Mr. Cleary and residents of Gloucester City,

This matter as you stated is under investigation by the Gloucester City Police and the Camden County Prosecutors Office.

Until the investigation is completed no one from the Gloucester City Volunteer Fire Association will have a statement or answer any questions.

Any questions or statements will have to come from authorities until the case is completed.

Once it is finalized I personally will answer any questions you have then.

Thank you
Robert Birney, President GCFD

Editors Note: Gloucester City Police Sgt Brian Morrell said this afternoon (February 21) that the case is still under investigation, \”no charges have been filed.\”

He added that the case has been turned over to the Camden County Prosecutors Office.

Photos by Bruce Darrow. See the complete album posted in the left column.

SHAW, GERTRUDE R.
(nee Symington), on February 13, 2007, formerly of Bellmawr, age 91.
Beloved wife of the late Floyd R. Shaw. Devotedmother of Robert F. Shaw, Michael P. Shaw, Trudy Gardner and Therese Bakely. Loving grandmother of eight, great grandmother of ten and great great grandmother of one.
Interment private at the request of the family

THOMASSON, KATHERINE B.
On February 18, 2007 (nee Spence) a lifelong resident of Gloucester City, NJ, age 98 years.
Beloved wife of the late Albert A. Keim and the late Harold Thomasson. She is also predeceased by her beloved son Harold H. Thomasson and grandson Charles VanFossen III. She is the loving mother of William Keim (Christa) of Waterloo, Iowa, Katherine VanFossen (Charles) of Gloucester City, Dorothy M. Thomasson of Gloucester City, and daughter in law Catharine Thomasson of Woodbury. She is the dear grandmother of 10 grandchildren, 22 great grandchildren and 5 great-great grandchildren and also special grandchildren Paul and Marianne and children.
Mrs. Thomasson was a lifelong and the oldest member of the Episcopal Church of the Ascension. She loved doing needlework and would donate many of her pieces to the Church Bizarre.
Relatives and friends are invited to meet Friday morning from 9:30 to 11:00 AM at the Episcopal Church of the Ascension, Sussex and Ridgeway St.\’s, Gloucester City. Burial Office and Mass of Resurrection will be celebrated 11:00am at the Church. Interment to follow Cedar Grove Cemetery, Gloucester City. There will be no evening viewing. In lieu of flowers the family has requested memorial donations in Mrs. Thomasson\’s name be made to either the Episcopal Church of the Ascension at the above address or Samaritan Hospice, 5 Eves Drive, Suite 300, Marlton, NJ 08053.
Arrangements have been untrusted to ETHERINTON-CRERAN FUNERAL HOME, in Gloucester City.

The weather is getting nicer, I for one am hopeful that it will stay that way with no more snow. But, also that the Highway Dept. is ready for another storm just in case. We haven\’t heard anything from Bowie Johnson, and the way everyone has attacked the Department, you think we would have had some kind of statement, was it a budget problem, or an employee problem, moral, equipment the loss of the recent election that may have effected many city employees jobs.

Safety of our roads should be #1 at a time in need.

Mr. Cleary, thumbs up to you for keeping things like the records being hidden from the public all of these years, your relentless crusade to have them released.

Thumbs Up to Mr. James and company to promising us that they will be released as they get them. I\’m sure that records have been lost, destroyed, hidden or \”Never Had It In Writing\” ya I\’ll buy that one NOT!

The wars of words aren\’t getting much done, a war of work will get much accomplished, compromise will move this city forward, not verbal beatings. People show up at the rail of the council meetings, send e-mails, call, post here but a suggestion and a rally of solutions will out weight the personal attacks, some people should resign, yes we all know who those are that do nothing in the city and get paid.

Step to the rail, with not just complaints, but solutions and let us move forward, not backward. Bob Bevan had it right years ago, change the form of government and take the politics out of the equation.

Mr. James I would ask you to do just that now. While you are at the helm, it will be the single most influential thing you can do now, to insure that future elections will be the best for everyone in the city. No more Ward Systems, Vote for the Best People, not the party. It would have been even a bigger landslide victory.

The system still makes it possible to work with county and state officials. Come on Mr. Bevan, you have the right people in now, make your case, this Mayor and Council can make Historic Changes for the best of our Greatest of Great Grandchildren. Just don\’t forget the \”R\” in Charter Study Team.

Thumbs up to Mr. Bob Bevan for a long awaited chance at something that can change Gloucester City for Real. And not be blocked by a biased Democrat Club. It\’s time Bob, launch the campaign you have our attention now.

A paid city controller means accountability. Something that Gloucester City just passes the buck at right now, holding someone accountable.
You get more bees with honey than you do with vinegar.

Ideas, not attacks, that\’s already been done enough for February. Gloucester City News Readers. What do you think about a change in government, are we ready?

SIGNED-Patriot

photos and caption by Bill Cleary

The Gloucester City Police and the City Highway Department were on the job Tuesday afternoon, February 20th, at Martins Lake Playground working hand and hand to clean up a hazardous situation.

A good citizen noticed a broken tree limb laying on the sidewalk and flagged down City Police Officer Bob Lee, who just happen to be riding by on his bike.

No matter rain or snow, wind or ice, Officer Lee can be found on duty patrolling the city streets keeping them safe.

Incidentally the officer has the unique distinction of being Gloucester City\’s No.1 bicycle patrolman.

Officer Lee stopped a passing Highway Department vehicle and the two City employees hauled the debris away.

