Pine Barrens Tribune Dec. 10, 2022 - Dec. 16, 2022

LIGHTING UP HOLIDAY SMILES

By Douglas D. Melegari Staff Writer

MEDFORD—A municipal court judge presiding over a high-profile dispute, State of New Jersey v. Carolyn Carns, one brought against the matriarch of the Carns family by Medford Township (or the “state”), but only following land use complaints apparently acted upon following a public spat involving her twin sons and Medford Mayor Charles “Chuck” Watson, has levied a $5,000 fine against the 81-year-old woman for storing more than one commercial vehicle on her 30-acre tree farm on Medford-Mount Holly Road, in addition to another $5,000 fine for running a commercial enterprise on the property, for a total of $10,000, plus court costs.

JCP&L Gives Gift of

Professionally Designed’ Holiday Light Display to Pemberton Featuring More Than 25,000 LED Bulbs That Will Shine Every Night This Season in Reflections Park

By D ouglas D. M elegari Staff Writer

PEMBERTON—As Jersey Central Power and Light (JCP&L) President Jim Fakult put it to this reporter on last Friday night, Dec. 2, after having helped light up Pemberton Township’s gifted holiday light display at Reflections Park, including the lights on the municipality’s Christmas tree, “What would we be as a company if we didn’t help support and give back to our communities?”

The company Fakult leads, a subsidiary

of FirstEnergy Corp, helped brighten Pemberton for the holidays in a major way last week by donating a professionally designed holiday light display to the township for this year’s annual tree lighting ceremony at Reflections Park, in downtown Browns Mills, in addition to providing refreshments, as well as audio and visual supports for the event.

It was all part of the second-annual “Light Up Holiday Smiles with FirstEnergy” program, which includes offering a once-yearly “competitive”

grant for a gifted holiday light display to a “government-restricted, economically distressed and qualified opportunityzone” community that is within JCP&L’s service territory, to help make the season both “brighter and merrier.” (FirstEnergy, which comprises 10 electric distribution companies, including some in Ohio and West Virginia, awarded two similar grants through the program, one to a community in each of those states.)

The sentencing was held Nov. 7, but the tape of the proceeding was only made publicly available to this newspaper on Nov. 23, after this newspaper called on the Judiciary of New Jersey to promptly release it following a delay.

Since the time that the decision was handed down last month by Judge Charles Shimberg, a municipal court judge for Pemberton Township presiding over the case due to a conflict of interest involving the Medford Judge Peter Lange, Jr., Carns has reportedly appealed the decision to the Superior Court, with this newspaper told by her son, David Carns, on Dec. 6 “it’s a waiting game” for an appeal hearing to be scheduled.

Carolyn Carns, in answering a pair of summonses issued by Medford Township

Photos By Douglas D. Melegari

Santa Claus, Pemberton Township Mayor David A. Patriarca (center) and Jersey Central Power and Light (JCP&L) President Jim Fakult gather on Dec. 2 in Pemberton Township to light up the town’s holiday light display at Reflections Park that was gifted by the utility company.

Sponsored by Zallie’s ShopRite of Medford

By Bill B onvie Staff Writer

BASS RIVER—Nearly three years ago, the clear cutting of a 16-acre stand of 80-100-foot-tall white and loblolly pines, which were planted by the Civilian Conservation Corps in Bass River State Forest during the Great Depression, in order to provide observers from a nearby fire tower a better view of surrounding woods was met with anything but universal enthusiasm from local residents.

While many applauded the much-debated decision, others mourned the loss of what had become known as the “Cathedral of the Pines,” maintaining that alternative approaches to making the adjacent community safer from wildfires could and should have been attempted.

By contrast, the approval in October by the Pinelands Commission of the “Allen & Oswego Road Fire Mitigation & Habitat Restoration Project,” a plan to “thin” more than 1,041 acres of native pine and another 255 acres of “pine-shrub oak” forest in Bass River Township, as well as to “clear” another 78 acres along Allen and Oswego roads in order to reduce the threat of a major forest fire close to populated areas would mainly involve the destruction of “those trees that are the shortest in height and smallest in diameter.”

But the sheer number of trees targeted for eradication—more than 2,285,000, according to the formulas provided by the commission—has alarmed some environmentalists who view it as yet another example of the kind of deforestation considered to be one of the primary causes of global warming that has resulted in record wildfires, which, in some instances, have virtually wiped out entire communities in locales like northern California.

Two of the opponents of the project, one a member of the Pinelands Commission and the other a former official with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) and veteran environmentalist who is now a blogger, have characterized it to the Pine Barrens Tribune as being counterproductive.

As it was, the amended plan adopted by the commissioners by an 8-2 vote of those present (with one abstention) at their Oct. 14 meeting just barely squeaked through, a minimum of eight of the 15 commission members being required for approval, even after getting the endorsement of Charles M. Horner, the commission’s director of regulatory programs. The proposal was an amended version of one first submitted to the commission at the end of last year by the New Jersey Forest Service, a division of the NJDEP, which failed to get enough votes to either approve or deny it, prompting NJDEP Commissioner Sean LaTourette to send a letter last February to the commission indicating that his agency was contemplating a legal action if necessary to force the issue.

