Former Mayor Charles Gazzara’s service to town remembered
Page 4 • Wednesday, August 21, 2019 • The Hammonton Gazette
GAZZARA, from Page 1
sumption Society. He
was a former member
of the Knights of
Columbus St. Vincent
Pallotti Council 3471
and St. Martin de
Porres Church Choir.
the town honored
Gazzara by hanging
the purple-and-black
colored
memorial
bunting
over
the
Charles Gazzara
doors of town hall.
Gazzara was an avid train collector and
was a member of the train Collectors as-
sociation. His greatest joy came when
spending time with his family for they
meant everything to him, his obituary said.
In lieu of flowers memorial donations
may be made to the american Heart asso-
ciation, 1 Union St., Suite 301 rob-
binsville, NJ 08691.
former Mayor Barbara Berenato com-
mented on Gazzara’s public service when
contacted by The Gazette.
“Charles Gazzara was the epitome of a
true gentleman. He cherished his family. He
Shred event
on Sept. 21
HaMMONtON—the Ham-
monton education foundation will
hold recycling Central
from 9 a.m. to noon
Sept. 21 at the
Our Lady of Mt.
Carmel grounds
at third and
french streets.
fulton Bank will
be the major sponsor of recycling
Central, which is part of Green
Weekend in Hammonton. Cooper
Levenson attorneys at Law also is
an event supporter.
“recycling Central has become
an integral part of Hammonton’s
efforts to be a strong green com-
munity,” event co-chair and foun-
dation trustee Jennifer Bill said.
“the Hammonton education
foundation has been part of Green
Weekend since its inception. We
feel helping our community live
green while supporting our
schools is a win-win for every-
one.”
a mobile shredding unit from
DocuVault Delaware Valley will
be onsite to provide safe, secure
disposal of old documents. News-
papers and magazines also will be
accepted. all shredded paper will
be recycled.
Paper clips and staples are OK,
but plastic or metal — including
three-ring binders and binder clips
— must be removed.
Local residents can shred up to
three 33-gallon bags of paper for
$20.
Businesses will be charged by
the pound on a sliding scale, rang-
ing from $50 for up to 150 pounds,
to $250 for up to 1,000 pounds.
the shredder has a 10,000-
pound capacity. Businesses that
wish to participate must reserve
their space by Sept. 13 by calling
Kevin at (609) 703-6017.
the DocuVault truck also will
be able to destroy computer hard
drives via pierce-and-tear shred-
ding and pulverization.
the cost is $10 for each hard
drive.
the hard drives must be re-
moved from the computer. No
other computer components can be
accepted. the truck includes a
camera that allows donors to
watch their hard drives being de-
stroyed.
Proceeds from the paper shred-
ding and hard drive collection will
benefit the Hammonton education
foundation, which funds innova-
tive projects that enhance the qual-
ity of education in the Hammonton
See SHRED, Page 10
loved Hammonton and serving the people
here. I am very proud to have known him,”
Berenato said.
Mayor Stephen DiDonato spoke about
Gazzara.
“My thoughts and prayers are with the
family. Mayor Gazzara was a good man.
He always served looking what was best for
Hammonton,” DiDonato said.
Councilman Joseph Giralo recalled Gaz-
zara’s service to the town when contacted
by The Gazette.
“Charlie was what every elected official
should strive to be … taking time to listen
to all sides and being fair to everyone. He
never made a decision that benefited him ...
along with that he deeply respected all of
our residents,” Giralo said.
On a more personal note, Giralo said he
also shared a lot in common with Gazzara.
“Charlie and I were friends beyond poli-
tics. We were avid model train collectors.
together we traveled many weekends to
train shows in a four-state area. Often leav-
ing early on a search for trains and parts and
often comparing notes about what we were
searching for or had found. We never got
bored talking about trains. I will miss our
talks at his kitchen table looking and dis-
cussing trains. Our car rides to train shows
always included breakfast and lunch ... with
discussions of the deals we missed and
what we should have bought,” Giralo said.
Giralo said the community would feel the
loss of Gazzara’s presence deeply.
“Our town has lost a true gentle giant,
who knew how to get things done with a
look rather than an argument. He was a
great mentor,” Giralo said.
a Mass of Christian Burial was held at
St. anthony Church of St. Mary of Mt.
Carmel Parish on august 19. arrangements
were by the Carnesale funeral Home.
Man charged with DWI, other offenses
POLICE, from Page 1
egg Harbor road and Harbor-
wood Drive, friel said.
Officer Kyle ambrozaitis was
on patrol in the area of 12th and
front Streets and observed a sil-
ver Jeep Liberty with tennessee
plates going the wrong way on
railroad avenue. ambrozaitis
then observed the Jeep cross
over 12th Street from railroad
avenue onto front Street, friel
said.
ambrozaitis closed the gap on
the Jeep, and began to initiate a
motor vehicle stop, friel said.
the vehicle had stopped at S.
egg Harbor road and Cherry
Street, friel said.
as ambrozaitis began to exit
his vehicle, the Jeep drove away
at a high rate of speed, friel
said.
“the vehicle again came to a
stop on Harbor Drive as it pulled
into a driveway,” friel said.
the driver exited the vehicle
and attempted walking away,
and the driver was given com-
mands to stay with the vehicle,
Gina Rullo contributed to this report.
friel said. ambrozaitis awaited
backup, friel said.
Police identified the driver as
Crecco, who was found to have
been operating the vehicle under
the influence of alcohol, with
open containers in the vehicle,
friel said.
Crecco was placed under ar-
rest, processed and charged with
driving while under the influ-
ence, refusal to submit to breath
testing, eluding a police officer
and disorderly conduct as well
as open alcoholic beverage in a
vehicle, driving the wrong way
on a one-way street, improper
driving on the sidewalk, unreg-
istered vehicle, failure to pos-
sess his driver’s license,
uninsured vehicle, unregistered
vehicle, failure to posess his in-
surance card, reckless driving
and careless driving, friel said.
He was released under John’s
Law pending a court appearance
in Hammonton Joint Municipal
Court, friel said.
Officer Kyle ambrozaitis was
the arresting officer, friel said.