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LOCAL NEWS CLIPS - FEBRUARY 2007
Buena Vista mayor unites first couple under civil union statute 2/28/07 Monday night Mayor Chiarello preformed his first civil union. For complete details go to: www.thedailyjournal.com
Petition grows in support of injured carrier's cause 2/27/07
Success can be halting. The application to get Maureen Deprince on ABC's “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” was scheduled to go in the mail Monday. But the overwhelming support on one online petition site stalled the plan. Friends are hoping a mound of signatures will catch the show's attention for the Ventnor postal carrier, who lost both her legs and her sight after an allegedly drunken driver hit her as she packed her mail truck. But retrieving the signatures from one of the sites was taking hours Monday, friend Christine Sagnis said. Deprince's husband, Troy, started printing the 1,800 pages at 8:30 a.m., and
by “The electric company will be happy,” she joked. There were more than 40,000 signatures total as the group prepared to send the package today. Sagnis did not know how much the mailer would cost. “I'm just whipping out my postal credit card,” Maureen's former supervisor, Carol Threatt, told the group. The package will go out Priority Mail, Sagnis said. “I don't think we can afford Express.” Friends gathered at Sagnis' Ventnor home Saturday to count thousands of hand-written signatures collected locally and sent in from various places. Maureen was there, adding her name to the list. Despite what the accident has taken, she has kept her sense of humor and quick wit. “We kept putting papers in front of Maureen, telling Maureen to start counting. ‘You're not getting this house for free, you know,'” Sagnis laughed. “She told us where we could go.” Deprince was loading her mail truck July 24 in Ventnor when a car driven by Allen Henry Miller, of New York, slammed into her. She was pinned between his car and her truck. One leg was severed; the other hung by a tendon. As neighbors and passers-by rushed to her aid, Miller allegedly fled the scene, but was later apprehended. A grand jury indicted him on charges of assault by auto while intoxicated within 1,000 feet of a school zone and of leaving the scene of an accident resulting in serious bodily injury. He was being held at the Atlantic County jail on $100,000 bail. Maureen lost both her legs to about midthigh. Doctors are uncertain if she will regain her sight, which was lost as the result of a stroke suffered from the extreme amount of blood loss. Those at the scene were surprised she survived, but Deprince has continued to improve. In January, she left Magee Rehabilitation Hospital in Philadelphia after months of hard work. She continues rehab three times per week at Bacharach Institute for Rehabilitation in Galloway Township. She's happy to be home, where she gets around-the-clock care from three nurses who work in shifts. But the Collings Lakes house she shares with her husband, dog and several cats is not conducive to her new life. There is only one bathroom, and her bedroom door is so narrow, her wheelchair doesn't fit. A hospital bed in their former reading room is the centerpiece of a makeshift bedroom. That's why the makeover is so important to the Deprinces and the friends who support them. And even though she humbly says others may be more deserving, Maureen knows how much the makeover would mean. “I have a long road ahead of me, and I'm hoping you can help us finish our journey,” she says on her taped plea to ABC's hit show. “We're asking for a new chance at life.”
