|
|
|
Less buzz for the season - Honeybee shortage worries region's farmers, beekeepers 4/25/05
BUENA VISTA
TOWNSHIP - There was a persistent, low "bzzzz" in the air as Tim Schuler filled
one of his 150 honeybee hives with steady stream of smoke Sunday afternoon.
RICHLAND VILLAGE: Buena Vista hopes for 'good things' with revitalization 4/25/05 BUENA VISTA -- The transformation of a stretch of Route 40 into the Richland Village is officially under way. Sidewalk construction has begun, new restaurants are on the horizon and officials are finalizing plans to install electric wires that will power street lamps. "Good things are starting to happen with this project," Mayor Chuck Chiarello said. Buena Vista officials last July unveiled their vision for a redesigned Route 40 corridor that would revitalize Richland's once-thriving business community. The "Richland Village" plan calls for new sidewalks, landscaping, decorative lighting and a Village Square Park that would attract shoppers and tourists. A construction crew last week began making cuts in the asphalt where new sidewalks will be installed between Greenbriar Avenue and nearby railroad tracks, Chiarello said. Those sidewalks, along with street lamps and benches, will be in place by the end of summer, he said. Meanwhile, four eateries in the Richland area have changed hands recently. According to Chiarello:
"This gives us a really good feeling, a vote of confidence," Chiarello said of the flurry of business activity occurring in Richland. Also, the township recently worked out a roughly $4,000 deal in which Conectiv will put in new wires to accommodate the street lamps that will line the highway. Officials wanted to preserve the area's aesthetics by limiting the number of places where power lines hang across Route 40; the new wires will cross at the Fir Avenue intersection, alongside existing lines.
SPCA: Man faces cockfight charges 4/23/05 How to help Anyone with information about cockfighting, which is illegal in New Jersey, may report it to the SPCA at (856) 691-1500. VINELAND -- Firefighters battling a brush fire along East Oak Road Thursday stumbled upon evidence of cockfighting. They alerted police, who in turn contacted the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, who visited the residence at 3350 E. Oak Road Friday afternoon. By the end of the visit, about 75 fighting cocks were euthanized and animal cruelty charges were pending against Jaime Portalatin Jr., said Bev Greco, who oversees the Cumberland County SPCA's cruelty investigations. It marked the second time in three years investigators have confiscated birds from the property. In March 2002, 51 were euthanized after a similar discovery. On Friday, about 100 birds were found on the property that straddles the border of Cumberland and Atlantic counties. About 75 were individually housed males, Greco said, noting they were euthanized. "They were extremely aggressive," she said. The head and necks of the birds were decombed and dewattled, Greco said, a common procedure done in an effort to make the fights last longer. The wattle and comb are cut off and the wound is cauterized to reduce bleeding in the ring, she said. A barrel of burned carcasses also was found on the property, Greco said. Investigators from the Cumberland and Atlantic County SPCAs found several of the birds wrapped with gauze. The gauze is used to anchor a synthetic spur to the bird to inflict more damage during the fights. A spur also was found on the property. They also found drugs that are commonly injected into fighting birds, Greco said. Warmer weather usually heralds the arrival of cockfighting season, Greco said. Since the birds were housed on the Atlantic County section of the property, the charges will be filed in that county. Greco said the SPCA plans to contact the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office to file felony animal cruelty charges against Portalatin. The Cumberland County SPCA is attempting to locate the owner of the property.
