The Hammonton Gazette
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BOARD DEBATES SPENDING
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Volume 18 • Issue 37
by Gabe Donio
GAZETTE STAFF WRITER
HAMMONTON—The Hammonton Board of Education had
extended discussion and two split
votes on two separate items on the
agenda of a special meeting of the
board held on September 2 at the
Samuel A. Donio Memorial Li-
www.hammontongazette.com
Line items at issue; new full-time bus manager hired
brary at Hammonton High
School.
The first split vote concerned
four line item increases to the
2014-2015 budget. There was one
line item under “Revenue” for
“Budgeted Fund Balance” in the
amount of $41,406 and three line
items under “Appropriation” for
“Transportation Salaries” in the
amount of $29,200, “Health Benefits” in the amount of $6,525 and
“Security Equipment” in the
amount of $5,681.
Board members discussed the
line items and possible reasons to
wait on voting for them.
“We do need to hire a new
teacher and four aides to compensate for overcrowding in the fifth
grade,” board member Barbara
Berenato said.
Explaining the need for the new
hires, board member John Lyons
said there had been unexpected increases in enrollment.
“It seems like we’ve got a lot of
late-breaking enrollments, people
who are enrolling their students
right after school starts,” Lyons
said.
Airport lighting Local schools back in session
bids discussed
by Lauren Bucci
GAZETTE STAFF WRITER
HAMMONTON—Town council held a special meeting on September 8. One of the discussion
items revisited the award of a bid
for the LED runway lighting project which was postponed during
last month’s meeting pending fur-
See SChOOL, Page 3
ther information.
Ron Morris of L.R. Kimball Inc.,
who presented the bid information
at the August council meeting,
gave information to the council via
speakerphone during the meeting.
“We have Ron Morris of L.R.
Kimball. We’re talking about the
airport and lighting project … A
Consolidation brings
change to post office
by Paul J. Macrie IV
GAZETTE STAFF WRITER
HAMMONTON—At the Hammonton Post Office, located on
114 S. Third St., operations have
changed in recent months due to
the consolidation between the
See COUNCIL, Page 14
town of Hammonton and Egg Harbor City postal services. From the
carrier level to the officer in
charge, it has taken every representative at the local post office some
time to adapt to the consolidation.
Supervisor Jack Scott said the
first change due to the consolida-
Cruisin’ brings out classic car owners, fans and families
See POST OFFICE, Page 4
THG/MarySusan Hoffman. To purchase photos in The Gazette, call (609) 704-1940.
Four Hammonton Middle School students pose for a quick photo before the opening of school on September 3. The 201415 school year began last week for the Hammonton and St. Joseph School Districts. For more photos, see Pages 19
by Paul J. Macrie IV
GAZETTE STAFF WRITER
HAMMONTON—Because of
the unseasonably warm weather it
had the feeling of a July evening
in downtown Hammonton, but it
was in fact the first weekend after
Labor Day. Despite a warm and
humid, summer-like night, the annual September Cruisin’ MainStreet...Remember Friday Nights
captivated a large crowd on September 5, as family and friends
enjoyed all the entertainment offered during the event, along with
the classic cars that filled the
streets that make up the downtown area.
Cruisin’ MainStreet not only
brings the local townspeople to
the downtown area twice a year, it
also draws out-of-town and even
out-of-state folks. Samuel Barbagallo, originally from Hammonton, is now a resident of Elkins,
West Virginia. Barbagallo attended the event, bringing his
Uptown Fall Festival
Saturday, Sept. 20
by Paul J. Macrie IV
GAZETTE STAFF WRITER
THG/Paul J. Macrie IV. To purchase photos in The Gazette, call (609) 704-1940.
Local blueberry grower Carmen Merlino brought his 1967 Chevelle SS to Cruisin’ MainStreet on September 5. For more
photos from the event, see Page 16.
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HAMMONTON—Blueberry
Crossing Plaza, located on Route
30 and part of the uptown district
of town, is hosting its first-ever
Fall Festival on Saturday, September 20 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. with
See CRUISIN, Page 12
a rain date scheduled on Sunday,
September 21.
Bill Doberstein and Sharon
Bertino of Health Tree and
Chrissy Scarafio of Charming
Blossoms are part of a team that
has been working diligently during the past few months to make
this event a reality. Businesses of
ONLY $20 FOR 52 WEEKS! CALL (609) 704-1940
See FALL, Page 10