Special Distracted
Driving Section
p. 23-26 & 34-38
Maps of Hammonton
landmarks: BUSINESS PARK
p. 17
Local businesses
salute Giannini
p. 23-37
FOREST ACCESS DEBATED
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
Volume 19 • Issue 34
by Brittany Mauro
GAZETTE STAFF WRITER
HAMMONTON—At the regular monthly town council meeting
on August 24, residents debated the
forthcoming plans for Wharton
State Forest’s recreational use and
its preservation.
Chris Jage from New Jersey
Conservation Foundation and a
www.hammontongazette.com
Recreation, conservation advocates speak at council mtg.
member of the Hammonton Environmental Commission gave a
presentation on the motorized
maintenance plan for Wharton
State Forest.
“What has been proposed and
being rolled with the Wharton map
or the motorized maintenance plan
is essentially an attempt to manage
a public activity, which is traveling
the sandy roads of Wharton State
Forest. In the way they manage
camping, the way they manage
horse-back hiding, mountain-biking, other activities that have areas
where they should occur and where
they shouldn’t occur … and its
only been the case that if you have
a vehicle that was licensed and registered, you can stay on the approved roads of the forest.
Unfortunately what has happened
over the years with the motorized
use of that forest is that the roads
have sort of proliferated. In part
that is because of vehicles traveling
down pathways that were not in-
tended for motorized vehicles, vehicles using fire lanes and fire-cuts
that were established during forest
fires and that have remained open
through continued use,” Jage said.
Wharton State Forest Superintendent Rob Auermuller also addressed council on the issue and
Sam Curcio Sr. dies; Third Thursday was ‘hot, hot, hot’
was assemblyman
by Gabe Donio
GAZETTE STAFF WRITER
HAMMONTON—Samuel A.
Curcio Sr., a devoted family man,
attorney, civic leader, coach and
former New Jersey state assemblyman, passed away on August
See COUNCIL, Page 10
17 at the New Jersey Veterans
Memorial Home in Vineland.
Curcio was 95. Family and
friends attended his viewing and
funeral on August 23 and 24.
Born and raised on a peach
farm in Hammonton, Curcio graduated from Hammonton High
Sun Bank will be
Cape Bank Aug. 31
by Kevin Troilo
GAZETTE STAFF WRITER
HAMMONTON—Sun
National Bank will officially close its
doors on August 28 in Hammonton and re-open August 31 as
Cape Bank, according to bank officials. The purchase announcement of the 12th Street branch
occurred in late March but no
See CURCIO, Page 3
changes have been made by its
leaders until now. The branch will
be closed during the weekend for
a brief transition period. Cape
Bank has not announced plans to
acquire any other branches of Sun
Bank.
“All of our customers have been
notified of the changes. In fact,
they’re anxious. They’ve been
THG/Brittany Mauro. To purchase photos in The Gazette, call (609) 704-1940.
Bench dedicated in memory of Silipino and Grasso
See BANK Page 12
Ana Laura Hernandez Vazquez displayed her Day of the Dead figurines that represent Mexican tradition inside Casciano
Coffee Bar & Sweetery during August 20’s Third Thursday event downtown. For more pictures, see Page 21.
by Kevin Troilo
GAZETTE STAFF WRITER
HAMMONTON—Hammontonians and postal employees gathered at the post office Sunday
morning for a memorial ceremony
honoring the late Kenny Grasso
and the late Frank “Sonny”
Silipino. Both Grasso and Silipino
were longtime mail carriers for the
Hammonton Post Office and
beloved members of the Hammonton community. The ceremony included the unveiling of an
engraved bench in their memory
that sits directly in front of the post
office. Officer in Charge Dwayne
Holmes addressed the crowd before passing off the microphone to
family, friends and co-workers of
the two men.
Grasso’s brother Joe and his
Commission hears
about storm cleanup
by Kevin Troilo
GAZETTE STAFF WRITER
THG/Kevin Troilo. To purchase photos in The Gazette, call (609) 704-1940.
Members of the Grasso family sit on the bench dedicated to Kenny Grasso and Sonny Silipino. The bench sits on the
front lawn of the Hammonton Post Office where the two men worked for many years.
SUBSCRIBE TO The
HAMMONTON—The Hammonton Parks and Recreation
Commission met on August 18 to
discuss both new and ongoing
business. Representatives from
Stockton University proposed a
new “Get Fit” Initiative program
that will include a one-mile blue-
See BENCH, Page 14
berry-theme walking trail throughout downtown Hammonton. There
was not a quorum.
Stockton University’s Kramer
Hall Director Eileen Conran-Folks
and Stockton University’s Professional Services Specialist Ginna
Petrillo introduced the plan to the
commission with the idea of creating a “college town feel” in Ham-
Gazette • $20 FOR 52 WEEKS • CALL 609-704-1939
See COMMISSION, Page 4