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Man Charged with Arson, Murder After Allegedly Setting Fire to Apartment Complex with ‘Accelerant’
‘AREN’T WE INTERESTED IN TRANSPARENCY?’
Suspect Had Prior ‘Indictable Convictions’ and Arson Charge, Was Purportedly Upset Ex-Girlfriend, Victim Rekindled Relationship; ‘Numerous Apartments’ Significantly Damaged By Douglas D. M elegari Staff Writer
PE M B E RT ON B O ROUG H — A Burlington man with prior “indictable convictions” has been charged with murder and arson in connection with a fatal blaze last month that tore through an apartment complex in Pemberton Borough, killing one man and injuring two others, as well as reportedly displacing as many as 19 people. New Jersey State Police last week charged Newlin Evans, 22, contending that he allegedly set fire to the apartment complex at 53 Egbert Street around daybreak on April 20. The inferno killed Camryn Powell, 22, of Pemberton Borough, and injured two other victims, according to state police. Powell was inside the apartment at the time of the fire, state police noted. A criminal complaint filed against Evans, obtained by the Pine Barrens Tribune, revealed that authorities learned that Evans was “upset” after learning just a few days before the blaze that his ex-girlfriend rekindled a relationship with Powell. “Through various investigative means, detectives determined that Evans initially used an accelerant inside the apartment and started the fire,” state police revealed in a press release. T h e c o mp l a i nt a l s o r e ve a l s t h at investigators learned that Evans purchased a
Photo By Douglas D. Melegari
A Pemberton Schools employee (center) holds up a recording device to protest a new board policy titled ‘Recording of Board Meetings,’ all as Pemberton Township Education Association President Rob Horn (left) speaks out against the policy.
That’s a Question the Pemberton Education Association President Posed to the Local School Board, District Administrators Prior to the Public Body Nonunanimously Voting to Adopt a Policy Requiring Individuals Provide Three Days’ Notice of Any Intent to Record Meetings, Turn Over Video Recordings ACLU Senior Supervising Attorney Says Policy Has ‘Some Deep Constitutional Problems’; Another Leading Transparency Advocate Calls Restrictions Contained in Measure ‘Suspect’
By Douglas D. M elegari Staff Writer
PEMBERTON—It was a Pemberton Township Board of Education policy prop os a l t h at one of t he b oa rd’s ow n m e mb e r s , Sh e r i L owe r y, i n March, recognized “does seem a little authoritarian.” It was the same board policy proposal that, when up for a second reading last month, Pemberton Township Education
Association (PTEA) President Rob Horn referred to as “authoritarian” and “antidemocratic.” But still, the Pemberton board, which has been under intense scrutiny since August of last year over a number of issues impacting the Pemberton Township School District, during its April 28 action meeting, ultimately voted to approve the new board policy at issue – number 0168, “Recording of Board Meetings,” tossing
aside a request from Horn to at least consider making an amendment to it. A representative of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), when provided with a copy of the new board policy, told this newspaper that it has “some deep constitutional problems,” while another leading New Jersey transparency advocate, the latter associated with the New Jersey See RECORDINGS/ Page 6
See ARSON/ Page 5
INDEX Business Directory...................................14
Marketplace..................................................... 12
Job Board.................................................12
Opinion.....................................................10
Local News.................................................2
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While Healey and Smith Exchange Barbs in GOP 3rd District Race, Admitted Long Shot Nicholas Ferrara Is Hoping to Outrun Them Legal Background, Easy Rapport with Public Make Him Best Qualified to Take on Andy Kim in November, Says Hard-Line Primary Contender
By Bill Bonvie
everybody and everybody tends to like me.” “And I enjoy speaking with people and hearing what concerns them, and how I can HAMILTON—In the competition to be a part of the solution of making their lives determine who will be designated the better,” he added. official Republican challenger to incumbent As for his approach to politics, Ferrara Democrat Andy Kim for his 3rd District said he considers himself to be an “anticongressional seat in next month’s primary, establishment” candidate whose thinking Nicholas Ferrara compares himself to the tends to align more with Smith’s than with horse that recently scored a long-shot upset Healey’s. by “coming out of nowhere” to win the “I have the same fight, tenacity and guts Kentucky Derby. that Ian has,” he asserted. “But I “I’m the Rich Strike of this think I can get more done at the race,” Ferrara told the Pine end of the day.” Barrens Tribune in an exclusive He is particularly in accord phone interview May 9. with Smith in his opinion of the So far, the most conspicuous federal and state governments’ candidates vying for the official handl i ng of the COVID -19 GOP spot on the November pandem ic, wh ich the latter ballot have been Robert Healey, has made a cornerstone of his Jr., executive co-chairman of the campaign, having gotten a year’s Viking Group, a Bass River-based probation for his refusal to comply yacht-building firm, who has been with Murphy’s 2020 shutdown of endorsed by Burlington County “non-essential businesses” after Republicans, and Ian Smith, the he pleaded guilty to contempt of maverick Bellmawr gym owner Ferrara court. and healthy living enthusiast who “I agree with Ian Smith on that 100 defied Democratic Governor Phil Murphy’s percent,” Ferrara declared. “I think the business lockdown during the pandemic and response to the pandemic was terribly has been running on an anti-establishment mishandled. No one should be coerced into platform. taking an emergency-use vaccine.” Ferrara, who threw his hat in the ring at In fact, Ferrara maintained, “they literally the end of January, has so far had minimal changed the definition of a vaccination,’ in visibility in the race and did not take part in a that the COVID shots “don’t prevent you from recent debate between Healey and Smith that getting it or transmitting it, just allegedly was sponsored by another news outlet, which lower your chance of hospitalization.” claimed he failed to respond to an invitation “But all the data I’ve seen shows it is the (although Ferrara told this newspaper he vaccinated who are in the hospital now, not didn’t recall having gotten one and would the unvaxxed,” he added. have welcomed the chance to engage with When it comes to other contemporary the other candidates in a debate-type setting). issues, Ferrara’s views are those shared by But while the two contenders in that debate many hardline Republicans, including the went after each other in a very personal and belief that Donald Trump “was the greatest somewhat acrimonious manner, with Healey president of our lifetime” and that his accusing Smith, who has served prison time four years in office “were four of the most for a fatal accident he was once involved prosperous ones this country has seen.” in while reportedly under the influence, of As for accusations that Trump was the having lied about passing a field sobriety test instigator of the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, before being hit with a recent DUI charge, he believes they are “complete nonsense,” Smith characterizing Healey as someone who and that referring to what took place as “an simply inherited his position after spending insurrection” is an attempt to “label those his youth as a punk rocker, “screaming into on the right as domestic terrorists,” which a microphone about death and darkness,” he likened to “the Reichstag fire,” the event and Healey replying, “I may have sung in my the Nazis used as an excuse to consolidate past about killing someone; Ian actually did Hitler’s grip on power. kill someone,” Ferrara has opted to refrain He also told this newspaper that: from criticism of either of them. • Securing the border to keep out “I, for one, don’t like bringing up people’s cartels and traffickers is of utmost distant past,” he said, explaining that he is a importance, and that a recent news believer in “second chances” and in the idea story that a shortage of migrant labor that the more we grow and learn, the more has helped bring about a rise in prices we can change our perspectives and beliefs. “is just a narrative to make people feel Instead, the 42-year-old Ham ilton this invasion is warranted.” While he’s Township (Mercer County) realtor and “always been open to people coming attorney, who has worked at “several in the right way” and wouldn’t want to prestigious law firms” in Philadelphia and uproot those who were brought here as New Jersey, according to his LinkedIn children and whose cases “should be page, described himself as having the “best considered on their individual merits,” background” of the three Republican he believes “just opening the borders primary contenders and being the best and letting anyone in without any sort qualified to serve in Congress by dint of of background check is absurd.” his having graduated from Rutgers Law • He “doesn’t buy” the idea that our School in Camden summa cum laude and activities are responsible for climate second in his class in 2005, and having been change since “one volcanic eruption executive editor of its law journals, and his emits more CO2 than we as human resulting understanding of legal matters and beings produce over a very long time,” experience in researching them. and that its advocates are “lowering our Another advantage he claimed to offer in standard of living and our expectations the GOP effort to recapture the 3rd District based on a fictitious narrative.” seat is the easy rapport he believes he has • Restrictions on gun ownership will only developed with the public during his nine serve to keep them out of the hands of years in the real-estate business, during which “good guys who need them to protect he has “met all kinds of people with different themselves and their families,” since beliefs, backgrounds and experiences – and See RACE/ Page 9 the one constant is that I get along with Staff Writer
Saturday, May 14, 2022
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Fort Dix Students Are Inaugural Class at JBMDL STARBASE Program
Senator Stanfield, Joint Base MDL Personnel Visit Fort Dix Elementary on Final Day of Pemberton Schools’ Military Child Month Celebrations
Photo Provided
Photo Provided
Students Alese Salazar, Jaxson Hager, Kimora Trisler and Beverly Banes explore the differences and similarities in toothbrushes as they embark on the engineering portion of the STEM program at STARBASE. returned from the program in the afternoon, they were ecstatic to tell me about all the experiments they conducted on the first day and how excited they are to go back next week.” Fort Dix Elementary is located on JBMDL and serves nearly 300 military students.
