Edward Eugene McGANN, of Gloucester City, passed away on July 30 at the age of 68. Formerly of Collingswood and Camden. Beloved Husband of the late Alice Mae (nee McMullen). Loving Companion and Best Friend of 27 years to Patricia Powell of Gloucester City. Devoted father of Angela Lutz (Mike) of Gloucester City, Wayne Wells of Neptune, Richard (Dale) McGann of Lewes, Delaware, Sean McGann of Collingswood and three Sons Edward, George and John.

Dear Brother of Catherine Powell of Westville, Jean D\’Agostino of Lindenwold and the late George and Terry. Beloved grandfather of 4 and survived by many nieces and nephews. Edward was born and raised in Camden.

He proudly served our country in the U.S. Army. Edward was a lifetime member of the Townsend C. Young V.F.W Post # 3620 in Gloucester City where he was a bartender for many years.

Before retiring, he owned and operated The Roof Doctor in Pennsauken for over 10 years. Relatives, friends and V.FW. Members are kindly invited to attend his visitation on Friday Evening from 6 to 8 pm at the McCANN-HEALEY FUNERAL HOME: 851 Monmouth Street, (at Brown Street) Gloucester City. V.FW. Service and U.S. Army Military Honors 8 pm in the funeral home. Cremation is private at the request of the family. Please no flowers for the viewing. In lieu of flowers, Memorial Donations in Edward\’s memory to the Townsend C. Young V.F.W Post # 3620, 24-26 N. Burlington St., Gloucester City, NJ 08030.

Please write in the memo of the check, Edward E. McGann. Expressions of sympathy can be e-mailed to the family through the funeral home website www.mccannhealey.com under online obituaries of Edward E. McGann.

Philip J. GILSON Jr., age 64, of Collingswood, passed away on July 30, 2007On July 30, 2007. Formerly of Audubon. Loved and cared for by his wife of 43 years, Maryann (nee Klaus). Loving Son of the late Philip J. Gilson, Sr. and Grace Gilson (nee Fewer). Beloved father of Phil (Jane) of Clayton, Mike (Sandy) of Audubon, Terry of Audubon and Kate (Dan Powell) of Gloucester City. Dear Brother of Robert J. Gilson of Virginia Beach, Virginia. Cherished grandfather of Nate, Cade, Mattie, Mikey and Lundon.

Philip proudly served our country in the United States Marine Corp and a member of the Marine Corps Association. He was a longtime member of the Harrowgate American Legion Post # 78 in Philadelphia, PA. Philip was a member of the Sierra Club and the ACLU.

Relatives and friends are kindly invited to attend Philip\’s Life Celebration on Sunday from 1 pm to 4 pm at the Collingswood Senior Community Center: 30 West Collings Avenue, Collingswood, NJ 08108. Parking available at the Center. Cremation is private at the request of the family. Entombment with U.S. Marine Corps Honors in Brigadier General William C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Arneytown.

Please no flowers at the Community Center. Family prefers memorial donations in Philip\’s memory to Our Lady of Lourdes Foundation: Pediatrics at Osborn Family Health Center: 1600 Haddon Avenue, Camden, NJ 08103. Please write in the memo of the check, Philip J. Gilson. Expressions of sympathy can be e-mailed to the family through the funeral home website www.mccannhealey.com under online obituaries of Philip J. Gilson, Jr.

  

Funeral Mass 12 noon Friday at Our Lady of Grace RC Church, Somerdale

To view obit: www.Gardnerfuneralhome.com

To view obit visit www.mcgfuneral.com, McGuinness Funeral Home.

Viewing Thursday, 11 AM McGuinness Funeral home, 34 Hunter St. Woodbury

See story on Funding for playground

A big \”thank you\” to the \”Angel\” who provided a wonderful new playground for the children at the corner of Middlesex and Burlington, Gloucester City.

It is a vast improvement over the sad excuse for a playground that was there before. The kids love and so do the parents.

