Pine Barrens Tribune October 7-October 13, 2023

Best-Selling Author Damon West Shares His ‘Spiritual Awakening’ with Medford-Area Community and Valuable Lesson from Prison to ‘Be a Coffee Bean’ in Real Life West Aims to Give ‘Hope to the Hopeless’ By Describing Journey from Division 1 QB to Meth Addict to 65-Year Prison Sentence to Getting Freed on Parole After Instituting Change in His Life That Has Effect on Others

By D ouglas D. M elegari

Staff Writer

MEDFORD—Best-selling author and national change agent Damon West came to Shawnee High School and Medford Memorial Middle School in Medford Township on Sept. 21 and 22, in an event sponsored by the Zallie Community Foundation and the Shawnee ParentTeacher Organization (PTO), to share his “spiritual awakening” message with local youth and families by noting that “four words transformed my entire life – ‘Be a Coffee Bean.’”

Those four words, he emphasized, led him to realize the “power is within you” to change course in your life for the better during times of trouble or hardships, as others can’t do it for you, and “positive energy,” even so much as smiling at others, can lead to change for not only you, but those around you.

By D ouglas D. M elegari

Staff Writer

WOODLAND—Amid what has turned into a “fire ‘year’” for New Jersey, it was a “clear, wholehearted and unanimous decision” amongst the New Jersey Forest Fire Service (NJFFS)’s senior

supervisors and top brass of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), which oversees the NJFFS, to, for the first time in the NJFFS’s history, hand out “Distinguished Service Awards” as well as a “Smokey Bear Award for Wildlife Prevention and Journalism”

to those on the front lines of wildfires, and who also held supporting roles in the state’s 2023 wildfire prevention and firefighting initiatives, according to Greg McLaughlin, chief of the forest fire service. In a formal ceremony held Sept. 21

“Mr. West’s powerful message about each person’s ability to change their environment for the better fits perfectly with our efforts to prioritize mental and physical health,” said Shawnee Principal Matthew Campbell, in noting that West’s book, “The Coffee Bean,” was part of the Lenape Regional High School

See AWAKENING/ Page 11

State Forest Fire Service, Department of Environmental Protection Recognize ‘Heroes’ of Wildfire Response, Prevention Amid ‘Climate Crisis’ Causing Increased Fire Activity, with Corresponding Announcement of ‘$3M Budget Boost’ for Equipment, Personnel

Pemboro Councilwoman Suggests ‘Outright Ban on That Type of Foul,’ or Roosters, Pointing to Purported Issues She, Local Bed and Breakfast, and Neighbors Have Had

By D ouglas D. M elegari

Staff Writer

PEMBERTON BOROUGH—An “outright ban on that type of foul,” or roosters, is something that Pemberton Borough Councilwoman Diane Fanucci has called for during both Aug. 21 and Sept. 18 Pemberton Borough Council meetings.

So far, however, Borough Solicitor David Serlin has maintained “we have ordinances that cover that,” with Acting Mayor Terry Jerome (also council president), adding, “I believe we have language in our ordinances that covers livestock.”

Fanucci, in suggesting a ban specific to roosters, however, contended “the bed and breakfast had issues, another neighbor had an issue and I, personally, had issues.” She maintained “the noise ordinance does not seem to take care of it enough.”

“Unless we are having chicken farms here, we really don’t need roosters, because chickens can lay their eggs all by themselves without roosters,” Fanucci said.

When Serlin, on Sept. 21, suggested that the borough’s “noise ordinance would cover that particular nuisance rooster,” or those involved in the earlier concerns that Fanucci had cited, the councilwoman shot back, “They are all nuisances, in my opinion, because they wake everybody up.”

Her remarks led Serlin to acknowledge the borough’s code for handling such nuisances is “very broad” and “we don’t have, per se, a chicken ordinance.”

“Some towns have it where they regulate chickens,” said Serlin, to which the councilwoman retorted, “I don’t care about chickens.”

Jerome, however, pointed out that chickens and roosters “usually go handin-hand,” with Serlin noting he had been provided with a copy of a chicken ordinance adopted by nearby Evesham Township.

“Evesham has a fairly significant ordinance, which is rather detailed,” the solicitor observed. “It goes into zones where you can have it (raise chickens and

roosters). The borough is small. But then again, I don’t know if you would want to prohibit chickens.”

That led Fanucci to repeat she has “no issues with chickens,” with Serlin maintaining chickens and roosters typically “come together,” or are both addressed in a livestock law.

“We have the structure in our ordinances to deal with this,” Jerome repeated. “We can certainly create another ordinance, but truly, that is not necessary. Under the noise ordinance language, that allows us to deal with roosters causing a problem.”

Fanucci, however, in pointing out that when problematic dogs cause a problem, one solution is “dogs can be put in a house,” she asked of crowing roosters, “What is the solution?”

Serlin responded that if roosters are “causing a nuisance,” the owners can be fined, and the fines can escalate. He expressed his belief that unless “someone is in love” with their roosters, after “paying sufficient fines,” they would likely cease having the birds causing a nuisance.

“The remedy is to fine them until they comply,” Serlin maintained.

Jerome expressed his belief that the “solution” is “not the borough’s burden,” but rather the burden should be placed on a “person violating the ordinance.”

In apparently pointing to recent dilapidated property cases in Pemberton Borough, where owners have been said by officials to have been repeatedly taken to court, but that they merely pay a fine and don’t address the issues at hand, forcing the municipality to start the process all over again, Fanucci contended officials are aware “fines don’t work” in at least some cases.

The borough solicitor responded, however, that he “doesn’t believe someone has been taken to court” over a nuisance rooster incident in the borough, a notion that Fanucci disputes.

“I can look into that,” said Serlin, in ending the public discourse on the matter, for now.

Traffic Engineer Recommends Installation of 5 Speed Bumps in Vicinity of Hough St. Amid Reports Speeding Motorists Are Using It as Cut-Through to Avoid Traffic Light

By D ouglas D. M elegari

Staff Writer

PEMBERTON BOROUGH—A traffic

engineer, whose services have been retained by Pemberton Borough, has purportedly recommended installation of five speed bumps on and around Hough Street, following complaints of speeding in the area.

Borough Engineer Joseph Mullen, of Pennoni Associates, said during a Sept. 21 Pemberton Borough Council session that his firm’s traffic engineer looked into “traffic calming on Hough and Saint John streets,” and has recommended “installation of five speed bumps,” four for Hough Street and one on Saint John Street.

Resident Elaine Bucs told council during its prior Aug. 21 session, in pointing to Hough Street, that “we have been having a problem with cars speeding down that road,” and more specifically, “high school students are using it as a dragstrip.”

“The concern is for our young children,” Bucs declared. “As I sit in my living room, I hear them gunning for it.”

Councilwoman Andrea Martin, who noted she lives “one house in from Hough Street,” lent further support to Bucs’ observations, contending she has been “experiencing the same thing” and “sees a

major issue on Hough, over and over again.”

Resident Joelle Crum, who lives on Hough Street, told council that her “dog got out” of her home and “got hit,” and “now the dog has no use of one of her legs.”

“The car was going so fast, I didn’t get the plates,” Crum alleged. “It didn’t stop.”

She said that as a result of the incident with her dog, she now fears for the safety of her son.

“It is like a disaster waiting to happen!” Crum declared.

Acting Mayor and Council President Terry Jerome responded that the “sad fact of the matter” is that the “geographical layout of the town” is causing motorists to seek borough side streets, such as Hough, to use as cut-through routes to avoid the traffic lights.

“We have people, for whatever reason, needing to get to Browns Mills or points east extremely fast (and vice versa),” Jerome declared. “The most effective measure we can offer, at this point, is an uptick in enforcement, if we can do it, but it is a tough thing because (borough police) are spread thin.”

Both Bucs and Crum, however, inquired

See SPEED/ Page 21

Abandoned Gun Club Reportedly Collapses with Woodland Township Officials Planning ‘Emergency Demolition’ as Property Owner is Purportedly Unknown

Cost to Be Determined Later as Officials Need to Investigate for Asbestos and Cesspool; Animal Control Ordinance Passes and Local Fire Chief Named Maintenance Man No. 2

By D ouglas D. M elegari

Staff Writer

WOODLAND—An abandoned gun club that has been the purported source of a feral cat issue in a secluded section of Woodland Township has reportedly collapsed, and it looks like municipal taxpayers will have to foot the bill for the “emergency” demolition and clean-up, a cost of which has not yet been determined.

According to Township Administrator and Clerk Maryalice Brown during a Sept. 27 Woodland Township Committee workshop meeting, the Spartan Gun Club on Baptist Road was observed to have “fallen down” by Code Enforcement Officer Tom Boyd while he was recently performing a roof inspection on another property in the area.

“It is completely unsafe,” said Brown of the structure that was the subject of earlier complaints that it was serving as a source of a feral cat problem in the area of Baptist and Old Tuckerton roads.

Brown said that “we haven’t been able to” locate the last-known property owner of record for the facility, and Boyd “printed out the statute on unsafe structures” in which “under an emergency measure, we can move forward with demolition immediately, when the address or identity of the property owner is not on the public record.”

“So, are we going to be able to do this ourselves?” is a question that was asked by Mayor William “Billy” DeGroff, to which Brown replied, “That is my question.”

It was one, as of the Sept. 27 session, that Woodland officials did not have a clear-cut answer to, because of several unknowns, including whether there is any asbestos (which would require professional remediation under state law) as well as a cesspool on site.

