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Buena Regional considering $205K in cuts BUENA -- Municipal and education officials are weighing $205,000 worth of proposed cuts to Buena Regional School District's $30 million budget. If approved, school taxes would still go up. But the owner of a $100,000 property in both Buena Borough or Buena Vista Township would pay $25 less per year than called for under the original school budget, which voters in both communities rejected April 15. Municipal officials in Buena Borough and Buena Vista Township signed formal resolutions Monday endorsing the proposed cuts. More than half of the savings come from $113,100 worth of cuts to future school maintenance projects. The rest is made up through reductions to nearly 65 line items, district Business Administrator Tom Kearney said. Funding for existing school personnel or programs is unchanged. "We're trying to get by with what we have," Kearney said. "It's not the best-case scenario, that's for sure." The next school board meeting is May 13. If board members approve the revisions, the owner of a $100,000 property in the borough would pay $1,797 in school taxes next year. That's up slightly more than $106 from a year ago. The owner of a $100,000 property in the township would pay $1,897 in school taxes. That's still up about $73 from a year ago. Both municipalities agreed to the cuts after meeting with school officials last week to discuss budget revisions. Officials called the meeting a success and adjourned without scheduling a second. Last year, municipal and school officials convened twice before agreed to slash that proposed school budget -- also rejected by voters -- by $500,000. Even though officials cut next year's spending plan by less that half that amount, this year's budget session wasn't easy. "We were limited in how much we could cut out," Buena Mayor Joseph Baruffi said. "We would've liked to cut more, but we had to look at the best picture for everyone."
Agriculture Secretary harvests good will during a tour of local farms BUENA VISTA --With bright eyes and wind-whipped cheeks, state Agriculture Secretary Charles M. Kuperus looked more like a gawking schoolboy as he watched Cuban peppers being planted at G. Ruggeri and Sons. Kuperus visited the local vegetable farm and three other agriculture operations Monday during a daylong pilgrimage to Atlantic and Cumberland counties. Kuperus' other destinations included Ed Wuillermin Farms in Hammonton, Castellari Farms in Buena Borough and Muzzarelli Farms in Vineland. He made the tour to support the state's 9,000 farmers and the 830,000 acres they tend. Farming is an $800 million annual industry for the state, according to the 1997 agriculture census. Kuperus wants to ensure it remains viable here and elsewhere. G. Ruggeri and Sons, a fifth-generation family farm dating to 1906, produces crops such as peppers, lettuce, tomatoes and eggplant. It's also one of a handful of local farms that still plants white potatoes. Farm laborers spent Monday planting rows of budding pepper plants under the watchful gaze of Brad Ruggeri. Ruggeri, 24, is among the youngest generation at G. Ruggeri & Sons. The gusty weather -- which forced the plants nearly flat on their sides -- restricted the number of peppers that could be planted. Despite such inconveniences, the Ruggeri family welcomed Kuperus with open arms and eagerly await his return in late July or August when the crops are harvested. "I'm glad he came out," said Ron Ruggeri, 52. "Farmers like a hands-on person, someone who can be one of us." If his enthusiastic gesticulations and wide-eyed wonder were any indication, Kuperus looks forward to reacquainting himself with the area's family run farms. "It's a celebration of the harvest in New Jersey," he said. "New Jersey farms grow a huge array of produce, and we're determined to keep the farms in New Jersey."
BUENA -- The Buena Regional school board unanimously approved a trimmed version of its 2003-04 school budget Tuesday. The $25,178,622 spending plan reflects $205,000 in cuts agreed upon by the board and local governments. Voters in Buena Vista Township and Buena Borough rejected the district's original budget in the April 15 school elections. Under the final plan, the owner of a $100,000 home in the township will pay $1,895 in school taxes. In the borough, a homeowner with a $100,000 property will pay $1,797. That's about $25 less than each would have paid under the defeated school budget. Savings came from $113,000 in cuts to school building maintenance and trimmings to several other line items. The cuts were agreed upon by school district and municipal officials, who met earlier to revise the rejected plan. Formal resolutions were passed in the borough and township supporting the revised spending plan. But Superintendent Diane DeGiacomo said the district retains the ability to begin necessary maintenance projects if any money is left over, without tapping into $205,000 in savings. Like the original budget, the amended version does not provide for new programs or personnel. The general fund includes about $116,415 the district will receive in additional state aid for the 2003-2004 school year. They received no additional state aid for the current school year, and only about $24,000 the previous year. DeGiacomo warns that the budget includes only the projected estimates rather than the actual increases in insurance and utilities costs. There's no guarantee their estimates will come close to the actual figures, she said. The district's estimated insurance costs would increase anywhere from 12 to 18 percent and utilities by 12 to 15 percent. Both were among some of the larger increases in the 2003-2004 budget, she said.
