Pine Barrens Tribune Nov. 5, 2022-Nov. 11, 2022

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November 5 - November 11, 2022

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Veterans Wall of Honor Is Unveiled in Evesham, But Ceremony Leaves Some Invitees Dejected

A WIN-WIN DEBATE?

Frustration Evident Over Lack of Plaques for Three-Fifths of Participants at Crowded Venue

By Bill Bonvie Staff Writer

EVESHAM—The official launch of Evesham Township’s ambitious and wellintentioned campaign to create a lasting tribute to its resident military veterans may have ended up achieving its objective (or at least the first phase of it), but was plagued by logistical miscalculations and less-thanideal conditions and timing in the process.

The result was that the initial unveiling of the “Evesham Township Veterans Wall of Honor” left what appears to have been a significant number of the invitees disappointed and some more than a bit angry and frustrated at not having had their customlasered plaques or those of family members included in the ceremony, contrary to what they had expected when they showed up at the township municipal building on the evening of Oct. 27, some of the less ambulatory ones aided by wheelchairs and walkers.

As it was, only some 92 of the 245 plaques slated for inclusion were on display on the wall of the building’s lobby at the time that the event took place, with the rest yet to be delivered, according to organizers.

“A public relations disaster” was how the event was characterized to the Pine Barrens Tribune by former Republican Councilman and ex-U.S. Marine Robert DiEnna, echoing the sentiments of a number of other veterans that attended with whom this newspaper conducted phone interviews.

See VETERANS/ Page 5

Photos By Tom Valentino

Republican candidate Bob Healey (left) and Democratic Rep. Andy Kim (right), when they previously met with LeisureTowne voters last month.

Both Incumbent Third District Rep. Andy Kim and His Republican Rival, Bob Healey, Claim Victory in Final Rhetorical Contest Go-Around Prior to the Midterm Elections

By Douglas D. M elegari Staff Writer

MOORESTOWN—Both Third District Democratic Rep. Andy Kim and his main rival, Republican Bob Healey, were declared winners by their respective campaigns on Sunday night, Oct. 30, of the final debate between to the two men of this election cycle, hosted by the New Jersey Globe.

“FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Andy

Kim Wins New Jersey Globe Debate,” wrote Forrest Rilling, Kim’s campaign manager, in the subject line of a press release sent to local press at 10:21 p.m. on Oct. 30, following the conclusion of the 9 p.m., one-hour long debate.

That was followed one minute later by Theresa Velardi, manager for the Healey campaign, also writing in the subject line for a press release sent to the local media, “FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

HEALEY WINS NJ GLOBE DEBATE.” But voters w ill be the ones who actually get a chance to decide this coming Tuesday, Nov. 8, Election Day, as Kim pursues a third term in Congress, while Healey, who runs the Bass River Township-based Viking Yacht Company along with his cousin, seeks to become a newcomer elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.

See MIDTERM/ Page 6

INDEX Business Directory...................................12

Marketplace..................................................... 14

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

Worship Guide..........................................15

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LOCAL NEWS / FEATURES

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Saturday, November 5, 2022

‘Error’ Involving Early Voting Locations Appears on Sample Ballots Sent to County Voters; GOP Chair Calls Matter ‘Absolute Travesty’

By Douglas D. M elegari Staff Writer

TABERNACLE—A purported “error” that apparently caused incorrect information to be printed on sample ballots mailed to an untold number of Burlington County voters, incorrectly stating the location of one of the Early Voting places where Burlington County voters can cast their ballots early for the Midterm Elections, has been called an “absolute travesty” by the chairman of the Burlington County Republican Committee.

The “County Clerk’s Office” has since taken responsibility for the error, though no specific person(s) has yet to do so, with it being attributed to a mix up over an old list of Early Voting locations.

Sample ballots, considered “Official Election Mail” by the U.S. Postal Service, containing both the return address of the Burlington County Superintendent of Elections (who is Dawn Marie Addiego, a former Republican turned Democratic 8th District state senator who lost last year to Republican Jean Stanfield, and subsequently landed the “patronage job”) and “official seal” of Democratic County Clerk Joanne Schwartz, arrived in mailboxes of county residents around Thursday, Oct. 27 of last week.

By the next morning of Oct. 28, the county, on its Facebook page, had acknowledged the existence of an error on sample ballots, but that recognition was somewhat buried in a statement that began with “Tomorrow (Oct. 29), begins the nine day, in-person early voting period” in which “all registered voters residing in Burlington County will have the option of voting early with a machine at one of seven voting sites in Burlington County.”

T he s even lo c ations l ist e d i n the statement are the Chesterfield Township Municipal Building, 295 BordentownChesterfield Road, Chesterfield; Gibson House Community Center, 535 East Main Street, Marlton; Medford Town Hall, 49 Union Street, Medford; Rowan College at Burlington County Student Success Center, 150 0 Col lege Ci rcle, Mount Laurel; Pemberton Community Library, 16 Broadway, Browns Mills; Lenape Regional Administrative Building, 93 Willow Grove Road, Shamong; and the Willingboro Public Library, 220 Campbell Drive, Willingboro.

However, t he s a mple ba l lot s had incorrectly told county voters that one of the seven locations for Early Voting is at the Tabernacle EMS building, located at 81 Hawkins Road in Tabernacle, omitting the Lenape Regional Administrative Building.

“Please note the Lenape Regional Administrative Building Early Voting location differs from one listed on the Burlington County sample ballots,” it was stated in the fourth paragraph of the county’s statement, accompanied by a picture of the Lenape building. “Due to an error, the printed sample ballots incorrectly list the Tabernacle EMS Building as an Early Voting site. This is not correct, and residents seeking to vote early at that location will be directed to the proper early voting sites nearby.”

The Tabernacle location printed on the sample ballots is considered a stone’s throw away from LeisureTowne, one of the county’s largest retirement communities in neighboring Southampton Township, easily accessible from back roads, oftentimes a preferred method of travel for seniors. It is also just a couple miles, or six minutes, away from the retirement community, whereas the Lenape building is located some 15 minutes away, or about 10 miles out.

The Burlington County Republican Com m itte e, i n re cog n i z i ng that the communities most likely impacted by the error tend to vote Republican, posted a picture to Facebook – on a bright red

background – of one of the sample ballots containing the incorrect Early Voting location crossed out with a marking that is consistent with a black Sharpie. Also appearing on the red background, at the top center, is the word “CORRECTION” in large print.

“You probably received your sample ballot for the upcoming midterm elections and noticed the Early Voting locations and schedule on the back,” read remarks from the county GOP accompanying the picture.

“There is only one problem. The Early Voting location in Tabernacle doesn’t exist!

“The Early Voting location for Burlington County voters deep in the Pine Barrens is actually located in Shamong, at the Lenape Regional HS District HQ, 93 Willow Grove Road.”

That posting from the GOP caused one person to remark, “Leave it to the Democrat County Clerk to screw up and list the wrong location for the Early Voting site in the most conservative part of Burlington County.”

The Burlington County Democratic Committee, when asked via email if the organization was at all concerned about the impact such an error could have on its candidates in races throughout the county, did not respond as of this newspaper’s press time.

Howeve r, t he Bu rl i ng ton C ou nt y Republican Committee did respond to a similar query.