According to Brown, Boyd felt that “we would need a few dumpsters” to haul away the debris, and that the demolition and clean-up could be handled by Public Works Director Fred Arnwine. However, DeGroff, in noting that a past structure removed by the township ended up having asbestos, asked if officials “should check it out with (Engineer) Tom Leisse to see if there is any asbestos in there.”

Brown advised that she could schedule a time for Leisse to tour the property in question. Leisse, in attendance at the workshop, noted “if there is asbestos, we can’t do it (the clean-up) ourselves,” with the township having to hire a contractor.

“If we start doing this (the clean-up), and find asbestos, then it is going to bite us in the butt,” declared DeGroff, being of the opinion that the township should have Leisse evaluate the property, with Leisse adding that “even with the building having fallen down, the protocol would be to do containment if it is there, in the materials.”

Fire Chief Shawn Viscardi noted that officials should also take a “look at the cap and well” and that any cesspool must come out as well.

Given that DeGroff recalled there were indoor bathrooms, and not outhouses, for the old structure, he asserted, “I am sure there is going to be one (a cesspool) there as old as that building is.”

Additionally, Brown noted officials will “have to confirm whether or not there are any tanks for propane, or oil,” which could bring about additional costs.

“I am not sure whether there are any in the back,” she said of any propane or oil tanks. “For the well, he (Boyd) said we can temporarily cap it while we demo the

building, and then, depending on what we determine we are going to do with the property, we may need to bring in a well service to permanently cap it. Then we will have to handle the cesspool.”

Township Solicitor William Burns’ initial counsel to the governing body was that if “there is hazardous material that is going to require a contractor,” to “immediately get a quote from the contractor(s) so we can schedule a special meeting.” However, Leisse pointed to the option that the governing body can treat the situation as an emergency since it is a “public, health and safety issue.” Declaring an emergency is a mechanism that will provide the committee with “flexibility” to deal with the hazard in a timely manner, Leisse added.

During a regular meeting of the Woodland committee that immediately followed the workshop, Brown told attendees, “We did discuss Baptist Road,” and the “gun club is going to be demolished.”

“It is unsafe,” Brown declared. “We are going to be doing it as an emergency demolition.”

Resident Terry Sheerin and Jane Donoghue, both of whom previously raised the issue of the gun club being a source of feral cats, had come to the Sept. 27 governing body meeting with photographs of the collapsed gun club in hand, providing copies of them to this newspaper.

During the workshop session, it was noted that the awning for the club had fallen down about six years ago, necessitating Atlantic City Electric to cut the power to the facility, but that recently it was found that its “front porch was on the ground,” as well as its back roof, “with one wall still standing.”

Sheerin, in providing an update on the feral cats on Sept. 27, told the governing body that she “has given up” as there are a “another ton of cats down there” and animal control has not returned to handle the issue since March.

“When I texted them, they said you are not a big account, though they don’t say it that way, but that is what they are telling us,” Sheerin claimed. “So, we are going to have kittens everywhere, and I can only take so many, and I can only euthanize so many and adopt so many.”

During the Sept. 27 Woodland committee meeting, officials adopted, 3-0, an animal control ordinance, a law watered down from the previous two versions introduced, requiring property owners to contain their animals.

The feral cat issue, as well as an issue in the Chatsworth section of the municipality involving a “flying bird,” reportedly a peacock, have served as the impetus for the law.

Viscardi, in the capacity of township fire chief, reported that one of the Woodland Volunteer Fire and EMS Company’s ambulances has been suffering an “electrical issue.”

He also reported working with Leisse to see “what we can do to replace our pad” at the company’s Lebanon Lakes firehouse, though no further context was provided. DeGroff asked Viscardi what the plan is for replacement signage on the Chatsworth firehouse (the sign for the building having been removed following a traffic accident in which a vehicle slammed into the building), with Viscardi responding that the company hopes to raise enough money at an upcoming breakfast fundraiser, the first one since the pandemic, to buy an LED sign “so we don’t

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20 Burlington-MountHolly Rd., Westampton, NJ 08060 609-834-3500

1920 Burlington-Mount HollyRd., Westampton,NJ08060 609-834-3500

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Donate these items today at the Marblehead Chowder House!

Vincentown’s Sally Stretch Keen Memorial Library, Recipient of Matching Grant During Its 100th Anniversary for ‘Crucial Repairs,’ Launches Campaign for Match

By D ouglas D. M elegari Staff Writer

SOUTHAMPTON—The Sally Stretch Keen Memorial Library in the Village of Vincentown section of Southampton

Township has just turned 100, and to “keep our books dry and our doors open,” the historic library is asking for your help in purchasing a brick to match a matching New Jersey Historic Trust Grant of $85,622 it recently received, so that it can move forward with “crucial repairs.”

“This is a real honor,” the library said in a statement. “It means the Historic Trust recognizes the importance of our building’s architecture, history, and role as your community library. We are thrilled to be preserving our historic building, but a matching grant means that we need our community to help us raise our share after the grant award, which is $57,000.”

While the library has access to the resources of the Burlington County Library System, it must raise funds annually to support its operating budget, with the township and county only funding a portion of the operating costs, the library statement noted. The brick campaign is in addition to the library’s regular fundraising initiatives.

The purchased bricks, the library said, “will line the library walkway and be a lasting reminder that the library belongs to all of us.” Readers can complete the order form in today’s edition of the Pine Barrens Tribune

Donations can also be made in-person at the library, 94 Main Street, in Vincentown.

“Every year, we depend on donations from people like you to help us pay our

staff, keep the lights and the water on, put on our wonderful programs … and, of course, purchase books,” the statement continues. “We are committed to promoting literacy and bringing our community together, but we can’t do it without you.”

The library, according to the Historic Trust, was built in 1923, gifted to the community from Mary Irick Drexel and endowed in memory of her mother and prominent local resident, Sally Stretch Keen.

Designed by noted Philadelphia architects Stewardson and Page, according to the Historic Trust, the small, one-room library incorporates elaborate Georgian Revival details, including Flemish bond brickwork, quoining, a central front door flanked by sidelights and headed by an elaborate arched fanlight, and a large rear Palladian window.

Sally Stretch Keen Memorial Library, the Historic Trust further noted, is a “key contributing resource to the Vincentown Historic District,” listed in both the New Jersey and National Registers for Historic Places for “significance as an agrarian commercial center in rural Southampton Township.”

The period of significance, according to the Historic Trust, extends from 1790 to 1935, with it noting that during the latter half of the nineteenth century, Vincentown was at the height of its prosperity; supporting shops, taverns, a tannery, and grist and sawmills, all of which were integral to the commercial life.

The current library building itself was built at the site of an old sawmill on Race Street, according to the library’s website.

To Benefitthe Historic Vincentown Library Brick Fundraiser

After100 years of service,the Sally Stretch Keen Memorial Library in Vincentown needs your help Some crucial repairs to our historic building will keep our books dry and our doors open. To makethis happen, we applied for and won amatching NJ Historic TrustGrant. This is arealhonor.Itmeans the Trustrecognizes the importance of our building’sarchitecture,history,and role as your community library.Weare thrilled to be preserving our historic building, but amatching grant means that we need our community to help us raise our share after the grant award, which is $57,000

This $57,000.00isinadditiontoour normal, annual fundraising. The Sally is afull service library with access to County resources, but did you know that the township and the county only provide aportion of ouroperating costs?Every year we depend on donations from people likeyou to help us pay our staff,keep the lights and the water on, put on our wonderful programs…and of course,purchasebooks. We arecommitted to promoting literacy and bringing our community together,but we can’t do it without you.

Your engraved brick will be apermanent show of your support for our building preservation and all that we do in our community.Bricks will line the library walkway and will be alasting reminder that the library belongs to all of us. We thank you for becoming apart of our legacy!

4x8 Brick

Bricks are 4x8,$100.00

Please print in all CAPITAL letters.

Please return this form and your check payable to:

Sally Stretch Keen Memorial Library 94 Main Street

Vincentown, NJ 08088

Or you can order and pay online at www.bricksrus.com/donorsite/sskml

Please call the library with any questions at 609-859-3598 |Orders due November 1, 2023. Thank you for your support!

Photo By Douglas D. Melegari

The Sally Stretch Keen Memorial Library in the Village of Vincentown section of Southampton Township.

Republicans Latham Tiver, Mike Torrissi & Brandon Umba…

They will always fight for South Jersey values.

February 9, 2023

Critics slam state’s proposal for vehicle permits in Wharton State Forest

Assemblyman Brandon Umba (R-Burlington) said the forest belongs to the region’s residents “and we should not be changing how they get to use it.”

Assemblyman Mike Torrissi: “[T]he state…should hold in-person, public meetings and face the people. But I guarantee you, you’re going to see a bunch of pissed-off Piney’s come out to give them a piece of their minds.”

Fire Extinguisher Safety

A fire extinguisher is a vital safety device that can help suppress small fires before they escalate into dangerous blazes. This Fire Prevention Week, which takes place from October 8 to 14, 2023, brush up on your fire preparedness knowledge with this brief guide to fire extinguishers.

Firstly, it’s important to familiarize yourself with the different types of fire extinguishers and their suitable applications:

• Class A fire extinguishers are suitable for ordinary combustibles like wood and paper

• Class B extinguishers are suitable for flammable liquids and gases

• Class C extinguishers are intended for use on fires involving appliances, motors and tools

• Class D extinguishers are designed for use on combustible metals

• Class K extinguishers are suitable for kitchen fires

You can also find multipurpose fire extinguishers that are suitable for more than one class, like A-B, B-C or A-B-C.