South Jersey Gas to repair patches of rough road COLLINGS LAKES -- The rough patches that riddle the community's main drag may soon vanish. South Jersey Gas Co. has agreed to repair 24 patches on Cains Mill Road in the next few weeks. The patches exist where crews opened up the street to repair an aging gas main, township engineer Dave Scheidegg said. Newer gas mains are made of polyethylene plastic. But the gas main at Cains Mill Road is a bare steel pipe that erodes and corrodes over time. South Jersey Gas also agreed to immediately fix an additional six leaking gas connections along the road. Once that is done, all 30 patches will be subjected to an infrared process designed to make them smoother and less noticeable, said Joanne Brigandi, a South Jersey Gas Co. spokeswoman. The township met with gas company officials over the last three to five years to try to resolve the issue. "(Until now) we were not able to come to an agreement on how it should be done," Brigandi said. Now the work is imminent, and the cosmetic face-lift at Cains Mill Road may be just the beginning. If the new infrared technology is a success, it could be applied to about 40 other township roads where similar patches exist. The patches are a particular sore spot for township officials, who spent about $2 million to repave 80 miles of local roads with asphalt from 1996 to 1998. The gas company opened the street under moratorium, which prohibits street openings for a period of up to five years after a township road is repaved except in emergencies. "We don't want somebody chopping up our brand new asphalt roads," Mayor Chuck Chiarello said, adding roads that get repaved should have a minimum 15-year lifespan. The gas company has repaired two gas main leaks at the edge of Wendy Kunze's property at the corner of Cains Mill Road and West Cushman Avenue. She is eager to bid farewell to the "big hump" by her home. "They should be the ones to fix it," Kunze said. "They're the ones who dug them up." Others say that, while a trip down Cains Mill Road may be a bumpy ride, it's certainly no roller coaster. "Part of (the road) does have lumps," said Kim Donnelly, 40, of Collings Lakes. "But it doesn't do damage to your vehicle."
Company bounces back from debt BUENA -- Gone are the dark days of fraud and mismanagement at IGI Inc. Gone, too, are the multimillion-dollar debts that threatened to bring the company to an untimely end. With new leaders at the helm, a new patented technology and a series of new cost-cutting measures, IGI appears reborn. Just as importantly, it is continuing to report increasing profits. The company reported a net income of $36,000 in the first quarter of 2003. That compares with a net loss of $487,000 for the same three-month period last year. The firm's stock hit an all-time high of $1.70 per share a few weeks ago. It has since dipped to $1.20, but that's still nearly three times the stock price just five months ago. "We've been starting to see some of the fruits of our efforts," said John Ambrose, the firm's CEO and president. Those efforts were a long time coming. But the maxim "Out with the old, in with new" has helped spark a turnaround for a company that was reporting a $16 million debt this time last year. John Gallo, the company's former president, resigned in 1998 after he was accused of overstating company assets and revenues. Gallo's administration also was accused of manipulating poultry vaccine tests and illegally selling the defective vaccine to Iran in violation of a U.S. trade embargo. All criminal charges against Gallo were dropped, Ambrose said, but a civil suit is still pending. The company was largely absolved of wrongdoing, although it did spend big money for fines, legal fees and the hiring of consultants to help get the company back on its feet. Such expenses contributed to the company's burgeoning debt. "The accountant was questioning whether we'd continue to be operating," Ambrose said. But Ambrose and Chief Financial Officer Domenic Golato joined IGI three years ago as part of a complete management overhaul. One of the first moves called for selling the firm's Pet Products Division to Vetoquinol, which continues to operate out of IGI's Lincoln Avenue building. The $12.46 million sale all but eliminated IGI's debt. The firm then redirected its focus to consumer cosmetics. IGI's consumer division is centered around the patented Novasome microencapsulation technology, The technology, developed by a researcher at the company around 1987, is used in popular skin care products of cosmetic giants Estee Lauder and Johnson and Johnson, two of IGI's largest customers. Desert Whale Jojoba, a natural cosmetics manufacturer in California, and Chattem Inc., the manufacturers of Icy Hot and Gold Bond, also signed on. There's one more sign that things are improving. The company hired its first business development employee last month. The person is devoted exclusively to promoting the product and expanding the customer base.
Cancer patient to clown around at circus BUENA VISTA -- Shirley Anne Lance will undergo her first chemotherapy treatment soon after she wakes up this morning. Doctors will insert a central line into her chest and use a portable pump to infuse her body with powerful cancer-fighting drugs. There's no telling what the immediate side effects may be. Regardless, the township resident will be clowning around again in just a couple hours. Lance, a 64-year-old retired clown, will be the guest of honor under the Big Top tonight at the Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus. She will shed her hospital smock for a frilled pink hoop skirt, red polka-dot pantaloons and floppy oversized shoes. She will join an eclectic mix of elephants, trapeze artists and performers as they parade around the three-ring circus prior to intermission of the 8 p.m. show. She also will receive a special introduction from the ringmaster. Lance's return to the ring is credited in large part to her friend, Joan Soltys of Millville. Soltys spotted an advertisement in The Daily Journal promoting a coloring contest open to kids ages 6 to 12. The winner would get the chance to be a real clown while the circus was in town. Soltys wrote a letter to Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. officials asking that they consider bestowing a similar honor on her friend. Lance doesn't meet the age requirement, Soltys acknowledged. But she definitely is young at heart. "I know it would make her day, especially since she hides her illness and loves making people laugh," Soltys wrote. In the tradition of circus cheer, Lance was welcomed with open arms. "We love everyone. We love all," said Ron West, the circus' marketing director. "She's going through a hard time. If we can just put a smile on her face, then we've done a mighty good deed." Lance is no stranger to life as a clown. She spent the last 15 years performing at private birthday parties, nursing homes and business events. But this is the first time she will entertain a circus crowd. The mere thought makes Lance's smile extend from ear to ear -- and the grin isn't just the effect of the pancake make-up on her face. "I'm thrilled to be in the circus," Lance said. "Boy, cancer gets you a lot of things, doesn't it?"
McGreevey signs 'do not call' law HAMILTON - It
might take a year, but legislation signed into law by Gov. James E. McGreevey
Wednesday should drastically reduce unwanted telemarketing calls.
Buena champion runs through his tragedy EGG HARBOR
TOWNSHIP - -Lee Barnes leaned at the finish to just edge his closest competitor
Friday.
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