For the Pine Barrens Tribune
PEMBERTON—The Joint Base McGuireDix-Lakehurst (JBMDL) DoD (Department of Defense) STARBASE officially opened its doors on May 5, and Fort Dix Elementary School fifth graders were said to be the first students to take part in the innovative program. The DoD STARBASE program, according to a press release from the Pemberton Township School District – which operates Fort Dix Elementary, provides students with challenging, “hands-on, minds-on” activities in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). Students, through the program, interact with military personnel to explore careers and observe STEM applications in the “real world.” The program, according to the Pemberton district, provides students with 25 hours of stimulating experiences at National Guard, U.S. Marine, U.S. Air Force Reserve, U.S. Army, and U.S. Air Force bases across the nation. The goal of the program is to motivate yo u n g s t u d e nt s t o e x p l o r e ST EM opportunities as they continue their educations. “The students were really excited about being the first group of students to participate in the STARBASE program,” said Fort Dix Elementary Principal Darvis Holley. “Since I first mentioned the opportunity to them, they have been diligently researching to learn more about the program. When they
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Photo Provided
Fort Dix Elementary 5th grade student Pierre Sykes joins his classmates as a member of the “Alpha Flight” Team, ready to explore STEM opportunities at the JBMDL STARBASE.
8th District Sen. Jean Stanfield (left) and Col. Jon A. Brierton, deputy JBMDL commander of the U.S. Army (center), visit with Fort Dix Elementary students last month on the final day of Pemberton Township Schools’ Month of the Military Child celebrations, with the former sponsoring legislation to mark the occasion in New Jersey, which recently was enacted. For the Pine Barrens Tribune
PEMBERTON— On the final day of Pemberton Township Schools’ Month of the Military Child celebrations, Fort Dix Elementary School concluded the festivities with a visit from Republican State Sen. Jean Stanfield. The 8th Legislative District representative was also accompanied by a group of activeduty military members from Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst (JBMDL) as they collectively provided the students with an assembly of gratitude. Stanfield and Col. Jon A. Brierton (commander of the U.S. Army Support Activity - Fort Dix, as well as deputy joint base commander of the Army) spoke to the students and reminded them of their boundless courage, thanking them for their roles as children of military members. The visit of Stanfield, a former Burlington County Sheriff, proved to be quite timely as legislation she sponsored to designate the month of April as “Military Child Appreciation Month,” and the last full week of April as “Military Child Appreciation Week,” had just been signed into law by Democratic Governor Phil Murphy on April 12. “I’m so excite d that we have th is celebration,” Stanfield said. “I just want to thank all of you for being militaryaffiliated children. You are so brave, and we all admire you so much. We’ve celebrated Military Children Appreciation Month at the federal level for a very long time. In New
Jersey, we never did that before. Myself and Senator (Joseph) Cryan made a new piece of legislation, a resolution, and everybody in the (state) Senate and the Assembly voted for it and the governor signed it to say ‘thankyou’ to all of you.” The state senator during the assembly recognized that being a military child can be “tough.” “I used to coach baseball out here when it was just Fort Dix,” she said. “We had a really good team, but I got to talk to the kids on the team and they always had different issues because they never knew if mom or dad were going to go away. They never knew if they were going to move and have to leave their friends. So, you guys are so brave, and you serve just the way your parents do. A lot of times we take time to honor your parents because they are definitely heroes, but you are heroes, too.” Brierton continued the gathering with remarks that included acknowledging the heroism of the military students, as well as highlighted a few key points from a speech that illustrated the challenges of being a child with military ties. As a father of three, Brierton has served in the Army for over 30 years, holding various roles such as Platoon Leader, Operations Officer, Plans Officer, Company and Battalion Commander, as well as served as branch chief for the Office of the Chief of Engineers Reserve Integration & Operations, in addition to being HQ USACE Chief of Staff for Reserve Affairs. “It’s an incredible honor to be asked to recognize and celebrate all that you do in terms of the ‘Month of the Military Child,’” Brierton said. “It’s a challenge. This life experience teaches you all that it makes you stronger. It makes you adapt; it makes you agile; and it makes you resilient. These are traits you are learning now that will pay dividends and that will do you good throughout your entire life.” The ceremony – which closed out a monthlong, district wide celebration that included military family breakfasts, National Purple Up Day and a military-themed Touch-aTruck event – concluded with the school’s choir performing a rendition of “America the Beautiful” for the students, staff, parents, and officials in-attendance, followed by closing remarks from Fort Dix Elementary School Principal Darvis Holley. “This program is all about the partnership between school, students, parents and community,” Holley said. “I’m glad that we were able to bring everyone here together to celebrate our students. I get to work with some truly amazing students here at Fort Dix Elementary School.”
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Saturday, May 14, 2022
Pemberton Township Woman Sentenced to 12 Years in State Prison for Causing Customer’s Death by Selling Victim Fentanyl-laced Heroin
Opportunities for Recreation Are Escalating in Evesham with Taxpayers Spared Obligation of Shouldering Expenses
PEMBERTON—A Pemberton Township hope that a significant sentence like this one woman was sentenced on April 29 to 12 years will give people pause about selling dangerous in state prison for causing the death of a drugs to others,” said Burlington County customer to whom she sold fentanyl-laced Prosecutor Scott Coffina said. “I commend heroin in 2017, according to a press release the victim’s parents for their patience and from the Burlington County Prosecutor’s staunch advocacy on behalf of their daughter Office. throughout this lengthy prosecution. Shannon McGuigan, 36, must “No parent should ever have to serve 85 percent of the term before bury their child, but this victim’s becoming eligible for parole under mother rose above her obvious the sentence handed down in grief to deliver an incredibly Superior Court in Mount Holly gracious statement to the court, by Judge John J. Burke III. expressing both her extreme pain, McGuigan was found guilty and also hope, that the defendant in March of first-degree strict will turn her life around. With this liability for drug-induced death, matter now concluded, we hope third-degree possession of a the victim’s family can finally controlled dangerous substance, begin to heal.” third-degree possession of a An investigation into the death controlled dangerous substance of the victim, whose name was McGuigan with intent to distribute, and not released, began the morning third-degree distribution of a controlled of May 30, 2017, after the decedent, 25, was dangerous substance. discovered in her Pemberton Township home In a separate case, McGuigan pled guilty by her mother. also on April 29 to a single count of cocaine An autopsy performed by Burlington possession, a third-degree offense. Burke County Medical Examiner Dr. Ian Hood sentenced McGuigan to four years on that indicated the cause of death was due to heroin charge, to run concurrent with the other and fentanyl toxicity. The investigation sentence. revealed that the victim purchased drugs “We appreciate the court recognizing the from McGuigan a short time before she seriousness of the defendant’s crime and we fatally overdosed.
