifying shooters, leading to faster apprehension and reduced instances of retaliatory violence.”

It was added that “through this investment,” police departments in the state “will be able to direct resources to areas where they are most necessary and at the exact time when such service means the difference between life and death.”

“The technology will also help prosecutors obtain the kind of evidence necessary to meet their burden of proof and uphold community faith in the justice system,” it was maintained in the press release, though in the ACLU press release outlining its concerns, it pointed to an Associated Press (AP) story of Michael Williams, a man who spent a year in jail, in Chicago, on murder charges based on “scant evidence” from ShotSpotter before having his charges dismissed when prosecutors admitted they had insufficient evidence against him.

The ACLU, which maintains such technology poses “very significant civil liberties problems,” also pointed out that ShotSpotter’s methodology is often used to provide evidence against defendants in criminal cases, but “isn’t transparent” and “hasn’t been peer-reviewed or otherwise independently evaluated.”

“That simply isn’t acceptable for data that is used in court,” the union added in its press release.

Watters, when asked by this newspaper if he believed the research brief from the Department of Justice was outdated, responded that he believes the “same concerns that were brought up in the 1998 article continue to remain a challenge in policing

across the state.”

“It is my impression that the State of New Jersey believes gunshot detection systems can impact response times for police to shooting incidents and better aid in apprehending suspects,” the Pemberton police chief told this newspaper.

He also pointed out to this newspaper that in Pemberton Township, he “knows that there have been incidents where we were not notified of shootings and/or where we didn’t know where the scene of a reported shooting was even after receiving reports.”

“The technology, if we are able to purchase it, will give us nearly instantaneous notification of gunshots and has the technology to triangulate the location of the shooting, which will allow for officers to respond directly to the scene, rather than driving around trying to find it,” Watters maintained.

In acknowledging, however, that “some articles raise concerns about civil rights,” he maintained “that is something we will address prior to going live with any system to ensure that we have established the proper policies and provided the necessary training.”

“There are also articles about studies that show a significant reduction in response time and lives being saved because officers/EMT’s were able to find victims faster and get them to the hospital quicker,” Watters pointed out. “I think we owe it to the majority of Sunbury Village residents who are sick and tired of the few who are causing problems to use whatever tools we can to combat historic patterns of violent crime in the neighborhood.”

The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office has since released a 10-page “program administration and guidelines” handbook on its “Gunshot Detection Technology Initiative,” outlining the ways in which a municipality can apply for the grant funding it is offering, as well as the requirements of the program.

“Under the Gunshot Detection Technology Initiative, law enforcement agencies with jurisdiction in the State of New Jersey are

SHERIFF

Basantis was sworn in to power in January 2020 by Democratic Governor Phil Murphy, and has previously twice unsuccessfully run for the top sheriff’s post, is now giving it a third try, hoping to fend off a challenge this time from Ditzel, the latter who had lost to Basantis back in 2019.

But for reasons that have not yet been disclosed, Kostoplis skipped the retirement community forum held in Southampton Township on Oct. 19, instead simply sending

eligible to receive grant funding to acquire, implement, expand or upgrade gunshot detection technology for implementation in the communities they serve,” it is noted in the handbook. “The Attorney General Office/ Division of Criminal Justice (DCJ) will award, administer, and monitor awards made under the Gunshot Detection Technology Initiative. Staff from OAG/DCJ will be available to provide technical assistance during the award process and award period.

“Funds will be awarded on a competitive basis, supported by statistical data and awarded pursuant to the quality of the application submitted, and the pending availability of funds. The number of awards available and the funding amount of each award will depend upon the number of applications received and the funding amounts requested by each applicant. Funding decisions will be made to ensure the broadest and deepest level of service coverage practicable, taking into account the type of services to be delivered, the desired outcomes, and the geographical location of the project in comparison with crime statistics and data.”

According to the handbook, the funding period runs from Dec. 1, 2022, through Nov. 30, 2024; and all grant funding must be obligated by Nov. 30, 2024.

Pemberton Township Council voted 3-0 on Oct. 19 to apply for the “Gunshot Detection Technology Initiative Grant” through the OAG. Pemberton Council President Gaye Burton was absent from the meeting, and Councilman Jason Allen abstained because the OAG is his employer.

“I think it is a good idea and will help us with whatever we decide to do,” said Detrick after both Patriarca and Pemberton Business Administrator Daniel Hornickel, also Pemberton’s police director, answered his questions to how a gunshot detection system works.

Councilman Donovan Gardner and Councilwoman Elisabeth McCartney voted with Detrick in approving of the municipality/municipal police department to apply for the grant.

The Pemberton governing body, on the same day, also voted 3-0, with Allen abstaining, to

along a statement, which was read aloud by the moderator of the event. Kostoplis’ absence later drew condemnation from county Republicans.

Also not yet disclosed is why Basantis, previously referred to as an “extraordinary sheriff” by Murphy, has decided not to pursue another term as county sheriff. His Republican predecessor, Stanfield, served as county sheriff for some 18 years.

This newspaper attempted to reach on Oct. 24 both Basantis, and his other top commander, Chief Carol Cooper, to interview them about the agency’s operational status, staffing and programming for this story, to obtain a thorough response to the various

apply for an “Automatic License Plate Reader Initiative Grant” through the OAG.

