By ROBERT STRAUSS

Published: December 16, 2001

JEFF BROWN was a bit perplexed over the summer when Mayor John Soubasis asked him to lunch. To Mr. Brown, who owns the only supermarket in this small Camden County town, the ShopRite of Brooklawn, a call from the mayor could only mean trouble.

\’\’We\’ve done little things for people in town, helped pave a roller hockey rink, helped someone short on funds for food,\’\’ said Mr. Brown. \’\’But when the mayor calls you to have lunch, you know it\’s something bigger than that.\’\’

What Mayor Soubasis had in mind at that lunch meeting is now seen as a unique arrangement. He asked Mr. Brown to put up some money to effectively buy naming rights to a new gymnasium for Brooklawn\’s only school, the Alice Costello Elementary School.

Last month — after mulling over the mayor\’s offer — Mr. Brown, who also owns five other ShopRites in the suburbs of Philadelphia, pledged $100,000 over the next 20 years to pay the debt service on the $1.7 million gym. When it is finished next year, the gym will be known as the ShopRite of Brooklawn Gymnasium.

Michael Yaple, a spokesman for the New Jersey School Board Association, said he knew of no other sale of naming rights for any part of a school building in New Jersey and, as far as he can determine, anywhere else in the country.

\’\’Certainly, advertising is in the public schools,\’\’ he said. \’\’But there is nothing permanently named in return for a donation, not until now.\’\’

So far, no voice has been raised in protest in Brooklawn, a community that is not particularly well off in terms of per capita income. The fact is, school officials would not have been able to build the gym without a tax increase or some other help.

\’\’We\’ve crossed the line and we know it,\’\’ said John Kellmayer, Brooklawn\’s superintendent of schools. \’\’The issue is really the privatization of civic responsibility. In an era when infrastructure needs to be updated and it\’s hard to raise taxes — well, we may be the first to do this, but I can assure you we won\’t be the last.\’\’

Even in such wealthier districts as Cherry Hill, where Mr. Brown lives, the Brooklawn experiment is being taken seriously.

\’\’Oh, yes, we\’re open to things like this,\’\’ said Cherry Hill\’s superintendent of education, Morton Sherman. \’\’I can assure you if you come up with a million or two for us, we\’ll find a place for your name.\’\’

Brooklawn — a town with little crime and little abject poverty — finds itself in a position more difficult than that of a larger town, said Mr. Kellmayer. For one thing Brooklawn is rated by the state as one level above the poorest, so it gets little state aid.

On the other hand, nearby Gloucester City, a larger city but with a similar economic profile, is one of 30 districts to obtain supplemental state aid — $31 million in this case, while Brooklawn is receiving none.

While Brooklawn has been a stable community, Dr. Kellmayer and Mr. Soubasis realized that the school system had to improve for the town to remain that way. Last year, Brooklawn was designated a school-choice district by the state, meaning that starting next year any student in Camden County can attend Costello and the state will pay the pupil\’s tuition.

\’\’Brooklawn is a safe school with high-achieving kids and small classes,\’\’ said Dr. Kellmayer. \’\’We have a good start.\’\’

Still, there had to be a more substantial reason for students from other communities to seek out Costello, so Dr. Kellmayer and the school board came up with innovative programs in music and technology.

\’\’We would infuse the curriculum from kindergarten to eighth grade so, if the student and parents chose it, they would in effect be majoring in music or tech for their time here,\’\’ he said.

But doing that meant upgrading. The gym was one thing. And now there are other projects on Dr. Kellmayer\’s wish list — a library media center and a technology center, for instance.

\’\’So we\’re out looking for sponsors there, too,\’\’ he said. \’\’They kid us about looking for sponsors for a center-jump circle and a scoreboard, but I\’d think about them, too.\’\’

For his part, Mayor Soubasis said he would not stop sponsorships with the schools, noting that he had already been soliciting in the town for businesses that might want to help pay for a new street sweeper.

\’\’Anyone who helps out will have their names printing on the side so that when the sweeper goes through town, everyone will see,\’\’ he said. \’\’When I got to council a few years ago, I saw how difficult it was to do a budget in a small town. I\’m into creative finance, so this idea came up. I\’m saving clippings now to show people in other towns later who talk against this. When they end up doing it, too, I\’ll have them.\’\’

But Dr. Kellmayer said there were lines he would not cross.

