CHARITABLE HUNGER FIGHTING
Wakefern, Parent Company of ShopRite Supermarkets, Celebrates 25th Anniversary of Partners In Caring, a Hunger-Fighting Program That’s Raised $65M Across Its Stores for Food Banks and Pantries, with Local ShopRite of Medford Credited for Being ‘Pillar of Community’ by Being Among Top Fundraisers, Collecting $29K This Past Year Alone
By D ouglas D. M elegari
Staff Writer
MEDFORD—It started as a “cause marketing campaign” for the Wakefern Food Corporation, the parent company of ShopRite supermarkets, with a goal to raise $1 million to combat hunger. Some 25 years later, ShopRite’s
Partners In Caring initiative has allowed the supermarket chain to donate $65 million toward combatting hunger in local communities, according to a March 26 pronouncement by Steven Hilder, community relations advocate of the Wakefern Food Corp., in an appearance at the ShopRite of Medford.
“The store here at Medford has raised hundreds of thousands of that over the years,” declared Hilder before an audience of dozens of community stakeholders who have had a direct stake over the years in the fight against hunger, ranging from local elected officials to police officers and
State of Pinelands Report Highlights ‘Banner Year’ for Public Land in Barrens, and Also Need to Revive Pinelands Municipal Council Sustainability Projects Undertaken by PPA Include Chemical-Free Farm in Southampton and Rain Garden, Cistern on Evesham Recreation Tract
By D ouglas D. M elegari Staff Writer
SOUTHAMPTON—The Pinelands Preservation Alliance (PPA), celebrating its 35th year of Pinelands advocacy, has issued its 2025 State of the Pinelands report, and while it recognizes last year was a “banner year” for public land in the Pinelands, the advocacy organization, under the leadership of a new director, Jacklyn Rhoads, believes more can be done to make the Pinelands more resilient in the face of climate change and is also calling for the re-establishment of the Pinelands Municipal Council.
The Pinelands Municipal Council is supposed to serve as a “sounding board” among the “53 municipalities within the state-designated Pinelands Area and the Pinelands Commission,” according to a description of the intended public body on the Pinelands Commission’s website.
The public body was tasked to work on “cooperative programs with the Pinelands Commission” and “support legislation that affects their communities, and try to find
Photo By Douglas D. Melegari
Representatives of Wakefern Food Corporation, the parent company of ShopRite supermarkets, as well as representatives of General Mills, celebrate the unveiling of the ShopRite of Medford’s “Hunger-Fighting Heroes” who were honored with being displayed on a Cheerios cereal box. Pictured in the front row are honorees Alysia Vales (second from left) and Annie Dackis (second from right), along with co-store director Chris Rutter.
Purpose of Monday Night’s Dinner Is to Help Finance Family
By Bill B onvie Staff Writer
TABERNACLE—It was New Year’s Eve of 2023 when Colleen Worrell, of Tabernacle Township, not only heard the kind of news that every parent dreads most, but learned it in a particularly shocking and bizarre manner.
The nightmare began when she dialed the cellphone number of her middle child, Hayley, an affable, artistic and athletic 25-year-old who had recently moved into her own apartment in Philadelphia with her pit bull terrier, Rosie, while working at Cooper University Hospital as a patient transporter, and who had uncharacteristically failed to get in touch with her mother the previous day. Only it wasn’t Hayley who answered, but rather a total stranger, an employee of City Market on North Broad Street, named Derrick Franks, who goes by the nickname “Money.”
Hayley, whom he had come to know as a regular customer, had been injured in an accident a couple nights before, Franks told Colleen — struck at a crosswalk by a hit-andrun driver, and was then in the ICU of nearby Temple University Hospital, where she had been taken after he had called 911.
Fortunately, Franks had managed to pick up her undamaged cellphone, which he found lying next to her, but it had locked itself down for 24 hours when he had attempted to use it to notify her family (whom he now occasionally keeps in touch with to check on how she is).
Meanwhile, no one else from either the police or the hospital staff — who had Hayley down as an unknown female despite finding a bank card with her name on it (although a previous address) in her possession — had made any apparent attempt to locate her relatives. And even when Colleen called the hospital, she was unable to immediately get a positive identification on her daughter.
Hayley’s bank card, however, was given to her mother when she arrived at the hospital, with a nurse asserting that it could have been stolen and telling her that social services
By D ouglas D. M elegari Staff Writer
was supposed to have been responsible for contacting a victim’s family but had obviously failed to do so in this case.
(One complication resulting from that situation, which the family had to address amid their shock, was having to hire a locksmith to free Rosie from Hayley’s apartment, where she had been confined since the accident.)
For Colleen, the only good news was that Hayley had somehow so far survived being thrown 14 feet in the air, and 40 feet away, by a 2019 Nissan sedan traveling at over 72 mph (facts not determined until days later when footage from ubiquitous surveillance cameras was analyzed by the police). But the extremely critical nature of her daughter’s condition, which included not only many broken bones, but the worst kind of traumatic brain injury and an inability to breathe on her own while in “a vegetative coma” that lasted a couple months, did not bode well for her recovery prospects.
PEMBERTON—The Township of Pemberton and Mayor Jack Tompkins are the subject of yet another lawsuit, the latest filed on April 1 by township Community Development Director Rosemary Flaherty.
Among the most damning allegations contained in the suit is that Flaherty is alleging that Tompkins “had accused her of being in bed” with two Pemberton Township councilmembers, Daniel Dewey and Joshua Ward.
Dewey and Ward were Tompkins’ 2022
of multiple allegations of retaliation and sexual harassment at the hands of the mayor, including those contained in the other legal filings.
Flaherty, in her legal filing, claims that after she had filed a complaint in December 2024 (giving it to Michelle Brown, who is the administrative assistant to the mayor, as well as the person who handles Human Resources for the municipality [particularly since the business administrator post has been vacant]), attesting to the remarks Tompkins allegedly made about Dewey and Ward, Tompkins then “angrily
Photos Provided Hayley Worrell as she appeared both before being struck by a speeding car and in the accident’s aftermath.
Photo By Douglas D. Melegari
Pemberton Township Mayor Jack Tompkins during a lively exchange earlier this year with members of Pemberton Township Council.
Internal Inquiry Underway in Pemberton After Tompkins’ Assistant
Authorized by Mayor to
By D ouglas D. M elegari Staff Writer
Receive ‘Regular’ Pay While on Vacation
PEMBERTON—An internal inquiry is underway at the Pemberton Township Municipal Building centering around a personnel record that apparently reflected an employee having worked “regular” hours for a period of many days, all while she was on vacation, with Mayor Jack Tompkins having authorized that the employee was not to be charged against her vacation time while away, the Pine Barrens Tribune has learned.
According to an email exchange provided to this newspaper as part of a news tip, Michelle Brown, who serves as administrative assistant to both the mayor and township business administrator, as well as is reportedly the township’s Human Resources officer, authored an email on Jan. 16 to Tompkins regarding an upcoming vacation she had planned for Jan. 22 to 31.
“As a follow-up from our conversation this morning, you are granted (sic) me time off with out (sic) charging my vacation; to cover the additional duties I have been performing because we do not have a BA and for the 2 weeks’ vacation that I was not able to fully enjoy because of the Richard Wright BA fiasco,” Brown memorialized to Tompkins in an email.
