Pine Barrens Tribune June 19, 2021-June 25, 2021

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Plan to Replace Dragway with Auction Auto Lot Said to Violate Parts of Township Legal Code Lawyer Claims Proposed Facility Misrepresented in Application That Should Have Been Scrapped

By Bill Bonvie Staff Writer

Photo By Dominick Cella

Locals, Former Residents Speak of Their ‘Devastation’ Upon Learning Pine Barrens Festival Has Been Discontinued by Pastor After 31 Years, But Despite Calls for Reconsideration, Decision to Remain Unchanged

Parish Says Festival Was ‘No Longer Helpful in Serving Mission of Church,’ But Others Say the Community Needs It More Than Ever Since Pandemic and That the Event Actually Fulfills a Mission of Providing for Community with devastated and at times emotional beyond, Fr. Andrew Jamieson, pastor

By Douglas D. Melegari Staff Writer

TA B E R N AC L E — N e w s o f t h e discontinuation of the Church of Holy Eucharist’s Pine Barrens Festival, a 31-year tradition, first reported by this newspaper two weeks ago, has apparently struck a chord, extending far and wide

individuals calling our newsroom from as far away as Florida, pleading for the church to reconsider holding the event.

But despite that public outcry, along with expressions of shock, disbelief and heartache which have been reverberated th roug hout the com mu n ity and

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of the church, is doubling down on his decision to discontinue the festival, with a spokesperson for the church, Jessica Garrett, telling this newspaper that “the reasons for discontinuing the festival remain unchanged.”

See FESTIVAL/ Page 8

WATERFORD — Challenges to the legality of an online auction firm’s plan to replace the six-decade-old Atco Dragway with a storage lot for distressed and disabled vehicles took precedence at a twice-delayed but still inconclusive three-and-half-hour continuation of a hearing, conducted June 7 by the Waterford Township Joint Land Use Board, on the company’s site-plan application.

Most, but not all of the doubts about the proposal’s conformity to provisions of municipal law were raised in a blistering denunciation delivered by an attorney representing two of its opponents that climaxed the proceedings.

The attorney, Richard M. King, Jr. of Somers Point, gave a five-point presentation designed to prove, among other things, that the facility being proposed for the property

by Insurance Auto Auctions (IAA), which maintains dozens of similar sites throughout North America, was being misrepresented as a used car establishment when it more closely resembled a junkyard by virtue of the large number of inoperable and partially or totally wrecked vehicles the company routinely keeps at such lots, as depicted in its own photos. In fact, he noted, IAA’s brochure acknowledges it deals in “salvage,” a description that does not meet the township’s conditional use criteria for a Planned Light Industrial District.

“We submit that an auction of salvage See DRAGWAY/ Page 10

INDEX Business Directory... 12

Marketplace.................14

Local News................. 2

Worship Guide.......... 15

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LOCAL NEWS / FEATURES

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Letter Discloses Woodland Officials Were Told That Dam for Chatsworth Lake Was in ‘Unsafe Condition’ in March, Town Had Participated in Inspection That Found Damage • The Officials Declared in April They Weren’t Involved in Matter and Knew Few Details, All While Locals Were Left to Surmise on Social Media Outlets Why the Water Suddenly Vanished • Woodland Mayor Says Concerns Dried Lake Looks ‘Horrible’ and Poses Increased Risk of Fire Danger Conveyed to NJCF • Parks and Forestry, Along with Conservation Foundation, to Meet June 21 with Dam Safety Bureau to Discuss Next Steps

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WOODLAND — Several Wood land Tow nsh ip residents took par t i n an initiative last week to send a barrage of emails to both the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) and New Jersey Conservation Foundation (NJCF) concerning Chatsworth Lake, an effort to get answers about when it might be restored following damage to its dam, and to pressure officials from the two entities that share ownership of it to move expeditiously in making repairs.

Residents first observed water disappeared from the lake, which abuts County Route 532, in the beginning of April, but were provided with no explanation of what occurred at the time, only left to surmise what might have happened on social media.

It was not until this newspaper sought answers in mid-April, and published a report on April 17, that some of the first details of what transpired were released by state and NJCF officials, with township officials pleading ignorance at the time. And since that time, no further public information has

been released by the state or NJCF unless queried.

The residents, in response to their email campaign, received a June 10 reply from Clint J. Oman, P.E., chief of the NJDEP’s Bureau of Dam Safety, though, again, limited details about the status of repairs were offered.

However, the Pine Barrens Tribune has learned far more detailed information in recent days through a fulfilled Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request that sought emails and correspondence from Woodland Township and state officials pertaining to the lake.

Among what was obtained by this newspaper is a letter from the NJDEP that confirmed “township representatives” were on-site when the dam was inspected by Dam Safety on both March 29 and 30, in response to a report of a “sinkhole.” Additionally, the letter made its recipients aware that the dam was in “unsafe condition” with those owning it asked to move “immediately” to drain the associated lake.

See CHATSWORTH/ Page 6

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Saturday, June 19, 2021

Shamong ‘Open for Business’ to Cannabis Industry

by Allowing Operations in 3 Redevelopment Areas

By Douglas D. Melegari Staff Writer

S H A M O N G —T h e To w n s h i p o f Shamong, after spending “years” trying to attract cannabis companies to town in an effort to “increase its tax ratables” and produce a “positive economic impact,” is officially “open for business” to the industry, declared Township Solicitor Doug Heinold, now that the Shamong Township Committee has provided a mechanism for such firms to call the municipality home.

And at least one business may already be interested in doing so, according to Deputy Mayor Michael Di Croce, with several others giving it at least some consideration.

The committee passed a zoning ordinance on June 1 with four votes in favor and one abstention 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.

“This is the culmination of a lot of effort by the township committee and township subcommittee to take a step forward into the new cannabis industry approved by the State of New Jersey,” Heinold said. “Shamong has been at the forefront of this issue in trying to generate business ratables for the municipality to help the residential tax base.”

The measure establishes “zoning overlay districts,” however, to limit such commercial activity near residential areas or to three “existing redevelopment/industrial zones,” according to both Heinold and Township Administrator Susan Onorato.

“Once we put this (ordinance) on the books, we are open for business in Shamong

and somebody can come in and rely upon that zoning,” Heinold said. “We can, also in the future, decide additional areas to further open for business. We can expand, but once we do so, we are set to that for five years.

Therefore, we have to take steps carefully.”

The ordinance also applies a number of “controls,” as Mayor Timothy Gimble put it, or conditional uses, to cannabis businesses so that any potential adverse impacts of their operations to the community are limited.

Security, hours of operation, setbacks, odor control, noise control, lighting and signage are among the conditional uses.

Despite a statewide trend of proposed local ordinances permitting or disallowing cannabis resulting in controversy, not a single member of the public came forward during a June 1 public hearing on the Shamong law.

New Jer s ey mu n ic ipa l it ie s, u nder landmark legislation signed in February

by Democratic Governor Phil Murphy that legalized and regulated cannabis use, along with possession and commercial operations, have until Aug. 21 to decide whether or not they want to curtail the sale or cultivation of cannabis locally.