History comes home to the MLK Center 4/19/05 BUENA VISTA -- Gail Benson says history buffs, like herself, enjoy poking around the past. And they like to share what they've found with others, said Benson, a longtime member of the Buena Historical Society. For these history aficionados, township resident Ralph Hunter is kind of a hero, a man who not only immersed himself in the past but collected enough artifacts and other historical materials to start a museum. On Wednesday night, Hunter will share his experiences in breathing life into the history of black residents throughout South Jersey. "Ralph Hunter isn't just an inspiration to African-Americans," Benson said. "He's an inspiration to anyone interested in history." Hunter's efforts led to the creation of the African American Heritage Museum of Southern New Jersey, which found a home in the township's Martin Luther King Center. "He's spent his entire life looking for history wherever he went," Benson said. "And how he did that is of great interest to anyone who is interested in history." History and Hunter have a way of running into each other. And the 66-year-old Newtonville resident knows those meetings can come in unlikely places. Last year, Hunter was walking down Michigan Avenue in Atlantic City when he came upon a family moving out of an old home. One thing led to another and the next thing he knew, Hunter was digging through several inches of mud and dirt in a crawlspace beneath the house.
Group addresses child abuse, neglect 4/18/05 What's next
BUENA VISTA -- Progress is coming along rapidly for a regional collaborative effort under way to help western Atlantic County's troubled families deal with child abuse and neglect. Twenty-eight people attended a meeting on the project earlier this month at the Martin Luther King Community Center in Newtonville and formed four subgroups to address the challenge, said the Rev. David Mallory, pastor of First Baptist Church of Richland. Those committees will tackle advocacy, planning, programming and fund raising. "The groups are trying to determine what the needs of the community are with regards to child abuse prevention, how to handle them, what programs would accomplish this and how the collaborative can be financed and staffed," said Mallory, who also serves as office manager for the state Division of Youth and Family Services in Bridgeton, Although the local group is still unnamed, it will set up a base at the community center once it's officially formed, Mallory said. The state Department of Human Services, which has jurisdiction over DYFS, developed the idea of regional collaborative efforts to focus on improving child welfare by boosting community support and resources. "Collaboratives bring together all of the community stakeholders -- anyone with a stake in the community's well-being," Mallory said. "This includes local municipal officials, the health department, library, clergy, doctors, social agencies, schools and even the police. They are asked to focus on preventing child abuse and neglect."
Exploring ways to invigorate glass industry 4/13/05 The historical economic legacy of our region is rooted in the glass industry. Buena, Millville and Vineland have been the heart of our state's glass manufacturing for decades. However, through the introduction of plastics, aluminum and international competition, the glass industry in our region, our state and country have all experienced a dramatic and widespread decline. The dismal reality is that, over the last 30 years, 54 percent of New Jersey's glass jobs have disappeared. In 1975, there were more than 17,000 jobs in the glass industry in New Jersey. In 2000, there were about 8,000 jobs. During the same period, U.S. glass jobs fell from about 180,000 to 130,000, a 38.4 percent loss. The decline of the glass industry is a startling example of the changing work force in the United States. In March 2005, New Jersey's unemployment rate dropped to its lowest level in 20 months. As in past years, most of the job growth was in non-manufacturing. The service sector continued to grow while manufacturing declined. In 1943, about 55 percent of the state's workers were in manufacturing. Today, 10 percent of the nation's work force and 8 percent of New Jersey's are in manufacturing. This much is clear: Our manufacturing base needs to be protected. To that end, last week I attended The New Jersey Glass Summit, sponsored by The Management Institute of Rowan University, to address the problem and explore proposed measures to resuscitate the struggling glass industry in New Jersey. Potential catalysts to get the glass industry back on track in New Jersey include cutting-edge technology, new products, smart legislation and beneficial economic development incentives. One example of such an economic development incentive is S-2358, which Sen. Stephen Sweeney (D-3) and I sponsored. The bill would allow all manufacturing-intensive qualified businesses located in Urban Enterprise Zones (UEZs) to claim sales and use tax exemption for their energy and utility service purchases. Currently, the state reserves the exemption only for larger (500-plus employees) manufacturing-intensive qualified businesses situated within such zones. It is the hope that this legislation and similar initiatives will help reduce the cost of energy for smaller manufacturers. The summit should provide new hope for an industry that once-thrived in our backyard. State Sen. Nicholas Asselta R-1st District
DOT targets $144M. for roadway resurfacing 4/7/05
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Address: Buena Vista Township
Copyright © 1999 [Buena Vista Township]. All rights reserved.
|
