Grant could cover safety
program 6/30/26
Buena Vista could qualify for at least $5,000 in state grant money.
The money will be reimbursement toward $7,200 the township spent for this
fall's Fire Wise program.
The council also unanimously approved a new ordinance increasing the fines
for all-terrain vehicles.
For complete details go to:
www.thedailyjournal.com
(Return To Top Of Page)
A look at new,
soon-to-open restaurants, delis 6/24/06
Coming this fall: The Legacy Italian Fare
1328 Harding Highway, Route 40, Richland
856-697-7313
For complete details go to:
www.thedailyjournal.com
(Return To Top Of Page)
State
Police fee might pay off for some rural towns 6/23/06
COMMERCIAL TOWNSHIP — If the state charges rural towns for State Police
patrols, those towns may still have a way to get some money back.
Four state senators want all fines for driving violations paid to the
municipalities in which they occurred; they also plan to make the state pay
towns that host a State Police barracks.
“If they want to tax us, we'll tax you back,” said state Sen. Nicholas Asselta,
R-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic.
Asselta introduced legislation Thursday to do just that, with a bipartisan trio
of co-sponsors. The four lawmakers represent several southern New Jersey towns
that depend solely on the State Police for policing.
Their move comes in response to Gov. Jon S. Corzine's proposal to charge towns
for police coverage. Corzine's budget estimates $24 million in revenue through
charging certain municipalities for State Police rural patrols.
“This is a tough budget, and it's going to require shared sacrifice to get the
state back on the way to fiscal responsibility,” said Brendan Gilfillan, a
spokesman for Corzine.
Under Corzine's plan, the state would bill “towns with tax rates below their
county average or where residential property values are higher than the county
average.” County tax assessors don't keep a statistic on the average county tax,
leaving it somewhat unclear which towns would be affected, but it's believed
most towns with rural patrols would be charged. Some would face payments equal
to more than one-third of their annual budgets.
“I feel like I'm being penalized for being thrifty,” said Rich Bethea, the
longtime mayor of Bass River Township and a registered financial officer.
Unlike many New Jersey towns, Bass River has no trash pickup, doesn't provide
health benefits for its employees and does not have a full-time public works
department. The result is that the town has no general purpose tax, largely
because it doesn't provide many services.
Bethea said, however, that his town would gladly pay the State Police fee if
Bass River could keep fines for motor vehicle violations, and if the township
received payments for the State Police barracks it hosts. The Garden State
Parkway runs through Bass River, which means state troopers pull over hundreds,
if not thousands, of drivers per year in Bass River.
Like Bethea, Hal Bickings, mayor of Hopewell Township, Cumberland County, thinks
the governor is selectively discriminating against rural towns. He called
Corzine a “limousine liberal” and lauded state Sen. Stephen Sweeney, a
co-sponsor of the bill and one of Corzine's Democratic colleagues, for opposing
the governor's plan.
However, Hopewell has no State Police barracks, and it is unlikely the township
would collect $471,240 in fines from drivers — the amount the town is estimated
to owe for State Police patrols.
“The trade-off would not be anywhere near what Corzine would be taking from us,”
Bickings said.
Sweeney, D-Salem, Cumberland, Gloucester, and fellow state Sens. Robert Singer,
R-Burlington, Mercer, Monmouth, Ocean; and Martha Bark, R-Burlington, have
signed on to back Asselta's plan. They have said they'll oppose Corzine's plan,
and the League of Municipalities has lobbied against it.
The State Police was created 85 years ago, and its charter called for troopers
to police rural areas that couldn't afford police departments.
Corzine isn't the first governor to propose towns pay for rural patrolling.
Former Gov. James E. McGreevey suggested a similar charge during his tenure, and
the Legislature killed that idea. Like Corzine, he faced problems balancing a
state budget with more spending than revenue.
(Return To Top Of Page)
Savor flavor of area farm markets - Summer's favorite crops expected to arrive
soon 6/23/06
Area farmers markets open
Richland Farmers Market
Richland Village on Route 40
Saturdays, 9 am to 1 pm
In season: blueberries, cucumbers, lettuce
Around the corner: corn, tomatoes, beans
The market debuted last weekend.
For complete details go to:
www.thedailyjournal.com
(Return To Top Of Page)
FBI: Raid suspects tied
to jail gang 6/14/06
BUENA VISTA TOWNSHIP — The two men arrested in Monday's early morning drug
raid on a Landis Avenue home are affiliated with a prison gang that helps peddle
crack cocaine and heroin throughout the region, federal authorities said
Tuesday.