“We are trying to take advantage of what the State of New Jersey has put forward as the future of this state,” said Gimble during the June 1 Shamong committee meeting. “We are thinking of this from a business perspective.

As of today, nothing has happened. This is us putting an idea forth, and a plan in place, that allows us to take some steps forward should something come to fruition with a business here.”

Di Croce noted that he has had five meetings to date with “various companies See CANNABIS/ Page 15

LOCAL NEWS / FEATURES

♦ Page 3

‘Standardized Vetting and Verification Process’ Proposed for Entities Requesting More Than $5K ‘Tabled,’ For Now

By Douglas D. Melegari Staff Writer

WASHINGTON—A proposed ordinance that would require any entity that submits a request for funding of $5,000 or more per annum to Washington Township to file numerous certifications and financial records annually with the municipality, including an audit “prepared by an independent firm,” was tabled by the Washington Township Committee on June 1.

The proposed ordinance, which Mayor Daniel James declared is the “one you are all here for” in front of a crowd of about 40 residents and stakeholders, the most meeting attendees for a governing body meeting since this newspaper began publication in 2016, especially remarkable considering such a gathering occurred in the waning days of the Coronavirus pandemic, appeared to almost immediately have an impact on the decision.

I m m e d i at ely fol low i ng Ja m e s’ acknowledgement of the crowd, which filled committee chambers, including an extension room, to near capacity, Deputy Mayor Paul Seybold moved to table the item “for now.”

By tabling the ordinance so swiftly, a public hearing was not held as had been scheduled.

“Let’s rethink it and come up with some better wording,” said Seybold upon motioning to table the ordinance, which was seconded

by Committeeman C. Leigh Gadd Jr. After a 3-0 decision to table the proposed ordinance, James declared, “Tabled!” to which the room erupted in loud applause.

Many of the attendees notably wore shirts or uniforms with the emblems of the Green Bank Volunteer Fire Company, Lower Bank Volunteer Fire Company or Green Bank Ambulance Company. Additionally, this

newspaper observed commanders and board members from the respective agencies among the audience members.

Past recipients of such annual funds, according to an official, have included the Green Bank Volunteer Fire Company, Lower Bank Volunteer Fire Company and Green Bank Ambulance Company.

The proposed ordinance, as presented in May, would have required of requestors to file an annual report with the township that includes the “names of all board members, principals, executives or other members/officers,” in addition to copies of all their policies and procedures, copies of all certifications held by each of their members, a list of their vehicles and current registrations, a reviewed income statement and a reviewed balance sheet for the current year.

In addition, the audit prepared by an independent firm would have been required to be submitted “no later than Feb. 15 of each calendar year.”

“The ordinance sounds distrusting to the fire companies and is why we are all here tonight,” said Michael Alexander, chief of the Lower Bank Fire Company during the township committee’s public comment portion of the meeting. “… We all work hard to do the job that we do, and we just don’t want it to be any harder.”

Alexander requested that there be more communication between the township and the local fire companies in the future, contending that the draft ordinance that would regulate “municipal funding requests” came upon the entities suddenly.

“We don’t understand where this is coming from,” he said, adding that his fire company has always “reported where our

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CHATSWORTH (Continued from Page 2)

The existence of the letter contradicts previous claims by both Township Clerk Maryalice Brown and Mayor William “Billy” DeGroff, both to this newspaper and during an April committee meeting, that the township “isn’t involved” in the matter and knew little information during the initial days that the lake water vanished.

Chatsworth Lake is one of the most pristine blue water lakes in the Pinelands, which contributes to Chatsworth’s identity due to its striking beauty upon one entering or leaving the downtown.

Caryn Shinske, a spokeswoman for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), had told the Pine Barrens Tribune on April 13 that the “Lake Chatsworth Dam” is “damaged,” and that NJDEP’s Bureau of Dam Safety issued a notice to the Division of Parks and Forestry to “secure the area and to hire an engineer to inspect it and make recommended repairs.”

The lake’s water level, she said at the time, “had to be lowered” in the interim.

Michele Byers, executive director of the NJCF, in a May 17 email sent to Brown, explains that “the problem is that the horizontal underground ‘trunk’ in one of the wooden water control structures has deteriorated and started leaking, leading to a large hole eroding in the dike.” She then notes that the Bureau of Dam Safety has not only required of the Division of Parks and Forestry to hire an engineer to assess the dike and make recommendations for repair, but the NJCF, given its co-ownership.

“In the meantime, all of the boards have been removed from the functioning truck to keep the water at a safe level,” Byers wrote.

The NJCF executive director told Brown that her organization is “not sure how long it will take to plan for and undertake a repair” because the bureau has “not yet told us what they will require for the repair or permitting,” but that they “anticipate learning more from them in the near future.”

Byers’ email to Brown also confirms what several residents had previously described to this newspaper, including that Bill Haines,

WWW.PINEBARRENSTRIBUNE.COM owner of Pine Island Cranberry Company, was working “closely” with the NJCF throughout the process.

“He has indicated that if and when Dam Safety allows it, he would be willing to have his crew make the necessary repairs,” Byers wrote. “If Dam Safety allows us/Bill to make the repairs, it could happen much more quickly. However, if they determine that a more engineered structure is required, it may be some time before the repairs can be made.”

A spokesperson for Pine Island Cranberry Company previously referred this newspaper to the NJCF for comment on the matter.

Byers added in her email to Brown that “a lot of questions still need to be answered” before a more exact timeline on the repair can be provided.

DeGroff disclosed much of the contents of Byers’ email during a May 26 Woodland committee meeting, noting that the township has conveyed that the lake “looks horrible” and what is left of it has put the town at increased risk of fire danger (not only due to its low water levels, but leaving the community without a convenient source of water to draw from to fight a blaze).

Oman, in his June 10 letter to the concerned residents who answered calls online to “step up and save your lake,” wrote that “the dam was damaged as a result of an apparent issue with the spillway culvert, and the lake was lowered to prevent the dam from failing completely,” adding that a meeting between the bureau and the dam owners has been scheduled for June 21 to “discuss the next steps.”

“It is my understanding that the dam owners plan is to repair the dam and restore the lake level,” Oman wrote. “I do not have an exact timeframe on the repairs, as the timing falls with the dam owners. However, I can assure you that the owners are aware of the concerns and are working to address the issue.”

Oman noted that he directed the coowners of the dam to reach out to Woodland Township “to update the town officials on the status and their plans moving forward.”

However, John H. Moyle, P.E., director of the NJDEP’s Division of Dam Safety and Flood Engineering, wrote in a March 30 letter addressed to both Byers and

Saturday, June 19, 2021

Robin Madden, deputy director of the NJDEP’s Division of Parks and Forestry, correspondence that was also copied to Woodland Township’s clerk, emergency management coordinator and engineer, along with Burlington County officials, that the NJDEP was notified through “emergency dispatch” of a “sinkhole at the dam,” prompting a March 29 inspection.