Township Finally Closes on Sale of Beagle Club Property; Indian Spring Links Now Self-Sustaining, Due for Upgrades
New York Man Pleads Guilty in Southampton Collision that Killed Friend SOUTHAMPTON—A 21-year-old New WRX being driven by Lorenz on Hilliards York man involved pled guilty last month Bridge Road around 3:30 a.m. on July 3, 2021, to causing the death of a friend while driving when the vehicle left the roadway and struck impaired last summer in Southampton a guardrail, tree stump and utility pole. Township. Song was ejected from the Anthony Lorenz, of Ossining, vehicle and pronounced dead at pl e d g u i lt y on Apr i l 6 i n the scene. Burlington County Superior The unidentified rear seat Court to charges of second-degree passenger was treated for a vehicular homicide, third-degree fractured sternum. assault by auto, as well as to a Lorenz, who sustained minor traffic summons for driving while injuries, told State Troopers at the intoxicated. scene that the trio was headed to Lorenz, through a plea deal a nearby Wawa. No other vehicles with the Burlington County were involved in the crash. Prosecutor’s Office, will serve six W hen enter ing the g uilty years in state prison, and must plea, Lorenz, according to the complete 85 percent of the term Lorenz prosecutor’s office, indicated before being eligible for parole. that he had been consum ing Formal sentencing is scheduled for May 25. alcoholic beverages prior to the crash and Lorenz, Roy Song, 21, also of Ossining, acknowledged that his blood alcohol level and another man, whose identity was not released by authorities, were in a Subaru was above the legal limit.
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By Bill Bonvie Staff Writer
EVESHAM—Recreation appears to be on a roll these days in Evesham Township – with little or no cost to local taxpayers. The blossoming of multiple opportunities for fun, diversion and ‘getting back to nature’ that is now taking place in this suburb of more than 45,000 residents came into focus during a May 4 meeting of the Evesham Township Council, at which the results of initiatives taken during the ‘down time’ created by the COVID-19 pandemic were made public. For one thing, the acquisition of 176 acres of open space and pristine woodland on the north end of town from the Garden State Beagle Club, at least half the cost of which will be covered by either approved or anticipated grant money from the state Green Acres program, has finally become a reality after taking more than a year to consummate, according to Township Manager Rob Corrales and other officials who spoke at the session. For another, $1,775,0 0 0 i n capital improvements are now slated to be made to existing recreational facilities, including playgrounds and athletic fields in the form of lighting upgrades and hiking trails throughout the township in the coming months, all of which will be self-funded thanks to the open space referendum approved by local voters last year. Then there’s the ‘pro’ performance of the municipally owned Indian Spring Country Club, which is now due to receive approximately $1,485,000 worth of capital improvements and new equipment, thanks mostly to fees generated in recent months by the operation of the course itself, which for the first time in nine years will not have to rely on the transfer of open space money from the township, with an existing balance of $500,000 from capital surplus funds previously earmarked for the club making up the remainder. In fact, an anticipated debt service reduction of $540,000 is now being attributed to the recent success of the golf course in attracting new patrons. The planned capital improvements to both Indian Spring and Evesham’s other recreational facilities were included in a comprehensive review of a proposed 2022 township budget presented by Chief Financial Officer Alexander P. Davidson, with total appropriations amounting to some $42.9 million and a property tax rate of 0.423 cents per $100 of assessed property value being identical to that in 2021. That rate, he said, has remained “relatively flat”
for the past eight years and is about $1,400 lower on an annual basis than the state average. Slightly more than half of that budget total, If approved on second reading, would be financed by anticipated 2022 property tax revenues of $22,403,568. The remainder of the proposed budget total, Davidson noted, would be covered by other sources of municipal income, the largest being “miscellaneous local revenues” that would amount to $10,620,239, comprising such sources as American Rescue Act funds, construction permit fees, payments in lieu of taxes, Municipal Utility Authority (MUA) contributions, and traffic fines; an anticipated fund balance of $5 million, or 12 percent; state aid totaling $3,164,693 or seven percent, and grants of $1,098,929 making up another two percent. According to a press release issued by Evesham Township Public Information Director Zane Clark, the township would end up receiving a mere 14 percent of the property tax payments made by residents, with roughly two thirds going to fund local and regional schools, another 14 percent to county government, seven percent to fire districts and the rest used for municipal open space. But even with that puny share of the tax pie, “Evesham Township is able to provide all municipal services for the year, including policing (which accounts for nearly a quarter of the budget), trash collection, road repairs, recreation services, snow removal, leaf/brush collection, operations of the construction office, planning and zoning, the clerk’s office, senior services, township events and more,” pointed out Clark in the press release. The Beagle Club property, Corrales reported, has finally been closed on by the township for approximately $5 million, with one $750,000 Green Acres grant toward the acquisition already having been fully approved and another awaiting authorization of this year’s Green Acres program by the state Legislature. While “it took a long time,” he noted, “we crossed every ‘t’ and dotted every ‘i’ to preserve land here in Evesham that is going to be generational.” Under the terms of the sale, however, there will be a six-month transition to allow the club to continue to use the property while it finds a new one on which to hold its activities. But since “a lot of our residents are probably eager to look at this site,” for which preliminary plans have already See RECREATION/ Page 15
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(Continued from Page 1) gas canister and gasoline from an area store at around 3 a.m. on April 20. A receipt of the transaction later recovered by investigators showed that he purchased approximately 2.52 gallons of gasoline. With the apartment building across the street from both the Pemberton Borough Municipal Building and Police Department, surveillance camera footage obtained from the municipality, according to the complaint, “showed a flame and then large fire on the side” of the apartment building at 5:43 a.m. “The fire continued as a subject is observed running from the alleyway next to the apartment complex,” it is noted in the complaint. “The subject is observed on fire, running from the scene.” Evans, believed to be the person seen on fire and who fled the scene, according to state police and the criminal complaint, sustained serious injuries in the fire. He was later located at a motel in Mansfield Township, with the complaint noting that Mansfield Township Police Department officers located him there after receiving a 911 call at 6:13 a.m. “for a male with burn injuries.” Evans was then transported to Jefferson Hospital. On May 4, detectives issued a warrant for Evans’ arrest, and he was apprehended by the Jefferson Hospital Campus Security Department, according to the state police. According to the complaint, Evans purportedly told responding Mansfield
officers that he traveled to the apartment building in Pemberton Borough to meet with Powell “to retrieve his phone,” contending that it was Powell who “threw gas at him,” starting the blaze. Detectives, however, later learned from Evans’ mother that he had been in a “dating relationship” with a woman who previously dated Powell and shared a five-month-old son with the latter. The mother reportedly told authorities that Evans had given his phone to Powell upon a parole violation jail sentence commencing in January and was seeking to take it back after being released back in February, and that Evans did not want the woman at issue to see Powell “socially or romantically,” describing a “tumultuous relationship” between the woman and Evans over Powell. That would lead investigators to interview the woman, who told authorities that there had been an “argument” in which Evans purportedly said to her that if she ever got back with Powell, he was “going to kill” Powell. Ultimately, investigators learned that the woman “broke up” with Evans on April 17 and “rekindled her relationship” with Powell on April 18, though she continued to talk with the former during that time. Evans, who had purportedly visited a local job site the afternoon prior to the inferno, was purportedly observed visibly “upset” and “crying” about his “relationship situation,” according to the complaint, and was also seen arguing with someone on the phone. The woman adv ised investigators, according to the complaint, that Evans
might have used an iPhone left behind at Powell’s apartment to track Powell’s whereabouts and also followed her the night before the blaze when she was traveling in a vehicle with her sister and Powell. Facebook messages between Evans and Powell were also obtained by authorities, according to the complaint, purportedly “confrontational in nature regarding the relationship.” In one of those messages, Powell apparently informed Evans that an individual (whose name was redacted) is “now dating him” (Powell) and that the relationship between Evans and that person “is over.” One individual also told investigators during the course of the investigation, as noted in the complaint, that Evans allegedly “loved lighting stuff on fire” and was “always lighting stuff on fire.” Powell was found dead by authorities near two mattresses adjacent to his bedroom window, according to the complaint, with the broken glass “consistent with a window being broken from the outside.” The victim’s identity was determined through use of dental records. Investigators also found a Milwaukee utility knife in an alley near the bedroom window of Powell and suspect that it may have been used to cut the window’s screen, in addition to also finding an “out of place” piece of firewood that they suspect might have been used to break the window. A man later interviewed by police recounted purchasing some Milwaukee brand tools from Evans prior to the blaze. In addition to finding broken glass from the busted window inside Powell’s apartment,
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investigators reportedly observed sheen on parts of the windowsill, which was suspected to have been “saturated with an ignitable liquid,” with a detected odor consistent with the use of an accelerant, and a police canine also indicating the use of one at the scene. A sweatshirt and socks were also found at the scene “saturated in a liquid with an odor consistent with an ignitable liquid.” Investigators ruled the cause of the blaze “incendiary in nature” and ruled out all other potential ignition sources. Dr. Ian Hood, medical examiner for Burlington County, performed an autopsy on Powell and determined the cause of death to be from smoke and soot inhalation, as well as thermal burns. “Numerous apartments” in the complex, “sustained significant damage.” Evans was charged with felony murder, aggravated arson, and causing or risking widespread injury or damage. The state police assist the Pemberton Borough Police Department with investigations that involve first and second-degree crimes, with the state police’s Criminal Investigation Office, Major Crime South Unit, and Crime Scene Investigations Unit all involved in the case. He was lodged in the Philadelphia County jail pending extradition to New Jersey. The case is being prosecuted by the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office, state police noted. Evans, this newspaper has learned from the complaint, had prior “indictable convictions,” including obstructing law enforcement, theft and possession of a controlled dangerous substance (CDS), as well as was charged on Sept. 11, 2010, with arson and criminal trespassing.