In explaining how an automatic license plate reader system works, Patriarca said, “generally,” such devices are “attached to a specific vehicle” or “one patrol vehicle” and police officers “can be riding around anywhere and that unit will identify, and read tags automatically, identifying whether that vehicle is stolen or in the system as ‘stolen,’ or in the system as ‘unregistered,’” noting it will also allow the police to see if there is “someone that may have a warrant associated with that tag in anyway.”

Gardner noted that a vehicle “doesn’t have to be parked” for the reader to operate, and “can be moving towards or away from the police vehicle.” He noted such technology will also allow the police to identify vehicles parked on the street “without registration or insurance.”

“It seems like we are getting some significant law enforcement devices and aids here, and we are doing it all on somebody else’s dime,” remarked Detrick in reference to the second grant opportunity, to which Patriarca pointed out, “it is still our dime, but it is spread out over a larger audience – the entire state or federal –it is just not on the backs of Pemberton,” with Detrick responding “they’d give this dime to somebody else” if Pemberton chooses not to apply.

“We are investing quite a bit of resources into what it takes for our officers to do their job,” added Patriarca of Pemberton applying to the OAG for the two available grants.

The OAG will require any recipients of the grants, according to the handbook, to “be diligent in communicating with community members to gauge whether changes are needed in coverage area or any other issues related to the implemented technology.”

“Effectiveness of the technology will be primarily driven by any change in data related to shooting incidents in the various cities, and from feedback from community stakeholders,” it is noted in the handbook. “It will be important to analyze whether the technology is a key tool in gun violence prevention.”

All recipients must also be “willing to

charges leveraged by Ditzel about the agency itself, but instead this newspaper’s requests to interview the county’s top law enforcement officers were apparently referred to Burlington County Public Information Officer David Levinsky, who contacted this newspaper the following day.

When this newspaper had contacted the sheriff’s department on Oct. 24 in an attempt to arrange an interview for this story, a worker who answered there advised this newspaper upon returning to the telephone line that “no one was answering in the admin office,” a common complaint that had been conveyed to this newspaper during the COVID pandemic, and a situation that

participate in data studies and violence suppression pilot studies,” according to the handbook, with recipients also being “required to submit quarterly programmatic progress reports to the OAG describing project activities for the duration of the award period.”

To ensure “compliance with interagency compatibility,” according the handbook, “all software acquisitions” require pre-approval from the New Jersey State Police.

As for activity trends in Sunbury Village, Patriarca, on Oct. 19, in response to a village resident who maintained speeding in the neighborhood has gotten to the point it is like a “racetrack,” said that a recent change in the traffic patterns in the community (closing several access points, prohibiting overnight street parking and making several streets oneway streets) is having “positive effects.”

“The actions that we took, from our conversations with the chief, have resulted in positive effects, which is what we were trying to accomplish,” Patriarca declared. “We don’t have all the knuckleheads out on the street till 1 or 2 in the morning, parking their cars and playing dice. We don’t have people coming in there who don’t live in there because they know if they are coming in there, they got only certain ways in and certain ways out. And they also know if they are going the wrong way, there is a chance they are going to get a ticket.

“So, we feel we are accomplishing our goal of getting the undesirables out. Now we have to deal with those who remain – and the police are dealing with that. I believe they did two search warrants in the last two weeks on some problem areas. So, they are still addressing it.”

On Nov. 9, according to Hornickel, council anticipates awarding a contract to the lowest responsible bidder (currently there are two bidders) to transform the currently construction-like, temporary infrastructure implementing the traffic pattern in Sunbury into “permanent” infrastructure.

“The final product is going to actually be a nice-looking product when it is all said and done,” maintained Patriarca, in further response to the village resident who declared the current, temporary infrastructure is like that of what is typically found in a “war zone.”

previously drew the ire of the local GOP 8th District delegation, which includes Stanfield, who came out of retirement from political life and is now serving as a state senator.

This newspaper also dialed the direct line for Cooper (which she had told this reporter to call a couple years back any time there was any question about the agency), but it immediately went right to voicemail.

“Unfortunately, a new administration came in, and, when I lost the election in 2019, I lost to somebody with no law enforcement experience, no leadership experience, and I am sure there are some veterans in this

SHERIFF

room, and you know in law enforcement, you have to have a quasi-military structure,” declared Ditzel during the LeisureTowne forum. “You need leadership, you need command structure. We have none of that!”

Ditzel added that in “my current position as lieutenant, I have had to watch the agency crumble.”

It was an account that appeared to concern at least some of the 75 seniors attending the LeisureTowne forum, not only given Ditzel’s rank in the agency, but that the county sheriff’s office is supposed to play an important role in local public safety.

“It has been very hard to watch, but at the same time, I care about the men and women who I work with,” Ditzel told the seniors in making the accusation about the agency, as well as the case for why voters should elect him. “So, I tried to help as much as I could to keep us afloat. That is kind of what has been going on in the past three years.”

Following the LeisureTowne forum, this newspaper put some tough questions to Ditzel about what he exactly meant by the agency having “crumbled,” and in return, the lieutenant described problems with both “staffing” and “morale,” in addition to him reiterating there is “no leadership” and “no command structure” currently in the county sheriff’s department, maintaining that in a “quasi-military agency, you need rules and command structure.”

He was then asked by this newspaper to provide examples of each of those things he described, and in doing so, began with detailing the staffing problems he alleged are currently ongoing in the sheriff’s department.

