Pine Barrens Tribune May 11, 2024-May 16, 2024

By D ouglas D. M elegari Staff Writer

MEDFORD—As a Medford Township middle schooler, Ela Guven, recognized on April 27 at the municipality’s Freedom Park, “first responders comply with the threats of life that may change them forever – mentally, emotionally and physically,” and it is “why we need to partake in the liveliness of giving gratitude to our first responders.”

Guven’s words were well received by dozens of area first responders among hundreds who had gathered in the park for the afternoon unveiling of a monument there dedicated to first responders – one not just recognizing the standard “trinity” of police, firefighters and EMTs, as County Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Coordinator Phyllis Worrell put it, but also the “first people” who answer the calls for help, or dispatchers, as well as those in emergency services volunteer support organizations.

“There is no other monument like this in the state that honors all of us,” Worrell declared.

The idea first conceived by Medford

Photo By Andrew King

Mike Panarella, the visionary of the First Responders Monument, as well as the War Memorials,

Freedom Park.

NJDEP Orders Owner of Site Where Unauthorized Dumping Occurred to Remove Any Solid Material, Take Responsibility for Testing of Soil Analysis, to Determine Whether Fill Material Deposited to Widen Access Road Contains Contaminants and Needs to be Removed, Will Be Performed After All

By Bill B onvie Staff Writer

PEMBERTON—The owner of a tract of land in the Pinelands National Reserve off Magnolia Road in Pemberton Township where numerous unauthorized truckloads of soil were dumped from sites in Essex and Union counties back in February has been ordered by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) to both remove any “construction debris” it might contain and to assume responsibility for having the rest of the material tested for contaminants.

That information was conveyed to the Pine Barrens Tribune via several emails from NJDEP Press Director Larry Hajna in response to queries about the current status of the fill deposited at the site for the purported purpose of widening an existing rudimentary access road in order to allow an area at the rear of the property to be used for growing cranberries and blueberries.

When last contacted by this newspaper in March, Hajna said in an email that his agency was “in discussion with the responsible party to remove the soil containing construction and demolition materials that were illegally disposed (of) at the property” and attached a Notice of Violation (NOV) ordering the property owner, a Philadelphia-based LLC called Zero Magnolia, to submit a restoration plan.

But that notice also spelled out a possible alternative course of action that would enable the owner to “legalize the activities” identified in the notice and allow the soil at issue to remain where it is (minus that solid waste), depending on whether it was found to be free of anything deemed potentially harmful to surrounding groundwater and wetlands.

At the time, Hajna noted that the department believed the material contained nothing of that nature, but acknowledged that opinion was based purely on “visual observation,” with no actual analysis having been performed on it.

“The NJDEP’s experience with the type of debris observed, is that this is typically non-hazardous,” he said.

That response, however, caused considerable consternation on the part of area environmentalists when conveyed to them, with one, Emile DeVito, who manages the Ong’s Hat Preserve for the New Jersey Conservation Foundation that is next door to the tract, calling it “frightening and a disservice to the public.”

In the latest string of emails between Hanja and a Tribune reporter who inquired about the current status of the property, however, the NJDEP spokesman indicated that the agency would not simply be relying on optics to make

See DUMPING/ Page 6

By D ouglas D. M elegari Staff Writer

WOODLAND—A handful of residents who recently decried the presence of Conex trailers or boxes on some residential properties, as well as purportedly unkept lots, have led Woodland Township officials to declare that they will now look at “revamping” a Property Maintenance Ordinance, among others having to do with code enforcement.

However, the events of the February and March Woodland Township Committee meetings has now also prompted a group of residents to come forward during a subsequent April session to vocally oppose any changes to the township’s “loose” regulations or its “small town” character.

The “significant divide” was evident during the April 24 proceedings of the governing body, in which Code Enforcement Officer Tom Boyd was called in to address property maintenance concerns raised during the prior meetings, with Boyd’s inperson attendance a rarity for Woodland.

Boyd, in addressing the situation with the Conex boxes beyond a letter from him that was read into the record the previous month, contended that the township’s ordinance is “very specific” and that such boxes are only out of compliance if they were “brought there by a heavy-duty truck.”

Boyd explained that there is not one, but now three properties at issue with the trailers, and one of the owners was brought to court, but had then “provided proof” that the “box was brought there with a medium-duty truck,” and therefore, a judge had dismissed the case against that person.

Because of that outcome, he maintained, the “second individual represented by an attorney brought up the same point,” and it was at that point it was decided to not “go there.”

The third case, Boyd revealed, is one in which officials are going to be pursuing it not as a local ordinance violation, but rather as a violation of the Uniform Construction Code “because they added on to it (the trailer) without permits.”

“The paperwork has been processed for that,” Boyd declared. “I don’t want to discuss this further, as it is my guess it is going to go to litigation.”

The vacant Hedger House, Mayor William “Billy” DeGroff pointed out to Boyd, has also been raised as a concern, as well as properties in the Lebanon Lakes neighborhood.

According to Boyd, the owners of the Hedger House “have cut the grass” on the parcel. But as far as its “appearance,” Boyd contended, “a lot of it is subjective, as far as what looks good in one person’s eyes may not look good in another person’s eyes.”

He also maintained that there “has been an improvement” to the properties “off of Route 70” as far as “grass and cleanup.”

“Some of it is still being pursued,” he added.

DeGroff, in response to the code enforcement official’s presentation, asserted that the governing body “did discuss revamping our ordinances” and “we are going to be looking at doing that.”

“I think it is a very wise decision to relook at it, and revamp some of them, as some

are extremely old,” Boyd said. “Some may have had intent to be changed, but maybe have not been changed.”

The code enforcement official added that what “needs to be stressed” to the concerned parties is that he “cannot write a violation” when he doesn’t “have a law to back up the violation.”

“There are probably some cases where I can empathize or sympathize with folks who complain, but I just can’t write it,” Boyd declared.

It led DeGroff to assert, “I do believe they need to be revamped.”

Resident Ken Bowker, who last month had raised issues with loud music being played by a neighbor and questioned whether the township has a noise ordinance, as well as pointed to a trailer on his neighbor’s yard, was the first resident to address Boyd, by declaring that he is a “witness to that trailer being brought in next to my home” by a “tractor trailer.”

“So, can you revisit that again?” he asked of Boyd.

