Pine Barrens Tribune Nov. 26, 2022-Dec. 2, 2022

By D ouglas D. M elegari Staff Writer

PEMBERTON—The final Pemberton Board of Education meeting of the year, held just before the Thanksgiving holiday commenced, was filled with an array of emotions as the school governing body, already beleaguered from more than a year’s worth of descriptions of an unabated behavioral and mental health crisis affecting the Pemberton School District, in an unprecedented moment, unexpectedly heard from a middle

schooler who described “a lot of bullying going on” at the district’s Helen A. Fort Middle School, to the point that the youngster “doesn’t want to come to school anymore because it is getting so bad.”

But if that wasn’t enough to convey the point that the Pemberton district is apparently still amid a crisis, as both newly-released Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying (HIB) and School Violence statistics from the latter half of the 202122 school year indicate, a district school bus driver described on Nov. 17 that

middle school pupils have been repeatedly taunting her this school year with perfume and cologne while she is driving students to school, with at least one incident so far causing her to require medical treatment.

While the veteran school bus driver pointed out she “loves what I do,” the purported continued disregard for her safety, and the safety of others, led her to publicly declare, “I don’t want to come to work anymore.”

Whether Hornickel Will Be There to Aid Pemberton Transition Mired in Uncertainty

Business Administrator’s Status Suddenly in Limbo as Mayor-elect Signals He Could Use His Expertise, Knowledge of Township Finances

By Bill Bonvie Staff Writer

PEMBERTON—For the past three years and four months, Daniel Hornickel has served as business administrator of Pemberton Township, a role that has made him an official spokesman for this municipality of just under 27,000 residents at the entrance to the Joint Base, put him in charge of its police and fire departments, and in effect made him second-in-command to its 16-year Democratic Mayor David A. Patriarca, whom he sat beside at township council meetings.

But now that local voters have decided to bring Patriarca’s reign to an end as of Jan. 1, Hornickel’s status appears to have suddenly gone into a kind of limbo, despite the extensive knowledge he has acquired of township business and financial affairs that Mayor-elect Jack Tompkins seems to believe would be essential to the smooth transition that Patriarca has indicated he was willing to help bring about.

Inquiries from the Pine Barrens Tribune regarding whether Hornickel was still a township employee in response to a news tip that he had been let go have only served to accentuate that uncertainty, which first began to evolve when a reporter attempted to reach him at the municipal building Nov. 18 and was told by his administrative

What a Brave, ‘Bullied’ Middle Schooler, in Pleading for Help, Told the Pemberton BOE in Stunning Moment Before Thanksgiving, All While Asthmatic School Bus Driver Describes

‘No Longer Wanting to Come to Work’ After Being Repeatedly Taunted with Fragrances

Photo By Douglas D. Melegari and graphics from Freepik.com

Shamong’s Committeemen Slam NJDEP’s Proposal to Require Permits for Use of Unimproved Roads in Wharton Tract, Oppose by Resolution Agency’s Way of Soliciting Feedback So Far Referred to as ‘Non-Transparent’, State Responds

By D ouglas D. M elegari Staff Writer

SHAMONG—A proposed New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) plan to require permits for public use of unimproved roads in the Wharton State Forest, with the statement having been made previously by the agency that such a proposal is similar to that of one that was imposed at Island Beach State Park, which enacted a $195 fee to obtain a permit for there, is being vigorously opposed by the Shamong Township Committee, with one member calling the proposal “completely outrageous.”

All five members of the governing body in Shamong, a municipality with a significant portion of its land within the boundaries of the Wharton tract, voiced their discontent with the proposal, as well with the way the NJDEP has so far solicited feedback on it, during a Nov. 1 township committee meeting.

After doing so, the governing body unanimously passed a resolution formally “objecting to the NJDEP’s proposed plan to introduce a permit system for the use of roads in the Wharton State Forest.”

“At the end of the day, the Wharton State Forest has always been open to everybody, especially the local people,” said Shamong Mayor Tim Gimble. “And I don’t know, just by charging people money, that the problem is going to stop, or the issues are going to change. At end of the day, I am not sure this is going to rectify any issues.”

The issues the mayor referred to involves illegal off-road vehicle use and damages, particularly in what the NJDEP considers “culturally-and-ecologically-sensitive areas.”

An Aug. 31 press release from the NJDEP announcing the proposal, which highlighted the issues and concerns at hand, noted that “in considering the future of the Wharton State Forest,” which attracts an estimated 800,000 visitors annually and comprises 124,350 acres, and is the largest tract of land within the state park system, the State Park Service will “develop a permit system for use of unimproved roads throughout the forest, modeled after the department’s experience implementing the Mobile Sport Fishing Vehicle Permit system at Island Beach State Park.”

It went on to say that such permits “would be issued for vehicle use of designated safe and legal routes” identified from input received through early 2023 from a Visitor and Vehicle Use Survey the public was asked to complete, as well as from future stakeholder meetings.

“The development of a permit system will enhance the State Park Police’s ability to assess vehicle use and protect sensitive resources throughout the forest,” the release continued.

A virtual meeting had been held Sept. 27, with reports surfacing afterwards that the number of attendees who could access the session was capped.

Initially, public comment was going to be accepted through the survey to “develop an access and use plan for Wharton State Forest” through Oct. 28. The survey also sought input on “what types of recreation the public enjoys at the forest, what areas of the forest are most important to users, and the routes they use to access those activities.”

“I think it is ridiculous they are calling it an ‘open’ process, and trying to make it seem like all stakeholders are involved” declared Committeeman Brian Woods, who is also

the chief of staff to the local 8th District GOP delegation, which has also adamantly opposed the NJDEP’s proposal. “They are not talking to any of the local stakeholders, and they are doing it all online. You can’t call it an ‘open’ meeting process, and not invite anybody to come meet.”

Caryn Shinske, a spokeswoman for the NJDEP, told this newspaper on Nov. 22 that in a development that occurred just before the Shamong meeting commenced, the deadline for soliciting comments on the proposal had been extended to Nov. 11.

