Street Name Change Has Upset Residents of Vineland

By: Erin Haskell

Vineland- The Vineland Planning Board has received several complaints in the past few months from residents over a street name change due to an in-fill project.

An application for a major subdivision called Woodcrest Fields was before the Planning Board.  This project, intended to create new building lots, including construction of a street that would connect existing streets called Woodcrest and Joshua Drives.

 “We wanted them to have the same street name because Woodcrest was an older neighborhood with older homes, “said Kathie Hicks, Planning Board Supervisor. “ The public, when that went to City Council, was not happy about having their street name changed.”

Residents of Joshua Walk have been advocating against the street name change during recent board and council meetings, stating that the added cost to the existing residents is a burden and should be charged to the developer.

“A gentleman came in (to the October Planning Board Meeting) and expressed the opinion that a developer should have to stick to existing street names,” said Hicks. “It was explained that the developer didn’t advocate changing the street name, but rather the Planning Board required it.  It was also explained that generally existing street names are retained, but in this particular instance where existing streets were being connected, one name had to be selected.  Councilman Albrecht advocated that the ordinance be changed to require the developer to pay for the costs incurred by existing residents (change of address, driver’s licenses, etc.). 

The issue of the ordinance being changed to require the developer to pay the costs was further discussed at the November Board meeting, where Frank DiDomenico, Board Solicitor, explained that State statute doesn’t allow the cost to be put on the developer.  

Neither the City Council Members nor the Planning Board Solicitor could be reached for comment.

“The positive (of the street name change) is that there is a single street name, which is better for emergency management,” said Hicks.

   

Continuous Warm Temperatures in Vineland Give Way to Freezing Temperatures Quickly

By: Erin Haskell

Vineland- After an unseasonably warm summer, Vineland sees increasingly cold temperatures early in the fall season. 

The Vineland climate is often warm during the summer when temperatures tend to be in the 70's and very cold during the winter when temperatures tend to be in the 30's. The warmest month of the year is July with an average maximum temperature of 85.90 degrees Fahrenheit, while the coldest month of the year is January with an average minimum temperature of 24.10 degrees Fahrenheit.

This past summer season, Vineland experienced record temperatures and was recorded to be one of the hottest summers in New Jersey, with at least thirty four days of temperatures warmer than ninety degrees. The warm temperatures also began earlier in the season than normal, starting in early March.

Temperatures continued to be warm up until the weekend of October 31 when a cold front swept in, allowing for many areas to experience their first freezing temperatures of the season. 

Although the temperatures are only minimally lower than the average for Vineland this time of year, it will feel colder because of the unseasonably warm temperatures the previous few months. 

This week’s forecast for Vineland will see a slight temperature increase since the last few weeks with temperatures reaching highs in the low 60’s and lows in the high to low 30’s. There will not be much precipitation over the next five day forecast, only sun and partly cloudy in areas. 

Next week, Vineland will be getting hit with some rain and clouds and an estimated downfall of 1.04 inches throughout the week. 

Temperatures will continue to get lower as the coldest months of the season approach. Residents of Vineland will experience freezing temperatures normal to the average for this time of year. 

Glassboro Mayor McCabe Voted In for Another Term

By: Erin Haskell

Glassboro- Democrat Leo J. McCabe was voted in for another term as Mayor of Glassboro on November 2, 2010 over Republican opponent Claude Butch Cox.

The official county election results confirmed on Tuesday that McCabe won over Cox with 2,932 votes to Cox’s 1,324.

Neither party could be reached for comment on their win or loss.

Mayor McCabe has been the Mayor of Glassboro since January 2002. He is a native of Rhode Island. He and his wife Mary have lived in Glassboro since 1962. They have three children and five grandchildren.

McCabe has a lot of involvement in the Glassboro community and has served on several committees including, The Glassboro Planning Board from 1964-66 and again in 2000, The Glassboro Library Board during the 1970's, was an elected member of the Glassboro School Board from 1973-92, and President of the Glassboro Education Foundation from 1998 to 2001, and in 2002, a founding member of the Boys and Girls Club of Glassboro.