“Site inspections” conducted by “staff engineers,” he wrote, on both March 29 and 30 “revealed that the dam is damaged and has experienced a significant loss of embankment material above the spillway conduits.”

“As a result of the embankment damage, the dam was determined to be in an unsafe condition,” wrote Moyle, with “unsafe condition” in bolded typeface. “Onsite at the time of the Division’s inspection were representatives of Woodland Township, Burlington County and the New Jersey Conservation Foundation.”

But Brow n had contended to th is newspaper in a telephone interview during the week of April 13 that “the township isn’t involved,” and that “the dam needs work is all that I know.”

During an April 28 Woodland Township Committee meeting, when officials were asked about the lake by this newspaper, Brown acknowledged that she had received the letter “telling the NJCF what they have to do and how many days they have to do it,” with the mayor contending, “other than that, we have nothing to do with that.”

“I know there is some stuff in our local gossip columns that I saw it is a big controversy with the lake and the committee,” the mayor said at the time.

“There is no controversy. We have nothing to do with the lake. That is between the state and conservation. Other than that, there is no controversy. “… Our only concern was (if) there was an issue with the roadway, and (if) it would affect traffic.”

Shinske, on April 13, had told this newspaper that the “controlled lowering was performed in a way to prevent downstream flooding and to minimize additional damage to the dam embankment,” and that “there are no threats to public health or safety.”

However, Moyle, in his March 30 letter

copied to the township, told the NJCF and Division of Parks and Forestry to “immediately lower the water level in the lake until it is completely drawn down or until a safe operation level is achieved,” and that a “safe operating level must be justified by your engineer and approved by the division within 15 days of the date of this letter,” suggesting that there had been a period of time prior to April 13 where the risk of a dam failure had not yet been mitigated.

Moyle further wrote that “since the dam area has unrestricted public access, the damaged embankment area should be immediately secured using temporary fencing or other measures to protect the public from the unstable slopes.”

An emergency notification and a public notice, however, were reportedly not issued despite the unsafe condition of the dam.

An April site visit conducted by this reporter had found a shriveled cardboard sign laying on the ground of a small sandy driveway (used frequently by fishermen and photographers to gain access to the lakefront) that leads to the lake’s dam and sluice gates, which stated that the lake was closed for “temporary repairs.” Yellow caution tape was also torn up in pieces and lying beside it.

The driveway had approximately three locations that were partially washed out.

But an enormous washout, that had the appearance of a sinkhole (one local had referred to it as the “Chatsworth Grand Washout”), at least seven feet deep, was observed near the dam and sluice gates. The area was observed at the time by this reporter to be surrounded by yellow caution tape, orange cones and a lone no trespassing sign.

Some of the wood that comprises of the sluice gates appeared to be loose, shaking from not only a gusty wind, but the force of water coming through a flow box.

DeGroff, when asked by this newspaper during the April 28 Woodland committee meeting if he would like to see Chatsworth Lake restored as quickly as possible, replied, “Oh, absolutely – absolutely!”

“I believe that lake is a big part of our community,” he declared, with Deputy Mayor Mark Herndon adding, “We would have had it done by now.”

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M EDFOR D — C u r b s i d e r e c yc l i ng collection schedules for all towns in Burlington County have been upended by a “perfect storm” that included a nationwide driver shortage and “multiple recycling truck drivers” quitting their job with the Occupational Training Center (OTC) of Burlington County last month.

While the Burlington County Department of Solid Waste is in charge of the county’s recycling program, OTC, according to a press release issued by Burlington County, is the nonprofit that collects and sorts the county’s recyclables.

The disruption in pickups – in some cases lasting four or more weeks – has resulted in a public outcry, and now the situation is evolving into a political football heading into November’s General Election.

Some 10 days after the county issued a June 1 press release noting that “officials anticipate that the county will remain shorthanded for recycling operations for several weeks” and in the wake of several enraged residents taking to social media and apparently bombarding the phones and emails of elected leaders, Felicia Hopson, director of the Burlington County Board of Commissioners, wrote a June 11 letter to area mayors (obtained by this newspaper through social media) that “effective immediately” the county is deploying truck drivers from the Burlington County Division of Roads and Bridges to “be trained to operate OTC recycling trucks to assist with collections.”

The decision came after the county on June 1 said in the release that “replacement drivers are being hired and trained” by OTC. Additionally, wrote Hopson in her letter to area mayors, that the county commissioners have entered into a shared service agreement with the Burlington County Bridge Commission “that will allow several of the commission’s licensed truck drivers to work recycling collections.”

OTC, she said, as a result of outside help being brought in, has supplemented its fleet with some additional trucks that are “easier to operate so that these additional drivers can be quickly trained and deployed.”

“The last several weeks have been incredibly challenging for Burlington County’s recycling program,” wrote Hopson to the mayors about the disruptions. “… Like you, we have heard from residents upset about the disruptions. We understand and share their frustrations. A lot of what has happened is beyond our control, but we have taken several responsive actions to assist our recycling vendor to get us back on a more regular collection schedule.”

Hopson, in further explaining the “perfect storm situation OTC is facing,” said that “many truck drivers are getting older and retiring” and that they are becoming “harder to replace” because of a “lack of interest from younger adults to perform that work.”

At the same time, she wrote, “demand for drivers has exploded amid the rise in e-commerce and qualified drivers are getting huge offers to leave their current jobs.” She

money goes and what we spend it on.”

Alexander also requested that the local fire companies be allowed to have “input when you make your changes,” and review what the governing body is considering for a “standardize reporting form.”

Township Solicitor Tom Coleman, who contended during a May 4 committee meeting that the municipal auditor “would find this helpful” and advocated for passage of the ordinance, by noting, “I am assuming our auditor would find this helpful – what this is designed to do is make the process, when we include funds in our budget that do go out to the entities, more transparent”, adding “what he does not want” is the municipal auditor to “scratch his head at the end of the year” and

g

By Douglas D. Melegari

(Continued from Page 3)

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ask, “Who are these entities?”, “How do they spend it?”, and “Who are the people behind it?”, was not present for the June township committee meeting.

Coleman, during the preceding meeting, had acknowledged that “to the best of his knowledge, for as long as I have been here, there haven’t been any problems,” but maintained “this is an opportunity to headoff any problems in the future.”

“I don’t expect that there will be any problems,” he added at the time. “It is not in any way any effort to thwart or push away any entities that come in and request money. It is just an opportunity for more transparency.”

During the June 1 committee meeting, Brian Detrick, president of the Green Bank Ambulance Company, said that he thinks “there needs to be more discussion, communication and collaboration” before such an ordinance is entertained again and thanked the governing body for “tabling it.”

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FESTIVAL (Continued from Page 1)

Those reasons, as previously reported by this newspaper, include the ramifications of the Coronavirus pandemic lockdown and social distancing mandates (only recently lifted) in the short-term, and a shortage of volunteers along with Jamieson’s belief that in the wake of the pandemic the church “needs to become self-sufficient through parishioner support,” contending “if we follow our mission to grow disciples in our corner of God’s vineyard, He and His people will provide what we need to accomplish that mission.”

