Profiles of the seven
council candidates
p. 16-17
In support of Red Ribbon
Awareness Week
p. 29-36
Feeling the chill? Maybe
visit Sarasota, Florida
p. 45
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
NO ACTION ON FIREFIGHTERS
Volume 19 • Issue 43
by Kevin Troilo
GAZETTE STAFF WRITER
HAMMONTON—Town council met on October 25 in one of
their last two meetings before the
upcoming November 3 election.
A special meeting will be held
on November 2 at 4 p.m. in town
hall to discuss the three ordinances
that were approved at the meeting
www.hammontongazette.com
Special meeting of council on November 2 at 4 p.m.
on October 19.
“I reported at the previous meeting that Mr. [Jerome] Barberio and
I had conducted the investigation
on the Fire Co. No. 2 suspensions.
We’ve interviewed more than 15
people and have another half
dozen to go. I know there’s a number of firefighters in the audience.
I hoped to be able to report tonight
but we’re not prepared to report.
As soon as we can, I indicated that
we would move as prompt as possible, but that we would move as
thoroughly as possible. I cannot do
anything with six more interviews
to go, but as soon as I can we’ll
have a report and recommenda-
tions to Law and Order [Committee] to start and then the full council,” town solicitor Brian Howell
said.
Council unanimously approved
an ordinance regarding the mandating of direct deposit for all town
employees. According to the
agenda, the failure to reconcile
outstanding employee paychecks
in a timely manner was causing additional unnecessary work and
forcing the cancellation and reissuing of the checks. From now on all
town-issued paychecks will be automatically deposited into the chosen account of the employee.
‘Smash and grabs’ Sooy Elementary takes pledge
occur on WHP
by Gabe Donio
GAZETTE STAFF WRITER
HAMMONTON—Police are
investigating two “smash and
grab”-style burglaries at two separate news and tobacco stores that
occurred only days apart last week,
Hammonton Police Captain Nick
See COUNCIL, Page 10
Salvatore said.
Broken windows were found at
Town News and Tobacco on the
100 block of the White Horse Pike
(Route 30) and were reported to
police at 5:05 a.m. on October 22.
A delivery driver discovered the
damage, Salvatore said. Hammon-
‘Teens & Trucks’
promotes safety
by Kevin Troilo
GAZETTE STAFF WRITER
HAMMONTON—The many
dangers of distracted driving have
made their way into the forefront
of relevant issues within the past
few years. While texting and driving is probably the most highly
See SMASH, Page 12
publicized peril, any type of distraction while driving can become
a disaster, even if it’s only for a
split second.
According to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC), the year 2011 saw about
2,650 teens ranging from ages 16-
THG/MarySusan Hoffman. To purchase photos in The Gazette, call (609) 704-1940.
On October 20, students and staff at the Warren E. Sooy Jr. Elementary School took the pledge against violence as
part of School Violence Awareness Week. The students and their teachers put their handprints together to create
See TEENS, Page 3 hearts. Above: Sooy Art Teacher Meagan Rieder with second grade student Anisah Herbert.
Crowd for Veterans Chili Challenge Bd: town ‘in need
of rehabilitation’
by Kevin Troilo
GAZETTE STAFF WRITER
HAMMONTON—The Hammonton Planning Board met on
October 21 for their first meeting
in more than two months. The
meeting was led by board chairman Edward Marinelli. Board
members were presented with a
resolution proposed by Town
Council and Mayor Stephen DiDonato that designated the entire
town of Hammonton as an area in
need of rehabilitation. Town Solicitor Michael Malinksy explained the basis of the resolution
to board members.
Soccer fields on
Boyer Ave. a hit
by Kevin Troilo
GAZETTE STAFF WRITER
THG/Kevin Troilo. To purchase photos in The Gazette, call (609) 704-1940.
The annual Operations Veterans Chili Challenge was held on October 24 on the Mt. Carmel festival grounds. Above:
Raechel Suit, of Swedesboro, gives out samples of her homemade chili. See related article, Page 2.
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HAMMONTON—The Hammonton Parks and Recreation
Commission met on October 20 to
recap ongoing business and introduce some future plans. The meeting was led by commission
chairman Louis Cappuccio.
See PLANNING, Page 4
Hammonton Youth Soccer Association President Paul Massey
was in attendance and thanked the
entire commission for all the work
that has been done to the soccer
fields at the Boyer Avenue Complex.
“This past weekend was the
first weekend we used the fields.
Gazette • $20 FOR 52 WEEKS • CALL 609-704-1939
See COMMISSION, Page 12