Fire extinguishers must be kept in prominent, easily accessible locations like mounted to a wall. Ideally, you should have a portable fire extinguisher on every floor of your home, especially near potential fire hazards like kitchens, garages and workshops.

The PASS technique

In the event of a fire, remember the PASS acronym:

• Pull the pin. Hold the extinguisher upright and pull the pin to break the tamper seal.

• Aim low. Point the nozzle or hose at the base of the fire.

• Squeeze the lever. Firmly squeeze the lever to discharge the extinguishing agent.

• Sweep side to side. Sweep the nozzle or hose from side to side, covering the base of the fire until it’s completely extinguished.

By understanding how to properly use and store a fire extinguisher, you can enhance fire safety in your home.

4 Smart Ways to Avoid Fires

Did you know that almost half of all residential fires are caused by human negligence or distraction? Adopt these four life-saving habits to prevent a fire from starting in your kitchen or another room in your home.

1. Never leave heating appliances unattended. Are you ironing or cooking food on the stovetop? A fire can break out even if you leave the room for only a few seconds. Avoid the worst by never leaving these types of appliances unattended.

2. Don’t store combustible objects or materials in or on your range. Keep flammable items like paper, plastic utensils, dishcloths and cereal boxes away from your stove’s heating elements. Remember that you could accidentally light the wrong ring or preheat your oven when there are flammable materials inside.

3. Be mindful of electrical cords. Whenever possible, avoid using extension cords for auxiliary heating appliances. Look for appliances with CSA or ULC approval and don’t use them if

Is Your Evacuation

Creating an evacuation plan is essential for responding quickly and appropriately when a fire breaks out. Have you made one? If so, take a few moments to consult this checklist. If you haven’t, it’s high time you did!

• Emergency exits. Identifying all emergency exits — doors or windows that lead directly outside — is an essential part of every evacuation plan.

• Fire extinguishers and alarms. Ensure your plan includes the location of fire extinguishers, smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors.

they’re damaged.

4. Have your chimney or flue professionally serviced. If you use a traditional wood-burning stove or pellet-burning fireplace, leave the chimney sweeping or flue cleaning to the experts. Ideally, this should be done in the fall before the snow falls.

You can reduce the risk of fire significantly by remaining vigilant every day.

Plan Up to Date?

• Escape routes. Establish two different escape routes for each room so you can reach an emergency exit as quickly as possible.

• Muster point. Determine a place where everyone should meet after leaving the building. Remember that it must be easily accessible in every season.

Once the plan has been finalized, make sure everyone in your household is familiar with it. Carry out at least two fire drills every year to ensure everyone knows what to do in the event of a fire.

Is your fire protection equipment, such as smoke detectors and extinguishers, up to date and in good condition?

If in doubt, buy quality products from your local shops.

Proud Supporter of the Community

Controversial Electrical Unit in LeisureTowne Reportedly Briefly ‘Energized’ to Allow for Electromagnetic Testing, But Detailed Results Not Yet Released

By D ouglas D. M elegari Staff Writer

SOUTHAMPTON—The “highlycontroversial” electrical unit, or switchgear station, that was erected earlier this year in the middle of a LeisureTowne neighborhood, on Saint Davids Place, for a solar project, was “energized” for the first time on Sept. 20 to allow for brief electromagnetic testing, before reportedly being de-energized.

The testing, previously promised to the residents of Saint Davids Place, with nearly a dozen homes directly in front of the switchgear station, was to detect the level of electromagnetic fields or EMFs that the unit puts out, according to a Sept. 15 letter sent by Southampton Township to residents of the street in question.

However, according to Resident Phyllis Peak, who has taken on the role of community leader since the unit was erected, having helped organize a group of residents to push for the relocation of the unit, as of the evening of Oct. 4, residents had still not yet been notified of the results from Sept. 20. Peak told this newspaper that she had been told the results would be sent to the LeisureTowne Association. Gregg Shivers, an attorney representing the association, told the Pine Barrens Tribune on Oct. 3 that “those were tests done by PSE&G” and “they did not share those results.” He noted he expected to meet with the parties in the know later this week, and would ask for the information.

Lauren Ugorji, a spokeswoman for PSE&G who previously handled this newspaper’s inquiries on the unit, promised on Oct. 3 that Rebecca Mazzarella, a senior

communications consultant for PSE&G, who describes herself on LinkedIn as an “executive communicator and media maven,” would respond to the request for the results by this newspaper’s deadline.

But Mazzarella, despite Ugorji’s urging, did not respond as of press time.

Kathleen D. Hoffman, administrator and clerk of Southampton Township, when asked for the results and whether the township deems them to be satisfactory, replied, “The first phase of the testing went as predicted by the developer.”

“In the end, it keeps the project moving forward, while all the parties work to move the box off the island,” Hoffman added.

The switchgear station is tied to a solar panel array built on the Big Hill landfill, sitting on the southeast corner of LeisureTowne. Attorney Steven Gouin, who represents the project developer, Southampton BEMS, a subsidiary of CEP Renewables, LLC, did not return a request for the results by press time.

“They don’t seem to be letting us know anything,” declared Peak, taking issue with the transparency surrounding the whole matter.

A letter notifying Saint Davids Place residents of the testing schedule, however, noted that on Sept. 20, representatives of the township and developer would be on-site to answer questions.

Among those witnessing the initial testing on Saint Davids Place was Deputy Mayor Bill Raftery and Committeeman Ronald Heston, along with Township Solicitor George Morris. Mayor Michael Mikulski, during a preceding Sept. 19 Southampton committee meeting, said he could not attend

due to a scheduling conflict.

“Some of you may have been told the testing will start tomorrow,” said Mikulski on Sept. 19. “For those of you who live in that area, this is all part of getting it moved. We promised you that our number one priority would be to get it moved. I am as convinced today, as much as I have been in any part of this project, that it will be moved. This is all

part of the way to get it moved the fastest.” When testing had originally been promised to the residents, it came after several expressed health and safety concerns. At the time, there had been no plan in place to relocate the unit.

Mikulski, however, on Sept. 19, contended, “If we didn’t allow the testing to take place,

Photo By Tom Valentino

Southampton Deputy Mayor Bill Raftery (left), Committeeman Ronald Heston (center), and Township Solicitor George Morris (right), watch as PSE&G energizes the switchgear station on Saint Davids Place.

Rapid Building of New Affordable Housing in Medford Seen Putting Squeeze on Classroom Space, But Officials Say They Had No Choice Council President, Solicitor Claim They Negotiated Best Deal Possible with State Under Latest Court-Ordered Terms of Four-Decade-Old Mount Laurel II Decision

By Bill B onvie Staff Writer

MEDFORD—While the accelerated construction of new affordable housing units in what until recently was a rural swath of Medford Township has admittedly put local schools in a space and resource bind, the situation was nothing that township officials either sought or encouraged, its mayor and solicitor contended during the Medford Township Council meeting on Sept. 19.

That explanation was prompted by a complaint from resident Robert Watson that his daughter, a second grader, is now assigned to sit in a trailer outside Taunton Forge Elementary School as a result of “our housing boom having gone through the roof recently” with homes, especially multifamily units, being “built at a lot quicker rate than in the past.”

The quality of the schools in Medford, he said, are “why I stayed here, why I am still here, and why I want to raise my family here.”

“But to have a group of second graders stuck in a trailer outside the school with the music room right next to them isn’t fair,” the resident added. “That is why I’d ask the council to take a good hard look at things moving forward, to space things out instead of everything all at once.”

Watson’s remarks to the council followed a Board of Education meeting the previous evening in which the superintendent had reported on the issue of overcrowding now taking place.

“I have two grandkids in the Medford schools, so I share your concerns,” responded Mayor Charles “Chuck” Watson (no relation to Robert Watson). “One, I think, is in second grade.”

Township Solicitor Timothy Prime then explained that “this was not a conscious decision by the township to provide more housing and provide more ratables,” but rather “a mandated number (of housing units) that we had to meet.”

Medford “has not approved any new housing developments at all other than those required to be approved by the New Jersey Supreme Court,” the solicitor declared. “We were assigned a number that we had to provide.”

Prime was referring to the township’s share of the obligation that municipalities in New Jersey have to provide a certain amount of affordable housing to lowincome residents under a policy originally established four decades ago by the state Supreme Court’s landmark Mount Laurel II ruling. That decision has since survived substantial resistance, including an attempt by former Gov. Chris Christie to render it unenforceable, before the Fair Share Housing Center was given oversight responsibility for carrying it out in another Supreme Court ruling.

“We were assigned a number that we had to provide under the constitutional decision of the Supreme Court, and those are the only ones we’ve approved,” explained the attorney, noting that the township was given bonus credits for rentals intended for families, enabling it to build fewer units than it would otherwise have been required to do, but bringing in an even greater number of school-age youngsters in the process.

But the number of new homes was actually “negotiated down” from what was projected a few years ago, contended Prime, who noted that he had been dealing with the matter for the last six years.

Expounding on the township attorney’s remarks, Mayor Watson maintained that Medford had “negotiated from roughly 6,000 down to 1,000 affordable housing units.”

“Can you imagine if there were the 6,000 homes?” the mayor asked.

“That would have been devastating,” he maintained, particularly so, considering that there are only 9,000 in the township now.

“If it was up to me, we never would have built any of those houses,” the mayor emphasized, adding that he’d heard comments to the effect that it “was all about getting more tax ratables,” whereas “residential tax ratables are not the best thing for the town.”

