The Hammonton Gazette 08/14/24 Edition

Hot Shots Top Margate to Win League Championship

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National Night Out August 16 Fireworks set for 9 p . m .

BY KRISTIN GUGLIETTI GAZETTE STAFF WRITER

HAMMONTON — The 11th annual National Night Out will be on August 16 from 6 p . m . to 9 p . m . at Hammonton High School located at 566 Old Forks Rd .

The event will start with a 5K run at 6 p . m . ( race day registration and packet pickup starts at 5 p . m .). There is a $ 25 registration fee with special pricing for law enforcement , military , first responders , school staff and students .

Race T-shirts will be available for purchase at the event while supplies last .

There will be awards to overall winners , top law enforcement finisher and top three finishers in 10 year age categories .

$ 1 00

Volume 28 • Issue 33

Schools ready for new year

Ribbon cutting for ECEC addition set for Aug . 28

BY KRISTIN GUGLIETTI GAZETTE STAFF WRITER

HAMMONTON — The Early Childhood Education Center ( ECEC ) addition is ready for the new school year .

Hammonton School Board President John Lyons called the August 8 board of education meeting to order and all board members were present at the Samuel A . Donio Memorial Library except for Folsom Representative John Thomas .

During the committee reports , board member Raymond Scipione said the ECEC renovation and addition is ready for the opening of school .

“ It was on time and on budget . We will have a ribbon cutting , which will be held on August 28 at 2:30 p . m .,” Scipione said .

During Scipione ’ s report , he said the Hammonton High School track and tennis courts were resurfaced .

When Board Vice President Luke Coia gave his committee report , he discussed various projects including the ECEC addition ..

“ The ECEC expansion , the new wing , is ahead of schedule . It ’ s under budget . We currently have our staff members in the wing right now . They ’ re finally cleaning . They ’ re waxing the floors . They ’ re installing our projectors , the blinds on the windows and the doors and the furniture . We have teachers coming in to prepare their rooms ,” Coia said .

According to Coia , the renovations to the main office are underway and will be ready ahead of schedule .

For the middle school fire alarm project , it is ahead of schedule and will be complete soon .

“ There ’ s some 390 devices I believe throughout the whole building plus electric panels located in different areas . Every single device has been replaced within the last two weeks . It ’ s incredible how fast they did this , so they ’ re all in

place and every single device is being tested and programmed as we speak ,” Coia said .

At the Warren E . Sooy Jr . Elementary School , the old wood timber guard rail is being removed and some areas will be replaced with bollards .

During Coia ’ s report , he said the ECEC traffic pattern is being rearranged by adding five drop-offs . Coia also thanked Robert Capoferri for paving at no cost to the district .

Earlier in the meeting , Assistant Superintendent Tammy Leonard gave a presentation on the Student Safety Data System Report Period 2 January 2 to June 30 , 2024 , Spring 2024 NJGPA ( Graduation Proficiency Assessment ) Results and Spring 2024 ACCESS for ELLs Results .

For the NJGPA English Language Arts ( ELA ) average score , Hammonton ’ s average score was 782 while the state average was 767 .

The minimum passing score is 725 for ELA and math .

The percent of students scoring NJGPA ELA “ Graduation Ready ” was 89.8 percent for Hammonton and 81.6 percent for the state .

In 2023 , Hammonton had a 79.8 percent of students who were NJGPA ELA “ Graduation Ready ,” so there was a 10 percent increase this year of students who were “ Graduation Ready .”

For the NJGPA math average score , Hammonton ’ s average score was 736 while the state average was 735 .

The percent of students scoring NJGPA math “ Graduation Ready ” was 54.4 percent for Hammonton and 54.7 percent for the state .

For the Student Safety Data System Report Period 2 January 2 to June 30 , 2024 , the ECEC had one incident of violence and one Harassment , Intimidation and Bullying ( HIB ) alleged incident . The Warren E . Sooy Jr . Elementary School had two incidents of violence , 10 HIB

See SCHOOL , Page 3

Timing and event management provided by TNT Event Management .

Event organizer Tricia Donio said people can expect a couple new food vendors and entertainment this year .

For food , there will be plenty of options from Tacos Al Carbon , Mister Softee , House of Cupcakes , Louies French Fries ,

See NNO , Page 2

hammontongazette . com Wednesday , August 14 , 2024

Local Eagle Scout receives National Order of the Arrow Distinguished Service Award

Courtesy Photo

Carson Lee ( right ) being presented his Distinguished Service Award by his close Scouting mentor , Samuel J . Aronson .

BY KRISTIN GUGLIETTI GAZETTE STAFF WRITER

BOULDER , Colo .— Carson Lee , 22 , a lifelong resident of Hammonton and an alumnus of Hammonton High School , was honored as a 2024 recipient of the National Order of the Arrow Distinguished Service Award during the National Order of the Arrow Conference ( NOAC ) in Boulder , Colorado on July 30 .

This prestigious award , presented to less than 1,200 individuals since its inception in 1940 , recognizes exceptional service beyond

See LEE , Page 9

Police make warrant arrest , advise to keep cars locked

STAFF REPORT THE HAMMONTON GAZETTE

HAMMONTON — A check wellbeing call resulted in a warrant arrest on August 5 at 1:15 p . m . on Valley Avenue and Peach Street .

Officer Leslie Sabatini responded to the intersection of Valley Avenue and Peach Street for a suspicious person with no shirt on and vomiting in the street , Police Chief Kevin Friel said .

Patrol arrived upon scene and identified the subject as Elio Battisti , 38 , of Hammonton .

Battisti stated he was under the influence of marijuana , and it was found that he had multiple warrants out of Atlantic City , Friel said . Battisti was placed under arrest , transported to police headquarters for processing and was found to have two active warrants out of Atlantic City each in the amount of $ 1,500 .

He was transported to Atlantic County Justice Facility on the warrants after medical clearance .

Sabatini was the investigating and arresting officer .

According to Friel , there hasn ’ t been any more recent vehicle break-in attempts last week in the Hammonton Police Department ’ s jurisdiction , however , other areas in Atlantic County are having incidents .

Friel wants to remind residents to please ensure vehicles and ancillary buildings are locked during the evening hours and if someone observes anything out of the order please contact the Hammonton Police Department at ( 609 ) 561-4000 .

The Police Department will be

See HPD , Page 8

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