The original proposal also drew criticism from a leading environmental group, the Pinelands Preservation Alliance, for, among other things, giving a green light to herbicide use in the affected acreage.

The amended application, however, seems to have addressed some of that group’s concerns by eliminating the use of herbicides in the pine-shrub forest acreage slated to be thinned, and along the 13-mile roadside firebreak, as well as reducing the total clearance for that firebreak from 60 feet to 50 feet, according to a report issued by the commission in September of this year. It also stipulated that the spot treatment of herbicide in the 1,041 acres of pine-dominated forest would only occur

where control by non-chemical means, including prescribed burning, was not considered practical, and no more than one such application would occur in any given growing season.

(A second application that LaTourette had also wanted approved calling for the “treating of invasive plants” on the site of the previously approved fire tower visibility project” has also reportedly been scrapped. “It kind of fell off the radar because it never came back before the commission that I’m aware of,” Jaclyn Rhoads, the Alliance’s assistant executive director, told this newspaper on Dec. 7.)

The applicant (NJDEP), as noted in the report, has claimed that the latter acreage “contains an abnormally high density of tree and shrub layer and is classified as overstocked”—a designation that represents “a very high forest fire fuel load and encourages the persistence of ladder fuels, which in turn lead to a very high risk of wildfire.”

However, the rather substantial nature of the “thinning” operation to be undertaken is reflected in the figures the report provides.

“The proposed ‘low and from below’ thinning will reduce the forest from 2,075 trees per acre to 204 trees per acre,” it notes, with canopy cover to be reduced from 68 percent to 43 percent. As for the additional 255 acres of pine-shrub oak forest, it will be reduced from 1,940 trees to 74 trees per acre, which will result in a reduction of canopy cover from 74 percent to 30 percent.

The plan also calls for approximately 13 miles of firebreak to be created on either side of Oswego Road and Allen Road in Bass River and Little Egg Harbor townships, which will be created by “clearing all trees within a 25-foot-wide strip for approximately five miles on both sides of Allen Road between the southern boundary of the Warren Grove Gunnery Range and Stage Road” and “along both sides of Oswego Road for approximately eight miles between Cutts Road and County Route 539.”

Mowing, drum chopping, disking and prescribed burning are proposed to maintain the forest firebreak, the report says, but no herbicides will be used to do so.

In an Oct. 24 blog, Pinelands Preservation Alliance Policy Director Heidi Yeh maintained that “while no plan is perfect, the Bass River State Forest Plan is necessary and will sacrifice some trees to preserve the ecosystem.” In fact, the thinning, she asserted, “will actually create the conditions to bring greater diversity than these areas currently have.”

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• Finish your gift shopping before the stores become too crowded. Make sure to purchase one or two extra gifts in case you receive an unexpected guest.

• Wrap your gifts or have them wrapped by a local non-profit. Hide them from your children or place them directly under the tree.

• Finalize your Christmas menu while considering the dietary needs of your guests.

Sponsored by Zallie’s ShopRite of Medford

Prospect of Merger Between Tabernacle and Lumberton EMS Squads Raised by Various Sources, But Numerous Inquiries Fail to Elicit Reply

By Bill B onvie Staff Writer

TABERNACLE—For some time, the prospect of merging volunteer Emergency Medical Services (EMS) into a “Pinelands Regional Rescue” has been bandied about, especially after Tabernacle Rescue Squad (TRS) became the official provider of such services to the township of Shamong, replacing the one established as a division of the Indian Mills Fire Company in June of 2021.

Now, it appears that steps are being taken to do just that, albeit on an informal and somewhat secretive basis.

An indication that members of the EMS squads from Tabernacle and nearby Lumberton townships have been working together, along with volunteers from Shamong Township, was aired at a Shamong committee meeting on Nov. 1 when a man named “Bill” (later said to be Bill Kratch of the Tabernacle Rescue Squad [TRS]) stepped forward to reveal that a program had been initiated—one he said was “no secret.”

As he described it, “we have coverage five days a week as part of that program.”

“So, that is probably the biggest change over the past year,” he advised the Shamong committee. “It has worked very well for us. Tabernacle basically does expenses, ambulances, fuel and that type of thing.

Lumberton pays the salary, provides the people. We do have Shamong residents who are part of Tabernacle (TRS), signed up as Lumberton (EMTs), who come in during the week to volunteer as well.”

“We have not put regionalization to bed,” he added. “We are still talking about that. We are still working with Lumberton over in that arena to see if it is feasible for us. We are still talking to them … one, big happy emergency family.”

Another hint of an impromptu merger

came from TRS Chief George Jackson, who claimed at a meeting of the Tabernacle Township Committee in October that “we staff a crew with the cooperation of Lumberton during the day.”

But, judging from the lack of response to repeated phone calls to both the Tabernacle and Lumberton EMS operations over a twoweek period, whatever is going on is still very much a secret.

In fact, according to a news tip received by the Pine Barrens Tribune from a source who wished to remain anonymous, a “secret meeting” was to have been held on or about the night of Dec. 1 between the Tabernacle and Lumberton squads about them forming “one organization,” with even a potential of including other area EMS squads, such as Southampton’s, in a speculative regional unit.