First civil union performed in Buena Vista 2/27/07 Monday night Mayor Chiarello preformed his first civil union. For complete details go to: www.thedailyjournal.com
Fire safety tops Buena Vista agenda tonight 2/26/07 The Firewise committee is expected to give a presentation to the Township Committee on applying for grants to clean up wooded areas in the township. For complete details go to: www.thedailyjournal.com
Buena Vista gets positive state aid news, but no likely effect on tax rate 2/26/07 The township will receive more than $18,000 more in state aid this year, but the allocation will not have a significant bearing on the municipal tax rate. For complete details go to: www.thedailyjournal.com
Pinelands negotiations update set for tonight in Buena 2/26/07 Buena Borough is negotiating on an agreement to step discharging wastwater from the BMUA plant. For complete details go to: www.thedailyjournal.com
Highlighting some of the good and bad 2/26/07 To Buena Vista Township officials for revitalizing efforts in Richland Village. For complete details go to: www.thedailyjournal.com
'Two's Company' for local musicians 2/24/07 Denny DiLullo and Harry Reinmuth attract many crowds during the activities they play for the Township throughout the year. For complete details go to: www.thedailyjournal.com
Development residents find ways to vote 2/22/07 In response to the Buena Regional Board of Education's decision to not open a polling location at Cranberry Run, the residents are organizing. For complete details go to: www.thedailyjournal.com
Grants help local concert series continue 2/21/07 The Atlantic County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs is awarding out $30,000 in state arts grants to 20 nonprofit organizations or municipalities. Buena Vista Township will receive some for their summer concert series. For complete details go to: www.thedailyjournal.com
Local couples now filing for civil unions 2/21/07 A law allowing civil unions in New Jersey went into effect at 12:01 am on Monday. For complete details go to: www.thedailyjournal.com
Buena BOE won't add polling place 2/21/07 The Buena Regional Board of Education declined on Tuesday to add an additional polling location at Cranberry Run. For complete details go to: www.thedailyjournal.com
Buena Regional board considers additional polling place 2/20/07 The Buena Regional Board of Education is expected to discuss whether it should add a polling location at Cranberry Run for the April school elections. For complete details go to: www.thedailyjournal.com
Norflett crowned in Buena Vista 2/19/07 Jazmin Norflett, 16 year old, of Newtonville was named Miss Buena Vista 2007/2008. First Runner up Sarah Stavoli of Richland and Second Runner up is Jennifer Guzman of Newtonville. For complete details go to: www.thedailyjournal.com
Richland Village stays on track 2/19/07 Four new businesses will be opening in the Richland Village area. For complete details go to: www.thedailyjournal.com
All aboard! Richland wants to extend train service 2/19/07 Buena Vista is preparing to hire a contractor who will build a 1,660 feet siding for Richland Village. For complete details go to: www.thedailyjournal.com
Jazmin Norflett named Miss Buena 2/18/07 Jazmin Norflett, 16 year old, of Newtonville was named Miss Buena Vista 2007/2008. First Runner up Sarah Stavoli of Richland and Second Runner up is Jennifer Guzman of Newtonville. For complete details go to: www.thedailyjournal.com
Miss Buena Vista will be crowned on Sunday 2/17/07 The Miss Buena Vista Township 2007-2008 Pageant will be held on Sunday, February 18th at the Buena Tavern. For complete details go to: www.thedailyjournal.com
Couples can file for unions Tuesday 2/17/07 Tuesday morning will be the first day for local residents to file for a civil union license. For complete details go to: www.thedailyjournal.com
On a mission for Maureen 2/16/07
BUENA VISTA TOWNSHIP — It was almost like old times. Maureen Deprince laughing with her fellow postal carriers, talking about the people they deliver to and the interesting quirks of their Downbeach routes. But instead of standing outside the post office in Ventnor, they're in Maureen's small rancher in Collings Lakes. She has had to put her postal bag down, carrying a much heavier load now. Maureen is in a wheelchair, her legs and eyesight lost as the result of an alleged drunken driver who struck her as she was loading her mail truck July 24. Her legs were severed. Her eyesight, lost as the result of a stroke she had her first night in the hospital. It's unknown if she will see again. She came home in January, after months in Magee Rehabilitation Hospital in Philadelphia. It's good to be back, Maureen says, but the small home she shares with her husband, their dog and a few cats isn't conducive to her new life. So, as Maureen works to adjust to an altered sense of normal, her friends also have a mission: Get ABC's “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” to build the Deprinces a new home. * * * “It's like ‘Three's Company,'” Maureen's husband, Troy, jokes of their living conditions. “Me and two women.” There's him, his wife and one of four nurses who take shifts to