Pine Barrens Tribune March 18, 2023 - March 24, 2023

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Buyer of School Building in Bass River Reported Discussing Converting It to Yeshiva with Officials

TASTY TESTIMONIAL

Lakewood Developer Thought to Have a Seminary in Mind, But Term Could Also Mean Religious-Oriented Day School

By Bill Bonvie Staff Writer

Pine Barrens Tribune during a brief phone interview this past week.

The plaques awarded to Madaan and Garthaus were in appreciation for their having acted “quickly and courageously in the face of unknown danger.”

“Your selfless act was brave and honorable,” each plaque said, adding, “We’re thankful that you are a part of our community.”

The letter of appreciation presented to Klimowicz, and signed by Mayor Deborah Buzby-Cope and her fellow commissioner members, Deputy Mayor Louis Bourguignon and Commissioner Nicholas Capriglione, read as follows:

BASS RIVER—A proposal reportedly made to local officials by the new owner of the former Bass River Township Elementary School to convert it into a “yeshiva” was disclosed at the March 6 meeting of the township’s three-member Board of Commissioners after concerns about the potential use of the century-old structure were raised by a neighboring resident.

A key question that went unanswered in the ensuing discussion, however, is exactly how Lakewood-based developer Eli Blech, who finally purchased the property last month after having successfully bid on it a year ago, might decide to interpret that terminology.

The board members seemed to be under the impression that the kind of facility Blech had in mind was an Orthodox Jewish college or seminary for the training of rabbinical students, which Mayor Deborah BuzbyCope said he had characterized to her as “an undergraduate college for boys.”

But a yeshiva, according to the Merriam Webster online dictionary, can also be described as either “a school for Talmudic study” or “a Jewish day school providing secular and religious instruction.”

Exactly what sort of yeshiva the developer might ultimately settle on could make a huge difference in how likely any plans for it are to be approved and how long that process

See TASTY Page 6

See BUYER/ Page 8

Photos By Adrianne Bruce

The three heroes of the Feb. 7 rescue of the alleged victim of an unidentified cross-country kidnapping are honored at a March 6 meeting of the Bass River Board of Commissioners. The trio are service station owner Jatin “Bobby” Madaan, employee Jammie Garthaus, and Trooper Robert Klimowicz flanked on left by Commissioner and Public Safety Director Louis Bourguignon and on the right by Commissioner Nicholas Capriglione and Mayor Deborah Buzby-Cope. In second photo, Buzby-Cope holds up a cake, custom-made for the occasion, with gold and blue icing in honor of the State Police, that was served to attendees at the meeting.

Bass River Honors Heroes Who Thwarted Alleged Abductor with Tributes, Cake

By Bill Bonvie Staff Writer

BASS RIVER—The heroes of the saga that briefly made rural Bass River Township the cynosure of media attention back in February – the rescue of a woman who reported having been held captive while being driven across the country by a man with whom she claimed to have had a brief consensual relationship, and the latter’s subsequent arrest – were honored at the latest meeting of the township’s Board of Commissioners with testimonials and even a cake that was shared with those in attendance.

Recognized by the board with plaques were Jatin “Bobby” Madaan, owner of the

Conoco service station on Route 9 where the woman fled, and his employee, Jammie Garthaus, both of whom managed to lock out her alleged abductor.

Presented with a framed letter was Trooper Robert Klimowicz, of the Tuckerton State Police Barracks, who promptly responded to a call about the situation and was able to locate and arrest the purported perpetrator, James W. Parrillo, Jr., walking along Route 542 a short time later without incident.

“They’re calling us heroes and stuff, but we’re not – we were just simply here doing our job, and you would hope that one human would do something like this for another if the need arose,” Madaan told the

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LOCAL NEWS / FEATURES

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Pemberton Twp.’s Jones Farm Storage Barn to be Rehabilitated into ‘Drive-Thru Barn’ for Water, Sewer Divisions Following Fire

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At right, Pemberton Township’s Jones Farm Storage Barn, damaged by fire in July 2022, and slated for rehabilitation. At left, a farmhouse on the Jones Farm that used to be the offices of the now-defunct Pemberton Township Municipal Utilities Authority (PTMUA).

By Douglas D. Melegari Staff Writer

PEMBERTON—A red barn belonging to Pemberton Township, used to store materials for the municipality’s Sewer Division and most synonymous with the former Pemberton Township Municipal Utilities Authority (PTMUA), will be “restored” and “remediated” as an “ultimate goal” following a July 2022 fire, Business Administrator Daniel Hornickel announced last month.

And the current repair plan, he revealed, entails making the storage barn a “drivethrough barn” and also redesigning the roof to accommodate a potential future solar array.

Initially the plan for the storage barn, which has been boarded up since the July 29, 2022, inferno that was attributed to a faulty extension cord, faced questions from two Republican councilmen, with Councilman Joshua Ward asking the business administrator, “What do we use the barn out there for?”, while his 2022 running mate, Dan Dewey, asked, “What is the long-term plan for that facility out there?”

But when they were assured by the business administrator that a pending insurance claim would pay for “almost” all, if not all, of the work and that borrowing would not be required for the project, they joined with their three Democratic counterparts to retain the architectural firm of Reagan Young England Butera for designing the plans for restoring the “Jones Farm Storage Barn” at a cost not to exceed $33,075.

