On March 8, 2008. Age 84. Of Gloucester City. Peacefully at home in the loving care of his devoted wife of 60 years, Helen R. (nee Gogolin). Beloved father of Helen (Pat) Gallagher, Peter J. Prelas, Jr., Debbie (Jim) Schafer and John A. Prelas. Dear Grandfather of Patrick, Christina, Justin, Erin, Hannah and Ted. Loving Brother-In-Law of Winnie, Mary and Lil. Survived by many nieces, nephews and cousins.

Cherished and beloved friend of the Dominican Sisters and a loving thank you for your friendship. Peter was a lifelong resident of Gloucester City and proudly served our country in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He was a member of the Townsend C. Young V.F.W Post # 3620 in Gloucester City and a member of the Gloucester City American Legion Post # 135. Peter and his wife Helen were married at Saint Mary\’s R.C. Church in Gloucester City and he was a devoted volunteer at the Church and Saint Mary\’s School. Peter lived his Catholic Faith each and every day and was a lifelong parishioner of the church. He worked as a Machine Operator at the Hinde and Dauche (Westvaco) Company in Gloucester City for many years. Peter loved to dance, listen to music and was the life of the party. In recent years, he cherished working at his son, Peter\’s business Hoagie Heaven in Gloucester City and going golfing with his sons on Father\’s Day.

Relatives and friends are kindly invited to attend his viewing on Tuesday Evening from 7 to 9 pm and Wednesday morning from 9 am to 10 am at the McCANN-HEALEY FUNERAL HOME: 851 Monmouth Street, (at Brown Street) Gloucester City. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated 10:30 am at Saint Mary\’s R.C. Church: 426 Monmouth Street, Gloucester City. Interment with U.S Navy Military Honors in New Saint Mary\’s Cemetery, Bellmawr.

Family requests memorial donations in Peter\’s memory to the Dominican Sisters of Hope: 820 Hudson Street, Gloucester City, NJ 08030 or Saint Mary\’s R.C. Church: Special Fund: 426 Monmouth Street, Gloucester City, NJ 08030. Please write Peter J. Prelas in memo. Expressions of sympathy can be e-mailed to the family through our funeral home website www.mccannhealey.com under online obituaries of Peter J. Prelas.

 

November 13, 2007

THIBODAUX , La. –A medical student who blindfolds his friends to keep his
favorite offshore fishing spot secret has come up with a record-beating
fish — a warsaw grouper weighing 359.1 pounds.
The giant hauled in by J.J. Tabor of Thibodaux is 12 ounces above the
previous Louisiana state record, a state biologist confirmed.
It\’s been cut down to fillets. The first fillet weighed 53 pounds, Tabor
said.
He caught it near an oil rig 70 miles south of Fourchon, in 400 feet of
water. He won\’t give a more specific description.
\’It\’s J.J.\’s secret,\’ said Joey Rodrigue, a friend from Baton Rouge who
joined Tabor and Tabor\’s father, John, on the record-making trip Saturday.
\’I don\’t even know where I was. He blindfolds us on the way out.\’
Tabor said he thought at first that his hook with a live hardtail on it
had it the bottom \’until I felt the big head shake.\’
Rodrigue steered away from the rig.
\’I put myself in a harness and just had to lay back and fight,\’ J.J. Tabor
said. \’It was about a 15 or 20 minute fight.\’
Tabor cleaned the fish late Monday afternoon outside his father\’s auto
repair shop in Thibodaux. \’We\’ll split it up,\’ he said. \’I\’ll make some
phone calls and try to get rid of it fresh. The rest, we\’ll vacuum pack it
and cook it later.\’
Tabor says he believes t he fish is about 33 years old. He plans to send
an inner-ear bone called the otolith to a university in Florida where
researchers can help determine the age of the fish. He hopes to get the
results in about four weeks.
The world record, caught off Florida in 1985, is 436 pounds, 12 ounces.

