Local woman practicing
in town at Sail Lake
p. 17
Anne Hathaway
stars in Colossal
Tips on how to live
a greener life
p. 27-38
p. 45
PULLIA RUNNING FOR MAYOR
by Gabe Donio
G azette S taff W riter
HaMMONtON—During an
interview with The Gazette on
april 9, republican Michael Pul-
lia, 49, a four-term councilman,
confirmed he would be running
for mayor in the 2017 election
republican council slate: Giralo, Catania and Colasurdo
against two-term incumbent Ham-
monton Mayor Stephen DiDo-
nato. the republican slate of
Joseph Giralo, franco Catania and
rock Colasurdo was also con-
firmed by Pullia during the inter-
Council OK’s
2.49-cent tax hike
by Stephen Pistone
G azette S taff W riter
HaMMONtON—town coun-
cil reviewed the 2017 municipal
budget during its meeting on april
10. town Chief financial Officer
robert Scharle broke down reso-
lution #052-2017, which summa-
view with The Gazette.
Pullia’s first two campaigns for
council were as a member of
Hammonton first. after being
elected and serving his first two
terms affiliated with the local in-
dependent organization, he
changed his affiliation to republi-
can and won two more elections to
council.
During the interview, Pullia
spoke about his slate, gave his rea-
sons for running for mayor and
outlined his goals for the town
during the next four years.
“i think we have a great slate.
We have a great group of guys. We
See PULLIA, Page 15
rized the general section of the
2017 municipal budget that will in-
clude a $9,243,061.96 tax levy re-
sulting in a 2.49-cent tax increase.
the total budget is $13,095,577.
financial losses by the state
health benefit plan totaling $100
million are expected to cause 2018
benefit rates to increase signifi-
Chieco announced
as superintendent
by Tania Rivera
G azette S taff W riter
HaMMONtON—the Ham-
monton Board of education met
for their regular meeting on april
6, 2017 and board president Sam
Mento iii announced the pro-
posed new superintendent.
See COUNCIL, Page 14
in his final Superintendent
Search Committee report, Mento
announced that assistant Superin-
tendent robin Chieco has been
recommended to be hired as the
new Hammonton School District
Superintendent, replacing Dr. Dan
Blachford who is retiring on July
Having fun finding Easter eggs
See BOARD, Page 4
Local K-9 Unit
helps fight crime
THG/Paul E. Pedersen Jr.. To purchase photos in The Gazette, call (609) 704-1940.
Hammonton K-9 Officer Jonathan O’Neil with his canine partner Havoc. O’Neil and Officer Robert Zbikowski are the
department’s two K-9 officers.
by Paul Pedersen Jr.
G azette S taff W riter
HaMMONtON—as anyone
who has done it knows, raising a
three year-old can be an incredibly
daunting task. that’s especially
true when that three-year-old has
four legs, can run upwards of 30
miles per hour and has a bite force
of more than 200 lbs.
Hammonton Police Officer
Jonathan O’Neil, one of two offi-
cers that make up Hammonton
Police Department’s K-9 Unit, has
been raising, and training
“Havoc,” his three- year-old Ger-
man Shepard, since July. and
partnering with Havoc has not
only been a “labor of love” that
PWTC/WSC cmte.
discusses drainage
by Stephen Pistone
G azette S taff W riter
THG/Stephen Pistone. To purchase photos in The Gazette, call (609) 704-1940.
Elizabeth (left) and Tammy Molino (right) sort through the eggs collected by Elizabeth during an Easter Egg Hunt
hosted by the Woman’s Civic Club at Hammonton Middle School on April 8.
SUBSCRIBE TO The
HaMMONtON—the Public
Works & transportation Commit-
tee and Water & Sewer Committee
(PWtC/WSC) discussed three
drainage issues occurring through-
out town during its meeting on
april 6. among the three areas dis-
See K-9, Page 10
cussed was a parcel of land near
182 N. White Horse Pike, the for-
mer site of a local radio station,
whose parking lot contains multi-
ple potholes that collect water that
run off of the White Horse Pike,
according to Public Works Man-
ager/Business
administrator
Jerome Barberio.
Barberio said he felt that if the
Gazette • $20 FOR 52 WEEKS • CALL 609-704-1939
See PWTC, Page 3