A couple hours later, Tompkins wrote back, “Yes agree. Thank you for all the assistance you have been providing while we search for a new BA. I can always count on you stepping up (to) the plate. Jack.”
Sources subsequently told this newspaper that Brown reportedly left as scheduled.
And what followed is apparent entries into the township’s attendance database showing that for every day, between Jan. 22 and Jan. 31, Brown had worked her “regular” 8 hours each day, paid $372.21 for each day, rather than the system accurately reflecting she was on vacation during that time.
The total of “regular” pay she incurred while gone is $2,981, according to a township “Attendance Transaction Report,” dated Feb. 3, also obtained by this newspaper.
That is reportedly in addition to the vacation time that apparently was not deducted, sources told this newspaper, with a high-ranking official, who spoke to this newspaper on a condition of anonymity for this story, alleging that the deal essentially resulted in Brown being given around $4,000.
This newspaper was also provided with the timecard submitted by Brown for the week in question, with it stating, “See email in file.”
The appropriate fields of her time clocked in and out of the municipal building are left blank.
The situation was enough of a concern for Township Solicitor Jerry Dasti to author a March 17 letter to Tompkins, copied to Brown, summarizing a discussion he reportedly held a few days earlier with both Tompkins and Brown about the Jan. 16 email correspondence that had also come to his attention.
“After discussion with both you and Ms. Brown, you have advised you unilaterally allowed Ms. Brown to take two weeks’ vacation without charging that vacation against her normally allotted time for days off, vacation, personnel days, etc.,” Dasti wrote to Tompkins.
Dasti further wrote that while he understands that the “two weeks of ‘free’ vacation time” is to “reimburse” Brown for the “time that she spent, all after normal work hours, dealing with administrativerelated responsibilities because of the township’s lack of a township administrator and because of the problems we had with a temporary administrator, Richard Wright,” he also “does not believe that the unilateral action taken by you is specifically set forth as a power granted to the mayor and our form of government.”
Rather, according to Dasti, “the type of action” undertaken by the mayor is one that should have resulted in a “report” to council.
“To not have reported your action could lead to unfortunate future ramifications and practices,” Dasti wrote. “For instance, for example and not by way of limitation, in my opinion and I believe you would agree, the mayor does not have (the) unliteral right to give non-Civil Service employees benefits arbitrarily, without advising the township council, which approves all budgets, salaries, benefits for employees, etc. To allow a person in your position to act in such a unliteral fashion, without oversight or reporting to appropriate authorities, could become abused by a ‘strong Mayor’ in our form of government.”
Dasti then advised Tompkins that he is referring the matter to the township’s Labor Counsel “for his consideration and thoughts.”
“It is my initial thought that the unliteral action that you took with regard to granting Ms. Brown, effective two additional weeks of vacation time, for the reasons you have set forth, could be acceptable,” Dasti wrote. “I do believe, however, under the circumstances, even (with) our ‘strong Mayor’ form of government, some accountability and reporting must be provided by you for this action taken for a township employee.”
Dasti’s letter, which was obtained by this newspaper via a news tip, underscores that it was an “Attorney-Client Privileged document not to be shared with anyone else, including the public or any other members of the township administrative or professional staff unless duly authorized by the township attorney.”
The township attorney further writes, “not only is this an Attorney-Client Privilege document,” but that it “certainly falls under the ‘Personnel’ provision and “it will not be discussed by me with anyone else” and “it must not be discussed until further notice with any employee or other professional of the township,” except the township’s labor counsel.
This newspaper reached out to Dasti on April 1, seeking to know whether the township attorney heard back from labor counsel, and if as a result, any further action had since been taken.
At first, Dasti demanded to see what this newspaper had obtained as correspondence apparently attributed to him.
“You should not have received that letter,” he ultimately wrote back. “It is an Attorney-Client Privileged document. But I can advise you that I have not heard from Labor Counsel yet on it.”
Woodland Officials Surprised to Learn Cannabis Enterprise
Proposed for Route 72 Is Far from Getting Needed License, But Pass Ordinance Anyhow in Hopes of
By D ouglas D. M elegari Staff Writer
WOODLAND—Officials with Woodland Township were surprised to learn during a March 26 Woodland Township Committee workshop meeting that a land acquisition transaction had not yet gone through, as of that meeting, for a property on Route 72 slated for a cannabis enterprise, and that an application to obtain a cannabis business operating license from the state had also not yet been filed, despite months of anticipation that has led to repeated requests of the Woodland Township Committee to pass an ordinance permitting cannabis establishments and establishing the appropriate zoning.
Apparent confusion about the circumstances led Township Administrator and Clerk Maryalice Brown to make the unprecedented move of phoning the prospective cannabis business owner, “Milan,” also the current owner of Woodland Discount Liquors on Route 72, while the meeting was in progress.
Pushing Land Sale
JBMDL Officer Works to Bridge Any Possible Disconnect Between Base and His Department with L.E.A.D. Program Teaching Emphasizes Smart Decisions without Use of Drugs or Violence
Brown described during the March 26 workshop session that there was “urgency” for the township committee to pass a proposed cannabis ordinance scheduled for a second reading and public hearing during the ensuing regular meeting, which would allow cannabis enterprises in the HB zone, or the highway commercial area, comprising Route 72 in Woodland.
Officials already had tossed an initial version introduced last November, which did not specify permissible operating locations.
“I think the urgency is more his decision on whether or not to buy the store, the property, than the license itself,” Brown told the committee.
(It would not make economic sense for anyone to purchase the parcel intending to use it for cannabis operations if it is not a permitted use in Woodland via a local ordinance.)
Mayor William “Billy” DeGroff then acknowledged, “I think the sale is dependent on that (the ordinance passing), because he wants to redo the whole place and make it a bigger building.”
See WOODLAND/ Page 6
As previously reported by this newspaper, cannabis enterprises cannot operate out of liquor stores under state law, and thus the Woodland Discount Liquors proprietor has been eyeing the vacant Joe Bell’s Bar for the cannabis enterprise, with the former bar reportedly “two doors down” from his existing establishment.
Paul Fazio, of the Department of Defense police force assigned to Joint Base McGuireDix-Lakehurst, is making it his mission to teach the 10-week L.E.A.D. (Law Enforcement Against Drugs & Violence) program at local elementary schools.
L.E.A.D. is a nationwide nonprofit that works with communities to help students understand the dangers of drugs and violence.
Fazio started off by teaching approximately 30 students in the fifth grade at Fort Dix Elementary School, and this upcoming school year, he’ll teach students in the fourth grade at Endeavour Elementary School (in in North Hanover Township) as well.
The officer was trained by L.E.A.D. to teach the organization’s proven-effective curriculum, teaching school children about the dangers of drugs and violence and helping them to gain skills surrounding effective communication and conflict resolution, for instance, over the course of 10 weeks.
“We’re pleased that Officer Fazio is part of our L.E.A.D. family,” said Nick DeMauro, CEO of L.E.A.D. “Officer Fazio is helping us to continue achieving our goal of bridging the gap between police officers and communities as he helps the kids to understand why avoiding drugs and violence is vital and teaches them how to set goals, manage their emotions and make wise decisions.”