“That was our PTMUA storage barn,” replied Hornickel to Ward. “We use it to store materials for the Sewer Division.”

But as of right now, he said, given the structure was formerly an “old cattle barn,” there are ruts inside of it.

“We would like to fill them in, remediate it, and we would actually like to make it a drive-through barn where we can actually pull the tractor in, load the piping and other supplies and drive out the other side,” said Hornickel of the plan, noting a large garage

door would be installed to allow for tractors to enter and exit the facility. “We can use it for (the) Water and Sewer (divisions).”

Some of the pipi ng, the busi ne ss administrator explained, is currently stored outside the structure and “if the cover gets blown off, it gets exposed.” That in turn, he said, allows “animals to get in there.”

“Not that it (keeping the piping covered) won’t still work, but we want to preserve the integrity of the piping,” Hornickel declared.

“Some of its costs $500 for a 20-foot segment.”

Additionally, according to the business administrator, “the mayor (Republican Jack Tompkins) and I did reach out to Reagan Young about the possibility of having a metal roof designed instead, so that we could eventually host solar out at that location.”

“And they said there would be no difference in the price if we wanted a metal roof designed instead of an asphalt-shingle roof, Hornickel contended.

The storage barn is part of the former PTMUA’s facility at 131 Fort Dix Road. The Water and Sewer divisions of the municipality were formed in 2020, following the late 2019 dissolution of the PTMUA, and put under the purview of the municipality’s Department of Public Works, headquartered at 500 Pemberton-Browns Mills Road, or behind the municipal building, which houses council chambers.

Ward inquired if it “would be a better idea” to “move it to this location,” especially in light of a plan purportedly detailed on a “whiteboard” in the business administrator’s office to “build some new structures out here for Public Works.”

“It sounds to me to be more cost effective to move it to this location as opposed to Fort Dix-Pemberton Road,” Ward asserted.

Hornickel, however, responded that “we don’t have a lot of room in the back for piping” and “we have a lot going on back there,” including with the storage of contractor equipment.

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Saturday, March 18, 2023

Tabernacle Committee Narrowly Votes to Resume In-Person Meetings Beginning in March After Clerk Says Firehouse is Viable Meeting Space

Resumption to Follow Three Years of Virtual Meetings That Began with Pandemic and Continued Due to Town Hall Closure; Two Leaders Cite Virus in Wanting to Wait

File Photo

Tabernacle Township’s firehouse at the intersection of Route 206 and Hawkins Road.

By Douglas D. Melegari Staff Writer

TABERNACLE—Over the objections of Tabernacle Township’s mayor and deputy mayor, the all-Republican Tabernacle Township Committee has decided in a narrow 3-2 vote to return to holding in-person meetings beginning in late March, which would bring an end to a three-year long streak (with one exception) of the governing body holding virtual-only meetings.

The decision followed yet another township committee meeting on Feb. 27 via a remote meeting platform that was wrought with technical glitches, only this time it was seemingly far worse than at any other time in the past, with Committeeman William J. Sprague, Jr. later recognizing that the session was “awful” and that the “background noise on this meeting is incredible.”

Committeewoman Kim Brown, who forced the issue during her committee comments, acknowledged “this meeting was really, really a mess.”

“My mic was open, but nobody could hear a word I was saying,” she declared. “It was extremely frustrating for myself.”

And that was only the half of it. The meeting was delayed for over 15 minutes with Committeemen Noble McNaughton and Sprague initially nowhere to be found on the remote session and their colleagues appearing somewhat befuddled by their unexpected absence, with officials seen feverishly making “phone calls.”

Ultimately both committeemen showed, but when McNaughton finally got into the virtual meeting room, he was apparently unable to hear what was being said by the other attendees, though his video feed could be seen by those attending the session. Officials, including Mayor Samuel “Sammy” Moore III kept asking, “Can you hear us?”, but it was to no avail.

Township Administrator and Clerk Maryalice Brown at one point tried to provide instructions on how to proceed, but her microphone was somehow muted when she went to give them.

She could be seen trying to talk, but nothing was heard.

At one point, she held up a piece of paper in hopes that the committeeman would see it, but it was to no avail either, with her having to ultimately call him.

McNaughton restarted his PC, but it didn’t make any difference. It wasn’t until he logged off yet again and went to a different computer of his that he could hear the proceedings.

Other officials, including Kim Brown and Township Solicitor William Burns, dropped from the meeting on several occasions. At times, Kim Brown’s video feed was seen flashing on and off the screen.

There was also a moment in which an attendee who could only be identified by their telephone number and originating from “Haddon Heights” could be heard taking apparent jabs at some of the committeemen, pointing out to someone in the background that an individual is “the committeeman” who was “appointed” to the governing body. The comment elicited a noticeable smile from Hartman.

Hartman, as this newspaper previously reported, is one of three committeemen recently appointed to the governing body.

In Hartman’s case, he was appointed early last year to fill a committee vacancy after an elected newcomer left the public body after only a handful of meetings, with Hartman ultimately elected this past November to fill an unexpired term, but not before he created controversy with his first official action to propel a measure to reduce the public comment period from three to two minutes, and then later supporting Moore’s position to maintain virtual proceedings because he “feels like ‘everyone’ can be more included on the web.”