“We are down approximately 12 officers today from normal staffing levels,” Ditzel described. “And with that obviously comes low morale, and officers who are struggling to do their job.”

In fact, he maintained, the department is so short staffed at the moment, its officers are unable to attend training “because they don’t have additional officers to cover for them.”

As for his charge that the agency is currently lacking “command structure,” Ditzel, a 16-year veteran of the sheriff’s department who described to local seniors that he at one time was also a member of the U.S. Coast Guard, contended that “power was basically taken away from supervisors and given to lower grade officers.”

More specifically, he described that often times now lower grade officers are reporting directly to the county sheriff, “going around” the (nine) “supervisors” of the department.

That, he explained, has led to a situation in which lower grade officers are receiving different orders than from those provided by the supervisors. The supervisors, in turn, are many times unaware of such directives, he added.

“Officers report directly to the sheriff now, and go around the supervisors, because they are friends with the sheriff,” he said of the situation.

All while, he pointed out, supervisors have “accountability” for those working under them, having a responsibility to know “where the men and women you are supposed to oversee are at.”

He also again charged in the interview that there is “no experience” currently at the top of the sheriff’s department to “be able to lead men and women who work in agency” in explaining how the agency lacked “leadership.”

When this newspaper pointed out to Ditzel that Basantis had previously described in 2019 that he joined the sheriff’s department as a career law enforcement officer almost 15 years before being elected to the county’s top law enforcement post, Ditzel replied that Basantis had simply been given “door security” duties while serving as a sheriff’s officer, in addition to having been assigned to work security in the county’s courtrooms, all while he “rose through the ranks” from sergeant, detective sergeant, and chief to undersheriff under Stanfield, and that by doing so, “you learn things from those moments of your career” that put you in a position to lead such an agency.

Ditzel added that “officers can work on a door post, or in a courtroom,” maintaining those are great experiences to have, “but there are also other things in the agency” which Basantis, he alleged, has never taken “any interest in doing.”

Further contributing to low morale in the agency, Ditzel said, is “low pay” given to the officers, but the lieutenant said he “can’t go there” when asked just how much exactly the officers are currently getting paid.

“It really comes down to pay and having support from the county or sheriff,” declared Ditzel of why he says morale is currently so low in the department.

The position of sheriff’s officer in Burlington County, according to the agency’s website, is a Civil Service position administered by the New Jersey Civil Service Commission.

During the LeisureTowne forum, in asserting that P.A.T.T. “was very near and dear to my heart,” Ditzel explained that the teenage program that had been sponsored by the sheriff’s department “basically is a program where we put teens in the shoes of police officers” while “we would be the teens.”

“And we would put them in some

situations, and we would be jerks to them just like they are to us, and say, ‘Oh, it is not so easy, is it?’” Ditzel recounted. “But one thing that happened through that program – us, the cops, would learn more from the kids than they would learn from us. So, it was very eye opening, on both sides.”

But P.A.T.T. is “one of several programs,” he charged, “we used to have at the county sheriff’s department that have, since 2019, gone away.”

This reporter, in further investigating Ditzel’s claim, contacted the general inquiry line given out to the public for the program, asking when P.A.T.T. was scheduled to be held.

“Right now, it is not scheduled,” replied the representative who answered the phone.

When this reporter pressed for a bit more information from the representative about P.A.T.T., the person who had answered the general inquiry line remarked, “unless we get a special request from a school, we won’t be hosting it right now.”

As for why he believed the Democratic leadership of the county sheriff’s department had allowed P.A.T.T. to lapse, Ditzel said, “I just don’t think they knew about it.” (A description, for P.A.T.T., however, is on the main webpage of the county sheriff’s department’s website.)

“And they never took the time to develop programs we used to have when I was undersheriff, and quite frankly, they just weren’t interested,” he added.

Kostoplis, who maintained in a statement read aloud during the LeisureTowne forum that he has “over 40 years of law enforcement experience,” including previously serving as a detective lieutenant for Hamilton Police, a court security supervisor for the U.S. Marshal’s Service, as well as a chief warrant officer for the Mercer County Sheriff’s Fugitive Unit, and noted he is “responsible for daily operations of the Burlington County Sheriff’s Office,” wrote he was “happy to say that all of our community outreach programs for seniors, veterans and youth programs that were put on hold because of COVID, have returned.”

In fact, he continued, “some” of the county sheriff’s department programs have actually been “enhanced” and “we even have added some new ones.”

One of those new programs, which Kostoplis maintained he helped initiate, is called the L.E.A.D. program, with the acronym standing for “Law Enforcement Against Drugs and Violence.” A description on the sheriff’s department website says L.E.A.D. is a “non-profit organization committed to protecting our youth and communities from the proliferation of drugs, drug-related crimes, peer to peer cyber bullying and violence.”

“During the time that the courts were closed due to COVID, we were able to train L.E.A.D. instructors, and assigned officers to patrol the train stations and parks in the county,” Kostoplis wrote. “We also assisted many towns in patrolling and answering calls, as some police departments were short staffed due to COVID and requested our assistance.”

A press release provided to the Pine Barrens Tribune, issued Sept. 20, announced “the Sheriff’s Department is launching a L.E.A.D education program in partnership with the Burlington County Municipal Alliance Program and expects to begin teaching students in local schools this fall.”