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LOCAL NEWS / FEATURES
RECORDINGS (Continued from Page 1)
Foundation of Open Government, when provided with a copy of it, called some of the restrictions it contains “suspect.” Final board approval of the controversial policy, however, was not unanimous, with board members Sherry Scull and Robert King, who have recently been critical of some of Superintendent Jeffrey Havers’ positions, voting against it on second reading. Terry Maldonado, chair of the board’s Pol icy Com m itte e, and who is now challenging Jack Tompkins for the GOP m ayor a l nom i n at ion i n Pe mb e r t on Township, vying for a chance to unseat veteran Democratic Mayor David Patriarca this November, was absent from the April 28 board meeting, with Board President Tom Bauer noting “Terry could not be with us here this evening.” Havers, when questions were first raised in March about the policy at issue, contended “the revised policy is in line with state law,” and when Lowery, who ultimately voted to approve it, but initially wanted to table it back in March until she could conduct a thorough review of her own, questioned why a specific state statute was not cited in the board policy as is typically the case, received a reply from the superintendent that it was based on “N.J.S.A. 10-4-14.” But N.J.S.A. 10-4-14, this newspaper found, simply states that “each public body shall keep reasonably comprehensible minutes of all its meetings showing the time and place, the members present, the subjects considered, the actions taken, the vote of each member, and any other information required to be shown in the minutes by law, which shall be promptly available to the public to the extent that making such matters public shall not be inconsistent” with the provisions of the Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA). This newspaper later asked School Spokeswoman Jeanne Mignella to identify the specific state statute that contains the exact language as reflected in the policy at issue, but was told the school district would not be responding to the inquiry. In an ACLU handout readily available online, however, titled, “A Guide to the New Jersey Sunshine Law,” also known as OPMA, it states that “although the Sunshine Law does not address this topic, the New Jersey Supreme Court held in Tarus v. Pine Hill, 189 N.J. 497 (2007), that members of the public have a common law right to videotape public meetings, subject to only reasonable restrictions” and that “you also have the right to audiotape public meetings as well.” “A public body may adopt written policies that reasonably restrict recording to ensure that the recording does not disrupt the meeting,” the ACLU handout notes. “The
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WWW.PINEBARRENSTRIBUNE.COM policies could require you to sign up in advance to record the meeting and may limit the number of people recording, and the number of cameras, as well as their position, lighting and location.” The Pemberton board, prior to its April 28 meeting, had an existing policy in place that stated that a “member of the public may record the proceedings of a public meeting of the board provided the audio or video recording process complies with reasonable guidelines” and “does not interrupt the proceedings, inhibit the conduct of the meeting, or distract board members or other observers present at the meeting.” Prior notice to audio or video record was not required, unless someone wished to do so outside a designated public seating area. But now, under the new board policy, the public body is requiring “written notice” be provided by anyone who wishes to record a board meeting, even if it is from the designated public seating area, to the board secretary, currently Business Administrator Dan Smith, “at least 3 days in advance” of any meeting. (A lone exemption is given to parents wanting to record their children during an award presentation or recognition ceremony.) “Mr. Havers said providing written notice to the board secretary would allow him to provide the policy to the party so they are familiar with it,” Horn said. “So, if that is the rationale, would the same person have to provide written notice month after month to receive the same policy? That seems like a waste of time for both the requesting party and board secretary, or his designee, especially if he receives numerous requests every month.” And, the presiding officer, through the new board policy, is now given the authority to “determine if and when the number of video recording devices or audio recording devices interfere with the conduct of a board meeting” and “may order that an interfering device be removed or relocated.” “The presiding officer may also limit the number of video recording devices if he/ she determines the number and position of the video recording devices will be an unnecessary intrusion to the meeting,” the new policy states. “In this event, preference will be given based on the order in which prior notice requesting to record the meeting was provided to the board secretary.” Horn said of that provision that it is “a lot of power for one person.” “I don’t think that would be a problem with our current, fair-minded presiding officer, but in the wrong hands, this could lead to an authoritarian abuse of power,” Horn declared. But seemingly the most controversial part of the new policy is a provision that states, in part, “any person who video records a public meeting in accordance with the provisions of this bylaw shall provide the board with the opportunity to obtain a copy of the
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Saturday, May 14, 2022
recording at the board’s expense, but the board shall have no power to edit or abridge the original recording.” “Requiring someone who films a portion of the meeting to turn over the video to the board afterwards – it also smacks of authoritarianism,” asserted Horn when the policy was first introduced by the board in March. “It is not a good look. I am not even sure it is legal. If you want a video or audio recording of the meetings, you can record them yourself.” ACLU Senior Supervising Attorney and Director of Supreme Court Advocacy A lexander Shalom, cal led the v ideo recording stipulation of the board policy a “seizure” in an interview with this newspaper over the matter. “It is a ‘seizure’ under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, and Article 1, Paragraph 7 of the New Jersey Constitution,” he said. “And it is unconstitutional. They cannot require a member of the public to give up their right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures.” As for the stipulation where the board’s presiding officer is now given the power to “limit the number of video recording devices,” Shalom said, “while there is no absolute rule,” there “must be a compelling need to limit the number of recording devices.” An example of when such a compelling need might arise, he said, is during a highprofile court case, when limited seating inside a courtroom necessitates the use of a press pool. “It might be that the First Amendment allows the press that is there, but doesn’t allow the press to take up every single seat in the courthouse because other families and so forth also have right to do that (be there),” Shalom said. “There is nothing that I am aware of that would allow such a limitation in the context of a school board meeting.” Shalom, in explaining that the new board policy’s provisions appear to be derived from the outcome of a court case from “more than a decade ago,” Tarus v. Pine Hill, which “dealt with public meetings,” said that while they “might make sense,” the case “is antiquated because it is based on the idea that someone has large camcorders, rather than small recording devices, which are far more prevalent today.” “I think it is important to note that at the time Tarus was decided, we were still thinking by in large about camcorders,” the ACLU lawyer said. “And most people who record today do so on cellphones. The intrusiveness of a cellphone is nowhere near the intrusiveness of a camcorder. It is not blocking the person behind you; it doesn’t require wires; and it doesn’t require external lighting or the sorts of things that may legitimately be viewed as a distraction. So, whether any sort of restriction on taping no longer makes sense – that is an
open question.” But “what is really clear,” he said, is that if someone wants to record a public meeting, “that is a First Amendment protected activity, whether you knew you were going to do it or not,” pointing out that someone could listen to what is occurring during a public meeting and decide, ‘“Hey, wait, this isn’t what I expected, or is something I think my fellow residents of the town or school district would find interesting.’” “So, to place a restr iction of that nature (requiring advance notice of an intent to record), the board would have to demonstrate a compelling need to limit First Amendment rights in that way, and I don’t think they can,” Shalom said. Horn, when the policy at issue was first introduced, maintained “recording these meetings has never been a problem,” before asking, “What is the purpose of requiring the community to jump through additional hoops?” “This will only be perceived as a lack of transparency and an attempt to limit the free exchange of information at a public meeting where we should have nothing to hide,” the PTEA president declared. Havers replied that the new board policy was “requested by a committee” and “it is within law.” “It is a matter of giving notice, because if we (receive) notice, we can give them a copy of the policy so that they (those wanting to record) know what the protocols are in terms of disrupting the board meeting,” the superintendent added. “It is a matter of being proactive, and again, requesting the video just to make sure that if someone tapes something and edits something, we have a copy as well.” Board Member Lionel Lee, who paused for a moment before ultimately voting in favor of the new board policy on second reading, asked, when the policy was first introduced, “Did something happen, or is this a regular update of the policy?” He pressed officials if “something triggered this.” Havers reiterated his claim that the policy revision was “requested by board committee members.” “Did somebody post something and put it up somewhere, or did something happen?” Lee asked. “Agai n, I th i n k it is about b ei ng proactive,” Havers replied. “We have more people recording, and there was a meeting where there were some lights, so the idea was to be proactive to address it.” Maldonado, at the time, contended “we also had an issue with music being played, which is very disruptive to what we do.” But on April 28, Horn, in raising the example previously provided of lights, pointed out that “the current policy (that had been existence up until that session) already adequately addresses that.” See RECORDINGS/ Page 7