By late last week, however, the reaction prompted the church to post a two-page PDF document on its website (which was also sent in advance by Garrett to this newspaper) addressing the most common questions and concerns it has been receiving in regards to the decision, with Jamieson asking parishioners during Sunday morning Mass on June 13 to share it with their friends, family and neighbors.

But it has been of little solac e to individuals like Melinda Strozak-Hitchings, who called this newspaper from Spring Hill, Florida “very, very upset” about Jamieson’s decision, explaining Tabernacle is forever her “hometown” after spending 10 years there and that she makes an annual trip to the municipality, during the week of the festival, to “meet all my friends I went to school and grew up with.”

After the pandemic disrupted her vacation plans last year, Strozak-Hitchings told this newspaper that she had planned to reunite with 172 people at what was supposed to be this year’s festival, calling the church festival grounds a “meeting place for us.”

Now, she said, the group of friends and former classmates are scrambling to find another venue.

“This is so sad!” Strozak-Hitchings declared. “I have been going there (to the festival) since I was 9 years old. It is a good thing for the community, it brings the community together. How can you dash that? Tabernacle is such a small farming town that the only thing that these people had was that fair, and to take it away, that sucks.”

Jamieson previously maintained that by no longer having the festival, the church can put its “energy” into church upgrades and “improving our ministries, especially to enhance our weekend experience, grow our parish, and make a difference in our community.”

In the PDF document, it is written that “the planning for the festival distracted our focus from the mission of the church for quite some time” and that “the pandemic opened our eyes to the real distraction that the planning of the festival took from our

WWW.PINEBARRENSTRIBUNE.COM mission of the church.” The “major pro of the festival,” the church acknowledges, was the “tradition it wove into our surrounding community as people gathered year after year,” but that it did accomplish “what it was intended originally for – to pay off our mortgage,” to which the church is “forever grateful.”

“The festival was fun, and, during many years, it brought great revenue for the parish, but overall, it was (not) helpful in serving the mission of the church,” the church states in the document. “Yes, to some extent, the parish should be a social hub for the community and that’s good. But what’s not good is expending our resources on events that are secondary to our mission.”

Resources, it said, have since been “redistributed” to support Christmas in July, a gifting event for New Lisbon, Cathedral Kitchen in Camden, and the

point of community.”

“You know what – a community – you have to give back to it,” she declared. “You take from it, but you learn to give back to it. I am a Tabernacle girl, through-in and throughout. I grew up with these people.

I love these people. They welcome me into their home. It is all about community here and I think these people are missing that point of community. I am just really upset.”

Lifelong Tabernacle resident Doris Underwood, who is not Catholic, but told this newspaper that she volunteered for Holy Eucharist’s bereavement group, said the festival “is tradition” and “is community,” adding that it “is really important to people in the community.”

“Even before the pandemic, every year people looked forward to the festival so that they would see all the other people in the community who they hadn’t seen all year,”

A food vendor that participated in a past Pine Barrens Festival.

“Living Nativity,” part of a “new vision that we’ve only been able to dream of in the past because we just didn’t have the time or energy with the festival.”

The document further contends that the topic of the festival and what it “brought to the mission of the church, or how (it) distracted from the mission of the church,” has b e en a “debat able topic w ith i n leadership” for a few years now.

“While it was a traditional event that brought the com munity together for entertainment for a few days – a huge pro to the festival, it wasn’t serving the needs of our community beyond entertainment nor was it growing disciples,” the church states through the document.

But Strozak-Hitchings, who told this newspaper that she is Roman Catholic, contended that the church was missing “that

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Underwood said. “I knew I would see people at the festival. Now, since the pandemic, people have mental and emotional issues, and a lot of depression from being locked down so long. Myself, I am really devasted that they are not going to do this anymore.

People have been longing for emotional connection and community togetherness ever since the pandemic.”

Underwood, contending the festival “was everything to me,” further declared the “people really need this personal and emotional interaction with others and the community.”

“We need it so much now, especially since COVID,” she said. “It is what everybody has been longing for, and then, after all this we just went through with the pandemic, to just shut it down forever, that is horrible.”

Underwood told this newspaper that she

Saturday, June 19, 2021 had left a message with the church asking them to reconsider, but she did not receive a returned call as of a few days later. She would welcome, she said, an opportunity to speak with Jamieson directly to share how the festival promotes community, and believes the pastor should also hold a community meeting to solicit public input before rendering a final decision.

“Don’t they realize how bad the people need it?” Underwood asked. “And the kids – all the little kids. There is really nothing around here every year besides that festival.”

Strozak-Hitchings told this newspaper that she did receive a return call from the church, but that after expressing her viewpoints, the conversation was cut short by the person who returned her call.

“I really wish that they would reconsider it,” she said. “My main priority is the welfare of the people in the community. They really need this fair to heal. The big word in this conversation is ‘heal,’ mentally and physically. After the pandemic, these people need this more than anything in the world.

That is the bottom-line.”

The PDF document states that church is meant to be a “communal place to gather and bring our parishioners, visitors and community together,” and points out that Holy Eucharist holds other annual traditions such as Trunk or Treat, an Easter Egg Hunt, a Parish Feast Day celebration and community outreach service events.

“The festival might have overshadowed some of these events, and we’re excited to build more opportunities,” the document states, indicating that the church is exploring potentially holding a movie night or fall festival. “Truth be told though; we might never attain the numbers of a community gathering event like the festival…but we can build church gathering events that grow our mission, God’s Kingdom and affect people beyond what the festival ever did. Our efforts should always move to affect the community in a positive way, and sometimes those efforts won’t necessarily be recognized.”

Jamieson, in announcing that the festival was discontinued, acknowledged that the decision “does appear counterintuitive,” given that the six-day event had served as the church’s main fundraiser and brought in outside support, but that last year the church organized a Summer Faith Gift campaign, where it set a goal of $100,000 and “our community heard this call and exceeded the goal with an amazing total of $109,000!”

He said the church, this year, is once again holding the campaign, setting the goal at $150,000 in contributions (over $14,000 has been raised, so far, as of press time).

According to PDF document, one of the questions the church has been fielding from its parishioners is, “If you are expecting the parish to be self-sustaining, are you expecting me to make up the difference of See FESTIVAL/ Page 13

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DRAGWAY (Continued from Page 1)

vehicles, many of which are unregistered and unfit for use in highway transportation, is not expressly a used car sales and service establishment … therefore, it is prohibited,” he contended, and the application “should be rejected for that reason alone.”

King also presented news accounts, along with photos, of fires at two sites operated by IAA in 2017 and 2018, one with the headline “Massive fire at auction damages hundreds of vehicles,” and claimed the company had admitted its water retention wasn’t designed to respond to emergency situations of this sort.

Those reports seemed to call into question assurances repeatedly given by officials of IAA that its facilities had good safety records, are all carefully monitored and pose no real hazard to the communities where they are located.