L.E.A.D, it was explained in the release, offers “evidenced-based curriculum” for kindergarten up to 12th grade about the “dangers of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs, along with anti-bullying and violence programs.” The program was created, it was added, in 2014 as an alternative to traditional D.A.R.E (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) classes taught by police officers to elementary school students for decades.

“We’re very excited to launch this new

initiative to help educate Burlington County children about the dangers drugs, alcohol and tobacco can pose to their health and their futures,” said Basantis through the press release. “This program will also bring our officers into schools and classrooms and facilitate interactions with the students and help build bonds of trust between students and law enforcement.”

It was noted in the press release about L.E.A.D. that a total of six sheriff’s officers are trained as “L.E.A.D. officers” and will “teach the programs in various local schools this fall.”

“It’s been over a decade since our department was teaching kids how to remain substance-free,” Basantis maintained in the release about the program. “Bringing an education program like this back was one of my biggest goals.”

Kostoplis, also a Bordentown Township Committeeman who noted he has four adult children, three of whom are in law enforcement, closed his statement aired at the LeisureTowne forum by saying he has “many ideas for the sheriff’s office that would not increase taxes,” but didn’t elaborate on what they are.

While Ditzel didn’t identify during the LeisureTowne forum what the other programs are, of the Burlington County Sheriff’s Department, that he says have gone away, when later asked about it by this newspaper, he replied that the sheriff’s department’s Senior Expo and Senior Police Academy only “recently came back” after having not “been done during the first two years of his (Besantis’) term.”

The Facebook page of the Burlington County Sheriff’s department contains a number of photos from the department’s recent Senior Expo and Senior Police Academy, with those two programs, along with a Youth Police Academy and Junior Police Academy, having been apparently held in September and October.

“Since announcing my run for sheriff back in March, I’ve spoken about these programs that have since gone away, and guess what happened?” Ditzel asked those attending the LeisureTowne forum. “They are coming back.”

And if he doesn’t win the Burlington County sheriff’s post, he added, that “end result is what we need.”

Levinsky, after ultimately being given a number of questions for this story to give to both Besantis and Cooper, with this newspaper again requesting to interview Basantis directly for this story, simply responded later in the day, “Sheriff Basantis declines to comment on ludicrous campaign rhetoric.”

Following the LeisureTowne event, the county Republicans issued a press release in which Ditzel doubled down on some of his claims, this time contending the sheriff’s department is in “shambles,” and also calling out Kostoplis, who was twice defeated by Stanfield in 2013 and 2016, for not making an appearance during the LeisureTowne forum.

“If Jim Kostoplis can’t show up to a friendly candidate forum, how can we expect him to show up for his constituents?” asked Ditzel in the GOP press release.

“For years under Republican leadership, the Burlington County Sheriff’s Office was the gold standard for how a sheriff’s office should be run. Under Kostoplis’s leadership for the past three years, the department has been in shambles. As sheriff, you can count on me to show up.”

The GOP press release ended with a remark from the Burlington County GOP organization itself: “The Burlington County Republican candidates value the concerns of Burlington County residents and will continue to show up for the people of LeisureTowne, even when the Democrats don’t.”

(Continued

Photo Provided

Democratic Sheriff Anthony Basantis (far left) stands with six sheriff’s officers in unveiling a patrol car designated for a Law Enforcement Against Drugs and Violence program, with his undersheriff, now a Democratic candidate for the county sheriff post, second from right.

CANDIDATES

the over two hour affair), most in the crowd of some 75 people in attendance at the forum demanded to hear the responses of all of the congressional candidates to the question that had been posed.

It all unfolded when Jack Roberts, who lives with his wife, Susan, at Burtons Drive in the retirement community, revealed in asking a question about “assault weapons” that his daughter was one of the victims in the Highland Park, Illinois, Independence Day Parade Massacre on July 4 of this year that killed seven people and wounded 48 others in the suburb that is just outside of Chicago.

“My daughter, and my granddaughter were at that parade,” Jack Roberts revealed.

“A 22-year-old kid with an assault weapon opened fire and shot my daughter. He also killed six people around my daughter and wounded another 40.”

The very fact that the couple, six-year residents of the serene LeisureTowne community nestled in the Pines, had been directly impacted by the national tragedy some 700 miles away from Southampton Township, something previously unknown to many in the room, suddenly hit close to home for those in attendance at the retirement community forum.

Audible gasps could be heard in the room.

“To be honest with you, I never really thought about gun-related issues before,” Jack Roberts declared. “But through my experience in dealing with my daughter, who by the way survived, but is still recovering from it and has some permanent injuries, it has framed my issue here – I do not understand and would like to know, why (there is not an assault weapons ban or at least restrictions), and whether you support the idea of restricting or banning assault weapons?”

He added it was an “AR 15 that shot my kid,” with published reports from Highland Park stating the suspect is alleged to have used a Smith & Wesson M&P15 semiautomatic rifle with three, 30-round magazines, and that a total of 83 shots were reportedly fired in the incident.

“And if not (restrictions or an outright ban on assault weapons), what would you propose to do, because mass shootings have become much more common?” the father inquired. “And I think people here should not think that they can avoid this in the future here, in Southampton, and in Southampton Schools.”

