Day: March 2, 2007

Alice Costello School celebrates Read Across America

Read Across America was celebrated at the Alice Costello School, Brooklawn on March 1 and March 2.

The guest speakers over the two day period were children\’s author and songwriter Anne Abernathy Roth and Bill Cleary, editor of ClearysNotebook and Publisher Emeritus of the Gloucester City News.

Miss Anne, as she is known, entertained and instructed the children with interactive stories and activities. Miss Anne\’s visit was sponsored by the family of Kathryn Barbara Newbold, a former Brooklawn reading teacher. The family wished to do something in her memory to promote reading.

Friday morning at an assembly of the Fifth through Eighth Grade students, Cleary talked about his 40 years as a journalist. He reflected back to 1968 when he interviewed a Gloucester City family who had just received word that their son died in Vietnam. He also spoke about other events he covered during his career such as the visit of President Jimmy Carter to Gloucester City in 1981. Plus he told the students about his most recent project which was the launch of ClearysNotebook, a web site he started in August 2006. In the afternoon Cleary read to Miss Tussey\’s First Grade Class.

photos by Connie Cleary To See Photo Album click here

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Gloucester City Fire Dept. help fight a fire in Camden

Photo by Dan McGlinsey
February 27th- Gloucester City Fire Dept. Lt. Joe Schili taking a breather after fighting a four alarm house fire in Camden at 10th and Vine streets.

Firehouse.com

On Tuesday February 27th, 2007 at approx 1350 Hrs Camden Firefighters were dispatch to the 900 Blk of Vine Street for a reported Dwelling Fire. Companies from Engine 6, Eng 1, Eng 11, Ladder 1, Lad 3, Rescue 1, and Battalion 2 were dispatched to the assignment. Engine 6 arrived to find a 2 story MOR Vacant heavily involved and extending to exposures on both the Delta and Bravo side. Photo by Gregory Taylor.

First Due companies requested the 2nd and 3rd Alarm to be stuck which brought the remainder of the City Fire units. Command at 10 mins in reported they were using all companies and trying to stop the fire spread from the rest of the row dwellings. Ladde r companies went to the roof to cut vent holes for the interior crews who utilized multiple handlines to extinguish the fire. Command requested and Additional Ladder Co., which brought Quint 1-1 to the scene as the RIT.

Crews also performed primary and secondary searches to check for any occupants that still may have been in the dwellings. Car 3 (Price) requested the 4th alarm which brought additional surrounding communities to the scene such as, Engine 11-42, Squad 5-1, Ladder 3-3, and Tower 13-24 as a special call on the 4th alarm, along with Rehab 13-8. The fire was placed under control within 1 hour and 30 mins with no injuries to civilians, but one firefighter did have a hand injury. Camden City PD and Fire Marshalls are investigating the cause of the fire.

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Obit Toal (Gloucester City)

TOAL, HARRY J.
On February 28, 2007 age 81 of Gloucester City, NJ.
Beloved husband of \’Marge\’ (nee Krein) for Fifty-Nine years.
Devoted father of Mark & daughter-in-law Maureen Toal of Pennsville, NJ. Loving grandfather of Four: Matthew, Christopher, Laura, and Erin. A
Brother, Edward Toal of Cape May and Sister, Nan Byrnes of Clarksboro, NJ.
Mr. Toal was a retired employee for PSE&G for over 40 years of service. He was also a WWII Marine Corporal for 1st Marine Air Wing. He also was a longtime Parishioner and worker serving the Sacred Heart Parish, and former CYO Basketball Coach of Sacred Heart. Mr. Toal was a Notre Dame fan and a graduate of Gloucester Catholic \’Class of 1943\’.
Relatives and friends are kindly invited to attend his viewing Sunday evening 7-9pm at the
MAHAFFEY-MILANO
FUNERAL HOME
11 E. Kings Hwy
Mt. Ephraim, NJ
856-931-1628
There will be a Mass of Christian Burial, Monday 10am at Sacred Heart Church, Kings Hwy, Mt. Ephraim, NJ. (No morning viewing). Interment Brig. Gen. Wm. C. Doyle Vet. Mem. Cem. Wrightstown, NJ