The affected townships, however had no knowledge of any such get-together, the source claimed, since the governing bodies have not been briefed about it.

“They’re doing it on their own, the goal being to take over EMS squads in other towns and become the dominant entity,” the unidentified caller maintained.

Calls placed to Jamie Wood, listed as chief and privacy officer of Lumberton EMS and said to be a supervisor of TRS, and Jackson, have not been returned as of press time, and Tabernacle Township Solicitor and Public information Officer William Burns told this newspaper that he was not aware of any such meeting and had no idea of what might have taken place.

“I wouldn’t know about it, and have not seen any agreements or drafts,” he said.

When subsequently asked whether he would look into the matter further or ask Jackson to contact this reporter, Burns said he would. But when a scheduled call was made to him on Dec. 8 in regard to the issue, he didn’t answer, nor did he return the call.

TREES

Reducing the risks of wildfires to the public and the lives of firefighters “is an important and legitimate goal in our fire-prone ecosystem, where people and communities are scattered through the woods and along the edges of state lands,” contended Yeh, pointing out that “last summer’s 13,500-acre Mullica River fire should remind us that these risks are very real.”

But, according to Yeh, “misleading statistics” evoking “images of barren landscapes” have since been highlighted “to illicit shock and horror.”

“In reality, the forest thinning will occur from the ground up by removing small, crowded trees and reducing the forest canopy only enough to let more light reach the forest floor, which is beneficial to plant diversity and growth,” she claimed. “Critics that focus only on the number of trees, but not their size and type, are quite literally missing the forest for the trees.”

The resulting forest, she added, “will be a healthy native Pine Barrens habitat.”

In keeping with that assertion, the plan, according to the commission’s report will also accommodate concerns about threatened and endangered species.

In addition to the NJDEP, the state Division of Fish and Wildlife, Endangered and Nongame Species Program, Office of Natural Lands Management and the Natural Heritage Review Group are all said to have reviewed the plan and concluded it will pose “no irreversible adverse impacts to any threatened or endangered species (T&E) or their habitats,” with the commission staff reportedly conducting a similar study of its effect on habitats.

The applicant also offered to conduct “visual surveys to identify and mark any trees containing potential T&E avian species cavities or nests,” with any trees that are “identified and marked” spared from harvesting.

But whatever such measures are taken, according to critics of the plan, they will not begin to compensate for its shortcomings.

protection of which were his chief reasons for wanting to become a member of the commission.

“I consider this a very important task,” he declared. “And when an applicant — even if it’s a state agency — comes to me and says I want to tamper with the forest, I want to look at that request very closely. And in the end, I was not satisfied that their plan to remove trees from 1300 acres of forest in order to suppress wildfire, was a good plan. I don’t think scientific literature supports the notion that thinning of the forest is a good practice to suppress wildfire. In fact, the reverse may be true — that it may actually do harm and make wildfires worse.”

Concurring with that sentiment was environmentalist Bill Wolfe, who served in various roles with the NJDEP for 13 years, including that of policy advisor to the commissioner, was policy director of the New Jersey Sierra Club for seven years, founder of the nonprofit Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, and currently writes an Internet blog called WolfeNotes.com.

Wolfe, who noted that the NJDEP has been attempting to get the commission to approve a tree-thinning project in Bass River for the past 15 years, contended that LaTourette had relied on a newly exaggerated fear of wildfires, which he claimed at one point are “out of control,” to convince the commission to endorse the amended plan.

Two especially bad aspects of the plan that make it counterproductive, Wolfe maintained, are that the greatly reduced density of the forest would curtail its role as a windbreak and that it would permit a far greater amount of sunlight to penetrate the canopy, accelerating drying, both of which would help to promote rather than retard wildfires.

“A thick forest actually slows the wind down, so that you don’t get the embers being carried two miles downwind and starting another fire,” he asserted.

EVESHAM—Police in Evesham Township have identified and charged a suspect in connection to a vehicle burglary that occurred in early September outside of a gym in the municipality.

Jason Burkett, 43, of Baltimore, reportedly having since been incarcerated for unrelated crimes in another jurisdiction outside Evesham, was charged Nov. 21 on a summons with third-degree burglary, two counts of credit card fraud, as well as theft, the latter which is a disorderly person’s offense.

Authorities, following a report of a Sept.

6 burglary to an unoccupied vehicle in the parking lot of the L.A. Fitness at 1051 N. Route 73, later identified Burkett as a suspect who “gained entry into the vehicle and stole the victim’s wallet,” according to a press release from the Evesham Township Police Department.

The victim’s credit cards, according to police, were then fraudulently used in surrounding stores, with authorities later obtaining evidence that “placed Burkett at the scene of the burglary and at the locations in which the victim’s credit cards were used.”

“There are lots of reasons to oppose this project,” Mark Lohbauer, one of the two commissioners who voted against it, told this newspaper in a phone interview.

But the most critical one, he maintained, is the threat it poses to the “great water filtration system” responsible for the pristine quality of the fresh water supply for which the Pinelands region is renowned.