Additionally, after being presented with the comments of the township committee members and asked for a response, Shinske pointed out that the NJDEP “plans to host” a “virtual stakeholder meeting” in early 2023, which she said will “present a summary of information gathered through the Wharton State Forest Visitor and Vehicle Use Survey.” In August, the NJDEP had teased such a meeting in its release.

“At this meeting, there will be a public comment period where residents may make further comments regarding visitor and vehicle access in Wharton State Forest,” Shinske maintained. “The date of this upcoming meeting is to be determined.”

Still, Shamong Deputy Mayor Michael Di Croce asserted on Nov. 1 that he has a “couple of concerns” with what is being proposed, including that, in his view, it essentially boils down to the “State of New Jersey trying another money grab, basically.”

“We already pay the highest taxes in the country,” he declared. “Now, they want to charge us for something as simple as going out in the park. I think it is completely outrageous.”

Di Croce, also a lawyer who owns a private practice in the center of town, further asserted that he “doesn’t want unelected bureaucrats now making more rules for our people in Shamong.”

Already, as the NJDEP pointed out in its release, off-road vehicle uses of any kind (including ATVs and other motorized vehicles) is illegal on all state-owned lands.

Vehicles operating in a state park, forest or wildlife management area must be “street legal,” including registered, plated, insured and operated by a licensed driver.

Last year, the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office secured an increase in fines for illegal off-road vehicle use and damages. Fines now start at $250-$500 for a first offense, and range between $500-$1,000 for a second offense. The minimum of a $1,000 fine is required to be issued for a third or

By Pointing to Survey Extension, Future Stakeholder Meeting

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Pemberton School District Hosts Annual Thanksgiving Food Drive

several schools and administrative offices throughout the district, a press release said.

The event was sponsored by the Pemberton Township High School Interact Club, the AVID Program, the We Help You (W.H.Y.) Club and the Pemberton Township Alliance Group (TAG).

Canned items, sealed-box goods and sealed-bag items were collected from

Students worked with club advisors and other staff members to collect the donations from each building, organize the various items into boxes, and distribute the donations to families of their respective buildings.

“This ongoing tradition continues to exemplify the generosity of Pemberton Township Schools,” said District Spokesman Kevin Emmons.

Tabernacle Voters Approve $12.6M Bond Issue for School Upgrades District Says Security and Maintenance Work Will Benefit Students, Community

TABERNACLE—The official results certified by the Burlington County Clerk are in as of Nov. 21 and the Tabernacle Township School District’s $12.6 million bond referendum has been approved by the majority of voters.

1,624 votes were cast in favor of approving the referendum, while another 1,157 votes were cast in opposition.

According to a district press release, the approved referendum allows the district to borrow $12.6 million for improvements to the schools by selling bonds that are repaid through property taxes.

State aid will contribute around 34-40 percent toward the project costs, the district reported.

superintendent and principal of Tabernacle Schools, following the election certification.

“This voter-approved bond referendum enables us to reach this balance by giving us access to state aid to lighten the local share. We greatly appreciate the Tabernacle community’s support.”

Projects included in the bond proposal, according to the school district, include:

• Security upgrades - new hardware on classroom doors to go into lockdown mode quickly, and more accurate intruder and fire alarm systems;

• Building and systems upgrades – new HVAC units, roofing and accessibility modifications

Student volunteers from Pemberton Township High School’s AVID Program, We Help You (W.H.Y.) Club and other clubs, gather for a photo after organizing canned goods, sealedbox donations and sealed-bag items.

“We wanted to present a fiscally responsible proposal that would allow crucial security and maintenance upgrades to our schools while minimizing the impact on taxpayers,” said Shaun Banin,

The district will soon prepare the projects for the bidding process, according to the release. Contracts will then be given to the lowest qualified bidders.

Construction is expected to commence this upcoming summer.

Two Cookstown Residents Accused of Illegally Distributing Marijuana from Unauthorized Storefront Arrested, 450 Pounds of Product Seized

EVESHAM—An “extensive investigation” into the distribution of “unregulated marijuana” in Evesham Township resulted in “simultaneous” search warrant executions on Nov. 8 in both Evesham and the Cookstown section New Hanover Township, and the arrests of two individuals.

The search warrants were simultaneously executed by members of the Evesham Township Police Department’s Investigative Bureau, with the assistance of the New Jersey State Police T.E.A.M.S. Unit, in the 900 block of South Route 73, in Evesham, and the 100 block of Cookstown-New Egypt Road, in Cookstown, according to a later press release from Evesham Police.

Police said that following an “extensive” and “thorough” investigation, they had determined that suspects Matthew Quinn, 45, of Cookstown, and Crystal Cain, 30, also of Cookstown, were “distributing marijuana out of a storefront.”

While Evesham Police said they recognize the state’s new laws governing the use and sale of recreational marijuana, “this case involves a blatant disregard of these new

laws and ignores the safety of the citizens of New Jersey by the suspects distributing unregulated marijuana to our residents.”

During the execution of the search warrant, approximately 450 pounds of raw marijuana, marijuana variants, and marijuana edibles were purportedly seized from the “store” and the suspects’ residence.

Cain and Quinn were both arrested at their residence and lodged in Burlington County Jail to await a hearing, police reported.

Quinn and Cain were both charged with first-degree distribution of over 25 pounds of marijuana, third-degree fortifying a Controlled Dangerous Substance (CDS) facility, as well as fourth-degree charges of possession of over 6 ounces of marijuana and distributing CDS paraphernalia.

“We will continue to vigorously enforce the laws which govern the sale, use and distribution of unregulated marijuana, while honoring the same laws afforded to our residents for recreational use and legal sale of marijuana,” Evesham Police declared in the press release.

Photos Provided

food donations from Joseph S. Stackhouse Elementary School.

Pemberton Township High School junior Jason Fagans organizes canned food donations into a box during the Thanksgiving Food Drive.

Sisters Samantha Acevedo-Deniz, left, and Daisy Acevedo-Deniz, begin placing sealed-box items into a large box during the Thanksgiving Food Drive at Pemberton Township High School.

For

the Pine Barrens

For the Pine Barrens Tribune

MEDFORD –With “Burlington County being a premier destination to live, work and run a business,” the Burlington County Board of Commissioners have launched a new initiative that recognizes local businesses that have called the county home for a century or longer.