“The Burlington County Clerk sending out sample ballots with the incorrect Early Voting location for the most conservative part of the county is carelessness at a minimum and voter disenfranchisement at a maximum,” said Sean Earlen, chairman of the Burlington County Republican Committee. “The damage is already done.

Tens of thousands of voters have incorrect information in their hands already. For senior citizens, who may want to take advantage of Early Voting but aren’t as techsavvy, or voters with disabilities who wish to avoid the lines on Election Day, this is an absolute travesty.”

David Levinsky, a county spokesman, later told this newspaper, however, that the sample ballots “incorrectly listed the 2021 early voting locations, rather than the updated 2022 list that reflected a polling location move from the Tabernacle EMS building to the Lenape Regional District Administrative Office at 93 Willow Grove Road in Shamong.”

“A ft er d i s c over i ng t he er ror, t he Burlington County Clerk notified the clerks in all 40 county municipalities and took steps to direct voters to the proper location,” he added. “These actions included posting multiple signs at the entrance of See VOTING/ Page 15

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Saturday, November 5, 2022

Website Launched to Find Accessible Nature Spots in South Jersey For the Pine Barrens Tribune

SOUTHAMPTON—A mobile-friendly website, AccessNatureNJ.org, released by the Pinelands Preservation Alliance (PPA) and partners makes it easier to find accessible nature spots in South Jersey.

In 2020, the PPA launched an initiative called “The Pinelands Is for Everyone” to work with people with disabilities to make natural places more accessible, spread information about accessible trails, and create inclusive guided trips for the public.

Since then, PPA staff have been making new friends and viewing the natural world from a new perspective.

One key part of this project is to create a mobile-friendly website – AccessNatureNJ. org – that uses an interactive map to show people where they can find trails and scenic places in and around the Pinelands that are, at least to some degree, accessible.

“The people of New Jersey have done a phenomenal job creating beautiful nature parks, and this is especially true in the Pinelands and the rest of South Jersey,” said Carleton Montgomery, executive director of PPA. “But all this work was done with little attention to the situation of people with disabilities and their families. Too few trails and scenic sites are accessible for people with mobility challenges and other disabilities, and there is very little solid information about the places that are accessible.”

The AccessNatureNJ.org website aims to provide enough reliable information for people with different kinds of disabilities so they can make plans and have great experiences in nature. The website evolves and improves as people provide feedback, PPA learns of additional sites to include, and land managers add more accessibility to nature preserves.

“At Human Services, we believe that by

being more inclusive we can improve our communities and the health of all New Jerseyans, and this extends to our trails and scenic sites,” New Jersey Department of Hu m a n S e r v i c e s C o m m i s s io n e r Sarah Adel man said. “Th is website, AccessNatureNJ.org, makes it easier for individuals with disabilities to access information about accessible trails. We look forward to New Jerseyans working together to improve this site as they provide feedback on accessible trails to create a better experience for all.”

Through many conversations with people with disabilities and their allies, PPA told this newspaper it has learned that accessibility means different things to different people.

That makes detailed, accurate information, it said, vital to individuals and families trying to plan nature trips that work for them. Most of the trails identified on the website are not paved. The organization pointed out that most are either well-maintained sand roads or trails that are sufficiently flat and compact that a person using a wheelchair, walker or cane can use the trail in comfort and safety.

There are some routes, it added, that one can drive along and enjoy in a regular car.

Sometimes equipment can also be an important issue, according to the PPA. Few people have wheelchairs designed for trails, so people may worry that a given trail won’t work for their wheelchairs. The website tries to indicate whether a trail is well-maintained with compacted soil and fine gravel, so a person using a “regular” motorized or nonmotorized wheelchair can safely navigate the trail. PPA said it is also working to create a fleet of trail-ready wheelchairs that people can borrow on its guided trips.

A lot of work, the PPA maintained, must be done, however, to create more trails that are more accessible for more people.

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Photo Provided

A disabled man takes in the scenes earlier this year at the Atsion Recreation Area.

For example, the organization maintained that none of the trails it has found so far have handrails on their entire length, and none have signs in braille. PPA noted that it hopes to encourage and help land managers to create better facilities going forward.

“We are trying to include detailed information on the state of each trail, the parking situation, whether restrooms are available and accessible, whether there are signs that can be read from a wheelchair, and so on,” said Montgomery.

“But the information may not always be as complete as we think it is, or the situation in a particular area might change without our realizing it. We also haven’t gotten everywhere to find all the accessible sites.

So, we are hoping that everyone who uses the website will also let us know about their

LOCAL NEWS / FEATURES

♦ Page 3

experience with it – the good, the bad, and the improvements it needs.”

This project was made possible by an Inclusive Health Communities Grant from the Division of Disability Services of the state Department of Human Services.

Anyone seeking more information about the Inclusive Healthy Communities program is asked to contact Peri L. Nearon, MPA, executive director of the Division of Disability Services.

PPA’s key project partners in this initiative are Hopeworks of Camden and Disability Rights New Jersey and Hopeworks.

Hopeworks is a social enterprise that uses technology, healing, and entrepreneurship to transform lives. Its unique traumainformed approach, combined with highdemand, high-wage technical training and paid work experience helps young people get jobs and keep them. Readers can learn more at www.hopeworks.org.

Disability Rights New Jersey (DRNJ) protects, advocates for and advances the rights of persons with disabilities in pursuit of a society in which persons with disabilities exercise self-determination and choice and are treated with dignity and respect. Readers can learn more at www.disabilityrightsnj. org.

PPA is inviting everyone to provide feedback or ideas for improving the website by contacting Carleton Montgomery at carleton@pinelandsalliance.org.

The Pinelands Preservation Alliance (PPA) was established as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization in 1989 by environmental leaders and Pinelands residents, with the goal of preserving and protecting the more than 1 million acres of the New Jersey Pinelands.

The PPA pointed out it remains the only private organization dedicated solely to environmental protection throughout the Pinelands.

For those in the red, how our district compares to others is irrelevant.

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Page 4 ♦

LOCAL NEWS / FEATURES

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Saturday, November 5, 2022

Pedestrian in Evesham Airlifted After Being Struck by Motor Vehicle in Third Such Incident to Occur in Township During Last Two Weeks

By Douglas D. Melegari Staff Writer

EVESHAM—For the third time in just two weeks, a pedestrian in Evesham Township has been seriously injured in a crash involving a motor vehicle.

The latest incident happened around 8:30 a.m., on Nov. 2, near 50 North Maple Avenue, according to a press release from the Evesham Township Police Department.

It was there that first responders found the pedestrian, identified as a 49-year-old man from Camden, “suffering from serious bodily injuries.”

He was airlifted to Cooper University Hospital in Camden for treatment, police said, noting that the victim was later reported to be in stable condition.

The driver who struck the pedestrian, according to police, stayed at the scene of the crash and is cooperating so far with an investigation into the incident.

“The investigation into the crash is ongoing,” it was noted, with anyone who witnessed the crash asked to contact Det. Joseph Magnus at 856-983-1116, or via email, by emailing magnusj@eveshampd.org .

This newspaper reported last week that a 7-year-old Marlton child – also a pedestrian, was struck by a vehicle on Oct. 20, around 3:20 p.m., in the 200 block of Stallion Court. In that incident, the driver also stayed on scene.