Also being put in jeopardy, in Lohbauer’s view, is “the very complex and unusual ecosystem that exists above it,” which forms a habitat for an extraordinary variety of species, some of which can’t be found anywhere else, the preservation and

Then, too, both wind and a greater amount of sunlight tend to dry things out, he maintained, “so a thinned-out forest is a dry forest, which is more prone to wildfire,” and a firebreak will only add to the problem, since the embers will blow unimpeded across the open space. In fact, “straightening and smoothing out 13 miles of roads along the firebreak will only serve to encourage their use by drag racers, so “they’re inviting more harm.”

In addition, Wolfe contended, the plan is out of sync with state goals and federal commitments to slow down global warming by allowing forests to act as sources of both carbon sequestration and storage. And that’s not to mention “what happens to the critters” whose habitat will suddenly be largely denuded and to the aesthetic appeal of the forest to those who use it for

The slippery sleigh ride

By Sarah Beauregard and Johannie Dufour Translated by Jasmine Heesaker

Did you know I use my sleigh all year round, not just on Christmas Eve? It’s a great way to get around and carry lots of stuff! In this picture, I’m trying out a brand-new sleigh with two young reindeer. Let me tell you what happened next. You might find it quite funny, ho, ho, ho!

As you probably already know, reindeer are fast and energetic animals. As we were coming down the slope you see here, they were running at full speed. In fact, they’d gained so much momentum they didn’t notice we were heading straight for a frozen lake.

I furiously rang my bell to get their attention, but they thought I was encouraging them to go even faster. The inevitable happened, and we ran straight onto the lake! When the reindeer’s hooves hit the mirror-smooth surface, their eyes became as big as saucers.

Have you ever been ice skating? If so, you probably know how hard it was to keep your balance that first time. The reindeer started sliding and spinning and couldn’t stop! They were attached to my sleigh, causing it to bounce all over the place. As if there wasn’t already enough commotion, their harnesses came loose, sending us flying in three different directions. Oh my!

I had to hold on with all my might to keep from being thrown off the sleigh. Fortunately, I held on, and we eventually made it back to solid ground. As soon as we were reunited, the reindeer vowed to be more careful next time.

What an adventure, ho, ho, ho!

My three four-legged elves

By Sarah Beauregard and Johannie Dufour Translated by Jasmine Heesaker

Do you like dogs? I love them, especially when they help me out, ho, ho, ho! Let me tell you the story of how the three cute little dogs in this picture came to my aid.

It had been madness in the workshop for several weeks making presents. Why, you ask? Because all the kids had been exceptionally good that year, I wanted to spoil them a little more than usual, ho, ho, ho! However, this meant my elves were overwhelmed, and many were starting to show signs of fatigue.

I was worried about my team, so I went to ask Mrs. Claus for advice. She suggested I find volunteers to help out so that the elves could catch their breath. But who? I went for a walk in the village to think it over. As I passed the park, I saw my friend Miss Muzzle playing with two of her friends. Wait a minute, maybe these animals could help the elves with their toymaking.

I immediately asked the three companions for a hand (or rather a paw, ho, ho, ho!) in the workshop. They all gladly accepted. You should have seen the dogs’ faces when I hooked them up to a rolling cart. They were as proud as peacocks! The elves were so thrilled. Every time the dogs brought them a tool, a piece of wood or a can of paint, the elves rewarded them with a treat.

The workshop was up and running again in no time, all thanks to the wisdom of Mrs. Claus and three four-legged volunteers. I gave the dogs a few cookies and a toque from my collection to say thanks.

You have to admit, they’re so cute!

Rudolph’s Hidden Talent

By Sarah Beauregard and Johannie Dufour Translated by Jasmine Heesaker

Do you want to know who the three girls next to Rudolph in this picture are? They’re members of the North Pole College Folk Dance Troupe. They needed new costumes and decided to organize a fundraiser. They wanted to do something useful for busy people and fun for themselves, so they were doing beautiful gift-wrapping for customers at the mall.

Since Rudolph loves traditional dance and I think it’s important to support youth and the arts, we decided to give them a hand, or a hoof, whatever the case may be. They were delighted to see us, especially since our presence attracted many people, ho, ho, ho!

After two hours of wrapping gifts of all shapes and sizes, the girls took a break to perform a dance number. The shoppers were thrilled, and some dropped a few dollars in the donation box even though they didn’t have any presents that needed wrapping. Rudolph instantly became their number one fan! He kept complimenting them and saying it was one of the best performances he’d ever seen.

The teens were surprised that Rudolph was an excellent dancer himself and asked him to be in their Christmas show. They assured him that there was room for a special guest. After all, they wanted to thank him for his invaluable help! With stars in his eyes, Rudolph readily accepted.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen him as happy as he was at that show. He performed an impressive tap dance number with his new friends. He’s been talking about it ever since, ho, ho, ho!

Pemberton Township, Fakult and other top JCP&L officials revealed to this newspaper on Dec. 2, was just the kind of “deserving” community the company was looking for in New Jersey this year to add holiday cheer and “switch on the lights,” with the township having a unique combination of being nestled in the Pinelands with both environmental considerations and consciousness, having rich diversity amongst its population, limited tax ratables and a strong military connection, with it also home to the Fort Dix campus of Joint Base Maguire-Dix-Lakehurst (JBMDL).