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Blue Jersey Reports 3/2

New Jersey NEWS Round-Up Friday, March 2

by: DBK

reprinted with permission of Blue Jersey

  • The state has a budget shortfall of $10 billion for teachers\’ pensions this year. The state\’s failure to fully fund the commitment to the retirement fund increases the cost of payments. The fund covers the retirement and annuity benefits of 220,000 school teachers. The state has a budget shortfall of $25 billion in a total of seven pension funds.
  • The Plainfield School Board has finally reached an agreement with the teachers union on a contract. Plainfield\’s teachers had been working without a contract since June 2005. One of the big issues had been the amount of teaching time required by the contract. According to the agreement, high school teachers will provide an additional 80 minutes of instruction per dayand middle school teachers will provide an additional 40 minutes per day. Other issues in the negotiation were health care givebacks, tuition reimbursement, and salary guidelines. Oh and no more teacher\’s dirty looks.
  • Antonella Barba, the Point Pleasant native who is now competing on American Idol, has survived another week of cuts. We wish her the best of luck. She\’ll need it with performances like Melinda Doolittle\’s to beat.
  • A cafeteria fight in Camden High School spread to a second floor on Monday, prompting the arrival of the police. Now Camden school board president Philip Freeman is seeking answers with regard to reports that police used excessive force, including night sticks and pepper spray, to restore order. The school was closed for an hour because of the fight and then dismissed. Why isn\’t this a big story? An entire school had to be dismissed because of a brawl among students. Students missed half a day of school. That ought to be a much bigger story.
  • What would the Friday news roundup be without a story about a corruption investigation? The legal issue involving the Office of Legislative Services took another interesting turn as Retired Superior Court Judge Herbert Friend, vice chairman of the Joint Legislative Committee on Ethical Standards thinks he\’s come up with a procedural move that would legally allow the release of the document that the OLS is withholding from federal investigators. The investigation is looking into advice that State Senator Wayne Bryant (D-Camden) received from the OLS on whether there would be a conflict of interest if he took a job at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.
  • And in another UMDNJ story, the doctor who stole a severed hand from a corpse while a medical student at UMDNJ was given a suspended sentence today. Doctor Ahmed Rashed had removed the hand from the corpse and then given it as a gift to a stripper at her club. Yes, you read that right. He stole the hand and then gave it to a stripper as a gift. I can see you shaking your head. I don\’t get it either.
  • Somerset Christian Academy in Franklin Township (Somerset County) is closing its high school and the closing of St Peter the Apostle High School in Metuchen is not going to stop either, despite the efforts of parents and alumni to keep it open another year. At St Peter the Apostle, concerned parents and alumni offered to raise the money to keep the school operating, but their offers were rejected because the Diocese felt the long term prospects just weren\’t good enough. The problem at Somerset Christian Academy seems to be one of low enrollment more than finances.
  • One of the most bizarre election stories is the Morris Township Committee election. It\’s in court now and the judge is dropping one vote here and counting one vote there as they try to come up with a winner. The result appears to be that one candidate surges ahead by one vote, then a vote is disallowed and the election is tied, and then a vote is counted and the other guy goes ahead. It\’s a short story, but amusing if granularity appeals to you.

    • So, what\’s on your mind?

  • DIARY ADDITION: Just caught this one. The US Chamber of Commerce education report is out and New Jersey\’s education system got high marks in some areas, but the return on investment, meaning the quality of the education compared to the cost, received only a D. From the report:

    Student performance in New Jersey is very strong. The state ranks among the highest in the nation. Fourth graders stand ten percentage points above the national average in the percentage at or above the proficient level on the NAEP math exam.

    		•
    DBK :: News Round-up, Friday, March 2, 2007

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    Irish Chuckles by KenMac

    Father Murphy walks into a pub in Donegal, and says to the first man
    he meets, \”Do you want to go to heaven?\”

    The man said, \”I do, Father.\”

    The priest said, \”Then stand over there against the wall.\”

    Then the priest asked the second man, \”Do you want to go to heaven?\”

    \”Certainly, Father,\” was the man\’s reply.

    \”Then stand over there against the wall,\” said the priest.

    Then Father Murphy walked up to O\’Toole and said, \”Do you want to go
    to heaven?\”

    O\’Toole said, \”No, I don\’t Father.\”

    The priest said, \”I don\’t believe this. You mean to tell me that
    when you die you don\’t want to go to heaven?\”

    O\’Toole said, \”Oh, when I die, yes. I thought you were getting a
    group together to go right now.\”

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