Saturday, January 8, 2022
ZONING
(Continued from Page 9) get from health department or the state.” (At an October 2021 township committee meeting, when a resident posed a question about when the wells at the gravel pit were last tested, Gray replied he was in receipt of a “testing report” from Oct. 11, 2021, that showed testing was performed there for a number of “volatile organic compounds,” with the results showing they were either not detected or found at rates that meet the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP)’s groundwater and drinking water standards.) John Ervin, director of development at CS Energy, the firm apparently working with the Haas family to establish a solar energy facility at the gravel pit, called the concerns expressed “very valid,” but maintained that “a lot of it will be addressed during the site plan approval process” and that the ordinance “created by the Pinelands Commission” was “not discussing a specific project.” “I think it is a proactive move for the township to make a solar energy ordinance,” he declared. “The township will see more development like this in the future.” Brown again reiterated “this ordinance is only addressing the zoning of the property, not the project itself.” But while William Geoghegan, who identified himself as “part of the team working on a solar project in Tabernacle,” and is a project developer at CS Energy, agreed that “this is not about approving a solar project” and “only enables a solar project to be proposed, which will be reviewed via a more intensive site plan process,” he, as the first person to speak at what was a continuation of the public hearing on the ordinance, went into a detailed explanation of the benefits of solar energy. “According to the New Jersey Energy Master Plan, we are aiming to have 100 percent clean energy by 2050, and solar will make up 34 percent of that,” Geoghegan noted. “Ever y project, big or small, makes progress towards these goals and a community solar project in Tabernacle will show its commitment to a greener future.” Community solar projects enable greater access to solar energy, he contended, and electric utility customers who have “previously been unable to go solar due to a variety of factors, can now access this
GANG
(Continued from Page 4) first-degree gang criminality. The investigation into Robinson’s death revealed that GBM had a long-running dispute with certain residents of the Buckingham Park section of Willingboro, where Robinson lived. Robinson, a Willingboro High School student who was said to be returning home from his part-time job when killed, was not involved in the conflict. A week later, in the same section of Willingboro, a woman was hit in the leg and a toddler was grazed across his backside by shots fired into their home. Young has been charged with both shootings. Carter and Young have also been indicted on firearms charges from a separate incident earlier this year, and Forman was charged in October 2021 with witness tampering for making multiple threatening phone calls from Burlington County Jail. “The substantial charges we have brought against these members of the Gotti Boy Movement and their associates should make clear that we will not allow anyone to engage in indiscriminate gun violence
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renewable solar energy.” Ba r ton, whe n t he ord i n a n c e wa s introduced on Oct. 25, 2021, noted he was also concerned about reports of possible encroachment on township property by the past mining activities, and then questioned Gray if there were any issues identified at the site, to which he replied that there had been some issues at the gravel pit cited by In-Person Services the NJDEP during a 2016 inspection, though being held after the gravel pit cleared a subsequent 2018 Labor Day at inspection. 18 Mill St. 8:15 am | 9:30 am | B a r t o n , p r i o r t o vot i n g a g a i n s t 11:00 am | introducing the ordinance this past October, Vincentown, NJ 08088 Facebook Live had made a motion to have a surveyfollow doneus on Worship: Sundays 10 a.m. to determine whether therefacebook.com/MedfordUMC was actually 609-859-2299 any encroachment onto township property by the past mining activities. After the ordinance was introduced, the motion was 2 Hartford Road | Medford NJ 08055 entertained by the township committee, but medfordumc.org | 609/654-8111 info@medfordumc.org died because it was not seconded by any of his colleagues. The ordinance ultimately passed 4-0 on I Am That I Am Dec. 6 in Barton’s absence. Ministries, Inc. T h e “ t e c h n o l o g y, e q u i p m e n t , All Are Welcome! environmental impact, site design and Sunday Worship Se ervice size” are all “good questions” that “can be “To Know Jesus Christ and at 11:30 a.m. to Make Him Known” addressed during the site plan process,” Pastors Florence and Geoghegan maintained prior to that final Russell Webberr vote, focusing instead on the “tangible 50 Burrs Mill Roadd, Southampton, NJ 08088 benefits community solar can have” for 609 - 847- 4848 Tabernacle. Pastor Todd Anderson www.iamthatiamministriesinnc.com www. MessiahLBC.church “A community solar project presents Church (609) 893-1700 Bible Sttudy an exciting opportunity for residents of 530 Virginia Drive m . 7 p.m Presidential Lakes, NJ 08015 Tabernacle to save about 20 percent on their Wednessday monthly electricity bills by subscribing to Worship Service - 10 a.m. a project,” Geoghegan declared. “Priority will be given to low-and-moderate-income families to subscribe, and depending on the size of the project, cumulative savings could be $2.5 million over the course of the 20-year project. It will generate clean and sustainable electricity that offsets the burning of fossil fuels and will also reduce CO2 emissions. “Additionally, passing this ordinance is a great opportunity to get the site restored in a timely fashion, where it will be consistently managed and maintained. Once the project is built and operational, it will be hardly noticeable due to the screening requirements and minimal vehicles entering or leaving the site. Given all the other potential uses, we believe solar is among the least impactful to the environment and community. We hope Photo Provided you agree the net positive of a community State Troopers join with Shamong Township Deputy Mayor Michael Di Croce (center right) solar project will beneficially impact to deliver toys to families in need during the holidays. households in the community.”