See JBMDL/ Page 5
For the Pine Barrens Tribune McGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST—Officer
Photo Provided
Among those pictured are Patrolman Kyle Boehm, 5th grade L.E.A.D. students, and Officer Paul Fazio.
JBMDL
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L.E.A.D. is celebrating 10 years of success providing services “On The Street” and “In The Classroom” as it brings law enforcement and communities closer together.
The “In The Classroom” program is taught by 6,000 trained instructors in 46 states, who are serving more than 500,000 students in 2,500 school systems.
L.E.A.D. has a proven-effective, law enforcement-focused anti-drug, anti-violence curriculum for K–12 students in the U.S., according to the program’s administrators, and the L.E.A.D. curriculum is taught over the course of a 10-week program to educate youth on how they can make smart decisions without the involvement of drugs or violence.
L.E.A.D. is beneficial to the students at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, Fazio said, as it teaches them how to make the best choices possible.
“Although there’s always a chance that they may have to go to other bases or locations with their parents still being in the Armed Forces, the good decision-making skills that they gained from the L.E.A.D. program will remain a constant in the children’s lives,” he said.
FUNDRAISER
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To make matters worse for the family, the driver of the car, eventually identified as 33-year-old Curtis Moss of Philadelphia, was uninsured, and for that matter, so was Hayley, who, like many city dwellers, didn’t
Fazio described his appreciation for how well-designed the L.E.A.D. curriculum is.
“The scripted lessons and games are so time constructed that the student’s attention is held throughout the entire lesson, making it easier to put all our focus into delivering the message, rather than fighting to keep the students following along,” Fazio said. “The curriculum is so comprehensible that we can have one of the other instructors step in from week to week and fill the role, if needed.”
Just starting with the implementation of L.E.A.D. in the base community could truly make a difference worldwide, according to Fazio.
“One of the largest disconnects we have as a base and police department is that the families don’t get to know us very well since they move around so much,” he said. “They only see us as the authoritarians when someone does something wrong. This is what we hope to change most with our community-policing initiatives and the L.E.A.D. program.”
He added that “by teaching L.E.A.D., we have the ability to impact families and military families that could potentially travel across the world with our military forces, propelling the beliefs of the program and being able to reach many more youth than from just a regular small town.”
own a vehicle and was not covered by her parents’ policy, since she no longer lived with them.
Despite her dire initial prognosis, however, Hayley has since managed to make substantial progress in the fight to regain her sense of self and ability to function. And now, her family is hopefully anticipating being able to bring her back home to Tabernacle to continue
HARASSMENT
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accused” Flaherty of “sexual involvement with council members, and then he shared this belief with the solicitor.”
It is further claimed in the filing that Tompkins told Flaherty “he was not speaking figuratively, but that he meant she was ‘literally in bed with them.’”
Flaherty, according to the filing, “has repeatedly asked Defendant Tompkins to stop his offensive conduct, and he will not stop.”
This newspaper previously reported that Tompkins is facing another suit filed by Chief Financial Officer Candice Pennewell, with the mayor accused of making an inappropriate remark about Pennewell’s private area.
Flaherty, in her filing, attests that she “cooperated with the council’s investigation of claims of sexual harassment of employee Candice Pennewell, testifying about how Defendant Tompkins stated that Ms. Pennewell’s genitalia smelled like fish.”
Flaherty points out the alleged incident was reported to her “while Ms. Pennewell was in tears,” before she referred
her rehabilitation in familiar surroundings, rather than the group home environment where she has been receiving institutional care — all thanks to a collective community effort to finance a makeover of the Worrell home’s first floor to allow it to accommodate her current disabilities.
It all began with Tabernacle Mayor Joseph Barton being told about the family’s ordeal
it to Brown.
Flaherty says that when she later “answered questions truthfully” pertaining to the Pennewell matter, Tompkins allegedly “began aggressively harassing her.”
“Since this time, Defendant Tompkins has gone out of his way to retaliate against the Plaintiff by publicly making comments that disparage her,” it is stated in the Flaherty lawsuit.
Flaherty contends in the filing that Tompkins ultimately began telling both members of the public, and other township employees, that he “thinks it is funny” and that she will be ‘“suing him.”’
The community development director maintains in the filing that when she told Tompkins to ‘“please stop telling people”’ that she had filed a lawsuit against him, because she had not, the mayor’s response was to “continue to disparage” her and “make false representations.”
Tompkins, the suit claims, had told Flaherty at some point, in addition to others, that she “should watch herself” because he can ‘“fire her.’”
Then, in January of this year, Tompkins is purported to have told Flaherty that
See HARASSMENT/ Page 8
by a retired Catholic priest, Msgr. Michael T. Mannion, or “Father Mike” as he’s widely known, the founder of Discovery House, a retreat in Mullica Township for families with chronically ill or disabled children, who once worked with Mother Teresa and also serves as chaplain for the FBI’s Philadelphia office, the New Jersey State Police and other area law-
See FUNDRAISER/ Page 10
WOODLAND
(Continued from Page 4)
Township Solicitor William Burns, however, declared, “there is no urgency behind this anymore” because “if he doesn’t own it, he can’t put an application in, because you have to identify the location.”
Brown, however, after making telephone contact with Milan in her office, relayed to the committee while he was still on the phone line that “he is signing the contract to purchase the property next week.”
Burns responded for the township clerk to ask about any “contingencies” on the purchase of the property.
Brown returned to the committee contending the prospective buyer “was going to wait until tonight when the ordinance got approved, if the ordinance gets approved” to enter into a transaction, and additionally, he had planned to see Brown “about what he has to do to move forward to get zoning approval.”
An apparently surprised Committeewoman Donna Mull remarked, “He hasn’t even gotten a license from the state yet!”
Brown ultimately put Burns on the telephone as the revelation that the property slated for the cannabis enterprise was not yet owned by Milan, as of the time of the meeting, had left the governing body with a lot of questions.
Burns, upon his return from the call, told the committee that the prospective buyer “doesn’t have an attorney right now,” but did speak to one at some point named “Mickey” and “may follow up” with that person “depending on what happens tonight.”
“He hasn’t done anything at all with respect to the state application process,” Burns reported to the committee. “Based on that, he hasn’t done anything. He really doesn’t have any basis of knowledge to know how long it is going to take. There is no contract on the property, as it is right now. There is an oral offer accepted. …
“And he hopes that the contract gets drafted and is sent out by Friday. And (he hopes) he has a signed agreement by next week. And he told Maryalice that before he does that (signs the contract), he wants to know what happens tonight.”
Discussion on proposing a cannabis ordinance had commenced when it was said that the state wanted to see support from the municipality for the prospective cannabis enterprise. But officials apparently realized at this workshop session that the ordinance didn’t necessarily need to pass for the governing body to approve a “resolution of support.”
But Burns recognized “there is nothing to pass a resolution of support” for because Milan, at the time of the meeting, was simply a prospective buyer and had not filed an application with the state.
Woodland officials talked about making further amendments to the proposed ordinance before passing it, and that is how the whole discussion
commenced about passing the measure with urgency, with officials believing they didn’t necessarily need to pass the measure immediately, but rather could take additional time now to make any changes that they felt were necessary.
“So, you can go one of two ways now,” Burns counseled the governing body. “You can either pass it in its current form tonight and then immediately begin the amendment process, or you can hold off. It is up to you.”
