ClearysNoteBook is preparing a Cheer and Jeer column for the upcoming week. If you have anyone to nominate for either category send your remarks to [email protected].

Hopefully some of our readers from the communities that surround Gloucester City will take this opportunity to send in some suggestions.

Boston, MA…It was a successful day at the Valentine Invitational for The College of New Jersey men\’s indoor track team as the Lions piled up number of ECAC qualifying marks.

The Lion men are currently ranked 14th in the USTFCCA Division III Coaches Power Rankings poll.

TCNJ excelled in a pair of events with three runners qualifying for the ECAC Championships in the 400 meters and two more in the 800. In the 400, junior Rob McGowan (Monroe Twp., NJ/Monroe Township) led the way placing 22nd overall with a time of 49.26 seconds and was followed closely by freshmen Kyle Gilroy (Oak Ridge, NJ/West Milford Twp.) with a time of 50.53 and Jule Brooks (Atlantic City, NJ/Atlantic City) at 50.70.

Junior Pasquale DiGioacchino (Bernardsville, NJ/Bernards) had a qualifying time of 1:54. 85 in the 800 meters with senior Josh Krowicki (Hilltop, NJ/Triton) finishing with a time of 1:57.90.

Sophomore DeShard Stevens (Jersey City, NJ/James T. Ferris) placed 11th in the 500 meters with an ECAC worthy time of 1:05.32, while junior Chris Guerriero (Saddle Brook, NJ/Saddle Brook) also met an ECAC standard in the 5,000 with a clocking of 14:55.80.

TCNJ also had an ECAC time in the 4×400 as Brooks, Steve Murray (East Windsor, NJ/Hightstown), Gilroy and McGowan combined for a time of 3:21.21.

Women\’s DMR hits NCAA provisional cut…
TCNJ\’s women\’s distance medley relay team boasted a NCAA provisional mark with a time of 11:54.64 as junior Stephanie Herrick (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Valley), freshman Rochelle Prevard (Sicklerville, NJ/Winslow Twp.), freshman Meryl Wimberly (Farmingdale, NJ/Colts Neck) and junior Martine McGrath (West Long Branch, NJ/Shore Regional) ran the event for the Lions.

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Jane M. LoGrande (nee Sparks), age 61, died on Feb. 7, 2008. She was a graduate of Gloucester Catholic High School in 1964. Jane lived in Richwood for the past 26 years and attended Richwood United Methodist Church. She had a passion for raising and riding horses on her farm in Richwood. She was a caring and loving person who always gave to others even when she did not have much herself. She is survived by her husband, Mark Thomas LoGrande; children Linda LoGrande of Richwood and Mark M. of Clarksboro; mother Jane Marie Sparks of Deptford; sister Francine Sparks of Quinton; grandchildren Gabrielle and Aiden LoGrande; and will be missed by many family members. Friends may call on Monday after 10 a.m. in the Richwood United Methodist Church, Richwood-Elmer Rd., Richwood. Funeral service will be at noon. Interment in Richwood United Methodist Cemetery. Those desiring may make a contribution in Jane¹s honor to the Richwood United Methodist Church, PO Box 7, Richwood, NJ 08074. Arrangements by the KELLEY FUNERAL HOME, Pitman.

BROOKLAWN The smell of charred wood hung in the air as investigators combed through the wreckage of a two-story home that was gutted in a massive blaze early Thursday morning.

Shortly after 7 a.m., firefighters responded to reports of a fire called in from a passing motorist. They found the residence of 414 Haakon Road fully engulfed in flames.

Flames tore through the home for almost three hours until firefighters were able to get the blaze under control. The home partially collapsed as firefighters fought to snuff out the flames. The blaze spread to a neighboring home before it was extinguished.

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Related: All Hands Fire

Related: Demolition Crews securing properties

FURMAN, JILL M.

(Nee-Baptiste). Suddenly on February 6, 2008, of Stratford, NJ, formerly of Barrington, NJ. Age 42 years.
Beloved wife of Gerald J. Furman. Loving mother of Faith Marie and John John. Cherished daughter of the late Jack and Betty Baptiste and Betty Ann Smith and Harry Bleatler. Dear sister of Jack Baptiste, Sandy Gerhard and Terry Baptiste, all of Barrington, NJ and Kelly, Bill, Randy and Jeff Thompson. She is also survived by many nieces, nephews, father and mother-in-law, Gerald and Helen Furman and extended family from NC, FL and DE.
Jill lived life to the fullest and had great passion for all of life\’s endeavors. She was happiest when surrounded by family and friends. Her loyalty for family and all that she did was limitless. Jill was a faithful member of Ascension Lutheran Church of Haddon Heights. She will beremembered as an animal lover, especially of her cats and a devoted Elvis fan.
Relatives and friends are invited to visit with the family on Saturday1 to 3 PM at the FOSTER-WARNE FUNERAL HOME, 250 White Horse Pike, Audubon, NJ. Her Memorial service will follow at 3 PM. Interment private.

Mahwah, NJ: The Roadrunners posted a 74-60 victor over the Lions of The College of New Jersey in a NJAC men’s basketball match-up to improve to 12-9 overall, 6-4 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference. TCNJ falls to 6-15, 2-7 in the conference.