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

The pedestrian, who was later identified as a 51-year-old man and Marlton resident, was located unconscious in the shoulder of the roadway with critical injuries.

Both the child in the Oct. 20 incident, and the man in the Oct. 25 one, were taken to Cooper for treatment.

The purported driver of the vehicle in the Oct. 25 incident, Nicole Bosco, 25, of Vineland, was later charged with third-degree knowingly leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident resulting in serious bodily injury, as well as for driving while intoxicated, which is a traffic offense.

Police Chief Walt Miller told this newspaper on Nov. 2 that the 51-year-old man was listed in stable condition as of the latest update the department received.

Southampton School Board Race is One of Several Hotly-Contested Ones Over New Health/PE Curriculum, Funding Cuts and Post-COVID Response

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Southampton School Board incumbents Suzanne Phillips and Jeffrey E. Hicks, along with their three challengers, Irving Bodine III and Stephen Chadwick, who are running mates, and Kit Applegate, the latter having been endorsed by the Bodine team with three seats up for grabs.

By Douglas D. Melegari Staff Writer

SOUTHAMPTON—A number of local school board races are hotly contested this year as several parents have decided to challenge the status quo over student test scores and academic performance in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic and associated lockdowns that kept pupils out of school for months, the response to school funding cuts, implementation of new Health and Physical Education (PE) standards handed down by the state that some charge amounts to “sexualization” of student learning, and concerns about Critical Race Theory (CRT).

The race for Southampton Township School Board is one of those hotly contested races.

According to Irving Bodine III, one of three “fathers” (the others being Stephen Chadwick and Kit Applegate) challenging incumbents Suzanne Phillips and Jeffrey E. Hicks, the local school board needs to put “more focus on getting children to proficiency” in academics as well as “get back to the basics.”

“Based on 2021 testing, more than half of our 4th to 8th grade students require some level of support in Math and English,” maintained Bodine during a LeisureTowne candidates’ forum in Southampton last month. “But meanwhile, our school board approved (by a 7-2 vote) this summer highly-controversial 2020 Health and PE standards this summer (to incorporate it into the curriculum), which includes, but is not limited to having second graders discuss a range of ways people express their gender as well as medically less accurate names for body parts, including genitals.

That is in addition to 5th graders having to differentiate between sexual orientation and gender identity, and 8th graders having to define vaginal, oral and anal sex.”

Bodine, a father of four who is running with Chadwick, but also endorsed Applegate during the forum in a bid for three seats up for grabs on the Southampton school board, declared, “We believe school is a place to learn how to read, write and solve math problems and other vital life skills” and is “not a place to discuss sexual orientation and a range of ways to be intimate with others.”

Bodine, currently an auto mechanic, but also a former corrections officer in Tennessee, maintained that he was “highly concerned” with there being “any adult having an interest in a child’s sexual preference or orientation.”

Such an interest, he contended, is at odds with the “clear boundaries” that parents “teach our kids” to have in a “teacher and student relationship.”

Chadwick, a father of three and union electrician, asserted his message is simple: “Let kids be kids.”

“I am against CRT (Critical Race Theory), and any sexualization of children in schools,” he declared.

However, according to Phillips, who has served on the Southampton school board since 2013, and currently chairs its Curriculum and Policy Committee, CRT is “not being taught” at Southampton Schools. And Hicks was emphatic during the forum that “politics has no place in our school board elections, period.”

Hicks said one of the reasons he is in fact running is to “protect our district from national politics,” and is proud of maintaining a “neutral stance,” adding that he “takes his oath to the state and national Constitutions seriously.”

“Sadly, national politics has seeped into our school board elections,” he declared.

See BOARD/ Page 14

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LOCAL NEWS / FEATURES

Pemberton Township

♦ Page 5

Jack TOMPKINS

Dan DEWEY

for Mayor

for Council

Josh WARD

for Council

Jack Tompkins, Dan Dewey & Josh Ward

Photos Provided

The partially completed Veterans Wall of Honor (top) is unveiled at the Evesham Township Municipal Building, while an unanticipated crowd (bottom) of invitees is “elbow to elbow” while observing the ceremony.

VETERANS (Continued from Page 1)

The dejection of many of those present was also reflected on the Evesham Town Talk V2.0—Evesham USA Facebook page in a post authored by Lynne Nasi Press, a 23-year resident of the township’s Marlton section, who had convinced her husband, a Vietnam vet, to submit a photo and fill out the requisite documents, resulting in their having received invitations to the event and bringing their adult children along (including her daughter, a nurse at Cooper Hospital who got someone to fill in for her), only to discover his plaque was not yet part of the exhibit.

“I have never been to anything so poorly run in my life!” Press contended. “You couldn’t even get inside, could hear nothing, we were standing outside of the library wondering what the heck was going on. To say I am upset is putting it mildly.”

Relating how she had encountered a man who had brought his 95-year-old father, a wheelchair-bound World War II vet, only to discover his plaque wasn’t there yet either, she asked, “What is wrong with these people to think that this is OK?” “They should have only invited the people (whose plaques were) on the wall,” she continued. “There would have been enough room, and they would not have offended everyone who wasn’t on the wall.”

In a Nov. 1 conference call with two members of the 12-member Veterans and Disability Advisory Board that planned the event and Evesham Township Manager Robert Corrales who approved it on behalf of the township, Marty Martinez, who was a lieutenant colonel in the Army during the Vietnam era and who chaired the board’s veteran committee, acknowledged that in

hindsight, the board could have done a better job of making invitees aware that only some of those who submitted their biographical data would be featured at the initial unveiling.

“There are people I understand who were critical, and we can apologize to those folks,” he said, noting that “we knew we had an issue” with so many attendees having shown up at the event and no plaques having yet been created for approximately threefifths of those scheduled to have their service recognized.

That is why both before the ceremony and several times during it, the organizers had announced “that not everybody’s plaques would be included.”

But “knowing what we know now, we could have put that on the invitation, absolutely,” Martinez conceded.

The invitations, however, had gone out three weeks prior to the event, he noted, and at the time the organizers “had no clue” that it would attract as large a crowd as it did, nor did they know just how many plaques would be ready by the time the scheduled date rolled around.

Just why that date was chosen for the event prior to the Midterm Elections, when Mayor Jaclyn “Jackie” Veasy and two other members of the all-Democratic Evesham Council are vying to keep their seats, was another aspect of the disgruntled response, with a number of the attendees who spoke to this newspaper suggesting the date was deliberately chosen so as to use the veterans tribute as an unofficial campaign event for the mayor and her running mates.

“We wanted to know why this wasn’t done on Veterans Day, and then we realized the election was on November 8th,” noted Tom DeMarsey, a Navy veteran whose unit was responsible for intelligence gathering during See VETERANS/ Page 7

VOTE NOV 8 Goals

• Restore and promote local small business development through better policy • Meet the demands of the growing community by working to increase our police force • Invest in township youth by expanding availability of youth recreational activities and programs • Advocate for residents by stopping warehouse encroachments

• Restore Pemberton Pride to our community through true leadership Jack and his wife Penroong have been married 36 years Jack and have lived in Pemberton Township for over 25 Jack is a retired Air Force member with Air Force TOMPKINS years. vocational training. He also served on Pemberton’s Council

and in many civic associations. Jack stays active in the military community as a member of the American Legion and the Disabled American Veterans.