“It is a more open to ‘everyone,’” he contended in the spring of last year. “Plus, we really don’t have a space to have it. So, let’s keep doing webbased meetings.”

The committee ceased in-person meetings in March 2020 due to the Coronavirus pandemic lockdown edicts. But as those edicts were pulled back and ultimately lifted, unlike most other nearby municipalities, the committee has stayed virtual, maintaining that in light of Tabernacle Town Hall being condemned for occupancy in late 2021, it didn’t have a place to hold any inperson meetings without incurring a significant expense.

The Tabernacle Emergency Services Building (ESB), used in the past for committee sessions, was said to be no longer a viable option due to concerns that emergency vehicles did not have sufficient ingress and egress with instances of the parking lot overflowing on committee meeting nights. Parking across the street at a nearby school building, officials maintained, would require enhanced streetlighting, crosswalk additions and sidewalk enhancements that

LOCAL NEWS / FEATURES ♦ Page 3

Woodland Twp. Officials Explore Prospect of Installing Hydrant, Well for Chatsworth Firehouse After Purported Water Supply Limitations Potential Project Would Likely Be Financed with COVID Relief Monies Town Got

By Douglas D. Melegari Staff Writer

WOODLAND—The prospect of installing a hydrant and well at the Chatsworth firehouse for use by the Woodland Volunteer Fire and EMS Company to obtain water supply to fight fires is something that was raised by Mayor William “Billy” DeGroff during a Feb. 22 Woodland Township Committee session.

It came amid continuing discussion about the fire company wanting to have a draft point for the fire company to use at Chatsworth Lake, and references to ongoing negotiations with the New Jersey Conservation Foundation (NJCF), which maintains the lake property.

“I met with Conservation and got a price on all the parts and pieces needed to put a draft point at the canal at Route 532,” Fire Chief Shawn Viscardi reported. “It will be $1,625 for the pipe and all the fittings.”

Previously, Chatsworth Lake, when damage to a dam in 2021 purportedly forced the NJCF to temporarily drain it, was identified by officials as an important water source in the event of a large fire, being that the township lacks fire hydrants.

After the fire chief updated the township committee on his conversations with the NJCF, DeGroff revealed he was “going to talk to a guy tomorrow” after Viscardi was said to have “made a suggestion” that the township use some of its “COVID money” (Woodland received a total of $173,674 from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, also known as the CARES Act, according to the New Jersey State AFL-CIO) to “put a hydrant at the firehouse.”

“How does it work?” asked Deputy Mayor Mark Herndon, to which the mayor explained the hydrant would work off a “separate well and pump.”

“It is a good idea to have one somewhere, in a central location,” declared Herndon following the mayor’s explanation.

Having a hydrant, the mayor maintained, “would be good to fill the trucks.”

“They are always looking to fill the trucks, and I think it is a benefit to the residents of the town, as well as to the fire department,” DeGroff declared.

While pricing would have to be obtained would cost tens of thousands of dollars.

Officials conducted a town hall-style meeting on the issue of the disrepair of the current Tabernacle Town Hall and prospects for a future municipal complex this past December at Seneca High School, but claimed they had signed a “contract” in order to use it and needed to exit the facility by a certain time.

Some of the committee members and officials,

“to get an idea of the cost,” DeGroff said that he is “thinking we are looking at $15,000 to $20,000.”

Herndon, after hearing about the potential cost, said “we’ll see where it comes in at,” and then offered his availability to “help with the draft point.”

“Conservation said they will help out with the machine,” Viscardi said.

All of this led resident Debbie Bowker, whose late father-in-law, John Bowker Jr. was township mayor from 1975 to 1996, to ask, “What happened to getting water from Ocean Spray?”, maintaining “it is one thing” the cranberry company with a plant in Chatsworth reportedly “offered to the township” for “filling fire trucks,” further asserting “my father-in-law was mayor at the time” and “I remember that.”

Viscardi replied that the fire company “can get water there,” but that the plant has a “smaller well” that one “can’t use for fire suppression.”

Bowker then asked about the fire company using the aforementioned lake to obtain water.

The fire chief responded that two fire trucks have been using it, “but the way the levels have been in the lake, the hose can’t properly reach into the lake to get the water out.” It is why, he elaborated, the fire company is wanting to install a draft point there.

It was previously reported by this newspaper that during a Jan. 17 closed session of the committee, according to the later released minutes, it was described to the governing body that a generator on a truck belonging to the fire company “needs replacing,” and was estimated to cost up to $15,000, and that it currently “has no scene lighting.”

Now, according to Viscardi on Feb. 22, the truck “won’t need a generator” as the fire company decided to “switch over to 12 Volt lighting” which he described as being “more than sufficient with new LED lighting and less draw on the truck.”

However, repairs, he maintained are needed for the “chief car” after a “right front headlight split,” which is “$1,492 to replace.” The fire chief suggested needing committee approval to proceed with the repair, with a later “motion to approve $1,492 for chief vehicle repairs” OK’d by the committee. in response to past public displeasure about the lack of in-person meetings, kept maintaining that they essentially didn’t have a place to meet – that is until Feb. 27.