The problem with the new playground is the other kids who use it. I am talking about the teenagers that come after the sun goes down and are there until all hours of the night.

I could live with the noise, but the language used and the mess they leave behind are a disgrace. I have heard the parents of some of the toddlers scold some of the teenage kids for the language used in front of the little ones. The response the adults get is not very respectful. The other night I witnessed a teenage boy (only one in a group of five or six) urinate all over the same wood shavings that a toddler would be playing in perhaps 10 hours later. The way the structure is laid out provides a perfect hiding spot for the kids to sit underneath and smoke cigarettes or what have you. We were all teenagers once so I don\’t need to spell it out.

I know that there aren\’t a lot of options for the teens when it comes to finding something for entertainment, but I do think that if you are taller than four feet and over 6th grade, you really should not be taking advantage of a place that was built for children.

I don\’t know if there needs to be more police presence after the children leave or if parents \”Watch\” group would be effective, but something needs to be done to save this playground from becoming the broken down, rusty, dirty place that was the former playground.

Brad Jeffries, Gloucester City

Bill, 

My first reaction when I found out they were going to knock down Bells Farm in Bellmawr was disappointment. Bells Farm was the oldest part of Bellmawr and home to the founding family of the town. 

I resigned myself to the fact that a senior home was going up and maybe it would be a good thing for those who needed such housing. It looks like my initial reaction was the correct one. The complex has been the biggest eyesore around for the past two years. Piles of rusting metal, high weeds, stones and building material have sat out for the past two years where trees were. The construction itself looks cheap, and the accommodations crowded. I guess someone made a nice buck off the construction but those who have to look at the eyesore every day are the poorer for the loss of the farm. 

Jack Heath 

By Linda Boker-Angelo

NEWS Correspondent

Plans for a new pub-style family restaurant on Burlington Street are underway.

Shawn Nachurski and David McDonough, owners of Bridges Real Estate, L.L.C., appeared before the Gloucester City Planning Board last week with plans to transform the former go-go bar known as Billy\’s Place into an Irish pub-style family restaurant.

Nachurski outlined plans to renovate and expand the building at 157 Burlington Street, which was built in the 1800s.

He said he envisioned a gathering place similar to the pubs in Ireland, where generations of families can gather with their children to share a good meal, hear some traditional Irish music, and socialize with their fellow community members.

Also, there will be an upscale bar and restaurant on the first floor, with additional seating planned for the second floor.

Local attorney Charles Wigginton, who represented the applicants, said that Bridges had the opportunity to purchase the property directly behind Billy\’s Place, on Ridge Street, which will be converted to a parking lot.

He said this would triple the number of parking spaces available, from the 10 currently available to 36, although City ordinance would require approximately 57 spaces.

Several neighboring property owners expressed concerns about the need for additional parking spaces that would be created by the new establishment, which Nachurski estimated would hold about 109 patrons.

Diane Sloan, who owns property across the street from the former go-go bar, said she felt the proposed use did not meet the criteria needed to obtain a variance for the planned expansion.

She said any benefits were far outweighed by the negative impact created by the need for more parking spaces and the expansion of a \”tavern.\”

After hearing considerable testimony, Board members voted to approve the variance allowing Bridges to expand the building and accepting the 36 parking spots in lieu of the required 57.

Nachurski said, pending approvals, he hopes to begin work on the site in September and have the restaurant open for next summer.

Wigginton was pleased with the board\’s decision. \”Replacing the go-go bar with an upscale, family-style restaurant will certainly be an improvement that will benefit the community.\”

He added that the developers were also fortunate to have the opportunity to purchase the additional lot for parking.

\”I\’ve been doing Planning Board applications in this town for 15 years,\” Wigginton said, \”And I\’ve never had one where the applicants were able to triple the amount of existing parking space available.\”

The Board reserved decision as to whether a site plan waiver would be granted as the project progresses.

Plans were also approved to convert a six-bay self-serve car wash on Route 130 to an automatic carwash.