Candido Cruz, 41, and Jesus Cuadrado, 31, were taken into custody Monday when
about 70 federal, state and local law-enforcement officers swept through a
three-home complex searching for drugs and weapons.
The bust supposedly broke up a major distribution hub, one that Kevin Cruise,
assistant special agent in charge of the FBI's Newark office, said had been
under investigation since 2005.
Authorities wouldn't specifically name what was recovered during the raid. But
Stephen Siegel, a special agent in the FBI's Newark office, did mention
recovering “one firearm, suspected narcotics, ammunition and other material.”
Cruz and Cuadrado were charged with dealing more than 50 grams of crack cocaine
in Vineland and Buena Vista Township in December and January. They remain in
federal custody after an appearance in U.S. District Court on Monday.
Cruz was arrested at the complex, which federal authorities dubbed “the farm” in
a criminal complaint. Cuadrado and his girlfriend, Mildred Rivera, were arrested
at a nearby Econo Lodge. Rivera was charged with narcotics offenses, Siegel
said.
Three other arrests, made in early June, are linked to the same drug ring that
included Cruz and Cuadrado, Siegel said.
Millville resident Edwin Viera, 43, was arrested in an Atlantic City hotel for
attempting to sell two kilograms of heroin and three kilograms of cocaine to an
undercover federal informant, Siegel said. Viera also was accused of having
secret compartments in his cars used to transport drugs.
The next day, Elizabeth Ortiz, 28, and Antonio Ortiz, 49, were arrested on
federal narcotics charges in Camden.
“It's possible they all had the same prison-gang affiliation, known as G27,”
Siegel said, noting that most of the investigations focused on alleged members
of that gang.
At least nine other people were living in the three-home complex located about a
mile from the Five Points intersection at the 5200 block of Landis Avenue,
Cruise said in a previous interview. The occupants did not resist arrest during
the raid. On Tuesday, the homes were deserted, with the door to the main house
left open.
Some neighbors on the 5200 block of Landis Avenue said they were glad they were
able to get back to their lives after dozens of police cars and federal
investigators covered the area Monday.
“We're just glad they got the bad guys and that nobody got hurt,” said Gan
Levari, who lives near the targeted homes. “Who knew? These kinds of things just
don't happen in this neighborhood.”
Cruz has spent time in state prison for manslaughter and selling drugs on school
property, according to state Department of Corrections records. Both he and
Cuadrado are scheduled to appear in court Thursday for detention hearings.
(Return To Top Of Page)
Official arrest 2 in
Buena drug raid 3/13/06
BUENA VISTA TOWNSHIP — Nearly six-dozen law- enforcement officials raided a
three-home complex before sunrise Monday, breaking up what they said was a
crack- cocaine ring that spread throughout Atlantic and Cumberland counties.
Candido Cruz, 41, and Jesus Cuadrado, 31, were arrested as part of the sting and
were charged with dealing more than 55 grams of crack cocaine in the area of
Vineland and Buena Vista Township.
The alleged distribution center — which FBI agents dubbed “the farm” — is
located about a mile from the five-points intersection at the 5200 block of
Landis Avenue, a quiet area with untilled farmland across the street.
Authorities did not say Monday if crack cocaine was taken from the house, but
Kevin Cruise, the assistant special agent in charge of the FBI's Newark office,
said that the damage to the local drug trade should be “substantial.”
“This should leave a big dent that's felt for a while,” he said at the scene.
Cruise said that authorities from the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration,
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Cumberland and Atlantic
county prosecutor's offices and local police forces also searched for weapons at
the scene by executing a warrant. He declined to say what was recovered.
The investigation into the alleged drug hub began in 2005, Cruise said, and
involved secret informants and surveillance of the house.
Cruz owns the three homes that are clustered together and painted a similar dull
beige color. At least nine family members and friends were living in the complex
at the time of the raid, Cruise said. They have been moved to a safe location,
authorities said.
Cuadrado was arrested Monday at a nearby Econo Lodge, where Cruise said he was
probably living.
Cruise expects more charges to be filed against both men stemming from evidence
found in the raid, and said additional arrests are possible. Messages left for
the FBI's spokesperson to find out what was recovered from the houses went
unreturned on Monday.