Upon Kim Brown suggesting she wanted to “revisit” the subject of returning to in-person meetings, Committeeman Noble McNaughton, appointed to the committee last month to fill See FIREHOUSE Page 5

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Saturday, March 18, 2023

Apartment Complex Damaged Last Year by Fatal, Intentionally Set Fire Undergoes ‘Top Notch’ Renovations, Pemboro Councilwoman Reveals

Borough Council Continues Its Discourse Over Requiring Garbage Be Placed in Trash Cans, or Whether Codebook Already Contains Such a Requirement

Photo By Douglas D. Melegari

Tara Hall, a Pemberton Borough apartment complex damaged in an intentionally set fire last year, has undergone renovations, with this the new look as of March 15.

By Douglas D. Melegari Staff Writer

PEMBERTON BOROUGH—Tara Hall, a Pemberton Borough apartment complex damaged in an intentionally set fire during the spring of last year that killed a man and injured two others, is undergoing “top notch” renovations, according to a borough councilwoman. ​Councilwoman Diane Fanucci reported to council during a Feb. 21 meeting that she was recently given a “walkthrough” of the renovated apartment complex.

“The gentleman in charge of the rehab of Tara Hall is doing that top notch,” she reported.

“It is going to be eight units.”

What is “really neat,” she maintained, is that in the redone basement, for each one of the apartments, “they will have their own laundry.” She described the basement as having a “gorgeous rubberized floor” and that the security cameras in the facility are “state-ofthe-art.”

According to Fanucci, the rent is purportedly set at $1,950 a month for what will reportedly

be two-bedroom apartments.

“They are doing all oak flooring,” Fanucci described. “I mean this thing is top notch. I was in shock walking through. The wood smelled good. Whatever is coming back there is going to be top of the line.”

Tara Hall had been boarded up for many months following the fire, but the boards were recently taken off the windows of the apartment complex as the renovation work has proceeded.

Recently, the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office announced that Newlin Evans IV, 23, of Burlington Township, pled guilty to starting the fire, and under a plea agreement, accepted a first-degree aggravated manslaughter charge in exchange for a 22-year sentence in state prison, of which 85 percent must be served before he becomes eligible for parole.

The inferno killed Camryn Powell, 22, of Pemberton Borough, and injured two other victims, according to state police. Powell was inside the apartment at the time of the fire, state police noted.

A criminal complaint filed against Evans, later obtained by the Pine Barrens Tribune, revealed that authorities learned that Evans was “upset” after learning just a few days before the blaze that his ex-girlfriend rekindled a relationship with Powell.

The inferno during the early morning hours of April 20, 2022, at 53 Egbert Street, which is across the street from the Pemberton Borough Municipal Building and Police Department, reportedly displaced as many as 19 people at the time.

Fanucci, in also pointing to the Pine Barrens Tribune’s recent coverage of neighboring See APARTMENT Page 9

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Saturday, March 18, 2023

FIREHOUSE (Continued from Page 3)

another vacancy, this one left by Robert Sunbury who resigned for health reasons before the start of what was supposed to be his second term (but not before he had a change of heart and called it “kind of ridiculous” that the governing body had not returned to in-person sessions), declared, “I think our meetings should be open meetings at the firehouse.”

Maryalice Brown, “in anticipation of this conversation,” said that she and Construction Official Tom Boyd looked at both the ESB and firehouse and reminded the committee of the “very limited parking” at the ESB. “Outside of the committee and the professionals, it would leave us with nine parking spaces for the public,” she maintained.

A field to the right of the ESB, the township administrator further maintained, which is used for emergency services training, was “reviewed,” but because of the type training that has been done there, it has left behind “a lot of debris, broken glass, and car parts” on the ground there and it would also “have to be leveled out.” She contended that “an estimate to stone the parking lot” came in at around $10,000.

But at the firehouse, the “parking is much more ample over there” and in the event of an unusually large crowd, members of the public could park at the vacated, former Tabernacle Rescue Squad building (which the committee has tossed around its future on a couple of occasions over the last couple of years.)

“The firehouse has a nice layout,” Maryalice Brown declared. “We would just have to pull three trucks out. It also has handicap parking.

We can meet in the main garage area, and there is a room behind that we could use for executive session. So, in taking all that into consideration, I did move forward and order two tables and cloths in anticipation of going to go back in person and using the firehouse.”

Sprague, elected to a full-term in November after Nancy McGinnis choose not to seek reelection and moved out of town, but initially appointed to the committee to fill the unexpired term of McGinnis, the latter who had called on the governing body several times while serving to return to in-person meetings, but came up short with the necessary votes, in response to the revelation that the firehouse is a viable option, declared, “I don’t understand why it is only now we are at this point trying to figure out where we have to go next and it wasn’t done months ago.”

Moore, as previously reported by this newspaper, last spring, in agreeing with Hartman, maintained that “I personally like the hybrid,” and that “more people can attend, and it makes it a little easier for ‘us.’”

“I would like us to stay hybrid for a while, especially with all the town hall stuff going on,” the mayor maintained at the time. “To me, that just helps me out with my schedule for right now.

I am just one member of the governing body and I just think it is a win-win for all of ‘us.’ It is easier for ‘everybody.’”

On Feb. 27, after Kim Brown and McNaughton expressed their desire to return to in-person meetings, Hartman and Moore, while maintaining they are now “all about going back,” “do not have a problem with it,” and “believe we should go back in person and everything,” expressed wanting to wait until May to resume in-person meetings because “there is still COVID and the flu.”

