Gazette Deputy Journalists
take over Our Town
p. 19
Let local real estate
professionals guide you
p. 27-34
Estate treasurers at
Blooomfield auction
p. 45
Wednesday, May 30, 2018
TOWN TAX INCREASE: 1.99¢
Volume 22 • Issue 22
by Stephen Pistone
G AZETTE S TAFF W RITER
HAMMONTON—Town coun-
cil introduced a budget for the
2018-2019 fiscal year during its
meeting on May 21. The budget is
www.hammontongazette.com
Council also approves Orchard Street food truck
anticipated to include a 1.99-cent
(2.95 percent) tax rate increase
from last year’s rate of 67.79 per-
cent, which will be equivalent to
approximately $30 more in prop-
erty taxes for an average home-
owner whose home is appraised at
$150,000, according to Town Clerk
Frank Zuber.
According to Town Auditor Leon
Costello, who gave a presentation
about the budget during the meet-
ing, the 2018 local tax rate of 69.78
percent is primarily the result of an
increase in debt service (approxi-
mately $342,000 more in 2018)
stemming from the town’s LED
streetlight replacement project,
which the town appropriated
$1,600,000 to finance by introduc-
Dems, Reps each Memorial Day Parade, Ceremony
in primary battle
See COUNCIL, Page 10
by Stephen Pistone and Gabe Donio
G AZETTE S TAFF W RITER
HAMMONTON—New Jersey’s Second Congressional District (NJ-
2) comprises most of southern New Jersey, and is home to more than
700,000 residents from 92 municipalities in Salem, Cumberland, Cape
May, Atlantic, Gloucester, Camden, Burlington and Ocean Counties.
Since January 1995, the people of this vast constituency have been rep-
resented in the U.S. Congress by Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-2nd), of
HPD: Truck stolen
on Pine Road
See PRIMARY, Page 4
by Gabe Donio
G AZETTE S TAFF W RITER
HAMMONTON—Police are
investigating the alleged theft of a
red 1999 GMC pickup truck that
occurred at 1:56 p.m. on May 21
on the 300 block of Pine Road,
Hammonton Police Lt. Kevin
Friel said.
“The complainant stated they
had recently purchased the vehicle
from a friend of the family and
had not received title on it yet. The
keys were with the vehicle,” Friel
said.
Friel said the vehicle was al-
legedly stolen on May 19.
Family trees at Historical Society
See POLICE, Page 2
Memorial Day
honors the fallen
THG/Stephen Pistone. To purchase photos in The Gazette, call (609) 704-1940.
The annual Memorial Day Parade, organized by the Tri-Vets of Hammonton, marched down Bellevue Avenue to Vet-
erans Park. A large crowd gathered for a ceremony in the park for the 150th Anniversary of Memorial Day on May 28.
For more pictures. see Page 18.
by Lauren Bucci
G AZETTE S TAFF W RITER
HAMMONTON—The Tri-Vets
of Hammonton commemorated the
150th Anniversary of Memorial
Day with its annual Memorial Day
Parade and Ceremony on Monday,
May 28.
The parade, which traveled
down Bellevue Avenue and culmi-
nated with a ceremony in Veterans
Memorial Park, featured veterans,
local Boy Scout troops, elected of-
ficials, military vehicles, classic
cars, members of Victory Bible
Church, the Hammonton High
School band and more.
Historical Society
holds open house
by Stephen Pistone
G AZETTE S TAFF W RITER
THG/Stephen Pistone. To purchase photos in The Gazette, call (609) 704-1940.
Hammonton Middle School (HMS) eighth grade student Marissa DeCicco (left) holds a family tree project she com-
pleted and submitted to the Historical Society of Hammonton (HSH). The 26 projects were submitted by students from
HMS and St. Joseph Regional Elementary School and displayed during the HSH’s open house on May 20. DeCicco is
pictured with her friend Gianna Girimonte.
SUBSCRIBE TO The
HAMMONTON—The Histor-
ical Society of Hammonton (HSH)
opened the doors of its museum,
located in the center of Veterans
Memorial Park, on May 20 for its
biennial open house, which served
See MEMORIAL, Page 3
as the debut of a new exhibit
honoring the police officers,
firefighters and other first
responders
who
shaped
Hammonton’s history.
The
local
nonprofit
organization’s museum—a small,
one-story frame building built in
1887 that is the former town hall
Gazette • $20 FOR 52 WEEKS • CALL 609-704-1939
See HSH, Page 8