SWAT teams from both the State Police and FBI participated in the early morning
raid because of the possibility of weapons and because both men were considered
“extremely dangerous,” Cruise said.
But once the sting took place, both men went peacefully with authorities, Cruise
said.
Cruz previously spent more than three years in state prison for manslaughter
charges and three years for distributing drugs on school property in Salem
County, according to state Department of Corrections records. He was sentenced
for those charges in November 1988.
Both men appeared one after the other Monday afternoon before magistrate Judge
Joel Rosen in U.S. District Court in Camden, where they were charged with
dealing narcotics.
Cuadrado appeared wearing a large, baggy white T-shirt and jeans, with a
translator by his side.
A criminal complaint alleged that Cuadrado sold nearly 55 grams of crack cocaine
to a federal informant for $1,500 on the 1500 block of Landis Avenue in Vineland
in mid-December.
When Assistant District Attorney Diana Carrig said that Cuarado was living in an
Econo Lodge, the defendant smiled and laughed to himself.
Cruz appeared afterward, wearing camouflage pants and a scruffy beard. A
complaint against him alleged that he sold more than 55 grams of crack cocaine
to a federal informant for $1,500, and that he also gave the informant a bag of
heroin that law enforcement authorities said he stole from another dealer. The
alleged deal happened in January at the complex that was raided Monday
afternoon, authorities said.
Both men were appointed a public defender. Carrig said a possible sentence could
last between 10 years to life and include a $4 million fine.
Both men are scheduled to appear in court Thursday for a detention hearing.
(Return To Top Of Page)
Officers charge 2 men in
drug bust 6/13/06
FBI and state police SWAT teams arrested two men on drug charges Monday
morning on a Landis Avenue farm in Buena.
For complete details go to:
www.thedailyjournal.com
(Return To Top Of Page)
Price tag for cops a shock
6/11/06
Local officials are bracing for what could be a collective $6 million hit
under a cost-saving plan charging municipalities for state police coverage.
Twenty municipalities in Warren and Hunterdon counties would end up paying 26
percent of the $24 million in law enforcement costs that state officials want to
pass down.
The charges, outlined in Gov. Jon Corzine's proposed budget slated for
adoption July 1, are designed to affect wealthy communities where taxes are
lower than the county average.
The fees range from $72,000 to $495,000 and affect 73 municipalities
statewide that don't provide their own full-time police coverage. The charges
were determined by a formula charging each home $280 for full-time police
coverage and $200 for part-time coverage.
Treasury spokesman Tom Vincz said the figures would generate revenue that
would pay for more than 30 percent of the $74.2 million state police budget.
"It's part of the (proposed) budget and something we think is fair," state
Attorney General's office spokesman David Wald said.
With a Democratic majority backing the proposed budget, the charges are more
than likely going to become a reality, officials said.
"It's part of the governor's budget. I oppose that and will not be
supportive. Only time will tell, but it may very well pass," Minority Leader
Leonard Lance, R-Hunterdon/Warren said.
Once adopted, the budget becomes nearly impossible to change, Lance said.
On a local level, mayors are scrambling to avoid the feared fiscal shock.
Earlier this week, mayors from municipalities in the northern tier of Warren
County met to come up with a plan.
Hope Township Mayor Tim McDonough said the charges would crush a local town
like his with no municipal police department.
"It's going to leave municipalities very strapped. If they're trying to
induce us to get out of the state, they're doing a good job," McDonough said.
Knowlton Township Mayor Frank Van Horn shares his neighbor's sentiments.
"I think this is absolutely, positively wrong. We get no services from the
state, they spend millions and they're going to charge us for state police?
That's one of the few things rural communities have," Van Horn said.
Since the creation of the state police in December 1921, rural municipalities
received its services free of charge. Back then, the police's primary function
was to protect residents of rural municipalities.
State officials say the free ride is over.
"New Jersey is not in the 1920s anymore, state police have enormous
additional responsibilities. We're not going away, we're just asking for
contributions from towns that have been getting free state police coverage,"
Wald said.
State League of Municipalities director Bill Dressel criticized the state for
its inappropriate timing.
"If there is a change of heart, that to do it in this fashion, in the middle
of a fiscal year will create fiscal shock," Dressel said.
If municipalities opt out of the hefty fees, state officials suggest
regionalizing services with their neighbors.
McDonough doesn't know where he and his neighbors would even come up with the
funds to start a regional police force.
"Just the infrastructure alone would be unbelievable with equipment, police
cars, costs of training officers, radios. Forget about it," he said.