Ramapo opened the game on a 9-0 run with points coming from seniors Jason Marshall (Hackensack, NJ) (2) and Omar Alston (Carteret, NJ) (2), rookie Scott Spieker (Marlton, NJ) (3), and junior Tim Wesley (Jersey City, NJ) (2). The Lions finally got on the scoreboard when senior guard Corey Gilmore (South Plainfield, NJ) drained a three-pointer with 16:31 on the clock. After a three-pointer from Assad Shaakir (Newark, NJ) that put the Roadrunners up by double digits, 11, TCNJ chipped away to come within seven with a jumper from Jay Frank (Brick, NJ) at 14:12. That would be the last time the Lions closed to a single digit deficit after an 11-0 Ramapo run put the Roadrunners up 25-7 with 9:22 to go in the half. Sophomore Steve Feinberg (Middletown, NJ) broke Ramapo’s streak with just under nine minutes to play. The Roadrunners would score five more points to lead TCNJ, 30-9, before the Lions went down an 11-0 run of their own to close the gap to ten, 30-20. Mark Aziz (Hackettstown, NJ) sparked the run with a jumper and he contributed six more of the team’s points over the course of the run. In the final three minutes of the half, Ramapo outscored TCNJ, 6-2 to head into the locker room with a 36-22 lead.

Shaakir led the Roadrunners with nine points and six rebounds while Andre Kenny (Jersey City, NJ) and Ahmad Hassan (Edgewater, NJ) netted six and five points respectively. The team combined for 14 field goals on 25 attempts shooting 56% while the Lions went 9-31 (29%) in the first 20 minutes of play. Aziz came out on top of all Lions with eight points shooting 3-7, and Frank grabbed two steals in the half.

After a TCNJ turnover to start the second half, Wesley hit a jumper to open the scoring. The Roadrunners went up by as many as 18 in the half which came at the 16:51 minute mark when Alston hit a jumper to go up, 44-26. The Lions chipped away to come within 11 just four minutes later after a Will Manhart (Hillsborough, NJ)) three-pointer. The two teams went back-to-back in scoring over the next five minutes before a mini, 5-0 run put Ramapo up by 16, 58-42, with nine to go in the game. The closes the Lions would come in the remaining minutes was 12 with 4:37 to go when Jeff Molinelli (Pennington, NJ) hit a jumper and the and-one free throw. Ramapo posted eight more points to TCNJ’s six down the stretch to earn the 74-60 victory in Mahwah.

Alston led the Roadrunners with 14 points and Kenny and Shaakir netted 12 and 11 points respectively. Hassan contributed ten points shooting 3-5 including two three-pointers and a perfect 2-2 from the free throw line. Wesley and Justin Arthur (Paterson, NJ) recorded six points each for Ramapo. The team went 29-57 (51%) over TCNJ’s 24-67 (36%). Aziz led the Lions with 16 points and eight rebounds while Frank and Molinelli each contributed 12.

The Roadrunners return to action on Wednesday, February 13th when they travel to York College for a 7:00 PM tip-off in a non-conference match-up. TCNJ matches up with Kean University at home at 8:00 PM.

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source http://news.bestfriends.org

February 8, 2008 : 12:59 PM ET

Two homeless Iraqi dogs – Mama and Boris – are now safely on American soil thanks to the efforts of a soldier\’s family, a U.S. senator, and the Best Friends rapid response team.

Sgt. Peter Neesley, on his second tour of duty with the U.S. Army, began feeding a mama dog and her two puppies when he patrolled a Baghdad neighborhood. After one of the puppies was hit by a car and killed, Peter built them a red-and-white doghouse – equipped with blankets, a mattress and an Army insignia above the door. He lured the mama dog and her remaining puppy to the doghouse, which he placed just outside the military base wall.

And then he e-mailed his family, sending them photos of the black Lab mix and her white-and-brown spotted puppy, and said he\’d decided to fly the dogs home when he returned to the states in six months.

\”Our family has always had dogs or cats and other little critters,\” says his sister, Carey Neesley. \”Peter was always bringing strays home.\”

But on Christmas Day, Peter, just 28, died in his sleep in his barracks (no cause of death has been released) before he could send the dogs home. His soldier friends continued to feed Mama and Boris and watch out for them.

And for Peter\’s 10-year-old nephew, Patrick, having Peter\’s dogs will help him through his grief. \”Peter was like a father to Patrick,\” Carey says. \”He won\’t have his Uncle Peter to call anymore, but he has his dogs to take for walks. It will be good for him.\”

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Written by Cathy Scott
Photos of Peter and his dogs compliments of the Neesley family.
Photos of Rich Crook and dogs by Molly Wald

FOREMAN, WILLIAM A. \’BILLY\’

Age 49, of Brooklawn, NJ passed away Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2008.
Born in Deptford, he was a resident of Brooklawn for the past 15 years. Billy worked in construction and was a member of Local #332 for the past 15 years. Billy loved his wife, children and grandson. He also loved his Harley Davidson.
Predeceased by his mother May Elizabeth Foreman, surviving are his wife Faith Ann (Burkert) Foreman, son John William Cristinzio, daughters Heather Marie Cristinzio and Jessica May Foreman all of Brooklawn. His father Robert (Joan) Foreman of Somers Point, brothers Robert (Debbie) Foreman of Somers Point and George (Dot) Foreman of Washington Twp. and step-brother Brian(Kelly) Blair of TN. Sisters Carol (George) Lamoureaux of Deptford, Alice(Tony) Karas of Blackwood and Kathy (Dave) Lalk Berlin, step-sister Bonnie Burham of Somers Point. Loving grandfather to Adam Joseph Cristinzio.
Relatives and friends are invited to attend his viewing Mon. 11:00am with service at 12:00pm at Grace Community Church 155 Pump Branch Rd., Waterford, NJ Burial at the convenience of the family. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donation in Billy\’s memory to Faith Ann Foreman 16 Third St., Brooklawn, NJ 08030.
Arrangements by the MARINELLA FUNERAL HOME, 102 N. 3rd St., Hammonton, NJ. (www.marinellafuneral home.com)