And resident Jane Donoghue, in referencing one of the other trailers at issue in a separate area of town, on Old Tuckerton Road, contended that as a driver of a Ford pickup, it is not light-duty, and contended that there are other provisions of the local code being violated by the trailer’s presence, maintaining the local code says a trailer must be at least 15 feet away from the property line and the one at issue is “near a fence,” and that the code also states “temporary” is “one year” and the one that is at issue in her neighborhood has now been in place for over two years without a “site plan.”

But that was the extent of those requesting enforcement, with one man, who did not give his name, contending that after hearing about the events of the previous two meetings, he “drove around town looking for those so-called trailers and boxes.”

“I can’t see them,” he maintained. “I have been here for 25 years and the last thing we need are people like you going around and looking in everyone’s yard! If you kept your eyes straight, you would not see a damn thing! If you kept your eyes on the road, it would not be a problem. I have lived here for 25 years and want it to stay the way it is!”

After the man further declared, “Keep your eyes on the road where they belong, instead of people’s yards,” Township Solicitor William Burns spoke up, recalling what happened the last couple of times stricter code proposals were brought forward.

“This committee did attempt to update some ordinances, especially the Property Maintenance Ordinance, and then tried to update the Controlling Your Animal Ordinance, and they were the most well attended and contentious meetings that I have attended here in my tenure in Woodland,” Burns said. “I think there is a significant divide in updating the property maintenance ordinances and maintaining the character of the Township of Woodland.”

He pointed out that the governing body made attempts to apply stricter codes on “two to three separate occasions,” and when it did, “it was very clear that the community wanted the ordinances kept the way they

With Four Candidates Vying for Three Seats on Medford Lakes Council, Aromando Making 15th Try to Dent What He Calls ‘Culture of Cronyism’ Deputy Mayor Fields, Up for Re-election, Introduces Two New Running Mates

By Bill B onvie Staff Writer

MEDFORD LAKES—Were it not for the perennial presence of Joseph Aromando III on the Medford Lakes Borough ballot, the May 14 municipal election in this leafy, resort-like enclave would be anything but newsworthy, with one candidate seeking reelection to the borough council and two new ones affiliated with him running for the seats being vacated by two departing incumbents.

But Aromando, running for the 15th time (yes, that’s an accurate figure) in three decades as an independent wildcard candidate, having won on his first two attempts but not since, is determined to get back on the council and at least put a significant dent in what he calls “a culture of cronyism at its worst” created largely by poor turnouts in local elections, which he says were deliberately moved from November to May for that very reason.

“When these people get on council, they cover for each other,” he told the Pine Barrens Tribune in an email. “They are unwilling to hold themselves accountable when mistakes are made and activities occur that are not in the best interest of the community. What is worse is the lack of transparency in the way they operate. There is no diversity of thought, and very little discourse related to the actions they take.”

But Deputy Mayor William R. Fields,

who is the candidate up for re-election after serving for eight years, believes he and his colleagues have “accomplished a lot of great things for Medford Lakes.

“During my time on council, we have completed the relining of all of the sewer pipes with a zero tax increase to the residents, purchased two one-man leaf trucks to expedite leaf collection and I pushed to reinstitute Medford Lakes Day,” Fields said.

Now that two of his colleagues —Mayor Dr. Gary Miller and Councilwoman Gail Caputo — are not seeking re-election, Fields also took the opportunity to introduce what he hopes will be their replacements, Gerald Yowell and Matthew R. Bailey, individuals he described as wanting to ‘give back to the community.”

“Jerry is currently involved with the Medford Lakes Colony board as vice president of Property and Recreation,” he noted, while Bailey served in the Marines and owns a local business.

Fields also noted that “all three of us have the same interest in keeping Medford Lakes the special kind of community it is,” one in which “we are fortunate to live and raise our families, adding that “each of us has volunteered in community projects and fundraising events, and both Matt and Jerry coach youth sports in Medford Lakes.” In addition, according to Fields, “We are all

New Gretna Business Owner, Volunteer William ‘Rick’ Adams Seeking One of 3 Seats on Bass River Township Commission in April 14

Election

Despite Friendship with Long-Time Incumbents, He Says Change is ‘Drastically Needed’

By Bill B onvie Staff Writer

BASS RIVER—In a small, closeknit rural community like Bass River Township where everybody more or less knows everybody else, local government meetings sometimes seem more like family get-togethers than formal, Roberts Rules of Order affairs.

And the same might be said of election campaigns for local offices.

So, when a lifelong resident and businessman like William “Rick” Adams decides to try and replace one of the three sitting commissioners at the helm of this selfproclaimed “friendly community,” whatever competitiveness is involved is apt to come sugar-coated with a kind of conviviality not often found in rancor-filled contests for public office staged in larger locales.

“I don’t want to get into that because I don’t want to throw darts at anybody,” Adams told a Pine Barrens Tribune reporter in a phone interview regarding the things he would do differently than the current members of the Bass River Board of

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resident and CERT Member Mike Panarella, which then led to the formation of the First Responders Monument Committee (that Panarella chairs) comprising local first responder chiefs and coordinators, as well as Medford Mayor Charles “Chuck” Watson and some of the Medford Sunrise Rotary Club leaders, is now a reality, with the new monument complementing several War Memorials at Freedom Park, the latter which Panarella was also pivotal in helping to bring about.

In conveying “what a big deal this is,” Watson pointed out that when the last memorial was dedicated at the park, a member of the local VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) attending that event had commented, “‘There is nothing like this on this side of Washington D.C.’”

“It really is a special place,” said Watson of what Freedom Park has become. “And it is an honor to now make it special for first responders as well.

“We would not be safe if it was not for our first responders. They are so important to us.”

Tom Wolff, president of the Medford

Commissioners if he should win one of those spots in the upcoming non-partisan municipal election on May 14.

Which isn’t to say that there will not “be some changes in things” if he does, and calls change “drastically needed.”

“I am running because I don’t like the way things are being handled by our commissioners,” he declared. “But I would like to add that I’m friends with all of them.”

Asked if he wished to elaborate on any specific issues, such as the handling of the sale of the Bass River Township Elementary School that is now on the verge of being turned into a somewhat controversial yeshiva after being sold to a Lakewood developer, Adams replied, “I’m not pointing at the school—I’m not the guy that does that.”

“I just think the commissioners should be looking into things deeper than they do,” Adams said. “I do know that voices in the community will be heard if I get in.”