Pemberton Township outperformed some 50 applicants in New Jersey who pursued this year’s grant, Fakult and other top JCP&L officials said, with the community responding in kind to the news that it was chosen for the opportunity, as demonstrated by hundreds having flocked to Reflections Park, at the intersection of South Lakeshore Drive and Lakehurst Road, adjacent to Mirror Lake, to see the switch be flipped on by Santa Claus in a special visit that he made to the park, having been escorted to Browns Mills by the Pemberton Township Volunteer Fire Department.

“Seeing hundreds of local residents come together to enjoy the festivities of the holiday season is important to us,” Fakult maintained. “We not only service these communities, but we live here as well. At JCP&L, we enjoy making our communities brighter all year round, but especially during this time of the year.”

The designers of the holiday light display, according to Fakult, estimate that more than 25,000 bulbs will shine every night in Reflections Park, utilizing energy-efficient LED technology.

“And we are proud to have played a role in that,” Fakult declared.

Pemberton Township, JCP&L officials pointed out in a press release, “faces unique challenges,” including that of the 40,000 acres that comprise the municipality, onequarter is considered state parkland, while another 5,000 acres are owned by the county and joint base, “limiting taxable land,” as county, state or federal government-owned properties are exempt from local taxation.

The Pinelands Commission also has jurisdiction over 91 percent of the township, it was noted in the press release, requiring increased buffers and strict building regulations that “protect the local environment, but further limit development,” having an impact on tax ratables, which in turn has an impact on the amount of revenue the township can collect to put towards its operating expenses.

In addition to the many military members and families that live in town, Pemberton

Township, according to the utility, is “more diverse than the average community in the state,” with approximately 46 percent of its population comprising Black, Hispanic, Asian and mixed-race residents, according to both township and Census data.

To qualify for the Light Up Holiday Smiles with FirstEnergy program, municipalities need not only to be served by JCP&L, but also eligible for the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA)’s Emerge Program. The NJEDA’s program includes government-restricted, economically distressed and qualified opportunity zone communities.

“Pemberton Township is a vibrant, strong community with a commitment to diversity and environmental consciousness that represents what makes New Jersey a beautiful state in which to live and work,” Fakult said. “JCP&L and FirstEnergy are honored to recognize this town through the Light Up Holiday Smiles program and bring the joy and togetherness of the holiday season to its residents, including the many active duty and retired military families that call Pemberton home.”

Pemberton Township Mayor David A. Patriarca, who joined with Santa and Fakult on stage to help light the display, preceded by the Pemberton Schools’ Choir who sang a number of popular holiday tunes and Christmas carols, later declared it was a “very fulfilling event for the community.”

“I think the event was very well planned by the Department of Recreation, which coordinated it,” Patriarca told this newspaper. “The participation of the school choir was a very welcome addition, and our partnership with JCP&L certainly enhanced the event for that evening.”

When asked about the grant opportunity having been given to Pemberton Township and whether he was surprised at the township having been awarded this particular one, the mayor noted that “whenever we put in for a grant, we put in for it with the intention of getting it.”

“It was very competitive, and we are very grateful they selected Pemberton for this particular grant,” Patriarca asserted.

The township’s holiday tree, purchased several years ago according to the mayor, exceeds an estimated 35 feet in height.

“We have just added to it each year and made it bigger, and bigger,” Patriarca said.

“It is probably safe to say that it is the largest township Christmas tree in Burlington County.”

The mayor recounted how the occasion has changed over the years, believing the annual tree lighting has been held “for decades,” but at the very least has happened “for the 16 years that I have been here.” He recalled at one time a tree being lit for the season in the center of Mirror Lake.

“A lot of work went into it, and it was held without a hitch,” said the mayor of this year’s tree lighting event.

Photo By Douglas D. Melegari Jersey Central Power and Light (JCP&L) President Jim Fakult stands in front of Pemberton Township’s Christmas tree for the 2022 holiday season, part of a holiday light display gifted by the utility.

Photo By Douglas D. Melegari

Pemberton Township’s Christmas tree after having been lit.

Photo By Douglas D. Melegari

Pemberton School’s Choir sings Christmas carols and other holiday songs ahead of the Pemberton Township tree lighting ceremony.

Photo By Douglas D. Melegari Two youngsters become super excited to see Santa Claus on stage and anticipate him flipping the switch to the holiday light display.

TRUCKS

back on April 5, initially had entered a “not guilty plea,” for both violations, but on Sept. 19, after some sort of deal in the making fell through, reversed course and pled guilty to the charges, with Shimberg originally scheduling sentencing for Oct. 20.

But he ultimately postponed sentencing “by three weeks” due to a somewhat unusual set of circumstances in which, in part, Medford Prosecutor Christopher Koutsouris requested of the court to “hear” from individuals during sentencing arguments “who might have input on behalf of the state,” maintaining those “witnesses,” including non-township employees, could attest to an “ongoing violations” of “at least” 115 days.

With Carolyn Carns facing the prospect of a $1,000 a day fine for each day of an ongoing violation of local land use law, Koutsouris suggested that he was in fact presenting a bargain of sorts by the state only requesting a fine for five days’ worth of violations for each of the offenses versus the potential of 115 days’ worth, noting that if the municipality had decided to make a case that the violations spanned 115 days, Carolyn Carns would be looking at a fine upwards of $115,000 per count. In fact, Koutsouris declared the state’s request of $5,000 per violation was “modest” and “nowhere near” what the state “is entitled to.”