“COVID is still running pretty good through the schools and other township buildings, so we can play it a little safe and it will give Maryalice some time to set everything up,” Hartman maintained. “I would suggest a May start date.”

Sprague, however, retorted that he “agreed” with Kim Brown that “it should be done immediately” and declared “this has been ongoing for a couple of years and eventually everything has to come to an end,” before asserting that “COVID is over.”

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Deck Reportedly Lifted Into Place, Assembled for Jackson Road Bridge as Medford Township Motorists Await Its Reopening Later This Spring

Staff Writer

MEDFORD—Repairs to the Jackson Road Bridge in Medford Township, closed since November 2021, continue to progress.

“County crews completed the concrete abutment cap pour on Feb. 23,” said Township Manager Kathy Burger during a March 7 Medford Township Council meeting in providing an update on the bridge given significant public interest in its reopening, and concern over the length of its closure. “On Feb. 27, crews began removing the concrete forms and the installation of the

bridge underdrain.”

As of March 2, she added, crews are “wrapping up” the backfilling of the bridge and “they plan to begin lifting the bluelaminated timber deck into place.”

Eyewitness aerial footage taken earlier this week, since the March 7 council meeting when Burger made the pronouncements, shows that construction crews have now assembled the bridge deck. New timber railings also now appear to be in place.

“So, they are moving along,” Burger maintained. “And they are supposed to be working with the utilities to try and get them scheduled to move everything back into place when they are done.”

The relocation of utilities in the area of the bridge turned into a several month-long process, this newspaper previously reported, and delayed completion of the bridge from late summer of last year to spring of this year. “ F i n g e r s c r o s s e d ,” d e c l a r e d Councilwoman Donna Symons.

go in and out of theatres, they go to dinner, they go to … COVID is a non-issue right now,” Sprague declared. “ … The background noise on this meeting is incredible. It is awful. People are cutting in and out. I don’t understand what people are saying. You don’t get the whole context of what their saying.”

The disturbances, Sprague continued, are “an impossible thing for people to deal with,” before declaring, “let’s just get this done.” Brown confirmed she can provide for adequate notice and have the necessary arrangements in place by the committee’s scheduled March 27 session.

Hartman’s motion to resume in-person meetings beginning in May (when Democratic President Joe Biden is set to rescind the national

COVID emergency), seconded by Moore, was defeated in a 3-2 vote, with Kim Brown, McNaughton and Sprague casting votes of opposition. McNaughton’s motion to resume in-person meetings at the firehouse beginning March 27 was approved 3-2, with Brown and Sprague joining with McNaughton to defeat the position of the mayor and deputy mayor.

Moore summarized that there “seems like a mixed bag of opinions,” and after all the back-and-forth and comments made about the quality of the meeting, a chime could be heard letting attendees know that an individual had entered the meeting (or in this case re-entered), with Burns asserting, “Sorry to interrupt, I got kicked out and am now back.”

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LOCAL NEWS / FEATURES

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Carns Family Farm Matriarch Receives Medford Solicitor’s Letter Warning of Potentially More Summonses Over Commercial Trucks

By Douglas D. Melegari Staff Writer

MEDFORD—The matriarch of the Carns Family Farm, fined $10,000 last year after being prosecuted by Medford Township over the storage of commercial trucks on her property belonging to her sons, as well as over them having their tree service business registered there, has been warned that she faces the prospect of another round of summonses for the same things.

The written warning from Medford Township Solicitor Timothy Prime to Carolyn Carns, which generated immediate and swift outrage in the community once again, just like the fine did when it was handed down to the 81-year-old woman by a Pemberton judge last November, came after one of her sons declared in a Feb. 28 local social media group that the trucks were coming back to the farm (after having been purportedly relocated last year following a Notice of Violation) upon the family receiving an email from township Zoning Officer Ann Bell that the farm meets the qualifications of one under township Code Section 501c.

“As I have previously confirmed, Code Section 501c does not limit the number of commercial cars or trucks used in conjunction with a permitted agricultural use,” wrote Bell to the Carns in the email.

“The ordinance does not permit the storage of vehicles or permanently maintaining the vehicles at the site. The ‘commercial cars or trucks’ may be used when and as necessary for the agricultural use, in your case, a tree farm.”

Accompanying the son’s social media posting was a video showing three commercial tree trucks pulling into the driveway for the farm at 265 Medford-Mount Holly Road.

“501c does not clarify when, how often, etc. as far as usage,” wrote David Carns of the reasoning behind returning the trucks to the farm after receiving Bell’s message. “It just says in conjunction with a farm operation. It is no different than a farmer storing his grain trucks, etc. on his farm until used.”

David Carns maintained of the tree trucks “technically we could use them every morning for one task on the tree farm” and be in compliance, later posting a photograph showing one of the tree trucks being used in the pruning of a Christmas tree on the farm.

Following the Carns sibling’s posting of Bell’s email, a throng of supporters who read the post and email, declared what would turn into a premature victory in an over yearlong battle with the township. Some also prematurely believed Medford Township had come to its senses in finding a way for the commercial tree trucks and tree business to be maintained at the farm.

“So glad to hear this,” wrote one woman.

“Just awesome relief!”, while another person declared, “Ring the cow bell! Congrats!”

“Well I’ll be damned!” asserted one man.

