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Outdoor Living
Show A Blooming Success |
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THE MASTER GARDENERS from Rutgers
University manned a colorful booth at last month’s inaugural Outdoor Living
Show held at the Swedesboro Auction. The day featured over 40 vendors
offering everything from vegetable and flower plants to planters,
birdhouses, landscaping and patio furniture. |
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| Photo by Karen E. Viereck |
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SWEDESBORO |
Groundbreaking Ceremonies Held For
New S/W Elementary School
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GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONIES
were held on May 8 to officially begin the construction of the
Swedesboro/Woolwich School District’s fourth elementary school. The
building will be located on Oldmans Creek Road in the township.
- Photo by Brett Boone
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SWEDESBORO |
Dryden Urges Council To Adopt
Environmentally Friendly Options
By Sam Scavuzzo
Don Dryden forcefully marched down the borough council
aisle chambers with two plastic trash cans, one containing paper products
which could easily be recycled. His goal: to tangibly display the ease and
feasibility for the borough of Swedesboro to increase the size of recycle cans
in order to get greener and save some green as well.
The Republican councilman continued his push for larger
waste receptacles at the May 21 Borough council meeting. Heading up the
Garbage & Recycling Committee Dryden looks to give Swedesboro residents
incentive to recycle.
“We are paying $77 per ton on garbage,” Dryden said. “If
we get people to recycle paper products, we’d be making money of it. We are
literally throwing away money.”
With his visual demonstration, Dryden pulled cardboard
taco, spaghetti and toilet paper boxes out of the trash to illustrate the
amount of recyclable paper that is being thrown away.
Dryden said that it just made sense to start recycling
these materials and that the borough had to “psychologically get people to
think” along those lines. Dryden feels larger containers would allow people to
recycle more.
Democratic Swedesboro Mayor Thomas W. Fromm worried that
the containers, proposed to be 32 gallons, would be too large and heavy for
elderly citizens to carry to the curb.
Dryden countered by saying that these same papers would
eventually get to the curb as trash anyway. However, Dryden did say the entire
Swedesboro Borough Council was looking to become environmentally efficient as
possible.
As a long term goal, Dryden has proposed two options to
handle the Swedesboro trash situation: RecycleBank and Pay As You Throw. The
former was introduced in February and slated to begin in May by surrounding
Woolwich Township and rewards residents for the amount of recyclable materials
collected.
Pay As You Throw, which Dryden supports, works like the
electric company, the councilman said. Households pay a variable rate
depending on the amount of service they use, according to the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA). The more bags of trash a household throws away then
the more they will pay.
It would naturally benefit residents to recycle.
Currently, 55 communities or just over 10 percent of New Jersey uses Pay As
You Throw, according to a 2006 survey by the EPA and Skumatz Economic Research
Associates, Inc.
In addition to the discussion on recycling, Dryden
brought up the idea of having a hybrid police car. Swedesboro Police Chief
William Dupper said that he never heard of it before but wouldn’t be adverse
to it as long as the vehicle would be able to efficiently accelerate. Fromm
agreed with Dupper and added a concern about the costs of a hybrid vehicle.
In the future, however, Fromm would like to see this
happen.
Dupper also thanked the council for authorizing the
hiring of two additional police officers. He noted that they would be riding
along to get a feel for the area and should be on duty after at least a couple
of weeks.
These hirings go along with Fromm’s “Take Back our
Neighborhoods” initiative introduced May 7. In that plan, Fromm highlighted
five bulleted items which included the creation of a Police Advisory Committee
to be chaired by Republican Councilman Sam Casella, a new contract that would
“demonstrate how valuable we think” police officers are as well as the
confirmation of the two new officers.
“Let me send a very clear message to anyone who thinks
they can victimize our residents, sell drugs in our neighborhoods, or break
the law in Swedesboro,” Fromm said. “You will not be doing business in our
town anymore.”
The council also supported the “Click It or Ticket”
Resolution instituted statewide by Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine to increase
awareness for seatbelt safety. Police will “enforce a zero tolerance message
about the seatbelt law,” according to the governor.
This comes after Corzine’s accident earlier this year
when the governor was seriously injured after not wearing a seatbelt.
Additionally, the council unanimously renewed
Swedesboro’s three liquor licenses and certified the reduction of Kingsway
Regional School District budget. Fromm added that the formation of a
volleyball and bowling program could be added with shifting of funds, not
adding to the budget.