The commissioners announced the creation of the new “Burlington County Centennial Club” earlier this month in Medford Township at the J.S. Braddock Agency’s 100th anniversary celebration, where Commissioner Allison Eckel presented the agency’s leaders with a proclamation honoring the agency for its milestone, plus a certificate recognizing it as the first member of the new Centennial Cub.

J.S. Braddock is a full-service insurance agency that has operated in Medford for 100 years.

Job Braddock started the company in his home with two part-time workers and it has grown to more than 40 employees in three locations.

“One hundred years of business is an amazing accomplishment,” declared Eckel during the celebration. “It also means you are resilient, innovative and creative. On behalf of the commissioner board, we want to congratulate you on this milestone and wish you another century of success.”

According to the county, any Centennial Club businesses will receive official recognition from the commissioners on the Business Portal section of the county website, as well as on the county’s social media pages, including the Shop Burlington County First page used to promote local businesses and shopping local.

The commissioners revived the shop local initiative in 2020 as part of the county’s COVID-19 assistance for businesses. The board has now spotlighted more than 250 small businesses and encouraged residents to patronize them as a way of supporting their own neighbors and communities.

“Businesses like J.S. Braddock are important pillars of our communities,” Eckel said. “They not only create jobs and deliver the goods and services our residents want and depend on, but they are often the first ones to step up to support their neighbors and communities. Our board is proud to recognize these businesses for their countless contributions, and we want to help all our businesses to enjoy the same kind of success and longevity.”

Businesses interested in joining the new Centennial Club or being spotlighted by the Shop Burlington County First initiative can email the Burlington County Public Information Office at news@co.burlington. nj.us, or call 609-265-5020.

BROWNS MILLS—Employees of Deborah Heart and Lung Center, located in the Browns Mills section of Pemberton Township, donated 2-1/2 tons (or what equates to approximately 4,900 pounds) of food in the hospital’s First Annual Thanksgiving Food Drive.

The food was donated to the Christian Caring Center, a local non-profit which hosts programs targeting food insecurity, emergency housing, and recovery, sobriety and job training, the hospital told this newspaper on Nov. 21.

According to Deborah President and CEO Joseph Chirichella, the food drive benefitted both organizations equally.

“We took the opportunity to make this a fun employee activity by sponsoring a contest to see which department could really ‘pull its

weight’ and donate the most pounds of food per employee,” he said. “Our employees got into the spirit of this friendly competition, making it a fun lead-in to our holiday season.”

He added that “on the serious side,” however, he heard from more than one staff member who was “so happy that we were hosting this large food drive.”

“We are all very well aware of the tight and precarious financial situation that many of our neighbors are in right now,” Chirichella declared. “Deborah is invested in the health and well-being of its community and it was vitally important to us that we lend a hand this year. “I am very proud of our team who demonstrated once again what kind and compassionate human beings they are, both in daily patient care, and in touching the lives of those less fortunate than themselves.”

For the Pine Barrens Tribune

Deborah Staffers Touch Lives of Those Less Fortunate than Themselves by Donating Some 2-1/2 Tons of Food in First Thanksgiving Food Drive

For the Pine Barrens Tribune

Photo Provided

The J.S. Braddock Insurance Agency in Medford celebrates its 100th anniversary, with Burlington County Commissioner Allison Eckel (front center with black shirt) presenting a proclamation and certificate recognizing it as the first member of the commissioners’ new Centennial Club.

Photos Provided

Scenes from Deborah’s First Annual Thanksgiving Food Drive.

BurlCo Commissioners Celebrate Opening of New Arney’s Mount Trail

For the Pine Barrens Tribune

SPRINGFIELD—Burlington County has a new addition to its regional trails network, and it features Arney’s Mount, the county’s highest elevation.

The Burlington County Board of Commissioners celebrated the new Arney’s Mount Trail on Nov. 2 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and tour of several of the locations – referred to as “stunning” – along the new pathway.

The American Society of Civil Engineers also this month recognized the completed project during its annual awards ceremony.

“Burlington County is a destination where people want to live, work and raise families and one of the most significant reasons why is the natural beauty and diverse landscapes found throughout our communities,” declared Burlington County Commissioner Allison Eckel, the board’s liaison to the county Department of Resource Conservation and Parks. Arney’s Mount is one of those special places, and this new trail provides safe access to this geological treasure and all the beautiful scenery around it.”

Arney’s Mount is one of the county’s most unique geological landscapes. The top of the mount is 240 feet above sea level. It is known as “erosional remnant” because the elevation was formed from sandstone that remained in place while the surrounding land slowly eroded away by streams and wind.

“Arney’s Mount is a natural wonder and we are thrilled to provide our residents with a way to enjoy the breathtaking views of the mount and the farm fields that surround it,” said Burlington County Commissioner Director Dan O’Connell.

The new trail features a 2.2-mile asphalt path up and around Arney’s Mount, plus 2.45 miles of equestrian turf trails and several smaller “challenge trails” through

the woods along the base of the mount.

The trail begins at the intersection of Tower Drive and Juliustown Road and includes a parking area, a picnic pavilion with grills and an accessible horse mounting platform.

The trail is located on more than 185 acres of land preserved by the county.

A total of $3.75 million in funding from the Federal Highway Administration’s Transportation Alternatives Program was used to fund engineering, design and construction costs for the project.

The Arney’s Mount Trail is the latest of several new trail projects undertaken by the county, which already has more than 1,000 acres of developed parkland and 50-plus miles of interconnecting trails.

Earlier this fall, the county celebrated the completion of the first 4-mile segment of the Rancocas Greenway Trail that is envisioned to someday travel the length of the Rancocas Creek from its confluence with the Delaware River to its headwaters near the BurlingtonOcean border.

The Arney’s Mount Trail is also expected to eventually be extended another 3.5 miles northwest through preserved property to the County Fairgrounds off Route 206.

All the county’s paths are part of the planned 800-mile Circuit Trails network that is expected to connect four New Jersey counties and five Pennsylvania counties in the greater Philadelphia region.