Kim, who recently voted to pass the Federal Extreme Risk Protection Order Act (a bill that would create a federal red flag

law), Protecting Our Kids Act (a bill that would raise the purchasing age for certain semi-automatic weapons from 18 to 21 years old, crack down on gun trafficking, close the ghost gun loophole, strengthen safe storage requirements for guns, and outlaw bump stocks and high-capacity magazines for civilian use), and Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (the largest gun violence prevention legislative package in over three decades with various supports for crisis and mental health interventions, penalties for straw purchasing and funding for school safety resources), initially responded to Roberts that “I am sorry for what your family went through and for what your daughter is going through.”

“When you said it, there was a gasp here just in this room to know that someone here has been a victim of that particular incident,” the congressman observed of Roberts’ revelation.

Kim said that he “respects hunters” and “respects people who want to shoot,” but then asked, “Do we really need these high capacity magazines that are unleashing, 50, 60, or 70 rounds?” and, “Do we really need these type of weapons that are getting in the hands of people who are incredibly dangerous?”

The congressman maintained he “refuses to believe it has to be one way or the other,” and called it simply a “false choice.”

“We can have a country that respects and cultivates responsible gun ownership, while also recognizing that we don’t have to accept that mass murders, and mass shootings, have to be a fact of being American and this is just a world we live in,” Kim declared. “So, I am proud that we voted for those types of legislation and continue to work in that way.”

Kim also voted in late July to pass the “Assault Weapons Ban of 2022,” which would “ban the sale and possession of high-capacity magazines and assault-style weapons and features,” though he did not directly reference this vote during the LeisureTowne forum.

That legislation, as his office noted in a press release issued shortly after the vote, is based on the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban, which was in place for 10 years before it was allowed to lapse back in 2004.

Kim, during the forum on Oct. 19, described how he “always thinks about” an encounter he had with a veteran at a town hall he conducted in neighboring Ocean County, who the congressman maintained approached him to say that he “‘agrees with you 100 percent’” on the need for “universal background checks” and “gun safety,” despite being “‘a lifelong member of the NRA’” and having served in the military.

“I asked him, ‘Why?’” Kim told forum attendees. “He said something that stuck with me – he said, ‘Because I am a responsible gun owner and I don’t like being lumped in with murderers, and psychopaths.’ It really just kind of highlighted it for me.”

Kim said he recognizes “we are a country that respects our Constitution and our Second Amendment,” but that he “also recognizes, in doing so, we set that culture of responsibility, and the sense of that.”

“And I think the vast majority of Americans believe that,” Kim asserted. “Over 90 percent of Americans believe in universal background checks because we just need to know who is purchasing this stuff.”

The “dozens of other mass shootings,” he added, “just over the last year or so,” is something that “has been horrific.”

Healey, in responding to the father, declared “my heart goes out to you,” adding that as the father of a 16-month old daughter, “I can’t imagine what you are going through,” maintaining the description of events Roberts gave is just “horrible.”

The Republican congressional candidate then described that his family “was never a family of gun owners,” but that he now owns a gun.

“And when I decided to become one (a gun owner), I was very fortunate enough to

have a good, dear friend, who was former military, and in law enforcement, walk me through the process of how to acquire a gun legally here in New Jersey, which has some of the strictest gun laws in our union,” Healey recounted. “That person taught me how to handle it responsibly, how to care for it, how to properly store it and all of those things.”

Healey described that he is “very supportive” of teaching responsible gun ownership, and maintained of the bi-partisan Senate bill (the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act), “I thought it had many good things in it.”

The bi-partisan bill was signed into law by Democratic President Joe Biden on June 25, and became the first major federal gun legislation to be passed since the now-lapsed 1994 assault weapons ban.

“I am supportive of keeping guns out of the hands of people who have mental illness,” Healey declared. “And (I support) having conversations on all of the things we can do towards that, and in making sure that things like what happened outside Chicago do not happen.”

Russomanno, however, as the Libertarian candidate challenging both Kim and Healey, declared in response to Roberts’ question, “Something to know about libertarians: we believe in all your rights – all the time.”

The “Second Amendment,” Russomanno continued, “is a right” and “basically acknowledges we have the right to selfdefense, and it shall not be infringed upon.”

“I am really sorry for what happened to your daughter,” said the Libertarian as he got up from behind a table where the candidates were sitting and spoke from centerstage. “It is horrible.”

However, he contended that the “only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.”

Russomanno, a former law enforcement officer of 20 years who retired from the Ewing Township Police Department as a sergeant, added that “whenever we got a call that something bad happened, most of the time we showed up after the fact” or “we showed up after the person was beaten, robbed or shot.”

“We helped clean up the mess and later on, we tried to get the criminal,” Russomanno said. “Sometimes we did, sometimes we didn’t.”

Russomanno maintained that “had the person had a firearm with them,” then that individual “could have defended themselves against the attacker.”

“Firearms are the great equalizer also,” the Libertarian candidate declared. “For a person who is smaller and weaker, they can now defend themselves against the person who is larger and stronger than they are.”

Russomanno maintained that during both the Los Angeles riots of 1992, as well as during the unrest in Minneapolis back in 2020, “police just got up and left.” He then posed a question to local seniors.

“If you have a person who doesn’t believe in a firearm, and doesn’t believe in guns, what are they going to defend themselves with?” he asked. “The police left them there to defend themselves. So, that is part of the reason I believe we have that right and we should protect all your rights – all the time.”