One thing Adams, who is married to school board member Bonnie Adams,

See ELECTION/ Page 9

Sunrise Rotary Club, which co-sponsored the monument, noted the Rotary motto is,

“‘Service Above Self.’”

“And our first responders exemplify the Service Above Self-motto by keeping us safe, providing lifesaving services when the calls go out, and whether it be rain, snow, day or night, they are always there for us,” Wolff declared.

“This monument is a testament to how you are NOT unappreciated, and that we will always be grateful for everything you do for us.”

Guven was one of two essay contest winners who were asked to provide their insights on and recognition of first responders, the other being June Stairiker, who pointed out that first responders “not only save lives on the daily,” but also that the “amount of hours and years” it takes to train for the positions “really challenges you.”

The pupil noted that her research found that in order to become a paramedic, it takes some 400 hours of studying, while a police officer needs to dedicate two to four years to initial training, and in order to become a firefighter, anywhere from six to 24 months of training is required.

See HELPERS/ Page 6

PSE&G Now Reportedly Near Finish Line of Agreement Allowing Pole Array to Replace Controversial Electrical Unit in LeisureTowne Once Array Is Finished, Mayor Says, Discussions Will Be Held on Restoring Eyebrow

By D ouglas D. M elegari Staff Writer

SOUTHAMPTON—Public Service Electric and Gas (PSE&G) and BEMS Landfill, a subsidiary of CEP Renewables, according to Southampton Township Mayor Michael Mikulski, are “99 percent at the finish line of an agreement” to install a pole array on Big Hill Road, to replace the controversial, massive electrical unit, or switchgear station, built on Saint Davids Place tied to a landfill solar array.

After it was previously described that PSE&G was being uncooperative in that regard, Mikulski, beginning in February, reported that he had learned the utility company was now giving it some consideration, but exercised some caution in offering any guarantee, adding a footnote that he had nothing in writing at the time from the utility.

While the utility has failed to respond to a request from this newspaper seeking confirmation of any such plan, during an April 16 Southampton committee session, Mikulski’s pronouncement was made in the presence of Karen Fryer, PSE&G’s regional affairs manager, who was seated in the audience.

At the time, she did not voice any objections to what the mayor had to say.

“Thanks to PSE&G and the developer, they are, I am told, 99 percent at the finish line of an agreement to move to the pole array on Big Hill Road,” Mikulski declared. “So much so, the developer has now ordered the equipment and will be reaching out to LeisureTowne and LeisureTowne’s counsel to set up a meeting to discuss a site plan on Big Hill Road.”

Once the site plan for the pole array is completed and it is installed, according to the mayor, “we will then turn to the site plan at Saint Davids” to restore a townshipowned island that was wiped out of trees and vegetation to make way for the electrical unit.

“It is a long process, and an even slower process now that the equipment is ordered,” said Mikulski, contending that the supply chain is “not quick.”

Mikulski, when he first alluded to the plan in February, vowed that once there is a “definitive timeline,” both the LeisureTowne Board of Trustees and Saint Davids Place residents will

Photo By Andrew King

First responders, including officers from the Medford Township Police Department, celebrate the unveiling of the First Responders Monument.

For 3rd District Democrats, the ‘Primary’ Question Concerns

What

Sets Prospective Front-runners

Apart from Each Other Having Assembly Members from Same Legislative District Compete with Each Other and 3 Alternatives Poses Difficult Choice for Voters

GOP Hoping It Can Retake 3rd District Congressional Seat by Backing Candidacy of Monmouth County Cardiologist Dr. Rajesh Mohan, Whose Experience Includes Turning Around Fortunes of a Hospital, Is One of Four Contenders on Republican Primary Ballot

By Bill B onvie Staff Writer

MOUNT HOLLY—The impending departure of three-time 3rd District Democratic Rep. Andy Kim for a shot at becoming New Jersey’s next U.S. senator may have opened up an unexpected opportunity for Republicans as well – a chance to regain a congressional seat they controlled until Kim wrested it away from the party back in 2018 by beating incumbent Tom MacArthur, and has since managed to retain with successive victories over two other well-heeled members of the GOP.

By Bill B onvie Staff Writer

MOUNT HOLLY—How best to describe the unusual set of circumstances that Democrats in New Jersey’s 3rd Congressional District will have to contend with in the upcoming primary election on June 4? Perhaps by resorting to the all-toocommonly-used phrase, “It’s complicated.”

The chain reaction of events that has made it so, rather than the no-drama affair the upcoming primary ordinarily would have been, was one set off by the federal corruption charges filed at the end of September against New Jersey’s senior Democratic senator, Robert Menendez.

That proved to be the equivalent of a political earthquake, with two members of his party rushing in to vie for that pivotal seat in the nation’s upper chamber (which Menendez indicated he was not about to give up all that easily) — 3rd District Rep. Andy Kim, who would presumably have been vying for a fourth term in the House this year, and Tammy Murphy, the wife of Democratic Governor Phil Murphy, creating a serious split in the once seemingly solid and convivial ranks of Garden State Democrats.

While Kim would eventually emerge as the apparent frontrunner in that somewhat unseemly-seeming rivalry, with Tammy Murphy having dropped out of the Senate

race, Kim’s campaign to become New Jersey’s next U.S. Senator has resulted in two additional political wrangles.

One is a court fight he successfully initiated to remove the so-called “county line” from this year’s Democratic primary ballot, meaning that no candidate will be put in a position on the ballot that represents the party’s choice, but rather it is based on a random draw.

The second is yet another rupture within the party, this one over Kim’s suddenly open 3rd District Seat, with the two bestknown aspirants being colleagues in the 7th Legislative District, Assemblywoman Carol A. Murphy, the General Assembly’s current majority whip, and Assemblyman Herb Conaway, its current deputy speaker, a Burlington county native who’s also a practicing physician and lawyer, and a captain in the U.S. Air force, who was once stationed at McGuire Air Force Base.

All of which has led to the conundrum now facing Democratic voters in the district: which of these two contenders for that unanticipated pending vacancy, who up to now have appeared to be more or less on the same political page, might best represent their values and ideas of how government should be run? Or, for that matter, would one of the three alternative Democratic candidates in the race be better suited to that purpose?

And the candidate on whom the Republican organizations are pinning their hopes of doing so, as indicated by the results of party conventions held in all three of the counties into which the district now extends, is one who immigrated here in his youth from India and has never before held elective office.