Preventing just such a fire hazard was likely one intent behind a clause in the township code, invoked earlier in the meeting by a board member, that calls for the draining of all gasoline from disabled vehicles before they can be stored, which would also seemingly prohibit IAA from using the site occupied by the iconic raceway in the manner it proposes because of the sheer volume of disabled vehicles involved.

That particular revelation appeared to have caught a company spokesman totally offguard, with both sides acknowledging it will need to be separately addressed.

The land use board has other legal grounds for turning down IAA’s previously revised application as well, according to King, who maintained that it also would violate two provisions of the township’s land use, development and zoning law governing automobile sales and service establishments (176-104-H) requiring that “all mechanical

RECYCLING (Continued from Page 7)

added that some companies are even paying signing bonuses.

“T he sit u at ion b e c a me ext re mely problematic during the last month when our longtime provider, OTC, lost several drivers all at once,” Hopson wrote. “Since then, OTC has been extremely shorthanded and it is preventing them from collecting on the regular predetermined schedule that everyone has grown accustomed to.”

Hopson described in her letter that the help of the Division of Roads and Bridges and Bridge Commission drivers is “temporary” until “OTC hires and trains new permanent drivers to replace the ones lost to other employment opportunities.”

It is contended in the June 1 press release from the county that “Burlington County is not alone in experiencing problems from the driver shortage” and that “nationwide, the shortage of over-the-road drivers is at its highest level in 15 years, according to the Solid Waste Association of North America, which blames the shortages on an aging workforce, occupational hazards and increased demand from e-commerce.”

“The increased competition for truck drivers has made retention difficult,” said Jerome Sheehan, director of the Burlington County Department of Solid Waste and Recycling, in a statement contained in the release. “We’ve taken steps to help OTC recruit replacements, but it takes some time to get everyone trained and familiar with the recycling vehicles. We’re asking residents to be patient and aware of the schedule changes as we try to work through the next several weeks.”

What is not mentioned by Hopson, or in the county release, is one of several factors that has resulted in a nationwide

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activity must be conducted in a totally enclosed building” and that “except for the sale of vehicles, no merchandise, parts, products or other equipment or objects shall be displayed or stored outside.”

Not only do IAA sites routinely use noisy forklifts to transport auction vehicles on and off the premises, he noted, but the company’s representatives have made a point of the fact that the vehicles it collects from insurance companies and other sources are stored outside, but not sold to customers there.

“We’re not trying to get them on a technicality,” he maintained. “It’s just that it doesn’t fit (the law’s requirements).”

In addition, the attorney contended that the company should have been made to scrap its original application after having discovered that it was not an acceptable one and submit a new proposal to the township, rather than attempting to incorporate changes in a manner he likened to “Frankenstein’s laboratory putting different parts together trying to create an actual application.” As a result, he asserted, “now you have a plan for 6,000 vehicles over gravel over an aquifer with the water table two to four feet below surface.” “…The reason that it has turned into such a mess, and you have so many different engineering letters and the engineers have been tortured by multiple applications and paperwork is because it doesn’t belong there in the first place,” he asserted.

King‘s right to even participate in the session, which had over 120 Zoom attendees and once again was entirely devoted to IAA’s application to replace the popular raceway with one of its storage lots after contracting to acquire the property from its owner, Leonard Capone Jr., was initially challenged

by Matthew Wait, IAA’s attorney.

Wait offered several lengthy objections to King’s being allowed to address the board, including contentions that the latter’s clients,

competitive race driver Thomas J. Stalba Jr. of Williamstown and former Waterford Township Planning Board Chairperson Barbara DeBuono, shouldn’t really be considered “interested parties” because neither owned property within 200 feet of the site. Wait also protested that Stalba had a “conflicted interest in seeking to scuttle this application” by virtue of having made a failed attempt to purchase the site at issue and that his operating both an auto salvage yard in Williamstown and a used car business constituted a “competitive interest” with the applicant’s.

But after hearing King’s rebuttal, in which he emphasized that Stalba has been a longtime regular participant in and sponsor of events at the dragway, only to be informed in a letter from Capone that he and his family “were no longer welcome to participate in races at the site” as a result of Stalba’s public opposition to the proposed sale and demolition of “this cultural icon” in order to “put in something that doesn’t belong there,” the board voted unanimously to allow the attorney to proceed with his remarks.

King also indicated that he would continue his presentation at the next meeting of the board, scheduled for June 21 at 7 p.m., with testimony from two expert witnesses, an environmental engineer and a professional land-use planner.

Yet another indication that the proposal for the car auction lot, which would also need to be ratified by both the Pinelands Commission and Camden County officials, may be on increasingly thin ice with the Land Use Board came when one of its members, Michael J. Ward, called attention to the prohibition on the storage of inoperable vehicles unless they’ve first been drained of any remaining gasoline.

Ward, an attorney with an office in Voorhees, broached the subject by asking the IAA representatives remotely taking part in the meeting just who would be responsible

for draining the fuel from vehicles fitting that description and how it would be disposed of. He claimed that Rich Hoopis, IAA’s vice president of real estate development, had earlier stated such vehicles would comprise about 20 percent of those the company hopes to accommodate there (although Hoopis said he couldn’t recall making that estimate).

“It is an important consideration, particularly with respect to the closeness of the vehicles that are being stored,” Ward declared.

“And I know you guys have had fires on at least one of your sites in New Jersey.”

Hoopis responded that he was unfamiliar with that particular provision of the municipal code, but that “we don’t drain the gasoline from vehicles because, generally speaking, it is environmentally unsafe to do so. Board attorney Stephen Boraske then proceeded to read the relevant clause of the ordinance in question, 176-52, which applies to “buffers, screenings and scenic setbacks.”

In Section H, which spells out rules for storing motor vehicles in the township, he noted, the ordinance specifies that “where permitted, all vehicles not in operating condition shall be stored only if the gasoline tanks of such vehicles are drained.”

Hoopis, appearing a bit taken aback, replied, “We will have to look into that and revisit our procedures.”

Both Wait and Boraske, following a short break, allowed that the matter was indeed a new concern that would need to be separately addressed by the applicant, who was unprepared to do so immediately, but which should not be allowed to interrupt the ongoing review of revisions that had already been made in the plan (such as the specific type of gravel that might be best suited to the proposed use now that a concrete surface had been determined to be incompatible with zoning strictures) – a determination

hiring shortage in general, including the extension of unemployment benefits as part of Coronavirus pandemic relief, and workers not returning to the workforce thus far in the waning days of the pandemic out of fear that it is not yet safe to do so and that they could still contract the virus.

Some have also become accustomed to working from home, as was mandated during the lockdowns, and are seeking continued remote employment.

Republ ic an Ass embly woman Je an Stanfield, representing the 8th Legislative District, who is running in November to unseat Democratic Senator Dawn Marie Addiego, along with GOP Assemblyman Ryan Peters, put out a statement on June 11 contending that “the time for finger pointing is over” and demanded that the county commissioners “fix the issue” and stop with the “excuses.”