“Welcome home BOYS!!! Bring them trucks to the FARM!!!!”

A couple days later, David Carns took again to social media, but this time to report that the commercial tree trucks are again being removed from the farm. He then posted one of two pages from a letter penned by Prime to the matriarch of the Carns Family Farm, and in an accompanying note to supporters, asserted the township’s “interpretation” of Bell’s message is apparently different from that of his family.

Prime, in writing “it appears that at least three Cornerstone Tree Service trucks with trailers were brought back to the property,” on Feb. 28, but not elaborating in how he

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(Continued from Page 1) “Bass River Township has always been very grateful for the State Troopers’ presence in our town. Throughout the years, you have afforded us security and assistance in the daily protection of our residents. The recent kidnapping incident, which occurred in our little country town, validates the importance and heroics that the Troopers accomplish daily.

“Time and time again you go above and beyond for the safety of our citizens. Your quick responses and heroism often times go unnoticed. It is only now through extreme circumstances that we are able to honor the men and women who risk their lives to keep our community safe. It is with the greatest of honor that we commissioners are able to publicly acknowledge your achievements and thank you on behalf of our citizens.

“Your commitment and dedication exemplify the core values of the New Jersey State Police: Honor, Duty, and Fidelity.”

Accompanying the presentation was a vanilla sheet cake with custard filling, which was custom baked by the Tuckerton Acme’s bakery department, with gold and blue icing representing the colors of the New Jersey state police and a “Thank You!” inscribed in whipped cream, which was then shared with the participants in the meeting.

“This little old country town surely sees a lot of action,” quipped the mayor.

Parrillo, who had been going under the alias Brett Parker, had been renting a room in a nearby house from which his still unidentified alleged victim fled to the service station after he reportedly attempted to choke her.

He has since been charged with a number of offenses, including first-degree kidnapping and aggravated assault. He has also reportedly been involved in other encounters with the authorities, including one in Florida, where he was found not guilty by reason of insanity for holding a number of people at gunpoint on a yacht.

Parrillo was also sentenced to 20 months in federal prison for alleged threats against former President Bill Clinton.

came to learn about their being brought back, declared, “unfortunately, you acted unilaterally prior to our office having the opportunity to respond to your email,” or one that had been apparently sent to Bell.

501c, the Medford solicitor contended, provides that “not more than one commercial registered vehicle owned or used by the resident shall be permitted in a residential zone,” and then in bringing up a sensitive subject that landed a township councilman, Frank Czekay, recently in hot water, maintained “the Cornerstone Tree Service trucks and equipment are not owned by you.”

But Prime, in his letter to the matriarch, recognized the section of 501c that the family based its position, that “this provision

shall not be deemed to limit the number of commercial cars or trucks used in conjunction with a permitted agricultural use.”

But following that recognition, he pointed to an email apparently written to Bell that the family has “proper approval through the state to grow trees ...,” but then asked Carolyn Carns to “please provide the township zoning officer with copies of any state approvals for your property,” further asserting, “the township records do not contain any state approvals for any use on your property.”

Prime pointed out that only three acres of the farm are listed on a Farmland Assessment as “income areas” for “ornamental crops/ Christmas trees,” while the remaining 21.23

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LOCAL NEWS / FEATURES ♦ Page 7

Page 8 ♦

LOCAL NEWS / FEATURES

BUYER

(Continued from Page 1)

File Photo

The now former Bass River Township Elementary School. might take, since transforming the four-acre property into a seminary, as members of the governing body noted, would likely call for dormitories to be built that would need the blessings of both the local Planning Board and the Pinelands Commission, which has jurisdiction over the area.

The neighbor who raised the issue, in fact, asked the Bass River commissioners whether “obstacles they might come across with the planning board” could end up preventing approval for such a project from going through, and was told that the need for an additional septic system could pose one such regulatory impediment to any expansion plans the owner might be contemplating.

A day school, on the other hand, would appear to be more consistent with the facility’s previous use and thus might encounter fewer bureaucratic hurdles.

Blech himself indicated that he might be thinking along those lines several months ago prior to his filing a breach-of-contract lawsuit against the Bass River Board of Education that was eventually dismissed, when he told the Pine Barrens Tribune in a telephone interview that “the natural use of the property is educational” and that from a real estate standpoint that is its “most suitable use” as well.

He further expressed a desire in that interview to put it to “a legal and rightful use with a friendly approach,” and made a point that the right to use property for religious purposes “is all protected under federal law and state law.”

Another element of uncertainty is

CARNS

(Continued from Page 6) acres are listed as “non-income areas.”

“Certainly, you can keep and store equipment such as a tractor, augers, shearing and pruning tools for your tree farm use, and you are permitted by the ordinance to keep one commercially registered vehicle on your residential property for that use as well,” Prime wrote. “The ordinance does not limit the number of commercial registered vehicles that can come and go during the time that the tree farm is actively in use, and solely for that use.”

However, Prime contended the provision not limiting the “number of commercial cars or trucks used in conjunction with a permitted agricultural use” in 501c “does not allow the operation of the business at your property, specifically the Cornerstone Tree Service.”

Prime then pointed out that Bell “already advised you that keeping and storing more than one commercial vehicle is not permitted at 265 Medford-Mount Holly Road, and that the storing and use of the Cornerstone Tree Service vehicles on this site is again operating the business in a residential zone where the use is not permitted.”

