Saturday, April 30, 2022
WILDFIRE
(Continued from Page 2) This newspaper previously reported that i n itial ly, when the bla ze broke out, “approximately 50 structures were threatened,” on N. Westminster Drive and on Thames Court in LeisureTowne, according to the NJFFS, but as of 5:30 p.m. on March 19, according to the agency, “that number had been scaled back significantly.” Ultimately, no structures sustained reported damage. “I learned something, never having been a firefighter, that because of where that fire was, they were not actively putting water on the fire,” the mayor said. “Because of the creeks and water already back there, once they knew the fire was not going to push towards the houses in LeisureTowne, or any part of that area, it was just a matter of letting it burn.” Mikulski pointed out that “in terms of the fire investigation” it can take “over a year” for one to conclude, citing another fire in town that occurred some two years ago at a junkyard, which he maintained is still under investigation. “As for the deceased person, that is completely handled by the State Police,” the mayor noted. “It is not handled by us at all.” Michael Rathjen, deputy chief of the Hampton Lakes Volunteer Fire Company, one of two fire companies that service Southampton, told meeting attendees that the blaze is “still under official investigation,” and because of that, “there is only certain limited information that people can and cannot say.” “For the reasons as to why the fire burned for so long, it was due to common forest fire tactics,” Rathjen said. “A lot of people don’t understand – when they see firefighters, they think our job is to put the wet stuff on the red stuff; there is a fire you put water on it. “That is not how forestry works and I am a forestry firefighter with the State of New Jersey as well. Most of the time, we actually use fire to fight fire.” The reason for that, according to Rathjen, is “if we can control burn an area, then we know it is not going reignite.” “It was not an option (to use water) in LeisureTowne due to ‘certain investigations’ and geographical content back there,”
CANNABIS
(Continued from Page 10) come from afar, including from Philadelphia, to “dump paint, household trash.” Heinold called it a “buried dump.” “I am happy to hear Murphy’s Pit will be cleaned,” he declared. While the landfill “has contamination,” according to Heinold, the pit itself does not, with the solar redeveloper “looking and hoping to find contamination,” because “the way state (solar) programs work, it
PARADE
(Continued from Page 7) newcomer resigned, will seek election to a two-year unexpired term. McGinnis, who was due to run for re-election this year, confirmed to this newspaper on April 24 that, “No, I am not running.” “My business is growing, I want to spend more time with family, and I don’t agree with the way that the town is being run,” she said
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WORSHIP GUIDE
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Rathjen de clare d. “A nd just to put LeisureTowners minds’ a little more at ease, I was back there with a couple of forestry firefighters afterwards and there are a lot of natural barriers back there, including a swamp, unnatural berms – including ones back there from the 18th Century that are 6 feet tall.” LeisureTowne, Rathjen declared, was “very well protected without us even realizing they were very well protected.” I Am That I Am In further explaining why “as much water as you want” would still not have Please join us for Ministries, Inc. extinguished this particular wildfire, and All Are Welcome! In-Person Services the decision was made to let it burn itself Sunday Worship Se ervice out, Rathjen contended “there were so at 11:30 a.m. 8:15 am | 9:30 am | many inches of unburned leaves and natural Pastors Florence and 11:00 am | or via Russell Webberr substances” that the blaze would “not have Facebook Live follow us on 50 Burrs Mill Roadd, gone out,” but rather “would have traveled Southampton, NJ 08088 facebook.com/MedfordUMC through the ground, through burned roots 609 - 847- 4848 and leaves.” www.iamthatiamministriesinnc.com “From that standpoint, we let it burn for as long as it needs to, and it naturally gets Bible Sttudy put out by a good, saturation rain, which m. 7 p.m 2 Hartford Road | Medford NJ 08055 medfordumc.org | 609/654-8111 sday Wednes is what happens,” Rathjen said. “That is info@medfordumc.org why it burned for several days inside of LeisureTowne and you had smoke and ash.” Scott Mitchell, chief of the Vincent Fire Company or the other fire company that services Southampton, in noting he was the first arriving firefighter on-scene, contended 18 Mill St. that “it wasn’t that we were telling people Vincentown, NJ 08088 they were ‘not allowed to come in,’” but Worship: Sundays 10 a.m. rather “we were suggesting (to people), All Worship on because it was around mealtime, to ‘please 609-859-2299 go have a meal’” in effort to have them “stay Saturdays, 11:30 a.m. Transportation Available out of the area.” Welcome All, Call 609-859-2883 “It was more for the safety of people, Free Luncheon Month uncheon Once Per Mo because people love to come and watch and there were many large vehicles, not only in 609-893-2720 LeisureTowne, but also on Ridge Road, 527 Lakehurst hurst Roa ad | Browns Mills, NJ 08015 etc.,” Mitchell said. “And we just felt like it was safer for people to go out and eat and avoid a potential accident. It was not a worry about homes in danger.” Anyone with additional questions about the fire aspect of the incident, Rathjen said, can contact him or Hampton Lakes Fire Chief Thomas Rathjen, but given the matter is still under investigation, “what we can Why you need dental insurance in retirement. answer, we will answer.” Mikulsk i said that he would have Township Administrator Kathleen D. Medicare doesn’t pay for dental care.1 When you’re Hoffman reach out to the state police to see As good as Medicare is, it was never meant to cover comparing plans ... if there is an update that she could obtain for everything. If you want protection, you need to purchase the next regularly scheduled Southampton individual insurance. Look for coverage that committee meeting in May. helps pay for major services.
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opens up an opportunity for solar because of contamination that underlies a property.” “Murphy’s Pit,” as previously reported by this newspaper, has been considered a hotspot for illegal off-road motorsports. “Now the area becomes secured,” Gimble maintained. “There will be a fence and a buffer, whereas, before, dirt bikes. That goes away now in a sense. So, we are gaining that benefit, and taking something that has historically been an eyesore for us for very long time (and improving it). This is the most optimal solution for Murphy’s Pit, and I think it is good.”
of the reason she is not seeking re-election. “The thing is – I am trying to get things done and just don’t like the way things are being run. I just feel like that the time spent on the committee is time I can spend with my family. They keep downsizing the time the public can speak (with members of the public now only provided two minutes to speak during public comment, something McGinnis cast the lone vote to oppose). “I don’t agree with the way things are being run, and there more of ‘them’ than ‘me,’ so I just think my time is better spent running my business.”
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1 “Medicare & You,” Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 2021. 2 “How might my oral and dental health change as I age?”, www. usnews.com, 11/30/2018. 3 American Dental Association, Health Policy Institute, 2018 Survey of Dental Fees, Copyright 2018, American Dental Association.
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