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RECORDINGS (Continued from Page 6)
“The current policy states that the ‘recording of a meeting shall not obstruct or distract any member of the public from observing or listening to the proceedings of the meeting,’” Horn pointed out. “It also states, ‘additional lighting shall not be used unless approved by the presiding officer prior to the meeting.’ So, in the case of the audience member who accidentally had her flashlight app on, that could happen with the new policy as well as the current policy and be addressed in the exact same way. The presiding officer would say, ‘Ma ‘am, could you please turn your camera light off. That was distracting.’” Horn maintained “there was no other rationale” that has been provided by the Pemberton board for making this policy change, except for a couple of the board members, as well as Board Solicitor Frank Cavallo, in March, stating that such provisions had previously existed in an old board policy, that was replaced with the one that had been in use when the board changed its “policy providers.” “We are moving this policy to go back to the policy that we used to have, because it had all that information in it,” contended Cavallo at the time. Horn, on April 28, in responding to that March statement from Cavallo, and another one that month from Maldonado, who said, “we lost a lot of policies when we switched over … so, we are slowly finding them and bringing them back in,” declared, “just because you had a policy in the past is not justification for returning to it.” And Horn further maintained that Lowery and Lee’s questioning of why the policy was necessary “received only a vague
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AD HOTLINE: (609) 801-2392 or SALES@PINEBARRENSTRIBUNE.COM and inadequate response.” “This is a public forum,” the PTEA president said. “Why would anyone be afraid of someone accurately capturing words and ideas that you are intentionally sharing with the public? Aren’t we interested in transparency? Limiting the free exchange of ideas, or putting unnecessary burdens on them, comes across as authoritarian and anti-democratic. “The board members who have been asking, ‘Why?’ recently – I commend you. And I encourage you to continue to ask ‘Why?’ until you get a satisfactory, substantive answer. Please ask, ‘Why?’, again about this policy change because we still have not received a satisfactory answer.” John Paff, who sits on the Board of Directors for the New Jersey Foundation for Open Government, and is a leading transparency advocate in New Jersey, also explained that the leading court case on the recording of public meetings is Tarus v. Borough of Pine Hill, noting that the state Supreme Court found “‘that there exists a common law right to videotape a municipal council meeting subject to reasonable restrictions.’” Public bodies, he noted, are allowed to adopt guidelines that “‘must be neutrally adopted and administered and limited in scope to the stated purpose of preventing disruption.’” The guidelines, Paff further noted, can “‘include the number and type of cameras permitted, the positioning of the cameras, the activity and location of the operator, lighting and other items deemed necessary to maintain order and to prevent unnecessary intrusion into the proceedings [and] may also include those designed to preserve the orderly conduct of a meeting by controlling noise levels [and] spatial requirements … to safeguard public facilities against damage … to the meeting hall’s electrical system, or … to require fair
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payment by the wielder of the device for electricity used.’” Paf f c ontende d that the “most controversial parts” of the new board policy are that it “requires three days’ advance notice of an intent to record” as well as the “requirement that the maker of the recording has to share a copy of it with the board.” “On the first requirement, like I stated above, I view all of these sorts of restrictions as suspect,” Paff said. “Again, I’d like to hear the board articulate the need for this requirement. The only plausible need for this that I can see is ‘when the number of video recording devices or audio recording devices interfere with the conduct of a board meeting’ and the presiding officer must limit them giving preference ‘based on the order in which prior notice requesting to record the meeting was provided to the board secretary.’ “But if there has never been a throng of camera-wielding citizens so large that it actually disrupts a meeting, then I’d have to score this rule as an attempt to unnecessarily suppress such recordings or at least make it more difficult for people to exercise their common law right to record. Again, I’d say get rid of the rule unless the board is able to make a compelling, experienced-based case justifying it.” Havers, on April 28, in defending the need for requiring three days’ advance notice of an intent to record Pemberton board meetings, maintained, “You never know what the volume of people is going to be.” “So, it is important to know at any time – you never know what is going to happen, and all of a sudden, you can have a lot of people,” he said. “So, it is important that we know; and we can plan and prepare for that. I don’t think a one sentence email is a huge burden asking for that.” As for the board now requiring that any video recordings of its meetings be
♦ Page 7
turned over, Paff said, “I have no idea what motivated the second requirement and I’d (again) like to hear the board articulate why this requirement needs to be in place.” “Given that the board has the right to make its own gavel-to-gavel recordings, I doubt that it has any real need for a citizen’s recordings,” he added. “If a citizen were to record, I doubt that the board would even ask for a copy of it.” But Havers, on April 28, contended “it is important we be able to obtain a copy of the recording, because we all know things can easily be edited and shared, or people can say things, misrepresent or misquote things that can be said.” “And finally, I don’t see it as ‘limiting the free exchange of ideas,’” Havers added. “Right? The ‘free exchange of ideas’ is still ongoing. And using the term ‘autocratic’ is very consistent, but I don’t think accurate.” Other transparency concer ns have arisen in the last two months involving the Pemberton board, including that it is no longer providing a meeting agenda for its work sessions and is requiring all persons wishing to make public comment to provide a preview of their comments on a special note card-like form, that also asks for the speaker’s information. Donna Lefebvre, a Pemberton Schools employee who raised the concerns on April 28, maintained that after the public asked for work session agendas “for a longtime,” former superintendent Tony Trongone “did it.” “Now, they have disappeared,” said Lefebvre, who also serves on the Pemberton Township Planning Board. “I think for transparency, and every other reason there is, you need to keep us informed. I try to come all the time to both meetings (the workshop and action ones), and I would like to have an agenda. Or include me in emails and I’d be happy to share it with See RECORDINGS/ Page 11
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LOCAL NEWS / FEATURES
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Saturday, May 14, 2022
Aromando Blames Low May Turnout, Stolen Signs, and Himself for His Latest Defeat in Medford Lakes Borough Council Election
By Bill Bonvie Staff Writer
MEDFORD LAK ES —A fter b ei ng defeated once again in his attempt to regain a seat on the Medford Lakes Borough Council, Joseph A. Aromando III claims to have been the victim of voter suppression, both political and personal. The final tally in the May 9 nonpartisan election was 531 for Mayor Thomas J. Cranston, 543 for Councilman Dennis P. O’Neill, and 275 for Aromando, with 12 write-in votes, representing a turnout of slightly over 20 percent of registered voters in the borough. “The real story to me is the continued failure of Medford Lakes residents to vote in May,” Aromando told the Pine Barrens Tribune in a phone interview following the election. He claimed voting in May was a practice the council had deliberately kept in place,
even after a non-binding November 2019 referendum that he maintained clearly showed that a majority “overwhelmingly” favored moving the regular council election to November. In addition, he said, when special elections have been held in November, they have had much larger turnouts, indicating “that’s a serious problem here.” Adding to that, Aromando contended, was the disappearance of 47 signs advertising his candidacy, which he called “a direct attack on me” and a matter he has filed a complaint about with the local police department and intends to continue pursuing. Aromando didn’t spare himself from blame, either, adding that the election outcome was also the result of “my failure to be able to reach or convince enough people that the problems we have here are serious enough for the voters to make a change.” Asked whether he intends to run again for the council, on which he once served from
1998 to 2002, he replied, “I can’t tell you what’s going to happen in two years.” “I never really know until it’s time to fill out the application,” Aromando added. Cranston, when asked by this newspaper if he’d care to respond to those sentiments, replied that “most of what (Aromando) said was correct.” He explained there was a nonbinding referendum, in which the taxpayers favored moving the election to November, which was subsequently brought up at a borough council meeting and put to a formal vote, in which “the council ultimately decided against making that change.” The main reason for that rejection, he contended, was that “we’re a small nonpartisan town” and “we don’t consider ourselves to be political in nature, and our concern was that if we moved the election to November, partisan politics would find their way into our community.” Apart from that, the mayor maintained,
“we have made efforts to make sure our residents are aware of the May election,” which included posting a signboard at the firehouse this year and putting up several banners around town announcing the election date. In addition, he said, it was advertised in a publication put out by the Medford Lakes Colony Club, “not to mention every registered voter having received either a sample ballot or a mail-in ballot.” Cranston further said that Aromando’s charges about the signs being stolen appeared to be accurate as well. “My understanding is that he did make two reports to the police department,” Cranston said. “No one on the council would ever condone any activity like that.” The mayor added that “in regard to the election, we would like to see a larger turnout, but it is ultimately everybody’s decision whether they want to come out and vote or not.”