DeGroff called on the committee to “do the ordinance” so that the prospective buyer “can move forward with the building, and purchase the property.”
Some of the additional amendments proposed for a later date are refining the operating hours for cannabis establishments, requiring a closing time of 9 or 10 p.m. depending on the day, and requiring an initial non-refundable licensing fee to be paid to the township of $1,500 with an annual renewal fee of $2,500 for retail outlets, while any cultivators, manufacturers or wholesalers would be charged $2,500 initially and $5,000 for any renewal.
One member of the public called on the governing body to go higher on the licensing fees, contending “their money is the tightest in the beginning” and such enterprises are “spending money hand over fist” in opening.
But DeGroff shot back, “My argument is we don’t have very many businesses in this town right now” and “I don’t want to chase one away.”
“We are definitely going to make some money,” the mayor assured the resident if the township maintains the fee structure it is proposing to put in place.
The cannabis ordinance passed on second reading during the committee’s regular meeting that immediately followed the workshop session, with DeGroff saying the next step for the proposed business on Route 72 is now in Milan’s hands.
But one caveat acknowledged in this whole thing by Burns is that the ordinance passed March 26 currently has a restriction of one license being available per cannabis business licensing class (there are five of them set by the state), and until Milan signs a contract for the parcel and files an application, there is a possibility “someone else comes in and jumps (in front of) him.”
The resident who opined on the fees pointed out there are companies out there already with “multiple, multiple licenses,” though he believed it is “unlikely” that any of them would beat Milan to it, with Brown noting, “They still would need to find a location.”
That licensing limitation, however, is something that led to a lone objection being raised by resident Jane Donoghue during the ordinance’s actual public hearing.
“You are only allowing one per class,” Donoghue said. “That is a monopoly. That goes against all fair trade, all fair commerce. … You are creating an unfair market.”
Otherwise, Donoghue declared, “I don’t care if we have cannabis in the town or not.”
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firefighters, to food bank representatives, to local ShopRite store associates and management.
Back in 2021, according to Hilder, Wakefern “wanted to come up with a way to honor the associates that give so much back to this program,” and in partnering with General Mills, the U.S.-based foods company that is known for its cereal brands allowed Wakefern’s charitable arm to “utilize the back of the Cheerios cereal box to highlight the associates that mean most to this program each and every year,” in similar fashion to the Wheaties boxes that are recognized for highlighting “celebrated athletes and different types of celebrities.”
During the debut of the “Team Cheerios” boxes 25 years ago, Hilder recounted, 15 ShopRite stores were featured on the boxes with 30 associates.
On this year’s “Team Cheerios 25’” boxes, in giving a sense of how the program has grown over the past quarter century, 47 ShopRite stores are featured with 104 associates.
“I must note, though, if we were only honoring 15 stores this year, Medford would still be on the box because that is how much they mean to this program,” Hilder declared.
Across all of Wakefern’s 280 ShopRite stores, nearly $1.3 million was raised this past year alone through the Partners In Caring program.
ShopRite of Medford’s “haul,” as Hilder
put it, was “$24,900.40 in five weeks.”
Chosen to represent the Medford store on this year’s boxes were Annie Dackis and Alysia Vales, with Hilder describing that those who are selected to be featured on the box are part of a “very special fraternity” that includes only 1,600 people who have been selected across Wakefern’s stores for the special honor.
“This is a day for everyone in the Medford community, because these funds do not just go into a charitable foundation that one day we save for a rainy day,” Hilder declared. “These funds go directly from the register to the food banks, so they can continue to do everything we need them to do in their communities.”
According to Hilder, Partners In Caring supports 2,500 different food pantries, “from all across our region, all the way up to New England, and all the way down to Washington, D.C.,” supporting “those organizations to the tune of about $3.5 million a year.”
General Mills, he noted, also donates $1 million annually to the program.
He estimated the ShopRite of Medford store, over the last quarter century, has been responsible for over $60,000 in contributions to local food banks and pantries in need.
Chris Rutter, co-store director of ShopRite of Medford, explained how Vales and Dackis, along with other store associates, were able to raise the $24,900 in such a short time over the past year to help combat hunger in the community.
It was through their efforts, he said, such as selling soft pretzels, holding a coin drop
On behalf of the ShopRite of Medford, and in honor of the ShopRite Partners In Caring’s 25th anniversary, a $2,500 donation was made March 26 to the local chapter of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, affiliated with St. Mary of the Lakes Catholic Church in Medford Township, which operates a local food pantry. Pictured from left to right are Alysia Vales (Cheerios Box honoree and ShopRite of Medford store team member), Chris Rutter (ShopRite of Medford co-store director), Giuliana Zallie (ShopRite of Medford/Zallie Family Markets Marketing Director), Jim Quigley (manager of St. Vincent de Paul Society food bank), and Annie Dackis (Cheerios Box honoree and ShopRite of Medford store team member).
in the lobby, arranging for a “book drive that we held for customers and employees to buy books,” in addition to putting on a “pie throwing at store management” event, as well as “our 10th Annual Stamp Out
Hunger 5K Run.”
One of the beneficiaries of the local ShopRite’s efforts has been The Food
See SHOPRITE/ Page 9
Photo By Douglas D. Melegari
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she was “not allowed to engage in any conversations with one of the Planning Board Members, Daniel Dewey.”
Flaherty says that when she explained to the mayor that she “has to communicate” with him as part of her daily job function, she was purportedly ordered to “only communicate through her assistant.”
On the night of the Planning Board’s reorganization meeting, Dewey reportedly went to Flaherty’s office to make an inquiry, while GOP Councilman Harry Harper was waiting outside.
The suit alleges an exchange occurred between Harper and Tompkins, in which the mayor reportedly asked Harper what he “was doing there,” before “threatening to report him.”
“When Plaintiff responded that the councilman was not there for her, he angrily stomped off, saying to an employee, ‘“I don’t trust her”’ and ‘“I don’t trust you, either,’” the legal filing charges.
Tompkins, on at least two occasions this past December and January, is alleged to have declared Flaherty was actively employed with the township ‘“for now,”’ including in a conversation with the state Department of Community Affairs (DCA).
The situation only progressively worsened, the suit maintains, citing an alleged incident on Feb. 4 in which Tompkins allegedly “banged loudly and aggressively” on Flaherty’s office door.
“And then, as she opened the door,” the complaint states, Tompkins “yelled, ‘“I never waited so long for one fu***** person, who can’t even do her fu***** job.’”
According to the legal filing, the foulmouthed tirade occurred “in front of numerous employees.”
Tompkins is alleged to have “then slammed the door” after shouting the obscenities.
That episode led to Flaherty reportedly suffering a “panic attack.”
Tompkins past alleged and publicly apparent behavior, as previously reported by this newspaper, has led to medical episodes.
Also in February, Tompkins, according to the legal filing, made remarks that he would like to replace Flaherty with Township Planner Mark Remsa, the latter who reportedly told the mayor of his confidence in Flaherty’s abilities to remain in the job.
“Defendant Tompkins also loudly and publicly declared in February 2025 that if Mr. Remsa needed an office, he would ‘put’ the Plaintiff ‘out with the girls’ so Mr. Remsa could have her office,” the suit alleges.