Dan DEWEY

Dan and his wife Linda have been married 35 years and are lifelong Pemberton residents. Dan has worked in Burlington County’s automotive industry for over 50 years. Dan is a past President of the Pemberton Township Lion’s Club and District Warden for the New Jersey Forest Fire Service. Dan has also served as an Advisory Board Member for the Burlington County Institute of Technology.

and his wife Teresa have been married for 23 years and are Josh Josh lifelong Pemberton residents. Josh has served in the United States Coast Guard Reserve and as Commanding Officer of the United WARD States Naval Sea Cadet Youth Program. Josh also volunteered for

the New Jersey Reclaim the Bay Initiative. He holds an Associates Degree in Specialized Business from the Restaurant School of Philadelphia.

• Encourage Small Business • Stop Warehouse Encroachment

• Expand Access to Youth Organizations • Support Police

VOTE NOV 8

• Restore Pride

Paid for by the EFO of Pemberton Township Republicans, Treasurer B. Hawk, PO Box 41, Browns Mills, NJ 08015

Page 6 ♦

LOCAL NEWS / FEATURES

MIDTERM

(Continued from Page 1) The fi nal debate’s topics i ncluded inflation, abortion, crime, diversity, food security and Joint Base McGuire-DixLakehurst (JBMDL). Some of the sharpest jabs of the debate involved the candidates’ positions on inflation, abortion, crime and the joint base.

Inflation

The moderator began the debate by putting a question to Kim, asking if he agreed with former Democratic President Barack Obama, who in a weekend speech, charged that “only Democrats have the ability to solve inflation.”

“Has the nation become so partisan that only members of one political party believe they have the ability to fix the nation’s economy?” the moderator asked.

Kim replied that he “doesn’t agree with statements like that,” adding that he finds such ones to be “unproductive” and “unhelpful.”

“We need to come together to address this in the same way that we did when we were faced with the pandemic in March of 2020,” Kim added. “We came together in a bi-partisan way to be able to address these issues.”

Kim charged that his “opponent always likes to launch an attack” that it is the Democratic party that is “spending,” but maintained that “over two-thirds of the spending on COVID happened under the (Republican President Donald J.) Trump administration.”

“And we did it in a unanimous way,” Kim declared. “We did it trying to solve problems.”

The sitting Democratic congressman called the “challenge,” when it comes to inflation, “real,” and maintained that “neither party has a monopoly on all the good ideas that are out there.”

In maintaining that he would like to “work together to try to solve some of these issues,” Kim noted he would like to see such efforts focused on “price gouging” and “record profits,” including that of which he contended has been realized this quarter

by ExxonMobil.

Healey, i n also respondi ng to the moderator’s question, replied that he “also disagrees” with the remark of the former Democratic president, maintaining that “one side doesn’t have a monopoly on solving these issues.”

“But unfortunately, we have had an administration that over the last two years has run things counter to the advice of economists on both sides about continued spending,” Healey added. “(They) are continuously overheating this economy.”

The Republican congressional candidate

WWW.PINEBARRENSTRIBUNE.COM maintained there are “topics” that can “help” with curbing inflation, including the “SALT (State and Local Tax) deduction.”

(SALT, or a provision in the 2018 Tax Reform Bill, placed a $10,000 cap on tax deductions in New Jersey, with thenGOP Rep. Tom MacArthur, representing the Third District, having supported the legislation, soliciting criticisms from both sides of the aisle – one of the reasons it is believed he had ultimately lost to Kim. The cap has since been proposed to be increased to $80,000 in the proposed Build Back Better Act.) “That is an issue that is going to have to be bi-partisan if we are going to get that done,” declared Healey of raising the cap, recognizing that there are members of the other side of the aisle who also want to make changes to the SALT deduction.

The moderator, in pointing out that Healey has called the Inflation Reduction Act, which was signed into law by current Democratic President Joseph R. Biden, “‘irresponsible,’” but yet has “made inflation a top issue of your campaign,” asked the GOP candidate what his “specific plan” is then to “reduce the prices of fuel, food and other goods that are affecting lives of the people you want to represent.”

(Healey has been recently capitalizing on a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analysis, as relayed by GOP Senator Lindsey Graham, of South Carolina, that found that the Inflation Reduction Act, which Kim voted to pass, will have a “negligible impact” on inflation at best (0.1 percent in either direction), all while the House Committee on the Budget purports that it is an “enormously consequential bill” that will lower the cost of living for America’s families, particularly by addressing the costs of prescription drugs and healthcare. Kim’s campaign has recently pointed out that according to 126 “leading economists” – including seven Nobel Prize winners, three former chairs of the Council of Economic Advisers, and two former Treasury secretaries, this bill “will fight inflation and lower costs for American families” while setting the stage for “strong, stable, and broadly-shared longterm economic growth.”)

In responding to the moderator, Healey said, “one of the first things that we can do” is become “energy independent in this country,” and “stop scapegoating our domestic energy producers here,” maintaining that a local eatery was having to charge a “gas surcharge” now because of its vendor passing on the costs to transport food and other goods to the establishment, pointing out such deliveries are often made by truckers.

A “second thing” that can be done to help curb inflation, Healey said, is to “look at wasteful spending,” charging that under the Biden administration, “$2 billion was paid to municipalities that don’t exist and another

$3,500 was spent on people who are in jail, sending them checks.”

Kim, in a response to Healey, declared a “history lesson” was needed because it was Trump who put in place the SALT deduction cap, further alleging that the 2018 Tax Reform Bill is “legislation my opponent supported.”

“I just find it mindboggling that this is something that he continues to attack me with!” Kim quipped.

The Democratic congressman added that increasing the amount that can be deducted is “something that has to be worked on,” but maintained “it is his (Healey’s) party that is in the way.”

Healey responded that he “finds it interesting” that Kim “wants to talk about SALT,” particularly since he “wasn’t in Congress when that got voted on.”

“Certainly, when I go to Congress, I’ll vote differently than the congressman,” Healey said. “But the congressman had a chance – a real chance to be a bi-partisan leader, and to do the right thing for the people of this district, when the Inflation Reduction Act vote came up.”

But instead, Healey charged, Kim “voted 100 percent of the time with Joe Biden” instead of standing his ground.

That remark prompted the congressman to respond that “this attack on SALT,” coming from his GOP opponent, “is one of the weirdest things I’ve come across in politics.”

“It’s like setting a fire and trying to criticize people for being slow to put it out,” Kim added. “We need people to step up, but people in your (Healey’s) party are not doing it! Again, get your party in order! We are working on our side to get this done.”

As for the “price gouging” that Kim says oil compan ies are engag ing in, the congressman charged that there is “profiteering” taking place, causing them to take in “out-of-control profits,” which he says is leading to “Americans paying more at the gas pumps.”

Another step to curb inflation, Kim argued, entails “fixing our supply chain.”

When it was pointed out to Kim that the CBO analysis found that the Inflation Reduction Act’s impact on inflation would be “negligible at best,” the congressman responded, “what’s key here is lowering that deficit,” maintaining the legislation “lowered the deficit by over $300 million,” which the CBO analysis also found.

“That’s a big step – a move – in the right direction,” Kim asserted.

