Pine Barrens Tribune January 29, 2022-February 4, 2022

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Vol. 6 – No. 15 ♦

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January 29 - February 4, 2022

Plan for Cannabis Entity on Old Indian Mills Road Catches Locals Off-Guard

Medford Fire Chief of 12 Years Retires After Implementing ‘a Lot of Firsts’ on Job Thomas Thorn Began Firefighting Career on His 18th Birthday Back in Fall of 1987, Following in His Grandfather’s Footsteps

By Douglas D. Melegari

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Mayor States No Approvals Given, But ‘Cannabis Cultivation Facility’ Is Planned, with Another Official Pointing Out ‘Greenhouse’ OK’d

By Douglas D. Melegari Staff Writer

Staff Writer

Leaders of the Medford Township Department of Fire and EMS present Thomas L. Thorn (center) with an Engraved Firefighter Gold Axe Award upon his retirement as the department’s chief.

FR EE

MEDFORD—Thomas L. Thorn began his firefighting career on his 18th birthday in 1987.

And he ended that distinguished journey 33 years later, when on Jan. 1, he became the first chief of the Medford Township Department of Fire and EMS to retire.

“And it has been a great journey,” said Thorn, upon his being bestowed at a recent Medford Township Council meeting an Engraved Firefighter Gold Axe Award for his years of dedication and service. “I met so many See CHIEF/ Page 7

SHAMONG—When Marybeth Conti moved to Shamong Township a little more than a year ago, and purchased a home at 1412 Old Indian Mills Road, surrounded by open farmlands, she was unsuspecting that a commercial business might open its doors in her “front yard,” let alone a potentially controversial cannabis operation.

But recently, according to Conti, she came upon some people “digging up” the ground “right on the perimeter of where my land begins.”

Conti says that is when she asked, “What is going on?”

“I was told they were testing the field, for septic, for a gigantic greenhouse for the new See CANNABIS/ Page 6

INDEX

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McCooley Calls Charges in Online Petition ‘Outrageous,’ ‘Slanderous,’ Then Says She Would Welcome Hearing Concerns of Those Signing It Petition’s Author Says He Will Only Submit It to BOE with 750 Valid Signatures

By Bill Bonvie Staff Writer

LITTLE EGG HARBOR—“Outrageous, slanderous and false” were the terms used at a packed Jan. 26 meeting of the Pinelands Regional Board of Education by School District Superintendent Dr. Melissa McCooley to characterize the charges made against her in an Internet petition calling for the termination of her shared-service contract, which also includes responsibility for overseeing the Little Egg Harbor School District.

“Distinguished board members, I am in receipt of a petition against me, undersigned by a tiny number of our community members and others cowardly hiding behind fake names and aliases, if they exist at all,” is how McCooley began her regular superintendent’s report, contending that “the inaccuracies endorsed as facts in the petition are too numerous to address individually.”

But one accusation of nepotistic hiring practices when she does “not have a single family member working for the district demonstrates the erroneousness of the allegations,” she contended before reverting to a more conciliatory tone and welcoming “every person who signed the petition” to attend her bi-monthly ‘Sit with the Sup’ sessions, either in-person or via Zoom.

“I would like to hear and address their concerns,” McCooley assured them. “I also invite every naysayer to participate in the variety of committees for which community members are sought. Collaboration and community participation are essential to the success of our schools, which is why I am encouraging them to act as community participants. Instead of attacking our schools, please work with us for the enhancement of our programs and for the ultimate benefit of the children of our community.”

By way of response, Christopher R. Johnson, the Little Egg Harbor Township resident who posted the petition at IPetitions, told the Pine Barrens Tribune in a subsequent phone interview that it would only be submitted to the Pinelands Regional board if and when the number of legitimate signers reaches 750, which he estimated would equal 51 percent of residents who voted in the last school board election, and which he believed would obligate the board “to take a vote at that point and go on record.”

Johnson also indicated that vetting the petition to eliminate any signatures found not to be authentic would require that significantly more than that number be attached to it. While declining to say exactly how many he would consider sufficient for that purpose, he claimed to be “extremely happy” with the number of signers so far. As

Photo By Douglas D. Melegari

Dr. Melissa McCooley, superintendent of Pinelands Regional School District, reads from a prepared statement addressing a petition calling for her firing. of this newspaper’s deadline time on Jan. 26, some 234 names, in addition to 40 comments, were already affixed to the petition, which had been posted the previous week.

“You always understand with anything you do there is going to be erroneous information, so you plan for that,” he said.

Rei n forc i ng that s enti ment was a Facebook posting the same day by Scott Ruch, a candidate for the Pinelands board in last year’s election and an acquaintance of Johnson and his wife, Stephanie. The latter is a paraprofessional in the LEHT district’s Robert C. Wood Early Childhood Center who has been on paid leave as a result of a grievance she filed with the New Jersey Department of Education, but who said she has just been told she can return to work.

“There are people who didn’t sign their real name out of fear of retaliation,” Ruch contended. “That fear is well founded, as there is a history of that happening.”

According to Christopher Johnson, however, the petition was something that was not meant to be “an overnight success, but was rather intended as “a grass-roots effort that we continue to push through the town and gain support for it.” Nor was it intended in any way as a personal vendetta against McCooley, he insisted.