The legal filing goes on to emphasize instances in which Tompkins this year has “behaved very angrily and aggressively” toward Flaherty.
There is also a charge that the mayor told Flaherty around “January/February” that, “it was a shame that Councilman Dewey wasn’t on the plane that crashed,” an apparent reference to one of the major air collisions that happened and made national headlines around that period.
Following the latest of Flaherty’s “multiple complaints” being filed
with Brown, Flaherty maintains that Tompkins created “barriers” for her, as well as “switched a meeting” involving a work assignment, and when that meeting was finally “located,” he is alleged to have “abruptly walked out” to cause her “embarrassment.”
Another lawsuit that is reportedly nearing a possible settlement, as of this newspaper’s press time, involving Recreation Director Nichole Pittman, detailed how prior complaints of Pittman to township Human Resources resulted in no action being taken.
It led to a subsequent council-ordered investigation that found the mayor had allegedly engaged in multiple instances of sexual harassment and retaliation.
The final pages of the report detail the limitations of any township business administrator and Human Resources in being able to investigate Tompkins, because in Pemberton’s form of government, that is who the employees report to.
However, in response to all of the findings and allegations detailed in the report, the investigators concluded, the “township council should promptly take any and all actions available to it, pursuant to New Jersey law, to protect its employees and thwart the mayor’s ongoing, intentional and/or reckless refusal to comply with the township’s antiharassment, anti-discrimination, and antiretaliation workplace policies.”
“Such actions may include, but are not limited to, termination, suspension, mandatory sensitivity training, mandatory leadership training, and banning the mayor from interacting with seasonal employees,” the investigators continued. “Above all, it is of the utmost importance that each complaint — including those outlined herein — against the mayor be fully, formally, and separately investigated, and properly addressed, in order to restore confidence in the township’s commitment to providing a safe and comfortable work environment for its workforce.”
Flaherty’s suit charges that “despite emails from legal counsel assuring Plaintiff that the matter would be addressed back in early February 2025, no corrective action has been taken, and Plaintiff continues to suffer.”
It is also maintained that Flaherty’s attorney also received no response in writing from the municipality when he raised the Community Development director’s concerns.
The township and mayor face a number of counts related to its purportedly having acted “negligently, recklessly or intentionally,” including in allegedly having failed to provide for adequate supervision, enforce its harassment and retaliation policies and provide for proper training.
Flaherty is seeking compensatory damages, including damages for emotional distress, physical injury, loss of reputation and other personal injury. That is in addition to demands for back pay, front pay, consequential damages, punitive damages, pre- and post-judgment interest and enhancement for tax consequences.
She also is demanding “injunctive relief requiring remediation of Defendants’ discrimination, harassment and retaliation” and “any other relief this Court deems just.”
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Bank of South Jersey, with Fred C. Wasiak, CEO of the organization, pointing out “we serve over 200 pantries throughout the four counties (Burlington, Camden, Gloucester and Salem).”
Wasiak recounted how the food bank supported families throughout the Coronavirus pandemic, declaring, “the food bank never shut down” during that time. Rather, “at the height of the pandemic,” he said, “we were supporting over 95,000 people per month.”
Last year, he indicated, the need only grew, with his organization serving an “average” of 170,000 people per month.
And, according to Wasiak, there has been “a 30 percent increase on top of that” since January.
In expressing his appreciation to ShopRite, Wasiak declared, “for the work that we are all doing, every dollar equals two meals.”
Hilder announced that “in honor of the 25th anniversary” of Partners In Caring, ShopRite was providing the local chapter of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, affiliated with St. Mary of the Lakes Catholic Church in Medford, with a $2,500 donation.
Jim Quigley, who has been managing St. Vincent de Paul’s food pantry, was on hand to accept the contribution and said he is “most proud” of the fact that his organization never stopped working through the pandemic.
General Mills, who had three representatives on hand for the March 26 ceremony in Medford, works with Wakefern to arrange for a Cake Decorating Contest for the Partners In Caring store ceremonies, Hilder pointed out, and ShopRite of Medford’s cake decorator, Aleigha Kusmanick, won last year’s contest. Kusmanick was presented with a trophy, but in addition to that, Kusmanick having
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issues of common concern to the various towns in the group,” a description further states.
However, according to Michael Klein, director of Government Relations for
won allowed for an additional $2,500 to be donated to The Zallie Community Foundation.
Kim Bezanis, executive director of The Zallie Community Foundation, accepted the donation, noting the additional resource will help the Foundation’s “new initiative,” a Senior Meals/Nourishment Program.
“We have identified seniors who are unable to get out to do their grocery shopping, or are shut in as a vulnerable community,” Bezanis said. “And every month we will be delivering them groceries.”
According to Bezanis, “so far, we have approximately 30 seniors” partaking in the program and “we are looking to add more to the program.”
“The $2,500 will really go a long way to helping them,” she declared.
To contact the Foundation, email info@ zalliecommunityfoundation.org .
Hilder also recognized the owners of the ShopRite of Medford, David and Renee Zallie, declaring of the local Partners In Caring initiatives, “it would not exist” without them.
Medford Township Mayor Erik Rebstock, in pointing to the Partners In Caring name, asserted “‘partners’ is recognition that as a town, we seek out partners, and in every town, there are pillars of our community,” declaring ShopRite of Medford is “one of them,” before thanking the Zallie family.
“It is a wonderful opportunity for us to be able to recognize your contribution here to the communities that are here,” Rebstock said.
Rebstock also made a point of recognizing the “sharing” offered by the program.
“And the opportunity for us, as a community, to share and invest through the years to raise money and host 5Ks here, to be able to contribute in such a way that people literally put on sneakers and stamp out hunger, is a wonderful thing,” the mayor declared. “And this store was a pillar then, and this store remains a pillar now in our community.”
the PPA, “the bi-monthly conference of Pinelands mayors and representatives has not met since September of 2022.”
“We are working together with the Pinelands Commission to try to find a way to convene municipal leaders representing communities in the Pinelands on a regular basis,” he told a group of reporters during a March 17 virtual press conference on the
latest PPA State of the Pinelands report.
Klein described that the Pinelands Municipal Council is “meant to serve as a forum for local officials to collaborate on regional issues,” but is now “effectively defunct,” before describing his hopes that it will be “revived” to “rally Pinelands municipalities to address shared challenges, such as illegal dumping and off-road vehicle
damage.”
Jason Howell, public lands advocate for the PPA, noted “we have protected over 900 acres of land from unwise development and 268 acres has gone into a new public preserve, known as the Pomona Woods Preserve.” While standing in the middle of the
Photo By Douglas D. Melegari
ShopRite of Medford’s cake decorator, Aleigha Kusmanick (right), who won General Mills’ cake decorating contest for Partners in Caring store ceremonies, which led to a $2,500 award being provided to The Zallie Community Foundation on her behalf, which will support a Senior Meals/ Nourishment Program. She is joined with the Foundation’s executive director, Kim Bezanis.
Photo Provided
Various Medford Township stakeholders, including Medford Mayor Erik Rebstock and Deputy Mayor Michael Czyzyk, as well as Fire Chief Rob Dovi and Police Chief Arthur Waterman, celebrate ShopRite of Medford’s hunger fighting accomplishments March 26. Pictured in the front row are Cheerios cereal box honorees Alysia Vales (second from left) and Annie Dackis (second from right), along with co-store director Chris Rutter.