Medford Lakes Borough Council (Vote for Two) Vote Tally
Percentage of Vote
Projected Winner
“Continued Leadership”
531
39%
X
Dennis P. O’Neill*
“Integrity, Dedication, Honesty”
543
40%
X
Joseph A. Aromando, III
“Democracy Works Best When You Vote”
275
20%
12
1%
Candidate
Nonpartisan Affiliation
Thomas J. Cranston*
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Outdoor Food Pantry in Washington Permanently Taken Offline Due to ‘Repeated Thefts’; Trash in Creek ‘Mysteriously’ Vanishes
Photo By Kathy Gritto
The Hope Food Pantry, which had been established in the front of the Washington Township Municipal Building.
By Douglas D. M elegari Staff Writer
WASHINGTON—An outdoor food pantry, known as The Hope Food Pantry, placed in front of the Washington Township Municipal Building, established at the start of the Coronavirus pandemic to help local families in need, will no longer be in service “due to repeated thefts,” according to Township Committeeman and Public Safety Director C. Leigh Gadd, Jr. “A lot of people put a lot of effort into it – it was always full, at least briefly it was full, so a lot of people tried to make it work,” said Gadd during the Washington Township Committee’s May 3 meeting. “It is a shame.” Gadd, a past police detective, has been reporting every so often to the township committee about the food pantry thefts since July 2020. Resident Kathy Gitto, who started the pantry to help residents in need – particularly local senior citizens living on fixed incomes and struggling to make ends meet – also tried
to start a mini-book exchange/library in the outdoor pantry box, but the brazen thief or thieves stole them too, according to Gadd. “Kathy also put some books in there to try to make it a free library type thing and it is my understanding they were stolen as well,” Gadd said. “So, there will be no more food pantry thanks to whoever has been repeatedly taking everything.” Mayor Daniel James, upon hearing that the food pantry will be put out of service, recalled that “years ago,” somewhere around 2003 to 2005, the municipality “had something similar to a food pantry,” where it established a “support system for some of the seniors who were struggling.” “We might want to reinstitute that,” James said. “We might want to go back and see how we did it back then, and maybe we can adopt that program so that help can get to where it needs to be.” Gadd noted that “we had discussed some possible options a while back” when the thefts first began. “I am not saying the idea (of helping those in need) is completely dead,” he said. “But, unfortunately, the food pantry is no longer going to be available to those who really need it.”’ Deputy Mayor Paul Seybold noted that someone had also thrown some trash into a creek off Church Road. “I spoke with Capt. Brian Scott, of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), last Thursday, and he was going to send a couple of people over there to take a look at it,” Seybold said. However, the following day, according to Seybold, he drove by the creek again and observed two men, one being a resident of Church Road, “cleaning the trash out of the creek.” “I told them, ‘Thank-you very much for removing it out of the creek, but please don’t take it anywhere because I want the NJDEP to look at it,’” Seybold said. “Mysteriously all the trash disappeared overnight. So, the NJDEP did not get a chance to look at it, and they did not find out how or why it got there. We were hoping to sift through it and see if we can come up with a name(s). “By the time I spoke to those two people, the next day it was gone, and we don’t know where it went or who took it. I was hoping to find out some information.”
LOCAL NEWS / FEATURES
♦ Page 9
Browns Mills Man Dies in Five-Vehicle Collision on Route 70 PEMBERTON—A five-vehicle morning collision on May 10 at the entrance to Country Lakes Estates on Route 70 in Pemberton Township has claimed the life of a 28-year-old township man. The crash, according to Pemberton Township Police Chief Jay Watters, occurred around 6:48 a.m. at the intersection of Route 70 and Spring Lake Boulevard. Responding Pemberton Township Police Department officers, upon their arrival, found five vehicles that had been involved in the collision – a Ford F-150 pickup, GMC Envoy, Chevrolet Trail Blazer, Ford Escape and Hyundai Tucson. The operator of the Chevrolet, William Benner, Jr., from the Browns Mills section of Pemberton Township, was pronounced dead at the scene of the collision, according to Watters. Royston Tape, 51, of Brick, the driver of the Ford Escape, sustained serious injuries and was transported to Atlantic City Medical Center for treatment.
A 17-year-old juvenile, from Browns Mills, who was driving the GMC Envoy, according to Watters, reported no injuries at the crash scene, but was still taken by a parent to a local hospital for evaluation. The driver of the Hyundai, however, Chelsea VanKuren, 31, of Browns Mills, did complain of pain, but reportedly refused medical treatment, according to the police chief. No other injuries were reported by any other drivers or occupants of the vehicles involved in the collision, and Route 70, according to Watters, was shut down for an extended period of time for a police investigation. “The investigation into the cause of this collision is under investigation by the Pemberton Township Police Department’s Traffic Safety Unit,” Watters said. “We are asking anyone who may have witnessed the crash to please contact Patrolman Joshua Mann at 609-894-3310.”
RACE
and my decision-making.” “I don’t care much for money, the want of the material world has left me,” he declared. “All I care about is righteousness and justice.” In fact, he said that he recently opted to leave a job he had held for some time with a real-estate brokerage and go to work for another one, eXp Realty, rather than comply with his former’s employer’s request that he refrain from campaigning on social media after one of its customers apparently complained about his viewpoints – an example of what he regards as being a victim of “cancel culture.” “I think we’ve lost our way as a society and need to get back to a strong moral position,” Ferrara contended. “I know I can do better than what our elected officials have been doing, and believe I have a very good pulse on the will of the people and what they want. Sadly, most politicians are in it for themselves. All I care about is this country, its success, my neighbors, my brothers and sisters.” But perhaps what concerns him most, he said, is what awaits today’s kids, such as his own two daughters, who are 13 and 9, adding, “I’m incredibly fearful for their future, as we’re in unprecedented waters right now.”
