The Hammonton Gazette 09/09/15 Edition | Page 6

Page 6 • Wednesday, September 9, 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

clean up the lake
The Hammonton Gazette is published Wednesdays, by The Hammonton Gazette, Inc. Copyright © 2015. All
rights reserved. ISSN 1093-6181

For many years, there have been steps taken to attempt to keep
Hammonton Lake clean, both for recreational use and for the residents
and businesses located on the lake’s shores.
Those efforts have met with varying degrees of success.
Swimming, for example, has not returned to Hammonton Lake
Park, and the beach has slowly become overgrown. Concerns about
the fecal coliform count have not been resolved, and the local government appears reluctant to return swimming to the lake.
For many years, the Clean-Flo system was used on the portion of
the lake around the beach area. There was much debate about whether
it was effective or not. In the past year, the Clean-Flo system has no
longer been operating, and there does not appear to be a significant
effort to restart the system on the part of the local government.
It may be coincidental, or it may be connected to the shutdown of
the Clean-Flo system, but the lake appears to be in the early stages of
stagnation. A cursory examination shows cloudy water and weed
growth choking areas of the lake that were once devoid of weeds and
much clearer. A look off the dock of the Hammonton Canoe Club easily shows the decline of the lakewater’s appearance. We are sure residents who live on the lake are seeing similar problems.
It is time for the Hammonton Town Council, the Parks and
Recreation Commission, the Environmental Commission and the
Hammonton Lakewater Quality Committee to take immediate action
and save Hammonton Lake for future generations. Either restart the
Clean-Flo system or quickly find another option that works. Delaying
will only exacerbate the problem. The time for discussion has passed.
The time for action is now.
Hammonton Lake is our town’s natural beauty. It must be saved and
preserved for future generations, without delay.

a great gift idea

The Hammonton Lions Club has put together a great gift idea, just
in time for Hammonton’s Sesquicentennial, celebrating the town’s
150th birthday. The Lions are selling a wonderful full-color commemorative throw featuring some of Hammonton’s most historic
locations.
Marie Natale, award-winning and highly-recognized artist, created
paintings especially for use in the throw. Her 11 renderings, which
were do