“I’m not saying she is a bad person,” Christopher Johnson said. “For all I know, she could be the most wonderful person in the world. I just don’t think she’s very good at the job she’s been hired to do.”

See PETITION/ Page 4

Photo By Douglas D. Melegari

Susan Ernst (right), a former member of the Pinelands Regional Board of Education, who also once served as its president, stands alongside former board member Patricia Chambers (left), at a Jan. 24 Pinelands Regional Board of Education meeting. Both signed the petition calling for the removal of Dr. Melissa McCooley as superintendent.

Saturday, January 29, 2022

Saturday, January 29, 2022

Evesham Police Seek Leads in Vandalizing and Flooding of Planned Sober Living Home Some Residents Oppose Township Manager Says Incident Would Not Affect Plans for Meeting with DCA, Prosecutor or to Review Feasibility of Proposed Ordinance

By Bill Bonvie Staff Writer

EVESHAM—While Evesham Township Police this past week sought out “public assistance” in apprehending whoever it was that vandalized and flooded a sober living residence-to-be in the municipality’s Woodstream section, the owner of a neighboring property who has campaigned against the prospective transitional home for recovering addicts decried the act of criminal mischief that has now substantially delayed its opening.

“It doesn’t serve anybody’s purpose to do such a thing, and it’s not right,” Tom Ramirez told the Pine Barrens Tribune in a Jan. 24 phone interview.

Ramirez has been the de facto leader of a neighborhood effort to try to keep the proposed facility from being set up in a fivebedroom house at 128 Monmouth Green, a cul-de-sac off Bartram Road, approximately 700 feet from the J. Harold Van Zant Elementary School, although both he and municipal officials have acknowledged that since it is a use permitted in residential areas under state Department of Community Affairs (DCA) regulations, little can be done to stop this particular “cooperative sober living residence,” or CSLR, from becoming operational at this point.

Ramirez has, however, attempted to convince township officials to adopt a stricter zoning scheme that would prohibit future CSLRs, of which there are already reportedly three others in Evesham, from opening within 1,000 feet of a school, even posting an online petition to that

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end. He has also cited an ordinance along these lines adopted in Egg Harbor City as demonstrating that such restrictions can be legally implemented, although Evesham officials have expressed some reluctance to consider any measure that might result in litigation that will end up costing the township money.

But Ramirez, in the interview with this newspaper, indicated that he was plainly dismayed by the ravaging of the house situated near his property, which took place sometime during the overnight hours of Jan. 13-14, when an investigation by Evesham Police “determined that an unknown suspect (or suspects) entered the home, clogged the drains in various locations on the first and second floors, turned on the water and left (it) running.”

In addition, according to the police report of the incident, several interior and exterior doors of the house were also caulked shut in what appeared to be an attempt to prevent individuals attempting to turn off the water from entering. As a result, it said, “The residence sustained extensive water damage.”

Ramirez told this newspaper that he had first been made aware of the incident when he was notified by Ring, a home security app, that a burglary had occurred in the neighborhood, but didn’t initially realize it involved the house at the center of the controversy. He maintained it wasn’t until a police officer who was going door-to-door, seeking information from residents about suspicious activity in the area, and visited See HOME/ Page 8

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Medford Woman Who ‘Helped Build Many Local Businesses,’ Was Flight Attendant and Met Husband on Blind Date, Dies in Fire

By Douglas D. Melegari Staff Writer

MEDFORD—A dwelling fire in Medford Township on Jan. 20 claimed the life of a 74-year-old woman, just weeks after her husband reportedly passed away.

The fatal fire was first reported to authorities at around 5:45 p.m. in the 100 block of Taunton Boulevard in Medford.

“Initial reports received stated that the front of the residence was on fire and that there were possibly people trapped inside,” said Lt. Robert Zane, a spokesman for the Medford Township Police Department, in a press release. “Emergency responders arrived on location within minutes of the calls and found fire coming out of the first and second floor windows.”

The 74-year-old woman was found dead on the second floor of the residence, Zane noted.

Photographs from the scene showed that most of the dwelling was consumed by the flames significantly damaged, with the structure now heavily boarded up.

The cause of the fire is under investigation by both police and the Burlington County Fire Marshal’s Office.

While Zane, on Jan. 25, declined to release the identity of the victim, a published obituary identified her as Kathryn Ann Hoffman, noting she passed away on Jan. 20 “in a tragic house fire in Medford, NJ.” Hoffman, the obituary continued, was born in Utah and graduated from Pocatello High School in 1965. She then traveled the world as a TWA flight attendant, based out

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of Philadelphia.

The victim, the obituary notes, met her (late) husband, “on a blind date” and became married in 1970. Shortly thereafter, the couple moved to Medford, where they raised their two children.

Hoffman “helped build many local businesses,” according to the obituary, including Britin Plastics and RJH Associates, in which she specialized in finance and accounting, “but was always happy to help where needed.” In addition, she was also active in the Pinelands Garden Club and Lake Pine Colony Club.