“I’d much rather have something commercial on Route 70 that doesn’t affect our schools,” Mayor Watson declared.

Prime then further maintained that affordable housing units are actually assessed lower taxes under a state statute.

“It is a losing situation, no question about it,” he asserted. “But we did the best we could.”

Mayor Watson then ventured that “the way to change that is to get the people above us changed.”

Councilman Frank Czekay, however, contended that enrollment in local schools had actually declined from what it was a few years ago.

“It is nowhere near where it was at the peak, so I don’t understand why they don’t have room in the schools, they don’t have a desk or a seat in the classroom,” he said. “It doesn’t make sense.”

According to resident Kay Roberts of Medford Leas, however, Czekay’s statement was inaccurate. She based that on a report given by the superintendent of schools at the previous evening’s board of education meeting, which included enrollment statistics that Roberts said had “gone way up, not down and that is the reason kids are in trailers, just because they don’t have any place to put them.”

In a subsequent meeting on Oct. 3, however, the mayor, responding to queries from Robert Watson, said the enrollment numbers “still had not hit the high of 2012 (to which Czekay was apparently referring), and that he was attempting to arrange a meeting with Medford Superintendent of Schools Keira Scussa over the problems posed by the current overcrowding.

In regard to other matters on Sept. 19, Christine Constantinou, of High Point Drive, rose to inquire what the status was of a “cease and desist” order” she alleged had been issued against the owners of an adjacent home she described as having regularly been the scene of loud parties and rowdy behavior by groups of “not less than 10 to 15 people” that had utilized the property since last March.

Constaninou characterized the situation as an “unnerving” one that has destroyed the “peace and beauty” of the neighborhood for her and her family, adding, “We moved to Medford to get away from this type of nonsense.”

Prime responded by pointing out that another neighbor had already complained to the council about the goings-on, and that as a result, the township had issued summonses to the owner of the property for two zoning violations, with a court hearing scheduled for which he had failed to show up. A court adjudication was pending as a result, he said, and the council was also looking into

District (LRHSD)’s One Book, One District: Everybody Reads Initiative. “Students were encouraged to read this book over the summer, so they should be familiar with the message.”

West, during an evening presentation at Shawnee open to the community at large, recognized he was a “privileged” youth raised by his mother, a schoolteacher and nurse, and father, a sportswriter, in the “little refinery town” of Port Arthur, Texas.

By the age of 20, West became a Division 1 starting quarterback for the University of North Texas, with him declaring, “God blessed me with a cannon for my right arm.”

And that is when his life took a turn for the worst – but yet, perhaps, in time, ultimately for the better, as it is all what led him to where he is today, “giving hope to the hopeless,” with a prison story that he is convinced will “impact an entire planet” for the better.

A “starting, star quarterback” in only his third year in college, West noted “my entire identity was wrapped up in being a college football player.” And so, on Sept. 21, 1996, when he “took the field against Texas A&M,” and “suffered a career ending injury” in which he would “never play football again,” he came to a “fork in the road” as “my identity was gone with it.”

“I made a lot of wrong turns,” he told the audience at Shawnee. “I got into hardcore drugs – cocaine, ecstasy and pills.”

West, however, said he was still “functional at this point” in his life. He went on to graduate in 1999, then “worked for a guy in Congress, and, after that, worked for a guy running for President of the United States in 2004.”

Thereafter, he moved back to the Dallas area and trained to be a stockbroker for “one of the biggest Wall Street banks,” United Bank of Switzerland (UBS), and it is there, he maintained, that “my life, and the lives of so many other innocent people, would be forever changed.”

West recounted having “passed out at work,” only for another stockbroker to have found him sleeping. And, upon being awakened by that co-worker, West further recounted having been told “‘they will fire you if they catch you sleeping here’” as, in the position, by sleeping on the job, “‘you are messing with people’s money.’”

That stockbroker, however, according to West, then invited him to ‘“come on down to the parking garage”’ as “‘I got something for you.”

West said that when he got to the man’s sports car, he was handed a “glass pipe” that “he’s never seen before,” containing “crystal rocks in it.” Smoking it, he was told by the co-worker, would help him to relax.

‘“It is crystal meth,”’ West recounted being told. “He said, ‘You are going to love this stuff.’ Truer words have never been spoken because I fell in love with crystal

meth that day.”

Only some four years later would West begin to come to the realization that “crystal meth is the most evil, most-addictive drug ever created by man.”

“It is made in a lab – it is made to get you hooked,” West told the audience at Shawnee.

“I smoked it one time, and instantly, I got hooked – just like that.”

His addiction soon led him to “give up my job, my home, my savings account, my car and my family.”

“And I could not give everything away fast enough for that drug, because that is what addicts do: give things away,” West declared. “When we think about addiction, we think about drugs and alcohol. But the truth is you could be addicted anything, food, money, clothing, shopping, sex, the Internet, Instagram, porn, or social media.”

“Addiction 101,” he said, is that “addicts give up their goals to meet their behaviors.”

And after having given away his money and valuables, West acknowledged having spent the next three years “committing property crimes.”

“I went from working on Wall Street to living on the streets of Dallas, Texas,” West declared. “I was homeless. I lived in dope houses, was sleeping in cars, and became a criminal at this point because you have to fund that addiction somehow.”

The Division 1 athlete acknowledged to the Shawnee audience that he committed shoplifting, as well as broke into cars and storage units to feed his addiction, before ultimately “breaking into houses.” West recognized his crimes earned him the rap in the Dallas area of being the “Uptown Burglar.”

On July 30, 2008, according to West, he was “sitting on this old couch” as a “fullblown meth addict,” alongside his “meth dealer” in a “run-down apartment,” sensing police were on his tail given his “partner in crime,” who he identified as “Dustin,” had

“just been picked up” by authorities “for stealing cars” a week earlier.

As he was “passing the pipe back and forth” with his “dope dealer” in the apartment, West said a “window on the right suddenly blew up and shattered,” with a “little caster smoking on one side,” or what he came to realize was a flashbang grenade.

The flashbang “blew up in my face,” West recounted, and the next thing he knew, a “cop was sitting over me with his boot on my chest” and his “finger was on the trigger,” screaming at him, “‘Don’t move! Don’t move!”’

“One cop then screams out, ‘We got the ‘Uptown Burglar,’” West further recounted. “That is me – and about a dozen other meth addicts and myself, young and old, male and female, black and white, and everything in between. Because guess what – drugs and addiction do not discriminate, but we,

See AWAKENING/ Page 14

Photo By Douglas D. Melegari

Best-selling author and national change agent Damon West presents his message, “Be a Coffee Bean,” to the Medford Township-community at large on Sept. 21 at Shawnee High School.

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at Coyle Airfield in Woodland Township, NJDEP Commissioner Shawn M. LaTourette, in recognizing a “climate crisis” that he said is leading to “more on the ground risk” for fire personnel in which they have “put themselves – literally – in harm’s way to combat the outcomes of that changing climate,” announced that through this year’s budget passed by the Legislature, and later enacted by Democratic Governor Phil Murphy, “an investment of an additional $3 million” has been made into the NJFFS “for the equipment that we need,” with the money also permitting the entity to expand its full-time staff by six employees.

“I know that may not sound like a lot,” said LaTourette of the six additional staff

members. “But in a time of constrained government budgets, where ‘flat’ is the new ‘up,’ six is a lot and we will keep fighting for more! And we will need to! Because as you heard, our risks are increasing. New Jersey is Ground Zero for some of the worst impacts of climate change, and it comes to us in all sorts of ways.”

NJDEP Assistant Commissioner for State Parks, Forests and Historic Sites John Cecil, in opening the ceremony, reflected on “the fire ‘year’ that we have had,” putting an “emphasis on fire ‘year’” versus “fire ‘season.’”

“Typically, fire season in New Jersey is from mid-March till about May,” Cecil maintained. “This year, we had incidents that started earlier in the year, before midMarch, and which have even extended into the beginning of this fall.”

As of Sept. 21, according to Cecil, the state has experienced 1,032 wildfires, which

have burned 18,039 acres. Of those wildfires, 14, he noted, were considered “major,” a distinction given to any wildfire that burns 100 or more acres.

“In a typical fire season, you would expect to see three to five major wildfires,” Cecil said. “Again, there have been 14.”

A NJDEP press release that followed the ceremony noted that these figures make 2023 “the busiest fire season in more than a decade.”

LaTourette said that while “folks may think of our climate-change challenges as purely coastal-change challenges in the state,” they aren’t, as “the drier conditions” observed of late “are bringing us more wildfires, more times of the year.”

Cecil, in pointing to those conditions, declared, that “this year,” or the state’s increased wildfire activity observed to date during calendar year 2023, “didn’t come as a surprise.” Leading up to this year, from

August to December 2022, the state was under a drought watch, Cecil explained. Then, January of this year achieved a “record” of being the “warmest month on record,” while in February, “we had temperatures climbing to 70 degrees,” which is abnormal. Then, over a period of several months that followed the unusually mild temperatures, “most of the southern part of the state received no measurable rainfall,” according to Cecil.

This has meant leaves and pine needles, as well as other ground fuels, were not as compressed as is more typical, but aerated, with the forest and wildland areas, “more primed for fire conditions.”