But that contender, Dr. Rajesh Mohan, a practicing cardiologist from Holmdel in Monmouth County, brims with confidence that he has what it takes both to win back the seat and become an effective congressman, based on his demonstrated real-world experience of having simultaneously run a multispecialty medical practice while managing to successfully turn around the fortunes of a hospital of which he was placed in charge after many had given up on the hospital.

In fact, having had no previous political experience, he believes is “a good thing” in the pursuit of his current objective of winning back the district for the Republican party.

“I think there are too many paper pushers in Congress who have been there for a very long period of time,” Mohan told the Pine Barrens Tribune in a recent phone interview. “One of the reasons I wanted to go into public office was because even though I was fighting these small battles and winning them, having had the experience of working on the frontlines as well as in the C suite, I saw the big disconnects between the paper pushers and the boots on the ground.”

He referred to himself as, “I am a doer, not a paper pusher.”

Having observed first-hand the mistakes he believes were made in the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, he contended that politicians and public health officials appeared clueless about the dos and don’ts of crisis management as well as lacking a “common-sense perspective, the ability to manage simultaneously from a 30,000-foot level and ground level” and an understanding that the economy was suffering due to disruptions in the supply chain as a result.

“I think the main point about the pandemic is that it exposed and laid bare our broken health-care delivery system and our frail economy, which is increasingly dependent upon other countries,” he asserted.

While he said he regards our doctors, nurses, and healthcare professionals as being “the best in the world” and credits them with saving many lives, he can’t say

the same for the politicians and public health officials whose handling of the situation “caused the general public to lose faith and trust in the health-care system.”

An example he cited of such bureaucratic mismanagement was a call he got from a senior official after he had designed a protocol for COVID patients in his hospital “based on science, not politics,” which included zinc and vitamin C. This particular official, he recalled, wanted him to instruct doctors to stop prescribing them “because they haven’t been proven to cure COVID.

My answer, he said, was, “tell me what has been proven.”

“When was the last time you know of a person dying from taking vitamin C?” he had further asked.

Such experiences, some of which he chronicled in a book about the first year of the pandemic called “Covidslayers,” are what helped to motivate Mohan to seek public office where he could help bring systemic changes in the system.

“Twenty percent of the GDP is health care,” he noted, adding that “for every physician, there are 10-plus administrators in our health care system.”

While “a lot of people have said that Republicans do not have a health-care plan,” he added, his aim is to use the benefit of his experience, knowledge and expertise to craft one that will be “patientcentric, not profit-centric, a plan that will decrease health-care costs because it will help people, not insurance companies or those profiting in the stock market.”

Mohan, however, also emphasized that he is not a single-issue candidate.

In fact, revitalizing our healthcare is only one of the “five key pillars” of creating a “safer, healthier and more prosperous future” featured on his website. These also include “clear-cut solutions to the problems involved in strengthening border security and stopping illegal immigration, with “commercial corridors” made available to those with work permits “so our economy does not suffer, preserving Social Security and Medicare, improving the economy, incentivizing small business and controlling inflation and forging a strong national security and foreign policy.”

Photo Provided

Assemblyman Herb Conaway, a Democratic candidate in a 3rd Congressional District primary race.

Photo Provided

Assemblywoman Carol Murphy, a Democratic candidate in a 3rd Congressional District primary race.

Photo Provided

Republican 3rd Congressional District primary hopeful and front-runner, Dr. Rajesh Mohan.

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“The Township of Medford, Medford Sunrise Rotary and the First Responders Monument Committee aim to recognize the first responders in Burlington County who have given their lives, as well as those volunteers and professionals who have served in the past, and those who continue to serve their communities today,” declared Richard Rickards, who is with Medford Fire and EMS and is a member of the Rotary. “The purpose of this monument that we dedicate today is simple: it is to say thank you to all those who sacrifice every day, so that we can all rest easy knowing that someone will answer our call for help when we need it most.”

As the Pine Barrens Tribune previously reported when the monument was in development, the centerpiece of the monument features the logo of Burlington County Central Communications, paying tribute to the dedicated dispatchers who coordinate emergency responses, and surrounding the logo are engraved emblems representing EMTs, firefighters, police, as well as the Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) and County Animal Response Team (CART). The design, it was described, serves as a “visual representation” of the “interconnectedness and collaboration” among different first responder groups.

“Our dispatchers, citizen corps, volunteers, police officers, firefighters, and emergency medical professionals readily step up when the call comes in,” Rickards noted. “They put themselves in harm’s way, interrupt their time with their loved ones and are often exposed to the worst moments of peoples’ lives. Throughout it all, they continue to serve and demonstrate unwavering self-sacrifice. This monument will serve as a permanent

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such a determination, but on a scientific soil analysis – for which the owner of the property who apparently ordered the illegal dumping would have to assume responsibility.

“NJDEP is working with the property owner toward removal of the materials to address the Notice of Violation,” was how Hajna initially put it.

When queried as to whether any testing or analysis of the soil had been done, he responded that “the property owner must remove all solid waste and characterize any residual soil to address as appropriate under DEP requirements.”

A request for a more precise explanation

reminder to the community to pause for a moment and reflect on the dedication of our first responders and how fortunate we are to have people who selflessly give of themselves for others. We also hope our first responders will be reminded of how grateful our community is for their self-sacrifice.”

Medford Township Police Chief Arthur “Art” Waterman, during the unveiling ceremony, cited a quote from Plato, “‘In a republic that honors the core ideals of democracy, the greatest amount of power is given to those called the Guardians. Only those with the most impeccable character are given the responsibility of protecting the democracy.’”

“This monument, this place, this tremendous block of stone is dedicated to those who operate in chaos and who put the uniform on in the face of evil that exists in society, and protects all people who need assistance on their worst days,” Waterman said.

The police chief also noted that the monument is dedicated to those “who came before us and served,” and upon retirement, it is a place “where they can come and reflect” on their experiences.

He pointed out that “some gave their lives while executing their duties,” however, and the monument is also a “place where family, colleagues and the community can reflect and remember their sacrifice and what they meant to all of us.”

“This monument is about our future, and it is a place where our children can come to dream, to learn what it means to help and bring shape to their desire to serve others as first responders,” Waterman added.

Robert Dovi, chief of Medford Fire and EMS, who followed Waterman in celebrating the occasion, recounted what was said in the 1991 thriller “Backdraft,” or that, “The funny thing about firemen is

prompted the reply “Solid waste refers to the construction debris. They have to characterize the soil and address as appropriate under NJDEP requirements.”

