KENNEDY, JANICE L. (LORI)
On December 3, 2007, of Bellmawr. Age 49.
Beloved daughter of Janice D. Kennedy (nee Brown) of Bellmawr and the late Robert. Devoted mother of Joseph Sears, Jr. and Robert Kennedy, Sr., both of Bellmawr. Loving grandmother of Robert, Jr. (RJ). Dear sister of Robert Kennedy, Jr., James Kennedy, Darlene Kennedy and John Kennedy (Michele). Also survived by several aunts and uncles, especially Aunt Fran and Uncle John Wright and many nieces, nephews and cousins. She will also be sadly missed by her two furry friends, Buddy and Mia.
Relatives and friends are invited to the viewing from 9 to 11am Friday morning at Annunciation BVM Church, 601 W. Browning Rd., Bellmawr. Funeral Mass 11am. Entombment New St. Mary\’s Mausoleum, Bellmawr. Expressions of sympathy may be e-mailed to Condolences@Gardner FuneralHome.com

NICASTRO, CARLO J.

Age 56, of Medford, passed away Monday, December 3, 2007, at Samaritan Inpatient Hospice, Mt. Holly.
Born in Philadelphia, PA, Carlo resided in Cherry Hill before moving to Medford 31 years ago. He was a parishioner at St. Mary of the Lakes R.C. Church in Medford. Carlo was a teacher at Eastern High School in Voorhees.
He was an avid outdoorsman, who enjoyed fishing, hunting and running. Carlo touched the life of everyone he met, whether it was a student or a stranger he met while hunting or fishing.
He is survived by his wife of 31 years, Paula A. (nee Edwards) Nicastro; his parents, Louis and Nancy Nicastro; his son and daughter-in-law, Matthew and Kate Nicastro of Haddonfield; his daughter Kristine Nicastro of Medford; two brothers and sisters-in-law, David and Tracey Nicastro, and Mark and Maddy Nicastro; and two nieces and two nephews.
Relatives and friends may call on Thursday, December 6, 2007, from 6-8 PM, and again on Friday, December 7, from 9-10 AM, at the MATHIS FUNERAL HOME, 58 N. Main St., Medford, (609) 654-2439. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Friday at 10:30 AM, at St. Mary of the Lakes R.C. Church, 40 Jackson Rd., Medford, (609) 654-8208.
Interment will be held privately at the convenience of the family.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Carlo\’s memory to St. Jude\’s Children\’s Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105.

For those who haven\’t noticed Gloucester Plumbing Supply has begun building a new showroom and warehouse on property the company owns at 522 S. Broadway near the corner of Broadway and Jersey Avenue. The work began several weeks ago and weather permitting will be finished in late April.

According to Joe Kenney, owner of the company, this is the first phase of a three-phase construction project that is planned for the location.

Kenney said besides building a 2200 square foot showroom the outside of the building will be completely renovated with new windows along with a stucco facade. The second and third phase of the design for the site includes a new warehouse and off street parking.

Mayor Bill James in an interview last February raved about the improvements that Gloucester Plumbing was planning. \”A new Gloucester Plumbing building would enhance the south entrance to the City. The lighting will be better and the landscaping will be improved. All and all it is a good plan.\”

I spoke with Councilman Nick Marchese today and was told the Department of Community Affairs has given the City the go ahead to buy the Gloucester Heights Fire Hall, and renovate it into a Senior Citizens Community Center. A $400,000 state grant for the Community Center was received by the Kilcourse administration in 2005-06 but for some reason no action was taken to utilize the money. In 2007 when the James administration took control they found the deadline for using the money for a senior center was about to expire. The proposal to use the Fire Hall for the Community Center was presented several months ago to the state. Marchese said approval of the plan from the Department of Community Affairs has recently been received.

Marchese said the Fire Department will still be located in the building but will only utilize the side where the fire equipment is kept. \”With the money they receive from the sale of the hall the plans call for the construction of a second floor on top of the garage for the firemen\’s use,\” said Marchese.

He further explained that one-half of the hall will be section off for the use of the senior citizens on a daily basis. The other half of the hall will be rented out for weddings and other functions. The City will own the property. He expects action on the plans will start in the very near future.

At last Thursday, council meeting a resolution (R276) was passed to allow the City of Gloucester City to enter in to Agreements for the Sale of the Properties known as Chatham Square and Gloucester Terrace. According to Marchese if an agreement is reached to purchase the property, the apartments would be demolished and single family homes would be built. Both he and Mayor James said that this idea is in the early planning stages.

Chatham Square is located on Rt. 130 and Klemm Avenue in the area where Beazer Construction Company has built 64 new homes.

NOTE: I received several recommendations for the November Cheers and Jeers column that I did not use. The reason, I had already submitted the column. They are on file and I plan to publish the suggestions in my December column. In the mean time if you have a Jeer or Cheer you would like to submit for this month\’s column send it to [email protected].

South Jersey Outdoors by Doug Skinner

The Mt. Ephraim Celebration Committee and the Mt. Ephraim Fire Department Ladies Auxiliary held a Lunch with Santa on Saturday, December 1^st. The event had over 125 people in attendance. Those who attended had a great time. The children enjoyed making the crafts that were available and visiting with Santa.

The committees would like to extend a special thank you to Miss Mt. Ephraim, Lucy Zettlemoyer; Miss Sons of Italy, Michelle Greenwald; Miss Democrat Club Melanie Lewis and Miss Flame, Bridget Gugel who helped the children with their crafts. We would like to give a very special thank you to Santa Claus for taking the time to meet our children during this very busy time of the year.

We as residents were told change was going to happen when new candidates were elected?

It is obvious Gloucester City needs a City Planner and a Beautification Committee.

Also, Mayor and Council need to take a walking tour of surrounding communities, such as Haddon Avenue in Collingswood, Station Avenue in Haddon Heights, and Merchant Street in Audubon – to name a few, and then come back to Gloucester and walk down Broadway.

Need I say anymore?

Personally, I would be embarrassed if I were in their shoes, representing a City that looks like this.

Empty lots, empty buildings, no shopping district, fast food joints, Section Eight housing, buildings painted every color of the rainbow, to mention a few.

But, I especially like the fact that we had a junky used car lot on Broadway as you enter from Brooklawn.

Property goes up for sale, we get rid of that eyesore, and what reappears? Another car lot! Change?

You need to look up the definition, and work on it.

Carol S. Ruggierio, Gloucester City

by M.A. Mehta/The Star-Ledger

Monday December 03, 2007, 9:18 PM

Epiphanny Prince erupted to key a second-half comeback that vaulted No. 4 Rutgers past No. 3 Maryland, 68-60, tonight in the Jimmy V Classic at the RAC.

Prince flashed the skills that make her one of the most lethal guards in the country, draining 3-pointers and finding open teammates during a 15-4 Rutgers run that helped the Scarlet Knights (5-1) erase a 10-point second-half deficit and extend their winning streak to five games.

Maryland (10-1) suffered its first loss of the season thanks to Rutgers\’ stingy second-half defense that forced 20 turnovers and held the Terrapins to five field goals.