Another “key thing,” added the twoterm congressman when he was pressed on whether the act was just simply “smoke and mirrors” in an election year, “is lowering out-of-pocket costs,” pointing to stipulations in the bill that allows “Medicare to negotiate drug prices” and “caps out-of-pocket costs for seniors when it comes to prescription

Saturday, November 5, 2022 drugs to $2,000 a year.”

“That would help them navigate this time and reduce out-of-pocket costs,” Kim insisted. “I think that would make a huge difference for families right now.”

Healey noted that he had just returned from a senior community in Monmouth County (which now has several of its towns comprising the Third District, along with most of Burlington County and part of Mercer County), and that those he spoke with there are “upset with healthcare costs being up 25 percent across the board because of the inflation we have right now.”

Later, in the debate, Kim leveraged an accusation against Healey (while also taking a shot over Healey’s position on the so-called luxury tax) that he “put up $3 million of his own money” toward his campaign against the congressman (a figure initially reported

by The Philadelphia Inquirer) “coming at a time when families are really struggling right now,” further charging that Healey’s family is also “bankrolling” the GOP candidate’s campaign, alleging Healey’s mother has “given $2 million to create a Super PAC to be able to help him get a job.”

“I decided to do this job, congressman, because we sat on my back porch and you told me a bunch of really great things,” Healey shot back. “You want to talk about that luxury tax congressman? You and I had a discussion about that tax on my back porch! I talked about the jobs and businesses it destroyed throughout this country – throughout the State of New Jersey, throughout the district! The definition of ‘insanity’ is doing the same thing over and looking for a different result. … Somehow you seem to think – you are a smart person, congressman … a Rhodes scholar, and you seem to think being supportive of taxing manufacturing, at a time when we are in a middle of a recession, is a good idea!”

Abortion

Healey detailed a “clear” position that he is “pro-life with exceptions to that – rape, life of the mother,” but that “here in New Jersey, I believe we should find compromise around the first trimester.”

“I do not support federal legislation on this,” the GOP congressional candidate continued. “I don’t support states that would seek to ban it outright. I don’t think that is right.”

Healey also called out Kim for “running ads contrary to what I just said,” maintaining that he has even taken the step of serving the congressman with a “Certified (Mail) letter to make sure he understood it,” calling the advertisements of his opponent “just disappointing.”

Kim, in response, maintained he has also been “crystal clear” that it is “absolutely crazy” there is still such a debate over abortion in 2022, claiming “we’re going See MIDTERM/ Page 10

Saturday, November 5, 2022

VETERANS (Continued from Page 5)

the Vietnam War. That realization, he said, led him and others to conclude that the event had been “rushed” to boost the popularity of the incumbents.

Another former Marine who contacted this newspaper, Gary Toothman, asserted that “what should have been a very solemn veteran function turned out to be nothing more than a township political stunt” and that “there was no reason that it had to be held that night.”

“They didn’t have to do this event until Veterans Day or beyond,” he maintained.

Also reflecting that belief was the Facebook posting by Press, who maintained that after hearing it from another attendee and noticing that one of the plaques displayed on the wall was for a member of the Veasy family, “there are four people that won’t be voting for her (the mayor),” despite beginning her critique by asserting that she had been happy up to now with the way things were run in Evesham.

But according to Corrales and the board members who subsequently spoke with the Pine Barrens Tribune, political considerations never entered into the process and neither the mayor nor any of her colleagues on the council had any say in the staging or timing of the event, which they had previously approved and left up to the advisory board to implement with his approval.

“In this form of government, the mayor sets the policy and the township manager is responsible for the operation,” he said.

“I’m the one who signs off on day-to-day operations.”

Asked why Oct. 27 rather than Veterans Day was selected, board member Ken Mills, an 89-year-old Army veteran of the Korean War who can recall “climbing off the side of a troopship with my duffle bag in one hand and my rifle in the other” amid the roar of cannons, said he had originally proposed the idea of the wall to township officials, and that the board subsequently decided to give the ceremony “its own prominence and wanted to make it something special.”

Martinez concurred, asserting, “we wanted to separate the event from Veterans Day.” As for why the board didn’t put it off until all the plaques were ready, which probably would have not been in time for Veterans Day, Mills contended that “one of the things we took into consideration was the weather” and that the members were worried about scheduling it in winter, given the age of many of those who would be taking part.

Corrales also concurred that there was no relationship between the date selected and the election.

“We wanted to make sure everybody who was part of planning the event had a chance to participate and see the fruits of their labor,” he said.

The event’s cramped and crowded venue was another source of the complainants’ displeasure with how it was handled.

“The vestibule was full of people,” DeMarsey told this newspaper. “On the inside, you couldn’t find room to put anybody.

They were sitting on the stairs, on the second floor, leaning on the railings. There had to be 300 people there or more—they were coming in from everywhere. There were people in wheelchairs, they were on oxygen.”

Also attesting to the congested conditions at the unveiling was Navy veteran Jerry Skorch, who took part in the blockade of Cuba in 1962.

“We were packed in there, elbow to elbow,” he said. “Every vet was there, and some brought family members to see his or her plaque on the wall.

An event of that nature, he asserted, should have been held in council chambers

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A related complaint was that the speeches were inaudible to those attendees who were confined to the vestibule, including the keynote address by Dr. Sandra Ortega, the first Black female officer to be commissioned in the U.S. Air Force, who is currently an Evesham resident (one of 15 women veterans included in the tribute).

“We couldn’t hear her,” Toothman maintained. “It was all muffled. All the amplification was inside (the lobby).”

In Toothman’s opinion, the overcrowded setting “might even have been a violation of fire rules,” especially given the number of guests with wheelchairs and walkers who would not have been able to make an expeditious exit in an emergency.

Corrales, however, denied that the large number of attendees posed any real safety hazard, claiming that the setting offered ample egress opportunities, was equipped with plenty of chairs and sitting areas, and that “we accommodated anyone who had a wheelchair and a walker,” as well as one vet with a motorized vehicle. There were also police officers present, he noted.

T he tow nsh ip m a nager ad m itt e d, however, that had the size of the turnout been anticipated, “maybe I would have done something in another area.”

“But that’s all hindsight,” he declared.

Other criticisms of the ceremony, which was reportedly attended by Veasy and at least three of her council colleagues, concerned errors that the information on some of the plaques was alleged to have contained, as well as the fact that the initial group of plaques to be introduced featured three or four members of certain families, while so many other families weren’t represented.

Paul Chenier, a Vietnam veteran who was in Army Aviation, told this newspaper that as the administrator of Facebook pages in Evesham and Medford townships, he not only had gotten messages from individuals who were “really upset” after responding to invitations only to find the plaques of family members had yet to be put up, but from some who claimed their plaques either contained misspellings, wrong dates of service or wrong information about where they served.”

When asked about such allegations, Corrales replied that he had received “only one indication there was a mistake with a branch of service, and that will be corrected,” adding, “I have not heard of anybody coming to us to say their names were misspelled, and if they were, we will be more than happy to make whatever corrections are indicated.”

“Our intention was not to inconvenience or insult anybody – this was to honor our vets,” Corrales declared.

But he emphasized that “obviously we offer our apologies” to those who did feel slighted or were caused problems by the way the ceremony was conducted.

“Despite the glitches” in the unveiling ceremony, however, Martinez characterized it as “a grand event.”