“The fact of our climate change realities,” maintained LaTourette, is “why we need you all, more than we ever have,” with the commissioner addressing a room full of

The New Jersey Forest Fire Service command staff, as well as some of the local fire wardens and other critical staffers, celebrate on Sept. 21 a $3 million funding boost in the state budget at Coyle Airfield in Woodland NJDEP assistant commissioner for State Parks, Forests and Historic Sites.

FIRE

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NJFFS personnel and fire wardens, State Troopers who are part of the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management (NJOEM), local firefighters and other agency partners, including representatives of the state’s Division of Fire Safety, Burlington County Board of Commissioners, Burlington County Office of Emergency Management and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office. “It is why we are so deeply grateful with the way you dedicate yourselves to this work, which is so, so very important.”

The commissioner further declared that “words are not enough” and that “government has to do more to support the

See FIRE/ Page 16

Photo By Douglas D. Melegari Woodland Township. In the center is Greg McLaughlin, chief of the New Jersey Forest Fire Service; New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) Commissioner Shawn M. LaTourette and John Cecil,

Photo By Douglas D. Melegari

Smokey the Bear joins NJDEP Commissioner Shawn M. LaTourette; Greg McLaughlin, chief of the New Jersey Forest Fire Service and John Cecil, NJDEP assistant commissioner for State Parks, Forests and Historic Sites; for a funding announcement at Coyle Airfield in Woodland.

indiscriminately and without reservation, broke into dozens and dozens of homes of the people in uptown Dallas to feed our sensational meth habits.”

The day of his arrest, West added, “the uptown burglaries came to an end,” acknowledging he was the “mastermind of the whole thing.”

He described being taken to Dallas County Jail and held on $1.4 million bond. His trial, he said, took place about six months later, beginning May 18, 2009. It lasted six days, which he contended was a “long” trial considering “nobody got hurt.” West noted he faced charges of conducting a “crime while engaging in organized criminal activity,” or a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act offense. In telling the audience at Shawnee that organized crime essentially boils down to one “taking the fault for everybody,” West declared that the jury found him to be “so guilty,” deliberating only for 10 minutes before arriving at a verdict in a sign that they wanted to “smoke” him.

“The jury was so disgusted with me,” West asserted.

On the basis that he “didn’t hurt anybody” and “never saw any of his victims,” West said he thought he would be simply given probation, especially considering he “never had so much as a felony conviction, is a white, middle-class guy and my parents got me two lawyers.”

But in “going down for a RICO charge as a mastermind of an organized crime ring,” West said he knew he was in trouble when his lawyer notified him that the jury sent a note back to the judge asking if West could be given a life sentence, without parole.

Ultimately, a judge sentenced him to 65

years in prison, something West called “a life sentence.” However, as he soon indicated, it was a sentence in which he was eligible for parole.

West served 7 years and 3 months at Mark W. Stiles, a “maximum security penitentiary” in Beaumont, Texas, or what he described as “one of the toughest prisons in Texas and one of the toughest prisons in America.”

But before being transported to serve out his sentence, West said authorities decided to give him one last visit with his mother and

father in a side room, behind a glass window.

His father, who became known in Southeast Texas for having featured the first black athlete on sports pages there in 1971, and told him following a controversy over the publication that “sometimes taking a stand and doing the right thing – it means you are going to have to stand alone,” sat in silence following his sentencing, according to West.

West’s mother, however, in “doing all the talking,” advised him “debts in life demand to be paid and you just got hit by one hell of a bill by Texas,” and that in addition to owing “Texas that debt,” West “owes your father and I for all the love and support we gave to you.”

West continued that his mother indicated that to pay his debt to his parents, he would have to vow to “not get into white hate groups” or get tattoos while in prison.

‘“You come back as the man we raised, or don’t come back to us at all,’” West recounted his mother telling him. “I was floored – stunned.”

West says he found that to be challenging advice, with fellow prisoners almost immediately engaging him in fights, and “guys wanting to ink every inch” of his body.

In the summer of 2009, he maintained, while in prison, he met another incarcerated man, who he refers to as “Mr. Jackson” to this day, who told him “don’t give into an ideology of hate out of fear,” before advising him the ‘“strongest man in prison always walks alone,”’ you “‘don’t have to win all your fights, but have to fight and get back up’” and that ‘“I want you to imagine prison as a pot of boiling water.”’

This is when West said he heard the story of “Be a Coffee Bean” for the first time, “one of the most important and transformational messages of my entire life.” Mr. Jackson, he said, taught him that there are “three things in the pot of water called prison: a carrot, egg and coffee bean.”

A carrot, he was told, “turns soft, mushy and weak” in a pot of boiling water, while an egg is “going to turn hard,” representing that ones’ “heart becomes hardened, and therefore, incapable of giving or receiving love.”

“But Mr. Jackson taught me that day if I put in a coffee bean in the same pot of water I call prison, now you are going to change the name of that water to coffee,” West declared. “A coffee bean – the smallest of the three things, has the power to change the entire thing in the pot, and the power inside a coffee bean is just like the power inside of you. The coffee bean is the only thing that would change the water because it is a change agent.”

The practical takeaway is that people put out both negative and positive energy, and “whatever we put out, we are going to attract.” And, if he just “walks around with a smile,” he has the potential to change prison inside and out, as “positive inmates will find you simply because of your positive energy.”

Prison, West described, is a “hopeless place” and “if human beings don’t have hope, they have nothing.” West acknowledged to the crowd at Shawnee that at one point he had considered “hanging himself.” But while attending mass in prison with 200 other inmates, a volunteer chaplain, he contended, pulled him aside, recognizing something was wrong with him, and urged him to “not to give up,” telling him about the power of prayer, and if ‘“you are going to pray, don’t worry,’” but that if you are “‘going to worry, don’t pray,’” asking him to “choose wisely.”

It was after that moment that West says he decided to “face his fears” and it “came to me” to use his “athletic ability,” playing sports, basketball specifically, with the black men in the prison, 9 against 1, despite there being essentially “segregated sports” inside the jail. Athletics in America, he noted, serve as the “great uniter,” asserting to the crowd at Shawnee, “Before Martin Luther King Jr., there was a guy named Jackie Robinson.”

After about a week on the court, West said the fights involving him ceased.

Still, he contended he told his thencellmate, named Carlos, purportedly incarcerated for bank robberies, “I don’t know how to be a coffee bean.”

West recounted that Carlos told him at that point ‘“you will never be a coffee bean”’ because ‘“you think prison is a punishment, when you should be thinking of prison as an opportunity.’”

West called Mr. Jackson, a “black Muslim man,” and Carlos, “a Hispanic bank robber,” both “messengers in his life” and “proof that anyone can be a messenger,” despite notable differences, including that “I am this white, middle class Catholic guy from a little town called Port Arthur.”

“If you ever shut yourself off to people because of race, gender, ethnicities, religion, or different views, don’t close them off, because you will miss some of the most important lessons and best friendships of your life,” West declared.

Their messages caused West to rethink prison as not a punishment facility, but rather a place to “work on himself,” 24/7, while also giving hope to others by being positive.

Photo By Douglas D. Melegari

Damon West, after sharing his spiritual awakening at Shawnee High School in Medford, poses with the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of the Infant Jesus of Cherry Hill, as well as Shawnee High School Principal Matthew Campbell.

Photo By Douglas D. Melegari

Members of the Medford area community listen intently to the motivational story of Damon West, a presentation sponsored by the Zallie Community Foundation and the Shawnee Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO).

LIBRARY

The library, in celebration of its 100th anniversary, has listed some notable historical facts on its Facebook page about the founding family’s connection to wellknown institutions.

Among them is that Mary Irick Drexel (daughter of Sally, the creator of the library) and George W. Childs Drexel were married at Trinity Church on Mill Street, in Vincentown, on Nov. 18, 1891.

In preparation for the event, a chancel was reportedly added to the church, a gift from the Drexels. A beautiful ceremony had been reportedly planned, but had to be modified due to the illness of the groom’s mother, Ellen Rozet Drexel. She died eight days later, but the wedding is said to have made the newspapers across the country, with the youngest of the “very wealthy” Drexel children married.

George W. Childs Drexel was the youngest son of millionaire financier, banker and philanthropist Anthony J. Drexel, whose impact is considered enormous, called “the Man who made Wall Street,” in addition to having also founded Drexel Morgan & Co. (later J.P. Morgan & Co.) as well as Drexel University in 1891, with its main campus in Philadelphia.

The senior Drexel was also the first president of the Fairmount Park Art Association (now the Association for Public Art), the nation’s first private organization dedicated to integrating public art and urban planning, it is noted on the library’s Facebook page.

After the “influential architects” of Stewardson and Page had designed the library, work which was overseen by Mary Irick Drexel, it was built at a cost of just under $20,000, according to the

SQUEEZE

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the legalities of such short-term rentals in communities throughout the state.

“The council is very much aware of it, we know the issue, and agree you shouldn’t have to put up with that,” he said.

(An executive session that followed the regular meeting also included the subject of “Matters Relating to Litigation, Negotiations and the Attorney-Client Privilege: Short Term Rentals.”)

Another resident, Zachary Wilson, chided the council members for failing to “engage” with nearly 50 residents of Medford Village, in the heart of the township, about problems he said had first been brought to their attention four months ago, including speeding that endangers pedestrians on North Main Street, where he resides, and excessive noise to which residents have been continually exposed.

“Where are we on the traffic studies that were started three or four months ago before the previous traffic sergeant retired?” he asked.

“You say that Main Street is a county road—show us that you have reached out to them (county officials) to get the speed limit lowered,” demanded Wilson, maintaining that Medford Lakes had just managed to achieve that on a section of the same road.