Both Peters and Stanfield noted that they contacted Democratic Governor Phil Murphy’s office to demand that he bring back the “work-search requirement” in order for people to collect unemployment, which they contended “was ended during the pandemic.”

“New Jersey is a national outlier for refusing to reinstate it,” the Republican legislators wrote.

“Burlington County has been completely inept at dealing with a worker shortage that every private business has had to navigate, but we don’t have that shortage without Governor Murphy’s extraordinary liberal policies,” Peters said. “The least he could do is require people to look for work in order to collect unemployment, like almost every other state. But he would rather people stay home than work.”

Area Republicans, however, were casting blame for the crisis on the Democrats in more certain terms, with the Burlington County Republican Committee writing

on its Facebook page, “Hey Burlington C ou nt y! How ’s t h a t a l l -D e m o c r a t Commissioner Board working out for you? #ElectionsHaveConsequences.”

An image associated with the post asks “Now that Democrats control Burlington County government, how long have you waited for your recycling to be picked up?”

Democrats took control of the Board of Burlington County Commissioners (formerly known as the Burlington County Board of Chosen Freeholders) in 2019, and absolute control of it last year.

“End the extra unemployment payments and extensions,” wrote one man under the county GOP’s Facebook post. “Then people would go back to work. It is an election year, so the Dems are extending unemployment benefits to get more votes.”

Another person, however, responded to the post by stating, “Like they have any control over this…,” to which the Burlington County Republican Committee replied, “Nice try, but the sides of the blue bins lining all of our streets say Burlington County, not OTC. “Certainly, hope you are only speaking for yourself here and not parroting any talking points you’ve heard,” the Republican organization added. “If the commissioner board tries to blame their mismanagement on the fantastic and dedicated OTC workers, that would be disgusting and another example of why they shouldn’t be in charge.”

According to the county press release, OTC “specializes in training and employing individuals with disabilities” and has operated the county’s recycling program since 1982. It adds that Burlington County collects recycling in all 40 municipalities and is one of the only counties in New Jersey to provide the service free-of-charge to homeowners and towns. Hopson, in her letter, contends that “we’ve been proud to partner with them to create a recycling program that is one of New Jersey’s best.”

“You should also be aware that Burlington County is the only county in New Jersey that collects recycling from all 40 of our towns, and, unlike most other counties that collect recycling, Burlington County does not charge towns a fee for the service,” Hopson wrote. “We undertake it as a shared service to save our property taxpayers money, and we’re proud of the program’s outstanding record of dependable service throughout the last four decades.”

It was noted in the county release that of the county’s 40 municipalities, 38 receive curbside recycling collection service. Last year, more than 39,600 tons of paper, cardboard, bottles and cans were collected and recycled from county residents, the release added.

Peters is not seeking re-election as an assemblyman. Running on the GOP aisle to fill the 8th District Assembly vacancies that have been created is Brandon Umba and Mike Torrissi Jr. (the Democratic challengers are Mark Natale and Allison Eckel).

Torrissi, from Hammonton in Atlantic County, released a video on his Facebook page on June 15 standing beside a blue recycling can in his home county, stating, “all across Atlantic County recycling is picked up on-time because it is Republicancontrolled government unlike our neighbors up the road where it is run by Democrats like Dawn Addiego, where, as the recycling piles up, so does your tax bill.”

In response to that video from Torrissi, Austin Lyle, campaign manager for the 8th Legislative District Democratic ticket, wrote to this newspaper, that “someone needs to host a screening of ‘School House Rock’ for Mr. Torrissi.”

“Somehow he thinks the State Senate is responsible for recycling pick up,” Lyle added. “It is frankly disturbing that he’s running for a job in the state legislature and doesn’t understand its basic functions.”

See DRAGWAY/ Page 11

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with which the board concurred.

Concerns about the proposed facility being a potential fire hazard were also voiced by lifelong Waterford resident and business owner Loretta Clements, who had spoken at the previous meeting, and Charlotte and Frank Connuli, whose property abuts that on which the raceway is located.

Clements, who spoke prior to King’s presentation, provided photographs of wrecked autos she said came from the company’s own website, contending that “there are spills (in evidence) everywhere.”

“We are on the Wharton State Forest line, just a mile or so from Atco Dragway,” she noted, and the idea of the planned operation harboring “petroleum products that can catch fire” was one she found “upsetting.”

She also described a visit she had paid to a facility operated by IAA in Blackwood (actually Turnersville), in which she noticed a lot of single-car transports picking up and dropping off auction vehicles, and said residents living near another of the company’s operations in Englishtown had described components such as mufflers and fenders falling off cars being delivered to and from the company’s storage site there.

Charlotte Connuli told the board she feared that the “close proximity” of the site would expose the couple’s home, and that of their immediate neighbors, to a “constant risk of fire,” that the noise of vehicles being delivered at all hours would keep them awake, as opposed to the regular, daytime scheduling of events at the dragway, and that replacing it with the proposed storage lot would “significantly alter the essential character of the neighborhood” and “bring down property values of all Atco citizens.”

She also expressed apprehension about

the “huge risk” of toxins from the stored vehicles leaching into the water supply and contaminating wells, declaring, “We do not want to experience what the citizens of Flint, Michigan did,” and lamented the prospect of “law-abiding” local auto-racing enthusiasts suddenly being deprived of the very thing that had attracted them to the community, raising the specter that teenage fans of the sport would then attempt to engage in it on the street.

“My family would be supportive of another purchaser of the racetrack,” Connuli added.

Also weighing in was Gary Hamilton, the longtime owner of a house close to the site, who said he thought it was “a total disgrace to even think about putting an operation like this in the Pinelands.”

Attempting to refute any suggestions that the company’s operations pose a threat to the environment, Hoopis contended at one point in the proceedings that making sure spills were addressed was “an important part of IAA’s job,” emphasizing that the company operates facilities in other environmentally sensitive areas and has “done so successfully for years.”

“We’re on rivers and lakes and streams in other parts of the country,” he asserted. “The reality is that if the auction gets shut down because we’re not complying with environmental laws, it doesn’t really matter how many cars we’re trying to sell, we’re not going to sell any.”

King, however, offered the land use board a somewhat different perspective on the prospect of the Atco Dragway property being converted into one more of the company’s storage sites: “When this thing goes all wrong, when the traffic is a disaster and their gravel digs into the mud and it’s a big pond, and there’s sheen all over the place, and there’s a fire and the water leaks (into the Mullica), and somebody says, ‘How did they let them put this here? Well, you know the ‘they’ – you know who that is? That’s you! You’re the ones who put it there, because you will have allowed it. And you don’t have to do it.”

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FESTIVAL (Continued from Page 8)

not having a festival?”

“Not necessarily only ‘you,’ but the church as a whole,” is the reply from the church to that question. The ‘giving of Treasure’ step of discipleship is often the most difficult to prioritize due to our culture, but it is our job as church to help cultivate this step. As a church, we prioritize our giving to the church not because the church and God “want your money”, but because our gifts, treasure, talents, and more are all from God and rightfully belong to Him anyway.