(Continued from Page 2) criminals are going to get them anyway (especially given the availability of socalled “ghost guns”). • Roe v. Wade was “one of the worst decisions ever from a purely legal perspective,” and “the gender and sexual identity propaganda being taught in school” is something he strongly opposes. • While he feels terrible for the “poor people in Ukraine who are caught in the middle” of the current conflict with Russia, “we should not be further exacerbating the problem by supplying all these weapons and intelligence and essentially fighting a proxy war,” nor does he think any American interests are being served by being involved at all,” adding, “I think we have plenty of issues at home to deal with.” Ferrara also claimed to have entered the race “for all the right reasons,” such as his sincerity, honesty and incorruptibility, all of which he attributed to his faith, something he references in a press release by noting that he is a Christian who regularly attends mass and that “God plays a central role in my life
Page 10 ♦
OPINION
OPINION
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Jersey Fresh Is All Local – Your Purchases Keep It the ‘Garden State’ We see all around us the wonder of spring and the anticipation of enjoying the bounty of our New Jersey farms ready to be fulfilled. Agriculture in the Garden State is as diverse as the people we serve. We grow hundreds of crops of all kinds, each arriving at their particular time in the cultivation and harvest cycles. And it’s a glorious reality of tastes and textures for us all to enjoy. First up, and appearing now in the month of May, are: arugula, asparagus, bok choy, cilantro, collard greens, dandelions, dill, escarole, endive, kale, leeks, lettuces, mint, parsley, radishes, scallions, spinach, and strawberries. Here we are, in the most densely populated state in the country, being able to enjoy crops picked for perfection at the exact right time for you to consume within hours of being plucked from the field – fresh, nearby, nutritious fruits and vegetables from farmers you know and trust.
How can you be sure it’s from our New Jersey Farmers? Just ask, “Is it local?” (‘Local,’ on its own, can only be claimed if it is grown here, under a new law signed just this year). Or, another way to ask: Is it Jersey Fresh? The most effective way to ensure that retailers are providing local and Jersey Fresh far m products is for you, the consumer, to simply ask those questions. When you do inquire about a product’s origins, you are ensuring our farming families get the support they need to continue producing what is so important. Truly, your purchases are what keeps the Garden State just that. The list of what is available begins to explode now that warm weather is here. Will you make it a point to pop the question? Is it Local? Is it Jersey Fresh?
Doug Fisher Secretary of Agriculture Trenton, New Jersey
Medford Council Has Sold Lake Pine Community ‘Down the River’ In response to the excellent article penned by Doug Melegari (Residents of Taunton Boulevard Ask That Medford Council ‘Advocate’ to Make Road ‘Safer, Quieter,’ Citing Speeding And Excess Truck Traffic, Pine Barrens Tribune, May 7, 2022), I would like to add that the issues on Taunton Boulevard are no longer ‘county road’ issues. The problems we face on Taunton Boulevard, in Medford, are the direct result of a lack of a contingency plan for diverting construction vehicles and tractor trailers away from this residential community. The Medford Township Council has sold the Lake Pine community ‘down the river’ by not considering the safety and well-being of the taxpayers located here. This issue was first brought to their attention, as well as to the attention of the
local police department, two years ago. The police department’s own report showed that a vehicle exceeds 45 mph every 3.5 minutes, 24 hours-a-day on this 30-mph road. We are a community of families, not highway dwellers. The utter lack of concern for the safety of this community is appalling and almost criminal! The houses here shake all day and night long, without any relief. The local authorities, who were hired to ‘protect and serve’ treat this as a nuisance issue rather than serve the members of the community. This is not a county road issue, rather it is a matter of local enforcement and protection for the safety of the community issue!
James Shiffer Medford, New Jersey
ff oun S dO
SOCIAL MEDIA
Saturday, May 14, 2022
Politicians – Paper Please, and Now, or Else You Won’t Get My Vote! Outlawing single use plastic and paper bags is a great example of making it harder to live in New Jersey. Now concentrating on arg uments against plastic is a red herring. What is wrong with paper bags? They are made from trees and are a renewable resource, plus they are biodegradable and are very friendly to nature. Coming after one of the worst pandemics in 100 years, we dispense with sanitary, single-use bags, all to be replaced with dirty reusable bags. Shall we agree that people will not wash their reusable bags as often as they should? Placing dirty bags on top of food checkout areas is unsanitary. Thus, it will provide new disease vectors, not just for COVID, but any other disease. Now for the so-called “Greens” who forced this on everyone – you may have a point about plastic bags. But what about those reusable bags? Do you think there is any plastic involved in making them? So, you really didn’t not stop the use of plastic! This was more mindless virtue signaling, which makes life harder on the people, especially the poor. Those who supported this law should not feel any pride. Rather,
you should be ashamed of yourselves! The next time you are waiting, in the now longer checkout lines, and you see an older person struggling with their groceries or the mother with several children trying to juggle reusable bags and her kids, you can say, “I did that. I made their lives harder and for no good reason, other than to make myself feel good about myself.” This will be a daily reminder, every time you buy things, of how uncaring the political elites are about ‘real people.’ Right up there with $4 a gallon gas. If you want to fight back and are a registered Democrat, go change your party registration. It doesn’t have to be to a Republican, even becoming an Independent works. This is not a partisan issue, but really about common sense and power. When they ask why you changed party registration, tell them it’s because of the bag ban. Send a message and tell them, “paper please, and now, or else you won’t get my vote!” Now that is power.
Bruno DiStefano Medford Lakes, New Jersey
WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! The Pine Barrens Tribune would like to hear from you about what is happening in your town, or your opinions on any news story and subject! To submit a Letter to the Editor, email letters@pinebarrenstribune.com. Letters should be about 150 words maximum, and include your full name, address and telephone number where you can be reached. All submissions become property of the Pine Barrens Tribune and its affiliates and may be published in print and online. We reserve the right to not publish all submissions.
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(Re: Ban Now In Effect On Plastic And Paper Bags Given Thumbs Down By Substantial Majority Of Area Supermarket Customers Surveyed)
(Re: Ban Now In Effect On Plastic And Paper Bags Given Thumbs Down By Substantial Majority Of Area Supermarket Customers Surveyed)
This is the dumbest idea they ever had … pay a higher price for food and gas, then pay for your bag that people are throwing all over the highways and roads. But keep all other plastic and plastic bags for takeout. Makes no sense! But then again, we tried this years ago and it didn’t get far. I still have the bags from that. All it’s doing is further ticking people off. I’ve seen it in the store; people freaking out and yelling over bags, especially at Wawa.
If the plastic bag ban is the biggest worry I have today, it must be a decent day, considering there are much bigger issues to worry about, whatever your politics or beliefs sit. ~S. Galie
~K. Schilder
(Re: Ban Now In Effect On Plastic And Paper Bags Given Thumbs Down By Substantial Majority Of Area Supermarket Customers Surveyed)
(Re: Ban Now In Effect On Plastic And Paper Bags Given Thumbs Down By Substantial Majority Of Area Supermarket Customers Surveyed)
The only reason it was passed by the lawmakers in this state is they obviously do not shop or clean. The bags are reused by every woman I asked. Please tell me, what are you going to do about single-use trash bags?
It’s pretty simple to bring your reusable bags when shopping. If it reduces the number of plastic bags littering the side of the road, it will be worth the extra effort.
