The Hammonton Gazette 04/02/14 Edition | Page 2

Let the Santillis help you St. Joe High School with your financial planning inducts new NHS members p. 9 p. 21 See Russell Crowe in the epic new movie Noah p. 31 REPUBLICAN PRIMARY FIGHT Wednesday, April 2, 2014 Volume 18 • Issue 14 www.hammontongazette.com by Gabe Donio GazeTTe STaff WriTer HaMMONTON—The republican slate of three candidates for the November election will be decided by a primary this year, according to official election documents filed with the office of Hammonton Town Clerk april Maimone and leaders of the Hammonton regular republican Club and the Hammonton United republican Top 3 of 5 candidates in Jun. 3 primary will run in Nov. Club, the two factions seeking control of the Hammonton republican Party. according to the document released to The Gazette on March 31, there are three candidates for town council for the Hammonton United republican Club: former councilman Steven furgione, former councilman Michael Torrissi and atlantic Cape Community College Vice President 3 new businesses Rodio honored by A.C. Chamber choose downtown by Paul J. Macrie IV GazeTTe STaff WriTer HaMMONTON—according to MainStreet Hammonton executive Director Cassie iacovelli, there isn’t any indication that the former Bank of america and Sears buildings located in the downtown area will be filled in the near future. iacovelli See REPUBLICAN, Page 14 S. Furgione O. Hernandez S. Mazza M. Torrissi J. Vitalo stays in contact with the owners of these vacated spaces. She said there is increased interest in downtown space, and she leads potential tenants to the owners of the vacant properties. There are a few vacancies in the downtown that will be filled within the next month. On Central av- Downtown Market opening Sat., May 3 by Paul J. Macrie IV GazeTTe STaff WriTer HaMMONTON—Last year, the Downtown Market took place each Saturday morning during the summer in the Vine Street parking lot area across from the eagle The- See VACANCY, Page 4 atre. Though individuals such as MainStreet Hammonton executive Director Cassie iacovelli were pleased with how the Saturday morning festivities went, there have been some tweaks to the market experience this year. “We were very happy with last Bids opened for HMS project See MARKET, Page 14 Photo Courtesy of PJ Rebovich, Greater Atlantic City Chamber The Greater Atlantic City Chamber of Commerce held its Installation and Awards Banquet on March 27. Among the honorees was Hammontonian Tony Rodio, CEO of Tropicana Resorts. Rodio was named Business Leader of the Year at the event, held at Stockton Seaview Hotel & Golf Club. Rodio is pictured with his daughters Helen and Jessica. Residential electric provider could change by Lauren Bucci GazeTTe STaff WriTer HaMMONTON—representatives from Jersey energy Group spoke before town council on March 24 to propose an aggregated energy plan for the town, which would call for a switch from obtaining electricity from a utility company to purchasing it for a fixed price from a third party. “aggregation means simply making the switch together as a community for the residents… This is a fixed price and simply pools everyone together automatically…creating millions of kilowatt hours to go out to bid with third party suppliers,” Stephen Thayer, a Principal with Jersey energy Group said. Yearly lake cleanup draws 80 volunteers by Paul J. Macrie IV GazeTTe STaff WriTer THG/MarySusan Hoffman. To purchase photos in The Gazette, call (609) 704-1940. The Hammonton School District opened the bids for the Hammonton Middle School window replacement project on March 26. Architect Wayne Neville was present along with the bidders. Panoramic Window and Door Systems Inc. had the low bid. Their base bid was $424,500. SUBSCRIBE TO HaMMONTON—On March 29, the Sixth annual Hammonton Lake Cleanup took place as volunteers participated to help continue the process of beautifying the lake The Gazette! ONLY $20 FOR 52 WEEKS! CALL: (609) 704-1940 See COUNCIL, Page 10 area. Hosted by aCUa, Hammonton environmental Commission, Hammonton Green Committee and Hammonton Lake Water Quality advisory Committee, the event went on despite rainy conditions. The dreary weather didn’t deter See LAKE, Page 12