tend to Maureen's needs. When Troy gets up in the morning, Maureen is usually getting cleaned up. It takes much longer to do things now, and there is only one bathroom. Sometimes, he has just enough time for a quick shower — “and the hot water is gone.” The doorways also cause a problem. Their former reading room — a converted dining room off the small living room — is where Maureen sleeps on a hospital bed. Her wheelchair doesn't fit through their bedroom door. On weekends, Troy sometimes carries his wife into the room they used to share, but “she can't relax,” he says. “It's an adjustment,” Maureen admits. She does have trouble maneuvering, “but I get pushed around.” “She tries to do it herself,” nurse Rebecca Lozano pipes in, as Maureen reacts in mock disbelief. “She winds up bumping into stuff.” In just a month of working together, the two women have developed an easy banter. As Rebecca gets Maureen ready for a quick trip outside, Maureen balks as the nurse tries to put a scarf on her. “She doesn't want that,” Rebecca says. “I don't like my nurses at all,” Maureen says later, rolling her eyes and giving away her true feelings with a slight smile. * * * Maureen has lost a lot, but her sense of humor seems to be intact. Especially when surrounded by friends. “She's a huge personality,” says Christine Sagnis, a former mail carrier. “Not me,” Maureen says, putting her right palm to her chest as she feigns innocence. “Don't listen to them,” she insists, turning to where she knows a reporter is sitting. “Don't write that down.” Tom McClain, Christine's husband, laughs from a seat behind Maureen. He has worked with her for years. “And those faces she makes,” he says. “What faces?” she asks, spinning her head around. “There's one,” he shouts. And the group laughs. Carol Threatt, Maureen's former supervisor, also is visiting today. The two have “a bit of a history,” Troy says. “We're cool,” Carol says. Maureen gives a quizzical look: “Tell the truth,” she warns several times. “Mo and I are both strong-willed,” Carol continues. “We got along.” “I do remember some things,” Maureen shoots back, making light of her memory problems, also a result of the accident. She has a talent for giving late-hitting zingers, Christine points out. “You walk away and go, ‘Did she just get me?'” As Maureen lists the things she misses about her job — the customers, her co-workers — she gets in another one. “I'll miss the managers ... like a toothache,” she says, then waits a beat. “Oh, sorry Carol.” * * * It was just a few days after the accident when Christine was preparing for the first of many benefits for Maureen. As she made copies at the school complex in Ventnor, the nurse there made a comment: “She said Maureen would make a perfect candidate for the show (‘Extreme Makeover: Home Edition'), if she survives.” When it became clear her friend would live, Christine approached Troy. “He always thinks other people are more deserving,” Christine says. “We kind of pestered him and bugged him.” Then it was time to let Maureen know about the plans. “I thought it was a joke,” she says. “I'm sure there's people that need more than I do.” But Christine and her band of helpers weren't kidding. They also don't think there is a more perfect candidate for the show. And they are determined to make the producers see that. Christine has done her homework, watching the show to see what would help Maureen stand out. One family got a petition that was signed by the whole town — about 800 signatures. “I said, ‘We can do better than that,'” Christine says. She was right. As of Thursday, there were more than 9,000 signatures on two online petitions. That doesn't include the hand-signed sheets that are going around Atlantic County — or the signatures people are sending in from post offices as far away as Colorado. Christine hasn't started counting those yet. She has helped Troy fill out the show's required 18-page application. Egg Harbor Township videographer Roger Marionneaux, who runs Shining Star Video, filmed the required footage, and also made an edited DVD. The show wants the unedited version, which must include a tour of the home and grounds without narration and then one with narration. If Maureen is chosen, the footage would be edited into the segment. * * * “I have a long road ahead of me, and I'm hoping you can help us finish our journey,” Maureen says on her taped plea to ABC's hit home makeover show. “We're asking for a new chance at life.” As the tape plays, those involved in the rescue efforts recount Maureen's accident: The car hitting her, the blood, her request to tell Troy and her mother that she loves them. Kevin Howarth, the off-duty Ventnor firefighter credited with saving her life, fights the tears as he talks about that day. “This is months and months later, and I'm still affected by it,” he says to the camera. So are her friends. “It could have been anybody,” Christine says. “Why it was her, I don't know.” Now, they are determined to make sure that she is chosen by “Extreme Makeover.” The packet will likely be mailed Feb. 25. “We're going to get her what she needs,” Carol says. “You just do what you've got to do. Maureen is our family.”