“We know there were concerns, it wasn’t perfect, but it was well received by the majority of the veterans and families who attended,” he declared, telling this reporter that “you’re just not hearing from the people who were satisfied.”

Both Mills and Corrales concurred with that sentiment, the former noting that a number of people had approached him at the event to comment on what a “wonderful thing” it was and the latter emphasizing that he was “proud of the work the committee did.”

In regard to yet another source of complaints about the campaign – its apparent failure to locate all the veterans residing in the township when sending out invitations to participate, Corrales See VETERANS/ Page 15

LOCAL NEWS / FEATURES

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A municipal budget that stabilizes the local tax rate while increasing services.

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LOCAL NEWS / FEATURES

MIDTERM

(Continued from Page 6) backwards” with the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade.

“For this to be just turned over on a dime here, it just created such upheaval,” asserted Kim, while also acknowledging abortion rights is a complicated issue.

Kim pointed out he has “now voted twice” to “codify Roe V. Wade into federal law,” declaring, “That is, I believe, the right way to go.”

“We can’t leave it to the states,” Kim added. “This is a huge problem. What we see right now is states are literally able to ban abortion – even in cases of rape, incest and life of the mother.”

Kim continued that “we need to have some foundation – some semblance” that “women’s rights and freedoms” are “important and not subservient to the rights of these states.”

The moderator, in pointing out there are proposals in the U.S. Senate that would codify a 15 to 20-week abortion ban, put a question to the candidates asking them when they believe an “unborn child would feel pain.”

Kim responded the “country has moved forward on this question of viability” by having had Roe v. Wade in place, as well as with the Women’s Health Protection Act. “What we need to have is a foundation for this,” said Kim, calling a proposal by Graham to ban abortion 15 weeks out from pregnancy “crazy.”

Kim then charged that “my opponent” wants to “go even more extreme” than Graham, or further than what’s been even been implemented in Utah and Montana, by his mentioning ‘“the first trimester,’” or what Kim maintained amounts to a “13-week ban,” calling Healey’s position “mindboggling.”

“The fact that my opponent is even more extreme than Lindsey Graham is very scary to me,” Kim quipped.

Healey, however, maintained it was “concerning” that Kim was saying that his position is “‘extreme’ on this issue.’”

The GOP congressional candidate further charged that an op-ed written by Kim “talked a lot, but didn’t state your position, or your votes.”

“I will tell everybody at home what you (Kim) voted for, since you don’t want to talk about it!” Healey quipped. “You voted to have abortion up to the moment of birth!

You voted to have non-doctors perform abortion, which is just not safe! And, you voted to allow a young girl, as young as 15 years old, to seek an abortion without any parental notification.”

Those are “‘extreme positions,’” Healey maintained, adding they are also “out-ofstep with this district.”

WWW.PINEBARRENSTRIBUNE.COM Healey also pointed out that a 15-yearold girl still requires parental permission to simply “get their ears pierced.”

“It is just one more example that when you come to this district, you talk like a nice guy,” Healey charged. “But when you go down to Washington, D.C., you vote with your Progressive Caucus, and your party, 100 percent of the time.”

That led Kim to ask Healey to “actually read my legislation,” because it is “not trying to create a national standard along the lines of what he is saying.”

“I just find it completely ridiculous that he is just twisting and turning this legislation and trying to make it sound scary,” Kim asserted. “The main reason he is doing it is to cover up his extreme positions on this.”

Crime

It’s something that Healey called a “huge problem” currently, maintaining that in order to solve it, “first, the narrative has to be changed.”

“Right now, we have an administration that has literally scapegoated police,” Healey contended.

The GOP congressional candidate noted that when he was in Monmouth County recently, he had been advised “usually you have 1,300 brave men and women who want to apply to the police academy every year, but this year there are less than 400 applicants.”

“Less and less people want to do this job,” Healey said.

Of “concern,” Healey continued, is that “my opponent is part of a far-left progressive caucus who wants to defund the police,” in addition to having been a member of an organization that “promoted books about cop killers and had a plank about defunding the police before he got into Congress.”

Kim, however, maintained that there was a “need to set the record straight,” adding that he wished Healey would “start telling the truth.”

“I am not someone who supported defunding the police,” Kim maintained.

“I am someone who has been a national security official my whole career, working on counterterrorism, trying to keep this country safe, and our community safe.”

T he D e mo c rat ic c ong re s s m a n, i n maintaining he has “worked to increase funding to law enforcement across this country,” pointed out that he, locally, helped “secure funding” for Cinnaminson Township to hire three, new police officers as well as for Stafford Township to help support its police department.

“I’ll work with anybody to help get things done and keep our community safe,” declared Kim, also pointing out that he has received the endorsement of the Fraternal Order of Police two election cycles in a row.

“Let’s just cut this out! We both want to keep our communities safe. We are both fathers

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– why would we want to do anything that makes our communities less safe?”

Healey pointed out, in response, he has been supported by the PBA, or the Police Benevolent Association.

Later in the debate, when Healey pointed out “crime is on the rise in the district,” noting that a local 7-Eleven was robbed twice within the last week and a school transportation system recently saw parts stolen from their school buses, the GOP candidate also charged that people of the district are “scared.”

That’s when Healey again charged that Kim “supported books written by cop killers” and “supported progressive policies that defund the police.”

“You share donors w ith the most progressive D.A. in the country, Larry Krasner in Philadelphia,” Healey charged.

“Do you think Larry Krasner has done a good job, or would you support the current efforts in the Republican legislature (of Pennsylvania) to impeach him?”

Kim responded that he “doesn’t know” Krasner and “never met” the Philadelphia district attorney, nor has he “ever been in the same room with him.”

“I don’t understand why you are asking me this question!” Kim shot back. “We live in New Jersey! We live in Burlington County!

Our district is Burlington County, Mercer County and Monmouth County!”

Kim reiterated that “he has worked to get new cops” for the district or “millions of federal dollars to support law enforcement.”

“You literally heard me say I don’t support ‘Defund the Police!’” Kim asserted. “And there’s never been a time that I said that!

Yet you continue to do this!”

Healey, however, charged that the congressman’s answer “just shows how out of touch you are” because people now living in the district have moved out of Philadelphia “because of those problems.”

“And so many people here go to work in Philadelphia, day in and day out,” Healey added.

Joint Base MDL

Making him more qualified to fight for the interests of the joint base, Kim maintained, is his having worked in national security, in addition to him working at one point in the Pentagon. The congressman also pointed to his living on a military base in Afghanistan.

“I have served alongside our service men and women my entire career,” Kim said.

“And I have respect for them, and knowledge about how it works.”

Kim noted he serves on the Armed Services Committee where he has worked to “secure these missions for this base.”

“I know this base, inside and out, in terms of what we are trying to do,” Kim added.

“Not just in terms of tomorrow, but going forward.”

Kim also pointed out that he was named

Legislature of the Year by the VFW, in addition to securing a new VA clinic in the state.

These things, Kim asserted, “are not just talking points,” but he has “lived it.”

Healey called the joint base “one of the biggest economic drivers” in not just the district, but New Jersey, bringing in billions of federal dollars to the state. One needs not to look further than Fort Monmouth to see “how disastrous that was,” added Healey in referring to Fort Monmouth having closed its doors as a U.S. Army installation back in 2011.