“She lived courageously, was generous with her time, and was always up for fresh tracks,” it was stated in the obituary about Hoffman. “She loved traveling, flying, skiing, gardening, reading, photography, cooking, boating, bicycling, sailing and the outdoors. ‘Mannie’ was a proud and devoted grandmother and an integral part in (her grandchildrens’) lives. Kathy was treasured by her family and many lifelong friends and will be missed beyond words.”

The Pine Barrens Tribune confirmed a report that her husband, Robert John Hoffman Jr., who had “a long and successful career in manufacturing,” had just passed away on Dec. 6, according to another published obituary.

The family is asking that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to The Hoffman Family Education Fund via GoFundMe. As of press time, $12,080 had already been raised, exceeding a $10,000 goal.

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LOCAL NEWS / FEATURES

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Former Bass River Elementary School Put on Auction Block for $400K 23,000 Square-Foot Building Situated on 4-Acre Lot Appraised at $690K, Though It Reportedly Needs ‘A Lot of Upgrades’ and Has Debt Attached

Photo By Douglas D. Melegari

The former Bass River Township Elementary School, which has been put on the auction block for a minimum bid of $400,000 and is appraised at $690,000.

By Douglas D. Melegari Staff Writer

BASS RIVER—A more than 23,000 square-foot building at 11 North Maple Avenue, formerly the Bass River Township Elementary School, a both historic and iconic building in the center of Bass River Township’s New Gretna commercial district that is considered one of the town’s largest facilities, as well as the 4.15 acres it is situated on, has been listed for sale by auction on GovDeals, an online liquidity services marketplace for government-owned property.

The Bass River Township School District, a now send-receive school district, is seeking a minimum bid of $400,000 for the former elementary school and the two lots it comprises, according to the online auction site, with bid increments set at $3,000.

The minimum bid is well under its appraised value, however.

A “bid preview period,” as Business Administrator Nicholas Brown put it during a Jan. 10 Bass River Township Board of Education meeting, started Jan. 4, with the auction set to begin on Feb. 1. The auction, he noted, will conclude on March 11.

“We anticipate approving a winning bid at the March 16 board of education meeting,” Brown said.

The business administrator, who also serves in that capacity for both the Little Egg Harbor and Pinelands Regional School districts through a shared services agreement, pointed out that there is a $1,000 “bid deposit requirement,” meaning that “if

you want to place a bid on the building, you are required to put $1,000 deposit down and it also allows you to inspect the building by appointment.”

Having a bid deposit requirement, Brown added, “discourages tire pickers,” leading to “more serious bidders.”

A send-receive relationship between the Bass River district and the Little Egg Harbor Township School District began with the 2020-21 school year. The elementary school building has been vacant since that time, only opened infrequently to conduct local school board meetings.

The former elementary school includes 17 rooms “suitable for office/classroom space,” the online listing states, including a 60 ft. by 45 ft. multi-purpose room that includes a full-length basketball court, commercial kitchen, boiler room and a natural wood library/atrium with exposed natural wood beams and steeple ceiling.

Additionally, the facility contains 11 bathrooms and three custodial/storage closets, the online listing states, with it pointing out that the building had “significant energy efficiency upgrades completed” in 2017, including “new low pressure, natural gas fired boilers; some new LED lighting; new motion sensors; and some new air conditioners.”

It is also noted on the auction site that the property comes with outdoor playground equipment; a shed; well water with filter purification; an on-site soda ash system; a See AUCTION/ Page 5

Saturday, January 29, 2022

Bass River Exploring Feasibility of Allowing Cannabis Dispensaries

By Douglas D. Melegari Staff Writer

BASS RIVER—The feasibility of allowing c an nabis “d isp ensar y development” along the Route 9 corridor in Bass River Township’s Commercial Zone is being “researched,” with Mayor Deborah BuzbyCope revealing during a Jan. 3 Bass River Township Board of Commissioners meeting that “it has been brought up about having a dispensary in town.”

Po s s i b l y a l l o w i n g fo r c a n n a b i s dispensaries along the state highway that runs through the town’s commercial district, which is commonly referred to as New Gretna, was first brought up during a joint Bass River Township Planning and Zoning Board meeting this past December, the Pine Barrens Tribune has learned.

B a s s R i v e r i s o n e o f o n l y fo u r municipalities in this newspaper’s coverage area to pass an ordinance to opt-in to the state’s new cannabis business licensing program, or to allow for cannabis businesses in town.

The township’s cannabis ordinance, approved on July 5 of last year, however, excluded on ly one of the state’s si x permissible commercial cannabis licensing uses, “cannabis retailer.”

According to the meeting minutes for a Dec. 15, 2021, joint planning and zoning board meeting, Board Member Robert Neuweiler stated that Bass River “would be missing out on an income opportunity” if “dispensary development” is not pursued.

Planning Board Attorney Chris Norman then pointed out that “recreational use” of cannabis, unlike medicinal uses, “can be charged an enhanced 2 percent tax” under the state’s recently enacted cannabis legislative package. Norman also said that he anticipated “future recreational sales have the potential to be large sums of money.”