See MUNICIPAL/ Page 11
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enforcement agencies (and who learned about Hayley’s accident from Colleen’s brother-inlaw, a retired FBI agent).
To that end, Barton, who has been in construction all his life, has proposed that a feature of the family’s two-story house, a 320-square-foot attached porch with a roof and an exterior entrance, be converted into a special-needs suite, complete with a bathroom, a wheelchair ramp to the outside, a “pocket door” that will also provide Hayley with access to the downstairs portion of the house, and disability-friendly features like light switches that she can reach from her wheelchair.
Just to confirm that such a plan was viable, however, the mayor told the Pine Barrens Tribune he had contacted his construction official, Tom Boyd, who had built a specially equipped handicapped-accessible home for his own mother, and who went with him to meet the Worrell family and do an inspection of their house.
“He confirmed it could be done and that the construction of the house was adequate,” Barton said.
In addition, Boyd made Barton aware that under the township code, construction fees could be waived for disability access work on a home, resulting in that being done for the Worrells at a recent township committee meeting.
Besides his role in seeing that any fees were suspended, “Tom really went out of his way in showing the family what they could do” to make the lower floor of the house a viable living environment for Hayley, Barton said, adding, “He didn’t have to do all that.”
But the transformation will still take some money to implement, which is where the second part of Barton’s proposal to help the Worrell family comes in – a “Let’s Bring Hayley Home” fundraising event to facilitate their daughter’s recovery among family members in the house where she grew up. The fundraiser for what has been dubbed “Hayley’s Miracle Blessing Foundation” will take the form of a dinner at the Adelphia Restaurant, located at 1750 Clements Bridge Rd., in Deptford Township, Gloucester County (the co-owner of which, Bill Balis, is a friend of Barton’s) on Monday, April 7, from 6 to 8 p.m., for which tickets are being sold at $50 each. (Those wishing to attend who haven’t yet sent in a check can either pay by using the bar code on the flyer advertising
the event or simply pay at the door.)
Not that the Worrell family was particularly receptive to the idea of a fundraiser when it was first suggested to them, Barton recalled in a phone interview – something confirmed to this newspaper by Colleen Worrell. But after Father Mike pointed out to them that there were a lot of local residents who would welcome the opportunity to help out in such a situation, and that it would help benefit the community from a spiritual perspective, they came around to it.
Among those individuals, Barton observed to this newspaper, were those who might want to assist with the work itself – for example, because Colleen’s husband, Dale, a heavy construction worker, is a member of Laborers Local 172, he felt rather certain that union people would want to get involved. The mayor further noted that he personally knows a number of contractors who might volunteer to pitch in as well.
But while he is experienced in fundraising, the credit for coordinating this entire effort, Barton maintained, belongs not to him, but to Father Mike, whom the mayor refers to as “my friend and spiritual adviser” and “the real catalyst behind this movement to assist Hayley.”
“He is the one who brought us together for her benefit,” Barton contended, adding, “When I first entered politics in 2011, Father Mike, told me, it was God's calling for me to be in a position to help those in need, which I have done most of my adult life.”
But the monsignor, for his part, believes much of the credit for the effort goes to the mayor.
“Among the hundreds of people who have contributed their time, talent and treasure to help Hayley get well,” he told the Pine Barrens Tribune in a brief phone interview, “Joe Barton is one who has gathered many resources and caring people to help achieve this goal.”
But then, he added, Barton has also done much through the years to support Discovery House and its ministries as well.
“None of us has it all together, but together we have it all,” Father Mike added.
In fact, Hayley’s own journey to recovery over the past 15 months, according to what she told her mother shortly after her awareness of her surroundings began to return and she slowly started to regain the power of speech, may also have had an element of divine guidance.
“I saw God and he sent me back,” Colleen Worrell quoted her as having said only four months after the accident. “I’m not going to heaven because Jesus has said he is not ready
for me yet.”
Aside from whatever spiritual significance such statements might carry, the return of her ability to communicate with them was hardly what Hayley’s parents were led to expect in the aftermath of the accident – even though other patients suffering from acute traumatic brain injuries have been known to make remarkable recoveries in recent years, with former ABC anchorman Bob Woodruff, who was nearly killed in Iraq, and former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, who was shot in the head by a gunman at a rally, being two of the most prominent examples.
But there were few, if any, initial indications that there would be such miraculous results in Hayley’s case, with hospital personnel gently trying to prepare the family for a far more dire outcome. Still, Colleen did whatever she could to try to bring her daughter back to the land of the living, including talking to her and playing music (Hayley being a fan of classic rock). She also started keeping a journal of Hayley’s hospitalization, and one day observed a tear falling from her right eye.
“That was our sign,” she told this newspaper. “We knew she was telling us she was in there.”
And, indeed, within the next couple of months, Hayley gradually started becoming more aware of her surroundings and began communicating with her parents and other people, even if she had trouble making herself understood at times. One of the most startling developments in her recovery, however, was her mother’s discovery that she remembered how to read. It happened when Colleen showed her a birthday banner last year and asked if she could read the message, which she did. And perhaps even more remarkable for someone who, according to what her parents were advised, would probably have to relearn the alphabet, was what happened in January 2025 when she was handed a cellphone and immediately began texting messages with her still-functioning right hand.
Another indicator that she was becoming increasingly self-aware was when she complained to her nurses that she didn’t like the medication she was being administered, telling them, “I feel like I’m being drugged.”
Such surprises notwithstanding, however, Hayley still has to contend with the loss of her short-term memory, which, as Colleen told this newspaper, has caused her to be unable to recall her activities during any given day, as well as where she is and what she is supposed to do upon waking up in the morning. She also has no recollection of her life just prior to being hit, although her ability to remember events dating back to her middle school and
early high-school years has remained intact and continues to improve.
In addition to such cognitive issues, the accident left her initially blind in her left eye, although her vision in that eye has now somewhat returned, her mother reported, along with the iris, which was black at first, having slowly regained some of its blue color.
But one of Hayley’s most persistent and life-altering problems, however, is her having lost the use of the entire left side of her body – an issue that has proved a lot more challenging for this 2017 soccer Rowan College of Burlington County scholarship recipient to overcome, having confined her to a wheelchair for an as-yet undetermined period of time, and thus making the proposed remodeling of their home essential if she is to live there once again.
One apparent result of such severely curtailed mobility, Hayley’s mother said, is her increasing fixation on wanting to go to a gym and lose some of the weight she has inevitably gained from a combination of medications and over a year of being sedentary.
“We’ll say, ‘Haley, you’re not able to yet, you’re in a wheelchair, you’re in therapy,’ and we’ll ask her to make it her goal, to which she’ll reply, ‘OK,’” Colleen Worrell said.
In fact, a key benefit of being able to bring their daughter back to her childhood home will be to enable her parents to focus more on reviving her interest in pursuits she previously enjoyed, such as sketching —a hobby Colleen has been attempting to encourage her to take up again by having a desk installed in the room she presently occupies in the group home and covering it with her art materials.
“Last Saturday, we handed her a pencil and she drew a flower similar to what she used to do,” Colleen said. “She didn’t finish it because she got tired, but we told her, ‘Good job.’”