“I could tell you some things I wouldn’t do,” Healey quipped. “I would not join a caucus that has talked about a 10 percent cut across the board for the Defense budget.

My opponent did that when he went down to Washington. He is still a member of the Progressive Caucus. I would not vote in committee to cut the pay of service members making under $45,000 a year. My opponent has done that!”

Kim, however, called Healey’s allegation “offensive at this point,” declaring “the last place partisan politics belongs is when it comes to our military.”

“For him to just say what he just did – it is insulting!” Kim further asserted. “I voted 11 times, in a bi-partisan way, to be able to increase pay for our troops. What he just said is a blatant lie! As big of a lie as I heard in my time in politics. And for it to happen on an issue about our troops – using our troops as a partisan tool, a cudgel, it is just shameful, honestly! I can’t believe what I am hearing right now! I am sure we both care about our security, our troops. Why would you say such a thing?”

Healey shot back that “as John Adams once said, ‘Facts are stubborn things.’”

“And those are facts, congressman!”

Healey declared. “I am sure we would hope that we both support our troops and military. But those facts are facts. That is a caucus you are a member of! Those are votes you took, when two other members of the committee voted in the opposite on that matter!”

Food Security

After it was pointed out by the moderator that Biden recently committed to “ending hunger by 2023” and remarked that he “wants to make food more affordable and integrate nutrition and health priorities into the national agenda,” Healey called them “lofty calls,” although he would be “supportive” of them. The GOP congressional candidate pointed out he is also a yoga instructor.

“I try to be really good about what I put in my body,” Healey remarked. “But for many people, that is really difficult right now. We got the highest inflation we’ve had in 40 years.”

Healey also maintained that people he has See MIDTERM/ Page 15

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BOARD

(Continued from Page 4) The “g reatest challenge,” Ph illips maintained, is “actually the state’s S-2 school funding bill passed in 2018.”

“This bill increased funding to many school districts across the state, and at the same time drastically cut school funding to others,” Phillips explained. “Southampton Township, unfortunately, was one of those school districts that were targeted and hit with a 7-year reduction. This budget cycle, we lost $750,000 in state funding, and by 2025, we will lose $1 million in school funding.”

That reduction, she added, coupled with the rising costs of fuel, healthcare, food, and the academic recovery following pandemic, “has made it challenging to maintain a fiscally responsible school budget but, not impossible.”

Phillips, also a retired elementary school teacher, along with her running mate, Hicks, who has served on the school board for the last ten years, spending six of those years as school board president, touted how the school board has been “very creative” and “very resourceful” as well as “worked very, very hard” to present a fiscally responsible school budget over the last couple of years.

The school board, she said, “prepared funding to purchase technology at no cost to the taxpayer,” worked with a local foundation to have it provide funding “for an amazing STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, And Math) lab” and received “technology grants to purchase Chromebooks for every

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single student, and for smartboards in every single classroom, to eliminate the tremendous cost of textbooks.”

But Bodine said he and his running mate “question” just “how much of your tax dollars go toward these controversial topics,” such as gender identity and sexual preference or orientation.

“The reality is taxes go up every year,” he maintained. “And our kids are getting less than what we need from school. Some of our current school board members see us as extremists, instead of concerned parents.”

But, “Are we getting what we paid for?,” is a question that Applegate, a father of three and also a local attorney based in Vincentown, posed to the audience of mainly retirees in maintaining that the Southampton Township School District receives $12 million from property taxes annually, or what he says comes out to be about $12,000 per pupil.

Pre-pandemic, Applegate pointed out, only some 60 some percent of Southampton students tested proficient in English, while 65 percent tested proficient in Math.

“That is unacceptable to me!” declared Applegate, pointing out those figures are “the good numbers” or from 2019, taken before student learning was impacted by COVID. Hicks, during the forum, had told potential voters that “Southampton is a high performing school district” and that he “wants to continue to build upon that performance.”

Phillips said that “as a school board member and a teacher, I am committed to academic excellence, the health and wellness of students and staff, providing a safe and secure learning

environment and creating a fiscally responsible school budget.”

“We say, ‘vote for me’ because we have a ‘commitment to academic excellence’ and so we can ‘preserve the high quality of education,’” Applegate asserted. “I hear that and say don’t piss on my boot and tell me it is raining. We are not there!”

Applegate maintained that the spring 2022 state assessment results had just been reported prior to the forum and that “every metric is lower” than in 2019, or pre-pandemic.

“We’re going backwards,” he declared.

“I find it unacceptable and I am going to do something about it.”

While Phillips pointed out that the Southampton school board two years ago had entered into an agreement with the nearby Shamong and Woodland school districts for shared special-education programming, “which takes a huge chunk out of our budget and saved money,” and Hicks pointed out he voted for a controversial measure to privatize paraprofessionals working in Southampton Schools, which saved “$250,000 in health benefits,” Applegate maintained that he believed more can be done to work towards “cost efficiency.”

“We need to take a look at consolidation,” Applegate declared. “There is too much duplication of effort.”

In the wake of the school funding cuts, and potentially more on the way from the state, Applegate said the time is now for Southampton Schools to “lead the charge on consolidation,” pointing out there is new legislation offering incentives for

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consolidation.

“It is coming,” he warned. “We need a head at that table, to dictate terms. We need to be the consolidator, not the consolidated.”

In arguing that “shared services are not enough,” the local attorney pointed out that when was attending an elementary school in California, there was only “one administrator for the entire elementary school,” as compared to the number of administrators currently leading local schools.

And in pushing for a “Tabernacle, Shamong and Southampton consolidation,” Applegate pointed out three superintendent positions would be combined into one, “which would save $300,000 right there.”

Applegate added that he doesn’t subscribe to the argument that a larger school system will mean lower academic performance, pointing out that “Medford is larger than us” and “Moorestown is larger than us,” but yet the students attending those school districts “have better test scores.”

Meanwhile, Bodine maintained his position, along with Chadwick’s, is that “parents have rights” including that they “do not have to co-parent their children with the schools or government,” while Hicks said he believes “student performance, however, is a shared responsibility.”

“It takes a village to raise a child,” Hicks added. “Granted no board of education is perfect, but here in Southampton, we continue to strive for perfection. People move to Southampton because of our schools. Student achievement is multifaceted.”

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VOTING

(Continued from Page 2) the Tabernacle EMS Building and a large electronic message sign outside the building.

Messages were also posted on the county’s social media pages that alerted voters of all proper early voting locations.

“While the Clerk’s Office regrets the error, the feedback received is that the signs and messaging have worked to ensure all county voters interested in casting ballots early are able to do so at the proper locations.”

He did not address just how many sample ballots were mailed to county voters containing the error.

This is the third time in recent years that there has been an error involving county ballots.

In 2016, when the County Clerk’s Office and Burlington County Board of Elections was still controlled by Republicans, a missing barcode on mail-in ballots had delayed the release of the final count of votes in a General Election for a couple days.

Officials had only discovered the lack of a barcode when they attempted to run mail-in ballots through a machine on the morning of Election Day. They were ultimately forced to count the mail-in ballots by hand.

Then, in 2019, shortly after Schwartz took office, erroneous mail-in ballots were sent to both Southampton Republican voters and unaffiliated Southampton voters in a primary, with Daniel L. James (the current mayor of Washington Township) appearing as the Republican candidate for Southampton Township Committee, when instead, they should have listed Michael Mikulski (the current mayor of Southampton).