Sobocinski, in appearing to share a similar viewpoint to that of Russomanno on this topic, declared the “job of the police is not to protect people,” but rather “they enforce the law.”

“It is your responsibility to protect yourself,” he contended. “It really is. If police are in the area, I am sure it will help. And if they can get there on time, I am sure they will do their piece. But they can’t respond immediately.”

Sobocinski then posed a question to the forum’s audience, asking attendees to “guess” what segment of the population “bought the most guns over the last year.” Many in the room answered “hunters,” but Sobocinski maintained it was actually “women and people of color.”

“Because they understand the police are

not going to be able to respond when an intruder comes through the door,” Sobocinski said. “So, it (having a gun) is to protect you from intruders coming through the door, plus to protect yourself from a government out of control, which is potentially possible.”

The latter point, Sobocinski contended, is “what the founders” of the country “were talking about” when they created the Second Amendment.

The independent candidate cited published reports that the Aurora, Colorado movie theater gunman “searched out” the one such venue in the area that did not allow firearms, to launch his atrocity, avoiding the eight others that allowed patrons to carry firearms.

“So, it is gun-free zones that they are targeting,” he contended. “Chicago has a very strong gun prohibition, and it is very difficult to get your hands on a gun, like here in NJ.”

He also pointed to a report that in Missouri, “a constitutional-carry state,” someone went into a mall with a firearm, “and within seconds, someone took the shooter down.”

The bottom-line, according to Sobocinski, is that “you have to be able to defend yourself.”

And, in making that final point on the issue, Sobocinski chided those who choose to go after the gun manufacturers and make them liable, asking, “Why don’t we do that with cars, hatchets and knives?”

Some in the audience shot back that “we do.”

“If you take a Chevy and run over 10 people, now you can’t have a Chevy any longer?

he quipped. “Think about it! It is ridiculous and non-sensical!”

Some of the sharpest attacks of the evening on Kim, as he seeks a third term in Congress, came not from Healey, thought to be his main rival, but rather Sobocinski, who branded himself as an “America First, independent candidate running for Congress.”

Sobocinski, a 35-year resident of the Third District spanning most of Burlington County, which recently saw its Ocean County towns dropped through redistricting in favor of numerous ones in both Mercer and Monmouth counties, declared “the country has serious problems” and “our government is out of control.”

“There is chaos at the border,” he maintained. “There is skyrocketing inflation, failing schools, unsafe communities and a lack of medical freedom, all brought to you by the Democrats and Andy Kim.”

Sobocinski, who maintained that “none of the candidates up here represent him or my interests,” further asserted that Kim likes to “often talk about ‘civility,’ but that “my friends, there is no ‘civility.’”

“We have a border invasion going on in Texas,” the independent candidate

Photo By Tom Valentino Gregory Sobocinski, an independent running for Congress under the declared party of “God Save America,” sharply attacks Rep. Andy Kim during a LeisureTowne Candidates’ Forum on Oct. 19, charging there is no civility currently in the U.S.

Photo By Tom Valentino

Two-term Democratic Rep. Andy Kim (left) explains to voters why he wants a third term during a LeisureTowne Candidates’ Forum on Oct. 19.

maintained. “I have clients and friends in Texas, and it is a war going on. It is a war going on because Democrats are not enforcing federal law down there!”

He added that “large amounts” of “Fentanyl and other drugs” are “coming in from across the border,” pointing out Fentanyl is the “number one killer of 18 to 40-year old’s right now.”

Sobocinski, in his making a point that “crime is coming in” through the U.S. border with Mexico, declared, “It’s the most dangerous border in the world!”

“Children and families are dying in the Rio Grande, and it is not something we should be proud of,” Sobocinski quipped. “But Andy talks as if it is home.”

It is not that he “minds immigration,” Sobocinski explained, “but we have to manage immigration.”

“Because we don’t have a country if we don’t have a sovereign border,” he asserted.

Democrats, who control Congress, he charged, “have let us down,” and they often talk about “ an ‘insurrection’ and a ‘rebellion,’” but “if you let people come in through the Southern Border, they are coming in to overthrow the government!”

“They are criminals when they come across the border!” Sobocinski further charged. “They got to come in through an orderly process, in an orderly way.”

Sobocinski, at one point, went one step further, charging that Kim is “supporting” an “insurrection,” even going as far as to claim that the congressman was “giving aid and comfort to the enemy,” and that “maybe Andy shouldn’t be on the ballot.”

“The first and foremost responsibility of our government is to protect its citizens who are here lawfully,” said Sobocinski, with the sharp rhetoric against the sitting congressman causing several in the room to quietly talk amongst themselves. “They failed miserably. They not only failed miserably; they are intentionally doing it!”

Sobocinski, in again referencing “civility,” pointed to the ongoing inflation, maintaining those responsible for it are “either economically illiterate or simply don’t care to think you can print $5 trillion and not have inflation.”

“A little bit of COVID dollars came out to you, but it is all lost to inflation right now,” said the independent candidate, who explained his background is in finance. “Those who get Social Security, you’ll get your Social Security (the payout is due to increase in 2023) alright, but the question is, ‘Will it buy anything?’”

But in the most blistering “civility” attack on Kim, even causing one local school board candidate to temporarily leave the front of the room while shaking her head, Sobocinski alleged that “Andy Kim has never seen an abortion he doesn’t approve of.”