\’\’Look, no one is suggesting us contracting with Delilah\’s Den,\’\’ he said, referring to a gentleman\’s club in Philadelphia. \’\’We wouldn\’t consider a product tie-in. There wouldn\’t be a Coke Tech Center here. No alcohol or tobacco or guns, anything like that.\’\’

He went on: \’\’But everyone uses food, so we contracted with a supermarket, a local supermarket. We\’re talking to local banks, people like that.\’\’

For his part, Mr. Brown eschewed the idea of naming the gym after himself or his family.

\’\’I have an ego, but I thought it would be best to have a sense of the community there,\’\’ said Mr. Brown. \’\’ShopRite of Brooklawn keeps the town name on it. I could have done advertising elsewhere, but this tells us we are sticking here in this community, trying to build it.\’\’

Moreover, Dr. Kellmayer said the gym and proposed tech center would be open to the entire community during nonschool hours.

\’\’In this sense, it is a multiple win,\’\’ he said. \’\’We really couldn\’t raise taxes. There are many seniors here who would just not be able to take the increase. But we needed improvements and now everyone will be able to take advantage.\’\’

\’\’If someone wants to criticize that we have opened up a can of worms, well, they are right,\’\’ he added. \’\’Someone will eventually cross the line into something much more controversial. I hope it won\’t be us.\’\’

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The large paintings or reprints of early Gloucester City that hung for decades on the walls of the PNC Bank in Gloucester City have been moved to the third floor of O\’Hara\’s Pub on King Street. The bank is in the middle of remodeling their Monmouth Street office and had no further use for the pictures.

 

Because of their historical value, Bob Bevan, (top photo) from the City\’s Community Relations Office, talked with PNC officials and was able to save the photos from the dumpster.

Bevan said the pictures are so large the only place that had a high enough ceiling to hang the reprints was at O\’Hara\’s. \”One portrait is 5 feet wide x 20 feet long and another was 10 feet wide x 15 feet long\”, said Bevan

Bevan added that the owner of O\’Hara\’s is thinking about calling the third floor of the pub \”The Gloucester City Room\”.

And the City\’s Historical Society, located on King Street a few doors from O\’Hara\’s, plans to have a sign made directing their visitors to the Pub to view the portraits.

\”This scenario is still in the talking stage; nothing has been finalized\”, Bevan said.

Last week Bevan, Mike Niedzwadek along with Tom Wright and Jake McCleary from J Ferry Fence moved the portraits to O\’Hara\’s. The job was supervised by Ken MacAdams, who also took the photos.

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Note: This letter was published in the City News August 16, 2007

After reading the article \”The Public has a Right to Know\” in the August 9^th edition of the Gloucester City News, I was conflicted as to Bill Cleary\’s intent.

Was it truly to argue for keeping the community informed, or was it to argue that his newspaper should be getting the business?

The reason for my conflict stems from recalling articles or opinions said author published a year ago in response to the community newsletter.

At the time, the Mayor and Council instituted a monthly newsletter and an almost weekly e-mail blast to keep the residents of Gloucester City informed as to what was happening in the community.

This newsletter was sent by mail to every household in Gloucester City. Doing so ensured that every citizen would be provided with the information. At that time, the author in question stated that Mayor and Council were wasting taxpayer dollars and argued that they should use his newspaper.

Now, fast forward a year, no newsletter and no e-mail blast, but an attempt by Mayor and Council to save taxpayer dollars. Utilizing Camden County\’s publicly advertised bid, Mayor and Council opted to advertise in a newspaper, that many in Gloucester City receive, at a reduced rate.

In doing so, they fulfilled their duty of notifying the public. I realize that there is pending litigation on the issue. But, to my knowledge, there has been no order to cease and desist the practice.

As such, I applaud Mayor and Council for making a concerted effort to save money. Unfortunately, the author of the article disagrees. Again, he argues that his newspaper should just get the business.