Some 451 voters i n Southampton, following this newspaper’s reporting, ended up being sent corrected ballots.

Levinsky was asked by this newspaper, for this story, whether Schwartz and Addiego are supposed to review, or did review, the sample ballots that were disseminated to county voters ahead of this year’s Midterm Elections. That question was not specifically addressed, nor one that asked if any action involving personnel has since been taken as a result of the latest error.

MIDTERM

(Continued from Page 10) spoken to while on the campaign trail are having to make decisions about whether to buy “gasoline or groceries.”

“Access to healthy foods is important, but one of the ways we can get there is to start to address some of the spending we’ve got, the energy policies we’ve got, which has been to beg other countries for oil than to talk about the domestic production we have here, and to also start lowering inflation,” Healey said.

“I would hope the president starts to look at that in his program.”

Kim maintained in response to the questions “this is one of the biggest issues I’ve worked on,” recounting a meeting he had early on in his first term in which he learned that some 60,000 people in his district are considered “food insecure,” or what is a “bureaucratic way of saying they are hungry.” Of those 60,000 people, some 17,000 individuals are estimated to be kids.

“That just really broke my heart to understand how dire it was,” said Kim, noting those were the statistics before the pandemic.

The congressman expressed his optimism that this can be a “win-win” in which “we can provide a great abundance of healthy food for kids” while also “supporting our agriculture.”

“We can renew what it means to be the ‘Garden State,’ while tackling this issue of hunger,” Kim declared.

AD HOTLINE: (609) 801-2392 or SALES@ PINEBARRENSTRIBUNE.COM Early voting, according to a sample ballot obtained by this newspaper, runs from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Nov. 5, and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Nov. 6, after having commenced Oct. 29.

The county also maintains some 28 mail-in ballot drop box locations. Levinsky was asked by this newspaper why a drop box does not exist in a convenient location for Woodland, Bass River and Washington residents, or in the southeastern tip of the county, but did not specifically address that query either.

But Levinsky, a couple days earlier, on Oct. 20, had sent along a press release in which Addiego was quoted as saying, “Voting is one of the most important rights we possess and is fundamentally important to our democracy.”

“Our elections systems are secure with numerous safeguards in place, but we are offering a few tips that can help voters,” she added.

In addition to reminding voters to “make sure your registration information is updated” and to “make sure to sign your Vote-by-mail ballot (VBM) certification,” the release called on county voters to “go to the proper polling location.”

In making that latter point, it was emphasized that Burlington County voters can vote with a machine “at any of seven early voting sites” in the county during the early voting period of Oct. 29 to Nov. 6, and that “voters who were sent a VBM ballot will not be permitted to vote with a machine at any of the county’s seven early voting sites or at their regular polling sites on Election Day.” “These voters will still be allowed to vote with a paper provisional ballot,” it was added.

On Election Day, the release continued, voters should go to their regular polling location to cast their ballot with a machine.

To find your Election Day polling site, residents are asked to go to https://voter. svrs.nj.gov/polling-place-search .

“Voters who show up at the wrong polling location on Election Day will be directed to the proper location or will be given a paper provisional ballot,” the release stated.

Residents with questions about the election and voting process can call the Burlington County Elections hotline at 609-265-VOTE.

First Baptist Church

♦ Page 15

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Diversity

When asked about a controversy involving Hindus and Muslims that is a more prevalent issue in the Central Jersey portion of the district, Kim noted he is “always concerned about the challenges of diversity living in a heterogenous country.”

People should recognize, he said, that “we are part of that same community” and that “we all come from different backgrounds,” pointing out that he is the first New Jersey representative in Congress that is “API,” or an Asian and Pacific Islander.

“I do get very frustrated at times by some of the divisions that are being erected,” Kim asserted.

Hate and division, “especially that of which is fomented from other parts of the world,” should not be allowed to “affect us,” the congressman emphasized.

The question asked by the moderator is one that Healey called “especially pertinent” to him, after having recently traveled to India.

Healey pointed out the “largest Hindu temple” is located in the Third District (in Robbinsville), with other such communities located elsewhere in Monmouth County, and the people he met “were open, welcoming and want their places of worship to be open to all people.”

“We should take a page out of that book,” Healey declared. “This country should be open to anyone, of any faith.”

He added that “whether you are an Indian American or an Italian American – we are all Americans.”

WORSHIP GUIDE

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VETERANS (Continued from Page 7)

responded that reaching out to 100 percent of a target group is “always difficult,” and in the case of veterans, may be made more so if they’re renters, since homeowner tax deductions is one method used to identify them. But if there’s any qualified individual who didn’t know about the campaign, he said, “we welcome them, and we’ll do anything to work with them and make sure they get an invitation to participate.”

The township manager added that he had even “hand delivered an application to a World War II veteran.”

W h i le not di re ctly addressi ng the controversy precipitated by the veterans wall unveiling, Veasy emailed this newspaper a statement, via township Communications

Director Zane Clark, wh ich praised the Disabilities and Veterans Advisory Committee for having “always gone to incredible efforts to honor and advocate for Evesham’s veterans.”

“I will always be proud to support our local veterans and all of the committee’s work that helps our local vets, including the new Veterans Wall of Honor,” the mayor’s statement read. “As the project keeps expanding in the weeks, months and years ahead, the wall will serve as a permanent expression of our gratitude for our veterans.”

DiEnna, for his part, said that while there are many veterans who are unhappy at the way this program was administered, he hadn’t spoken with anyone who was unhappy with the program itself.

The main problem with it, he contended, was that “it was not thought through.”

Page 16 ♦

LOCAL NEWS / FEATURES

WWW.PINEBARRENSTRIBUNE.COM

Saturday, November 5, 2022

FREE UPCOMING HEALTH EDUCATION EVENTS @capitalhealthnj

Register online at capitalhealth.org/events and be sure to include your email address. Zoom meeting details will be provided via email 2 – 3 days before the program date. Registration ends 24 hours before the program date.

Introduction to Tai Chi Thursday, November 10, 2022 | 6 p.m.

Location: Capital Health Medical Center – Hopewell NJ PURE Conference Center, One Capital Way, Pennington, NJ 08534 Tai chi is a way of life that helps you to relax your body to reduce stress, release tension, and improve breathing, balance, and coordination. With these benefits, you are able to sleep better and heighten your body awareness, which gives you more energy and allows your body to stay connected. Robert Langley, a tai chi instructor from the Capital Health Wellness Center, will lead this program and help you experience tai chi for the first time! Please wear comfortable clothing.

Register by calling 609.394.4153 or register online at capitalhealth.org/events. Class size is limited. Please register early.

NOTE: As this event is held in-person at a health care facility, all attendees are required to wear facemasks indoors except when actively eating or drinking. This is in compliance with guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention and the New Jersey Department of Health and is subject to change.

Healthy Holiday Eating Thursday, November 17, 2022 | 6 p.m.

Location: Zoom Meeting The holidays have the potential to throw you off your eating plan, so join Registered Dietitian LONI PERESZLENYI from the Capital Health Wellness Center for some clever tricks on how to navigate parties and family time and make smart food and drink choices. In addition to Loni’s creative holiday hacks, she will also share some of her favorite healthy holiday recipes.