McCabe has a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Ohio State University and a Bachelor of Science from Providence College.

McCabe’s positions for election are as follows: controlling taxes, creating jobs, redevelopment, increasing quality of life for Glassboro residents, and sharing services.

McCabe’s primary focus is on job creation, with 400 temporary jobs being created for Rowan Boulevard construction and 700 permanent jobs becoming available upon completion.

 Downtown redevelopment will bring in $225 million in annual sales. Rowan Boulevard is just part of an overall downtown redevelopment effort that will bring 125 new retail businesses and $1.2 million in annual property taxes to Glassboro.

Rowan Boulevard represents a public-private partnership that is bringing in jobs, creating revenue and generating economic activity for the benefit of residents, students and local businesses alike. Since Rowan University housing is owned by the developer and leased by the University, it makes for a greater revenue generator.   

Planning Board Rejects Environmental Commission Request

By: Erin Haskell


Vineland- The Vineland Planning Board rejected a request from the Environmental Commission Board to incorporate them into the City Master Plan during a board meeting on Wednesday, October 13,2010.

Kathie Hicks, Supervising Planner to the Board said, “ The way the law is written, when they (Environmental Commission) give that (Environmental Resource Inventory) to both boards (Planning and Zoning), we then have to provide them with all applications for them to review and give comment.”

However, the Environmental Commission requested that the Planning Board incorporate them into there City Master Plan which would give them a lot more say in the decisions being made by the board.

“I objected to this strongly and so did the Board Solicitor,” said Hicks. “With a Master Plan you need to find a balance point between everything from economic development to schools and business. Nobody’s truly happy but you have to find a medium.”

The request from the Environmental Commission was first presented to the Board by Hicks during the pre-meeting and was addressed in front of the public during the regular open meeting. It was determined that the statute mandates the boards to send copies of plans to the Commission for comment but the comments are advisory.

Board Solicitor Frank DiDomenico, proposed during the meeting that it is not certain that the Environmental Resource Inventory complies with the rest of the Master Plan nor whether it complies with the Land Use Ordinance generated from the Master Plan. If the document were to be incorporated into the Master Plan, it could cause problems for both the Master Plan and the Land Ordinance.

“We felt that this would tilt the scale too much towards environment,” said Hicks. “Putting all that environment information in, it weighs it heavily.”

After much discussion, the Planning Board entertained a motion to not incorporate the document into the Master Plan either as a conservation element or an appendix. There were unanimous yeses from all board members.

“Fortunately, the board went along with our recommendation,” said Hicks. “Of course I have some members of the Environmental Commission Board who are not too happy with me right now but…tough.”

Future Planning Board meetings promise to hold discussions about a popular new fad in Vineland, solar field requests.

“We’re getting a lot of solar field applications for businesses, houses, electric, everybody,” said Hicks. “All the company’s say that New Jersey is the best state for solar because they offer the most incentive.”

Mayor Robert Romano of Vineland said, “Everybody and their grandmother wants to put a solar field up. We are doing four ourselves. The way the city’s doing it, even with the industry, they’ll let you put up your solar but we’re not going to get into that industry of buying electricity if they overproduce, so that’s the big thing.”

Deanne Fitzmaurice, Pulitzer Prize Photographer Visits Rowan University

By: Erin Haskell

“Effective storytelling includes making pictures with your heart,” Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Deanne Fitzmaurice told students Oct. 6 in a speech at Rowan University. Fitzmaurice gave pointers to students on effective visual storytelling.

Fitzmaurice started her photography career at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. While a staff photographer at the San Francisco Chronicle, Fitzmaurice won the Pulitzer Prize in 2005 for documenting Saleh, a 9-year-old Iraqi boy’s struggle for life after sustaining near fatal wounds during a bomb explosion.