“Burlington County is proud to be a leader in the development of trails that are critical to the Circuit Trails vision,” Eckel said. “Each provides residents with a new opportunity to move about the county and experience its incredible natural beauty and history, and we’re thrilled to be part of a regional network that will provide more destinations for Burlington County families to walk, run or bicycle through.”

Photo Provided

One of the many views along the trails.

Photo Provided

The Burlington County Commissioners celebrated the new Arney’s Mount Trail in Springfield earlier this month with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Among the officials who attended and participated were: Burlington County Commissioner Director Dan O’Connell; Burlington County Commissioner Allison Eckel; Burlington County Administrator Eve Cullinan; Springfield Councilman Denis McDaniel, Springfield Councilman David Frank, Springfield Councilman Peter Sobotka, Mary Pat Robbie, director of the Burlington County Department of Resource Conservation and Parks, Matt Johnson, coordinator of open space acquisition and park development for the Department of Resource Conservation and Parks; John Boyle, research director for the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia; and representatives from the Environmental Resolutions Inc. and ACT Engineers.

Photo Provided

The new Arney’s Mount Trail features a main 2.2-mile asphalt path up and around Arney’s Mount, plus 2.45 miles of equestrian turf trails and several smaller “challenge trails” through the woods along the base of the mount. Pictured here is one of the challenge trails.

Then there was another account of the situation at hand from a district grandmother – who will assume a position on the local school board come January after having earlier this month won one of three available seats on the school governing body.

She described that one child under her care, having special needs and an Individualized Education Plan (IEP), acted out two weeks ago while in class after having been “bullied” for three months, and then in chastising the school administration for not following their own policies and procedures in the wake of the outburst, described that her granddaughter was allegedly “escorted off the property” and “told to drive home,” all while having purportedly expressed to school officials she was feeling “suicidal.”

“I was like what are you doing,” the grandmother told the school board, adding that her granddaughter has a history of anger and anxiety issues. “You just put her behind a deadly vehicle. You made her go without speaking to the principal, and her case manager.”

The “very irate” grandmother, who maintained that she was only notified of her granddaughter being put behind the wheel in such a state after she had already left school grounds, explained that a school administrator later admitted to her that procedures were not followed in responding to the incident.

She called what happened a “lifethreatening situation.”

Then, the grandmother, also a local Girl Scout leader, alerted the school board that several girls in her Troop, all local middle schoolers, were “crying hysterically” at a Scout meeting held just two weeks ago over recent bullying.

“‘Why should I want to live?’” the grandmother and school board memberelect maintained one of the girls had asked during the episode, noting that the pupils described being “bullied every day” in the local middle schools.

The grandmother, in emphasizing that such incidents are apparently not just a “one-time” thing, but are rather “ongoing,” asserted, “I am here to tell the administration to get your act together!”

By the Nov. 17 session’s conclusion, one school board member, Sherry Scull, who became clearly upset over what she had just heard, acknowledged the situation has gotten to the point that it has now “exploded,” and in mentioning that one can be charged with “assault” and/or “attempted murder” for their actions in releasing fragrances with the intent to cause harm, urged the victim to “call the police” and have the perpetrator(s) searched and potentially charged with a crime, suggesting the victim shouldn’t wait

any longer for action to be taken by the district.

Meanwhile, Terry Maldonado, the second-longest serving school board member currently on the public body who also chairs both its Negotiations and Policy committees, after having previously come to the defense of Superintendent Jeffrey Havers and his administration, asserted on Nov. 17, “Mr. Havers, and the administration, I am going to start being that board member to put that fire under your feet.”

Before any of these remarks were made, however, during a preceding Pemberton board meeting on Oct. 27, Joseph Bowen, chief of school security for Pemberton Schools, presented the district’s Student Safety Data System (SSDS) report card for the second reporting period of the preceding school year, or covering the timeframe of January through June 2022. The report card features four main categories of Violence, Vandalism, Weapons and Substance Abuse.

The school security chief, now in his seventh year in the district, who is also a former police officer, acknowledged that the figures, when compared to those of the first reporting period, or what pretty much encompasses the first half of the 2021-22 school year, shows the district has had “an increase in fights in every building” and “increases in assaults in every building.”

At Helen Fort, there was a total of 54 reported incidents of violence in the second reporting period, compared to 51 in the first one. When looking at all categories combined for Helen Fort, there were 63 reported qualifying incidents in the second reporting period compared to 58 during the first one.

At Newcomb Middle School, the district’s other middle school building, there were 27 reported incidents of violence during the second reporting period, compared to eight in the first one.

At Pemberton Township High School (PTHS), the number of reported incidents of violence in the first reporting period was put at 20, and in the second half of the school year, there were 25 such incidents, also representing an increase.

In further “breaking down” the figures in the “violence and vandalism” categories, Bowen maintained that at Helen Fort, in the second half of the school year, there were 24 reported fights compared to 17 reported there in the first reporting period.

The number of reported assaults at Helen Fort also increased over the first reporting period, or from 15 to 22.

At Newcomb, the number of reported fights rose from six in the first reporting period to 17 being reported in the second. The number of reported assaults there went from a single incident being reported in the first reporting period to five being reported in the second reporting period.

Pemberton Township High School, Bowen

also revealed, saw some nine reported fights in the first reporting period, with 19 being reported in the second one. There were three reported assaults in the second reporting period, compared to two in the previous reporting period.

Despite the state defining the second reporting period as January to June 2022, and dictating that period is what is to be used as a basis for school violence trends and completing the report card, Bowen at one point tried to characterize the situation as “improving” by pointing to figures for just the final two months of the previous school year, maintaining the signs of progress were the result of the district having hired more than a dozen interim security guards.

But still, he further recognized, when combining all reportable incidents districtwide, there were 93 reported in the first reporting period of the 2021-22 school year, but that number shot up to 129 being reported in the second reporting period. It was something that Bowen declared, “I want to draw everyone’s attention to.”

The school security chief, in further analyzing the situation at Helen Fort, pointed out that of the reported fights there, 42 were initiated by females, while only 37 of them had been initiated by males. The former number, he declared, “jumped out to me.”

