Volume 27 • Issue 40

Kristin Guglietti / THG

Left : Carlina Sacco and Patrick Bilazzo , owners of Pine Barren Pallet Works , organized the Pine Barrens Maker Fest . Right : Nina wears a pumpkin hat . Nina ’ s owners are Kate and Dan Badecker ( not pictured ).

by Kristin Guglietti GAZETTE STAFF WRITER

People bought handcrafted items , walked their dogs , enjoyed food from food trucks and more at the second annual Pine Barren Makers Fest , which was held at 3610 Nesco Rd . on Sept . 30 and Oct . 1 .

Carlina Sacco and Patrick Bilazzo , owners of Pine Barren Pallet Works , organized the Pine Barrens Maker Fest .

“ It ’ s a little rainy on the first day , but it ’ s going pretty well ,” Bilazzo said .

The idea for the Pine Barren Makers Fest happened after a fire burned down the Pallet House they worked in at Mullica Township . The Pallet House was a shed that was like a mini store .

“ We built that in my residential property and that was our little shed , little storage area and it was kind of like a mini store ,” Bilazzo said . “ And the Pallet House ended up burning down in 2021 and we tried to rebuild and in the middle of us trying to rebuild , Mullica Township didn ’ t want it to be rebuilt so we had all of the funds and donations that people donated

by Jennifer McGraw FOR THE GAZETTE

Despite the relentless rain , Hammonton ’ s Fall Town Wide Yard Sale on Sept . 30 was a resounding success , boasting over 50 yard sales scattered throughout the town . Almost every corner of Hammonton guided eager shoppers to hidden to whatever items they would be hoping to find .

For those in search of budget-friendly Halloween decorations , a nostalgia trip through vintage comic books and records , or perhaps unique handmade crochet items , this event had something special in store for everyone .

Storage Sense , Hammonton ’ s storage facility , got in on the yard sale action again this year . Typically , the facility tries to give back to the community by

sponsoring a local business to support each year .

“ We do a yard sale every time we do the town wide yard sale , and we choose to sponsor somebody . We collect $ 10 from all the tenants and we ’ re donating it to the Funny Farm rescue ,” Storage Sense Manager Katy White said . “ So , they were definitely able to come out today and they brought a chicken and a dog . We ’ re going to be raising money for them . My coworker sells her empanadas , and everybody loves it . We just give the tenants an opportunity to sell some of their stuff to try to downsize their units or move out .”

Hammonton ’ s Senior Center was a spot for various treasures as well . Though some people came out to buy whatever they could find , others set out

See YARD SALE , Page 10

for the rebuild , we put towards this event in order to bring the community together .”

Sacco said the community is what brought this event together .

“ After the fire , it was very devastating , but the community picked us back up because we didn ’ t know what we were going to do ,” Sacco said . “ All of our things were in the fire , all of our stock so they ’ ve definitely picked us back up and we ’ re like ‘ let ’ s keep moving and figure it out .’ We wanted to do something to give back to them and throw a big community event .” by Delaney Smith FOR THE GAZETTE

The Hammonton Town Council discussed several topics , most notably the next legal actions in a lawsuit with Frog Rock Golf & Country Club and a meeting detailing some details about cannabis sales in Hammonton during their meeting on Sept . 25 at town hall .

The meeting began with a presentation from Slap Consulting , LLC on the sale and use of cannabis in the town of Hammonton . The presentation outlined and discussed several key points on the sale of cannabis , such as some state guidelines for the sale of the substance , some economic benefits and the risks associated with allowing the sale of cannabis . Some of the key points in

A representation of the Pallet House was next to the information booth at the festival .

Sacco said she looks forward to seeing all the vendors with smiles on their faces .

“ We ’ re vendors ourselves , so we understand all the hard work and dedication that goes into setting up an event like this ,” Sacco

this presentation involved potential revenue for the town of Hammonton , security concerns and some of the optimal points where cannabis dispensaries should be placed .

Amanda Ostrowitz , the founder of Slap Consulting and the presenter at the meeting , gave an overview of multiple guidelines and laws for cannabis dispensaries . She pointed out that , security-wise , towns that sold recreational adult-use cannabis experienced a plateau of crime or , in some cases a decrease . She ensured the council that laws require cannabis dispensaries to keep all of their products in opaque containers so that the product cannot be seen . Sellers are not allowed to market to children in any way and children are not allowed in dispensary facilities whatsoever .

See COUNCIL , Page 4

said . “ So for me , seeing them selling their goods that they make by hand and seeing smiles on their face and stuff like that .”

One of the vendors who came to the festival last year , Joey Vodopija of Trip 2 Glory , sold custom clothing items including jeans and flannels . He also creates

See MAKERS , Page 8

Kristin Guglietti / THG

Participants of the Chimney Beer Mile drink their beer during the beer mile on Sept . 30 . See photos of the event next week .

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