Abortion, Sobocinski charged, is the “intentional killing of an unborn child” and is “an act of violence that kills a baby.”

“I am the most pro-woman of any person here!” Sobocinski claimed. “Because I am for all those little babies in the womb!”

He added that “Andy would not even offer protection for babies five, six, seven or eight months in the uterus,” and urged those attending the LeisureTowne forum to “think for a moment about how those babies get aborted.”

“Is this a ‘civil’ society to allow that to happen?” Sobocinski asked.

Healey, who runs the Bass River Townshipbased Viking Yacht Company with his cousin, told those gathered in LeisureTowne that he is “not a politician,” but rather is a “business owner, father and philanthropist who is running to put the brakes on a damaging and failed agenda of Joe Biden.”

The Republican candidate described “Biden’s agenda” as one of “radical inflation, rising crime and radical ideas.”

While Healey maintained he has “had the pleasure of meeting Kim,” and appreciated his attendance at the LeisureTowne forum, he has also “watched him go to Washington D.C.” and “vote with Biden 100 percent of the time,” despite the congressman claiming to be a “bi-partisan” representative.

“Now, I am running because I think we need more input from the private sector –from small business owners and people who work on the assembly line, like the people at the Viking Yacht Company,” said Healey, explaining that his late father founded the firm some 58 years ago.

The firm “at the southern tip of Burlington County,” Healey pointed out, employs some 1,600 people. And, he added, “the majority of what goes into our boats is made right here in the U.S.”

“It is something that we are very, very proud of,” Healey declared.

The employees of the company, he added, “are like family members,” maintaining that actions have been taken to give them “the best wages” and “make sure they have access to the best healthcare.”

“A lot of ‘politicians’ like to talk about healthcare reform,” Healey said. “At the Viking Yacht Company, we have been providing our employees with free, on-site medical care for over 35 years. It is something we never get tired of talking about.”

Healey, who recently undertook a tour of all 53 towns that comprise the newly-reshaped congressional district in a similar fashion to when he toured the U.S. while involved in a punk rock band, maintained the “things that I am hearing are more concerning than any band lyric you could ever hear.”

“People say, ‘Bob, I am concerned with the cost of gas and groceries,’” Healey recounted.

“‘I am concerned with the type of country my children are going to grow up in,’ and ‘I don’t feel safe walking at night in my own neighborhood.’”

Healey then discussed how after “he got out of the band,” and initially “got into the family business,” his father “had other ideas” for him and he is “glad that he did,” sending him to Sierra Leone to “teach him the true meaning of ‘service.’”

The Republican candidate discussed how he helped build hospitals and clinics for pregnant mothers in the country located in West Africa, and that he then “came back here to Burlington County” to work with “first-time offenders, military veterans, and young girls at risk,” providing such supports “on our farm in Lumberton.”

“My run for congress is an extension of that service,” declared Healey, noting it is the kind of country that his daughter will grow up in that has pushed him to run for Congress. “… When we win in November, I will commit to you that I will spend every waking moment working for you and your families, by bringing common-sense ideas down to Washington that unite us as Americans, rather than try to divide us like so many people, like frankly so many people on both sides of the aisle try to do.”

He added that “looks like” adding a “balanced budget amendment so that taxpayer dollars are spent wisely; supporting our police officers and giving them all the tools they need to do their jobs and get back home safely to their families; getting back to being energy independent in this country so we can lower the cost of gas and energy to every single person in the U.S., as well as New Jersey and the district; supporting and being an advocate for school choice so we can have that conversation finally; and protecting young women and female athletes by not forcing them to compete against biological men in high school and collegiate sports.”

Russomanno, originally from Trenton, before moving to California, and who joined the U.S. Marines as a truckdriver and marine security guard, later leaving the Marines to return to New Jersey, earning a degree in Law and Justice from TCNJ before joining the Trenton police force, eventually joining Ewing Police in 2014, pointed out “Libertarians are known as the party of principle.” He further maintained the belief of the party is “you can do whatever you want, so long as you don’t use first-right force or aggression against other people.”

“We believe you should not lie, cheat or steal,” he explained. “We believe you should keep your promises. And we apply these same parameters to the government as well. We believe in individual freedom and responsibility.”

The “three most important things to him today,” Russomanno declared, are “war, the Federal Reserve and our civil rights.”

Russomanno explained that he felt “we just got out of a 20-year war that got us nothing, except a bunch of young men and women who have physical and mental scars that probably will never heal” in referencing the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

“It seems like we ended one war, only for us to get in another war, this time with a nuclear power,” maintained Russomanno in referencing the ongoing War in Ukraine.

The Libertarian candidate charged “we’re in a proxy war right now with Russia,” and

that “we are doing it with Ukraine, but make no mistake about it, the target is Russia.”

While Russomanno, who called himself a “Hollywood Marine,” pointed out he has never been in combat, “some of my buddies have,” and “they are changed.”

“I love veterans so much, I would make sure we would make no more of them,” the Libertarian candidate declared, pointing out that some veterans have taken to suicide because of their traumatic experiences on the battlefield. “I would make sure we don’t put any more of our men and women in that kind of situation. I would push to end all the wars, right now.”

U.S. troops, he contended, “would be better used at home,” including by securing the country’s borders.

