Now Direct Mailed to OVER 2,250 HOMES in LeisureTowne and 195 HOMES in Hampton Lakes
New Coordinator in Town Veteran Firefighter Named to Vacant Emergency Post
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Lessons in Flexibility Pinelands Students Returning to Altered Setup and Schedules
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Vol. 3 – No. 1
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New Prescribed-Burning Guidelines Issued by Forest Fire Service PG 5
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September 1, 2018 – September 7, 2018
Kennel Clampdown
Ongoing Complaints About Facility Housing More Than 70 Dogs Prompt Shamong to Propose New Law Spurring Debate over Property Rights By Douglas D. Melegari and Dominick Cella Staff Writers
SHAMONG—A property that neighboring residents claim has been allowed to go to the dogs – more than 70 of them, at last count – has opened a Pandora’s box of controversy in this normally quiet rural community, with implications for privacy and land-use rights. At issue is whether the property’s owner, a 64-yearold woman who has gone by a number of aliases and has a history of encounters with the law over animal cruelty, is within her rights to operate a kennel – a situation the township is now attempting to address with a proposed new ordinance. That proposal, in turn, has prompted two organizations – the Humane Society and the American Kennel Club – to enter the fray on opposite sides. Further clouding the entire matter are apparently contradictory provisions in the proposed ordinance, which offers up a whole list of rules for kennel operators while specifying that “no new licenses” shall be issued for kennels or other facilities for domestic animals after the date of its adoption – a seemingly implied Catch-22. Also helping fuel the debate is the township’s history of inaction on Burlington County Health Department requests for Shamong to adopt a law defining and regulating kennels dating back to 2010. That failure to act, as revealed by state Senator Dawn Marie Addiego (R-NJ-8), stalled the health department’s efforts to address officials’ concerns about alleged animal cruelty on the aforementioned property. Demands for something to be done about the 539 Oakshade Road parcel, and its owner, Donna Roberts, became particularly pronounced at a March meeting of the Shamong Township Committee. It was the first meeting to follow a period of extreme cold, See KENNEL/ Page 19
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INDEX Automotive................ 27 Business Directory.... 16 Community.................. 9 Gardening Column.... 14
Health........................ 11 Opinion........................ 7 Hobbyist.................... 15 Worship Directory........ 9 Local News.................. 2 Marketplace............... 24
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