Asked if he could further clarify what that terminology meant, Hajna responded, “In layman’s terms, characterize means test for contaminants.”

This newspaper next attempted to find out from Dominique Periera (the individual who claims to be the “representative of the property and project” at issue, but indicated in a previous interview he is not its actual owner), whether he had taken any of the actions referred to by Hajna.

But as he did in a previous attempt to query him, Periera, who has described himself as an “organic farmer” among other occupations, said he would have

Time capsule to be opened on Sept. 11, 2051, with Panarella, a local teacher of more than four decades, in pointing to grandchildren in attendance at the ceremony, asserting, “I hope they remember what happened here.”

night and day, they are always firemen.’”

“Well, as we stand here today in front of this monument dedicated to our first responders, I think this quote should be changed to, ‘The funny thing about first responders is night and day, they are always first responders,’” declared Dovi, noting that all first responders answer the call for help and seamlessly operate as a team.

The monument, he added, “represents those who take the call to those who answer the call,” and is intended to serve as a “place of honor and reflection.”

A time capsule was also placed, set to be opened on Sept. 11, 2051, with Panarella, a local teacher of more than four decades, in pointing to grandchildren in attendance at the ceremony, asserting, “I hope they remember what happened here.”

no comment on the matter for the time being, other than that he is in “continual communication with the NJDEP.”

More responsive to this reporter’s questions, however, was Pemberton Township Business Administrator Daniel Hornickel, who in a May 7 phone interview noted that “we have had a fair amount of communications over the past couple weeks with the property owner” who indicated he was in the process of “removing the asphalt and having the dirt tested” in accord with the NJDEP directive, adding that any soil analysis would be “the property owner’s responsibility.”

While reiterating what he previously told this newspaper about having driven the property following the dumping and observing no construction material, Hornickel said to “keep in mind that the

Worrell, an emergency services volunteer of 40 years, who also served as a career paramedic, in delivering the keynote address, highlighted how first responders handle everything from bringing an infant back from the brink to giving one a blanket at a shelter. She noted one “is not going to remember us, but will remember how we made them feel on their worst day.”

Television host Mr. Rogers, of Mister Rodgers’ Neighborhood, she recalled, “told us when scary things happen, look for the helpers.”

“There will always be helpers,” Worrell continued. “And every day, 365 days a year, 24 hours of the day, rain or shine – it doesn’t matter, we are the helpers.”

Her hope of the monument, she added, is it will draw “families to come and sit” near it, “and have mom explain what this means, and what this is.”

roadway was covered with dirt” at the time and “I wasn’t out there with a shovel.”

“We all have kind of a common goal, whether it is the township, the Pinelands Commission, or the NJDEP, and that is to make sure whatever is done to allow the property owner better access is done according to environmental rules,” the business administrator added.

If upon analysis, the soil that was dumped there proves to be clean fill, he noted, “they may allow him to leave it there.”

But that prospect is not one that sits particularly well with area environmentalists such as DeVito, who maintained that depositing that soil “in freshwater wetlands and streams” is unacceptable, so that even if it “tests

See DUMPING/ Page 8

Photo By Andrew King

DEMOCRATS

(Continued from Page 5)

Since the things that set the presumptive front-runners on the Democratic ballot— those two state legislators from the same district now competing for that coveted congressional seat—apart from each other is the one question not readily answered by perusing their online campaign websites, the Pine Barrens Tribune recently asked both these candidates how they would describe their differences to voters and sum up what they think makes each of them better-suited than the other to serve in the U.S. Congress.

Assemblywoman Carol A. Murphy, in Her Own Words

Here’s the written response we received from Carol Murphy’s office:

“I appreciate Dr. Conaway’s service in the Assembly and our time together as colleagues, and I am proud of the work we have done together for Burlington County.

GOP

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And while he is not one to engage in “identity politics,” he does like people to know that all the values he has brought to his professional life and would now like to extend into the political realm if given the chance, such as the strong power of showing empathy, always speaking up in the defense of right and fighting against wrong, never taking anything for granted, always working hard, and leaving nothing to chance, are ones he learned from his parents.

Putting those into practice, he maintained, “I have consistently spoken up when I see things going wrong and help to find appropriate solutions” and have always taken pride in “knowing the pulse of the people, no pun intended coming from a cardiologist. It’s always good to know what people think and want. It just makes you do your job better.”

All the positive forces in his upbringing, he added, have “led me into the service of helping improve people’s lives, one at a time. Now it is time to scale it up to fight the big fight, the good fight, for the people.”

As for the Democratic candidates currently hoping to do the same, he would only say, “I would love to get up on the debate stage with any one of them.”

While Mohan may be the candidate of choice of the county Republican organizations for the 3rd District, however, that doesn’t mean that Republican primary voters don’t have other options available to them on the ballot—three more of them, in fact.

Shirley Maia-Cusick, Out to

the American Dreamʻ

Brazilian-born and educated, Shirley Maia-Cusick, a grandmother of six who currently resides in Medford Township with her husband Bob, a retired law-enforcement officer, describes herself on her website as a “Latina mama-bear.” Originally a candidate for the U.S. Senate seat now occupied by Robert Menendez, she has since withdrawn from that race to run for the anticipated 3rd

While we have agreed and collaborated on many issues over our time in the Legislature, there are a few policies that we have differed on.

“It has always been a top priority for me to stand with workers and support their protections, wages, and pensions. For that reason, I have been a vocal advocate for legislation for safe nurse staffing ratios. Our nurses in New Jersey risked so much during the heights of COVID-19 and many have left the profession due to inadequate support. Safe staffing legislation could protect patients and nurses and improve nurse retention. Dr. Conaway opposes the safe-staffing bill, prioritizing healthcare institutions over our patients and nurses.

“Importantly, when Governor Christie was pushing through historic cuts to pension and benefits programs for teachers and state workers, I stood with Senator Linda Greenstein, as her chief of staff, to oppose him. Assemblyman Conaway was one of the few Democrats who supported Christie and helped him gut those pensions and benefits, which has created detrimental long-term effects for

District vacancy instead.

Having earned a law degree in her native country, she says she had originally intended to return there until falling in love with America , where she “learned that hard work can take you to the top, no matter where you’re from,” and “experienced the sweet air of freedom,” causing her to immigrate here for good in the 1990s and settle in New Jersey, the state that “gave me everything and allowed me to achieve my American dream.”

