The Hammonton Gazette 11/06/13 | Page 2

Our Town is packed with Halloween photos beginning on p. 19 The Gettysburg Address turns 150 p. 27-34 Plays, concerts and more all on the What’s Hot Page p. 43 DIDONATO LEADS IN VOTES Wednesday, November 6, 2013 Volume 17 • Issue 45 by Gabe Donio Gazette Staff Writer HaMMONtON—a close election awaits a tally of absentee, provisional and emergency ballots that number more than 315, according to Hammonton town Clerk april www.hammontongazette.com absentee ballots will decide; Byrnes leads board race Boyer Maimone. in the top local race, according to unofficial results, incumbent Hammonton first Mayor Stephen DiDonato, with 2,161 votes, leads Hammonton Board of education President and republican Mayoral Candidate Joseph Giralo, who has 1,969 votes as of press time tuesday evening. The Gazette considered the race too close to call due to the number of absentee ballots. DiDonato said the counting would be completed in a week to 10 days. according to Giralo, the process of counting the additional ballots could take up to three weeks. the counting process is handled by atlantic County gov- ernment. the races for town council were even tighter, and were also considered too close to call by The Gazette. Unofficial results, not in- Farmers prepare A nice night for trick-or-treating for winter temps by Paul J. Macrie IV Gazette Staff Writer HaMMONtON—as the calendar heads towards winter, the fruit and vegetable growing season in the Hammonton area has officially concluded. for many crops, the weather cooperated and yielded good results from a See ELECTION,?Page 3 financial, production and quality standpoint. Other crops didn’t receive the desired outcome, whether it was because of the weather conditions, market or both. Before the summer and early fall growing season, fall, winter and even spring conditions are vital to what kind of season each Vietnam Veterans recall their service by Gabe Donio Gazette Staff Writer HaMMONtON—a group of Vietnam Veterans from Hammonton gathered on October 23 at the offices of The Gazette to discuss their service overseas from 1968 See WEATHER,?Page 12 Locals served together overseas to 1969 while in the New Jersey National Guard. Veterans Day is November 11. [See related article See VETERANS,?Page 4 Buyers discuss ‘13 shopping plans THG/Lauren Crescenzo. To purchase photos in The Gazette, call (609) 704-1940. Kiri Galardi, Joshua Galardi, Trey Gazzara and Joshua Galardi trick-or-treating on October 31. For more photos, turn to Page 19. by Paul J. Macrie IV Gazette Staff Writer THG/Gabe Donio. To purchase photos in The Gazette, call (609) 704-1940. A few Hammontonians who served in Vietnam at the Phu Cat Airbase in 1968 and 1969 gathered to share their experiences at the offices of The Gazette on October 23. Pictured (l-r) are: Joe Maimone, Sam Pino, Ricky DeMarco, William D’Agostino and John DeLucca. SUBSCRIBE TO HaMMONtON—it is November and that means it is the holiday season, and time to gift shop for family, friends and significant others. there are people that have begun their holiday shopping, while others tend to procrastinate. for those that love to shop for others, they try to buy gifts early as there could be some deals offered from different outlets. The Gazette spoke to several people in the area and even a few out-of-town individuals about what their plans were for holiday shopping. Some will shop for gifts in town to give the local businesses a boost and others will do a mix of online, mall and local buying. The Gazette! ONLY $20 FOR 52 WEEKS! CALL: (609) 704-1940 Some will scale back spending and some will do about the same or even more purchasing this season. there were also several great gift ideas for children and adults. Lynnann zuest of Hammonton believes everyone should shop where they live, so she plans on doing her holiday gift shopping in town. zuest plans on spending less this holiday season, but she had a unique gift idea for children. “i will probably do less holiday shopping because of the economy. i think popular gift items for children are the pajama pants sets because it is two pieces, instead of one. i think that is good for the children,” zuest said. MainStreet?Hammonton executive Director Cassie iacovelli en- See SHOPPING,?Page 10