Since the pledge of Allegiance and the \”Lords Prayer\” are not allowed in most public schools anymore because the word \”GOD\” is mentioned…A Kid in Arizona wrote the following:

\”NEW SCHOOL PRAYER\”!

NOW I SIT ME DOWN IN SCHOOL WHERE PRAYING IS AGAINST THE RULE

FOR THIS GREAT NATION UNDER GOD FINDS MENTION OF HIM VERY ODD

IF SCRIPTURE NOW THE CLASS RECITES IT VIOLATES THE BILL OF RIGHTS.

AND ANYTIME MY HEAD I BOW BECOMESE A FEDERAL MATTER NOW

OUR HAIR CAN BE PURPLE, ORANGE OR GREEN, THAT\’S NO OFFENSE

IT\’S A FREEDOM SCENE.

THE LAW IS SPECIFIC THE LAW IS PRECISE. PRAYERS SPOKEN ALOUD ARE A SERIOUS VICE.

FOR PRAYING IN A PUBLIC HALL MIGHT OFFEND SOMEONE WITH NO FAITH AT ALL.

IN SILENCE ALONE WE MUST MEDITATATE; GOD\’S NAME IS PROHIBITED BY THE STATE.

WE\’RE ALLOWED TO CUSS AND DRESS LIKE FREAKS, AND PIERCE OUR NOSES, TONGUES AND CHEEKS.

WE CAN ELECT A PREGNANT SENIOR QUEEN, AND THE UNWED DADDY, OUR SENIOR KING.

Its \”INAPPROPRIATE\” TO TEACH RIGHT FROM WRONG,

WE\’RE TAUGHT THAT SUCH \”JUDGEMENTS\” DO NOT BELONG.

WE CAN GET OUR CONDOMS AND BIRTH CONTROLL,

STUDY WITCHCRAFT, VAMPIRES AND TOTEM POLES.

BUT

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS ARE NOT ALLOWED, NO WORD OF GOD MUST REACH THIS CROWD.

IT\’S SCARY HERE I MUST CONFESS, WHEN CHAOS REIGNS THE SCHOOL\’S A MESS.

SO, LORD, THIS SILENT PLEA I MAKE:

SHOULD I BE SHOT; MY SOUL PLEASE TAKE!

Signed a 15-Year-Old- Arizona Student

Cedar Rapids, Iowa…The long list of All-American wrestlers at The College of New Jersey grew by two on Saturday as junior Greg Osgoodby (Waldwick, NJ/Waldwick) and freshman Justin Bonitatis (Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill East) each earned that distinction by placing in the top eight of their respective weight classes at the 2008 NCAA Division III Championships.

 Osgoodby placed seventh at 174 pounds, while Bonitatis finished eighth at 165. The two Lions increased the program’s overall number of All-Americans to 138

In the consolation bracket at 174, Osgoodby opened the second day of competition falling to Kyle Kehrli from Cornell College by the score of 6-1. He capped the tournament on a winning note as he defeated eighth-seeded Jerome Owens from Johnson & Wales University, 13-7 to claim seventh place.

 Bonitatis also dropped his first match on Saturday as third-seeded Gino Russo from Baldwin Wallace pulled out a 12-10 decision over the Lion freshman. He then faced Wartburg’s Justin Hanson in the seventh-place bout and fell by the count of 12-7.

 Both wrestlers finished the season with identical 36-7 records.

 One long streak did come to an end for TCNJ as they failed to finish in the top 20 at the national event for the first time since the tournament began in 1974. The Lions finished with 14 team points.

 The NCAA Championships were held in Cedar Rapids, Iowa with Coe College, Cornell College and the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference serving as the hosts.

 

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Photos by Steve Skipton

Saturday 6 PM Wind custs of 45 mph to 60 mph caused numerous trees to fall in Gloucester City and throughout the South Jersey area. Above a tree fell across the 200 block of Market Street blocking off traffic. Wires down, the people in two homes had to be evacuated.

In the photo on the left taken in the area of the railroad and the 800 block of Middlesex Street a tree broke in half landing on a parked car and a section of the garage and house. There were no injuries reported.