PETITION

(Continued from Page 2) As an example, he cited figures from a 2020 report rating all of New Jersey’s schools, in which Pinelands Regional Junior High ranked 1,886 out of a total of 2,088 schools, or 9.64 out of a possible score of 100, putting it in the bottom 10 percent. In addition, he said, both Little Egg Harbor elementary schools also had low rankings. (Pinelands Regional High School, he maintained, was not listed at all, so he couldn’t say for sure whether that was an error or “if they rolled the junior high and high school together.”)

“She is the boss of the school district, and the buck stops with her,” he said.

On a personal note, however, Christopher Johnson said he would not be inclined to

It is also noted in the minutes that the joint board, which includes Buzby-Cope as a member, came to an agreement that the placement of any dispensary “would be best along Route 9 in the Commercial Zone.”

“Mr. Nor man of fere d to br i ng i n ordinances from other districts that have already voted to approve dispensaries so that our board can review them for required lot sizes, and other aspects we may want to incorporate, if we proceed in this direction,” the joint board minutes state.

Du r i ng the Janu ar y Board of Commissioners meeting, Buzby-Cope pointed out that Norman was looking into the “pros and cons” of allowing for cannabis dispensaries, before asking Township Solicitor JoAnne O’Connor to also “look into it” and “do a case study” to “see what the pros and cons are,” as well as the benefits of “having one versus not having one.”

“Obviously, we know the revenue is a plus factor from it, as long as there is recreational, as medical does not count,” Buzby-Cope added. “But what downfalls are there?”

The Bass River mayor contended that allowing for dispensaries “is a tough call,” but yet “we want to be open minded to everything.”

“So, if we can get some more information on that, that would be great,” Buzby-Cope added.

O’Con nor poi nte d out that i f the commissioners decided to permit cannabis retailers, the authority rests with them to “regulate” things such as “times of operation” and “days of the week” that such establishments can open.

The Board of Commissioners last month, as previously reported by this newspaper, provided formal “approval and support” of Bass River Buds, LLC to apply for a “Class I Cannabis Cultivator Microbusiness See DISPENSARIES/ Page 11 accept the superintendent’s invitation to meet with her, as he finds her manner of dealing with parents and community members to be rather condescending, and that he thought her public statement was “improper” for a public official and was a “scare tactic” meant to prevent members of the public from signing the petition.

As for her denial of engaging in nepotistic hiring practices, Johnson said nepotism doesn’t necessarily just include family members, but can also apply to friends and associates.

The accusation was included in an open letter that formed the basis of his petition, described as an “expression of our ‘vote of no confidence’” in McCooley’s ability to run local schools effectively, efficiently and in the best interests of the students,” and also accusing her of exhibiting “lack of respect toward See PETITION/ Page 7

Saturday, January 29, 2022

AUCTION

(Continued from Page 4) septic system; a dishwasher; stainless steel sinks, shelves, racks, carts and tables; several Dell computer servers; a security system; natural gas fired boilers; an 87-gallon domestic hot water heater; Maglock doors, and a keyless entry system. Also included is the former school’s “Watchfire Digital Color Sign,” which is roadside.

There is one catch to the auction – the building is sold “AS IS” with the buyer responsible for all inspections, as well as any necessary variances and improvements.

During a Bass River Township Board of Commissioners meeting last month, a resident inquired whether Bass River Township might purchase the building to establish a community center, or to relocate its municipal operations to a larger facility.

Ba s s R ive r D e put y Mayor L ou i s Bourguignon, also the director of the township’s Department of Public Works and Property, replied that “a lot of things need to be addressed in that school for us to be able to use it” and that “there would need to be a lot of upgrades over there,” and that such investments are “not counting” a $400,000 debt incurred by the Bass River district.

“There is still an outstanding bill on the school,” Bourguignon contended. “They still owe approximately $400,000, and we would have to fund it (if the township bought the former school).”

Bourguignon declared $400,000 “is a lot of money” to a small town like Bass River.

Brown did not return messages seeking comment on this story.

However, the Bass River district’s former superintendent, Siobhan Grayson, in a 2019 interview with this newspaper, called the reports about the district’s debt “accurate” (at the time it was as high as $800,000).

LOCAL NEWS / FEATURES

AD HOTLINE: (609) 801-2392 Jonathan Yates, who is the secretary of the Bass River Board of Education and assistant business administrator of Bass River, Little Egg Harbor and Pinelands districts through a shared services agreement, told this newspaper in a 2020 interview that the Bass River district has “just under $500,000 in remaining lease payments.”

At the time of that interview with Yates, Bourguignon said the “big question” to be asked of Bass River district officials is what is the Bass River district going to do with both the building and debt.

“T hey sti l l owe the money,” s a id Bourguignon at the time. “It doesn’t go away because they ship the kids out. The debt is still there. When there is debt, it goes to us. It doesn’t go to somebody else. They got different loans over the years. You know how somebody has a credit card and keeps maxing the card out, that is what I assume happened. There wasn’t good oversight.

Nobody kept them in check. Somebody didn’t oversee them very well. I don’t have figures. They kept everybody in the dark.”

Bourguignon, during last month’s Bass River Township Board of Commissioners meeting, pointed out that if the former school sells for “more than” $400,000, it could potentially “cover that” debt.

A June 30, 2020, appraisal of the one-story elementary school building that was built in 1890, as well as the 4.15 acres it is situated on, conducted by CBIZ Valuation Group, LLC, provided a “final value conclusion” of $690,000.