Borough Clerk Dolores M. Connors noted that the state
recently passed a bill allowing for municipalities to increase the fee for dog
licenses. Previously, the maximum a town could charge was $7; under the new
legislation, it can now total $21.
A discussion ensued without decision. Dryden questioned
the necessity of it and Republican Councilwoman Darlene Gage noted that it may
deter people from obtaining a license.
Fromm was curious to see how surrounding towns were
handling the new freedom. The board did agree that a more intensive dog census
was needed.
Gage also reminded the council that Locke Avenue Fun Day
is taking place June 9 at Locke Avenue Park from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
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East Greenwich
EAST GREENWICH BUDGET APPROVED
BY NARROW 3-2 VOTE
by Beth S. Biermann
The 2007 East Greenwich municipal budget was narrowly
approved by the township committee at their May 8 regular meeting. Three
committee members voted to approve the budget, while two voted against the
budget after a public hearing and an extensive discussion with Charles Owens,
the township’s Chief Financial Officer.
During a public hearing on the budget, extended from the
township’s previous meeting, a resident brought a concern about the cost of
the health insurance premiums for township employees. According to Owens, it
costs the township approximately $13,000 per employee.
The resident believed that this amount was too high, and
stated that in his experience individual coverage from Blue Cross/Blue Shield
is in the range of $8,000 to $10,000 so there should be no reason for a group
plan to cost more than that.
Mayor John DeGeorge explained that other insurance quotes
are currently being explored as a function of bargaining negotiations.
The resident also asked if there would be a tax increase
for East Greenwich residents and Owens replied that there would be none. Owens
further explained that at the end of 2006, the township had a $1.4 million
surplus. Of this surplus, the township will be using $1.2 million in 2007 in
order to balance the budget and keep the residents from paying a tax increase.
After the public session, the committee held its own
discussion and question and answer session with Owens. Committeeman Frank
Aiello stated that he felt it was “fiscally irresponsible to be spending money
all over the place” and proceeded to bring up the subject of township employee
health insurance again.
Aiello wanted to know why there was such a seemingly
large increase in the cost of employee group health insurance, up from a
budgeted $500,000 in 2006 to an estimated $595,000 in 2007.
Owens explained that in addition to hiring another full
time employee in 2006 needing insurance coverage, the insurance company gave
the township an estimate of between a 12 percent and 15 percent increase over
the 2006 cost.
The actual expenditure for the 2006 insurance premiums
totaled $512,000, more than the budgeted $500,000. Owens added that the
insurance company’s estimate for the increase from 2005 to 2006 was too low,
therefore the township decided to budget for the high end of the range, a 15%
increase for 2007.
Committeeman Fred Grant expressed his concern about the
increase of $45,000 in the water and sewer budget, given the retirement of a
long-time senior employee in this department. Grant stated that since the
replacement hire for this position would be making considerably less than the
employee who retired, there was no reason for such a large increase.
Owens replied that the new entry-level employee will be
making $12,000 per year less than the former senior-level employee. The
remaining increase is for raises for the current employees, as well as the
salaries for two new hires, employed by the township part of the way through
2006.
After the pubic hearing and committee discussion, the
budget was approved on second reading by a vote of three to two.
Committeewoman Michelle Haenggi, Deputy Mayor Peter Miskofsky and DeGeorge
voted in favor of the 2007 budget, while Aiello and Grant voiced their
disapproval.
In other business, Haenggi announced that as of the
evening of May 7, the organizers of East Greenwich Day made the difficult
decision to cancel the morning parade. All other East Greenwich Day activities
would be occurring as planned for Saturday May 12.
The parade was cancelled due to a lack of interest on the
part of participant groups and/or businesses. A total of only 13 organizations
applied to be a part of the parade, including the township committee, the fire
department, Logan EMS, and three music groups. Miskofsky expressed his
disappointment that none of the numerous local sports teams submitted
applications for parade entry.
According to Miskofsky, it was a difficult decision, one
that had to weigh the chance that residents would be disappointed in a
seemingly small and insignificant parade against the disappointment of the few
participants in not getting to be a part of the parade. In the end, it was
determined that there were not enough entrants to justify closing down the
streets for such a small parade.
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Woolwich
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Don’t Forget Locke Avenue Fun Day, June 9
It’s here! The 4th annual Locke Avenue Fun Day
is happening on June 9. This community day was started four years ago to
provide residents an opportunity to interact with friends and neighbors while
enjoying local delights.