But when she talks about what has motivated her to become her district’s representative in Congress, she likes to say, “I want my America back,” by which she means “an America that was safe, an America that had family values, an America where people respected one another,” which she would to be instrumental in restoring for her grandchildren.

Among the policies listed on her website that she believes could help accomplish her goal of “reclaiming the American dream” are lowering taxes, reducing regulations, and investing in our workforce. She also is firm in her belief that “children belong to parents and families, not the government,” and strongly opposes their being taught “non-academic deeply personal topics in the classroom without parental knowledge,” as well as the “pushing (of) life-altering gender transitions for minors without parental consent.”

Among Maia-Cusick’s other goals, were she to succeed in winning both the upcoming primary and general election, are to help “refocus our educational system on academic basics so students can focus on acquiring the tools they’ll need for the future,” and to introduce and support measures to repair our “broken immigration system” that provide avenues for immigrants to come here legally, pay taxes, and contribute, as well as paths to restoration for those who’ve been selfsufficient and proven their contribution to their community over time.

As for foreign policy, she believes in committing American resources after American needs have been met, with the slogan “Take care of your own house first” guiding her decisions when it comes to engaging in conflicts abroad.

our teachers and state workers to this day.

“For those reasons, I am the only candidate in this race who has earned the endorsement of any unions. I am honored to have the endorsements of the Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters and the International Association of Firefighters. Middle and working-class families understand I am the candidate in this race that will represent them.

“Throughout this race, I have advocated to party leaders for a more open and fair endorsement process. The federal ruling to end the county line system in the Democratic primary was a victory for democracy. My opponent has continued to defend the county line system, even after this ruling. On the issue, he has said, ‘I do have a concern that a measure like this might end up weakening the parties, and I do believe we need strong parties.’ I believe that the strength of our democracy is more important than the strength of our parties.

“Finally, I am running to be the first woman elected to Congress from South Jersey. We need women in Congress who understand on a personal level how

The effort Maia-Cusick has put into her campaign so far is reflected in an online store featured at her website, offering such items as “Shirley for Congress” T-shirts, caps, and mugs.

Greg Sobocinski, the Candidate of Those Who Are ‘Fed Up’

Perhaps the most outspoken of this trio of GOP alternatives is financial consultant Gregory M. Sobocinski, who describes himself on his website as “a Christian, husband, father, businessman, gun owner, and someone who believes the Constitution “means what it says,” and who campaign under the slogan “God save America.”

A Wyoming native who has lived most of his life in New Jersey, Sobocinski claims his “roots are deep” in the 3rd Congressional District, where he has lived, worked and voted for almost 38 years, and where his wife and he have raised their eight children in three different townships. He also notes that he “was active in party politics early on,” having been “elected and re-elected as a Republican County Committeeman.”

Sobocinski also claims to share “the same values as most of the men and women in this district and boasts of having “never held a job in government or for government.” But in a video posted at his website, he cites such things as “chaos on our border, skyrocketing inflation, failing schools and unsafe communities” as being among the reasons he’s ‘fed up,” maintaining that “Andy Kim and the Democrats have quickly made America dangerous and unaffordable” and that “those in power want to control every aspect of our lives while taking away our God-given rights.”

But Sobocinski’s criticisms aren’t just reserved for Democrats (that after once having supported slavery and racism, he says “has the nerve to lecture to us about discrimination”), but for the Republican party as well, “at least here in New Jersey, for “doing the same things over and over again, expecting a different result, and for choosing candidates who when they’re not “defeated roundly, go to Washington just to become part of the swamp.”

Some of the other things he claims have caused him and the hundreds of other

essential it is to protect reproductive rights, close the wage gap, strengthen services for victims of domestic violence, and support women-owned businesses. I have fought like hell at the State Capitol and will bring that same fight to Congress.

“My consistent support for working families, commitment to democracy, and advocacy for women’s rights make me the right person to be the 3rd District’s next congresswoman.”

Assemblyman Herb Conaway, in a Phone Interview

Here (in somewhat abridged form) is what Dr. Conaway told this newspaper when the same question was put to him by this reporter:

“With democracy on the ballot and a clearly dysfunctional Congress, voters are looking for someone with proven leadership ability, proven accomplishments outside of politics and a proven legislator, as reflected in a 26-year tenure in the New

See DEMOCRATS/ Page 8

voters in the district with whom he has spoken to be “fed up” are the “Green New Deal and the socialists who created it,” attacks on our fossil-fuel industries and “the high-paying jobs they support and the clean and abundant energy they produce,” critical-race theory, “boys competing in girls’ sports,” “government and universities censoring conservative thought, canceling debate and rewriting history,” and the “mask mandates, injection mandates, the CDC, NIH, WHO and the misinformation campaign surrounding the rebranded flu they call COVID-19.”

And despite his name appearing on the Republican primary ballot in the primary, Sobocinski claims that during the 35 years he has lived in the district, “there has never been a serious independent challenge to the two parties until now.”

Michael Francis Faccone, Representing ‘Transparency and Accountabilityʼ

Michael Faccone is a current member of the Freehold Borough Library Board of Trustees and an appointee to the borough’s participatory budget committee, who, according to Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection web page, has a “multifaceted background ranging from finance to public service.”

“With nearly four decades of unwavering loyalty to the Republican Party, I bring a vision of unity and pragmatism to the forefront of my campaign,” he told that venue when asked to describe himself.

“I understand that progress requires collaboration across party lines, and I have been committed to prioritizing critical issues such as crime, border control, TRUE tax relief, parents’ rights, protection of our children, education, healthcare, and economic prosperity.

“Transparency and accountability are not just buzzwords for me,” Faccone maintained. “They are guiding principles. I pledge to simplify legislation and amplify the voices of constituents, ensuring that our concerns are heard and addressed effectively. My mission is clear: to be a tireless advocate for the rights and wellbeing of all New Jerseyans and America!”

DEMOCRATS

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Jersey General Assembly. I am chairman of the Assembly Health Committee and have served in that role for the last 18 years. In the Assembly caucus I have served as majority whip and currently serve as deputy speaker – a role I’ve held for several years.