Shimberg, in recognizing that Koutsouris wanted to call “character witnesses for purpose of sentencing,” even though a trial had been averted due to the pair of guilty pleas, initially acknowledged at one point that he was “not sure” that it would be necessary due to the case having entered the sentencing phase.

As Koutsouris persisted that he be allowed to call witnesses during sentencing arguments, Shimberg remarked, “I assume anyone you are presenting would be employees.”

Koutsouris responded “no,” and that while he had township employees prepared to attest to the circumstances, he also had two other witnesses he would like to call, naming

neighbors involved in ongoing disputes with the Carns family, including one that public records have suggested had a somewhat greater connection to the then-lead Medford zoning official, who has since been made assistant to the Medford manager in circumstances that have all yet to be explained to the public.

The neighbor with questionable ties to the Medford official was also, as previously reported by this newspaper, alleged to have illegally trespassed onto the Carns property, and in doing so, filmed their belongings, including by opening the door to the family’s barn, with public records indicating the footage had then been sent to Medford officials, raising concerns such footage was then used to help initiate the actions.

Medford Township Council has since been in the hot seat over the existence of the footage, with questions raised about whether anyone in the municipal administration actually solicited the video.

The exchange between Shimberg and Koutsouris appeared to trip up the municipal prosecutor into making a tacit admission that this particular neighbor is where the “source of knowledge comes from,” maintaining she “observed it.”

The other neighbor, the municipal prosecutor told the judge, was “in area where the violation occurred.”

“Start with your arguments, and we’ll see if supplemental testimony is necessary,” Shimberg said.

At one point, after Koutsouris again referred to the need to call witnesses to prove the violations had been ongoing for 115 days and stated that he could not personally attest to such a time period, Shimberg quipped, “now you are telling me not sure.”

“I am saying 115 days ‘based on admission,’” Koutsouris replied.

The Medford prosecutor maintained that there were “admissions made time-and-timeand-time again” as to violations having been ongoing from April through late July “at public meetings, meetings of the municipal governing body and Planning Board, as well as through posts on social media.”

But that claim from the municipal

prosecutor that there had been admissions is at odds with the public remarks of David Carns, co-owner of a tree service that actually owns the commercial tree trucks in question, as previously reported by this newspaper, with him having told the Medford council back in May that the trucks were no longer parked on his property and that the governing body could “sleep good at night” knowing the trucks aren’t parked there any longer. David Carns also emphasized to this newspaper that the trucks had been removed from his property.

Carolyn Carns, the named defendant in the matter, has also never publicly spoke out on the matter, thereby never making any admissions at public meetings.

Koutsouris was all over the map during the initial sentencing hearing, at one point maintaining that as to “when exactly it was remediated,” he needed to defer to the then-Medford zoning official, but later, in trying to make another point, acknowledged the official has “never been allowed on the property” and “never has been granted access to this property” to see if abatement actually occurred.

Yet, he later declared, “I can show at least five days” of there being ongoing violations. At one point in the proceeding, he alleged Carolyn Carn was “on notice” since 2016 “that this property was not in compliance,” and that the “continuing course of conduct” had “gotten worse” (all despite Watson having appeared on the property at issue for a photo op during a 2021 re-election bid).

Also leading to the sentencing delay was the attorney for Carolyn Carns, Daniel M. Rosenberg, having argued that “the state has characterized this issue as a ‘continuing course of conduct,’” yet, he maintained, his client did not make an “open plea,” but only simply pled guilty to the violations as having occurred on the dates of the issued summonses – April 5.

Had the state, he added, “intended to make an argument” that this has been a “‘continuing course of conduct,’” his client would have “pled and acknowledged a continuing course of conduct,” but didn’t, he pointed out.

“What we got here is a specific date she admitted too,” Rosenberg maintained.

Carolyn Carns’ attorney said that if the state had wished to “remedy” the matter to account for continuing violations, it could have “issued additional summonses,” so that “the pleas are not to one single count, but multiple counts throughout.”

Rosenberg also contended that in the absence of a trial, “there is no evidence here” that a continuing course of conduct “has been established or proven.” He emphasized that had it been known to the defense that by Carolyn Carns entering such pleas, it would constitute continuing course of conduct, he would have agreed to a “mini trial when we started” to accept “testimony,” but that “candidly” he thought that such a need had been “avoided.”

Koutsouris shot back that Rosenberg’s “said client should have been placed on notice” that her “pleas were geared toward

continuing conduct,” and that it had been the whole reason why the state “objected” to her entering the guilty pleas to begin with, because, it “knew the defendant was only going to place a factual basis on the record in regard to a single date.”

This newspaper previously reported that some sort of reported attempt to convince Carolyn Carns to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to avert any penalties fell apart over purported demands that the Carns agree to not split wood on their property, as well as agree to provide the township notice of where the commercial tree trucks are stored.

“The court simply took her guilty pleas over the objection of the state,” said Koutsouris, emphasizing that the circumstances at hand do not entail a “plea agreement” with “parameters” for fines, etc.