At 9 a.m. the day will begin with a “Miracle Mile Charity
Walk” for St. Jude’s Children Hospital. Walk-up registrations are welcome,
visit
www.freewebs.com/saintjudewalk/
for further information.
The free petting zoo, vendor’s walk and carnival rides
will begin at 10 a.m. Local businesses and community groups will be displayed
in the walk.
The carnival rides include a moon bounce, a 100-foot
slide, “Tubs of Fun”, and rocket swings. At 11 a.m. the Swedesboro/ Woolwich
Soccer Association will host a soccer shoot out challenge on the baseball
field nearest the concession stand.
By noon, the food court will be in full swing with ribs,
chicken, sausage and peppers sandwiches, burgers and dogs, pretzels, ice
cream, and don’t forget the cotton candy!
Also, the Battle of the Bands begins on the stage.
Organized by the Teen Advisory Board of Swedesboro, six bands will compete to
win studio recording time and other great prizes.
4-H will have pony rides available, and bring your empty
water bottles over to the pavilion between 1 and 3 p.m. to make birdfeeders
with the Environmental Commission of Woolwich.
Kingsway Youth Football & Cheerleading will have
registration available between 1 and 4 p.m. Meanwhile, local talent takes main
stage with talent show participants, dance and karate studio performances.
By 6 p.m. when the Swedesboro/ Woolwich Little League
begin their Home Run Derby, the band Slick Rhodes will be providing great
music for enjoying the sights. The end of evening fireworks at 9 p.m. will be
heralded by a performance by “Final Vinyl”, and are guaranteed to amaze!
Parking is available at the park, the former Del Monte
building, Ron Son building, Swedesboro Auction, Clifford School, Hill School,
and Stratton School. Please do not park in the Fish and Callatozo complex
because you may be ticketed or towed.
Shuttle busses will be running throughout the entire
event. Pick-up locations include Swedesboro Auction, Hill School, and Stratton
Schools. Look for an event schedule at the shuttle stop.
Locke Avenue Fun Day is brought to you by the Swedesboro
Woolwich Park & Recreation Committee. For other exciting events, please call
(856) 467-2666, extension 300 or visit
www.woolwichtwp.org/parksandrec.
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Woolwich Recycle Bank
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Woolwich Deputy Mayor Jim Lavender,
Mayor Joe Chila and Environmental Commission Chairman Frank Wagner
demonstrate how RecycleBank will collect paper, cardboard, plastic and
glass in one easy recycling container beginning June 12th.
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Woolwich Residents To Pay More Than
A Seven Cent Tax Increase
by Beth S. Biermann
The Woolwich Township Committee adopted the 2007
municipal budget by a unanimous vote at their May 21 regularly scheduled
meeting. A public hearing on the budget was held, but no residents came
forward with comments, questions or concerns.
The local purpose tax will increase 7.6 cents per
$100 of assessed home value, from 46.1 cents in 2006 to 53.7 cents in
2007. This translates to a local tax of $981 for a homeowner with an
average assessed home value of $182,700. This represents a tax hike of
$150 over the 2006 local tax of $831.
Budget appropriations total $5.855 million, an
increase of $165,000 over the 2006 appropriations. This 2.8 percent
increase is a substantially less significant increase than last year. The
2006 budget rose 7 percent with a $400,000 increase over 2005.
During the general public session, a resident
expressed that in light of the tax increase, he is concerned about the
appearance of more housing developments and no apparent progress on the
shopping centers proposed for the township, including those advertised as
impending across from the CVS at the corner of Auburn and Center Square
Roads. Mayor Joe Chila pointed out that the Franklin Savings Bank is
currently under construction at that site.
Deputy Mayor James Lavender added that the builder is
tentatively scheduled to make an application to the planning board
committee sometime this summer for the shopping center at that same
intersection, including several vendors and a public restaurant. Lavender
stated, “We feel pretty optimistic that we’ll see a lot of progress this
year, by the end of the calendar year 2007.”
Lavender also assured the resident that $450,000 from
the sale of a plenary retail consumption liquor license approved by the
committee on Jan. 16 was used to offset the 2007 tax increase for Woolwich
residents. The developer who bought this license intends to use it for a
restaurant to be located in the Woolwich Town Center, at the corner of
Center Square and Auburn Roads.
John Kenney, Treasurer of Valley Glen Homeowners
Association (HOA), approached the committee to find out the status of a
request he made at a Jan. 16 committee meeting. The HOA had requested
funds from the township to augment a $50,000 state loan they received for
restoration of a deteriorating dam on common property in the Valley Glen
development.