“After suffering through this do-nothing Congress, the citizens of the 3rd District are looking for an experienced legislator to go to Washington and get things done for them and our nation. That is why when it comes to legislative experience, it is important for people to know that I've done transformative

DUMPING

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legislation here in New Jersey. I can, without fear of contradiction, say that no one in this race can approach my record of addressing the big issues. Examples include such measures as sponsoring into law the constitutionally affirmed school-funding formula that increased funding to middleclass school districts, expanding healthinsurance access for kids and prescription access for seniors, and protecting senior retirement income taxation in New Jersey. Additional measures that I’ve sponsored into law include New Jersey’s health insurance exchange, mental health screening for students, climate change mitigation and farmland preservation. Nearly all of those measures passed on a bipartisan basis.

clean,” meaning free of contaminants, “it all has to be removed,” with the possible exception of small amounts being allowed to remain on the access roadway itself.

DIVIDE

(Continued from Page 3)

were (a very basic, watered-down animal ordinance was passed last year).”

DeGroff, who had earlier suggested revamping local code, responded to the man by saying he “agrees with you” to “keep the town” the same and have it “stay the way it is.”

“We need to be like other towns, such as Medford,” DeGroff said. “But we will look at anything we think we can revamp, and (that will) benefit the town and keep the character of the town.”

It led one to shout out their opposition, however, to any property maintenance ordinance being changed to become stricter.

A second resident of 11 years, in which it was indicated that she is the neighbor that Bowker has been launching public complaints against, contended she is simply the victim of a “resident with a personal vendetta” and that “this is harassment through a third party,” contending that township officials, the local fire marshal and State Police have been called on her for simply doing things that “residents are free to do on our property,” such as having a fire pit, which she claimed to have gotten a permit to have.

“I will no longer allow for our peace to be disturbed, and I will not allow this man

Another problem that will have to be addressed, DeVito contended, is that of restoring the area to something approaching its natural state.

“All that vegetation that had grown up over 100 years has to be replaced,” he declared. “And that is going to be an

to berate my family at these meetings!” she declared, threatening to pursue legal recourse if it doesn’t stop.

Both DeGroff and Committeewoman Donna Mull conveyed they were unsure of who the woman actually was, but Mull said that if she is the one being accused of playing “loud music,” she should know that the complainant has been advised there is “nothing we can do.”

“I should not have to deal with this!” the woman declared in response. “If my husband wants to come home and play music on a nice day, he should not have three State Troopers come to my house!”

Burns, in response, recounted that attempts at tightening the noise ordinance was “another” item that “did not pass” after residents “turned out in force” to express that they “wanted to enjoy the township as they have.”

The State Troopers who took no action against the woman for playing her music, Burns contended, were “absolutely correct” in doing so, as there is “nothing in our ordinances that prohibit you from doing it.”

However, he emphasized the “committee cannot stop residents coming to meetings and voicing their concerns.”

“We can’t stop them,” Burns said. “That would be infringing on their rights as you are alleging that they are doing to you. But I can assure you that the committee has

“No one in this race on either side of the political divide has accumulated my record of accomplishment. I invite voters to compare our respective records.

“I have also exhibited unwavering support for Andy Kim, whereas my opponent was for him until she failed to win the support of the Democratic Party in Monmouth County, at which point she told a reporter that she was considering running (on the same ticket) with Tammy Murphy, an offer which, to the First Lady’s credit, she rejected.

“The other thing people are concerned about is whether or not you mean what you say and whether or not you have the courage of your convictions.

“With democracy and a woman’s right

incredibly expensive proposition. They just can't be allowed to throw down grass seed. We have to make sure there is a full-scale ecological restoration.”

Also weighing in was Pinelands Preservation Alliance Public Advocate

Jason Howell, who stressed the importance of determining whether the

not directed any employee or officer of the township to take any action.”

DeGroff contended it is a “state police issue.”

A husband and wife couple, 57-year residents of the township, also spoke out, with the man describing he “likes the town exactly the way it is” but that a “little attention” is needed to Lebanon Lakes, and his significant other asserting, “It is nice to live without restrictions to an extent,” pointing out she has speakers outside her home in which she plays music, but that there are abandoned houses in Lebanon Lakes with broken windows, fallen down gutters and vehicles outside of them that are “not legal to be driven.”

“It has been that way for a longtime, I think because there is no particular ordinance (addressing it),” she said.

Lebanon Lakes, she added, “has gone up, to down, to down.”

And when the woman began to raise the issue of feral cats, DeGroff responded that “we don’t want to change our structure here,” but that there are “some things” that need to be addressed.

It led an audience member to declare, however, “I don’t want to see ordinances being updated to cater to individuals to basically have legal grounds to come after you!”

Meanwhile, Bowker’s neighbor asserted,

to make her own healthcare choices on the ballot, it is critical that this seat now held by Andy Kim remains in Democratic hands. I am a proven vote-getter who is ready to go on day one.

“Another distinction between me and my chief opponent in this primary race is my refusal to run on identity politics. Americans are rightly weary of identity politics. I have never run that kind of campaign because I trust voters to review the record, assess the relevant facts and pick the candidate who will do the best job of representing them.

“I should add that by wide margins, my candidacy has been endorsed by the Democratic parties in all three of the counties

See DEMOCRATS/ Page 11

soil involved contains any contaminants, because due to the region having a “porous aquifer system,” that could expose everybody living in the Pinelands to such toxic agents.

“As long as they are not allowing contaminated soil to remain at the site, they are doing their job,” Howell declared.

in part, “for some reason this man thinks he has a say in what is in our yard,” and as a mother of three with a fourth child on the way, she and her family “want to be left alone!”

She called for one to “mind their own business,” and when she added that “at some point there has to be a line,” DeGroff repeated that it is a “state police issue,” before expressing his hope that the two neighbors could work the situation out. After maintaining she has not been given so much as a ticket or fine in her 10 years as a resident, and had only been recently summoned to answer for her trailer, and pointing out the April 24 session was the third governing body meeting in a row in which her trailer was raised, declared, “Leave it alone! It is not your yard! Mind your own business!”

“It is your home, where you can do what you want, unless you are really doing some horrible things,” the woman declared of owning a residence. “If you can pass an ordinance about Minding Your Own Business, that would be great!”

It led Donoghue to retort, however, “ordinances are put in place in order to maintain a community and maintain property values, so when you say, ‘mind your own business,’ if you see something that is devaluing your property, you have every right to bring it to someone’s attention!”

AGREEMENT

(Continued from Page 4)

be told of it, and that a meeting will also be held with Saint Davids Place residents to “have discussion about what we are going to do with that eyebrow before construction is completed.”