Also in Gloucester City there were numerous calls to the police/fire departments about utility poles being damaged in the 200 block of Jersey Avenue, and along Water Street.

The Department of Transportation is reporting that the left lane on I-76/NJ-42 Southbound between Exit 1C: US 130 Southbound/Brooklawn/Westville and Exit 14: Creek Road/CR-753 is being shut down due to flooding.

According to Accu-Weather the last and most potent blast of the current complex winter storm will continue to slam the Northeast into tonight. The storm will bring a wide variety of adverse weather, ranging from flooding rain to strong thunderstorms to a dangerous blizzard.

The wide variety of adverse weather has created numerous problems for weekend travelers. The AccuWeather.com Traffic Report center and the FAA Flight Delay map will have the latest travel information for motorists and airline passengers.

On Friday, at least 15 tornadoes were sighted as severe storms slammed the Southeast from northern Florida to southern South Carolina.

Two people were killed in north Florida when a tornado touched down near Lake City. Columbia County Emergency Management spokesman Harvey Campbell reported to the AP that a woman was killed when a tree fell on her mobile home and a man was electrocuted when he tried to connect a generator after a power outage.

 

Media Release

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Rutgers used a late-inning rally with five runs in the seventh and two more in the eighth and closer Jason Downey (Ballston Lake, N.J.) shut the door with five strikeouts as the Scarlet Knights took down No. 21 Texas A&M, 10-8, in the series opener Friday night in front of 3,304 fans at Olsen Field.

The win improved the Scarlet Knights to 3-4 on the season and gave them their third victory over a nationally-ranked team (also beat No. 25 Old Dominion and No. 22 Georgia Tech) in the young season. Texas A&M fell to 9-3.

Facing a 5-1 deficit early on, Rutgers chipped away at Texas A&M\’s lead with single runs in the fifth and sixth innings. A leadoff double from Dan Betteridge (Sewell, N.J.) set the stage for a run-producing groundout to first base by Donny Callahan (Sparta, N.J.) two plays later for RU\’s second run and a two-out RBI single to right field from Luis Feliz (New Brunswick, N.J.) plated the Scarlet Knights\’ third score of the game.

Rutgers then continued its momentum and surged into the lead with a five-run seventh inning to make it 8-5. The frame started with a pinch-hit double to the gap in right-center field from Joey Ianiero (Bloomsburg, Pa.) and ended with an Ianiero pop out as the Scarlet Knights batted around in the inning. The damage had already been done as Ianiero stepped to the plate for the second time in the inning as the Scarlet Knights scored five runs all with two outs. A bases-loaded double from Jon Gossard (Harrington Park, N.J.) scored the first two runs of the frame. Matthews followed with a sharp grounder up the middle to score a third run. RU then capitalized from three wild pitches from Aggie hurler Kevin Cravey – Texas A&M\’s third pitcher of the frame – to plate two additional runs for the 8-5 lead.

With Holt out of the game, RU turned to Kevin Lillis (Fair Haven, N.J.) in the bottom half of the seventh. He worked to three batters getting one out before lefty Matt Patterson (Passaic, N.J.) came out of the bullpen. Texas A&M countered with a righty pinch hitter and the move paid off as the Aggies got a run across on a fielder\’s choice. They turned to a pinch hitter again and newly-inserted Caleb Shofner found the gap in right field to score one run before a miscue in the Scarlet Knight outfield allowed the tying run to cross the plate to knot it up at 8-8.

Rutgers came right back in the eighth. New Aggie hurler Kyle Thebeau issued a leadoff walk to Callahan and Brett Garlick\’s (Livingston, N.J.) sacrifice bunt was fielded by the third baseman, who attempted to get the Callahann out at second but his throw sailed into the outfield to put runners on the corners. A well-executed bunt from Vic Cegles (Phoenix, Ariz.) scored Callahan for the eventual game-winning run and Rutgers added an insurance run on an RBI groundout from Gossard.

