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2021
1 AGE S SE E P
Vol. 6 – No. 11 ♦
The News Leader of the Pines
♦
December 18, 2021 - January 7, 2022
STICKER SHOCK
SEE INSID PAGE W1 E SEC TION 2
Bass River ‘Is In a Pickle,’ Facing Quite a ‘Dilemma,’ After Paid EMS Provider Drops Coverage to Town
’s y Zallie rd ored b Spons te of Medfo ri p o Sh
Municipality Is Temporarily Reliant on Galloway Squad, Though Officials Say Arrangement ‘Can’t Sustain Itself’ and Answer Is Paid Regionalization
AGE 6 SE E P
By Douglas D. Melegari Staff Writer
BASS RIVER—A decision said to have been made recently by Bayville-based Quality Medical Transport to unexpectedly terminate its contract with Bass River Township, in conjunction with other factors, including limited financial resources in the rural municipality, a shortage of manpower area EMS agencies are experiencing, and another area entity relied on in the past reportedly not making many of its calls for service because of a shortage of volunteers, has led to quite a “dilemma” involving emergency medical transport services in town, as well as in the surrounding area. And it is a dilemma that several local officials concede they don’t currently have a quick or easy fix for, with a “temporary” arrangement with a somewhat distant entity, in another county, the best Bass River can do for the moment, though it is one that those officials recognize is presenting “longer response times” and can’t last forever, and will require much discussion and potentially tough decision making in the future. Louis Bourguignon, deputy mayor of Bass River Township, revealed during a Bass River Board of Commissioners meeting on
Photo Provided
A student identification card distributed on Dec. 10 with a gold sticker on it.
Pinelands Regional Students, Parents Become Indignant Over ‘Incentive Program’ Rollout That Puts Pupils in ‘Tiers,’ Provides Them with Stickers That Signify Their Grade Point Average, Attendance Rate and Disciplinary Issues, with Those in the Highest Levels Given Exclusive Privileges, Preferential Seating Community Members, Parents Call for Resignations of Administrators, Superintendent and Maintain That Program Implements ‘Discriminatory’ and Divisive Practices, with Some Declaring It ‘Segregation’
By Douglas D. Melegari Staff Writer
LITTLE EGG HARBOR—Many students attending Pinelands Regional High School, as well as their parents and fellow community members, experienced literal sticker shock last Friday, not from the inflation currently gripping the U.S., but from a new school program that has
left them both alarmed and indignant, believing that its seemingly disastrous rollout on Dec. 10 (with reports of students being humiliated by it) not only violated every pupil’s right to privacy, but implemented “discriminatory” and divisive practices, with some even going further in their characterization, claiming it is employing “segregation.” And of the hundreds of people who
publicly bemoaned the program in various social media groups throughout the day last Friday, several of them are calling for it to be scrapped altogether, have vowed to not have their children partake in it, requested action by the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE), and are demanding that the See STICKERS/ Page 12
See EMS/ Page 13
CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN
SEE PAGES 3-5
INDEX Business Directory.......... 20
Christmas Worship Guide...W1
Local News........................ 2
Christmas Coloring Contest...6
January Events................ 19
Marketplace........................ 22
Christmas Countdown....... 3
Last Minute Gift Guide.....S1
Worship Guide................. 19
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