“So, we know it can be done!” Wilson quipped.

As for enforcing the municipal noise ordinance, he contended, that requires “specially calibrated instruments and trained officers.”

Wilson then asked the council members to “show us the timeline for when we can expect our police to get the equipment and training.”

library’s website.

The building was then dedicated and given to the community during a ceremony on June 18, 1923. The original blueprints can be found on https://vincentownlibrary. org/overview.

“The mission of the library was, and still is, to aid and encourage the reading of good literature and the promotion of the general education of the residents of the township and surrounding area,” the website states.

“At the time of the dedication, the library had a collection of 504 books. It was open for six hours a week and run by a single librarian. The care of the library was turned over to a group of Trustees, made up of town members.”

In 1976, what was a firehouse next door to the library, through an agreement with the then- Southampton Township Committee, was converted into a Children’s Library, with the original library continuing to house the adult collection.

Today, according to the library’s website, the adult library building houses over 2,000 books with circulation of over 20,000, and access to over 100,000 titles through its relationship with the Burlington County Library System.

“The library is still under the auspices of the Board of Trustees, who all live in our community,” the website notes.

It is open 5 days a week with a staff of four. The library also has a whole host of programming and events, which are detailed on both its website and Facebook page.

“The Historic Trust matching grant means that the Trust believes we matter – our beautiful building is significant architecturally, our history is important and needs to be shared, and our role in the community as a library deserves to be supported,” the library concluded in responding to the funding announcement.

“Show us that you even know what the noise ordinance says!” the resident declared.

Wilson also wanted to know what progress was being made on the potential sale of two municipally-owned properties, the former county library that is no longer in use and the Friends Meeting House, only to have the mayor acknowledge that the library building had not been recently seen by potential buyers.

“Are you going to stand there and say nobody has seen the library from a development standpoint?” asked Wilson with a tone of incredulity. “You haven’t walked anybody through those properties?”

He then asked the council to make a commitment to not “pursue a development plan” for those properties that would result in their demolition, and to be “fully transparent, engaged” and “let us know what is happening with our property, fully, not just the basic requirements.”

Prime responded that the Friends Meeting House could not be demolished without first getting Pinelands Commission approval, and that whatever will be done with the buildings in question is a “public process.”

“If we don’t find a development plan for it (to the Friends Meeting House) soon, it is going to be a big pile of bricks in the middle of a field, if you’ve seen the foundation,” the mayor added.

In regard to the purportedly unaddressed complaints Wilson had repeatedly cited, Prime pointed out that the police department has a variety of things to do, and is obliged to allocate its resources.

“So, that is the answer, the police department is working on it,” Prime declared. “It is not an excuse, we’re not trying to dodge your question. I don’t know the current status, but it is ongoing.”

Wilson replied that he has sought answers

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people breaking their backs to keep us all safe amid a changing climate.”

“And that is why our governor, with the bipartisan support of our Legislature, allowed our NJFFS to see more resources in this current state budget,” LaTourette asserted.

Although New Jersey has seen 14 major wildfires so far this year and there has been, to date in 2023, a total of 209 residential structures threatened, Cecil declared he is “very proud to report that none of those structures were lost, thanks to the hard work of our firefighters, emergency responders and cooperating agencies.”

First recognized with a Distinguished Service Award was Captain Stephen J. Letts, of the New Jersey State Fire Marshal’s Office/Division of Fire Safety, who leads its Fire Investigations K9 Unit.

“He is always on scene at our wildfires, and has supported us in numerous ways,” McLaughlin said. “He is always helping to coordinate structural resource protection, as well as investigations. Stephen leads the K9 unit. We investigate all of our fires, and if necessary, take them through to a criminal process.”

In pointing to Kristen Carr, deputy emergency management coordinator for Burlington County, also a recipient of a Distinguished Service Award, McLaughlin said, “When we have things that need to be addressed, boxes that need to be checked and work to be done, we know we have confidence when Kristen is available to help us out.”

A third recipient of the Distinguished Service Award, Ocean County Sheriff Michael Mastronardy, was referred to by McLaughlin as both “instrumental” and “supportive” when it comes to wildfire investigations, with the NJFFS chief further declaring that Mastronardy “gives us great confidence” in handling certain parts of them to the point the NJFFS knows they are in “great hands.”

Trooper Christopher Warwick, of the New Jersey State Police – NJOEM, in also accepting a Distinguished Service Award, was told by McLaughlin of his agency’s support during wildfires that “if we ask, they provide” and “if we ask, they come.”

It is reassuring, the NJFFS chief said, to have such “capable, reliable and competent partners” available to respond to an incident.

Cecil, during the ceremony, described his being on scene at two of the “most significant wildfires” to hit the Garden State so far this year – the April 11 Jimmy’s Waterhole Wildfire, which originated around the Whiting section of Manchester Township before it moved toward Lakehurst, prompting at one point the evacuation of 170 homes, and the Kanouse Wildfire, which started in West Milford Township, a municipality in Northern New Jersey (Passaic County to be specific), and resulted in five homes having to be evacuated.

The Jimmy’s Waterhole Wildfire, Cecil described, was both “dramatic” and “jarring” because of “the wind conditions spreading that fire,” while for the Kanouse Wildfire, the assistant commissioner “saw firefighters climbing the mountains” to extinguish the flames.

Firefighters from both the Whiting Volunteer Fire Company No. 1 and West Milford Fire Companies 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 were also on hand Sept. 21 to accept awards for distinguished service.

McLaughlin said he was “forever grateful” to the Whiting firefighters “for their support on all levels,” including “the hospitality” and allowing the NJFFS “to basically take over your facility for several days, using it as a command post,” and that in West Milford, the support extended even beyond the local fire company, with “people offering their homes for food, shelter and sleeping.”

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“Those are the types of things that help us get through the long days, knowing that we have that support,” declared McLaughlin, noting the awards are meant to emphasize $100OFF

Photo By Douglas D. Melegari Smokey the Bear celebrates both the honorees of the New Jersey Forest Fire Services’ first Distinguished Service Awards and an individual who earned the Smokey Bear Award for Wildlife Prevention and Journalism, as well as increased funding for NJFFS equipment and personnel.

(Continued from Page 16)

acknowledgement of the community contributions and support.

In the press release, the forest fire chief added that “without the cooperation of our interagency partners, the forest fire service’s job would be immensely more difficult” and that “celebrating these interagency partners is a reminder that preventing wildfires and keeping the public safe requires the support and commitment of many people and departments.”

The NJFFS’ primary response area is 3.72 million acres, comprising 77 percent of the state’s land area, according to the NJDEP press release.

While firefighters and others are either on the frontlines or planning and coordinating incident response, NJDEP Senior Press Officer Caryn Shinske is often the one communicating important details from those efforts to news outlets, such as the Pine

Barrens Tribune

Shinske was surprised by McLaughlin with a “national award” that “has not really been presented all that much” and “one, we as an agency, have not given out before,” the Smoky Bear Award for Wildlife Prevention and Journalism, “an award given out in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service for exceptional work in the prevention of human-caused wildfires,” recognizing ones’ efforts to “increase public recognition” and awareness for the “need for wildfire prevention efforts.”

“Caryn went above and beyond this year, responding to phone calls, and supporting us in helping us get information disseminated in a concise, accurate and timely manner, so folks could stay updated on wildfires happening in New Jersey,” McLaughlin declared.

LaTourette, during the ceremony, emphasized to both the honorees and others involved in the state’s wildfire response and mitigation efforts that “we are so deeply grateful for you.”

“I thank you from the bottom of my heart,

as you put yourselves and your lives on the line to protect public health, and safety and the environment that we all share,” the commissioner said, noting in the later press release that in addition to protecting lives and property, the NJFFS assists with natural disasters, maintains hundreds of miles of roads, works alongside multiple cooperators to develop and implement strategic plans that reduce the risk of future wildfires, and lends their talents to other states when wildfires strike. “We would not be as safe without you. And I hope that you go home after each day, and you get to look at your families in the face, and yourselves in the mirror, and feel proud. I hope you are proud of yourselves, as we are of you.”

After the ceremony, in an interview with the Pine Barrens Tribune, LaTourette answered a resounding “no,” that he is not surprised that climate change has accelerated wildfire activity this quickly. “And I won’t be surprised when it gets wildly worse,” he further declared. “The 1980s were the lost decade to get climate

change under control. As a country and human society, we failed miserably. Everything since then has been catch up, and we are not catching up very well.”

LaTourette, however, said he was optimistic “we can catch up.”

“But if we are to catch up, we can’t look at every climate policy endeavor as a divisive political issue,” the commissioner asserted. “Nothing is political about energy – we all need it. Nothing is political about floods –we all hurt from them. Nothing is political about wildfire – because we all burn.”

The “first takeaway and most important one” for Pinelands residents, LaTourette said, is that “climate change is here; it is real; and it is now.”

“And the Pinelands, quite honestly, is one of the areas that is experiencing the adverse impacts of climate change the worst,” LaTourette maintained.

An increase in wildfires, he pointed out, leads to “adverse air quality,” which he

See FIRE/ Page 21

Suspect, 19, Arrested and Charged in Thefts from Marlton USPS Drop Box, Forgery of Stolen Checks and Eluding Police Attempting to Apprehend

EVESHAM—A 19-year-old Mount Laurel Township resident has been arrested and charged in the recent theft of mail from a USPS drop box outside the Marlton post office and the related forgery and deposit of checks taken from the box, as well as for eluding police who were attempting to apprehend him on Aug. 23, according to a press release from the office of Evesham Township Police Chief Walt Miller.