New truck offers better way to fight fires 2/16/07 The new fire truck is a Urban Interface Attack Pumper that combines water with chemicals to create form material. For complete details go to: www.thedailyjournal.com
Mayor wants state to inspect local crash site 2/16/07 The Township Administrator will be sending a letter to the county engineer with suggestions on what to do with the stop sign at Central Avenue and Oak Road. For complete details go to: www.thedailyjournal.com
We've been through a lot together': 59--year marriage still going strong 2/15/07 Elbert and Geravia Hannah of Newtonville have been married for 59 years. The couple has one of the longest tenured marriages in the township. For complete details go to: www.thedailyjournal.com
House almost gets struck by car...again 2/13/07 A car flew over a 4.5 foot mound that protects the Covella home on Oak Road at Central Avenue and struck the front porch. For complete details go to: www.thedailyjournal.com
Polling locations cut before elections 2/13/07 The school board decided to open three polling locations at Milanesi Elementary School, Collings Lakes Elementary School and Cleary Middle School from 3 pm to 9 pm. For complete details go to: www.thedailyjournal.com
Buena Vista to hire fire inspector 2/13/07 BUENA VISTA TOWNSHIP — The Township Committee voted Monday night to create a part-time fire official position, which could bring in additional revenue to the area. The new position, which was approved but not filled yet, will do some of the same inspections that are routinely performed by state officials, said Mayor Chuck Chiarello. Some of those responsibilities include inspecting new homes or businesses or properties whose owners or titles change, and checking for carbon-monoxide detectors, fire extinguishers and sprinkler systems. Before, the fees from those inspections would go to the state. But by using its own official, the township could collect enough money to pay for the official's part-time salary and bring in a few thousand more dollars, said Business Administrator Ronald Trebing. “Having our own inspector not only pays for itself, but also in some situations, allows us to charge lower rates,” Chiarello said in an interview before the meeting. “Certain state fees, however, are fixed and we can't charge any less.” The salary for the new official will be about $6,000, Trebing said. He added that it's possible to bring that same amount in as additional revenue. “We wont' know for sure until we actually start the program,” he said. Average costs for yearly inspections are about $75, according to the ordinance. Buildings with more than 20 residential units cost the most, at about $350. Cheapest are businesses with less than 2,500 square feet, at $25. The inspector will also help with local fireworks displays, Chiarello said.