~M. Pitcher
~D. Kennedy
Saturday, May 14, 2022
RECORDINGS (Continued from Page 7)
membership. I do think we need to know what’s on the agenda, because if nothing is on it, I may not want to go that night, but because I have no idea, I have to take time out to be here. And I am on a lot of other things, so I really don’t have time to be here if there is nothing we need to address or look at it.” Lefebvre contended that “she didn’t know if it is a policy” of the board, but that at a prior meeting, a member of the PTEA “tried to turn her card in” after the start of a board meeting, but prior to public comment, but “her card was not accepted” because she was told it cannot be turned in after the meeting commences. “I think that is a concern because many of our teachers work until 7 o’clock with these afterschool programs and they want to come to a board meeting, and a board meeting starts at 6:30,” Lefebvre declared. “(If they) have something close to their heart, that they want to discuss in the public agenda area, I think they should have a right to do it. If they take the time to come, and request to be heard by the board, I think that is something that should be honored because it is just important.” Paff, when the situation with the cards were described to him by this newspaper, replied that, “personally, I don’t agree with the idea of requiring people to register in advance to speak.” “I’ve personally attended meetings with no intention of speaking and then decided I wished to speak after hearing an issue another speaker raised,” he said. Moreover, he added, “all of these supposed ‘reasonable’ restrictions on a citizen’s ability to exercise statutory rights, in my view, are suspect.” “Consider, for example, Baldeo v. City of Paterson (Civ. No. 18-05359, D. N.J. 2020),” Paff pointed out. “The Paterson City Council circulated a sign-up sheet prior to meetings for members of the public who wished to speak. Nobody signed up, but the mayor recognized two citizens who said negative things about Baldeo, who was the local newspaper editor. The mayor then refused to allow Baldeo an opportunity to rebut the comments made. “This is a case where an allegedly neutral rule looks to have been used with malice to suppress the speech of a speaker who was disfavored by the governing body.” Paff called on the Pemberton board to “articulate” why the pre-registration rule should exist. “Are there really that many people who want to speak that a simple ‘raise your hand if you want to speak’ rule wouldn’t suffice?” Paff asked. “If the board isn’t able to justify its need beyond just conjecture, I
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AD HOTLINE: (609) 801-2392 or SALES@PINEBARRENSTRIBUNE.COM would favor getting rid of the rule so that it couldn’t be employed to keep someone who had something to say from speaking. The whole point of N.J.S.A. 10:4-12’s public comment rule is to open up meetings for citizen input. Anything that stands in the way of that, no matter how innocuous it may appear on its face, is in my view suspect and needs to be justified by some compelling, fact-based reasoning.” Havers, in responding to Lefebvre on April 28, maintained that “the work session is a meeting of the board to create the agenda for the action meeting,” and “is a practice that was in place” and one that “makes sense.” “In fact, many districts, not that I am wishing for this to happen (here), follow only us on have one board meeting per month,” said facebook.com/MedfordUMC Havers, with one Pemberton board member acknowledging that used to be in the case for the Pemberton board. What happens, “in terms of comment cards,” the superintendent added, is once the public comment section opens, “we stop taking public comment cards.” “Once we open the session, we do cut it off,” said Havers of the procedure being followed. “Again, there is a policy that states it can be open for 30 minutes. I think the board does a very good job of letting people speak. And five minutes – not everybody gets five minutes in other districts. Other districts give three minutes, or they have shorter timeframes, so there is ample time offered for the public participation – for the ‘free exchange of ideas.’ So, I don’t think we are trying to discourage that.” But Scull, following the superintendent’s April 28 rebuttal, declared in regards to the cards, “Policy committee, I hope you look at that, because cards should be able, in my opinion, to be turned in at any time,” so long as the public comment period hasn’t been closed. Pa f f told t h i s newsp ap e r t h at i n “conclusion,” he is “oppos e d to al l these alleged ‘reasonable’ rules absent a compelling reason, based on past conduct, justifying them.” “And, even then, they should be sunsetted after a period of time,” he added. “In my experience, if you give the government an inch of wiggle room to regulate speech, it’s only a matter of time before some presiding official with a bad motive will use it to deprive citizens he or she disagrees with from exercising their rights.” Shalom, in regard to the Recording of Board Meetings policy, summarized what he told this newspaper by stating, “the short answer to your question is I think there are some deep constitutional problems with the board policy.”
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READER ADVISORY Reader Advisory: The National Trade Association we belong to has purchased the above classifieds with an asterisk. Determining the value of their service or product is advised by this publication. In order to avoid misunderstandings, some advertisers do not offer employment but rather supply the readers with manuals, directories and other materials designed to help their clients establish mail order selling and other businesses at home. Under NO circumstance should you send any money in advance or give the client your checking, license ID, or credit card numbers. Also beware of ads that claim to guarantee loans regardless of credit and note that if a credit repair company does business only over the phone it is illegal to request any money before delivering its service. All funds are based in U.S. dollars. Toll free numbers may or may not reach Canada.
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♦ Page 13
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RECREATION (Continued from Page 4 )
been formulated to convert it into a new recreational area, the local government will schedule four “community days” on which members of the public will be invited to visit it in its current state, he said. In the meantime, Clark told the Pine Barrens Tribune, “the tow nsh ip w i l l be aggressively seeking out new grant opportunities to finance as much as we possibly can” of the remainder of the cost of the acquisition. “It is legendary for a town to be able to purchase this much land and preserve it,” declared Deputy Mayor Heather Cooper in commenting on the sale’s completion. “The owners of the Beagle Club were good stewards all those years of that land and were happy to pass the baton to the township and know that we’re going to take care of it.” Indian Spring, Davidson reported, enjoyed a “very strong financial year in 2021,” having doubled the number of buckets of balls it sold in 2018, and attracted golfers to play half again as many rounds as they did in that pre-pandemic year – factors that have enabled it to become a self-supporting entity.
Plans for upgrading the golf course, he said, include the creation of a new driving range/concession building, which would include a “mini-pro shop” and an area for light refreshments with seating, as well as new ball machines, tee reconstruction and a water fountain for the pond to “discourage growth of algae and bacteria.” In addition to its annual budget, which is yet to be approved for 2022, and the dedicated capital improvement funds it will use to pay for the recreational and golf course upgrades, Evesham also has a $5 million general capital budget available to finance large acquisitions and projects over a period of time, Davidson explained. These include such heavy-duty items as roads, bridges, equipment and improvements that are expected to have a useful life of at least five years. The uses plan ned for that capital improvement money, which is partly the result of another $2,324,000 in grants to the township, he said, include some $1,250,000 set aside for equipment and veh icle purchases, including five police cruisers and one all-terrain police vehicle, with the possibility of acquiring hybrid patrol vehicles being considered. An additional $600,000, according to the CFO, is being earmarked for facility improvements, including a retractable
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partition to the main hall of the Gibson House that will help better accommodate small gatherings, a security vestibule for the police department and HVAC upgrades to the municipal building, while another $3,150,000 is slated for road and drainage improvements. Davidson, who has occupied the post of CFO for less than a year, also outlined what he described as ‘future opportunities” to further improve the township’s financial outlook, including “a new line of recurring revenue through cannabis sales,” which will be taxed at one to two percent, depending on the type of transaction, and “responsible redevelopment to help offset residential taxes” – something he expects would be necessary to increase the tax base with the town approaching “built-out” status in order to keep certain areas from becoming distressed and to attract private capital. The encouraging financial report was well-received by council members, with Cooper maintaining that “economic health makes for a healthy town, as well as the physical and mental health of our residents.” Mayor Jaclyn “Jackie” Veasy also thanked Davidson for his role in helping the township maintain financial stability and everyone involved in procuring the grants, declaring that “getting more than $2 million in grant
funding to help support all that we’re trying to do here in the township is just amazing,” and Councilwoman Patrician Hansen adding, “I can’t say enough about getting the grants; I want more.” Veasy also said she thought the golf course, with all the improvements being made to it, was going to be a “great asset,” and thanked PGA Head Golf Professional Curtis Kirkpatrick for his work in maintaining it, noting, “Every time I drive by on a nice day, it’s full of people.” The prospect of increased revenues from cannabis sales was also something that was cited as an encouraging development by Councilman Eddie Freeman III, who said he looked forward to it, as well as by Hansen, although it was once again the subject of a warning from Gary Warga, a critic of the ordinance that enabled them, to the effect that whatever additional monies they bring in will be offset by the need for added policing that cannabis use will create. However, Evesham’s new police chief, Walter Miller III, though acknowledging that regulated cannabis sales are still relatively new in the state, told the council that the police haven’t so far been seeing any increases in “social harms” from them.
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