The Medford prosecutor further argued that the state Supreme Court “authorized” that a continuing course of conduct can be pursued without having to issue “new charges or summonses” every time.

Koutsouris acknowledged that after Carolyn Carns was “put on notice,” it ultimately did result in “compliance,” though it “wasn’t overnight” and “was contentious,” and that the township’s view that the issues have since been abated are the result of officials “taking her word for it” given the purported property access denials. Rosenberg argued that given the situation “has been remedied” and is a “first offense,” a “normal fine (in his view a $1,000 each) is sufficient.”

“If you are asking for an ongoing violation based on the date of the Notice of Violation, doesn’t the state have an obligation to have presented that in some way before today of when that was?” Shimberg asked Koutsouris.

The Medford prosecutor responded that he did by “saying there is at least 115 days and the state is looking for only $5,000 for each summons – five, not 115.”

Shimberg, however, in also querying Rosenberg, asked, “Can you agree your client was on notice for quite some time, before and after the summonses were issued?” to which the defense attorney responded, “I think it is fair to say my client was placed on notice.”

“We did not admit to a continuing course of conduct,” submitted Rosenberg to the court.

Despite Shimberg seemingly expressing initial doubts that witnesses can be called at sentencing, the judge, as the Oct. 20 initial hearing neared conclusion, declared Koutsouris would be “well within his rights” to “bring forth testimony as to the ongoing nature of the conduct and specific dates he can establish your client was in violation.”

But Rosenberg insisted he did not have an opportunity to discuss the potential for increased “exposure” if such testimony was allowed, adding the potential for $115,000 is “beyond the scope of reasonableness.”

The two then went back and forth over whether more than a “single fine” should have been anticipated, though Shimberg acknowledged that “we are getting into

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a sketchy area of attorney-client privilege.”

Rosenberg also pointed out that in a trial setting, “the state has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt each and every violation,” and that such privileges are not afforded to his client when testimony is heard “in sentencing arguments.”

“I don’t know what the standards would be,” declared Rosenberg if such testimony was accepted through sentencing arguments. “Aside from all of that, the purpose of this statute, and the penalties, is not for punishment, it is to remedy the situation and it has been remedied. So, we got to where we need to be. Everyone is on notice there is a problem that can’t be continuing.”

Koutsouris shot back “it is a carrot and a stick so to speak” in which “this is what you face if you are not in compliance, and oh, by the way, this is what you face for each and every day you are not in compliance.” He asserted it is “disingenuous” for Carolyn Carns’ defense counsel to believe the state would not be pursuing continuing violations until a “brief” saying so had been received.

“In the interest of justice, vacate the plea and let’s go to trial!” Koutsouris declared. “Or consider what the state has indicated is a valid continuing violation theory, which is well below the maximum the court could consider imposing as penalties. Impose it and let’s be done with it!”

The calling of the witnesses never happened, however. Shimberg said that since the state

was only seeking a $5,000 fine versus $115,000 fine, and he “didn’t know if that is necessary.”

In resuming the sentencing hearing on Nov. 7, Shimberg did not allow for additional arguments. Instead, he opened the matter by pointing out “the defendant was issued a notice of violation letter on April 5 informing her that she was violating two ordinances in Medford, one for operating a commercial business on residentially-zoned land, and (the other) for having more than one commercial vehicle on a residential property.”

“She was given seven days to respond to the notice, and asked to choose one of two options – either cease the operations, or complete and submit a variance application,” the judge said. “The facts state that the defendant did not in fact respond to the notice.”

Shimberg then pointed to Medford Solicitor Timothy Prime’s May 21 letter in which he “informed the defendant” that she would be receiving summonses, emphasizing that particular letter “informed her that each day would be counted as a continuing violation.”

He also recounted township code setting forth the penalties for violating the ordinances at issue, including that any violation “‘shall be punished by a fine not to exceed $5,000 on the first offense and/or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 30 days,’” and that a “fine of $1,000” shall be prescribed “‘for each subsequent offense, with imprisonment for a term not to exceed 60 days.’”

“‘Each day that a violation continues shall constitute a separate offense,’” added Shimberg in recounting the code.

Shimberg asserted that “it is undisputed” that Medford code states such a situation at

TREES

recreational purposes.

“This is one of the worst decisions the Pinelands Commission has ever made,” he declared.

However, one of two biologists interviewed by this newspaper, Emile DeVito of the New Jersey Conservation Foundation, disputed Wolfe’s ideas about the role played by trees in protecting against wind and preventing dry conditions, maintaining that once the pine forest becomes a tinderbox, “nothing can stop a wildfire”—that is, except for measures such as the firebreak and the

removal of “ladder fuels” envisioned under the plan, because such a conflagration “draws everything into it.” He also expressed doubts about the value of using the Pine Barrens as a “carbon sink.”

DeVito, though, did express some reservations about the plan’s long-term viability, maintaining that “this is just a preliminary step in being able to manage the Pine Barrens for the proper fire regime that promotes ecological attributes and not simply fire safety” and that in order to serve as an effective form of protection from wildfires, “they have to manage it properly decade after decade,” which may be a difficult proposition given the shortage of both money and manpower for such

hand represents “a continuing violation” and each day it goes on “shall constitute a separate offense.”