Other things the Worrells have been able to do in the meantime to restore some sense of normalcy to Haley’s life include taking her out to eat every Saturday night and letting her order from the menu, thanks to her having somehow retained that all-important ability to read. And she doesn’t just ask for one particular dish, either, but might opt for eggplant, salmon, a burger — something different each week, according to Colleen.
There have also been small but encouraging signs that she might be regaining a small amount of movement in her left side. For one thing, she can use both feet to propel her wheelchair, Colleen said. Then, just this
FUNDRAISER/ Page 11
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past weekend, her father lifted her out of the car and actually got her to move her left leg, albeit haltingly, while supporting her.
But after having consulted with five neurologists and a brain surgeon, what Hayley’s mother has come away with is the understanding that everyone’s brain is different, which makes the ability to ultimately heal from a profound brain injury such as Hayley’s — something once thought impossible —unpredictable at best. And the best that can now be done is to create an environment for her that optimizes her ability to function in the meantime, which the upcoming benefit dinner is intended to help accomplish.
While Hayley’s family has grappled with the practical problems involved in facilitating her care and recovery, however, they have also had to deal with the financial aspects of doing so with no insurance coverage. And therein
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Wharton State Forest, or “the state’s largest forest” as Howell called it, the public lands advocate declared, “this year has really been a banner year for public land in the Pine Barrens.”
Panning his video camera to show a “really special habitat site in the Wharton State Forest,” Howell pointed out that the PPA, since 2015, has “been advocating for a sensible travel management plan,” or a “visitor use map for the state forest, which would protect habitat sites like these.”
He then pointed out that in late November, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) released the official Wharton State Forest Visitor Use Map designating “where it is, and where it is not appropriate to use motor vehicles in the state forest.”
“And that is critical, because we want to protect endangered species sites like this,” asserted Howell, broadcasting live from an intermittent pond that he said was created by glacial wind over 14,000 years ago. “Places that are beautiful and pristine should remain that way for generations to come.”
He described that the intermittent pond is “an important site for amphibians and rare
lies a story in itself.
According to Colleen, the cost of Hayley’s initial treatment at Temple University Hospital was an astronomical one, encompassing some 4,300-plus pages of treatments, for which Hayley, while struggling to recover from the worst kind of traumatic brain injury, is now sent bills addressed to her at her parents’ home. When asked by the Pine Barrens Tribune how much they are for, her mother replied, “I’ve stopped opening the envelopes.”
In addition, there has been no action yet on an application Colleen made to the Social Security Disability office in Trenton 11 months ago, which were intended to cover the cost of Hayley’s therapy at Bancroft NeuroRehab in Freehold, where she was moved from another rehab center in Pennsylvania after her parents changed her official residence back to their home in Tabernacle. But when she asked a manager at the SSD office how far back such payments would go, she was told that was an “inappropriate question.” However, she said, 3rd District Democratic Rep. Herb Conaway (who is both a doctor and a lawyer)
plants.” He also noted “you can hear some of the leopard frogs in the background” as well as observed “a bald eagle that just flew over,” before contending that the site was “really critically damaged by off-road vehicles” until “we went in” and “we protected the site.”
“This is really a special place we have here in New Jersey, and I personally find it heartening that the Park Service has finally taken up the care that it deserves in protecting these really amazing places,” Howell declared. “I know some of you have probably been out here, if not at this specific pond, places like it … and I think in the future we can bring more folks out into the Pine Barrens and show them what an important place it is for our state.”
One of the people who was a “fierce environmental advocate” on Pinelands matters, and who served on the Pinelands Commission, according to Klein, was the late Ed Lloyd, who died back in August 2023.
“There is one particularly important seat on the commission that has been glaringly vacant since the passing of Ed Lloyd in August of 2023,” Klein declared. “Ed served on the commission for almost 22 years, using his expertise in environmental law to improve the Pinelands’ Comprehensive Management Plan (CMP) on issues like residential development, stormwater management, and solar energy facilities. The loss of this fierce
has indicated to her that his office will be helping to facilitate such payments.
Meanwhile, she said, Bancroft hasn’t been paid since January, having made an “exception” for Hayley to stay in her group home for now after Colleen paid for her daughter to be covered by her husband’s COBRA health insurance plan for a month — even though it excludes injuries caused by cars.
Also, for what it’s worth (if anything), the family has filed a civil suit against the driver of the car that struck Hayley and who was again caught by cameras driving at 97 in a 55-mph zone the following night, but had to wait for his trial and sentencing, which were delayed until the end of 2024.
Although he could have received up to 18 years in prison, Colleen added, he was sentenced to just one, along with five years’ probation. (She also noted that before prosecuting him, the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office felt it necessary to take a DNA sample from her daughter in her hospital bed.)
But not all the news on the financial front
has been negative or unresolved. On the last day of March, Colleen said she received a $12,000 check from the Pennsylvania Victims Compensation Assistance Program. The amount is meant to cover most of the cost of a septic system upgrade that the first-floor remake will require so Hayley can live there, which means the project for which Monday night’s fundraiser is intended is off to a good start.
That event, perhaps, demonstrates the secondary meaning of the comment made by Msgr. Mannion to Hayley’s mother upon observing that despite her acute injuries, she had been spared having a single mark on her face, which looked like that of a porcelain doll.
“She has angels all around her“ is what Colleen quoted the priest as having said.
That wasn’t just meant in a strictly religious sense, as Father Mike indicated in a statement he later made to this newspaper about “Hayley’s terrible tragedy” having “brought out the very best in the hundreds of people who love and care for her and her family.”
environmental advocate has left a gaping hole in the commission.”
Klein maintained, however, “we are working closely with the governor's office, along with our environmental allies, to fill Ed’s seat with someone equal to his stature, expertise and his commitment to the preservation of the Pinelands.”
It was also pointed out by Klein that the governor appoints seven of the 15 members to the commission and “four of the
commissioners are serving on expired terms,” while there is “another commissioner’s term that is set to expire on June 28 of this year.”
“The commission is only as strong as its members and the certainty of their service,” Klein reminded those in attendance.
Klein also indicated that the PPA is keeping a watchful eye on the governor’s race, and no matter who ultimately wins that race,
See MUNICIPAL/ Page 12
Photo By Pinelands Preservation Alliance
Produce from Rancocas Creek Farm in Southampton.
APRIL
APRIL 5
Community Fun Day
Location: Southampton Twp.
The First Baptist Church of Vincentown is holding a COMMUNITY FUN DAY on Sat., April 5, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Hampton Lakes Firehouse, 72 Holly Blvd., Southampton. This event is free and OPEN TO ALL! There will be age-appropriate games, prizes, crafts, face painting and free refreshments. For more information, call 609-859-8967, or visit www.fbcvnj.org or http://www.facebook. com/FirstBaptistChurchOfVincentown.
Events and special promotions happening locally next month!
APRIL 7
10 People in Burlington County You Should Know, But Don’t
Location: Southampton Twp.
Details: Southampton Historical Society is hosting a program, “10 People in Burlington County You Should Know, But Don’t”, on Monday, April 7, at 7:30 p.m., at Old Town Hall, 25 Plum St., Vincentown. Marisa Bozarth, Museum Curator, Burlington County Division of Parks, will present this interesting program about 10 individuals who made significant advancements in art, science, entertainment and sports. These men and women currently reside or once lived in Burlington County. Learn who they are, where they are from and where they ended up. This event is FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. For more information, call Kathy Rosmando at 609-859-0524.
