JEER-Working as a mailman in the 1960s and 1970s, if a letter wasn’t removed by the resident in 72 hours, we were instructed to take the mail and forward it to the sender, marked undeliverable. Hard to understand why the letter carrier would keep stuffing mail into this box; it is plain to see that no one is living in this house located on Barnard Avenue in Gloucester City. We are paying 75 cents to mail a letter. You would think we would get better service for that outrageous price.
CHEER—Construction on a Waterfront Park and a Nature walking trail at the former landfill property on Creek Road, in Bellmawr, may start in 2026. According to Mark Matthews, editor of the Route 42 blog and a former reporter for Cleary’s Notebook News, it would be built along the Big Timber Creek. Future plans for the property’s core acreage include the development of a multi-building Logistics Warehouse Center. The Logistics Center aspect would be developed at a later date, and is in the early stage of design and approvals.
JEER-Mr. Tom/Leo Holt cons Gloucester City residents out of the defunct Coast Guard office building and feels no shame. He signed papers stating that he would renovate that building, and Gloucester City would be given the top floor for a restaurant. He also promised that his operation wouldn’t come further than Monmouth Street. He broke those promises too. And he promised to repair Freedom Pier. When he learns how much it would cost, he backed out of the deal. “Take me to court! I’ll stop payment on the UDAG monies.” Now we learn that one of the reasons for his latest lawsuit was filed because the new construction would block his view of the river. Perfect segue for this holiday verse.
“You’re a mean one, Mr. Holt.
You really are a heel,
You’re as cuddly as a cactus, you’re as charming as an eel, Mr. Holt.
You’re a bad banana with a greasy black peel!
JEER-For the past three years, Mayor Dayl Baile has allowed the disabled people and senior citizens on fixed incomes living at Gloucester Towne to use the Proprietors Park fence to hang their Christmas decorations. This year, without any explanation, those decorations were ripped off the fence and thrown into a city public works truck for trash.
Let’s continue the Mr. Grinch lyrics.
You’re a vile one, Mayor Dayl Baile,
You’re a nasty wasty skunk,
Your heart is full of unwashed socks, your soul is full of gunk, Mayor Dayl Baile.
The three words that best describe you are as follows, and I quote,
“Stink, stank, stunk”!
JEER—The highest political office in the United States is the presidency. Seeing President Donald J. Trump hawking a signed watch on television, in our opinion, demeans that office. What’s next, Mr. President? Will we see you selling used cars on Rt. 130? Or will you be knocking on doors selling vacuum cleaners?
CHEER-Mr. Holt’s argument for stopping the riverfront development at his location is that the immediate area cannot handle the 600-plus additional cars that would be added to an already congested area. We agree with him. Presently, 100 employees work in that building. Another factor is the buses and cars generated by nearby Gloucester Catholic. However, if the City can’t use the ground for housing and retail stores, what could that space be used for? Since the 1980s, the city has been talking about developing that area. Two plans that were proposed 45 years ago were Hollywood East and the King Street Corridor. Did they discuss the increase in traffic that would be generated if those plans came to fruition? Lastly, the City has approved the renovation of the former Gloucester Catholic Boys building into 15 apartments. Was the traffic from that project discussed?
CHEER-The highway departments throughout the South Jersey area did a good job clearing the snow from the streets.
JEER-Typepad, a web hosting service for websites and blogs since 2003, closed its doors on September 30, 2025. Their customers were given 30 days to remove their articles. Many of those individuals, like Cleary’s Notebook News, lost thousands of articles that go back years. Those articles represented the legacy of these bloggers. Those articles were also a history book of what has happened since 2003, when Typepad started its business.
JEER-The owner of 637 Division Street, Gloucester City paid $175,000 for his property in 2021. In 2022 Google Street view shows that the person began stockpiling trash and debris in his side yard that year and continued to add more junk the following years. Grant you the City levy over $5,000 in fines against the owner. But, when they saw that the fines didn’t stop the individual from continully the practice stronger measures should have been taken. The owner is supposed to be in court in January. Supposedly the judge will levy more fines against the owner and the city will remove the junk from his yard. Sadly, we feel this person will continue to add more junk to his yard despite what the city plans to do.
CHEER to the Four Heroes Charity for the fabulous mural that they added to their clubhouse on Edgewater Avenue, Westville. Hats off to the artist who painted the mural. https://4heroescharity.com/