Prime said of his letter, put on his law

WWW.PINEBARRENSTRIBUNE.COM whether the township would now be able to consider the property at 11 N. Maple Ave. in New Gretna as a reliable ratable should it ultimately be approved for one of those uses.

The sale of the building and surrounding grounds was finalized at the beginning of February for an original bid price of $757,500 after being delayed for about five months by Blech’s lawsuit.

Blech has since attempted to mend fences with the municipality and, in his latest effort to be “town-friendly,” according to BuzbyCope, has expressed a willingness to continue making tax payments on the property, which the mayor estimated would come to more than $11,000 annually.

“Right now, he’s saying he’s willing to pay taxes, unless that changes,” Buzby-Cope contended.

Ba s s R ive r D e put y Mayor L ou i s Bourguignon, when contacted by this newspaper, said the new owner had told him pretty much the same thing.

Keeping such payments coming, however, may not be anything Blech is obliged to do if he is successful in opening his yeshiva, whatever form it takes, since state law now allows “all buildings actually used for colleges, schools, academies or seminaries” to be “exempt from taxation.”

Although Blech’s now-defunct lawsuit was centered mainly around condition issues and his ability to get a Certificate of Occupancy for the building, he also alleged that the school board had been reluctant to sell the property to him as highest bidder on it after discovering he was an Orthodox Jew from Lakewood. But he subsequently told the Pine Barrens Tribune that the focus should be “forward instead of delving into those issues” and in a seemingly conciliatory gesture had pizza and soda delivered to the Feb. 6 Board of Commissioners meeting.

(Attempts by this newspaper to contact Blech via phone, text message and email in order to have him further clarify his intentions for this story were unsuccessful as of press time.)

In response to a question from the neighbor about whether athletic fields on the property might be subject to restrictions, Bourguignon pointed out that anyone residing within 200 yards of it would have to be notified by letter of any such proposed alterations and be given a chance to take part in any planning board discussion dealing with them. firm’s letterhead, that it “will confirm the zoning officer’s decision.”

The Medford solicitor advised Carolyn Carns to expect “formal advisement” from Bell that “all commercial registered vehicles must be removed from the property other than the one permitted by ordinance and only if it is owned or used by the owner or a resident for the tree farm use.”

In the event that Carolyn Carns “fails to comply,” Prime warned, it will “result in summonses being issued for the zoning violations which commenced on Feb. 28.”

He added that he “will also note” that the “Cornerstone Tree Service website continues to advertise 265 Medford-Mount Holly Road as its business address.” Previously, Carolyn Carns was not only prosecuted over Cornerstone Tree Service trucks being on her property, but also over the business being registered there.

Prime previously pointed out, in another correspondence of his that generated indignation, that Carolyn Carns could not only face the prospect of a fine when such zoning violations occur, but jailtime.

Brian Carns, another Carns sibling and David’s twin brother, in a later written rebuttal to Prime’s letter that was posted publicly, maintained that the “three trucks have not been brought back on the property overnight” and therefore “it seems that you See CARNS Page 11

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NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Tabernacle Township Committee will hold their workshop and regular meetings in person starting March 27, 2023. Meetings will be held at the Tabernacle Fire House, 76 Hawkins Rd, Tabernacle, NJ. Meetings will be held on the following dates, starting at 6:30 pm. Attendance, participation, and public comment will be limited to those attending in person only.

January 23, 2023 February 27, 2023 March 13, 2023 (Workshop) March 27, 2023 April 10, 2023 (Workshop) April 24, 2023 May 22, 2023 September 25, 2023 June 26, 2023 July 24, 2023 August 28, 2023 September 25, 2023 October 23, 2023 November 27, 2023 December 11, 2023 (Close-out) The agenda will include normal, monthly township business.

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APARTMENT (Continued from Page 4)

Pemberton Township Mayor Jack Tompkins’ swearing in, homed in on how “his team was looking at eliminating potentially cumbersome and potentially unnecessary hoops existing businesses in town currently have to ‘jump through’ as well as would like to ‘see more retail and businesses come into Pemberton.’”

“We can just put ‘borough’ at the end of that statement as far as I am concerned,” Fanucci

The business administrator called Dewey’s question asking about the “long-term plan” for the Jones Farm Storage Barn a “good question.”

“We certainly want to continue using the storage barn, and be using it more efficiently,” Hornickel replied. “The (new) mayor has been here for only 45 days, and I haven’t broached the subject of what to do with the farmhouse, and there are challenges to that.”

One possibility, according to the business administrator, is “if we are able to rehabilitate it,” the farmhouse “might be a great place for the Veteran’s organization (Advisory Committee) to meet rather than in the cramped area in the library.” (Tompkins previously offered the committee council chambers instead of the library.)

But farmhouse aside, Dewey asked of the plan for the storage barn, “Is now the right time to spend a lot of money?”

“We actually have an insurance claim pending on the funds that we would actually need to restore the barn and bring it back up to working standards,” Hornickel replied.

“We are not looking to borrow money to rehabilitate the barn. It was damaged by fire, so this is to remediate the fire damage and also to be able to convert the one side to have an opening to make it a drive-through barn.”

