After reading comments by other residents about the condition of our streets, I drove around town and confirmed that yes, indeed, the streets on the east side of the railroad tracks have been cleared, the same side of town where Punxsutawney Bowie and Punxsutawney JohnGorman live!

Coincidence or discrimination against lower income residents who live on the east side ? Discrimination is a violation against all Americans civil rights! Do I hear a class action lawsuit being discussed?

Residents UNITE!! This does not have to be tolerated.

signed: Time To Take Action

I too am furious over the streets and for exactly the same reasons…safety, firemen, police and so on.

My baby was sick and had 104* fever the other day. After a conversation with the doctor, they wanted her placed on fever suppositories because she wasn\’t keeping a thing down. After over an hour and a half of trying to chop up some of the ice, all the while my child is getting sick and still spiking a major fever…I was still stuck at home.

I ended up literally in tears because (1)-I could not get out to get her meds and (2)-My next step was to call an ambulance and wondered how they would ever make it down my frozen pond of a street….that\’s still not thawed!

It wasn\’t until hours later that my husband got home that I was able to get the meds and by that time it warranted a trip to the doctor because she was very lethargic.

Get on the ball Public Works Department. I\’m sick of seeing you drive around all day and do nothing! Yet, certain people have the priviledge of having their roads, driveways and sidewalks done by you? Do you think we don\’t watch?

We need more change!!

Signed,
SICK AND TIRED!

Upset with City Highway Department\’s Job Performance

At 8:00AM this morning (Friday) Monmouth Street, Johnson Blvd., and probably all other streets in Gloucester City were still covered with ice.

As we all know Monmouth Street is a main roadway for our Fire Department and Rescue/Ambulance Service.

With today\’s frequent and multimulti-day forecasting, the City\’s salt trucks should have been prepared and out on the streets Tuesday night and all day Wednesday.

I saw trucks driving around on Wednesday of this week, but no staff members were putting any salt down or removing any ice. If our present Streets Department employees are not willing to accept their responsibilities and carry out their job descriptions, they should be dismissed for insubordination.

Hire new staff members that will be thankful to have such a job and will execute their responsibilities in keeping our streets clear and safe!

Here it is Friday evening and many cars in our City are still iced in at the curb. With the sun shining again and the temperature rising, get the job done! Clear our streets . If you don\’t want to work hand in your resignation.

signed STILL ICED IN!

FIRE THEM ALL; SUB-CONTRACT THE WORK OUT

This has gone one for years, with certain people getting overtime or double time by just driving around.

Does anyone remember that one year a certain supervisor was driving around the city for MONTHS after Christmas with the same Christmas tree in the back of his pickup truck. One of the employees tied a ribbon around it and everyone just laughed how this person just drove around and did nothing for months with this Christmas tree all over town. There are also some pictures of this same supervisor doing some other things, like taking scrap metal that the city paid it\’s employee\’s to collect and this person then took it to the junk yard to gain profit from the junk.

I personally think that this person should be fired and the pension that
wasn\’t earned taken away.

Fire them ALL. Sub-contract the work out, why not, the city has more
trucks that employees take home for personal use, not lettered up, so
why not have an extra vehicle on the taxpayer.

The mayor and council should clean house, re-hire people who want to work, if Brooklawn can do it\’s own trash and recycle with so many less employees and trucks, maybe we should be sharing that idea with Brooklawn, we can even share equipment and employees. Shared
systems work, we already do it with Fire, Police why not Trash,
Highway, Parks Playgrounds, pay the employees based on task
completion, not on who they are related to.

Mr. Mayor and newly elected Council people make some real changes, people are mad, sick and tired of the way certain parts of the city are ran.

I\’m just a dumb nobody, just looking at some smart somebodies at work!
I must be stupid to think that all these smart, boss\’ and supervisors
who have been doing the same jobs for years, just take up their part of
the city budget and it makes all us dumb voters mad. All of us dumb
dumbs that don\’t see what goes on day to day, year to year.
Arms up in the air!

SIGNED PLOWS ON STRIKE?

WHAT IS YOUR OPINION?

One Bad Apple Can Spoil the Whole Barrel

By Bill Cleary

UPDATE: I just been informed that charges have been filed against the suspect who committed the crime. Further details will be coming on Wednesday after I speak with the City Police Department.