(click on photos to enlarge).

Last week Dianne Nolan was inducted into the Al Carino South Jersey Basketball Hall of Fame.

On Monday, one of her players from South Jersey on the women\’s basketball team at Fairfield University broke the single-game scoring record of another South Jersey player Nolan recruited and coached for the Stags.

Nolan, though, never has to be reminded of her South Jersey roots.

\”I call it \”God\’s Country,\’ said Nolan, who lives in Fairfield, Conn., when asked where she tells her team she grew up. \”They say, \”You are from where?\’ When I go back, I tell them I\’m going down to \”God\’s Country.\’ \”

Nolan, a graduate of Gloucester Catholic High School in 1969, where she was an early star of women\’s scholastic basketball, and Rowan University in 1973, is in her 28th season as the coach of Fairfield. Photo by DOUGLAS M. BOVITT/Courier-Post

She joined her legendary mother, Bert, as members of the Hall of Fame. Bert Nolan coached the Gloucester Catholic girls\’ teams for 36 years, including the glory years in the 1970s with the McGlade sisters.

\”It felt terrific, I was really overwhelmed,\” Nolan said about the Hall of Fame induction. \”South Jersey is really special to me; this was very, very special.

\”I really have a lot of respect for all the people down there — they love the game.\”

So much respect that Nolan has loaded her roster with South Jersey players.

On Monday, Sabra Wrice from Riverside High School broke the scoring record of Trish Sacca of Delran with 36 points in a win over Siena. Wrice, a junior guard, also went over the 1,000-point scoring milestone as the Stags improved to 14-13 overall and 10-6 in the MAAC.

Wrice is joined in the starting lineup by former Riverside teammate Baendu Lowenthal, a sophomore, and Cara Murphy, a guard from Haddon Township who was honored Monday on Senior Day. Kendra Hussey, a freshman center from Willingboro, also is on the team.

\”Having played down there and having gone to school down there and having some former players down there,\” Nolan said when asked about what helps her keep connected to the South Jersey hoops scene.

Other former South Jersey players who played for Nolan at Fairfield are Jenn Natale, who is the head coach at her alma mater Washington Township, Megan Light (Gloucester) and Renitta Pritchett (Camden Catholic).

\”You always see so many good coaches and good players come from the area,\” Nolan said. \”They respect the game, they love it.\”

Nolan has certainly earned a lot of respect as a college coach from this area and around the nation. She is one of just 29 Div. I women\’s coaches with more than 500 career wins entering this season.

When asked what she liked about South Jersey players, Nolan quickly said: \”They are always tough kids, you know their fundamentals will be solid and they like to compete. Jersey kids know how to compete.\”

Nolan also credited her brother, Drew, a former star basketball player at Temple, and her cousin, Jim, a former assistant boys\’ basketball coach at Paul VI, with keeping her informed on area talent.

\”I have a lot of eyes down there,\” she said.

Nolan\’s 28-year tenure at Fairfield is the fifth-longest among active coaches at one school and is the ninth-longest in Div. I women\’s basketball history. She said the years seemed to pile up quickly.

\”I take it season by season,\” she said. \”In this business, it is all about the next game.\”

Nolan has taken the Stags to five postseason berths, including four NCAA tournaments and the WNIT. She is a five-time MAAC Coach of the year and the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association has twice honored her — in 2006 with the Distinguished Service Award and as the Coach of the Year in 2001.

As impressive as her on-court achievements, Nolan is proud that every senior she has coached at Fairfield has graduated with a degree on time.

\”It is such a wonderful school, we have players who graduated from the basketball program who are doing so many good things,\” Nolan said. \”I know they are doing good things out in the world.\”

Just like Nolan has done all these years after leaving \”God\’s Country.\”

YOST, LOUISE MARIE
(nee Toussaint) age 95 yrs. a longtime resident of Audubon, NJ passed away on Saturday February 17, 2007 at Silver Care Center in Cherry Hill, NJ.
She is predeceased by her beloved husband Albert Yost; brothers Joseph, Herbert and Edward Toussaint. Louise is survived by her sister Agnes Sheppard of Edison, GA; a sister-in-law Dorothy DePalma of Waterford, NJ; also many nieces and nephews.
Louise loved caring for others. She also enjoyed cooking and baking. She was a member of Holy Maternity Church and the Altar & Rosary Society.
Relatives and friends are invited to attend her viewing on Friday morning from 10-11AM at Holy Maternity Church, 431 W. Nicholson Rd., Audubon, NJ 08106. Mass of Christian Burial will follow at 11AM. Interment Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Berlin, NJ. The family requests in lieu of flowers, memorial donations in Louise\’s name may be made to Holy Maternity Church. Arrangements by HENRY FUNERAL HOME, Audubon.

photo and caption by Bill Cleary

A tattered American Flag, faded and torn is flying at half-staff on a pole at Proprietors\’ Park, King Street, Gloucester City. The photo was taken Tuesday February 20th. 

Section 8 of the United States Flag Codes states, \”When a flag is old and ready to be retired the flag, when it is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem for display, should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning.\” We recommend that you contact your local VFW Chapter and ask them for help properly disposing of your flag. And be sure to consider providing a small donation to them for their assistance. Or you can contact your local Elks Lodge (who created the idea of Flag Day, established officially by President Truman, himself a member of the Elks), the American Legion, or the Knights of Columbus. Some Boy Scout and Girl Scout troups also can provide this service.