Richard Kotter, of the 400-unit block Market Street, Gloucester City, is upset over the City owned parking lot at the corner of 5th and Market. The lot abuts his mother’s well-maintained residential property that extends the full length of the parking lot. It is also situated close to the future site of the School District’s Middle School

Photo: Richard Kotter points out the graffiti on the new fence he and his brother erected, click to enlarge.

During the school year, the lot is used by the students who attend Gloucester Catholic High School for parking.

The lot was once the site of the Quaker Food store and the former Sand Bar. The City tore down the properties in the 1980\’s, paved it with asphalt, and put up an 8-foot high cyclone fence.

Kotter said on Saturday, \”that was the last time we saw the City.\” He continued, \”the fence has been falling down for the past several years. Plus people use the lot to store their unlicensed vehicles and for changing the oil in their cars.\”

Photo: The broken City owned fence, click to enlarge.

In plain few was a red SUV with an expired registration and no license plates parked close to the Market Street sidewalk visible to all the people who use the busy county road going to an from the riverfront. Underneath the truck are a filled oil pan and an old oil filter. On the Fifth Street side of the lot, close to the sidewalk, sits another filled oil pan and an old oil filter. \”The oil is a eyesore, and a environmental hazard,\” said Kotter. Incidentally, whoever the person is, if found, could be fined for not disposing of the oil properly.

Photo: The dirty oil in pan and old oil filter under the unlicensed SUV, click to enlarge.

Kotter said over the years he has complained to a number of City Departments about the conditions but nothing is ever done.

In December of last year, the Kotter\’s were cited by the City for a broken down fence behind their Mom’s property on Powell Street. \”My brother and I were mad. We look over at the City\’s fence which is falling down and the City has the nerve to cite us. We figured why fight City Hall and decided to just put up a new fence for our Mom. Soon after a vandal (s) came along and wrote graffiti on it.\”

Photo: An empty needle syringe, click to enlarge.

Kotter said in the past couple of years the parking lot has been used by drug addicts to shoot up and sniff their drugs. Looking around the lot a reporter found an empty needle syringe along with a number of little plastic bags the type used to package illegal drugs. In addition, in plain view were empty beer cans scattered about. Kotter also said at times you could find used condoms lying on the ground. \”Sometimes the scum bags hang the used condoms on the City’s fence visible to the children who walk to school to see.\”

Asked when these crimes are happening, Kotter said, \”I presume it is after dark throughout the week. My brother and I take turns cleaning the lot of the needle syringes, and other trash. We clean it up and by the next day, the litter is back. We are tired of picking it up. We need help. We have contacted the Police Department in the pass but our complaints have fallen on deaf ears just like when we called the other departments.\” Photo: an empty plastic drug bag, click to enlarge.

With the reporter on Saturday was Bob Bevan, the City\’s Community Relations officer. Bevan promised Kotter that he would follow up on his complaints this coming week. Bevan can be reached at 456-0205 extension 11 or by email [email protected]

People who see derelict cars parked in their neighborhoods, whether it be parked on a residential property or on a public parking lot, are urged to call the City Housing Office which is in charge of enforcing the ordinance. The number for that department is 456-7689. Photo: a fill pan of dirty oil and a oil filter, click to enlarge.

If there is a City owned lot in need of maintenance, grass cutting, overgrown weeds etc. call the Public Works Department at 456-0781. To report an illegal activity call the City Police at 456-0408. In an emergency dial 911.

Reporter\’s note:If we are going to take back our City from the \”riff raft\” that have been destroying it we need more people like the Kotter family to get involved. Speak up! Don\’t sit by and wait for the next guy to take care of the problem. It is your turn to step up to the plate.

Article written by Bill Cleary; Email [email protected]