Valley Glen is a 10- year-old development in Woolwich
with 28 homes surrounding a small spring-fed lake that feeds out to
Raccoon Creek. As part of the original construction, a dam was built to
prevent flooding of surrounding roadways and land.
The dam, which is supposed to have a 40-year
lifespan, is in danger of collapsing and causing resulting damage to the
surrounding area.
The Valley Glen HOA did extensive research, including
getting estimates from contractors for the cost of repairing the dam.
After receiving just one “astronomical” estimate of $234,000, Kenney
explained that the HOA reached out again to other contractors. The most
recent estimate is in the amount of approximately $87,000.
The HOA was also proactive in seeking out funds to
cover this construction. The homeowners themselves were able to qualify
for a loan from the state of New Jersey in the amount of $50,000, to be
paid back over 20 years at two percent interest.
As of Jan.16, the HOA had used $23,000 of the loan
amount to cover the engineering costs of designing the dam restoration.
That left only $27,000 remaining to cover the $87,000 construction costs.
Because of this, they asked the township to provide
fiscal relief in the amount of a minimum of $60,000, perhaps more to allow
for any unforeseen costs.
Kenney’s presence at the May 21 meeting was to ask
the township committee if these funds could be included as part of the
2007 municipal budget, in order to complete the dam reconstruction by
September or October.
Chila reported to Kenney that $80,000 had been set
aside in the 2007 capital budget in the form of a loan from the township
to the HOA, “to avoid a natural disaster.” The terms of the loan are yet
to be specified.
Several residents of the Westbrook at Weatherby
single family home development voiced their ongoing concerns about
maintenance of the subdivision entrance and the common open space at the
intersection of Ardmore Lane and Township Line Road.
Homeowners in this development had previously
approached the township committee in June 2006. The issues that needed
attention at that time included the lack of a sign designating the name of
the development, the lack of grass in the common area and the dying plants
in the landscaped circle.
Residents stated that they had been assured by the
builder that the development would be professionally landscaped in a
comparable way to the Lexington Hill development, but in their opinion it
was not even close to what was promised.
During the June meeting, Frank Morris of the Alaimo
Group, the township engineer at the time, reported that there had been no
provision in the construction plans for an irrigation system, therefore it
would be hard to successfully maintain the grassy area and the landscaped
circle.
Chila had said that he didn’t forsee a problem
convincing the builder, Fieldstone Associates, to put up a development
sign. He warned the residents, however, that the installation of an
irrigation system would be less likely, given that there was no
requirement for one in the building plans.
The residents were back at the May 21 committee
meeting nearly a year later because other than installing a sign, the
developer had not addressed any of their other concerns. They complained
of dead trees and shrubs and grass growing as much as 20 inches tall. They
also observed that the developer’s landscaping company mows the grass
along Township Line Road in front of the townhome section and stops before
getting to the single family home section.
The homeowners that back up to the open space are
willing to help as far as planting flowers and similar small improvements,
but they are concerned that without an irrigation system any efforts made
to seed or plant anything will be useless.
According to Chila, Fieldstone is still under
maintenance bond, which requires that they are responsible for maintenance
of the development until 2010 and the committee would “do whatever we can
do to stay on top of them.”
He promised to contact the developer the following
morning to insist that the single family home section be added to their
weekly landscaping schedule.
He added, however, that the township had tried last
year to convince Fieldstone to install an irrigation system, but “they
simply would not budge” because it was not included in the approved plans.
“We have no pressure whatsoever to make them put in an irrigation system”,
he concluded.
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AREA SCHOOLS IN THE NEWS
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Two Kingsway Teachers Arrested On Sexual
Assault
and Witness Tampering Charges
By Karen E. Viereck,
Editor/Publisher
Kingsway Regional High School physical education teachers
and coaches Erica Umosella and Emma Painter were arrested on a variety of
charges relating to the alleged month-long sexual relationship between
Umosella and a 17-year old female student.
Umosella, 28 of Glassboro was charged on May 10 by the
Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office with first-degree aggravated sexual
assault, second-degree official misconduct and third-degree aggravated
criminal sexual contact.
Painter, of Clayton, was arrested on May 18 and charged
by the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office with second degree official
misconduct and third degree witness tampering in connection with the Umosella
case.