"These towns have very little choice but to stay with state police coverage,"
McDonough added.
It's his hope that the state rethinks the formula. From meetings he's had
with state treasury departments, he thinks they just might.
"Because so many mayors have legitimate concerns I think the state
treasurer's office will take another look at this," he said.
Reporter Kat Main can be reached at 908-475-8044 or by e-mail at kmain@express-times.com.
(Return To Top Of Page)
Unusual
Cranberry Run garden earns compliments 6/9/06
Frank Giglio of Cranberry Run gets plenty of admirers looking at his
beautiful garden with many plants including Kniphofia.
For complete details go to:
www.thedailyjournal.com
(Return To Top Of Page)
Red draft Buena grad Kevin
Gunter 6/9/06
Old Dominion University baseball pitcher Kevin Gunter was too busy to talk
early Thursday evening.
The former Buena Regional High School star, drafted this week in the 13th round,
was busy preparing to sign with the Cincinnati Reds. There was plenty of time to
talk later.
The signing process, with dinner included, took about three hours.
“It took longer than I thought,” Gunter said by telephone from Virginia. “But it
was real exciting to have it all happen.”
The Reds are sending Gunter to Sarasota, Fla., for a seven-day minicamp, and
then he'll report to advanced rookie ball with the Billings (Mont.) Mustangs.
“I've never been out there before. It's going to be an experience,” Gunter said.
Gunter and former St. Augustine Prep standout Todd Davison are two former
Press-area high school players who were drafted this week. Davison, a shortstop
at the University of Delaware, was chosen by the Baltimore Orioles in the 19th
round.
The 6-foot-4, 220-pound Gunter, 22, just completed his senior season at Old
Dominion, of Norfolk, Va. The Buena Vista Township resident started 15 games for
the Monarchs (tied for first on the team), compiled a 6-5 record and had a 3.46
ERA. The right hander had two shutouts and three complete games. In 104 innings,
Gunter gave up 99 hits and 55 runs (40 earned runs), struck out 101 batters and
walked 30. Old Dominion was 39-17.
Gunter was the Colonial Athletic Association Pitcher of the Week three times
this spring. He beat nationally ranked Virginia 5-1, and struck out 11 in a
complete game 4-0 win over George Mason. He also went the distance and struck
out nine in a 6-0 win over Virginia Commonwealth, and fanned 10 in a 5-3 loss to
Towson University.
In 2005, Gunter was 2-5 for the Monarchs with a 5.34 ERA. He also pitched two
years at Gloucester County Community College.
“My pitching style has changed a lot since high school,” Gunter said. “I'm a
sidearm guy now, and I throw a ‘Frisbee' slider and a changeup. I didn't have
that until my second year in college. I throw a sinker ball, and throw a
fastball about 75 percent of the time.”
The Buena graduate says he's ready for the upcoming challenges. “You've got to
be ready,” he said. “This isn't something you can back into. If you do that,
you'll be in trouble, so I'm going in full steam, baby.”
Gunter was a two-time Press first-team All Star at Buena and was chosen first
team All-State as a senior in 2002 by The Associated Press. He was a second-team
Press All-Star as a sophomore.
Gunter was 9-1 on the mound for Buena in 2002, and the Chiefs, under coach
Charlie Arena, won the Cape-Atlantic League championship. Gunter also helped to
Chiefs to reach the finals of the Diamond Classic. The team reached the South
Jersey Group II semifinals and ended up 25-5.
“He started playing varsity for us as a sophomore, and we played him in the
outfield,” Arena said. “He had a real good year, but after that we kind of stuck
with him as a pitcher. He was consistently in the mid-80s. His only problem was
that he threw it straight. In high school he overpowered people. It was as
though he was saying, ‘Here's my fastball, hit it.' He also played first base
and the outfield. He was very fast and and athletic. He also played basketball
and one year of football.”
Three of Gunter's Old Dominion teammates were also drafted. Junior pitcher Jason
Godin was selected in the fifth round by the Kansas City Royals, while senior
catcher Patrick Nichols was chosen in the 16th round by the Washington Nationals
and senior first baseman/pitcher Dana Arrowood was drafted by the Detroit Tigers
in the 38th round.
(Return To Top Of Page)
Charging rural communities for state police service is simply wrong 6/7/06
For complete details go to:
www.thedailyjournal.com
(Return To Top Of Page)
