Page 4 • Wednesday , April 12 , 2023 • The Hammonton Gazette
Chamber honoring AMI , HPD Chief Kevin Friel
CHAMBER , from Page 1 uniform ’ and he ’ ll be there all day and he ’ ll work his butt off . He ’ s out there directing traffic , moving cones , greeting people , helping people cross and he ’ s done that for 20 years . Everything that he ’ s gotten involved in , he seems to go way beyond what is the expectation of participation ,” Ott said .
Chamber Executive Director John Runfolo
SRO , from Page 1 the Early Childhood Education Center ( ECEC ). Officer Kenneth O ’ Neil serves for HHS while Officer Harry Valentin serves for HMS . Special law enforcement officers John Leahey and Joseph DeLaurentis serve as SROs for Sooy and the ECEC .
Both Leahey and DeLaurentis have retired from their careers as police officers and have come back to help out the school district and community by being at the school to provide safety and security and positive interaction with the young children , according to Hammonton Police Chief Kevin Friel . The important roles that both O ’ Neil and Valentin play for HHS and HMS , respectively , is not only providing safety and security for the complexes to create a safe learning environment but to also help build relationships with the students , as Friel describes them as children citizens for the community and police department .
“ It ’ s important at the relationship that has praised Friel for his exemplary presence and dedication to the town as well as his giving nature dating back to before he became police chief .
“ He ’ s been exemplary in his time on the force and has been a testament to his love for the town . He ’ s always there and there for you and before he was chief , he just seemed to be at every event and he really cares about the
Police make several DWI arrests
COMMITTEE , from Page 4 other and I bet that they ’ re all on the same boat as us , feeling like there ’ s not quite enough volunteers and there ’ s lots of things to do . Definitely , lots of people will be pulling for that and I think it would be a benefit and the public could come and they can see all of these different groups and think about giving service ,” Menzel said .
POLICE , from Page 4 between Eighth Street and S . Egg Harbor Road .
The vehicle was a red Ford F-150 , parked with its lights illuminated but it appeared unoccupied , Friel said .
The vehicle left the area and proceeded southbound on Weymouth Road , and while closing the gap , Reustle observed the vehicle approaching speeds of 75 miles per hour , Friel said .
Friel said the vehicle was stopped in the area of Seventh Street and Weymouth Road .
The driver , who was later identified as Randall Thies , 53 , of Conway , S . C ., was placed under arrest for operating under the influence , Friel said .
He was transported to police headquarters for processing and released as per John ’ s Law with the following motor vehicle violations : driving while under the influence ( DWI ), reckless driving , careless driving , open container of alcoholic beverage in a motor vehicle and failure to possess registration , Friel said . Thies will be appearing in Hammonton Joint Municipal Court regarding the charges , Friel said .
Friel said Reustle was the investigating and arresting officer .
• On April 4 at 7:15 p . m . at the intersection of 11th Street and Judy ’ s Court , Reustle observed a vehicle traveling westbound on N . Egg Harbor Road with the liftgate for the rear of the vehicle open , Friel said .
As the vehicle proceeded southbound on 11th Street , the vehicle reached 44 miles per hour in a 35 mph zone , Friel said .
The vehicle was subsequently stopped , and after an interview with the driver , Sheila Presti , 55 , of Hammonton , she was placed under arrest for driving while under the influence , Friel said . She was found to be in possession of 41 oxycodone pills , 14 morphine pills , a white rock-like substance believed to be crack cocaine and a straw with white powdery residue , Friel said .
She was transported to police headquarters for processing and released as per John ’ s Law pending a court appearance in Atlantic County Superior Court , with the following motor vehicle charges and criminal charges : driving while under the influence , careless driving , reckless driving , failure to exhibit documents , failure to possess insurance card , unlicensed driver , failure to possess driver ’ s license and vehicle improperly loaded and allowed to spill , possession of controlled dangerous substance and possession of drug paraphernalia .
Friel said Reustle was the investigating and arresting officer .
• On April 9 at 2:55 a . m . on the 1000 block of N . Egg Harbor Road , a vehicle crash occurred , Friel said .
“ The police department received a call about a single motor vehicle crash with a vehicle striking a utility pole ,” Friel said .
A 1999 Mitsubishi Montero was traveling westbound on Route 561 when it struck a pole , Friel said .
The driver backed up , left the scene and drove into the next town where he was stopped by the Winslow Twp . Police Department , Friel said .
The vehicle was operated by Pascual Baltazar , 20 , of Winslow Twp , Friel said , adding that he was found to be operating the vehicle under the influence of alcohol . He was placed under arrest , transported to police headquarters for processing and charged with the following : refusal to submit to breath testing , operating a motor vehicle while consuming alcohol underage , careless driving , reckless driving , open container of alcohol in a motor vehicle , failing to report an accident , leaving the scene of an accident with property damage , failure to possess the registration , failure to possess driver ’ s license , failure to possess insurance card , driving while suspended , failure to wear seatbelt , unlicensed driver and failure to maintain lane of travel , Friel said . Baltazar was also charged with criminal mischief for urinating in the processing room , Friel said .
