The Hammonton Gazette 100213 | Page 6
Page 6 • Wednesday, October 2, 2013 • 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,
Brian?Morris, Anthony Marella, 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
All in the family
The Hammonton Gazette is published Tuesdays, by The Hammonton Gazette, Inc. Copyright © 2013. All
rights reserved. ISSN?1093-6181
When the Hammonton Rescue Squad closed earlier this year, much of its
equipment was sold off, leaving its building on Egg Harbor Road behind and the
people of the community to wonder what would become of it.
They no longer have to wonder. On July 26, the rescue squad building was purchased by Hammonton Volunteer Fire Company No. 1 for $132,000, according to
a published real estate listing and confirmed by Hammonton Volunteer Fire
Company No. 1 President Ron Mascola. According to Mascola, the building will
be used as an annex to the Hammonton Volunteer Fire Company No. 1 Firehouse
at the corner of Passmore Avenue and Front Street.
“It was a win-win situation for the rescue squad and us, because they had a
need to sell it to eliminate debt, and we had a need for the building,” Mascola said.
Having the building remain in the hands of a local fire company was an important factor in determining whether or not Hammonton Volunteer Fire Company
No. 1 should purchase the building, Mascola said.
“It’s good, because Lee Littlefield was the one who started it [the rescue
squad]. Our guys started it and the older members understood that this building
remained in the family,” Mascola said.
Hammonton Rescue Squad Chairman of the Board Jack Marinella echoed the
sentiments of Mascola when discussing the sale of the rescue squad building earlier this week with The Gazette.
“I feel the same way, it was a win-win. It couldn’t have gone to better people.
Volunteer firemen volunteer their time and save lives. That’s what we did, we
saved lives. We were in it to help the town of Hammonton,” Marinella said.
As a result, the building will remain in the hands of a local volunteer organization, and the town knows it will be maintained and cared for by that organization. Hammonton Volunteer Fire Company No. 1 will own two buildings, its firehouse and the annex that once housed the rescue squad. Hammonton Volunteer
Fire Company No. 2 will own its firehouse on the White Horse Pike (Route 30),
enabling the town to have a total of three facilities to house fire and rescue vehicles from the local fire department and AtlantiCare.
Change continues to sweep through town, but at least the rescue squad building will remain in the hands of volunteers who help save local lives and property. In a sense, it is still all in the family.
A good read
Making reading exciting and fun to high school students is a lofty goal.
In recent years, the teachers and administrators behind the Hammonton School
District’s One Book summer reading program have reached that goal and exceeded it. They should be commended for their efforts.
Last week, New York Times best-selling author Laura Schroff was the latest
author to speak and interact with students about her book An Invisible Thread.
The author’s appearance was the latest in what has become an annual program at
the Hammonton School District. The students read a book selected by members
of the One Book Committee, comprised of faculty from the school. Each year,
the author of the book comes to the school district to speak with students directly as a part of their classroom discussions about the book.
What a wonderful opportunity for the students of Hammonton, Waterford and
Folsom. Programs like this one put education in the spotlight, raising the bar for
teachers and students while encouraging students to develop a love of reading. It
is the opposite of the “teaching for the test” mentality that has taken hold in educational institutions across the country. Instead, it is a celebration of an intellectual pursuit. It closes the gap between authors and young readers, and makes reading something it rarely was in the high school of years past. It makes reading cool.
The Gazette will always be a supporter of reading, because without readers,
there would be no newspapers. We believe the One Book program at
Hammonton High School encourages young people to read, so they will be better readers, better leaders and better citizens.
An educated, well-informed citizenry was always the goal of our founding
fathers (especially Thomas Jefferson) when they encouraged the creation of public education.
By promoting their successful One Book program and bringing best-selling
authors like Laura Schroff to Hammonton High School, the school district has
helped educate the next generation in a creative way, and by doing so, they are
making education a top priority for the students of the school. Congratulations are
extended to everyone involved. We look forward to next year’s One Book program.
LETTErs To THE EdiTor
To the Editor:
As one of Hammonton’s longest serving councilpersons and a former mayor, I know a great deal
about how our municipal government works. I also know that in order to be successful in leading this
community, our councilpersons have to govern with forward thinking ideas and “outside the box”
solutions.
During my most recent time as councilperson I thought forward and saw the need to automate our
trash collection system. This project, which began during my time on council, has benefitted the taxpayers in many ways. Including, reducing the cost of trash truck maintenance, lowering workplace
injuries and providing for a cleaner look around the community on trash pickup days. The toter project is a success story. We are in need of more success stories in this community.
Our town needs leaders who are forward thinking. Leaders who are not afraid to ask tough questi ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????]?????????? ?????????)M??????????????????????????????)??? ?????????????????????????????????????????????)???????????????????????????????????????????)'?e?????????????????????
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