Yates previously pointed out to this newspaper that the former school has the capacity to hold some 205 students.

As of Jan. 23, some 8,700 people have accessed the auction listing, according to a webpage counter that displays the number of visitors to the listing.

One prospective, but unidentified bidder posted a question in a Q&A section for the listing asking if the local zoning allows “a

dormitory in the building.”

“The seller cannot provide specific guidance and makes no warranties on zoning and land use,” a reply stated. “The buyer is responsible to perform their own due diligence of the property.”

Brown, during the Jan. 10 Bass River Board of Education meeting, said that a 20 percent down payment is due within 10 business days of school board approval of any highest bid (though the auction site lists that a 5 percent down payment is due at that time). The remainder of the sale price is due at settlement, the business administrator noted.

“The board will be looking to settle within 30 days of the board’s approval,”

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said Brown, who contended that the Bass River district has received the required approval from the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) to sell the former school “at auction.”

T he Bas s R iver d istr ict has b e en auctioning, donating, or giving away a lot of the contents of the building since the facility was shuttered, including its furnishings and computers.

However, according to remarks made by Brown this past fall, the Bass River district has been working with the local historical society to “take th ings of h istor ical significance and put them down the street at the museum.”

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Photo By Douglas D. Melegari

A commercial property at Old Indian Mills Road and Route 206, in Shamong Township (in front of the house though not belonging to it), where residents say they have learned a “cannabis growth, cultivation and manufacturing” operation is planned.

CANNABIS (Continued from Page 1)

owner,” Conti told the Shamong Township Committee during its closeout meeting late last month.

And that’s when, after some further inquiry and investigation, some residents of Old Indian Mills Road apparently first became aware of plans for a “cannabis growth, cultivation and manufacturing” operation slated to be built “at the end of the road,” near their homes, with Conti now declaring to the governing body that, “I plan to fight this!”

Some, however, as Old Indian Mills Road resident Dan Murphy pointed out during the meeting, have been following the Shamong Township Committee’s passage of a zoning ordinance on June 1 of last year, as previously reported by this newspaper, allowing at least some of the six licensing classes for the cannabis industry (cannabis cultivator, cannabis manufacturer, cannabis wholesaler, cannabis distributor, cannabis retailer and cannabis deliverer) in certain areas of the township.

At the time of the zoning ordinance’s passage, Township Solicitor Doug Heinold and Township Administrator Susan Onorato told residents that the measure establishes “zoning overlay districts,” to limit such commercial activity near residential areas or to three “existing redevelopment/industrial zones.”

But as Onorato would later detail at the township committee’s Dec. 21 closeout meeting, in response to questions and concerns, one of the redevelopment areas actually includes the property on Old Indian Mills Road “which comes out to Route 206” as well as the vicinity of the “Shamong Diner,” pointing out that those parcels, including the open farmland at the intersection of Old Indian Mills Road and Route 206, are considered “commercial” properties.

“My opinion is if the residents of Shamong

were informed that these facilities were going to be dropped in their front yards, back yards or side yards, the referendum on cannabis manufacturing would not have passed,” Murphy declared.

Murphy further maintained that Old Indian Mills residents “know nothing at this point” about the intent of the firm wishing to establish a cannabis facility at the (south) end of their road.

“I don’t think we can speak to specific properties right now, because I don’t think anything is specifically being done right now, or with a sale, or any of that type of stuff, so I don’t think any of us could comment where that is right now,” said Mayor Timothy Gimble, initially, in response.

Conti, however, spoke of the recent land sale transaction she claimed to have learned about involving the property in question (which this newspaper could not immediately confirm).

Onorato, in response, maintained that the township “does not get a deed until two to three months after the sale goes through,” so the municipality was unaware if there has been a change in ownership. The township administrator noted she was also sure who has owned it, after Conti threw about a name.

During a preceding township committee meeting on Dec. 7, however, Gimble was among three other committeemen who voted in favor of giving two entities, with plans to launch cannabis operations in Shamong, letters of support to provide with their applications for a license from the state’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC).

One of those entities, as previously reported by the Pine Barrens Tribune, is LexiCann NJ, LLC, planning to open a cannabis cultivation and/or manufacturing facility on the approximately 20.6-acre parcel located at the intersection of Old Indian Mills Road and Route 206, according to Shamong officials, with the entity seeking a Class I and/or Class II license from the CRC to do so.

A Facebook page, “Shamong Cannabis Growers Association,” identifies the parcel as

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Heinold, on Dec. 7, just before the issuance of the support letters was approved, remarked that the township’s Cannabis Committee, “has helped a lot” in facilitating the process for local applicants, declaring, “it is also good to see” that the entities the township has been in discussion with “for years” about establishing cannabis operations in Shamong are now actually “following through.”

G i mble, on D e c. 21, i n the wake of questions and concern, ultimately acknowledged to the Old Indian Mills Road residents that “this is a cultivation facility” and “not a dispensary or distribution or anything like that.”

“Whatever is done has to go in front of the (Shamong Township) Land Use Board,” the mayor contended. “We don’t know what exactly some of these facilities look like.”

