DiMeglio Septic , Inc .
After tragedy , residents seek mailboxes ’ relocation
SACCO , from Page 1 of Hammonton ’ s mailboxes moved to the side of the street closest to the home it belongs to so a similar tragedy does happen to anyone again , especially to those who have shown so much support for Sacco and his family during the past few weeks .
“ My main concern also is to make sure everyone that he has touched is OK because everyone lost something here ; everyone did
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… whether it be a grandson , a nephew , a friend ,” Sacco ’ s mother , MaryAnne Morrison Sacco said .
The outpouring of support shown for Sacco and his family has included a petition to move all mailboxes to the side of the street closest to their corresponding homes in the form of a municipal ordinance called “ Chris ’ Law .”
The petition was created by resident Simei Yu , who said she lives
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a few houses down from where the accident occurred . This petition can be found at www . causes . com / posts / 1902875 . As of May 10 , the petition has received 594 signatures , many of which belong to residents who have contacted Yu and said the mailbox configuration on their streets is also of concern .
“ It ’ s crazy because it ’ s not just Moss Mill Road ... I ’ m sure there were other places in Hammonton I don ’ t know about , but when I started this petition , people started telling me that they see people crossing the White Horse Pike getting their mail ,” Yu said .
Resident Ricky Mauriello said he lives on a “ pretty busy road ” and also has to cross the street to get his mail . Prior to Sacco ’ s death , Mauriello said he and his neighbors had often discussed the issue of mailbox placement . Now that the worst-case scenario has occurred due to mailboxes being placed across the street from homes , Mauriello said he is now supporting the initiative to move the mailboxes more than ever .
“ I hate for something like this to happen in order to do it , but hopefully , with the town support , we can eventually get it done . I think it would be great ... It ’ d be nice to have our mailboxes on one side so we can try to prevent something else from happening ,” Mauriello said .
Wednesday , May 16 , 2018 • The Hammonton Gazette • Page 3
Hammonton Mayor Stephen DiDonato said the matter is ultimately the responsibility of the United States Postal Service ( USPS ) — an independent agency of the federal government — but said he will support any action that can be taken to improve the safety of the town ’ s streets and prevent future accidents from occurring .
“ My heart is broken for this family , for this young man who had his life ahead of him at nine years-old . I just don ’ t know what to say other than our thoughts and prayers are with the family … Council will support that initiative , absolutely . Our youth are our future , and to lose a young man with his whole life ahead of him — there ’ s no reason for that . As a society , we have to come up with a solution and a fix so that doesn ’ t happen again ,” DiDonato said .
Morrison Sacco said she will attend the town council meeting on May 21 to formally ask for council to send a letter to the USPS ’ Southern New Jersey District Office in Bellmawr to inquire about the required steps for moving the town ’ s mailboxes to the side of the road closest to their respective homes .
Yu said that both she and Morrison Sacco have attempted to contact James McFadden , the postmaster of the Hammonton Post Office , to voice their concerns but were told that his supervisors had required residents to express their support for moving the mailboxes in the form of letters , which will be forwarded to the district office .
“ He basically made it sound like you have to go through the chain of command since it ’ s a federal office . He said everyone in town has to write a letter to the postmaster and the postmaster was instructed by his superiors to forward all the letters that he gets from everybody to Bellmawr ,” Yu said .
Yu said the letters need to be sent to 114 S . Third St . Hammonton , NJ 08037 with “ Attn Postmaster James McFadden ” on the recipient line of the enclosing envelope , and urged for as many people as possible to write a letter to support the relocation of the town ’ s mailboxes .
According to USPS Southern New Jersey Corporate Communications Officer Raymond Daiutolo , McFadden will eventually “ conduct an analysis of the situation ” with the support of the USPS Southern New Jersey District ’ s Delivery Operations Unit .
Daiutolo expressed condolences for Sacco and his family on behalf of the USPS Southern New Jersey District , and said the district has begun receiving the residents ’ pleas for change .
“ We were extremely sorry to hear about this incident . We have
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