According to information from the Gloucester County
Prosecutor’s office, Umosella’s first degree sexual assault charge is defined
as someone who had supervisory authority over another person and sexually
interacting with that person. The misconduct charge is brought when a public
official does something wrong that’s related to their position.
According to the Prosecutor, the alleged sexual
relationship occurred with the student at Umosella’s Glassboro resident. The
student was enrolled in one of Umosella’s health classes and was a member of
the school field hockey team for which Umosella was assistant coach.
There is no allegation of criminal acts occurring on
school grounds and no other student victims have come forth.
Information from the prosecutor’s office stated that the
investigation began immediately after Kingsway Superintendent Ave Altersitz
referred an anonymous letter to law enforcement authorities. According to
Altersitz, the first anonymous letter was vague but “it didn’t sound good” so
they turned it over to the prosecutor’s office.
She said that the information concerning the Painter
incident came from “different places”. She said she heard things and checked
up on it and then turned the information over because it had to do with the
first sexual assault case.
Allegedly Painter made verbal and written communications
to the 17-year-old student urging that student to recant statements about the
relationship with Umosella.
Umosella has taught at Kingsway since September 2003 and
has been suspended without pay. She is free on $50,000 bail.
Painter, chairperson of the Kingsway Department of Health
and Physical Education and head field hockey coach, has been employed at the
school since 1989. She has been suspended with pay and is free on $10,000
bail.
The investigation is being conducted jointly by the
county prosecutor’s office and the Glassboro and Woolwich Township Police
Departments.
“Law enforcement and educational authorities need to work
together,” said Gloucester County Prosecutor Sean F. Dalton. “We appreciate
the timely notification of the Kingsway school superintendent as soon as she
was made aware of it. By doing so, it greatly assists law enforcement efforts
to fully investigate this serious matter.”
Kingsway Superintendent Ave Altersitz stated that this is
the first time in the 20 years that she has been involved in this school
system that any such teacher/student relationship has occurred.
When asked if the school has a policy concerning a gay
physical education teacher being in a same sex locker room as allegedly
occurred in this situation, she said that no school in the district has one.
Altersitz stated if a student is uncomfortable in any situation with any
teacher, they should bring it to the attention of their parents and the
administration.
Altersitz stated that professionals know they have
boundaries and not to overstep them and that there was a difference between
being gay and being a pedophile.
She stated that at the beginning of each school year both
old and new teachers are lectured on appropriate behavior between students and
teachers. As an example, she said teachers are warned not to be alone with any
student. This is for the safety of the student as well as the safety of the
teacher.
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Sending Districts Approve
Reduced Kingsway Budget
Woolwich, Swedesboro,
East Greenwich and South Harrison Townships passed resolutions on May 21
saving residents $647,420 by reducing the $29.7 million dollar Kingsway
Regional School District budget originally defeated by residents. The
reductions were made in cooperation with the school district and
representatives from the four municipalities.
Taxpayers in Woolwich will see a .016 increase,
Swedesboro residents a .109 increase, East Greenwich residents a .027 increase
and South Harrison residents a .05 decrease. Mayors and representatives from
each town have had several meetings with and without the school district
before reaching an agreement.
“All of us are pleased of the outcome,” said East
Greenwich Mayor John DeGeorge. “It really helps when all of the communities
have a common goal and that is to really become familiar with the school
budget and act appropriately.”
“We are pleased that the outcome of this budget
negotiation is amiable for both parties. It keeps our educational program
going in the right direction while helping to reduce costs,” said South
Harrison Mayor Charles Tyson.
“Through negotiation with district administration and the
board of education, we have successfully lowered the tax burden without
undermining programs and services for our children,” said Woolwich Mayor Joe
Chila.
“We are very pleased that by working together with our
neighboring towns we were able to make sensible reductions while insisting
the district keep fully intact two additional extracurricular activities
which will allow more students to participate in sports,” said Swedesboro
Mayor Tom Fromm.
While several items were cut, others were reinstated per
the insistence of the four municipalities including the school district
funding the school resource officer position.
“I’m very pleased that the other municipalities saw fit
to allow Kingsway to fully fund the school resource officer position,” said
Woolwich Township Deputy Mayor Jim Lavender. “In this day and age it is
important to have a police presence in our schools.”
Woolwich Township residents originally were to see a
decrease if the budget was approved. A human error made by the school district
actually called for a .04 cent increase prior to the cuts.
The $647,420 in savings will not have a direct impact on
local children and the quality of their education.
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