PS-From the comments being received some people seem to be missing the fact that it was because of a whistle blower the public found out about this allege crime. The e-mail I received named the person who admitted to stealing the money, which I withheld until charges if any are filed. I am asking the fire association to release a statement to confirm what is fact and what is rumor. They know by now if the money is missing since an audit was conducted last week. They also know that one of the members confessed. The association is responsible for not having better control over cash money being collected back in September. Buckets of coins and cash were mishandled I was told by someone who was there. I also wonder why the $7000 wasn\’t given to the Burn Center in September? Why did this individual still have $7000 sitting in the checking account? They can address these questions right now but they refuse to talk to me. Bill Cleary

Shock and disappointment were two of the emotions I felt last Monday morning (February 12) when I received an anonymous e-mail that someone admitted to stealing monies from the 2006 Fireman’s Softball marathon. A confidential source said $7200 is missing from the account.

For those of you who are unaware, the Gloucester City Volunteer Fireman’s Association has sponsored an annual Softball Marathon in September for many years. The event is held at the Little League Field on Nicholson Road. The teams, made up of mostly volunteer and paid firemen from all-over would play softball for 48 hours straight. The players would pay an entry fee to enter the Marathon. Firemen would stand on Nicholson Road and on Johnson Blvd. with hats in their hands collecting buckets of coins and dollar bills from passing motorists.

So many people volunteered and gave their time and money to this worthy cause. The monies would be sent to the Crozier-Chester Burn Center in Upland, Pennsylvania. To their credit those involved with running the event have raised thousands of dollars for the Burn Center.

One has to wonder if it wasn’t for the \”whistle blower\” coming forward, would the public been told the money was missing from the Softball Marathon account? I wished I felt different but I doubt it.

I have been waiting for the Association to issue a public statement to explain this unsettling news. Is it too much to ask for the officers of the organization to step-up and tell us all what is true and what is rumor?

What we are seeing instead is complete silence from those in charge. Maybe they believe the bad publicity will just go away?

I asked for further explanation last week and received this response via email from an officer of one of the volunteer fire battalions.

\”Mr. Cleary, as of this time I will not have a comment on this matter until we have this all straightened out. Until then please don\’t rely on all of your sources on this matter\”.

It is apparent the Fireman’s Association has learned nothing from the previous mistake made. To be more specific I am speaking about the $10,000 being stolen by a fireman from the same account in the 1980’s. That too was hushed up until the Gloucester City News broke the story.

What saddens me most is the fact the entire Fireman’s Association receives a black eye because of one individual.

The results of a recent study about the effects of the one bad apple concept states, \”The
Negative behavior outweighs positive behavior, so a bad apple can spoil the whole barrel,\” researchers at the University of Washington said in the current issue of the journal Research in Organizational Behavior.

\”Companies and organizations need to move quickly to deal with such problems because the negativity of just one individual is pervasive and destructive and can spread quickly,\” said co-author Terence Mitchell, a professor of management and organization.

My suggestion to the officers of the Firemen’s Association is just that; deal with this problem fast. Otherwise the entire membership of the Association looks guilty because of your silence. The public is waiting for an explanation. They deserve some answers. Not next week. Not tomorrow. But today!

What is your opinion?

Walt Whitman Bridge

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Walt Whitman Bridge
Official name	Walt Whitman Bridge
Carries	7 lanes of I-76 and 2 sidewalks
Crosses	Delaware River
Locale	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Gloucester City, New Jersey
Maintained by	Delaware River Port Authority of Pennsylvania and New Jersey
ID number	4500010
Design	steel suspension bridge
Longest span	609.6 meters (2,000 feet)
Total length	3,651.81 meters (11,981 feet)
Width	28.04 meters (92 feet)
Clearance below	45.72 meters (150 feet)
Opening date	May 16, 1957
Toll	$3.00 (westbound) (E-ZPass)
Maps and aerial photos Street map from Google Maps or Yahoo! Maps Topographic map from TopoZone Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA Satellite image from Google Maps or Microsoft Virtual Earth

Philadelphia Portal

The Walt Whitman Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Delaware River from Philadelphia to Gloucester City, New Jersey. Named after the poet Walt Whitman, who resided in nearby Camden toward the end of his life, the Walt Whitman Bridge is one of the larger bridges on the east coast of the United States. The bridge is owned and operated by the Delaware River Port Authority.