Bowen also pointed to a “huge disparity” between the district’s two middle schools, with males largely responsible for the reported fights at Newcomb, 49 to 3.

At both middle schools, 12 of the reported fights were considered to have been initiated by “repeat offenders,” he noted.

Board Member Lionel Lee, a former corrections officer and basketball coach who unsuccessfully sought a second term on the school board beginning in January, having just lost his re-election bid, queried the school security chief as to the “intervention” for those repeat offenders.

Bowen, who during his presentation blamed the figures on the lingering effects of COVID and masking, responded that over the last several years, he has identified places in the school buildings to “enhance coverage” and “knock stuff down,” while also recently “sharing the numbers” with counseling staff. He then referred that “great question” to Rita Jenkins, the district’s assistant director of School Counseling/ Health Services, for a response.

Jenkins replied that discipline “patterns” were looked at over the summer, and that “lists of students” were given to school counselors, as well as phone calls having been made to parents.

“How can we better support them?” is a question Jenkins said was asked during summertime conversations about the figures. “Those conversations, and counseling sessions are continuing since the first day of school.”

She noted, however, that while the district has looked into sending troubled students elsewhere, “we don’t have many options,” and while officials have a “certain place in mind,” the tuition is “very, very costly.” Another option, she explained, is “very far,” while yet another option mandates students perform at a high-school level.

For right now, if “repeated efforts go without any success,” she maintained, virtual instruction is one possible option, in addition to “outside therapeutic resources.”

Jenkins then detailed the district’s HIB figures for the second reporting period, or from January to June 2022, with 64 HIB investigations initiated and 34 founded, or “almost half.” Those figures too had increased over the first reporting period, which only saw 53 HIB investigations, with 29 founded.

A total of 117 HIB investigations having been initiated over the course of the last school year is the “highest so far,” the district’s assistant director of School Counseling/Health Services acknowledged.

A lot of the bullying, Jenkins reported, has to do with “gender,” and several of the HIB incidents have involved students “making fun of each other’s appearance and their sexuality.”

After the Helen Fort middle schooler came up to the dais during the subsequent Nov. 17 school board session to make a plea for help and described the bullying experiences, the child’s father doubled-down on the claim that his youngster’s being bullied has “been going on for years now and nothing seems to come from it.”

“I don’t know what to say,” the father told the school board. “I don’t know what to do. That is why I am here tonight.”

Havers, after the school board appeared to be rocked by the student and the youngster’s father coming to the dais with such a report (with a board member later giving credit to the student for the bravery that was put on display to speak to the school governing body), stated “we will have someone contact them to see what we can do to address that situation.”

The school board, however, had also been moved by the account of Ann Popp, a school bus driver since 2016 who says she now “fears for my life” in transporting about 54 middle school students to and from school every day.

Popp described that despite having a sign posted on her bus warning individuals to refrain from wearing any fragrances due to an allergy and being asthmatic, some pupils on her bus deliberately “spray cologne and perfume” to taunt. When it has been done, she continued, it has resulted in her “having an allergic reaction,” including at least one instance in which she required “medical treatment.”

“I had to pull my bus over numerous

assistant, Michele Brown, that he no longer worked there.

In a subsequent call to his cellphone made by another reporter, Hornickel, when directly confronted with the question, replied, “You’ll have to ask the mayor,” adding that he was “not at liberty to comment about my employment with Pemberton.” Patriarca, however, has uncharacteristically failed to return phone calls on the matter, and when called again at his office on Nov. 21, declined to come to the phone, instead having the person who answered the call convey a “no comment” from him to this newspaper.

When a further attempt was made the following day to find out if Hornickel was still in his office at the municipal building, a deputy township clerk who identified herself a “Sunshine” first replied, “He’s not here right now,” and when asked whether he was still working there, briefly went off the phone, then returned to say, “It’s a personnel matter, as expressed to you yesterday, and there’s no comment.”

In the course of the brief conversation this newspaper had with him, however, Hornickel, in response to further questions, also revealed that he had “no plans at the moment” nor had he made any commitments elsewhere, and that while he had not heard from the mayor-elect, he might consider working for the new administration “if Mr. Tompkins were to convey his vision of the town that I could help him with.”

Tompkins, for his part, told this reporter in a subsequent phone interview, “I like Daniel,” based on past dealings with him at township council meetings that “have always been professional,” and that he has always valued Hornickel’s input, and considered him to be a “very straight shooter” who is “very knowledgeable” and “an asset to the township.”

“I’m hoping that he and I would be able to work as professionals together,” the mayorelect added. “I probably will be sitting down with Daniel in the near future and I’m hoping to convince him to come back to Pemberton.”

He also said what concerns him most right now is the prospect of having to tackle an upcoming municipal budget shortly after he takes office without the benefit of Hornickel’s expertise and experience should the business administrator now decide to consider an offer from another venue.

“Transitions aren’t always smooth,”

Tompkins observed, and Hornickel’s presence would have been the key to making the upcoming one a much smoother proposition. “He knows all the contracts and the current debt and what we have to pay on that and all the budgetary things that we need to know.”

At the same time, however, Tompkins noted that “we do have a mayor who’s in office till Dec. 31, and I don’t want to go stepping on his toes.”

In a Pemberton council meeting on Nov. 9, the day following the election, with Tompkins present, Patriarca declared that despite having different ideas and opinions about how the town should be run, “our interests should be the same,” and “that interest should be for the community.” He then pledged to have his staff reach out to set up a meeting with the incoming mayor “to discuss any questions he may have and enlighten him in anything he may need to be enlightened on.”

Besides preparing the annual budget and capital improvement program for submission to the township council, the duties of the business administrator, as listed on the Pemberton township website, include:

• administering personnel programs for the township;

• administering a centralized purchasing system and providing a continual review and analysis of the budget and costs of municipal services;

• supervising and monitoring capital projects, including roads, drainage, sidewalks and curbs, and

• supervising the administration of municipal departments, under the mayor’s direction, and prescribing rules and procedures for efficient and effective operation of those departments.