Dewey, still apparently concerned about cost of the scope of work planned, asked, “Are all those expenses covered?” to which the business administrator responded, “I believe we should be able to get it almost done for the amount we submitted (for an insurance claim) – yes.”

Reagan Young, having purportedly provided the township on Feb. 2 with a “written estimate” of $33,075 to “design plans” for the storage barn was then awarded the architect services contract by a 5-0 vote, with a corresponding resolution noting the township “desires” enabling “easier loading and unloading of materials” from the structure and to “enhance” the storage barn’s “usefulness to the Public Works Department.” declared. “So, there is more than one person, or district, thinking about what I have been talking about. Hopefully, we can get our Planning and Zoning Board to make things easier for businesses. At the last meeting, it left a lot to be desired.”

However, later in the Feb. 21 Pemberton Borough Council session, Councilwoman Melissa Tettemer asked in an apparent rebuttal, “It was mentioned our Planning and Zoning Board is being a little more strict than other towns – are other towns historic like ours?”

“That is basically why it is a little tougher on businesses,” she added.

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(Continued from Page 9) or the town officials are following social media again and trying to use pictures and such to manipulate reality as happened when the Medford prosecutor used words out of context from public meetings and online pictures to say we kept the trucks on the property for months while in violation, which was not the case.”

“Some of pics posted aren’t even in the current season, which can be determined by someone with an eye for detail,” the sibling further maintained. “You can’t believe everything on social media, but I guess people will, especially if it fits their agenda.”

As for the farmland assessment remark of Prime, Brian Car ns, who co-owns Cornerstone with his twin brother, retorted “in fact those three trucks are not only used to maintain the trees, but additionally assist in maintaining the remainder of our farm” and that “the local ordinance does not state that a farm has to meet a certain acreage of plantings, times of operation or when the trucks have to be used in the operations to meet 501c criteria.”

“It is no different than a farmer parking his grain truck on the farm until it is used at harvest,” he said, similar to that of a remark of his brother.

The Pine Barrens Tribune could not

immediately locate any regulation requiring local farmers to obtain approvals to grow trees as a farm crop. What this newspaper has learned from a state Department of Agriculture brochure on the Right to Farm Act, however, is that the act is “designed to help address conflicts among farmers, neighbors, municipalities, and counties regarding a farm’s practices.”

“If a conflict cannot be resolved informally, such as through Agricultural Mediation or other discussion by the parties, the act provides for a formal review process,” it is stated. “Under the act, anyone aggrieved by the operation of a commercial farm is required to file a complaint with the county Agriculture Development Board (CADB) prior to filing an action in court.

“This is what makes New Jersey’s Right to Farm Act so strong – commercial farms cannot be taken to court by neighbors and local governments first. Rather, these complaints must first be heard by the CADB or State Agriculture Development Committee (SADC), agencies that have special expertise in the agricultural industry and understand the needs of farm operations. Under the act, responsible commercial farms that meet the act’s eligibility criteria can receive significant protections from nuisance lawsuits and overly restrictive local regulations. Case law has upheld these protections, while affirming that CADBs and the SADC must exercise discretion when making formal Right to Farm determinations. Determinations are

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made on a case-by-case basis and must consider the interests of each party, including relevant local ordinances and public health and safety.”

Prime, when previously queried by this newspaper about those processes, maintained the issue deals with a commercial business being operated at the farm, and not the farm itself.

After one of the pages of Prime’s March 6 letter had been released publicly, it drew of a flurry of new outrage and accusations that the Medford administration is engaging in “corruption,” and among those who were incensed by it was a woman who wrote, “there’s a personal vendetta behind this” (the actions coming after the Carnses have been feuding politically with Watson and his administration over the last several years, with David Carns having previously released that Watson did not pay him in a timely fashion for firewood – though the mayor has repeatedly denied last year’s zoning violations and subsequent summonses had anything to do with the firewood matter) and that the “township is wasting our tax dollars.”

One of the criticisms by those outraged by the township’s recent actions is that the commercial tree trucks are causing no harm to the residents, and that family’s farm comprises of enough land as well as a buffer where they should be allowed and the local ordinance should be changed by the Medford council to that effect.

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“There’s roads to be fixed, other illegal businesses run out of private residence with commercial vehicles, excessive building of new developments, trees being taken down that they claim were dead and not cleaned up… ,” the woman continued. “Council is focused on the wrong issues. I can’t attend the council meeting tonight, but I’m sure the Carns’ concerns will be addressed yet again.”

And despite Brian Carns taking to the floor again at a recent council meeting, and a number (as demonstrated in social media for u ms and dur ing the public c om ment s e ctions of re c ent c ou nc i l meetings) of Medford residents expressing their unhappiness that the township hasn’t permitted the tree trucks to remain at the farm and supported such a significant fine being issued to Carolyn Carns, Medford Councilwoman Donna Symons asked of Brian Carns during a Feb. 21 council meeting, “What else can we do?”

Brian Carns responded, “Make things right with us,” with First Amendment activist Patrick Duff, who has gotten behind the Carnses in their battle with the township, calling the circumstances “absolutely ridiculous,” responding to Symons’ question, “What do they want? : They want the $10,000 fine reversed. They want to be able to park their trucks on the farm like they have done for years. The tree company started in the 60s folks; these trucks have been parked there for 70 years!”

Page 12 ♦

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