The Hammonton Gazette 08/19/15 Edition | Page 6

Page 6 • Wednesday, August 19, 2015 • 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, Brittany Mauro,
Michael Hozik, Donna Brown, Joseph Bruno,
Kevin troilo, tania rivera,
lauren crescenzo, 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 © 2015. All
rights reserved. ISSN 1093-6181

Unforgettable

“Unforgettable/That’s what you are ...”
— Nat King Cole, “Unforgettable”
“Unforgettable” used to be the word associated with commercials for
FM 101.5 WRDR, the radio station once owned by James N. Rodio,
known to many as “JR.” Now, thanks to the Knights of Columbus Pallotti
Council 3471, Rodio’s name will be unforgettable for another reason. On
the evening of August 11, the Knights of Columbus Hall on Pratt Street in
the Little Italy section of Hammonton was named “James N. Rodio Hall”
in his honor.
Steve Cappuccio, Grand Knight of the Knights of Columbus Palotti
Council remarked about how much assistance the club had received from
Rodio across his many years as a member during the presentation in front
of a hall packed with about 150 of Rodio’s family, friends, Mayor Stephen
DiDonato and his wife Debbie, members of the clergy of St. Mary of Mt.
Carmel Parish, members of the Knights of Columbus Pallotti Council,
Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Society, St. John Society and other distinguished
guests.
James N. Rodio Hall will serve the Knights of Columbus well, and
joins other landmarks that give Hammonton’s Little Italy its character,
including: St. Joseph Church and School, the Mt. Carmel Society Hall,
the Sons of Italy Lodge, the Italian Sons and Daughters Lodge, as well as
long-standing businesses like Inferrera’s Market and Ricca Bros. Brick
Oven Bread Factory and Pizza.
Rodio was given a plaque by the members for his own home, and
another will be placed inside the hall. Then, the entire crowd went outside on a picture-perfect summer evening and watched as the sign for the
hall, placed prominently on the front of the building, was unveiled. Since
it wouldn’t be a true summer event in Little Italy without some fireworks
(Mt. Carmel Society President Lou Pantalone noted during his remarks
that Rodio pushed the society to bring the fireworks back on the Feast
Day of July 16), a bomb was set off in the air to mark the moment the sign
was revealed.
As generations of his family applauded along with the rest of the
crowd, Rodio thanked the Knights of Columbus, humbly accepting an
honor everyone knew was well-deserved. Congratulations to Rodio and
his family — they are an “unforgettable” part of Hammonton and
Hammonton’s Little Italy.

Where are we?

“Where are we?” That is a question many visitors to our community —
and even many local residents — are asking because of the lack of street
signs throughout town. It’s a problem that can be solved economically,
quickly and without a lot of work by our local public works/highway
department.
For several years, The Gazette’s “Honey-Do List” has noted that street
signs are missing throughout town, sometimes in prominent locations,
like the corner of Grape Street and S. Egg Harbor Road, right down the
street from the highway department.
Beginning this week, a town-wide inventory of street signs that need
replacing must be made, and all signs that are missing, illegible or damaged must be replaced. It’s not just a matter of aesthetics or convenience.
Ambulances and private citizens use these signs to find locations in an
emergency situation — such as the recent June 23 storm. GPS doesn’t
always work, and isn’t always accurate. Sometimes the easiest solutions
work best — like street signs on poles at the intersection of as many local
streets as possible.
At this time we are asking mayor and council, the public works manager/business administrator and the highway d W'F