“The ordinance is unambiguous on its face that this is a continuing violation,” Shimberg declared. “ … I think under the circumstances, while I certainly would not impose a fine of $115,000, and Mr. Koutsouris has not asked for a fine of $115,000, given the length of time that this has dragged on, and that the notice that has been provided by the prosecution is sufficient, I am therefore going to adopt the recommendation of the prosecutor and impose on each violation a $5,000 fine and $33 court cost.”

Shimberg, however, declined issuing a “written order,” maintaining he doesn’t “see any purpose of that under the circumstances – it is just a matter of my notes and that I chose to impose a $5,000 fine for a continuing violation.”

The judge, in issuing his decision, added that he has sat “in a number of courts, dealing with code issues for almost two decades,” and that if it were not for such language contained

sustained efforts.

Rutgers University Biology Professor Joanna Burger, who has been studying the region’s flora and fauna for the past 40 years, said she believes that “unbridled fires” can no longer be permitted in the reserve and that “clearly, the Pine Barrens need to be managed because of the importance of protecting people within that system.” But it is also her viewpoint that that “large-scale thinning without detailed analysis of wildlife use is not the way to go, because there are some threatened and endangered species that use particular types of habitat and there are sensitive areas within a forest that need protecting.”

Such areas, she said include hibernation sites for snakes and habitat around vernal

in ordinances, “what we would end up with is a ticket being written every day by a code enforcement officer” resulting in “hundreds of tickets, which serves no purpose.”

“The whole purpose of ‘continuing violation’ in the ordinance is what is intended,” he declared.

In a statement released after the sentencing, David Carn’s twin brother, and the other coowner of the tree service, Brian Carns, wrote that such a fine was “a first for the Carns Family Farm.”

“After living here since 1939, building a family four generations deep while earning an honest living for our family and farm in order to keep it afloat for future generations to come, our mother was fined $10,000 for having tree trucks on our tree farm. Medford asked for that amount and the judge agreed. This all started over our mayor’s ego and selfentitlement to not pay a small, local business, which happened to be ours, for firewood! The judge actually ruled that this first offense

ponds, where species such as frogs and salamanders breed in the spring and are critical to their existence.

“If you take all the trees away from a sensitive habitat, it may no longer serve the ecosystem function,” Burger asserted.

When Bass River Township Mayor Deborah Buzby-Cope was asked at a Dec. 5 township commission meeting about the tree-thinning plan, she responded there had been a lot of fires by the bombing range and it was her understanding that “they want to have an area that is cleared out so they can stop it from coming this way.”

But when the mayor was then asked whether she was “OK with it,” she replied, “It’s not that we’re OK with it – they’re going to do it.”

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LIGHT

from Page 4)

Patriarca was seen by this reporter talking with Santa during the event, and when the mayor, who will wrap up his term later this year, was asked by this reporter if he wanted to share what he requested of Santa for Christmas, chuckled, and responded, “Just a good future for Pemberton Township.”

As for value of the grant, Chris Hoenig, a spokesman for JCP&L, said it was in “the tens of thousands of dollars, both in the light displays and in the support of the event itself on Friday night.”

TRUCKS

(Continued from Page 7)

violation was worthy of a hefty $10K fine given to our 81-year-old mother and the family she raised here on the farm.

“Medford’s administration has zero interest in being fair and ethical. This town has so many bigger things to worry about. Rather than do something productive for the town and its residents, the council’s iron-fist zoning department has proved that they are willing to strongarm an elderly, lifelong resident just to prove they have and are willing to use their authority to hurt you and/or your business as they see fit. This is especially true when you speak out in disagreement with them.

“No amount of fines will stop us from speaking out again about this horrific dictatorship of a town ruling and the rest that

“Pemberton Township has been a pleasure to work with during this process,” Fakult declared. “With more than 100 employees involved in our Veterans & Allies resource group at JCP&L, aiding our commitment to job and professional development opportunities and military-friendly benefits for veterans, Pemberton’s role in our nation’s defense – as the home to Fort Dix and so many of our servicemembers – aligns with our core values. Additionally, the town’s stewardship of the environment through the Pinelands Commission and the National Reserve rings true to our commitment to creating cleaner, greener communities in our service area.”

support and allow it as they sit in silence. We will always love Medford and our farm. It is all we know, but this town needs some real change in its administration. By the way, I guess this will help pay the lawyer bills (racked up) in prosecuting our mother.”

The Carns siblings, as of deadline time, planned to confront Medford Council – which sets the penalties and adopts ordinances – as to why their mother was fined $10,000, with them obtaining public records indicating the most any other commercial enterprise was ever fined in town was $400 for a first offense, $500 for a second offense.

David Carns emphasized to this newspaper in an interview that his mother had never been previously criminally charged or fined for anything before this matter, with Carolyn Carns’ legal counsel pointing out she has worked as a home health aide and school bus driver, as well is as a parishioner for a church.

(Continued

Photo By Douglas D. Melegari Members of the Pemberton Schools’ Choir play their instruments in welcoming the holiday season.

Photo By Douglas D. Melegari Christmas caroling courtesy the Pemberton Schools’ Choir got a crowd of hundreds of people in the mood for the holidays.