Construction on the bridge began in 1953, and it opened to traffic on May 16, 1957. The bridge has a total length of 11,981 feet (3,651 meters), and a main span of 2,000 feet (610 meters). The bridge has seven lanes, three in each direction and a center lane that is shifted variably (via a zipper barrier) to accommodate heavy traffic.

The bridge is a part of Interstate 76 (which, between the river and the South Philadelphia interchange at Passyunk Avenue, is known as the \”Walt Whitman Expressway\”). Along with the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, Betsy Ross Bridge and Commodore Barry Bridge, the Walt Whitman Bridge is one of four freeway-standard bridges connecting the Philadelphia area with southern New Jersey.

[edit] Tolls

A $3.00 one-way toll is charged entering Pennsylvania for passenger vehicles (less than 7,000 lbs gross vehicle weight). An $18 credit will be given on a per tag basis for any DRPA-issued E-ZPass tag that crosses one of the four DRPA bridges 18 times in a calendar month. Trucks, Commercial vehicles, mobile homes and recreation vehicles (weighing at least 7,000 lbs. gross vehicle weight), pay $4.50 cash per axle. Seniors aged 65 and over can use a ticket program to pay $1.00 per trip (not integrated with E-ZPass).[1]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Delaware River Port Authority site
• Walt Whitman Bridge historic overview (phillyroads.com)

Gloucester County History and Genealogy

HISTORY OF FORT NASSAU IN BRIEF:
\”In 1621, the privileged West Indian Company was formed in Holland. In 1623 this company dispatched a ship loaded with settlers, subsistence and articles of trade, under the command of Cornelius Mey. He gave his own name to the cap at the northern part of the Delaware Bay which it still retains–Cape May. He built a fort by a stream called by the natives Sassackon. It is a tributary of the Delaware, a few miles below Camden. He named the fortification Fort Nassau. It is highly probably that this was the first attempt ever made to form a settlement on the eastern shore of the Delaware. David Pieterson DeVries, who arrived in the Delaware in the winter of 1630-31, found that Fort Nassau had fallen into the hands of the Indians. He built a fort, colonized his immigrants, and went back to Holland.\” †1

HISTORY – CONFLICTING STORIES:
Depending on which history you read [both in print and on the internet], each contains a slightly different version regarding the origin of Fort Nassau, its history, and its location.

According to the history of Westville, found on their web site [ my personal comments are highlighted in red] \” After Cornelius Mey established the first white settlement on Burlington Island, he established Fort Nassau in 1623. The site of Fort Nassau has been a subject of much controversy, the Hon. Franit H. Stewart, president of the Gloucester County Historical Society has set the site as back of what is now Brooklawn, at the mouth of Timber Creek, just west of where Big Timber Creek, Little Timber Creek and the Delaware join. Records show that the Dutch trading post was \”about fifteen leagues up the river on the eastern shore. The Dutch had built two strongholds or forts, largest about 16 miles up the river on the eastern shore, called Nassau\”. [There are inconsistencies in the measurements indicated here–is it 15 leagues or 16 miles? Did they mean to say furlongs instead? 15 furlongs = approximately 2 current miles, i.e. 15 x 0.125. The original Dutch navigators would not have used the term league.] In 1651, Peter Loursenson, a Dutch sailor sent to the Delaware, commented that Fort Nassau consisted of a trading house with ten or 12 servants belonging to It. Records further show that in 164j Nassau was occupied by 20 men and was used by the Dutch until 1651. In 1651, Fort Nassau was abandoned. Its cannon and other weapons were installed at Fort Casisnir (at New Castle). Its last trading commissioner Andries Hudde, served in the same capacity in the new fort. The abandoned fort remained a landmark for many years. In 1750, Acrelius, pastor of the Old Swede Church, Philadelphia, wrote in his diary, \”Nassau is still standing two and a half miles north of Manias Hook (Hantaes hoeck).\” [note the spelling here is incorrect, should be Manta\’s Hook [Mantaes Hoeck].