A double by Texas A&M\’s Blake Stouffer put runners on second and third with one out in the home half of the eighth and chased Patterson out of the game. Downey came in with the tying run on second and shut the door on the Aggies with a pair of big strikeouts to end the threat. Downey continued his dominance with three more strikeouts in the ninth for his first save of the season. He nearly struckout the side in order before giving up a single on a 2-2 count to the second batter of the inning.

Rutgers starter Steve Holt (Toms River, N.J.) settled down from five runs in the first three innings to work a solid six-innings with four strikeouts and only one walk.

Patterson (1-0) got the win in an inning of scoreless relief, while Aggie reliever Kyle Thebeau (0-1) took the loss after surrendering the pair of runs in the eighth.

Rutgers\’ 10 runs are the most scored by a Texas A&M opponent this season. The previous high run total was seven.

Rutgers and Texas A&M continue their series Saturday night with a 7:30 p.m. game. Sophomore righty Casey Gaynor (Toms River, N.J.) will be on the mound for the Scarlet Knights against freshman lefty Brooks Raley for the Aggies.

Saturday, March 29, 2008

 

Box Score

GLASSBORO, NJ – Sixth ranked The College of New Jersey defeated 16th ranked Rowan University, 5-2 in a New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) game on Friday.

TCNJ improves to 13-2 overall and 2-0 in the conference. Rowan has a 13-4 record and a 1-1 NJAC mark.

 

Left hander Bob Buskett (PHOTO…..sr. Trenton, NJ/Notre Dame) pitched a complete game for the win. Buskett (3-0) scattered eight hits and gave up two earned runs, while striking out four batters. Lefty Joe Cichy (sr. Vineland, NJ/St. Augustine Prep) took the loss for the Profs. Cichy (1-2) went 7.1 innings, allowing five hits and two earned runs.

Lions\’ catcher Rich Gawlak (sr. Plainsboro, NJ/W.Windsor-Plainsboro S.) was one for two with one RBI, one run scored and a double. Shortstop Jeff Toth (jr. Parlin, NJ/Sayreville War Mem.) had one hit (four at bats), one RBI and one run scored. Left fielder Chris Esperon (so. Union, NJ/Union Catholic) recorded a double and one RBI. First baseman Bill Kropp (sr. Pottstown, PA/Owen J. Roberts), third baseman Vince Mazzaccaro (jr. Gloucester, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) and center fielder Dave Mebs (sr. Cinnaminson, NJ/Cinnaminson) each scored once.

For Rowan, second baseman Roland Rodriguez (so. Miami, FL/Miami Killian) was two for three with two runs scored. First baseman Tom Ready (jr. Blenheim, NJ/Triton Reg.) had two hits (four at bats) and one RBI. Right fielder John McMullin (jr. Woodbury, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) added two hits in four trips to the plate.

Rowan went ahead 1-0 in the bottom of the first inning. Ready singled in Rodriguez, who reach base on a walk. TCNJ tied the game in the top of the third. Toth singled to center field, scoring Mebs. Rowan went up 2-1 with one run in the bottom half. Rodriguez singled and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. He went to third and scored on two wild pitches. The Lions took the lead for good in the top of the fourth. Gawlak led off with a double to left field and Kropp followed with a single to right. Gawlak came home on a balk and Kropp moved to second. Kropp scored from second on an error. In the fifth, Gawlak drove in Toth with a sacrifice fly. TCNJ added an insurance run in the eighth when Esperon doubled to left field, plating Mazzaccaro.

Rowan travels to Kean University for a NJAC doubleheader on Saturday, March 29 at noon. TCNJ plays a conference doubleheader at Rutgers-Newark on Saturday starting at 11:30 a.m.

Ewing, NJ…The start of the 2008 season for The College of New Jersey women’s lacrosse team was put on hold as the opener at Fairleigh-Dickinson University-Florham was postponed on Saturday due to inclement weather.

The Lions, ranked fourth in the latest Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association Division III poll, will now face the Red Devils in Madison on Monday, March 10 in a 4 p.m. start.

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