Environmental commission meets WEATHER
Page 4 • Wednesday, January 20, 2016 • The Hammonton Gazette
COMMISSION, from Page 1
man Joseph Giralo will also be attending the commission’s meetings in 2016.
Caruso-Cafiso provided an update on the latest
happenings with the Parks and recreation Commission.
“Parks and rec last met on the 16th of December.
All the parks are in good shape. there are leaves all
over. Dan [Bachalis] proposed that they rename Anthony Chiofalo Park to Dr. Anthony Chiofalo triangle Plaza and made a motion for approval. there are
still a lot of things going on, a lot of use of facilities.
Lou Cappuccio said that Jerry [Barberio] did a great
job holding two positions. Lou feels that they were
a great group and got a lot of things done,” CarusoCafiso said.
Amy Menzel updated the commission members
about the Green Committee’s plans for 2016.
“We met on the 4th. We had a community garden
meeting prior to the Green Committee meeting and
got everything in order for the coming year. We updated all of our applications for the garden plots. the
plots will stay the same size, 12 [feet] by 4 [feet].
the plot [prices] will stay the same, $20. We had an
event with the mayor and the Quality of Life Committee and got permission to expand the garden to
have the water hooked up. We will have four frostfree pumps so we can use and attach smaller attachments to. the garden committee meets monthly,
right before the Green Committee. Anyone is welcome to come. We’re planning lots of events this
year that will be open for the public. the Green
Committee has a new chair, Sara Verrillo. We’re putting together the schedule for 2016 with films and
discussions and even trying to get a 2017 schedule
together so we can publicize in advance … On the
20th, we meet with Jerry Barberio and some other
VETERAN, from Page 1
Biondo himself could not be in attendance, he was
able to provide commentary on the importance of
veterans programs throughout south Jersey.
“As a way to foster greater communication and cooperation between the VA and local veterans, i established the South Jersey Veterans Advisory
Council a few years ago to identify issues and challenges in veterans’ care facing our region. Coordinated by my veterans liaison Mike francis, we hold
regular meetings where our dedicated and decorated
veterans can be very candid about when the VA is
coming up short in its promises to South Jersey veterans. i take their ideas and directly to VA leadership to be
addressed to our satisfaction. As i
have throughout my time in public
service, i will continue to be a
partner with South Jersey veterans
in the fight for additional community-based services,” LoBiondo
said.
Commander of DAV Chapter
66 Lee Payne spoke briefly and
thanked everyone for showing
their support in the ongoing battle
for retired veterans.
Hammonton rotary Club President Micky Doto introduced a
project he is leading regarding the
treatment of women veterans.
“Women veterans are, statistically showing, being underserved
by a lot of VA services. they’re at
extremely high risk for homelessness. through my research in this
area, there’s no dedicated transitional house facilities for women
veterans and their families. that’s
a very big issue. there are not a
lot of dedicated facilities for
homeless male veterans either.
that doesn’t lend towards the
treatment in helping these women
heroes meet their goals. We would
like to partner with various organizations and individuals who are
passionate about this or maybe
whose mission may overlap and
make this possible,” Doto said.
francis gave each veteran in the
room the chance to introduce
themselves and speak a bit about
their military background and current involvement in veterans
groups.
representative John Walter
from the Veterans Justice Outreach Program (VJO) in Northfield, New Jersey, spoke about the
program and its goals. According
to the VJO plan, their program
provides outreach, assessment and
case management for veterans involved with county jails, courts or
the justice system and law enforcement or the police. they
work to arrange treatment rather
than send veterans to jail when the
court approves. VJO also provides
links to behavioral health services,
social workers and various types
of health care services.
After various questions were
answered by Walter, Lou Bartolotta was introduced and given
the chance to speak about the program MyVA. MyVA is a plan to
change the way that the VA does
business to one that puts veterans
in control of their happenings. According to the plan on their web-
site MyVA, is a catalyst to turn the VA into a worldclass service provider.
the final speaker was Atlantic County Veterans
Advisory Board Chairman Herb Davis. Davis spoke
about the implementation of a transportation service
that will pick veterans from their homes and take
them directly to the necessary medical facilities in
Philadelphia.
“We’re very fortunate to have a county freeholder
board that has probably five veterans on it, all that
are going to participate. i’ve now turned to reaching
out to all the other districts in Atlantic County that
have vans that maybe we can connect a schedulin p