Buena Vista to establish fire official post 2/12/07 The Township Committee is expected to introduce an ordinance to create a new fire official position. This would be a part-time position. For complete details go to: www.thedailyjournal.com
Major storm heads toward us 2/12/07 The biggest snowstorm on the year is heading our way. Road crews are getting ready. For complete details go to: www.thedailyjournal.com
Nightmare never ends at Covella home 2/12/07 A car flew over a 4.5 foot mound that protects the Covella home on Oak Road at Central Avenue and struck the front porch. For complete details go to: www.thedailyjournal.com
Miss Buena Vista pageant set for Feb. 18 2/8/07 Seven young ladies of Buena Vista will be competing in the Miss Buena Vista Township Pageant to be held on February 18th at the Buena Tavern. Tickets can be purchased by calling 856-697-2100 then press 8. For complete details go to: www.thedailyjournal.com
DOT study offers ways to slow traffic in Richland 2/6/07 BUENA VISTA TOWNSHIP — There is a way to calm traffic zooming through Richland Village — let drivers know they are in a commercial zone. The state Department of Transportation presented the draft of a traffic study factoring in the anticipated development in Richland at Monday night's Township Committee work session meeting. Mayor Chuck Chiarello's vision for the Richland Village project includes a small, quaint area with niche shops, parks and eateries. But for that to happen, the study said, traffic on Route 40 — which spans across the nation and handles both local and long-distance drivers — has to be calmed considerably. Some of the most dramatic suggestions included a street network in the village instead of large parking areas, making a 120-foot roundabout at the Route 40 and Cedar Avenue intersection and removing the traffic light there, and installing a sign and landscaped medians near Godstuff's Antiques on the village's east end. Those two points are considered the western and eastern gateways into the Richland Village redevelopment project — and if people know they're in a growing commercial zone, they're more willing to slow down, said Dave Cox a consultant for the DOT. Cox said roundabout, unlike circles, has signage and other means to slow drivers down. The DOT agreed to do the study without cost to the township. In about a month, a final draft will be considered and commented on by committee members. Interviews with about 35 residents showed that fast driving, speed limit enforcement and reducing the limit from 45 mph to 35 mph were some of the biggest concerns for the new village. Cox said the roundabout would force drivers to slow to about 15 miles per hour. “When drivers see farther down the road, they'll try to beat a traffic signal. That promotes high speeds.” Committeeman Peter Bylone asked about congestion during summer months, when drivers would be heading for the shore points. Cox said the circular area would allow drivers to move through the area smoothly and safely. “The roundabout will tell drivers how to behave at the intersection,” said Cox. “Statistics show they are much safer and safer for pedestrians.” Average speeds taken during the study clocked in at about 58 miles per hour, 13 miles per hour over the limit, the draft study said. Over 50 percent of the route users are local, statistics show. Who would pay for all these possible changes, though, hasn't determined yet. “We haven't thought about it,” said Cox. It's a state highway on the federal system, and it should be eligible for federal funding.” Chiarello asked if state aid would be available. Cox said it would, and that cost estimates would be available soon. “If you like parts of the plan, and you want to implement it, then put it in the plan and fight the battles later,” Cox said. “Not all these things are as equally doable. Another main aspect of the plan was parking considerations. The DOT's draft document recommended that there be a network of streets in the village instead of the large parking lots suggested by the project developer, the Karabashain Group.
“In their plan there's a lot of walking needed to get around,” said DOT consultant Erika Rush. “But with ours, a lot of people with children who are visiting on a Saturday might not want to walk as much.” The DOT's suggestions would increase the number of spots by about 30 or 50. There's also a need to make the route more pedestrian friendly, Rush said. Even though there's only been one accident involving a pedestrian on Route 40, according to statistics, it's still a suggested improvement among residents. To fix that, the draft study suggested reducing the four-lane sections of Route 40 to three lanes — with a center aisle for turning. That would encourage slower driving and allow people to walk to the shops or get their mail, Rush said. Cox also proposed extending Smith Avenue to run parallel to Route 40, offering an alternative if the road gets busy. Committee members were generally pleased with the plans, with some suggestions. “There still needs to be something that grinds them to a halt on the eastern gateway,” Chiarello said.
Officials look at methods to slow traffic 2/6/07 Representatives from Urban Engineers Inc. in Pennsauken presented the township committee with an initial traffic study with option to slow motorists in Richland Village to the benefit of local businesses and pedestrians. For complete details go to: www.thedailyjournal.com
Richland Village traffic study to be discussed 2/5/07 The Township Committee plans to discuss a traffic calming study it developed with the NJ DOT. For complete details go to: www.thedailyjournal.com
'Once I commit myself to something I go all the way': Family fights to bring troops home 2/3/07 Fred and Julie Akers along with their son's girlfriend Jessie Law have strong feelings about the current situation in Iraq. They are headed to Washington DC to march in an anti-war rally.
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