Commentary By Hank F. Miller Jr. (Hank is a former resident of Gloucester City who lives in Japan)  Here\’s a Tip! You don\’t deserve one, pal.  The only woman who has ever chased me was a willowy Japanese waitress who trailed me half a block from her restaurant door.\”Sir, \”she panted, \”I\’m sorry…but you forgot your change!\”Oh…So I waltzed off 100 yen richer. About 93 cents. Mean while the waitress got-besides 40 meters of exercise-was my sincere gratitude. Speed up the clock and tilt the world, and lo and behold this past week we were on our way in transit at the air port in San Francisco, California, I found myself chased again … this time by a waiter. \”Sir!\” he wheezed. He held my bill in his hand.\”I\’m sorry…but your tip was insufficient!\” Now-the truth be known-sometimes I do stretch facts. And when that gets dull, at other times I make things up. But this time I cross my foreigner\’s heart and swore on a stack of alien registration cards: The man followed me because I had tipped less than 15 percent.  I had left that smaller amount on purpose.Oh, the service had been OK and so had the food. Yet my meal arrived 15 minutes late, during which time I mostly sat and watched my wife suck crab legs. Yet…that was not my reason either. In all the endless vacation tipping of cab drivers, baggage handlers and so on, I had graded not a single effort as out of the ordinary, and none of it as meriting extra money. I was fed up, and this waiter was the unlucky fellow to learn this. My wife fidgeted. As Japanese, she craves one basic thing\”harmony.She eyed me to pay the man, especially with passersby nudging their children and saying, \”Hey, kids, look at the cheapskate!\”But I declined, and the waiter mumbled his way back to the restaurant. I walked off a few bucks richer, yet not without pangs of guilt. People say the gap between Japan and the United States grows closer everyday. Japanese gobble cheeseburgers. Americans sleep on futons=quilts for sleeping on the floor. Japanese girls mimic the hair style of Britney Spears. American boys imitate the batting style of Ichiro Suzuki. Who knows…one day both nations might be nothing but one giant Starbucks-lined shopping mall of video arcades, clothing stores and a dollar/100 yen shops.  With the single difference being that on one side of the ocean, consumers will tip and on the other side of the ocean, they won\’t.Hopefully, that will never change. Or if it does, it will change for the better…meaning America will go cold turkey on the gratuity kick.\”You\’re just a tightwad, \”says my wife.\”A tightwad from Bumpkin city, where people only know two kinds of service: Self and buffet.\” And for that helpful comment, I decided to give her 15 percent of my mind. At times, the American service industry might more accurately be called the \’serve less\’ industry.   Warm Regards From Kitakyushu City, Japan

The Philly Bridge……. Walt Whitman Bridge connects South Philadelphia to Gloucester City, New Jersey, across the Delaware River.
Photos from Eye Captain – http://www.flickr.com/photos/77945684@N00/

HACK

Scott Michael

Suddenly, On June 21, 2007. Age 29. Of Mount Ephraim. Formerly of Audubon.

Loving and devoted father of Skyla Mae Ellenbark-Hack of Deptford. Beloved Son of Kathy R. Hack (nee Frank) of Mount Ephraim (Ron Gonzales) and Joseph P. Hack, Sr. of Florida. Dear Grandson of the late Bernard D. Frank and Hazel Ruth (nee Laute). Devoted brother of Michelle Meade (nee Hack) (Daniel) of Philadelphia, Joseph P. Hack, Jr. of Mount Ephraim, Andrea Gonzales of Collingswood and Andrew Gonzales of Mount Ephraim. Loving uncle of Danny, Riley, Kylee and Anthony.

Scott attended Audubon High School and resided in Audubon. He recently lived in Mount Ephraim and has worked as an account executive for Maxum Expo Services, LLC. Since 2003, Scott worked very hard for Maxum Expo which is owned by his cousins, Peggy and Joe Maxwell. Scott liked to travel and absolutely cherished his time with his daughter, Skyla.

Relatives, friends and employees of Maxum Expo Services are kindly invited to attend his viewing on Tuesday morning from 10 am to 12 Noon at the McCANN-HEALEY FUNERAL HOME: 851 Monmouth Street (at Brown Street) Gloucester City. Lutheran Religious Service 12:30 pm in the funeral home officiated by Pastor Dave Oppold of Spirit of Hope Lutheran Church, Mount Ephraim. Interment New Saint Mary’s Cemetery, Bellmawr.

There will be no evening viewing. Family requests no flowers for the viewing. Instead, memorial donations are preferred to the benefit of Skyla M. Ellenbark-Hack: 180 North Black Horse Pike, Bellmawr, New Jersey 08031. Expressions of sympathy can be e-mailed to the family through our funeral home website www.mccannhealey.com under online obituaries of Scott Michael Hack.

Success in sports can be measured in many ways. Wins and losses, standings, improvement, and a wide range of various statistics help us. At Rider University, the successful 2006-2007 academic school year is being measured by grade point average.