The suspect, identified as Zamir NashBarr, was taken into custody without incident at his residence at the Neil Apartments in the 500 block of Fellowship Road in Mount Laurel, the release said.

During the execution of a search warrant at Nash-Barr’s apartment, “evidence specifically related to thefts from the

Him

Marlton Post Office drop box and an open fraud/forgery case in which he forged and deposited a stolen check for over $6,000 was recovered,” the release said.

It added that Nash-Barr is the suspect in several other forgery/fraud cases and is expected to be charged with these offenses in the near future. He was lodged in Burlington County Jail, in Mount Holly, pending an appearance in Superior Court.

The investigation of the thefts was reported to be an ongoing one, and anyone with information was asked to contact Evesham Police at 856-983-1116.

Charges against Nash-Barr include thirddegree conspiracy to commit burglary, thirddegree theft, and second-degree eluding.

Photo By Douglas D. Melegari

Officials with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and New Jersey Forest Fire Service hand out the first-ever Distinguished Service Awards, including to Trooper Christopher Warwick, of the New Jersey State Police –

Management.

Purported ‘Rampant Homelessness’ in Browns Mills Section of Pemberton Prompts Call for Community to Find ‘Compassionate, Sustainable’ Solutions

By D ouglas D. M elegari Staff Writer

PEMBERTON—A general manager of a Pemberton Township-based Wawa store is calling on township officials to address the purported issue of “rampant homelessness in the Browns Mills section of Pemberton,” through “compassionate, sustainable solutions,” contending the homelessness is “an issue that has been plaguing our town.” However, Business Administrator Daniel Hornickel has responded that “as far as I know, there is no law to compel anyone to have a home anywhere,” though he committed to reaching out to the Department of Human Services to “see what services we can bring” to town to help address the situation.

Appearing before Pemberton Township Council and Republican Mayor Jack Tompkins on Sept. 6, “Andrew,” the general manager of the Wawa at 7 Juliustown Road, in Browns Mills, told council that he is a “concerned member and contributor of this community,” and while he does not live within the township, he “cares deeply about it and the individuals who live here, especially my associates.”

I came here to address an issue that has been plaguing our town, and one that cannot be ignored any longer,” the general manager declared. “It is the rampant homelessness in the Browns Mills section of Pemberton. Every day, my associates and I face the harsh reality

AWAKENING

(Continued from Page 14)

One day about eight years ago, while in the prison chapel, he was informed a representative of the local Parole Board was at the prison to visit with West. He recounted his parole officer “flipping through pages of my file, this thick, before slamming it shut,” all while he had a “smile on my face, because that is what coffee beans do.”

‘“I came here to ask you one question, a one-question test, and the answer will decide whether you will go home or stay in prison,” West recounted his parole officer telling him. ‘“And that answer is not in this file about the guy who committed these crimes. We don’t see a lot of ‘Damon Wests’ come through our system, because you had every advantage and opportunity in your life. You are the definition of a privileged person.’”

West, who said he expected to serve as many as 15 years behind bars before being possibly eligible for parole, further recounted his parole officer having told him

of homelessness on our doorstep. We find ourselves in a constant battle to maintain a safe and welcoming environment for our customers and the employees. This battle is exacerbated when we call for assistance, and it often feels like not much is done.”

The general manager told officials that after local police remove the homeless individuals from the premises, often the “same individuals return to our property the next day or even within 30 minutes.”

“This has created an environment of fear and uncertainty for our community, and for my associates who should feel safe and secure in their workplace,” the general manager maintained.

The general manager recognized that while he had a “very good conversation with Mayor Tompkins, who expressed a commitment to developing this area of the township to drive up business” and that “his vision for the future of Browns Mills is promising,” the “reality on the ground demands more immediate attention.”

“We need consistent and effective measures to address homelessness now, not just in the context of future development plans,” the general manager declared.

While the general manager noted he has held discussions with a Pemberton Township Police Department lieutenant “who showed a willingness to increase patrols and provide more support when police are called for assistance,” he has “yet to see the level of consistency required to

‘“you changed yourself inside this prison” and “that is what got our attention – and you just didn’t change yourself, you changed the entire prison around you.’”

The parole officer’s question: ‘“If you could be remembered for anything in life, tell me what that would be?”

West declared it was an “easy question for a coffee bean to answer,” having replied, “I just want to be useful.” In being allowed to walk out of prison on Nov. 16, 2015, on parole, West said of his newfound usefulness, “I want to be finding more coffee beans.”

Since that time, he has taken his “motivational message” across the nation, from schools to prisons.

“They can keep the parole,” West told the crowd that came out to see him at Shawnee.

“The only way this coffee bean is going back to prison is when I go to prisons all over the country, to share this story to bring them hope. One thing every human being has to have in life: hope.”

West, since leaving prison eight years ago, earned a Master’s in Criminal Justice, has become a professor at the University of

combat the issue effectively.”

“It is essential to recognize the problem extends well beyond the confines of my store,” the general manager declared. “It effects the entire community, including those who pay their taxes diligently, expecting safety and security in return. Our community is one that values its members and their well-being, as you can see tonight. It is not fair to the residents, who contribute to the growth of our town and its economy, to endure the daily challenges that are posed by this.

“As a business, we are committed to making our community better and stronger. We have taken steps at the store level to contribute positively to the neighborhood, however, we can only do so much on our own. We need your help – the help of the council, the help of law enforcement and the help of our community members.”

Democratic Council President Donovan Gardner, in response, asked the township administration, “What can we do legally to address the homelessness issues in town?”

Township Solicitor Andrew “Andy” Bayer responded that “it is a difficult issue” to address.

“I agree with Andy,” Hornickel added. “As far as I know, there is no law to compel anyone to have a home anywhere! There is no law against being homeless! The question is, ‘How do you address the actions of the homeless?’”

The business administrator contended that there are only a “certain amount of local laws you can pass” to address the situation. One could “possibly” explore a nuisance ordinance, he added, but “then the question becomes whether the people in Mount Holly

Houston, and is now teaching “a class called Prisons in America.” He also ultimately found Mr. Jackson once again, and although he reportedly died from an overdose, West said he has since connected with his family to provide for a $10,000 scholarship in his name, intended to annually benefit a student of an inner city school district in Dallas, telling the family of his decision that “you need to understand how your brother impacted one person, and how he is now going to impact an entire planet with the message he gave me.”

“How about that for flipping the script?” he asked those attending his presentation in Medford, for which he had to seek permission from his parole officer to travel out of state. “I am the only professor on Earth to teach a prisons class at an American-based university, who once lived in a prison. In 2015, at this point in the story, I was a model inmate and became a coffee bean.”

He further asserted to those at Shawnee “everything you see in front of me, today, is because I took an action that day,” before advising those in the audience, “You are the calvary; you are the change agent in your own

(the county seat), who wear the robes, will allow our municipal court judge to put out a warrant and actually incarcerate homeless people for nuisance behavior.”

“I think the answer to that is possibly not,” Hornickel declared.

Bayer recounted a lawsuit that had been filed in Morristown over a “homeless issue” at a library property. The filer “won the lawsuit” with a judge determining that municipality “violated that person’s rights by removing him.”

“It is a difficult legal issue,” Bayer contended. “It is more of a social issue. Does the county and state have resources?”

Hornickel replied “we can certainly contact the Department of Human Services to see what services they can bring to help” address the situation in Browns Mills, and in pointing out that the county offers temporary housing, cautioned, “the person has to be willing to relocate.”

“Often times, the weather is nice, and then, what is the incentive?” Hornickel asked. “I am more than glad to reach out to county Human Services to see what services we can bring to the homeless.”

The Wawa general manager concluded that, “I implore you, the council, to prioritize the issue of homelessness in Browns Mills.”

“We cannot wait for the promise of future development to promise relief,” he declared. “We need consistent and effective actions to ensure the safety and security of community members and businesses. I am happy to work together to find compassionate and sustainable solutions to address this issue and create a brighter future for Browns Mills, where every member of the community can thrive.”

life” and that “I truly believe if I can do it in there (prison), then you can do it out here.”

He described the “five rules” of being a coffee bean to include “being positive,” with so much as a smile having the ability to cause a chain reaction of positive energy; “working out your mind, body and soul,” including that one should “change the channel or swipe their (phone or iPad) screen” should they come across negativity; and “serve and leadership,” including helping others reach their goals, noting that a valuable takeaway he learned is that “everyone has the power to impact human lives in ways you might not even know.”

Two other rules, he said, include “understanding what you do and do not control” and that the “past does not define you,” but it is something to learn from.

“The reason why your windshield is bigger than your rearview mirror is that you need a lot more room looking forward than backwards,” West declared. “If you live in the past, get out of the rearview mirror. The past is a lesson, the present is a gift, and the

See AWAKENING/ Page 23

ELECTRICAL

(Continued from Page 8)

we would end up in litigation, which would also include the LeisureTowne Board of Trustees.” He maintained the parties would “end up in several years of litigation.”

“I can almost promise you that because I do that for a living,” said Mikulski, an attorney in his day job “And guess what doesn’t happen during pending litigation?

Nothing gets moved. So, this is the way to get it moved.”

As previously reported by the Pine Barrens Tribune, following major outcry about the location of the electrical unit and concerns about health and safety, the township, which owns the island the unit is situated on and originally had given permission for its construction on the site, reportedly unbeknownst to residents, entered into an Aug. 25 agreement with BEMS to have the unit relocated by early next year to one of several alternative locations.