Prior to his service in Pemberton, Hornickel, who is the brother of Tabernacle Committee member Nancy McGinnis, worked for more than three years as human resources manager for the Middlesex County Utilities Authority, two years as an assistant director of labor relations for the State of New Jersey Department of the Treasury, and nine years as director of human resources for Burlington County, having previously served the county as assistant solicitor/ attorney for more than five years before a six-month stint as an employee relations coordinator for the governor’s office.

In a 2019 interview with the Pine Barrens Tribune , Hornickel said he had a couple reasons for taking the job in Pemberton. In addition to having “heard good things about the mayor,” he said that his 15 years

of having worked for the county had given him a lot of historical and geographical knowledge of the community, which he described as “a beautiful town that I have admired from a distance.”

Whether the up-close and personal familiarity with the township he has since acquired in the post makes his continued role in a new administration with different priorities (Tompkins, for example, is notably opposed to the emphasis on warehouse

development that has been encouraged under Patriarca’s stewardship) something that, to borrow a phrase from Shakespeare, is to be or not be—that is the question.

In an attempt to answer that question, Tompkins told this newspaper, “I will probably reach out to him after the Thanksgiving holiday, and, hopefully, we’ll find a time and place to sit down and have a conversation.”

Photo By Douglas D. Melegari

Mayor David A. Patriarca and Business Administrator Daniel Hornickel, right, sit together at a 2019 council meeting.

DECEMBER DECEMBER

Dec. 1

Location: Bass River Twp.

Details: The Woods of New Gretna Park and the New Jersey Shore Live Steam Organization provide train rides for all each Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The small steam locomotives, and other trains, wind their way through the beautiful park. The rides are provided by a group of dedicated volunteers who have revitalized the park and laid out the railroad track, based on the historical Tuckerton Railroad. The volunteers maintain the railroad and walking trails, and are constantly expanding them. Riding the trains is free, but donations are very much appreciated. The train rides are outdoors.

Dec. 2

Christmas Tree Lighting

Location: Tabernacle Twp.

Details: Tabernacle’s 9th Annual Community Tree Lighting will be held Friday, Dec. 2, at 7 p.m., at Town Hall, 163 Carranza Rd. Bring the family out for this free event! There will be refreshments, music, entertainment and a visit from Santa!

Dec. 3

Santa’s Workshop Craft Fair

Location: Mount Holly Twp.

Details: Come out to Santa’s Workshop, at Gertrude Folwell School, 455 Jacksonville Rd., Mount Holly, on Sat., Dec. 3, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. This craft fair has been around for years and years! In addition to crafters and vendors, there will be a small basket auction, 50/50 drawing, as well as a Decorative Jar raffle for the kids. Santa will be there from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.! Be sure to get your free family picture taken with Santa and write your Christmas Wish List so he can take it back to the North Pole. Besides shopping for your holiday gifts, a Boy Scout Troop will have food for all to enjoy!

Events and special promotions happening locally this month!

Dec. 5

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

Seneca High School Chamber Singers

Location: Vincentown

Details: The Southampton Historical Society will host the Seneca High School Chamber Singers who will entertain you with a program of holiday songs as well as some of their favorite traditional ones. Come and listen to these amazing students from our community! This program will begin promptly at 7:30 p.m., at the Old Town Hall, 25 Plum St., Vincentown. Some fun holiday trivia will follow the program. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, call Kathy Rosmando at 609-859-0524.

Christmas Hymn Sing Dec. 11

Location: Pemberton Borough

Details: The First Baptist Church of Pemberton, 59 Hanover St., will host a Christmas Hymn Sing with Dr. Bill Welte and guests from America’s Keswick at 4 p.m. on Dec. 11. Everyone is invited to come and enjoy singing and listening to the carols of Christmas. A cookie reception will follow. This is a free event; a love offering will be received for the ministry of America’s Keswick.

Dec. 11

Holiday House Tour

Location: Burlington Twp.

Details: Historic West Hill Manor is proud to announce their Holiday House Tour on Sunday, Dec. 11, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Step back in time as you enjoy live music, watch spinners do their magic by turning wool into thread, sample colonial sweets and learn about the amazing history of this beautiful house. West Hill is located at 1114 Oxmead Rd., Burlington Twp. A $5 donation is requested. For more information, contact Joe or Judy Rival at 856-768-0312, or email at wemisslp@comcast.net .

Train Rides Through the Woods of New Gretna

Dec. 20

Monthly Trip to Casinos and Resorts

Location: Lumberton & Tabernacle Twps.

Details: The Pinelands Young at Heart is having their monthly trip to resort casinos on Dec. 20. The cost for the trip is $35, and includes $20 back for casino play, snacks, Bingo play, money drawings and other giveaways! There are two pickup locations: 8:30 a.m., Lumberton Plaza on Rt. 38; and 9 a.m., Old Squad Bldg., Hawkin Rd., Tabernacle. Monthly casino trips occur on the 3rd Tuesday of each month. Call JoAnn at 609-268-8951 for more information.

Dec. 24

Christmas Eve Candlelight Service

Location:

Pemberton Borough

Details: The First Baptist Church of Pemberton, 59 Hanover St., is having a Christmas Eve Candlelight Service at 6 p.m. on Dec. 24. All are welcome to join the candlelight service. Come and enjoy singing Christmas carols and reading scripture while celebrating the birth of Jesus.

An unimproved road in the Wharton State Forest.

ROADS

(Continued from Page 2)

subsequent offense. If a violation results in damage to, or destruction of, natural resources, an additional fine of “five times” the cost of the damage may be assessed.

The deputy mayor also agreed with the premise that there was a “very short timeline” in which “people could make their comments known” on the proposal.

“It’s not transparent,” declared Shamong Committeeman Chris Zehnder. “There are a lot of people who enjoy that forest, and in my opinion, access to it is already too limited.”

Zehnder further charged that the “seasonal” restrictions that he claimed have already been placed “on certain areas” of the Wharton State Forest are “frankly bullsh**.”

As Zehnder expressed his agreement with the Shamong mayor that what is proposed “is not going to have much of an impact” on the issues, Shamong Committeeman Martin Mozitis maintained “it’s just a way to write people tickets and fines.”