Trinity Episcopal Church
Messiah Lutheran Brethren Church
Gathering to Spread Holiday Cheer
and run roughshod over innocent people in Pemberton Township, or in any other part of Burlington County,” said Prosecutor Scott Coffina through the press release. “Yahsinn Robinson’s family should be celebrating Christmas with him right now instead of mourning him, and babies should never be exposed to gunfire coming into their homes. We are committed to doing everything we can to keep families safe throughout the county, and to bring to justice those who put our neighborhoods at risk.” Carter, Clifton and Weathers have also been charged with “promoting organized street crime,” as has Brianna Scott, 28, of White Pine Court in Pemberton. Scott and others are alleged to be responsible for filing multiple fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan applications. The PPP is part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) Act of 2020, which is designed to provide economic assistance to small businesses that suffered a financial hardship due to the pandemic. The scam, according to both Coffina and King, yielded $124,996 in funds from PPP applications that were filed in the name of GBM members and their affiliates. Carter, the law enforcement officials claimed, submitted an application claiming he was a barber with an annual income of
more than $105,000 in 2019, even though he was incarcerated throughout 2019. He received a check for nearly $21,000, as did five of his associates, the law enforcement officials noted. Scott was additionally charged with second-degree conspiracy to com mit computer criminal activity Others charged in connection with the PPP scam include Wanya Anderson, 25, of Jarvis Street in Pemberton, Chad Boone, 30, of Grant Street in Camden; Adam Clark, 28 of Atsion Road in Shamong; Jaquan Crawley-Pitts, 25, of Garden Street in Mount Holly; Altauron Jean, 27, of Press Avenue in Pemberton; Shalaiyha Jean, 20, of East Lakeshore Drive in Pemberton; and Zion Powe, 22, of Ashton Street in Pemberton – all of whom were charged with seconddegree computer crimes with the purpose to defraud, third-degree forgery, third-degree theft by unlawful taking and fourth-degree false swearing under oath. Clifton and Carter were also charged with second-degree computer crimes with the purpose to defraud, and additional charges against Carter include third-degree forgery, third-degree theft by unlawful taking and fourth-degree false swearing under oath. “This financial scheme by the defendants to obtain small business relief funds by ‘inventing’ fake businesses, phantom income
and fraudulent loan applications, is merely further evidence of this group’s belief that the rules of society simply don’t apply to them,” Coffina maintained. “They are wrong, and will be held accountable.” The cases, the prosecutor’s office said, will be prepared for presentation to a grand jury for possible indictment. The defendants will be prosecuted by Assistant Prosecutors Michael Angermeier, Jamie Hutchinson and Joseph Remy. The investigation was conducted by the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office, with assistance from the Pemberton Township Police Department and the Willingboro Township Police Department. The majority of the defendants were apprehended during a Dec. 16 sweep that involved the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office, Burlington County Sheriff’s Department, Camden County P ros e cutor’s Of fic e, Merc er Cou nt y Special Response Team, Mount Holly Township Police Department, New Jersey Division of Taxation – Office of Criminal Investigation, New Jersey State Police, Ocean County Special Response Team, Pemberton Borough Police Department, Pemberton Township Police Department, U.S. Marshals Service New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force, and Westampton Township Police Department.