According to \”Accessible Archives: \”it appears that the sailors and soldiers were stationed at a little fort which was hurriedly built for their protection at a spot which the natives called \”Tekaacho\” near Gloucester Point, immediately opposite the lower part of the city of Philadelphia. This was Fort Nassau, the first building known to have been erected by civilized men on the shores of the Delaware. Its exact site cannot now be pointed out, but it was supposed to be upon the north branch of Timber Creek or as the Dutch called it \”Timmer Kill,\” (21*) then called \”Sapackon.\” It was built close to the point of rocks, its southern rampart being within a few feet of the creek.(22*) The year in which the fort was built is disputed, but it is probable that its construction was undertaken about 1623, which was doubtless also the time of the settlement near the site of Trenton. The men and women of the Walloons at this isolated station grew homesick, and within a year or so returned to Manhattan. The fort too was abandoned after one or two years of occupations though it was irregularly occupied by a few soldiers for short periods, down to 1642 when it was continuously garrisoned until 1650 or 1651 when the Dutch themselves destroyed it, because it was too high up the river and too far from the chief theatre of their activities to serve any valuable purpose. It appears to have been occasionally used as a lodging place by the Indians, probably at such times as they expected trading vessels to arrive which was at least once a year, and De Vries found it thus tenanted by the savages when he visited it in 1633.\”
[(21*) On the map in Campanius’ work it is designated as being between the two branches of Timber Creek.
(22*) Various discoveries and relics have been made at different times in digging at the site of the fort. In 1745 a Spanish privateer threatened to land on the Delaware, and fears being entertained that they would attack Wilmington, attempts were made to place the old fort in repair. In digging the ground for that purpose, they found several pieces of money, with Queen Christina’s stamp upon it. On the 31st of March, 1755, on taking up by chance some pieces of the walls, there were found many cannon balls, granadoes, and other similar things, which had been kept carefully concealed since the surrender of the fort by Rising. Five pieces of cannon (according to Acrelius) wore kept mounted there previously, as at the treaty of Aix la Chapelle, in 1646, an English salute was fired from them, in honor of the Governor, who was going to meet the Legislature at New Castle.]

According to PICTORIAL FIELD BOOK OF THE REVOLUTION by Benson J. Lossing: \”Near where Gloucester, in New Jersey, now stands, he built Fort Nassau. This was the first white settlement on the shores of the Delaware, but it was not permanent. In 1631, Captain David Pieterson de Vries entered the Delaware River with two ships and about thirty colonists. He was associated with Godyn, Bloemart, and Van Rensselaer, wealthy Dutch patroons, 9 in establishing a permanent settlement on the Delaware for the purpose of cultivating tobacco and grain, and prosecuting the whale and seal fishing. He built Fort Oplandt, near Lewiston, Delaware. De Vries returned to Holland, and when he came back, in 1632, his colony was destroyed. The arms of Holland, emblazoned on a piece of tin, had been raised upon a pole. An Indian stole the metal to make a tobacco-box of it. Osset, the commander, quarreled with the Indians, and the latter fell upon the colonists, while at work in the fields, and butchered every one of them. De Vries made peace with the tribe, but, finding Fort Nassau deserted, and the whole settlement a desolation, he left the bay forever; for, before the Dutch could re-establish their power, the patent granted to Lord Baltimore, proprietor of Maryland.\” †3

According to Area History: Contents of Vol I, Advertisement, & General Introductory History – Watson\’s Annals of Philadelphia And Pennsylvania, 1857, front section:
\”About that time, the States General appear to have enlarged their schemes
of profit from the country, by an attempt at colonization; for they grant,
in the year 1621, their patent \”for the country of the Nieu Nederland, to
the privileged West India Company\”. From this time the Dutch began to
progress southwardly over the lands bordering on both sides of the Delaware,
which they then called the Zuydt or South river, in contradistinction to
their Noords or North river. To protect their settlers, they built in 1623,
their first fort on the Delaware, and probably made their first village, at
the place since known as Gloucester point, in New Jersey, at a little
distance below the present Philadelphia. This was of course the proper
\”Ancient Dominion\”, to us ! The fortification was called \”Nassau\”. The
place was known to the Indians by the name of Arwanus [also as Tekaacho] and
by the ancient Philadelphians by the less poetical name of Pine point.\Ӡ5