“Also, giving at a level right for you and your family is a sign of worship and supports something greater than yourself. Finally, this decision to discontinue the festival moves in the direction of trusting that God and His people will provide what we need to fund our vision. It’s believing in and trusting in the mission to make a difference for others which essentially brings life change for each of us as well.”

St roz a k-H it ch i ng s , who told t h i s newspaper that she did not attend Holy Eucharist, but rather went to Saint Edwards Catholic Church and School in Philadelphia, where she was born, refuted Holy Eucharist’s position, contending that the “Catholic Church is a do for the community” and that it is “not supposed to be about worrying about putting money in their pockets.”

“I just don’t think that is right,” she said of the church’s position.

It is noted in the PDF document that “a campaign to build our revenue for supporting the church the next year is not a goal,” but “truthfully, we don’t know what next year will look like financially.”

“It is our hope that we never have to have a Summer Faith Gift outreach again,” the church states through the document.

“But it will take some time shifting our understanding of what it means to support the church, including our staff salaries and ongoing operational expenses. The answer

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to this question is ‘hopefully, not’; we are striving for a life changing experience that has parishioners of this community wanting to support our mission – not because they have to, but because they want to be a part of supporting a church that inspires others because they are inspired themselves.”

The PDF document maintains that if parishioners currently have no money to give to the church, they can support the “mission” of it by “giving in other ways,” including through giving time and talent to the church.

“All of us are on a mission … a mission to build the Kingdom of God – we will work diligently to grow disciples through the STEPS (Serving, giving of Treasure, Engage in Small Groups, Prayer and Sacraments, Sharing the Faith) and provide opportunities for each of those steps of growth,” the church states through the document. “If we focus our energy to provide inspiring life change opportunities and nourishment for growing our church, we will gain the support we need. We aren’t an entertainment business; we are in the business of life change.

“Of course, discipleship is a choice that has to be taken by each person who comes to this path. It is a risky way to raise money, but we believe this mission is worth the effort.

Individually, each family will discern what they will give to the mission but know that we do not want the pressure of raising money to lay on your shoulders alone.”

But “church,” Underwood maintained, is the exact opposite of Holy Eucharist’s position, in that it is supposed to be “helping both people in their congregation and the community.” She said there are a lot of people in the community, like her, who don’t have social media, and connect through inperson affairs such as the festival.

“I would like to see them reconsider and have the festival,” she said. “What really kills me is the fact they are going to discontinue it like a discontinued item for sale – no more, ever again. That is just like they didn’t even talk to anybody about it. I just hate to see this die. You see so many things, and the older you get, all the history gets erased and then there is nothing left.”

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According to the PDF document, the decision to discontinue the festival was “not made lightly” and “involved many conversations and lots of prayers, and that while “this year proved even more that our energy needed to be distributed elsewhere, supporting our mission – to Follow Christ, Love all, and Grow Disciples,” the “festival deadlines were passed long before we were given the green light (through the lifting of social distancing, pandemic mandates) to have the festival.”

“We could not do the festival this year,” maintained Garrett to this newspaper. “We need to get permits into the township by April, food/prizes etc. need to be ordered by a certain time, deadlines for contracts with game and ride vendors have passed; in addition, the festival works on volunteers. We begin recruiting for the festival in April. We would not be able to mobilize the 600 plus volunteers required to run the festival, especially since many of our volunteers are older and still uncomfortable being in large crowds.”

Garrett added that while Holy Eucharist does “want to provide fun, engaging family friendly events to reach out to our community, fun alone is not a good enough reason to run an event anymore.”

“We have limited resources, limited energy, limited volunteers … as a church working hard in 2021, we need to put our energy into targeted community outreach around our mission,” she declared.

The shortage of volunteers to man the festival was an issue previously described to this newspaper by Attorney Matt McCrink, of McCrink Kehler & McCrink, one of several now-former festival directors, and who served as legal counsel for the Pine Barrens Festival Committee since the event’s inception.

McCrink had told this newspaper that 400 to 600 volunteers are needed to run the festival each year, and in recent years, the festival committee could only find half that number.

McCrink noted that volunteers weren’t just needed to run the festival, but to perform setup and take down, and that it “literally takes countless hours of work not only during the festival, but in the six weeks

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before the start of the event.” Additionally, he said, it takes 10 to 20 people to take everything down, as well as clean and store all the equipment.

S t r o z a k- H i t c h i n g s , i n r e s p o n s e , contended that she knows “people would come out in droves to help” because in Tabernacle, “people go out on a limb to help somebody.” Underwood believed the shortage of volunteers was the result of the church not doing enough outreach outside its parish doors, noting “they could have put an ad in the paper” to recruit volunteers.

“They don’t necessarily have to be all volunteers from the Catholic Church,” said Underwood, while stating Jamieson should have also written a letter to the broader community announcing the discontinuation of the festival, not just limiting his initial communication to parishioners.

She added that she thought the church always made a lot of money on the festival, in surmising whether the church could pay to get some help.

Garrett, when asked about the concerns that the church did not do enough outreach to recruit volunteers, maintained to this newspaper that the “volunteer issue is really secondary to putting our energy into the mission of the parish.”

“The primary purpose of the festival was financial…to pay off our first mortgage debt,” she said. “It wouldn’t make sense to pay people to work the festival if the purpose is to raise money. The festival was a parish run event … all of the communication for recruiting volunteers was done in the church, on the website and on Facebook as well.

However, we welcomed volunteers from the community; in fact, many of our volunteers at the festival were from the community.”

While the overwhelming majority of reactions to the discontinuation of the festival has been that of shock, distress, and devastation, this newspaper did receive a letter from Tabernacle resident Bill Price, who noted that he was a member of Holy Eucharist and past director of the Pine See FESTIVAL/ Page 14

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Barrens Festival.

Price wrote to this newspaper that he thought coverage of the discontinuation of the festival was overblown, and was worthy of only a sentence in this newspaper, stating, “‘The Pine Barrens Festival sponsored by the Holy Eucharist Catholic Church serving the communities in the Pine Barrens has come to an end.’”

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continuing to hold the Pine Barrens Festival and more importantly addressing why ‘Holy Eucharist Exists as a Parish,’” Price wrote.

“Father Andrew shares that ‘Amazing things are Happening at Holy Eucharist,’ including reaching out to the unchurched, addressing the needs of the poor in our area from weekly food donations from the Saint Vincent DePaul, youth group community projects, programs administered to the residents of New Lisbon, to creating a Spiritual Renaissance of weekend worship that invites people to satisfy the ‘Hunger growing inside of them for Jesus.’”

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the same time addressing the needs of our beautiful communities here in the Pine Barrens and how each one of us can make a positive contribution.”

“I, for one, want to share encouraging uplifting attitudes and values that can be motivational and inspiring remembering that, “What is celebrated will be repeated.”