So, we have moved from having a direct newsletter sent to every household in the community, to hoping that people will pick up and read one of the daily or weekly news publications available to them in order to see what is happening in town.

In doing so, I agree that we should be looking to meet our legal obligation in the most cost efficient manner. Though I do not know the statistics, I believe not everyone reads the News or one of the other daily publications available to them.

In light of this, I again question. Is the author truly concerned about keeping the public informed or just getting business for his newspaper? He seems conflicted himself; just look at last year to the present.

 

Raymond W. Coxe, Gloucester City

 

(Gloucester City NEWS Editor\’s note: For the record, I, Albert J. Countryman Jr., am the owner of the NEWS. Second, there is more circulation of the NEWS than the Inquirer or Courier Post on any given Thursday. By state statue, Gloucester City must advertise legal ads in a newspaper that is published in Camden County, NJ. )

PALERMO, LEONARD J.
Of Collingswood, NJ, age 64, on August 15, 2007. Born in Bristol, PA, he lived in Williamstown before moving to Collingswood 13 years ago.
He was a respiratory therapist for Deborah Hospital before retiring and was an avid music collector.
Devoted father of James Palermo, Joseph Palermo and his wife Iris, Jason Palermo and Jeffrey Palermo. Loving son of Filomena \’Fannie\’ Palermo and the late Vincent \’James\’ Palermo. Dear brother of the late Loretta Palermo-Carl. Loving grandfather of Joseph A. Palermo.
Relatives and friends are invited to his viewing on Monday from 7:00 – 9:00 PM and Tuesday from 8:30 – 9:30 AM at the FARNELLI FUNERAL HOME, 504 N. Main Street, Williamstown. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated 10:00 AM at St. Mary\’s Church, S. Main Street, Williamstown. Burial will follow in St. Mark\’s Cemetery, Bristol Twp., PA. To sign the guest book online, please visit www.farnellifuneralhome.com

REYNOLDS, JOHN J.
On August 16, 2007, of Westville, formerly of Bellmawr. Age 79.
Beloved husband of 57 years of Catherine C. (nee Irwin). Devoted father of Maureen Reynolds, Kathleen Karlage, Marianne Hommer, Eileen Spence and her husband Russell, Coleen Brown and her husband Charlie and the late John and Michael Reynolds. Dear brother of Daniel Reynolds and the late Grace Huff. Pop Pop of John and Vincent Reynolds, Jedediah and Cody Brown, Jessie and Zachary Karlage, Brian and Katie Spence and Amanda Hommer.
Mr. Reynolds was a member of Crescent Park VFW Post #9563, Bellmawr and American Legion Post #72, Brooklawn. He worked for Dupont for 33 years before retiring in 1985.
There will be a viewing from 8 to 9:15am Tuesday morning at GARDNER FUNERAL HOME, RUNNEMEDE. Funeral Mass 10am at Annunciation BVM Church, Bellmawr. Inter ment New St. Mary\’s Cemetery, Bellmawr. Family requests in lieu of flowers donations be made in Mr. Reynolds\’ memory to Heartland Hospice, SherwoodProfessional Bldg., 800 Jessup Rd., Suite 808, Thorofare, NJ 08086. Expressions of sympathy may be e-mailed to Condolences@Gardner FuneralHome.com.

TORRENCE, BRENDA A.

Age 66 of Westville died on August 15, 2007.
She leaves to cherish her memory: her husband, Nathan; four children, Cynthia Horcey (Will), James Coleman (Grace), Marc Coleman and Nathan Jr.; special granddaughter, Nicole Horcey; 10 grandchildren; 13 great grandchildren; five sisters, Verna Ashford, Sharoyn Horcey, Julie Dixon, Sonya McMichael and Marcel Horcey; mother-in-law; Helen Tatem; stepfather-in-law, Leroy Tatem.
Service will be 11am Wednesday, August, 22, 2007 at MAY FUNERAL HOME, 4th & Walnut St., Camden; viewing 9-11am. Interment in Sunset Memorial Park, Penn- sauken. Ministry of comfort entrusted to the MAY FUNERAL HOMES Camden, Pennsauken, Willingboro. Expressions of sympathy may be sent through www. mayfuneralhomes.com_