“After Wharton, it will be Bass River (State Forest), it will be Penn State (Forest), and all the other state forests,” Mozitis added. “This is just the first one in which they are trying to get away with it.”

The release from the NJDEP lends some credence to that remark by noting “these efforts to define safe and legal vehicle access routes on Wharton’s improved and unimproved roads will serve as the model for protection of other state-managed lands throughout the Pinelands.”

By adopting the township resolution, Di Croce maintained, it “sends a message that we don’t need more rules and regulations, nor do we need more costs when we are already paying for this stuff.”

But in making the case that such a permit system is needed for the Wharton, the NJDEP emphasized in its release that the agency lists 43 animals in the state forest as “threatened or endangered,” including the Pine Barrens tree frog, timber rattlesnake, and pine snake. The state forest, it is noted, also “boasts some 750 species of plants,” including wild orchids, sedges, grasses and insect-eating plants. Rare plants in the Wharton, the release pointed out, include the bog asphodel, swamp pink and Pine Barrens gentian. The predominant trees are the pitch pine, various oak species, and Atlantic white cedar.

But as far as Woods is concerned, what is currently proposed, is “all-around a bad plan,” with Mozitis making the charge that the state knows if they proposed such permitting for all the forests at once, “they would have more people complaining about it.”

Advertising Deadline: November 29 4 p.m. Early Reservation STRONGLY ENCOURAGED.

Publication Date: December 3, 2022

By D ouglas D. M elegari Staff Writer

MEDFORD—The owner of a Medford Township-based tennis club is offering a reward for information that leads to the apprehension of the individual(s) who “sabotaged” a fence he had put up last month on the perimeter of the club’s property.

The fence, as previously reported by this newspaper, is part of a controversial tennis court expansion project, with the fence having the intent to cut off access to a dirt road that runs through part of the club’s property, which leads to a 7 Eleven in the area.

The fence is one that Venku Mandalap, the owner of Arrowhead Tennis Club at 6 Nelson Drive, maintained on Nov. 22 was designed to not only prevent pedestrians and bicyclists cutting through his property to go to the nearby 7-Eleven, but to also prevent “illegal” activity he reported is occurring in the area’s woods, including the use of “drugs and other things.”

But the “very next day” after having erected the chain-link fence late last month, according to Mandalap, an individual(s) came through and cut a large hole in it.

He sent a picture to this newspaper of the damage.

“They sabotaged it,” he declared.

Mandalap said the destruction amounted to about $2,000 worth of damage, and he is now offering a reward for any information that leads to an arrest(s) in the case.

“You can leave your name anonymously,” he said of any tipster.

Lt. James D’Averso, commander of the Medford Township Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Bureau, and also

“sabotaged.”

a spokesman for the agency, when asked about the incident, replied, “Regarding the damaged fence behind Arrowhead Tennis Courts; we are aware of this incident and are working with local residents to obtain suspect information through various means.”

Since the incident, Mandalap told this newspaper that he has “increased video surveillance” of the area.

Photo By Douglas D. Melegari

A Special Section of

Photo Provided

A damaged chain-link fence that the owner of Arrowhead Tennis Club, at 6 Nelson Drive in Medford Township, says was

times,” she maintained, suggesting in one instance she was having such a bad reaction to what was sprayed, a parent, as well as fellow bus drivers had to come to her aid by breaking the glass windows of her school bus.

(It was said at a preceding meeting that the parent who came to the bus driver’s rescue “in the serious incident” did so after having been notified by her child of the emergency, which took place near the district’s bus garage, with school officials having since been criticized for reportedly notifying parents of what happened some three days later).

While the “kids know this,” or that Popp is allergic to fragrances, and have observed “these attacks,” she maintained “they don’t care.”

“They think this is funny,” Popp described. “They think it is a joke.”

And it is not only her life that she fears might be lost to such taunting, “but I am fearing for the kids that I drive.” That is because, she maintained, there is a very real possibility that if she has such a reaction again in the future, she will lose control of the school bus she is driving.

“Something has to be done!” Popp said. “I have had it happen to me three times in one day.”

The spraying of perfume and cologne, she added, has now happened on six different occasions so far, and while she has reported the incidents to the district’s bus garage, “they tell me they can’t see on camera who is doing it.”

“I can’t breathe when it happens,” Popp declared. “I start coughing and can’t breathe.”

The students on her bus, she contended, have also been “written up” for “throwing trash and bullying,” but despite a principal even having been on her school bus at times, “nothing happened to the kids for the bullying,” which she described often involves both 7th and 8th graders picking on the 6th graders.

“Nothing is getting done to these children,” Popp informed the school board as she began to break down in tears. “They think it is OK – hurting people. One day they are going to spray too much, and I am not going to be able to control the bus like I do now because it is … I open my window and put my fan on just to get them to safety because that is all I care about … is these kids. My main goal is to get these kids to safety. … This is the stuff we deal with; you guys (board members) don’t understand what we deal with.”

Several in the audience, comprising fellow school bus drivers, as well as educators, shouted, “That’s right!”

“No wonder why no one wants to work in this district,” Popp asserted. “These kids are out of control; they really are. I have been driving with this district since 2016, and I don’t want to come to work anymore. I love this district. I used to live in this district. I am to the point I am ready to start looking elsewhere. Something has got to get done.”

Another school bus driver, a man who did not state his name, in asking the school board to “please help us,” maintained that the problem “is the lack of discipline and the lack of respect that not only the students have for the school, but that the school has for its drivers.”

That bus driver maintained he has had lasers, while driving a school bus, pointed in his eyes “that blind you,” a student open the back door of his school bus while he was driving at 50 mph, and another that threw a bottle out, which broke the windshield of a van behind the school bus.

But while the middle school handbook, he contended, states a student shall have their bus privileges suspended for engaging in such behavior, over the last two years, he described, “absolutely none” have had their privileges suspended. In the latter incident, the student initially just had a note placed in a parent notebook, with the parents later presented a bill for the windshield repairs, he claimed.

“We need your help to make it easier for us to do our jobs and keep our kids safe,” the bus driver maintained. “Every kid that gets on my bus is like my child. I treat them like my own (children). I need your help to keep the kids in line and keep them all safe. Please help us!”