During the spring of 2007, the semester grade point average for all Rider student-athletes was a best-ever 3.04, compared to the 2.96 grade point average for Rider’s non-student-athlete population. 55 percent of Rider’s student-athletes received a 3.0 or better grade point average and 14 of the 20 squads had a team grade point average at 3.00 or above. \”We are extremely proud of the academic performance of our teams,\” said Don Harnum, Rider Director of Athletics. \”It is a credit to our coaches for recruiting quality student-athletes, to the efforts of the students, and a testament to the dedication of everyone involved in the area of academic support at Rider.\”

Rider’s male athletes compiled their best semester GPA ever last spring with a 2.91. Not to be out-done, 66 percent of Rider’s female athletes compiled a 3.0 or better, giving the women a 3.17 GPA as a group, the second best semester ever at Rider.

The women’s swimming & diving team compiled its best semester grade point average ever (3.32) after placing second of 10 teams at the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championships and third of 16 teams at the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championships.

\”One of the goals we set each year is to be recognized by the College Swimming Coaches Association of America for academics,\” said Rider head swimming & diving coach Steve Fletcher, \”and our women really responded to that challenge.\” The Rider women earned the highest of the three levels of the Academic All-America team award presented by the CSCAA.

In all, 87 Rider student-athletes earned MAAC All-Academic Team honors (3.2 or better, no freshmen) for the 2006-07 academic school year. Outside of the MAAC, eleven members of the field hockey team were named to the 2006 National Field Hockey Coaches Association Division I National Academic Squad, and as a team the Broncs were one of 48 teams honored for having a 3.0 or better grade point average. Junior wrestler T. J. Morrison, a three-time national qualifier, was honored by the National Wrestling Coaches Association for his high grade point average, as one of 57 wrestlers nationally to be named to the NWCA All-Academic team.

\”We are proud of T.J. for his efforts in the classroom,\” said associate head coach John Hangey. \”T.J. is the true definition of a student-athlete and is the type of young man any team could build a program around. Being named an Academic All American, T.J. proves that you can be a great student and one of the best wrestlers in the entire nation at your weight at the same time.\”

Rider’s Student Transitional Education Program (STEP) provides individual and group tutoring, as well as study tables, coordinates progress reports and monitors the student-athlete’s academic progress, while providing workshops on such topics as library skills, test taking and note taking. It appears to be working.

\”For both the men and women, there was a dramatic decline in the percentage of student-athletes with a semester GPA below 2.0,\” said Dr. Jonathan Husch, Rider’s Faculty Athletics Representative. \”I believe this is strong evidence to the ongoing efforts of all Department of Athletics academic support personnel in assisting our academically at-risk student-athletes. They include (Associate Athletic Director) Greg Busch, (Academic Support Coordinator) Sonya Hurt, (Director of Rider Learning Center) Kendall Friedman, the coaches, and the entire staff of the University’s Education Enhancement Program.\”

 \”Our student-athletes work really hard on and off the field and it shows,\” said Hurt. \”The success of our student-athletes in the classroom speaks volumes about the homework our coaches do when recruiting the best students for Rider University. I applaud our student-athletes and coaches for a job well done.\”

 \”This is a story not often heard about Division I athletics and we should all be extremely proud,\” said Husch. \”It is academic results like this that allow us to say with all honesty, ‘We do Division I right’.\”

At Rider, student-athletes are winning on the court, on the field, in the pool, on the track, and most importantly, in the classroom.

source Rider press release

Gloucester County (Old), founded in 1686 and once including within its boundaries the present Atlantic and Camden Counties, is unique in that it is an outstanding Agricultural, Industrial and Residential Area. Farming in all of its phases is highly established and developed. The raising of fruit, farm vegetables, and poultry, the dairy industry, the breeding of cattle, hogs, and other livestock, the existence of modern year-round canneries, quick freezing establishments and nearby markets all go far to make Gloucester County one of the chief food producing sections of our State and of our Country.

Hand in hand with agriculture, the County possesses some of the largest industries of the East. Modern plants of small and great proportions steadily employing thousands of our citizens, today are contributing in a major way to the prosperity of our Municipalities, County, State, and Nation.

Such a combination of Agriculture and Industry, together with the location of the County in the Metropolitan area of Philadelphia, was bound to result in thriving residential communities. A fine network of improved State and County Highways, excellent bus service, and generally splendid Municipal Government have contributed to the development of residential communities without comparison in our State. Gloucester County possesses the finest of schools and places of worship, the finest of local and county service of every kind, and is indeed a happy, healthy place for living.

