The Hammonton Gazette 06/25/14 Edition | Page 6
Page 6 • Wednesday, June 25, 2014 • The Hammonton Gazette
The Hammonton Gazette
“The Paper of Record”
Gabriel J. Donio, Publisher
Gina rullo, Editor-in-Chief
Dan russoman, Sports Editor
Benny Mendez, Staff Artist
Marysusan Hoffman, Paul J. Macrie iv,
Michael Hozik, Donna Brown, Joseph Bruno,
lauren Bucci, lauren crescenzo,
Zack Brown, Staff
The Hammonton Gazette is located at 233 Bellevue ave. to reach a staff
member, call 704-1940 or fax at 704-1938. the mailing address is P.o. Box
1228, Hammonton, nJ 08037.
eDitorials
The Hammonton Gazette is published Wednesdays, by The Hammonton Gazette, Inc. Copyright © 2014. All
rights reserved. ISSN 1093-6181
congrats, grads
Two key events in a June packed full of celebrations, festivals and commemorations were held in the last two weeks: the graduation ceremonies at
Hammonton High School and St. Joseph High School.
High School graduation remains, throughout the nation, one of the true
benchmarks in a person’s life. In Hammonton, graduation ceremonies are
presented with a strong sense of tradition, and are packed with attendees looking to savor one of the last communal moments in the waning childhood of
their daughter or son.
It is a proud moment, a moment of achievement and celebration. There are
all the attendant emotions that come with transitioning from one era to the
next: excitement and joy, sadness and reflection.
Both high schools enjoyed fine weather for their graduations this year, and
the ceremonies went well: speeches were given, diplomas were handed out
and at the end, caps were thrown aloft by graduates, boys in blue gowns, girls
in white gowns at Hammonton, boys in red gowns, girls in white gowns at St.
Joe.
All are to be congratulated for achieving the distinction of being a high
school graduate.
Special congratulations are due to the Hammonton High School
Valedictorian Madalyn DiBona, who will be attending Rowan University and
Salutatorian Emily Mahler, who will be attending The Richard Stockton
College of New Jersey; and St. Joseph High School Valedictorian Samantha
Wetzel, who will be attending Haverford College and Salutatorian Anthony
Breitzman, who will be attending the University of Maryland.
Achieving the status of being the top two students in each class has always
been a high honor, one born out of hard work and dedication. Such a distinction brings honor on the student, their family, their class and the community.
The Gazette recognizes these top graduates as the “Top of the Class” in 2014.
With graduation behind them, all of the members of Class of 2014 at the two
local high schools will move forward in life.
They will always carry a piece of Hammonton with them, wherever they
go.
Be prepared
This newspaper is being published on June 25, four days prior to June 29.
Subscribers will receive the paper on June 26, three days prior to June 29.
We have two words regarding June 29 in Hammonton: Be prepared.
On June 29, the Red, White and Blueberry Festival will draw 8,000 to
10,000 tourists to Hammonton.
On June 29, the blueberry harvest will be operating in full swing, with tractor-trailers and workers who do not know the area navigating the streets.
On June 29, the Challenge AC Triathlon will bring at least 1,200 cyclists to
the streets of our town. This is a timed, competitive race, not a bike-a-thon.
On June 29, the streets of our town will be turned into the race course,
necessitating the closure of major thoroughfares to traffic from 7 a.m. to 3
p.m.
On June 29, the closed streets will include, but are not limited to: Route 54
(Bellevue Avenue/12th Street), Second Road, Weymouth Road, Pleasant Mills
Road, Columbia Road, Route 206, a portion of the White Horse Pike (Route
30) and one lane of the Atlantic City Expressway. [For a complete list of road
closures, please see page 53.]
Residents and businesses need to be prepared for traffic and delays
throughout the town. Tourists need to be prepared for traffic and delays getting into Hammonton.
Hammonton will become a shore town for a day on June 29. Most people
have been in a shore town at least once in their lives. Take the same time and
precautions you would take to navigate a shore town in the summer. Consider
the delays for the bike race as if they are going to be like shore traffic.
The best advice we can give everyone coming into the Red, White and
Blueberry Festival on the grounds of Hammonton High School on Old Forks
Road: come into Hammonton from the west and you will not be impacted by
the bike race at all. Use the Black Horse Pike (Route 322), White Horse Pike
(Route 30), Route 73, and Route 561 to reach the festival, even if you have to
take the long way around Hammonton, and you will encounter far less traffic.
Be prepared, everyone – and June 29 will become a great day.
PersPective/Millennials
Throughout the 20th century, the automobile was
an American icon, a symbol of freedom and mobility. It gave people choices they never had before —
new places to travel, new people to visit, and the like.
