The Hammonton Gazette 12/30/15 Edition | Page 5

Devils’ Advocate shares the news at HHS Page 4 • Wednesday, December 30, 2015 • The Hammonton Gazette ADVOCATE, from Page 1 into a fully-functional student-inspired website. The Devils’ Advocate is a one-period course that functions much like a newsroom would. the course is taught by Stacy Gerst, who also teaches english at the high school. Gerst became involved with print journalism when she was teaching at a high school in Hillsborough, New Jersey, and was asked to be the editor of a once-a-month newspaper. in 2008, she took a two-week crash course at the University of Nevada, reno, and learned from professionals about advising a high school newspaper. “i’m learning a lot as i go. One of the coolest things is that i learn a lot from the kids during the class. i’m not sitting here teaching them everything they know how to do,” Gerst said. Christmas tree disposal TREES, from Page 1 ers. after the holiday season ends and people take down their trees, they must be picked up from the curb and disposed of by town workers. Curbside pickup will be provided by the town during the week of January 11. “in years past, we were able to move them through the county. i believe that has stopped. it looks like we’re going to bring them to the landfill. as we get time, we’re going to chip them. for a few years there, they were a reef in Lake Lenape for the fish. they’ve stopped that and i don’t think there’s anywhere else to go with them besides chipping them,” Councilman Sam rodio said. Mayor Stephen DiDonato spoke about the plan for the collected trees. the mayor said that some local farmers and landscapers will want the chips which the town will give them. “Some farmers and some of the landscapers want some of it,” DiDonato said. the town makes sure the chips are free of trash before giving it to the local farmers and landscapers. Some use it to increase soil strength, they put it around blueberry bushes, DiDonato said. Hammonton Highway Department Head Scott rivera said that if any local farmer or landscaper wants the chips to please call the Hammonton Highway Department at 567-4336. “the farmers put the chips around the base of the blueberry plants,” rivera said. On a typical year, there are somewhere between 500 to 1000 trees collected by the town, according to Hammonton Public Works Manager / Business Manager Jerome Barberio. Gina Rullo contributed to this report. 2016 mtg. schedule ZONING, from Page 2 22. November 17 is an exception to the usual fourth thursday meeting date for the board. in related news, the town issued a public notice that said