The Hammonton Gazette 12/18/13 | Página 6

Page 6 • Wednesday, December 18, 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 The Hammonton Gazette is published Tuesdays, by The Hammonton Gazette, Inc. Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved. ISSN 1093-6181 hhS-St. Joe night This Thursday, December 19 at Casciano Coffee Bar and Sweetery (212 Bellevue Ave.) will be a night for players, coaches and fans of Hammonton and St. Joe to come together and celebrate one of the greatest football rivalries in the state at an event sponsored by The Gazette. Come see amazing poster-sized color photographs of this year’s game by sports photographer Joe Bruno. Photos will be available for purchase. The event will be held from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. As part of the Third Thursday events downtown, The Gazette will be showcasing photos from the November 30 Hammonton-St. Joe Game in a photographic celebration of the crosstown rivalry. In addition to the photos by Bruno, Gazette sports editor Dan Russoman, staff writer Paul J. Macrie IV and photographer Joseph Bruno will be on hand to speak about the game’s history, covering the rivalry game and the art of sports photography. All former players, coaches, cheerleaders and band members from the Hammonton Blue Devils and St. Joseph Wildcats, as well as parents, students, alumni and fans are invited to come and enjoy a night celebrating the rivalry game and what it has meant to our town. There will be free coffee or tea for the first 50 guests, specialty drinks are extra. December 19 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Casciano will be a night to celebrate one of the greatest games on the local athletic calendar and one of the best rivalries in the state of New Jersey: Hammonton vs. St. Joe. It’s going to be a great night! Comic Con a hit THG/Gabe Donio The Batmobile from the 1960s Batman television series was parked outside Kerri-Brooke Caterers last weekend for the First Annual Jersey Comic Con Spectacular. Large crowds — including people dressed as their favorite characters from comic books or television shows — filled the Kerri-Brooke Caterers on the White Horse Pike (Route 30) for the First Annual Jersey Comic Con Christmas Spectacular. The convention was a hit, filling the parking area and the catering hall, which served as the town’s convention center for the weekend. It was a role the building played well, and perhaps more conventions will be hosted at the facility in the coming year. Inside, tables were set up for people selling everything from comic books, to Star Wars and Star Trek toys, to autographed memorabilia. Hammonton’s own Delfino Falciani was in his element, signing limited editions of Klaat’ hu Tales, a comic book created, written and drawn by Falciani. He also had sculptures and artwork from other works. Like many other comic book fans, Falciani never dreamed he would have a booth at the same event in his hometown with artists like Neal Adams, whose work with Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Green Arrow and other comics is legendary, and Joel Adams, who worked on creating the animated show “King of the Hill.” They were all there together this past weekend, and the fans came out to see them, along with celebrities who are working in television and film today, like Giancarlo Esposito of the NBC show “Revolution” (Tom Neville), Manu Bennett of the CW show “Arrow” (Slade Wilson), The Hobbit movies (Azog) and “Spartacus” (Crixus), Ron Glass of “Firefly” and “Serenity” (Shepherd Book) and much earlier in his career, “Barney Miller” (Det. Ron Harris) and model/comic star Marissa Jade. These were just a few of the people in town for the First Annual Jersey Comic Con Christmas Spectacular this past weekend. It was a fun event, drawing people who normally would never be in our town to meet, greet and have their pictures taken with celebrities and purchase some of their favorite comic book, science fiction and fantasy-related items. It was a bit of escapist fantasy and fun for people, whose normal lives are, well, probably pretty normal. We hope the event will lead to more of its kind in Hammonton – in an age where what was once geeky is now cool, our town is lucky to have been chosen as the location for this comic convention. We’d like to be the home of the second annual event as well. In the words of Marvel Comics’ Stan Lee: Excelsior! PerSPeCtive/Farming American innovation is one of our most special traditions, fueling our nation to new heights over the course of our history. Innovation is critically important in rural America, where research is helping to grow American agriculture, create new homegrown products, generate advanced renewable energy and more. Continued research has the capacity to lead the way to economic opportunity and new job creation in rural areas – and USDA has been hard at work to carry out these efforts. But we need Congress to get its work done and provide a new Farm Bill that recommits our nation to innovation in the years to come. First and foremost, research and innovation help agricultural production thrive. Scientists at USDA’s Agricultural Research Service and outside researchers at Land Grant Universities have made incredible advancements in recent years, helping producers grow more on the same amounts of land. Moreover, since 2009, awards to University researchers by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture have resulted in nearly 400 patent applications. USDA scientists are developing new techniques in the fight against crop pests and diseases, new ways to increase drought resilience, and new understanding of multiple crop and animal varieties to boost production. In the past few years, ARS research has found new ways to cook French fries in a way that reduces the amount of fryer oil the fries absorb. Researchers are working on a fire-retardant material that could better protect houses from wildfire. They’re looking into the potential use of grapefruit essential oil for use as a better tick repellent – and these are just a few good examples. When all of these benefits come to bear, it’s no surprise that every dollar invested in agricultural research returns $20 to the economy. Innovation also has positive implications for t he creation of advanced, homegrown products and ener- gy in rural America. Advanced new “biobased” products are being created across the country using homegrown sources from America’s farm fields. More than 3,000 U.S. companies are creating biobased products today and more than 1,000 products bear a new “Certified Biobased Product” label on store shelves. Researchers at the U.S. Forest Products Laboratory are revolutionizing wood products for use in body armor, auto parts and new building materials– and in many cases, these products are stronger and better than what we use today. Across the nation, advanced biorefineries are scaling up production to provide the renewable fuels of the future – and more than 9,250 farmers and rural businesses have implemented advanced energy efficiency practices to boost their bottom line. All of this work represents the innovation of the future and holds promise for stronger rural communities. But once again, they rely in large part on a new Farm Bill. A new Farm Bill would enable public-private funding efforts to expand capacity for agricultural research, returning even more benefits to the economy. It would support researchers at Land Grant Universities and USDA in their efforts to boost agricultural production. It would strengthen USDA’s BioPreferred Program, and extend the tools folks need in rural America to continue saving energy and creating advanced fuels. I have no doubt that rural America can continue our nation’s long history of innovation. But to keep the momentum going, we need Congress to get its job done and pass a comprehensive Food, Farm and Jobs Bill without delay. Quote of the Week: tom vilsack Secretary, USda washington, d.C. “Something there iS that doeSn’t love a wall, that wantS it down.” — Robert Frost “mending wall” The Hammonton Gazette welcomes letters to the editor that are no more than 800 words long. All letters must include the name of the author and an address and telephone number for verification. Letters should be mailed to The Hammonton Gazette, Editorial Page, P.O. Box 1228, Hammonton, NJ 08037. Letters also will be accepted via fax. The fax number is 704-1938.  Or by e-mail to [email protected]. Deadline for all submissions is 2 p.m. Monday. The Hammonton Gazette reserves the right to edit any submissions. The opinions expressed in letters, perspectives or in guest columns do not necessarily reflect those of The Hammonton Gazette.  The Gazette is not responsible for factual errors in letters, perspectives or in guest columns. The Gazette retains the right to refuse any submission or advertisement.