Car wash owner Judd Corl said he felt local senior citizens and disabled residents, who might otherwise have a problem cleaning their own vehicle, could benefit from the auto wash. He said currently people must go to Westville or Mount Ephraim for an automatic car wash.

He said he has been in the car wash business since 1977, and has owned the Route 130 facility for seven years.

He anticipates having a maximum of two employees and one delivery truck per month to drop off soap and vending supplies. The auto wash would be set to handle 60 cars per hour.

Cumberland Street resident Barbara Daley complimented Corl on his plans, stating that many disabled residents are unable to wash and rinse their cars.

Historic Preservation Commission Chairman David Munn presented an application for the installation of a six-foot fence in the 200 block of Mercer Street. The property owner wanted to protect his large dog from the taunts of nearby children.

The board also approved that application.

The next meeting of the Gloucester City Planning Board will be at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, August 15, in City Hall, 313 Monmouth St.

The Gloucester City Building and Housing Department is moving to its new location at 700 Somerset Street

(previously the Camden County Health Center next to the Dining Car Depot on Monmouth St. along the railroad)

The office will be closed Thursday, Aug.2nd and Friday,August 3rd. The Department will reopen for business on Monday August 6th at 9AM.

Phone numbers will remain the same.

Photo: Joe Stecklair , left and John Stiefel, officials of the Building and Housing Department have been working in their spare time for several weeks to make repairs to their new office.

Bill\’s Point of View:

(Hardship: noun, adversity, misfortune, suffering, burden, affliction) 

The proposal to rename some streets in Gloucester City in memory of citizens who have died fighting for our country has started quite a controversy I have been told. An article about the renaming streets in honor of City heroes appeared in last Thursday\’s Gloucester City News. Soon after the phones started to ring in the Municipal Building from people who opposed the idea.

The article mentioned that the Mayor\’s Advisory Committee was conducting a feasibility study. \”Nothing will be done until the study is completed. The public will be informed of the outcome before any streets are renamed,\” said Ted Howarth a member of the committee. He added the committe welcomes the public input both pro and con.

Those who complained said if their street is renamed it would create a hardship to have to change their driver\’s license and other documents. I can understand their concerns. After all the news release that came from the Advisory Committee said the public would only have several months to make any necessary address changes. Howarth said that part of the release should have said four years instead several months.

I recommend we all take a moment to think about the suggestion before getting upset. Some thought should be given to the \”Hardship\” that the honorees and their families had to endure. All we are being asked to do is change the address on a couple of documents. The soldiers gave their lives for us to live in the greatest Nation in the world. And we are complaining about it being a \”Hardship\” to fill out a form to change our address on our license or other documents.

I really don\’t believe any of us would mind that little inconvenience if we took a moment to put ourselves in the shoes of the mother or father who lost a son fighting for our country.

Let\’s give the committee sometime to study the proposal before jumping to conclusions. Myself I would love to see the name of my street changed to Hamacher Road. I knew Billy Hamacher personality, who died during the Vietnam War. He was a great guy. I also knew the other Vietnam soldiers from our City who died on a first name basis. If Hamacher Road is taken I would have no problem if my street was changed to one of the other names.

And finally I urged our Mayor and Council members not to buckle under just because they are receiving a little flack on what I believe is a great idea.

What is your opinion?

see Sunday\’s story

…From the pages of South Jersey Magazine…

Author: Tara Nurin

\”The South Jersey ports are a main contributor to air pollution in the South Jersey/Philadelphia region,\” warns Doug O\’Malley, the field director for the advocacy group Environment New Jersey. He says Camden, Burlington and Gloucester counties are \”out of attainment with the [Environmental Protection Agency] for soot pollution, and soot pollution is honestly the most deadly form of air pollution out there. It\’s directly linked to cancer. It\’s directly linked to aggravating asthma, heart disease and heart attacks.\”

\”If you talk anecdotally to teachers or nurses in schools, they\’ll tell you that 25 percent of the kids in Waterfront South have asthma,\” cautions Olga Pomar, an attorney with South Jersey Legal Services who represents clients from Camden\’s Waterfront South neighborhood. Waterfront South is a tiny enclave of impoverished homes that\’s buried deep within the port area and imprisoned by heavy industry on all four sides. Some of its 1,700 residents are suing their industrial neighbors over the pollution they emit.