While the licensing of such a facility still has to be approved by the state, as Gimble pointed out, and conditional permitted-use approval and site plan approval specifically for a cannabis operation must still be sought (in addition to potential variances), Onorato, during the closeout session, in response to Murphy recalling that a greenhouse had just been approved for the site in question, acknowledged that it had been, further signifying that the process has already been moved along to some degree.

“It was approved at the meeting for a 150,000 some square-foot building,” Onorato acknowledged. “However, then they came back and amended it for their application down to 30,000 or 35,000 square-feet, making it significantly smaller. They then came back to us and amended that down.”

Conti called the “thought of having this (a cannabis entity) in my front yard” something that is “just unacceptable.”

“If I would have known that, I would have never moved to Shamong!” Conti further declared. “I have been here about a year.

I don’t know what else to say, but I plan to fight it. It is not fair, and I think for the people who are coming here, or (for those who) are considering living here, if they knew something like that could be planted in their front yard, they would be very upset.”

She added that she would “think there are other areas of Shamong, which aren’t residential, that would be more suited” for a cannabis operation.

Gimble maintained that “it may not be the answer you want to hear because it is in your back yard,” but establishing cannabis businesses in the municipality has “been a conversation for two years or more.”

(Conti corrected the mayor that given how her property is situation, the cannabis operation would be in her “front yard.”)

“We are trying to take advantage from

financial perspective without changing the flavor of the town,” the mayor maintained.

Gimble explained that while it is “probably not the answer you want to hear,” those conversations have looked at establishing cannabis firms along the Route 206 corridor “that are not as dense” versus “some places in town.”

Onorato expanded on that point by pointing out that the township committee “chose the Route 206 corridor” to place cannabis businesses because there are already “commercial lots there,” as well as at an industrial park, because it is already zoned industrial. The governing body, she said, “targeted” those locations because they “did not want to have to change the zoning for this.”

“We actu al ly have a ver y l i m ite d area of where we kind of opened up this conversation,” the mayor said. “Again, unfortunately, that is not the answer you probably want to hear, either.”

But Conti responded by saying such placement “is not fair to the people who are here.”

“And there are lawsuits happening in North Jersey, right now, with the stench it (cannabis cultivation) creates,” Conti pointed out. “They are also required to have guards, which means it attracts crime.”

The Shamong mayor emphasized “again, this is not (a) done (deal) today,” pointing out that all affected neighbors “will be notified” to “have your say” when information is “remitted” to the land use board concerning a cannabis operation, with Onorato pointing out that it is state law that all affected residences within 200 feet of an application receive notice.

The township administrator pointed out that often residents will send in a letter to protest an application or send a neighbor to represent them at land use board meetings, but only verbal testimony from each resident is accepted on an application.

The mayor again reiterated that “at this point” the firm “does not have a permit to do anything” and “has not acquired a license from the state.”

“It may or may not happen,” Gimble added. “Again, there are all these other things they need to do and have conversations to be prepared for this type of stuff.”

When Murphy pointed out that digging was already occurring at the site in question, the mayor contended, “I didn’t know they were doing that,” with Onorato stressing, “We never know when that happens.”

“How come they have to tell the county, but not you?” asked Conti in reply.

Onorato said the county “probably is involved with them” because of “septic and design.”

“We don’t get involved in that,” the township administrator contended. “It is all handled by the county.”

She then urged residents “to keep an eye on” any possible land use board agendas for possible listings of an application for See CANNABIS/ Page 11

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CHIEF

(Continued from Page 1) great people and helped so many great people.”

Thorn, who submitted an application to become a volunteer firefighter for Union Fire Company in the fall of 1987, had followed in his grandfather Loring Thorn’s footsteps, “embarking on a journey that would eventually place him in charge of one of the largest fire departments in Burlington County,” according to one of his longtime deputies, and now acting department chief, Robert Dovi.

Dovi said Thorn leaves behind a “legacy” of “a lot of firsts” that will be “well remembered into the future.”

Among them is that in 2001, upon being promoted from a part-time Medford fire inspector to the position of full-time township fire administrator/fire marshal, Thorn assisted in the process of hiring Medford Township’s first career firefighters, according to Dovi.

Six years later, Thorn was elevated to the position of deputy fire chief, with the reorganization of the fire department, before becoming the chief in September 2010.

PETITION

(Continued from Page 4) parents and staff,” and using “intimidation and retaliation tactics,” violating labor laws and federal rules regarding the Family Medical Leave Act, and creating “a toxic environment for students, parents and staff.”

He also disputed McCooley’s statement that she “was in receipt” of the petition, asking, “Why would I give my petition to the superintendent when it is a call to action to the people who hired her?”

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♦ Page 7

During the course of the past 11 years, according to Dovi, Thorn has replaced the entire fleet of frontline fire and EMS apparatus.

Additionally, the retiring fire chief oversaw the relocation and construction of Taunton Fire Company Station 252, as well as construction and expansion of Union Fire Company Station 251.

“The project converted the second-floor banquet hall to administrative offices, a training room, bunk rooms, and a gym,” recounted Dovi of the latter project. “An elevator was added for Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance, and the building footprint was expanded to allow for additional space that is used by the members.”