To promote your event on this page contact Jayne Cabrilla at 609-801-2392 or email news@pinebarrenstribune.com
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Details: Do you have a problem with food? Do you eat when you aren’t hungry, get up to eat in the middle of the night or hide food to eat later? Have you begun a diet in the morning and broken your promise to yourself by evening? We’ve been there. Overeaters Anonymous, a world-wide fellowship based on the 12 steps of AA, welcomes all who want to stop eating compulsively. There are no dues or fees. For more information and a list of meetings, please visit: OA-southjersey.org, or call 732-637-9420. Or, visit: OA-centraljersey.org. You may also contact us by mail: South Jersey.Org, P.O. Box 766, Voorhees, NJ 08043.
MUNICIPAL
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he vowed that the PPA “is going to continue to advocate for strong environmental advocates on the Pinelands Commission.”
It was Jeff Tober, manager for Rancocas Creek Farm in Southampton (across the street from PPA’s headquarters), who called attention to “increased funding to preserve farmland” becoming available thanks to “a new formula from the state that is going to take effect April 7.”
“So farmers who are maybe on the fence about preserving their farms through the state program, they are going to get probably better financial offers and incentives to preserve their farms in perpetuity starting next month, which is very exciting, especially as we face increased development pressures, especially from warehouse construction, which has been happening pretty rampantly in Burlington County and other counties in the state,” Tober said.
A point made by several PPA officials during the press conference, however, is that the PPA is not just relying on government to come through on a variety of issues, but is doing what it can, using the resources it has, to improve quality of life in the Pinelands and promote sustainability.
Tober also contributed to the virtual press conference from on location, with him being live from the Rancocas Creek Farm, describing that the PPA, in 2020, began to “transform this farm” that was once used to “conventionally grow soybeans” to a “chemical-free production” farm.
Now in its sixth season, some 350 families, according to Tober, come to the 72-acre farm,
in season, to obtain chemical-free vegetables each week, “and we also sell to restaurants, caterers, wholesale, and we provide produce for those in need through the Farmers Against Hunger Program.”
In 2020, Tober explained, the PPA put in three-acres of native grassland on the farm that “helps absorb stormwater and also sequesters CO2 , as well as provides muchneeded habitat for birds and pollinators.”
Additionally, through federal funding, Tober noted, a two-acre monarch-themed butterfly meadow was installed last December on the northwest corner of the property, using seeds from Pinelands Nursery.
“So, hopefully this year that is going to be a beautiful, viable native meadow,”
Tober declared.
In recognizing that “historically, there has been a lot of flooding from this property into the Village of Vincentown,” Tober described the organization having “put in a stormwater management area,” as well as “having planted over 1,200 native trees and shrubs to help absorb stormwater and, of course, also provide other things to the farm – a windbreak, habitat for birds, and pollinators, and again, sequestering of CO2 into the soil.”
“So, we want to show that you can grow a lot of food without using chemicals,” Tober said. “A farm can also be a place that invites pollinators, birds and beneficial insects.”
Stephen Elliott, director of Watershed Programs for the PPA, took the press on a remote tour of the Blue Barn Recreation Center property in Evesham Township, where the organization recently gave the tract a “landscape makeover.”
“We have installed multiple projects that highlight the sort of middle ground in the land use that is needed for a sustainable
future,” Elliott said. “While this rain garden behind me may not look like much right now, in just a few weeks you will see Blue Flag Iris, followed by Swamp Milkweed, Purple Coneflower, and other native perennials. As winter subsides and flowers bloom, these small gardens will provide havens for invertebrates that are in decline, largely due to lost habitat.”
Humans, he maintained, “have tended to pervert tidy turf lawn areas that go mostly unused, and which provide no ecological benefits because the tides are changing,” and “not only are these gardens supporting our vital insects, they are also acting like natural sponges, capturing stormwater runoff from
Photo By Pinelands Preservation Alliance
The Blue Barn Recreation Center property in Evesham Township, where the Pinelands Preservation Alliance recently gave the tract a “landscape makeover,” including a rain garden.
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surrounding impervious surfaces that would otherwise flow into the Barton Run, which is just a few hundred yards behind
Elliott further attested that “these types of rain gardens, as well as other green stormwater infrastructure practices, can also reduce the volume of water entering our stormwater systems and local waterways, thereby reducing some flooding.”
The Watersheds Programs director also pointed to the PPA having installed a 3,000-gallon cistern on-site, “capturing runoff from the roof of the building” that is processed through
a filtration system so that local gardeners can water their fruits, vegetables and flowers.
Additionally, the organization, he noted, provided 20 free rain barrels to Evesham residents, or what he referred to as “smaller versions of the cistern.”
“Since starting the program in 2017, we have worked with municipalities and homeowners to install over 100 green infrastructure projects throughout South Jersey,” Elliott said. “By converting just 6,000 square feet of lawn area into rain gardens last year, we are now capturing and naturally treating over 250,000 gallons of stormwater annually. Our program continues to expand. Recent grant funding from the Department of Environmental Protection has allowed us to partner with the Highlands Coalition, and together we will focus on addressing runoff that can cause harmful algal blooms in lakes within the Highlands and the Pinelands.
“As more people are inspired to support our native wildlife in their communities, we will continue to grow our partnerships throughout the state and collectively build a safer and more sustainable future for all of New Jersey’s life forms.”
Tober, in explaining the work the PPA is undertaking to the farm in Southampton, described that he anticipates “more challenges from climate change.”
“Building resilient, healthy soils that are better able to withstand these extreme weather events, be it droughts, extreme heat events, flooding,” is a “goal” of the PPA through the farming initiative.
Rhoads, who made known her disapproval of the new Trump administration’s “rollbacks of environmental protections,” as well as “dramatic funding cuts” entailing environmental
programs, calling them a “threat to the Pinelands and its people,” also called climate change “obviously a big threat,” with her and Tober pointing to the local drought that began last year, which included an “incredible” 90-day period with “very little rainfall.”
She maintained her belief of the recent drought conditions “that it wasn’t just a one-time, one-off,” declaring, “We know droughts can happen, but we are seeing year in and year out dramatic changes to our climate.”
“And yet we have a federal administration now that completely denies it,” Rhoads declared. “They have completely blocked and now have reversed wind projects, and instead are pushing for offshore oil drilling, which is by far more detrimental to our economy, to our people and to our environment. So, we really need to see action. Our work as an organization will continue to push forward. We will continue to make sure that we hold all these agencies accountable, because the state of the Pinelands really relies upon those activities. It relies on the people, and it relies on the work that we are doing.
“So, we have made great progress over the 35 years, being able to see the Pinelands still intact today, almost as it was back then. To be able to start transforming our urban landscapes with rain gardens and urban food plots is amazing. And to be able to see a fully functioning, intact Pinelands Commission is obviously incredible and needed, especially in this time.”
The PPA’s detailed 2025 State of the Pinelands Report is available online at PinelandsAlliance.org. A full-color copy of the report can be obtained by visiting the Alliance at its headquarters located at 17 Pemberton Road, Southampton, NJ 08088. For more information, call 609-859-8860.
