The Hammonton Gazette 09/03/14 Edition | Page 6

Page 6 • Wednesday, September 3, 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 Why we love cruisin’ Cruisin’ MainStreet returns to town, the beloved event that brings classic cars and crowds of friends and family – along with welcome visitors – to the streets and sidewalks of the downtown area. During its two decades of existence, the event has grown from a way to bring people to a downtown that once badly needed revitalizing into one of the key reasons that revitalization became a success story. Why do we love it? It’s simple, easy fun: a good excuse to get together with each other after everyone returns to town for the school year following their summer vacations. Cruisin’ MainStreet is presented by MainStreet Hammonton and the Cruisin’ Classics Auto Club and their sponsors (Susquehanna Bank, Action Auto Body and Al & Rich’s). We thank all of them for keeping such a wonderful event going, particularly event chairman Angela Donio, whose love for the 1950s era when she grew up, the downtown area she has enjoyed since she was a kid, and Hammonton, the town she has called home for most of her life, has been embodied in the twice-annual event. People look forward to Cruisin’ MainStreet. It’s one of those events with something for everyone. Car lovers stroll down Bellevue Avenue, 12th Street and Egg Harbor Road, looking at the cars, either enjoying memories or making new ones. Foodies enjoy all the fabulous fare at the restaurants that now line the streets of the downtown area. At one time, there were more vendors, but Donio decided that since all the new foodoriented businesses had opened in the 20 years since the event began, she preferred that they received the business from the crowds of people. It just made sense. People looking to socialize and have a good time congregate throughout the downtown, catching up after the summer. It’s like a big reunion, and Hammontonians love their reunions. So grab some friends, whether you own a classic car or not, and cruise on down to Cruisin’ MainStreet. We’ll see you there. Back to school Students will be returning to school this week, and Hammonton now boasts students taking classes from the pre-K to the collegiate level within the borders of the town. Classes will be in session this fall at the Hammonton School District, St. Joseph Elementary School and St. Joseph High School as well as The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey’s Kramer Hall. Hammonton hums to life as thousands of students fill the schools and the college building each day, plus the fields and hallways after school hours and on weekends. After a summer of vacations, long days, camps and activities, it is time to return to school. Hundreds of employees at both schools will also return to their workplaces, and soon we will see them at the tables of restaurants throughout the town. These employees are steady customers through the nine months of the school year, and our stores and eateries depend on them for revenue. Education is now one of the top industries in the town, particularly in a community that boasts two pre-K through 12 school districts and a college. The noble goal of education is that it elevates the next generation on the shoulders of the lessons learned by all the generations that preceded it. Students sitting in classrooms, in many cases classrooms that now have the latest technology at their disposal along with the latest textbooks and educators who are trained to provide the best education, are afforded the best opportunity to learn in the history of Hammonton. It is hoped all students take full advantage of the positive learning environment provided by the taxpayers, the donors to the Roman Catholic Church or the taxpayers and tuition payers, depending on whether they attend classes at Hammonton, St. Joseph or Stockton. Good luck with the upcoming school year to all students from The Gazette! to the editor: Letter to the eDitor As a resident of Hammonton, I would like to thank our local and county officials for entering into a mutual aid agreement for county disaster sheltering [pending solicitor review-Ed.] ("HHS a shelter site?" Lauren Bucci, August 27, 2014). I certainly counted my blessings in October 2012 for having been spared the devastation of Hurricane Sandy. However, in the aftermath I felt compelled to volunteer at one of the Pleasantville shelters to assist fellow South Jersey community members. At the shelter, I met fabulous people who showed courage and resilience. I also was impressed at the dedication of American Red Cross volunteers who arrived from states around the country - Oklahoma, Missouri, and Tennessee, among others. After that experience, I was inspired to join our local American Red Cross in South Jersey and have since been actively involved in hurricane recovery and preparedness planning. I also know first-hand of the commitment of local New Jersey emergency managers and the Atlantic County Office of Emergency Management in applying the lessons from Hurricanes Irene and Sandy to preparations for the inevitable "next one." What I hadn't anticipated following my shelter volunteering was the satisfaction I've had in also helping community members recover after smallscale disaster events - namely, household fires and flooding. As a Red Cross volunteer, I've had the privilege of meeting people all over South Jersey and am honored to have been able to contribute to their recovery, even in a small capacity. I've worked with incredible volunteers from other areas in Atlantic County - Atlantic City, Absecon, EHT, Mays Landing, and Folsom, and the list goes on. Working with them has reaffir med my belief that mutual aid agreements are so much more than signatures on paper. They are commitments we make with one another to support our shared resilience and to partner with other communities in recovery and preparedness. Just as the American Red Cross demonstrated the theme of "One Red Cross" during Hurricane Sandy no matter the geographic origin of volunteers, so should we demonstrate unity with our neighboring communities. This is a value I share with my students studying Emergency Management at The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey. I want to extend a personal invitation to Hammonton residents to join my colleagues and I at the American Red Cross. If you would like to help, you can start an application at http://www.redcross.org/nj/pleasantville/volunteer. You can also follow our activities on Twitter, Flickr or on Facebook. Dr. Jess Bonnan-White hammonton PerSPective/USDA Throughout the past 20 years, a changing climate, population growth near forests and rangelands, and the buildup of brush and other fuels have dramatically increased the severity of wildfires and the damage that they cause to our natural lands and communities. Year after year, fire seasons grow longer and longer, destroying homes, threatening critical infrastructure and the watersheds that provide clean drinking water to millions of people. Between 1980 and 2011, the average annual number of fires on Federal land more than doubled, and the total area burned annually tripled. Even as fire seasons have grown, the way we pay to fight these fires remains unchanged – and fundamentally broken. The Forest Service’s firefighting appropriation has rapidly increased as a proportion of the Forest Service’s overall budget, increasing from 16 percent in 1995 to 42 percent today. As the costs of wildfires have spiraled out of control, it has shrunk the budget of other Forest Service programs, taking millions of dollars from other critical forest health and land management priorities in order to pay for them. What’s more, often the programs we are forced to divert funds from are the very programs which help to mitigate the impact of wildfires. Today, the Department of Agriculture is releasing the Fire Transfer Impact Trends report detailing in clear terms just what this broken practice has cost us over the past twenty years – and what it will continue to cost us in the future if we don’t tackle this problem now. These spiraling fire costs have left the government unable to sufficiently invest in critical forest and rangeland priorities, including: • Restoration projects designed specifically to See USDA, Page 7 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.