B ut D ov i d e c l a r e d h e wou l d b e “remiss” if he also did not discuss Thorn’s accomplishments related to the EMS aspect of the department.

He not only credited the retiring chief for replacing “all three” aging ambulances in the township fleet with “state-of-the-art units to serve the residents of Medford,” but pointed out that Thorn worked with the municipality to “reorganize EMS by ordinance” to create the first combined department of fire and EMS in Medford.

And shortly after that second reorganization, Thorn, Dovi noted, “expanded our part-time EMT staff and hired the first four career EMT’s in Medford Township,” with those latter individuals moving to a “seven-day schedule,” including working on holidays.

Thorn, during his days as a volunteer, rose through the ranks from firefighter to safety officer, lieutenant, and ultimately battalion chief.

The retiring chief’s first day on the job (paid, that is) with Medford was back in September 1994, when he was hired as a part-time fire inspector with what was known then as the “Medford Township Fire Prevention Bureau.”

In subsequent years, he became certified as a Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) fire prevention inspector, UCC fire subcode official, and a New Jersey certified EMT. More recently, Thorn served as a deputy to Dovi in Medford Township’s Office of Emergency Management (which Thorn was also honored for by being given a plaque).

Both men became emotional during the recent sendoff, but especially as Dovi recounted that “in June 2020, you stood by my side as I observed damage to my own house when straight-line winds impacted our community.”

“For that, my family and I are forever

grateful,” Dovi added.

Dovi called it an “honor” to pay tribute to Thorn and his accomplishments, urging the retiring chief as he “transitions to retirement” to be “proud of your accomplishments, hold your head high, and take some time in your favorite place to relax.”

“Chief Thorn has dedicated 33 years of service to Medford Township,” Dovi said.

“During that time, he has also acted in the capacity of director of public safety, township manager, and construction official.

To say that he is an asset to this community would be an understatement. His knowledge of IT and computers has saved the township countless dollars. It is very difficult to summarize the career of such a committed and devoted public official.”

But Charles “Chuck” Watson, mayor of Medford and a former township fireman himself, in noting that he has had the unique opportunity to watch Thorn from the time he first became a volunteer fireman “to the end,” said that when “you look at our fire department and what we have in buildings, equipment, volunteers and staff,” Thorn is “the leader who put that all together.”

In her statement to the Pinelands board, McCooley also appeared to answer another of the petition’s allegations that her communications with district parents and communities were “nontransparent and vague.”

“As the liaison between our schools and the board, I pride myself on the transparency with you and always communicate with the board promptly when controversial issues emerge,” she declared. “In turn I request that you contact me should you ever have any questions or concerns, and I will expeditiously respond to you with the relevant information.

This includes injuries related to the petition – inquiries, excuse me.”

But while most of those in attendance remained silent on the subject—including two former board members whose signatures appeared on the petition, Susan Ernst and Patricia Chambers (the latter who also wrote an extensive criticism of McCooley)—one critic in the audience did see fit to speak up.

“My children used to come to this school and they were proud to say (so) at the end of the school year,” said Kevin Foder, who spoke strictly as a resident (although he is a member of the Bass River Township Board

of Education, which, despite having no remaining schools per se under its jurisdiction, still has a responsibility for the township’s students who now attend LEHT schools under a send-receive relationship). “When you say you’re looking out for the best interest of these children, I think you’re hurting these students more than helping them.”

Then, citing “the stuff in the papers, the words around town, the signs and things like that,” he said he believed he was speaking for some of those present in telling McCooley he thought “the best thing you could do is resign your position.”

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HOME

(Continued from Page 3) his home the next day, that he found out it was that particular residence.

“The officer made a comment that there were a lot of folks who had strong opinions about that house coming in, and I told him quite frankly that a lot of us in the area were upset by it,” he recounted. “But that someone would go to such lengths to vandalize that house was absolutely wrong.”

More tight-lipped about the incident was Mark Werner, the director of operations for the organization that plans to open the sober living residence in Evesham, Tribe Intensive of New Jersey (which has a sister rehab group in Jensen Beach, Fla.), who declined to comment for this story.

Werner previously told this newspaper, however, in an interview that occurred prior to the incident, that his group would vet any prospective occupants of the home despite the fact that it is not required by the state Department of Community Affairs, the agency that regulates such facilities.

Despite declining to be interviewed for this story, Werner did talk to a reporter for Fox 29 in Philadelphia, whom he told that he “never thought it would actually come to somebody breaking in and vandalizing the home,” contending that someone had done so “because they don’t agree with what we’re doing in our home.”

He also estimated that the home had been flooded by more than 500 gallons of water per hour, for eight hours, resulting in a weeks-long delay in the anticipated opening, which was supposed to have occurred shortly after inspectors gave it a final check the following Wednesday.

Wer ner fur ther mai ntai ned i n the televised interview that “a large portion of the community supports what we are doing, but the few who don’t have been very vocal about it.”

Actually, those residents who have spoken out against the proposed facility at township council meetings have claimed they are all for the rehabilitation of addicts and alcoholics – only that they don’t want it done in such close proximity to their homes or an elementary school.