Fitzmaurice lectures frequently on photojournalism and upcoming multimedia in the field.

In her speech, Fitzmaurice commented on where journalism is going.

“The audience has shifted from print in newspapers to online and that audience is growing,” said Fitzmaurice. “But let’s not forget as great as these new tools are we still have to have a good story and strong images.”

Fitzmaurice stressed the importance of knowing the key elements in order to find and write an effective and interesting story.

“It’s about seeing, it’s about making pictures with our hearts, our minds, and our souls,” said Fitzmaurice. “It’s about being curious and being passionate. No matter what technology you use you have to have a good story.”

Building and maintaining relationships with people is an important part of what Fitzmaurice does. It is also an important part of the profession of photojournalism.

“I try to understand the lives of the people I photograph,” said Fitzmaurice. “I find that it puts people at ease and I get much more real photographs when I connect with my subject.”

She also discussed various multimedia and how having audio builds a lot of depth and richness into her stories.

“We’re in the midst of an evolving profession,” Fitzmaurice said. “The future is in new media.”

While using audio, it is important to note that the audio is the most important part of the piece. Pictures to go with the audio are often added around it so that the audio flows the way it should.

“Each time you add something, you add another dimension to the piece,” said Fitzmaurice. “Really start listening to the audio.”

Fitzmaurice shared her work with the Rowan community, including her Pulitzer Prize winning story about Saleh. His story was told through interviews with him and photographs of him at the hospital, and now at age 16, living with his family in America. He hopes to become a basketball player some day.

While sharing things she’s learned throughout her career, Fitzmaurice stressed the importance of being honest.

“Storytelling is about trust,” said Fitzmaurice. “One of the things that I’ve learned is to really speak from the heart and to really be honest.”

For more information on multimedia, visit NPR’s website www.npr.org, Media Storm www.mediastorm.org, and The New York Times Lens Blog http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com.

Three Men Charged in Robbery of Elderly Vineland Couple

By: Erin Haskell

Vineland- Three men were arrested and charged with the beating and robbery of an elderly Vineland couple last Tuesday.

Heraldo Cordova Ramirez, 44 and Luis Torres, 59, both of Vineland, and Victor Torres, 46, of Bridgeton were charged with two counts of first-degree armed robbery, two counts of second-degree aggravated assault with serious bodily injury, one count of second-degree conspiracy and two related weapons offenses.

Said Captain Rudy Beu of the Criminal Division, “The men are being held on $500,000 bail. No 10 percent and no property bond.”

According to the incident report, the robbery took place on Yelkca Avenue in Vineland at 11:36 p.m. on June 18. The 911 call came in from a neighbor who reported to the police that there were two tall black males wearing masks, wearing black, and their faces were covered.

Victims William and Ledy Ocasio were returning home from work the night of June 18 when two men jumped out and attacked them in their driveway.

Police have been searching for suspects to the robbery for three months and offered a reward to anyone willing to step forward with the suspect’s identities. Authorities have declined to comment on whether the reward was given after the arrests were made.

“Seven thousand five hundred dollars was donated for the reward,” said Beu. “But I can’t tell you if that money was utilized or if someone came forward because of it.”

Cumberland County Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae announced the arrests to the public at a news conference held out front of police headquarters.

Said Webb-McRae in an email interview, the arrests were made by “a cooperative investigation between the Vineland Police and Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office.”

The suspects had an arraignment on September 23. The next court date for the suspects will be a bail motion whose date has not yet been set.

With the suspects still in jail, the Vineland community is relieved to have suspects in custody on the case.

“ I think the public is relieved because the assault on the elderly couple shocked the community,” said Webb-McRae.

“The Hispanic community was upset about the robbery and it put a lot of pressure on the (police) department,” said Beu. “It’s (arrests) a relief on the community because everyone is more at ease. It’s a good thing for everyone involved.”