According to: Local History: Chapters IV & V – Part I: Early Voyagers and Traders & The First Swedish Settlement: Bean\’s 1884 History of Montgomery Co, PA:\” p 54
\”Mey, appears either to have accompanied them here or visited them soon after their arrival. He selected a site for their settlement, planting the Walloons on Verhulsten Island, near the present city of Trenton, N.J., and hastened the construction of a log fort or stockade for his sailors and soldiers at the mouth of the Timmer Kill, on the New Jersey bank of the Delaware, not far from where Gloucester now stands. This fort was called \”Nassau.\” Its exact site is not determined, nor can we decide the original Indian name of the spot, having such a variety to choose from. [See NOTE 4-6.]
[NOTE 4-6.] Hermaomessing, Tachaacho, Armewamix, Arwames, Tekoke, Armenvereus,
etc. The year in which the fort was built is also disputed, but the circumstances mentioned in the text make it probable that its construction was undertaken very shortly after Capt. Mey\’s arrival.

St. Mary\’s Rectory 426 Monmouth Street Gloucester City, NJ 08030 Phone: (856) 456-0052 Fax: (856) 456-1837

St. Mary\’s Grammar School 340 Cumberland Street Gloucester City, NJ 08030 Mrs. Gail Corey, Principal Phone: (856) 456-0913

History
The idea of making Gloucester a parish took shape in 1848, when a petition was presented to Bishop Kenrick of Philadelphia and the Rev. E.Q.S. Waldron was appointed.

Mass was first said in a private house, but the accommodations soon proved too small for the growing congregation. The superintendent of the school hall, though a non-Catholic, gave the use of the hall to Father Waldron, who for a time said Mass there every Sunday. Bigotry and ignorance soon deprived the little flock of this privilege.

In 1849, a Protestant, a Mr. Robb, donated the ground for a church. The pastor and people immediately made every effort to erect a suitable edifice. The first and second corner stones were stolen, but the third, laid by Father Matthew, famous Irish temperance priest, was buried 10 feet underground. The new church was finally erected and had a seating capacity of 400.

The Rev. Thomas J. McCormack was appointed pastor in the spring of 1886, and soon found there was more work to be done as the number of Catholics increased with the growth of the town.

In the autumn of 1886, he secured 12 lots bounded by Somerset, Atlantic, and Monmouth Streets.

The present parochial residence was built at the cost of $14,000. In March 1888, Father McCormack moved in to the rectory. The lots and rectory were paid for, a few old debts were wiped out, and on March 24th, 1888 ground was broken for the church.

On July 15th, Bishop O\’Farrell laid the corner stone. The church was brought to the completion without delay, and dedicated on November 24th, 1889. The cost of the structure was $65,000. In the spring of 1893, the last dollar of debt on St. Mary\’s property was paid.

St. Mary\’s Church, one of the most beautiful churches in New Jersey, is built of hard sandstone of a bluish gray color. The stone trimmings are tool-dressed and the front has a fine stone gable cross. The style of architecture is early Gothic.

The church is 140 feet in length by 70 feet in width; adding to the beauty of the structure is a tower and spire, together 160 feet in height.

The chimes were purchased from the McShane Bell Foundry, Baltimore, Md. They are composed of 10 bells, the largest 3,085 pounds and the weights gradually decreasing to the smallest, which weighs about 200 pounds. The total weight of all the bells, exclusive of the frames and attachments, is 10,673 pounds. The entire value, including delivery and putting in the tower was $3,200.

The Playing Stand is oak. It is almost square, having 10 levers on brass hinges, a silver plate on each lever bearing the letter denoting the tone of each respective Bell, and above the levers is a music rack.

The chimes were of great importance to the parish as the people pledged what was then a great deal of money from their weekly earnings. The Dedication of the Bells was held on Sunday, November, 1891, beginning at 10:00 a.m. and continued well into the evening.

The following names are engraved on each Bell: St. Mary, St. Joseph, St. Thomas, St. Micheal, St. Patrick, St. Dominic, St. Alphonsus, St. Ignatius, St. Benedict and St. Vincent de Paul.