Just prior to the vandalism on Jan. 13, Ramirez, who had previously led a small delegation of his neighbors to meet with township officials about the issue and was told that a larger meeting on the subject would be set up with DCA officials and County Prosecutor Scott Coffina, was emailed by Township Manager Robert Corrales about setting up “a possible Zoom session” between Evesham Mayor Jacklyn “Jackie” Veasey and Lisa Jiampetti, the

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mayor of Egg Harbor City, which adopted the ordinance he had cited.

“As we discussed though, while Egg Harbor City passed an ordinance that they believe does not hamper any state laws/ regulation regarding sober living facilities, we would have to evaluate how such an ordinance would affect Evesham Township (i.e. our affordable housing plan, which is also state-mandated and we must remain in compliance with),” noted Corrales in the email. “Nonetheless, we have provided the Egg Harbor City ordinance to our township solicitor for review.

The email concluded, “Thank you again and please know I am trying to coordinate a date/time for the neighborhood meeting.”

Ramirez told this newspaper he was still awaiting an answer as to when Corrales expects to hear back from the follow solicitor, us on and whether he can listen in on the Zoom facebook.com/MedfordUMC session, as well as a clarification of the role the affordable housing plan might have in all this.

Corrales, returning a phone call from this newspaper on Jan. 26, said that the vandalism incident had done nothing to divert township officials from their previously announced intent to “finalize” plans for the community-wide meeting on the subject of sober living facilities with DCA officials and Coffina, with Feb. 7 being looked at as a tentative date for that session.

“I am trying to coordinate everybody,” he said.

Corrales also indicated that a remote meeting with Jiampetti about the Egg Harbor City ordinance could be in the offing, but noted that “we did have some conversations with the DCA about that particular ordinance and my understanding is that it has not been given final approval.

He added that officials of that agency have final say as to the legality of such an ordinance.

Cor ra le s a lso c on fi r me d t hat t he ordinance in question was in the process of being reviewed by Township Solicitor Primo Cruz, but that he can’t give an opinion on it at a glance.

“We’re not Egg Harbor City, and what worked for them might not work in our case,” Corrales pointed out. “We would have to take a look at it and see how it’s going to affect us. We take this matter very seriously from both points of view. Whatever is done, it is going to be done right.”

Attempts by this newspaper to contact Veasy for this story were unsuccessful.

But in a statement issued Jan. 20, the mayor contended that “one area where I know all our residents will agree is that our community must collectively condemn such vandalism, or other similar criminal acts, regardless of the location or intention.”

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Lic ens e” from the st at e’s Can nabis Regulatory Commission (CRC). “Cannabis cultivators” are a permitted use under the township’s cannabis ordinance, and the planned location for the firm’s operation is on Ishmael Road, which is in a remote area

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The township, in early 2021, had held a special meeting to receive input from residents as to whether they were for or against allowing cannabis businesses in town, with the overwhelming majority of participants in that meeting saying they were for it, believing such an industry would help relieve the town’s revenue troubles given otherwise limited ratables and Pinelands Commission building restrictions.

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the site in question.

That is when Deputy Mayor Michael Di Croce, the visionary behind Shamong becoming the “pot capital” of the state in a bid to reduce or eliminate property taxes altogether, arrived late for the closeout township committee meeting.

“I didn’t have a problem with cannabis,” said Murphy upon his recognizing Di Croce’s arrival, noting he had received a letter from Di Croce explaining his vision for the town about three years ago. “But I didn’t know it would be in my front yard. I just can’t believe it! The quality of life, and property values – everything is going to be affected.”

A cannabis vision that seemingly did not run into any prior opposition appears to have resulted in at least some worry in recent weeks, with this newspaper reporting last week that a subsequent reorganization meeting of the governing body featured concern that “outsiders” were moving into Shamong, and in a position to receive the cannabis licenses.

The resident expressing that concern, Heather McGarvey, contended “most of the people who were for” allowing cannabis entities in town was so that it would actually benefit the “farming community here” as well as the “people who live here.”

DISPENSARIES

ofin

(Continued from Page 6)

“And all I see is outsiders coming in and starting grows,” she asserted. “The majority of people coming in here are from other places. I guarantee you nine out of 10 residents here don’t want that!”

Gimble stressed during the preceding closeout meeting that “this process” to bring cannabis firms into town has been a “long process” and that the “conversation is not new,” but has been “going on for two years now” with the “idea” of it being the township “trying to figure in revenues from a tax perspective, as well as from a ratables perspective.”

During the closeout session, he added that “some of these companies are coming in and kicking their tires.”

“We have had many people talk to us from a corporate perspective ... businesses … and they are all kicking tires,” he said, noting that it was told to them that “in order to make this work” they “got a lot of work to do” on their end. On the township committee’s end, he pointed out, it “set up an economic development zone” so that if “some of these facilities” were to “come in here,” they would be “in designated areas.”

“I think my house will be worthless if this (allowing a cannabis business at Old Indian Mills Road and Route 206) goes through,” declared Conti, pointing out she has two kids, who are 12 and 14 years old.

“That’s everything I have, and everything my kids have.”

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Page 12 ♦

LOCAL NEWS / FEATURES

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Saturday, January 29, 2022

1/10/22 11:44 AM