Delsea Drive-in Provides Nostalgic Entertainment

By: Erin Haskell

Vineland- What happened to the days when movie theaters were meant to be outside, and people watched them from the quiet and comfort of their own cars?

It seems that drive-ins are making a comeback, but there is still only one currently operating in New Jersey: the Delsea Drive-in found in nearby Vineland.

New Jersey was home to the first drive-in movie theater,which was invented by Richard Hollingshead in 1928. He performed experiments in his driveway in Camden to test out screen durability and ways to park cars so that everyone could have a clear view of the screen. Hollingshead had the idea patented and opened the first drive-in theatre on Crescent Boulevard in Camden on June 6, 1933. The idea took off, and drive-ins became a popular source of entertainment in the 1950s.

The Delsea Drive-in was built in 1949 by the Budco chain, which was later bought by AMC in the 1970s. In 1987, AMC closed the drive-in due to lack of business. The theater remained dormant for 17 years until November 2003, when investors purchased the property for $1.8 million with an Urban Enterprise Zone loan guarantee.

“The lot was overgrown and the original concession stand was burnt and missing its roof because of the homeless people that had been living there,” said Dr. John DeLeonardis, pediatrician and owner of the Delsea Drive-in. ”We needed to remodel (the concession stand) and by putting a roof on it we could have a longer season.”

The Delsea Drive-in was originally purchased in order to build a skate park for the community, but that project was put on hold when it was discovered that the 120-foot screen was in good condition.

“I was looking for a place to build a skate park because kids aren’t active anymore,” DeLeonardis said. “However, that project has been pushed back six years due to the government Urban Enterprise Zone funds setback. Now the drive-in is carrying its own weight.”

In July 2004, the Delsea Drive-in opened its gates for the first time in years, screening “The Bourne Supremacy” and “Anchorman.”

“It was busy right out of the gate, but a lot of people don’t know about the drive-in,” DeLeonardis said. “The nostalgia of old times gets the customers in once, but it’s the extensive menu that keeps them coming back.”

The Delsea Drive-in’s menu has something for everybody, from movie-themed subs like the Horror Sub, made with roast beef and provolone cheese, to pizza and milkshakes. The most recent creation is the Minion Shake made with bananas, marshmallows and whipped cream. It is named for the little yellow minions in the film “Despicable Me.” Outside food is allowed with the purchase of a $7 food permit.

“I’d rather people bring nothing in because you get the most bang for your buck at our concession stand, and it’s the profit from it that keeps us in business,” DeLeonardis said. “Most of the profits from the movie tickets don’t go to us; they go to the movie studios, so it works out for everyone to come to the concession stand.”

Ticket prices range from $8 for adults, $3 for kids ages 3 and up, and kids 2 years and younger are free. Tickets are sold by screens and not by individual movies. Each screen plays two movies each night.

Even with low ticket prices, the Delsea Drive-in has witnessed people trying to sneak in without paying.

“A woman tried to sneak her kids into the theater by hiding them in her trunk,” DeLeonardis said. “I asked her to leave because it sends a wrong message to the kids. This has happened before, but this story was in the paper.”

Thursday nights at the Delsea Drive-in are College Nights, where college students can receive discounts on concession items with a valid school ID.

“I heard about ‘thirsty Thursdays’ on college campuses and it’s not very productive,” DeLeonardis said. “This way, college students can go to a movie with their friends instead of going out and drinking. The kids who don’t want to drink won’t feel ostracized.”

The Delsea Drive-in is open from March to December, Thursday through Saturday. The box office opens at 6:30 p.m. and the first movie usually starts around 7:30 p.m.

On Oct. 2, 2010, the Delsea Drive-in will be having an independent film festival where independent films will be shown in addition to the regularly scheduled movies, including such films as “Racing Dreams” and “The Extra Man.” For more information you can go to their website at www.delseadrive-in.com, or friend them on Facebook under Delsea Drive-in.

The Whit Online