Mikulski previously expressed that the township and BEMS would prefer an option to relocate the switchgear on Big Hill Road by building a pole array, but is awaiting PSE&G approval.

One of the questions put to the PSE&G spokespeople, which went unanswered as of press time, is whether the utility has since granted that approval.

What was to “happen next” after the Sept. 20 testing, according to the Sept. 15 letter from Southampton Township, was additional testing during the weeks of Sept.

25 and Oct. 2. After that, according to the letter, the developer would seek Board of Public Utilities (BPU) approvals.

The letter did not define what those approvals would entail.

“Plans and results of those tests are sent to the BPU and then the BPU does an on-site inspection,” the letter added. “This process will likely run through November.”

Mikulski, at a previous governing body meeting, expressed his optimism that “the box will get moved and it will get moved before it is turned on.”

Photo By By Tom Valentino

Fencing now surrounds the massive electrical unit on a township-owned island, in a residential neighborhood of Southampton.

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as to whether increased speed limit signage, adding a stop sign at Hough and Reynolds streets, for instance, or speed bumps could calm traffic in the area.

Mullen, on Sept. 21, after having taken those ideas to his traffic engineer, reported that the “most effective thing he said we can do are speed bumps,” and in coming back with the recommendation to install five of them, noted that the estimated cost for installing each one is between $4,000 and $6,000.

The estimated cost elicited sounds of shock from the members of the governing body, including one member, who exclaimed, “Wow ….”

The borough engineer said there is a possibility that the borough could save a little bit of money by combining any installation project with upcoming scheduled paving work.

Councilwoman Diane Fanucci pointed out that there are some speed bumps on the market where you can still “drive over them at regular speed,” while others are “really steep,” which “can actually slow people down.”

Mullen responded that should the council

DEMOLITION

(Continued from Page 3)

have to deal with setbacks and all that stuff.”

FIRE

(Continued from Page 17)

noted “endangers the health of everyone, especially the elderly, young and those with health conditions,” with increases in particulate matter that “get into the lungs” having been observed, as well as noted in a recent study. Such conditions, he added, have been “fought against through environmental regulation,” but wildfires are threatening to “reverse our gains in air quality,” with the commissioner, during the earlier ceremony, having pointed to “our sky being stricken orange because of smoke adrift from Canada due to wildfires there,” a scene with corresponding record-setting poor air quality levels in the Philadelphia and New York City areas that shocked the

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give the OK for adding speed bumps, they are “going to be designed in accordance with the standards contained in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices,” with the intent to provide for at least a “10 mph reduction speed.”

One official, however, pointed out that currently there is “no money for this in the budget.”

“They would be great for slowing down the traffic on Hough and St. John streets,” Jerome said. “But they may be the proverbial finger in the dike, as it would just push traffic onto another street in the borough (believing those wishing to cut through would take Egbert Street instead once speed bumps are installed, as that street runs parallel to Hough). We have to strongly consider

Viscardi also revealed that there are “security cameras on both stations now, inside and out,” and added that they have resulted in “less issues there.”

Leisse reported that there has been no word yet from the Pinelands Commission on a request

nation earlier this summer.

“There is only one way to fight back, and that is to embrace the type of climate action necessary to bring down emissions,” LaTourette told this newspaper. “Building more renewable energy is the only type of action that is going to reduce it. We all play a part in that.”

The “next message I think is important” for Pinelands residents, LaTourette asserted, is “for folks not to be scared” of climate change.

“It is real, it is here, and now, but there are heroes like the firemen of the NJFFS, who everyday put themselves in harm’s way to protect people,” LaTourette told this newspaper. “They are heroes. And what better way to honor and thank them for their service than to do our part in reducing emissions, which are making their jobs harder and putting them at risk.”

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whether this will be something that is effective, as well as every other method of speed control at our disposal.”

Fanucci said she “agreed” with Jerome, who, when the topic of speeding in the area of Hough Street was first raised, vowed to make “the police department aware of it and have them keep an extra eye out.”

In an update on the long-awaited paving of Egbert Street, Pemberton Borough Council, in August, awarded the work for Phase I of the project to American Asphalt Company, Inc., who placed the lowest bid of five bidders, at $208,450.89, according to Mullen. The highest bid received was around $265,000, he reported. Mullen, in September,

to install a well at the Chatsworth firehouse for a water source, but DeGroff expressed urgency in getting that project underway.

Also during the meeting, Viscardi, following an executive session, was appointed as “maintenance person No. 2”

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NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN pursuant to N.J.S.A. 10:4 ET. Seq., the Open Public Meetings Act, please be advised that the Township Committee of Tabernacle Township has rescheduled the October 23, 2023, meeting to October 30, 2023. The meeting will be held at 6:30 pm. The meeting will be held at the Tabernacle Fire House, 76 Hawkin Rd., Tabernacle, NJ 08088. Action will be taken at the meeting. Any questions, please call Maryalice Brown at (609) 268-1220.

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announced that he anticipated a preconstruction meeting for “early November construction” to commence shortly. Pennoni Associates’ design for Davis Street (which is purportedly compromised due to faulty piping underneath it and has developed sinkholes) “is done,” Mullen also reported, and he pointed out that council, in August, authorized Pennoni for $35,000 to begin the design for improvements to Hearthstone Boulevard, the main drag for the Hearthstone at Woodfield retirement community. The borough recently received a $181,070 grant from the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) for the Hearthstone work.

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“We hired Mr. Shawn Viscardi as our number two maintenance man,” DeGroff said. “I think he is a good person, a local, who can do a lot of different things. So, he will be our second maintenance man.”

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every month and “you all just sit there and make excuses,” to which Councilwoman Donna Symons responded, “We’re not making excuses, but I understand that you want instant answers, and in many cases, we can’t just get things accomplished.”

When Wilson shot back that “We’re talking about going nearly half a year on this,” Symons reminded him that some of the things he wanted done were county responsibilities, and “the county doesn’t respond instantly to anyone,” and that where things like the traffic study are concerned, “it doesn’t happen overnight” She also asked him If he ever consulted the township website, “because we have a lot of information there, and we can’t go and talk to every resident in Medford.”

AWAKENING

(Continued from Page 18)

future is your motivation.”

On that note, his “call to action” for those who find themselves in “hard, stressful and dangerous places” is that while the “truth is you are going to be a carrot sometimes” and “pain demands to be felt,” and you are

Wilson countered that what he had requested was simply “a letter in the mail” to the Village residents he represented apprising them of progress on these issues.

“We sent you one, you couldn’t have done the same for us?” he asked, asserting that “You have no problem reaching out to us when our taxes are due.”

In the subsequent council meeting on Oct.

3, Wilson, in a further exchange with Prime that was a bit less contentious, claimed that most residents “don’t know what to look out for,” since when such information is posted online, it typically only includes block and lot numbers, which people have to “track down. ” He then said that what he was asking is “for you to do better” in terms of providing more precise information, rather than simply meeting the “lowest bar.” He also asked that the council “reach out to the community and ask us what we want done with our property.”

also “going to have some egg days too, where an egg is being mad,” there is an “amazing third choice in life – be like that coffee bean.”

“So, my call to action to each and every one of you is the same call to action Mr. Jackson gave to me 14 years ago when a prison bus pulled up to the Dallas County Jail to pick up Damon West to serve a term in Dallas County Prison – go be a coffee bean you-all!” declared West, with Shawnee Principal Matthew Campbell telling guests

Township Manager and Clerk Kathy Burger, however, told Wilson that the township wasn’t in a position to give out information of this sort about ongoing negotiations.

“When someone goes to look at a property and they’re going to open a business, that’s not something that we can share with other individuals,” she said. “If you are going to open a business, you want it kept quiet until everything is finalized.”

That elicited agreement from Wilson, who said he hoped the township would be “forthright on those previous discussions” once the time came to reveal them.

Prime responded that a local government can’t simply be run “on email blasts,” but was obliged to follow the process prescribed under the law, which he described as being “transparent” and “designed to require public input.” Any redevelopment plan, he noted, is thus required to be given a public hearing before the planning board

that his presentation to students was very well received earlier in the day.

The Zallie Community Foundation sponsored the event as part of its mission to address mental health in the community.

“Damon’s message encourages each of us to find that power inside of us and not only change our own environment for the better, but to help others do that as well,” said Renee Zallie, founder of the Zallie Community Foundation. “We are happy

“to decide what uses should be permitted in the redevelopment area,” after which the council considers an ordinance to adopt such a plan.

During the earlier Sept. 19 council session, Mayor Watson brought the discussion to a close with the announcement that the township had successfully applied for a $1.5 million grant “to do a study of our Main Street,” including such features as “crosswalks, bicycle paths, all that stuff.”

“I know some people don’t want to hear we’re working on it,” he said. “But we are working on these things, and to apply for grants, get the money, get the engineering done, apply for approvals, it takes time.”

The simple business of getting a road paved in Medford, he added, could entail waiting as long as a year for everything, from funding to getting it approved.

Scussa could not be immediately reached for comment on this story.

to have had the assistance of the Shawnee PTO to bring this event to the community.”

West added during his presentation that “when I look on July 30, 2008, that was not just the day I was arrested, that was the day I was rescued,” in which “I got pulled out of a situation in life that I couldn’t get myself out of.”

“My angels in my story don’t have wings,” he added. “My angels have assault rifles, shields, helmets, and came through the door, busting off the hinges to pull me out.”

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