“Our troops could be used to protect our borders, instead of sticking our noses into other people’s business in other countries, which then causes them to dislike us,” he said.

Russomanno, in switching gears, charged the Federal Reserve is a “banking cartel” or a “private entity” that “has control over the nation’s money,” and that it “simply prints money” whenever a “politician decides to start another war.” He also alleged it is used by politicians to “bail out their buddies” by “printing more money,” or that it is used “every time they start another war or bail out another bank, or cooperation.”

(The Federal Reserve System is the central banking system of the U.S. and maintains on its website that it provides the nation with a safe, flexible and stable monetary and financial system.)

“The problem is, we are the ones who pay for it,” he further charged.

The Libertarian candidate told forum attendees to “think Federal Reserve” every time that they “put gas in their car” or “go buy bacon.”

“I pay the same price for 8 ounces of bacon that I used to pay for 12 ounces or 16 ounces,” he said of the impact of inflation.

As the timer went off due to his five minutes to make his case to voters having expired, Russomanno quipped, “protect your civil rights – the government shouldn’t be spying on us!”

Kim, who hopes to hold on to power again in the Third District, having previously defeated former GOP Congressman Tom MacArthur in 2018 and a challenge in 2020 mounted by Republican businessman David Richter, went first in the forum section for the congressional candidates, and thus did not get an opportunity to defend himself against some of the attacks made by his current rivals.

But prior to them speaking, Kim, also a former U.S. diplomat under both the George W. Bush and Barrack Obama presidential administrations, said it was a “real honor to be able to do this job over the last couple of years in a community I grew up in,” one that “gave my family everything” and him a “world of opportunities.”

He discussed serving his “country” as a diplomat, “not a party.”

“That approach to public service is really at the heart of what I am trying to get done, and trying to push forward,” Kim declared.

One of the “priorities” Kim said he has undertaken stems “from something I heard right here in this room” the last time he ran for Congress, which is combatting “the high cost of healthcare, in particular the high cost of prescription drugs.”

He recounted conversations he held with constituents in which they reported to him that they were paying somewhere between $500 and $600 “out of pocket every single month” for prescription drugs, “which adds up to $5,000 or $6,000 a year,” or what he said amounts to “breaking their banks.”

Kim then touted having voted for the Inflation Reduction Act (though not by name), or “having passed into law legislation

Photo By Tom Valentino

Republican Congressional Candidate Bob Healey, during a LeisureTowne Candidates’ Forum on Oct. 19, tells the audience he is running to “put the brakes on a damaging and failed agenda of Joe Biden.”

Photo By Tom Valentino Libertarian Christopher Russomanno, during a LeisureTowne Candidates’ Forum on Oct. 19, says he would vote to discontinue all wars, making sure the country “makes no more” veterans.

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that allows Medicare to be able to negotiate drug prices,” in addition to placing a “cap on out-of-pocket costs for seniors when it comes to their prescription drugs.”

“Once it is finally implemented, no senior in America will ever have to pay more than $2,000 a year for their prescription drug costs, which is $166 a month, no matter how many pills you take, or what conditions you have,” said Kim to applause from many comprising the senior audience. “And no senior on Medicare will ever have to pay more than $35 a month for insulin, something that is so critical. One person told me insulin is so important to stay alive as is air and water.” Kim added the legislation will now give seniors both a “sense of stability” and “sense

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of security.”

“The seniors were being screwed over,” declared the Democratic congressman of the situation prior to the legislation’s passage, maintaining that seniors in his district would have saved some $36 million alone if it had already been in place at the start of this year.

Kim, during the LeisureTowne forum, also pointed to his 10 years’ experience in national security, “trying to keep our homeland safe,” and noted that he currently serves on both the Armed Services Committee and Foreign Affairs Committee in the House, “trying to make sure we keep our nation safe.”

He also pointed out he voted “multiple times” to pass legislation “giving a pay increase to our troops,” as well as “has looked out for our service members’ families,” doing “a lot when it comes to mental health and our veterans.”

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Jersey – a $60 million state-of-the-art health clinic for our community,” Kim said. “This is something that is going to help our veterans out a lot in getting the care that they need.”

In “focusing on our security right here in this district,” Kim said he was “able to help bring in federal dollars” to help support Hope One, a mobile access unit through the Burlington County Sheriff’s Office that offers critical support for persons and their families struggling with addiction, and related issues. He also contended that he “brought in federal dollars” to “support a police department out in Ocean County.”

“This is why I was able to be endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police,” Kim declared. “I showed we were able to work together on these issues to address safety, both internationally and here at home.”

In the “last thing that I’ll say,” Kim asserted he is “proud” to be “the only member

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of Congress here in New Jersey” to serve on the House’s Small Business Committee, a position he has held for “all four years of my time in Congress.”

“We know how tough it has been for our small businesses, especially during the pandemic with the struggles that they have had,” Kim declared. “I have been trying to work to make sure that they get the support that they need, and to be able to stay afloat. Small businesses were struggling even before the pandemic, and now they are struggling after.

“So, those are some of the issues I want to be able to continue to fight for, and I wanted to show you the things that I am prioritizing, and I hope it is something you care about too. Thank-you, everyone.”

As the moderator pointed out, there are only 435 members of Congress serving in the U.S. House of Representatives, with Kim being one of them.

Date: December 3, 2022