As for the pole array, Mikulski noted that Kupper Engineering had prepared plans on behalf of the solar developer, in which PSE&G has reportedly since commented on, and “it is not going to be a big box anymore,” but rather, “it is going to be the components inside the box on poles, up on four or five poles, on Big Hill Road.”

“I want to publicly thank PSE&G, as this is not their policy in New Jersey, and in fact, this is the only approval they have given for this in the State of New Jersey,” Mikulski asserted. “I also want to thank the residents of LeisureTowne, and although PSE&G did not say this, it would not have happened if they did not keep pressure on them through letters and phone calls. And I want to thank residents for their persistence, and certainly patience. We are not there yet, but are getting there.

“I know it has been frustrating, and I know some people felt we let it die, but we never did, and every single week since that box arrived, we have had conversations with somebody.”

During the latest April 16 session, Mikulski further declared, “the process is moving forward … it is moving forward.”

ELECTION

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would like to emphasize is his familiarity with the town (and vice versa), being coowner of J.A. Tree Service and co-owner of Gretna Green Landscaping, both located in the village of New Gretna, as well as having spent many hours volunteering for the town, both on road department projects (using the knowledge gained from 16 years with the New Jersey Department of Transportation) and helping in getting bids for certain needed items.

And while he has had no experience holding public office, he did run for the commission once before, a number of years ago, losing by just a handful of votes.

“Many people here know me, and if they don’t, they haven’t lived here very long,” he quipped, noting that his roots in Bass River go back to his great-grandfather and have continued for five generations, including his grandchildren.

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However, none of the familiarity, he noted, comes from social media, which he is most decidedly not on.

His candidacy, however, has been endorsed on Facebook by Ashley Cramer of the site 08087 Community Events and News, along with a write-in candidate, Dan Sikora, who has lived in town for almost four years and has never before sought any elective office or board seat, and is “not for ‘progress’” when it comes to changing the landscape of the town.”

“I am a fixer,” Sikora noted in an online posting by Cramer. “I enjoy fixing things that are broken, whether it be helping people, repairing physical things instead of replacing them, or changing policies, which have led to massive deficits.”

The three long-time incumbents running for re-election are Mayor Deborah BuzbyCope, an area chiropractor who has twice unsuccessfully sought to be elected Burlington County Clerk, Deputy Mayor Louis Bourguignon, and Commissioner Nicholas Capriglione.

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LEGAL NOTICES

NOTICE OF RESCHEDULED MEETING Tabernacle Township, County of Burlington, State of NJ

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN pursuant to N.J.S.A. 10:4 ET. Seq., the Open Public Meetings Act, please be advised that the Township Committee of Tabernacle Township has rescheduled the May 20, 2024 meeting to May 28, 2024. The meeting will be held at 6:30 pm. The meeting will be held at the Tabernacle Fire House, 76 Hawkin Rd., Tabernacle, NJ 08088. Action will be taken at the meeting. Any questions, please call Maryalice Brown at (609) 268-1220 x115.

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DEMOCRATS

(Continued from Page 8)

In

candidates on the ballot whose qualifications 3rd District voters may wish to consider in choosing a replacement for Andy Kim to represent them in Congress:

• Attorney/human rights activist Joe Cohn

• Entrepreneur and former political intern Sarah Schoengood

• Public school educator and union member Brian Schkeeper Joe Cohn, in Words from His Website

Of the three longer-shot candidates in the Democratic race, Cohn is clearly the one with the most defined positions on a variety of issues and experience in

having directly addressed a number of them during a 20-year career that has included serving as a legal director at two American Civil Liberties Union affiliates and a volunteer lawyer for an assortment of causes involving not just human rights, but those of animals as well.

Among the causes Cohn has supported and hopes to champion as the district’s next congressman are combating censorship and fighting for a free press, driving down the cost of prescription drugs, fighting poverty and “securing all our financial futures,” investing in infrastructure, protecting the environment, preserving the Pinelands, making higher education and technical trade schools more affordable, judicial, police and immigration reforms, and, speaking as a member of the Jewish faith, defending both Israel and the rights of Palestinians.

Cohn also describes the challenges he has encountered in taking on establishment candidates in a statement he issued on March 11 following the Mercer County Democratic Convention, which he characterized as “the product of an opaque and unfair system that presented Democrats with little more than the appearance of a free and open election.”

“Our nation is governed by entrenched career politicians who are out of touch with the daily struggles faced by ordinary Americans, and we can’t keep sending the same type of people to Washington expecting to see new results. I proudly represent a new generation of leadership focused on problemsolving – not partisan politics.

“My background in running a small business, and expertise in supply chain management, food distribution, foreign policy, and education, uniquely position me to confront the challenges ahead. I possess a strong understanding of various industries and how to tackle pressing issues such as inflation, international relations, labor, and immigration. This practical insight distinguishes me and makes me exceptionally qualified to advocate for our interests in Congress.

“Amidst widespread division and hate, I aspire to be a unifying force—bridging gaps rather than widening divides. We need representatives like myself who are not beholden to special interests, but are driven by a genuine desire to serve the people they represent.”

COUNCIL

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involved in adult sports and activities and are all members of Canoe Carnival Float groups.”

Aromando, however, said he “does not get much comfort” from the possibility of two inexperienced candidates and one existing council member with less than three years of experience “holding the majority controlling our $5.5-million municipal budget and our $1.5 million sewer utility budget.”

“We need independent voices on council,” he declared.

“ I’m a public-school educator, a union member, a husband, son, and brother, a dad of two boys, a foster parent to 13 children and counting, and a pet adopter (multiple times over). In all of these capacities, I have the duty to care and protect. I am running for Congress because as a middle-class teacher and parent, I know that the worries we face after class and after bedtime don’t stop when the sun rises.

“As your representative, I will work to expand access, accessibility, and affordability to all types of healthcare, especially for those who need it most. The promise of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness should not depend upon your ability to afford it.”

Campaign Aide

Says Congressman Kim ‘Staying Out of it’

Oh, and one more thing. When this newspaper asked Any Kim campaign aide Katey Sabo whether he had any personal preference as to who should succeed him as 3rd District representative, her email reply was, “He is staying out of it. He is staying neutral for the primary. That’s where we’ll leave it.”

Sarah Schoengood, in an E-Mail to this Newspaper

Brian Schkeeper, from His Website, on Why He’s Running