Dotted with woods and beautiful lakes, traversed by beautiful streams, Old Gloucester County possesses a historical background that places it foremost in our Country\’s history. Historical shrines abound throughout the County. Major Revolutionary War Battlegrounds with original trenches and weapons carefully preserved, distinctive and outstanding Early American architecture, exemplified by beautiful old homes of notable Patriots, churches, and public buildings are generously scattered throughout the county and are a constant inspiration to the citizenry.

source Gloucester County Community Information

Gloucester County Historical Sites

Walter Borton of Pitman has been a fisherman for 12 years. His father taught him how to fish in the ocean surf. But Borton enjoys the challenge of fishing the freshwater lakes near his home.

\”It\’s relaxing, that\’s the biggest thing, and it\’s peaceful,\” said Borton, 35. \”I take my boat out sometimes and all you hear are birds and the wind whistling through the trees. I\’ve went at all times of the day to fish and you\’ll find every lake is unique. The fish feed at different times and you have to experiment with different types of bait to catch them.

\”I got my dad to go lake fishing with me, but he didn\’t see the point because it\’s more to relax than to eat what you catch.\”

But there is one type of freshwater fish that Borton always eats when he catches it – trout. 

source Philadelphia Inquirer read more

All Fishing Stories on CNB

DOUGHERTY, THERESA G.
(Nee Campbell), 94, of Bellmawr, formerly of Philadelphia, peacefully at St. Mary\’s Nursing Home on June 15, 2007.
Beloved wife of the late Thomas F. Dougherty. Loving mother of Thomas J. of New York, NY, Michael of Bellmawr, NJ and Theresa (Raymond) McConnell of Westerly, RI. Caring sister of George E. Campbell and Madeline Soroka. Proud grandmother of 7 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren.
Relatives and friends are invited to attend her Life Celebration, Wednesday, 8:00 to 9:30 AM at the CIECHANOWSKI FUNERAL HOME, 1100 N. Black Horse Pike, Runnemede. Mass of Christian Burial will follow 10:00 AM at BVM Annunciation Church in Bellmawr. Interment New Saint Mary\’s Cemetery. Memorial contributions in Theresa\’s memory can be made to St. Mary\’s Auxiliary, 210 St. Mary\’s Drive, Cherry Hill, NJ 08003.

SANTORO, SALVATORE

On June 15, 2007, Salvatore Santoro, age 82 of Blackwood, formerly of Audubon.
Born in Philadelphia, Mr. Santoro was one of 8 children.
He is survived by his brother, Albert Santoro and his 3 sisters, Elizabeth Bencevenga, Gloria Bell and Violet Belfatto. Loving Husband, Father, Grandfather and friend. Salvatore was the beloved husband of the late, Helen (Ellinia) C. Santoro (nee Lamanea). He is the loving father of Jennie Marie Santoro of Lindenwold, Helena Marie Corsello of Gloucester, Salvatore Dominic Santoro of Audubon, Frank Anthony Santoro of Blackwood, Donna Rose Meeker of Port Charlotte, FL and Barbara Santoro of Blackwood. He is the loving grandfather of Tina Draper, the late Victor Corsello, Anthony Corsello, Tonya Mendoza, Renee Lee, Teia Santoro, Franco Santoro,Shabree Meeker, Craig Meeker, Jessica Santoro, Thomas Pitts, Shawn Meeker, Christina Meeker and Frank Santoro. He is the Great Grandfather of Steven, Michael, Angelique, Dominic, David, Jennifer, Junior, Victor, Thelena, Helenann, Jesus, Salvatore, Brianna, Jeremiah, Cameron, Nicholas, Danielle, Ellinia, Daniel, Vincenzo and Victoria. He is the Great-Great grandfather of Natalie.
Relatives and friends are invited to his viewing Thursday evening from 7 to 9 PM and again Friday morning from 8:30 – 9:30 AM at the HEALEY FUNERAL HOME, 9 White Horse Pike (at Kings Hwy.), Haddon Heights. His Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Friday at 10:00 AM at St. Rose of Lima RC Church, 4th Avenue and Kings Hwy., Haddon Heights. Interment Locustwood Memorial Park, Cherry Hill.
Forever in our hearts Dad you are our special hero. See you in heaven.