\”People in Waterfront South and most of Camden have elevated lung cancer rates, and overall, Camden has high lung, esophageal, stomach, pancreas, liver and kidney cancer vis a vis the rest of New Jersey,\” Pomar says.

While Pomar doesn\’t blame the port and its surrounding businesses for the entirety of Camden\’s poor health, she does feel strongly that the port \”really has a major detrimental impact on quality of life.\” Pomar suggests the SJPC could mitigate some of the damage by following the path of some North Jersey ports that are looking to implement new environmental regulations pioneered in Southern California. There, the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles have just announced a plan to eventually ban all but the newest, most clean-driving diesel trucks. And California Senator Barbara Boxer has introduced federal legislation that would keep any large commercial or recreational vessel that doesn\’t significantly reduce its soot-causing sulfur emissions out of American ports.

But the SJPC counters that Camden ports are appropriately eco-friendly by pointing to several new initiatives, including modern electric cranes; retrofitted machinery to reduce emissions; tree-lined environmental berms that act as buffer zones between the port and residential areas; not to mention a stated objective to carry more cargo to nearby destinations via lower-emission boats rather than dirty trucks.

But greening every aspect of the terminals can\’t save the region\’s environment from an incredibly controversial potential eco-disaster that\’s coming up the river. The true enemy of life along the Delaware, warn environmentalists, is a recently approved project to dredge the river to allow for larger, more profitable ships to enter Philadelphia and South Jersey ports.

\”It threatens drinking water supplies; it threatens the aquifer that runs below the river; it threatens horseshoe crab populations, oyster populations. Many of the creatures that depend upon the river—their habitat will be destroyed in this process,\” cries Sharon Finlayson, chair of the New Jersey Environmental Federation.

Finlayson and other New Jersey environmentalists furiously accuse Gov. Jon Corzine of caving to pressure by his gubernatorial counterpart in Pennsylvania, who, after many years, finally persuaded New Jersey\’s executive officer to allow the river channel to be deepened by five feet. This past May, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell announced victory for his dredging agenda, which he and the Philadelphia trade unions insist will create high-paying jobs (with some in New Jersey) and allow Delaware River ports to compete with others for the heftier ships that are increasingly favored on the high seas.

Although the deepening project has long been opposed by politicians on this side of the river primarily for environmental reasons, New Jersey port operators say dredging the Delaware River will actually benefit them just as much as those in Pennsylvania.

\”South Jersey ports will also be able to bring in not just bigger ships but ships that carry more cargo,\” says SJPC executive director and CEO Joseph Balzano. \”You\’re always competing with other port facilities for ships. If they\’re going to increase the depth of the other port facilities, in order to compete we\’ve got to have it here,\” agrees Holt\’s head of security, Robert Fair.

Gloucester\’s leadership too believes that meeting the demands of tomorrow\’s shipping industry is a necessary component of their dreams to ensure a viable and thriving future for their city. Like the river, the tides of economies are cyclical, and Gloucester\’s political captains are investing in the notion that drawing inspiration from its ship-dominated past can provide a business model for its resuscitated destiny. Although the days of the old-fashioned wooden sailboats and the steamboats that carried goods to and from New Jersey are long gone, they hope to be ready to greet the mammoth steel-hulled freightliners carrying many tons of cargo that can help ensure the city\’s economic vitality. It\’s only with the foresight and ability to address the current and future realities of the shipping industry that they can safely envision dollar signs and renewed glory for Gloucester, heralded by a day when visitors will flock to watch their residents at work at the ports and reflect on a South Jersey waterfront yet again enhanced by commercial ships navigating up and down the Delaware River.

Like Mayor William James muses, \”The port has been good to us. And hopefully the water will continue to be good to us.\”