The problems occurring on Popp’s bus had been previously raised during the preceding Oct. 27 school board meeting by Donetta Brown, the vice president of the Pemberton Township Bus Driver’s Association, as well as a parent, who claimed the driver had gone into “anaphylaxis,” and momentarily “lost control” of the bus before “regaining control.”

After hearing from the two bus drivers on Nov. 17, Havers provided a brief response, stating he “will be looking into” what is happening on Popp’s school bus, and that he will “get your bus numbers again” to “find out and see what we can do to support you.”

Scull, along with some of her colleagues, on Nov. 17, however, were far more forceful in addressing the safety concerns.

“If those kids on that bus,” act out again, Scull forcefully advised Popp to “call the police” and “have the police search them,” suggesting that there should no longer be a wait for a response from the district. She added that it is important to “find out who has that fragrance” and “have them charged.”

Scull noted that in another similar incident that occurred in years past, one that involved “adults,” it was said such actions

could lead to charges of “attempted murder” and “assault.”

“We let these kids get away too much!” she declared, in recognizing the behavioral and mental health situation has gotten to the point that it has now “exploded.”

Following the meeting, this newspaper queried District Spokeswoman Jeannie Mignella as to whether Pemberton Schools have School Resource Officers (SROs).

“We do not have SROs assigned to our schools,” she answered. “We have our own security guards.”

She added that “our security team has a great relationship with the Pemberton Township Police Department; we work very closely with them and police are present at our schools when the need arises.”

Scull, during the Nov. 17 school board session, also queried Havers as to whether a “fragrance policy” still exists in the district. He replied that it did, but that he would have to do some further investigation to see if it is actually being enforced. Scull, who described herself as being a “fragrancesensitive person,” quipped in reply, “Well I can tell you there have been people walking around here full of fragrance!”

“Some in the administration almost knock me over!” she asserted.

Then, in apparently returning to the ongoing fighting and bullying aspect of the situation, Scull maintained “you tell that parent, if you fight in ‘our house,’ you are going out in handcuffs!” The attitude, she maintained, of “ignoring” such reports and that “it is just boys being boys” is one that must stop in the district.

“I am sorry, there has to be consequences to some of these behaviors!” Scull declared.

Scull, who last month requested Safety Committee reports, in pointing out Nov. 17 she had reviewed recent HIB reports, revealed that there is an “awful lot of verbal insulting and bullying going on, especially from 6th grade and up,” and insisted the kids involved in the incidents are acting “very horrible.”

“Somewhere the district needs to start programs,” she added.

Both Lee and Board Member Roberto Fernandez described their support for having “parents be inconvenienced when their kids don’t act right in school.” Lee, however, pointed out there is only so much a school board can do, and it is not the “board’s responsibility to raise people’s kids.”

“Everybody needs to take responsibility for their children,” declared Lee, adding that he “personally hates individuals who don’t parent” and “everybody has got skin in the game.”

The grandmother turned school board member-elect, Vicky Adams, pointed out she could have easily filed a “lawsuit” over the school administrators’ alleged actions to release her granddaughter from school and

allowing her to drive home while expressing suicidal thoughts, and then only contacting her about the matter after she was sent home, but noted she instead decided to once again voice her concerns to the board with the hope that they “take action on these things.”

Havers did not address Adam’s case, with the latter noting her granddaughter will no longer be attending Pemberton Schools, but instead will move to be with her father in light of what happened.

Maldonado, in responding to all of the accounts of the night, declared, “it breaks my heart to hear about the things going on,” recognizing “these are different times, and not for the better.” She revealed she “can tell the difference” in local youth, pointing out that during a Halloween affair, for example, “three kids were removed for behavior issues,” while during a recent shopping trip to a local Dollar General, she observed youth “throwing toys around” in the store, having to intervene to get them to stop (which they did, she reported).

“There is no reason why we have any child being bullied, picked on or anything else in this district,” she asserted. “It is our job –the administration’s job – to promote a safe, happy, and healthy learning environment, and I suggest we start doing so.”

Maldonado called on the “upper management” of the district to enforce the district’s no fragrance policy “because apparently the ball is being dropped” at the middle school level, and recognized “the middle school has been a problem for years.”

“It is time we step up or step off,” she declared, with the board earlier in the night having approved Michael Bennett as a new assistant principal of Helen Fort, with him informing the board he comes from the Camden school system with experience in “culture, (school) climate and character education.”

Then, “in making a request to the administration,” Maldonado asserted, “We really need to rethink a lot of things that we do here in Pemberton – Mr. Havers, and the administration, I am going to start being that board member to put that fire under your feet.” Maldonado also expressed her belief it was important to promote the successes of alumni, something she maintained the district wasn’t doing well enough.

“We need you to come forward and voice your concerns here,” added Scull in further addressing the public. “Because that is the only way we can turn around and say to the superintendent, ‘What are you doing?’ Because, apparently as board members, the only responsibility we have is holding the superintendent responsible.”

Havers, last month, said there is “progressive discipline” being taken for bus-related incidents.

AUTOMOBILES/TRUCKS

FURNITURE REPAIR

Adam’s Furniture Restoration, LLC. Fully insured. Furniture repair, kitchen cabinet refinishing, touch-ups, and in-home services. Call 1-856-979-6210. Visit www.facebook. com/adamsfurnres .

HAULING

CRANBERRIES FOR SALE

Fresh cranberries sold at Edie’s Beauty Salon (524 Lakehurst Road). Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Call for availability. 609-744-5522.

FALL CLEANUPS

Fall cleanups, lawn cutting, and gutter cleaning. Shrub pruning and some tree work, along with hauling. Free estimates=reasonable rates. Call or Text Bob at 1-609-880-3789.

Household appliances. Televisions, furniture, etc. for disposal or transport. Garage and yard cleanups along with lawn cutting and gutter cleaning. Free estimates. Call or Text Bob at 1-609-880-3789.

LAWYERS

Erwin Apell Attorney, Browns Mills. All legal matters - free hotline 24/7. Visa, Mastercard. Call 609-220-3059 or email Erwinapell@gmail.com .

LOST DOG

Adopted from