But for Underwood, she hopes that “the big tradition since I was a kid” of the Pine Barrens Festival will be reconsidered and repeated, with Strozak-Hitchings hoping that an area farmer will give up their farm for a week to host such an event.

“I am so sad to see it go,” said Underwood of the festival. “To them it is so irrelevant, but for people like me, it is everything.”

Garrett told this newspaper that “if there

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is such an outcry in the community for a carnival experience,” Holy Eucharist would be “happy to pass on our knowledge of running such even to a group of community volunteers who are interested in taking this project on,” adding that “people have no idea how much blood, sweat and tears went into making the festival as awesome as it was, but we’d like to provide some insight if it is picked up by the community.”

Jam ieson, dur ing Sunday mor ning mass on June 13, noted that he and church officials “intend to walk with you and others as long as it takes to” to help provide an understanding of why this decision was made, and encouraged anyone with concerns or questions that aren’t listed in the PDF document to email hec@holyeucharist.org .

Saturday, June 19, 2021

CANNABIS (Continued from Page 3)

interested in coming into Shamong,” and of them, “one is rather exciting.”

“They have a projection that in their third year of creating a business, they are looking to do $440 million (in sales) – and they are looking at establishing a headquarters in New Jersey, possibly in Shamong, (and while) they are looking at other towns, they spent a lot of time with me,” Di Croce said.

A municipality, through a license, can assess up to a two percent tax on cannabis sales. Di Croce pointed out that two percent of $440 million would result in $8 million in revenue for the town.

“It would not only fund local property taxes, but also pay the school taxes,” Di Croce contended. “We all know a lot happens between the plate and mound, but we would just need this one business to come to Shamong, and we would be set to go.”

Gimble pointed out that Shamong currently has “very little business tax ratables” and is “going to continue to have state shortfalls coming at us from every angle” moving forward.

“If you don’t believe that going forward, then you are misguided,” Gimble asserted.

“We have to take advantage of any type of financial situation that puts Shamong in a better place – both in the short term and long term.”

The state, Di Croce pointed out, plans to issue 37 cultivating licenses to the “big guys,” or large-scale firms, 13 of which are for established medical marijuana businesses.

The second category of licensing, he said, is for microgrowers, which have to apply to the state, but must also obtain municipality endorsement (each municipality can limit or expand the number of microbusinesses that they allow).

According to the Shamong law, all licensing classes are “conditionally” permitted in the Shamong zoning district known as the “Route 206 Redevelopment Area.”

In the Sha mong “Industr ial Park Re d e v e l o p m e nt A r e a ,” a s w e l l a s t h e “Mu r p hy ’s P it Re d e ve lop m e nt Area,” cannabis cultivators, cannabis manufacturers, cannabis wholesalers, and cannabis distributors (Classes 1 through 4, respectively) are “conditionally” permitted, along with cannabis deliverers (Class 6) – in other words, retail sales of cannabis are not permitted in these zoning districts.

Cannabis cultivation, distributors and establishments are prohibited elsewhere in the township. Delivery of cannabis items and related supplies, however, are permitted in all zoning districts, as required by state law.

According to Di Croce and a copy of the ordinance obtained by this newspaper, the township, at this time, is not creating any class of specifically permitted cannabis use

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♦ Page 15

in its agricultural zones, “but intends to do so, particularly for microgrowers,” upon receiving additional guidance from the state.

“Due to the infancy of the cannabis legalization with the state,” the township cannot responsibly act on this issue at this time,” the ordinance states. “It is the township’s intent to revisit this, and create conditionally permitted uses in agricultural zones, when the state regulations are promulgated and the planning implications can be further studied.”

Unde r New Je r s ey’s new m e d i c a l cannabis laws, and personal use cannabis laws, a newly- e st abl ishe d Ca n nabis Regulatory Commission (CRC) is charged with regulating medical and personal-use cannabis industries. The CRC has assumed “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a the responsibilities of the New Jersey Department of Health in overseeing the merchant looking for fine pearls. 46 When he medical cannabis industry and is expected found one of great value, he went away and sold to issue new rules for the personal use cannabis industry. everything he had and bought it.

Several officials from towns throughout Matthew 13:45-46 NIV our coverage area have told this newspaper that the commission recently held an approximately three-hour meeting, but that In-Person Services there were a number of questions that went on June 13th & unanswered and no meaningful guidance June 27th at was released.

9:30 am on church Shamong, according to Di Croce, has its grounds. own cannabis subcommittee.

18 Mill St. “We are still negotiating and trying to Vincentown, NJ 08088 Pre-Register at figure out where are we going with this, follow us on medfordumc.org where the proper places are, and what is Worship: Sundays 10 a.m. facebook.com/MedfordUMC our rationale; for example, why Murphy’s 609-859-2299 pit and not the property next to it,” said Di Croce of the subcommittee.

Members of the subcommittee were expected to take a ride throughout town 2 Hartford Road | Medford NJ 08055 medfordumc.org | 609/654-8111 info@medfordumc.org to study some areas further to determine if there are other potential suitable locations.

According to the ordinance, among the controls placed on all cannabis operations in Shamong: • All sites must be equipped with security cameras; system with sufficient odor absorbing operation, where permitted, can only be • At least one security guard must be ventilation and exhaust systems such established as an “accessory use to a principal maintained at all times when a facility that no odors are detectable by “a use” of cannabis cultivators, cannabis is open to the public; person of reasonable sensitivity”; manufacturers, cannabis wholesalers and • A security guard should possess, at a • C a n n ab i s c u lt ivator s , c a n n ab i s cannabis distributors. Such retail operations minimum a State Certified Security manufacturers, cannabis wholesalers, are not allowed to occupy more than 20 Officer license; a nd c a n nabis d istr ibutor s mu st percent of the footprint of the building and • Truck traffic for cannabis cultivators, provide for “noise mitigation features” be no greater than 2,500 square-feet. cannabis manufacturers, cannabis to “m ini m i ze disturbance” from “If we got one or two companies, or wholesalers and cannabis distributors machinery, processing or packaging credible first-class organizations, it literally is restricted to the hours of 7 a.m. to 7 operations; could change the direction of our town as p.m., Monday through Friday; • Lighting spillover into residential far as it goes financially, but not changing • Retail sales of cannabis is restricted to neighborhoods must be mitigated; the direction or the flavor of our town,” Di the hours of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday • Signage may contain the name of the Croce said. “The concept (we are going for) through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. entity only and no signage reflecting is for one to drive by the facility and not even on weekends; cannabis leaves or other symbols are know that it is there. We are going to restrict • Any firms fronting state highways must permitted; the signage, and there is going to be security maintain a 100-foot setback, with all • And signage cannot contain any other – one company is talking about drones as others following commercial setback “common terms” for cannabis such as well as people on the ground. I am kind of standards set forth in current zoning marijuana or pot. excited about the work all of us are doing … provisions; • All sites must have an air treatment Add itiona l ly, any c an nabis ret a i l that it seems to be coming to a crescendo.”

Trinity Episcopal Church

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