The Stations of the Cross were first requisitioned March 1909 from Germany and installed January 1911, at which time the remaining balance of $2,100 was paid. The total cost was $9,600.

The windows in St. Mary\’s new church from the art studios of Megnen, Clamens and Bordereau, Paris et Augers, established 1882, have been pronounced by critics to be some of the finest ever imported. Many of the faces are authentic portraits of the Saints represented.

There are twelve windows in the church proper. Those on one side of the church contain pictures of the Twelve Apostles, viz: St. Peter, St. Paul, St. James the Greater, St. Andrew, St. Phillip, St. Bartholomew, St. James the Less, St. Thomas, St. Simon, St. Jude, and Ireland\’s patron saints St. Patrick and St. Bridget.

On the other side are the Doctors of the Church: St. Ambrose, St. Augustine, St. Jerome, St. Gregory, St. Anselm, St. Chrysostom, St. Bernard, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Francis de Sales, St. Alphonsus de Liguori, St. Theresa and St. Elizabeth.

The sanctuary contains three large windows. In the center one, is the true copy of Murillo\’s \”Immaculate Conception,\” the original of which is in the Louvre Gallery, Paris. On either side are the four Evangelists.

In the chapel on the epistle side of the sanctuary is a window containing a representation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the gift of the pastor, Rev. Thomas J. McCormack, and in the chapel, on the opposite side, the Sacred Heart of Mary, the gift of the \”Young Men\’s Catholic Beneficial Society.\”

The 12 side windows in the church were donated, one each, by Jos. O. Kane, Sr.; John Goan, Sr.; James J. Foster, in memory of his parents; James McLaughlin, Mrs. McMonagle, in memory of her husband; Patrick J. Kelly, Ferdinand McWilliams and sons, Mrs. E. Taylor, Patrick McGlade, Sisters of St. Dominic, Mary Bierly, in memory of her uncle, Francis Hughes, St. Mary\’s Cadets and Mrs. Mich O\’Brien, in memory of her daughter.

Those in the front atrium were donated by Martin Coyle, Sr., and Michael Coyle: those in the tower entrance by Martin Coyle, Jr.; the three windows in the front gable, over the main entrance, were donated by William J. Thompson, Hugh Fitzpatrick and Catherine McElwee, in memory of her parents; one of the tower windows by Mrs. Mary O\’Brien, in memory of her husband, and the window over the side entrance opening into the aisle, by James McConnerby, in memory of his wife.

Besides the windows, nearly all the necessary altar furniture, etc., were donated by different members of the parish. The side altar Blessed Virgin Mary, donated by A.O.H. Division, No. 3; St. Joseph\’s altar, by St. Mary\’s Society and the Lady of Lourdes Society; statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Henry McBride; statue of St. Joseph, Mrs. Thomas Brennan.

Two angels on high altar, Catholic Social Club; altar cross, James McGlade; credence table, Mary F. Phepoe; large candlesticks high altar, Frank Fath; large candlesticks St. Joseph altar, Mrs. Bridget Hughes, baptismal font, St. Mary\’s school children; sanctuary lamp, Miss McFadden; ostensorium and thabor, a gentleman and lady of the parish.

Three plush chairs for sanctuary, Joseph J. Gallagher, of Camden; tabernacle lining, Mrs. Howarth; missal cover, Mary E. Gorman; vases for side altars, Mary Kelly; vases for high altar; Mrs. Julia Maloney, candelabra; Mrs. Hines, another set of candelabra; Mrs. Cloran, vestment; Henry Farrelly, cruets, cut glass, gold mounted; Charles A. Lenny, smaller candlesticks for high altar.

Mrs. Henry McIntre, smaller candlesticks, Blessed Virgin Mary Atlar; Mary A. Lenny, smaller candlesticks St. Joseph\’s altar; Mrs. Annie Whittington, chime of altar bells; Mary Campbell, paschal candlesticks; Mrs. James McGlade, a brass missal stand, a lady of the parish, and a pair of brackets candlesticks for high altar, William Whalen.

Besides these donations many gave sums of $5.00 towards paying for the high altar.