hammontongazette . com Wednesday , May 15 , 2024
Cruisin ’ MainStreet scheduled for May 17
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Volume 28 • Issue 20
hammontongazette . com Wednesday , May 15 , 2024
Police Unity Tour rides through town
Craig Richards / THG
The Police Unity Tour made its way through town on
May 9 . Bikers traveled down Tilton Street , en route to Washington , DC . See story , Page 9 .
Primary ballots to change format
PRESS RELEASE FOR THE GAZETTE
HAMMONTON — Atlantic County Clerk Joseph Giralo wants voters to be aware of a new format on their ballots for the upcoming June 4 primary election .
The change resulted from a recent decision in a federal lawsuit that required a redesign of Democratic ballots to eliminate the Democratic organizational line in the first column . Candidates will now be listed in an office-block format based on the order their names are drawn .
The new primary ballot design was completed as of May 1 , according to Giralo . Atlantic County ballots will use the new format for both the Democratic and Republican candidates .
As per state law , costs for the primary election are divided among the county ’ s municipalities . Atlantic County has hundreds of candidates and approximately 60 different ballots , including some in Spanish .
“ We reviewed the costs and evaluated the logistics of having a different ballot format for Democrats and Republicans , but doing so would result in tens of thousands of dollars in printing , programming and postage costs that would have had to be passed onto each of Atlantic County ’ s 23 communities ,” Giralo said .
“ I won ’ t increase costs for county residents because of politics ,” he said . “ While the ballots will have a new look , they will be uniform for both Democrats and Republicans .”
Voters will also notice the addition of a clarifying statement on the June primary ballots that reads as follows :
“ Due to a federal court order , the Democratic Party organization line has been prohibited from use for the June 4th Primary . As ordered by the court , the Democratic election ballot must be in an office-block ballot layout . In order to keep costs down , the Republican election ballot has also been revised to match the Democratic style .”
Giralo added that he and his staff will continue to educate voters on how to safely and securely exercise their right to vote in Atlantic County .
“ Since I took office in January 2022 , the Atlantic County Clerk ’ s Office has undergone an unprecedented community outreach effort to help increase voter registration and voter participation .”
For more information , residents may contact the Clerk ’ s Office in person , on social media or by calling ( 609 ) 625-4011 . For more information , visit www . atlanticcountyclerk . org .
Teen art on display downtown
Kristin Guglietti / THG
Teens throughout Atlantic County visited downtown Hammonton on May 8 during the Atlantic County Teen
Arts Festival . Artwork from students was displayed and many attended hands-on workshops . For more photos , see Page 13 .
VFW , Scouts honor veterans
Courtesy Photo
On May 11 , members of VFW Post 1026 and Boy Scout Troop 58 placed
more than 2,500 flags at veteran ’ s graves in Hammonton cemeteries . Pictured ( l-r ): Ricky DeMarco , Jr . Raso , Sam Angelo , John DeLucca , Declan Wagner , Keith Wagner , Teri Skorch and Sam Pino . Not pictured : Wesley Hunter , Mark Hunter , David Hunter and Margie Hunter .
HEC reviews council draft
BY DONALD YAMASAKI FOR THE GAZETTE
HAMMONTON — The Hammonton Environmental Commission ( HEC ) is working on a recommendation for updates to the tree protection ordinance for Hammonton .
The tree protection ordinance recommendation discussion took up the majority of the time at the May meeting . Commission Chair Dan Bachalis started the conversation discussing the draft that he had sent previously to all commission members .
The commission also had to discuss a draft that they received from the town solicitor Michael Malinsky of the updated ordinances that the town council drafted . The entire Environmental Commission that was in attendance for the May meeting was worried about some details of the draft they received from the town solicitor .
The main problem indicated by the commission is that the proposal that the town council sent took much of the jurisdiction of tree protection away from the Environmental Commission .
Commission member Chris Bethmann stated that taking away this authority from the Environmental Commission would be a disservice to the town of Hammonton . The rest of the commission concurred with the statement made by Bethmann .
Other issues the commission had with the town council ’ s draft was that only a small number of tree species were
See HEC , Page 3
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