He was released as per John ’ s Law pending a court appearance in Hammonton Joint Municipal Court , Friel said .
Friel said Officer Dalton Verderame was the investigating and arresting officer .
This report is comprised of arrests and investigations made by the men and women of local enforcement . All suspects and arrested are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law .
Green Committee news
For anyone interested in joining the Green Committee , you can reach out to Committee Chair Amy Menzel at hammontongreencommittee @ gmail . com . The committee meets on the first Monday of every month in the town hall third floor conference room at 7 p . m . The next meeting will take place on May 1 .
SROs at public schools
been fostered by the SRO and the relationships they have with the students there , they start to build a bond of trust , understanding and familiarization with the officer and the student and that extends well beyond into their adult years . We ’ ve seen that through having D . A . R . E . and L . E . A . D . officers , the children can look at that person and not just as a police officer but as an individual , a human being and that ’ s really important to help build a trust and relationship within the community ,” Friel said .
O ’ Neil has a lot of roles as an SRO at HHS , handling any issues between the students and resolving it as well as any problems or issues in the school . He ’ s in charge of the security cameras by making sure they ’ re up and running but he also stated that everyday is different in terms of what happens on school grounds .
“ I could walk into a fight when I come
See SCHOOL , Page 10
town . As chief , he ’ s just been excellent with respect to problems in the COVID-19 pandemic with reaching out to people in the town but basically , he ’ s everywhere and he ’ s always there for you and the town of Hammonton and I couldn ’ t think of a better recipient . He transcends all parts of the society in the town , he ’ s always there for everyone and I ’ ve known him for many , many years and he ’ s always been a great chief and we think a little bit outside the box once in a while and this one ’ s perfect ,” Runfolo said .
AMI AtlantiCare is the recipient of the Business of the Year award and Ott has praised them for being a great partner and being invested in the community when it comes to sponsoring events like the Red , White and Blueberry Festival and events for MainStreet and the Chamber of Commerce .
“ We ’ ve been through a lot of businesses , even a lot of businesses that aren ’ t even around today that have won Business of the Year , and AMI has always been there and a big employer in town and a big contributor to the things we ’ re doing , both in downtown and the greater Hammonton area . They ’ ve always been involved and they ’ ve never been honored ,” Ott said .
Runfolo echoed the same sentiments while also praising their reliability to provide the best medical care for residents .
“ They do a great service for our town , they support so many of the charitable amenities in town but their work as an always-available and reliable medical institution that we can depend on here in town . We don ’ t have to go 20 miles to get imaging work done and AMI AtlantiCare just does it and they ’ re always top of the line and their support for charitable amenities in town and their involvement in the community has been exemplary ,” Runfolo said .
Former MainStreet Executive Director Cassie Iacovelli will be honored for her work .
When talking about the importance of the awards , Ott said he understands the struggles of starting a business and the self-reliance it requires to run a business successfully , especially in a small community like Hammonton .
“ You ’ re on the whim of like ‘ these are the things that we have to do , these are the things to run a business in a small town .’ There ’ s never really any ‘ pat on the back ’ at the end of the situation here , it ’ s not like you ’ re sitting around going like ‘ yeah , great job .’ Most of the time , most businesses in the community are fighting to survive . Year after year , there ’ s question marks about the community , revenue , income , employment situation because that ’ s just how it works . At the end of the day , we have people that start businesses in coffee , food prep , dining , entertainment and are very successful in a microscopic community by comparison to most areas and they survive for 25 , 50 , 100 years and for no one to ever say about that and to give them a ginormous pat on the back for those companies and those families , we have to have the awards like this , there has to be recognition of people who take the risk in this community ,” Ott said .
Runfolo believes that for the recipients that have been around in the town for a long period of time , the awards is an event where it ’ s their time to shine .
“ For the businesses , they just go about their business and try to make a living . The good citizens in town serve the people with whatever service they may provide and it ’ s their time to shine . Most of the small businesses have under 10 to 20 employees , family-owned mostly , and it ’ s their time to get their 15 minutes of fame and hopefully , we can promote them and after this , people can recognize them and say ‘ I didn ’ t know we had them in town ?’ It ’ s a moment where we appreciate the investment of people for their hard work , money and time to invest in our town and we think they should be congratulated and get congratulated from afar . People may personally thank them or their families could thank them but this is coming from the outside source and it means to many of the people we honor ,” Runfolo said .
The 2023 Installation and Awards Banquet will be on May 16 at 5:30 p . m . at The Cart Barn at Pinelands Golf Club . Tickets are $ 65 and you can purchase them from the Chamber Office and online at EventBrite .