The digital age has only expanded the number of
choices Americans have. No generation has
embraced the freedom to choose more than the “millennials” — those born between the early 1980s and
the late 1990s.
Millennials aren’t just insisting on the right to
choose where to go — but how to get there, too.
They’re opting for the mode of transport that allows
them to accomplish what they want along the way —
whether it’s socializing with friends, being environmentally responsible, or having the freedom to work
or play en route.
We should welcome this trend. It improves the
environment, saves money, and enhances commuters’ quality of life. Communities will have to
accommodate this demand for choice — or risk losing millennials to places that do.
Americans have been driving less. The average
American logged 7.6 percent fewer miles behind the
wheel in 2012 than in 2004, when per-capita driving
reached an all-time high.
Meanwhile, millennials are increasingly deciding
that they can do without a car. In 2000, about one of
every five people between the ages of 14 and 34 went
without a dr iver’s license. Ten years later, more than
one in four in the same age group did not have a
license.
Three-quarters of American 17-year-olds were
licensed to drive in 1978. By 2008, it was just 49 percent.
Today, some 70 percent of millennials report regularly utilizing multiple alternatives to the car, including public transportation.
What explains this shift? It starts with millennials’
worldview. More than other generations, they
“appear to be more interested in living lives defined
by meaning,” according to Stanford Professor
Jennifer Aaker and Emily Esfahani Smith of the
Hoover Institution.
Millennials act on that desire for meaning — to
“make a difference” — even when deciding how to
get from place to place. To explain their preference
for a multi-modal lifestyle undergirded by public
transportation, they specifically cite ease of use,
lower environmental impact, and the sense of community it fosters.
Indeed, a recent University of Minnesota study
found that living closer to light rail lines is associated with a higher degree of life satisfaction.
The same impulse compels millennials to make
cities their homes. Only 14 percent live in rural areas,
compared with 36 percent of their grandparents at a
similar age. One-third of millennials reside in central
city areas, where public transit options tend to be
robust.
Cities that embrace this trend and develop the
infrastructure to support it will flourish.
In 2013, Americans took some 10.7 billion trips on
public transportation — the highest figure in 57
years.
This growth has been aided by technology. For
tech-savvy millennials, smartphones are essential
transportation tools. One-quarter cite transportation
apps as a reason they’re less dependent on cars —
whether they use Uber or Lyft to schedule a ride or
monitor the bus or train they’re looking to take via
GPS in order to minimize the time they spend waiting.
The benefits of smartphones continue throughout
the journey. Forty percent of millennials point to the
ability to multitask on the bus or subway — sending
email, playing games, or surfing the web — as a reason they favor public transit. It’s easier to be social —
online or offline — while riding a bus or walking
than in a car.
Millennials also find public transit’s environmental
benefits attractive. Shifting the daily commute from
the car to a bus or train can reduce a household’s carbon emissions by 10 percent.
Finally, in times of economic uncertainty, public
transportation can save people money. American
households spend about 16 percent of their income
on transportation, the vast majority of which goes
toward buying and maintaining cars. Frequent public
transit users, on the other hand, save in excess of
$9,000 a year.
Millennials have been strapped with student loan
debt and a poor economy. Affordable transportation
options may matter to them more than their elders.
Every generation sets a new trend, and millennials
are no exception. They’ve embraced multiple ways
of getting around, including public transit, far more
than previous generations. Indeed, 45 percent of millennials say they’ve consciously tried to replace driving with transportation alternatives — compared to
32 percent of older folks.
The question is whether the next generation of
leaders will stand pat — or roll out truly multi-modal
transportation options. Millennials have already
articulated their preference for the latter. It’s up to
elected officials to meet their expectations — by
investing more in public transit.
Peter varga
Grand rapids, Mich.
Peter Varga is Chief Executive Officer of The Rapid
in Grand Rapids, Mich., and chair of the American
Public Transportation Association.
The Hammonton Gazette welcomes letters to the editor that are no more than 800 words long. All letters must include the name of the author and
an address and telephone number for verification. Letters should be mailed to The Hammonton Gazette, Editorial Page, P.O. Box 1228, Hammonton,
NJ 08037. Letters also will be accepted via fax. The fax number is 704-1938. Or by email to [email protected]. Deadline for all submissions is 2 p.m. Monday. The Hammonton Gazette reserves the right to edit any submissions. The opinions expressed in letters, perspectives or in
guest columns do not necessarily reflect those of The Hammonton Gazette. The Gazette is not responsible for factual errors in letters, perspectives
or in guest columns. The Gazette retains the right to refuse any submission or advertisement.