Father Bean was a Parochial Vicar throughout the Diocese serving in Holy Name R.C. Church in Camden, Saint Joseph R.C. Church in South Camden and Saint Joseph’s Pro-Cathedral. In 1974, Father Bean began his ministry to the Missions in Brazil and Bogota, Columbia until 1983. He later served at Assumption R.C. Church in Atco, Saint Aloysius R.C. Church in Oaklyn, Saint Michael R.C. Church in Cedarville, Our Lady Queen of Peace R.C. Church in Pitman and retired in 1994 from Holy Spirit R.C. Church in Atlantic City. Father Bean is the loving son of the late Wilbur A. Bean, Sr. and Stephanie (nee Russell). Cherished Brother of David A. Bean (Eleanor) of Granville, NY and the late Julianne B. Kuth, Wilbur A. Bean, Jr., Sister Marcella Bean, O’ Carm. Survived by many nieces and nephews.

The policy also includes public education, research, bear habitat analysis and protection, non-lethal bear management techniques and enhanced efforts to keep human food sources, especially household trash, away from bears to limit troubling bear-human encounters.

The bear population in northwestern New Jersey has grown from 500 bears in 1992 to more than 3,400 bears today, and bears have now been encountered in all 21 New Jersey counties. Although bear-related complaints vary from year to year due to environmental factors, serious bear incidents have increased commensurate with the black bear population, up by 96 percent from 2006 through 2009, according to DEP wildlife officials. There have been several encounters with aggressive black bears in recent weeks, they noted.

Despite response to problem bears by DEP personnel and trained local police officers, bear

On June 30 Gloucester City Council and the Firefighter/EMTs came to agreement which will cover a period from 2009 until 2011, thus avoiding the layoff of eight firefighter/EMTs and maintaining present staffing levels.

There were several concessions made by the Firefighter/EMTs to save these positions, including no salary increases, elimination of holiday pay, sick time buy backs and educational allowances. These dispensations come to a total of approximately $480,000. This is roughly 1/3 of the $1.3 million Gloucester City budgetary shortfall discussed at Council meetings in May and June of this year.

Also at this time, a municipal property tax increase of $45 a year (87 cents a week) on

By Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, July 19, 2010 – The National Guard is sending 1,200 troops to the Southwest border states to provide temporary support for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency, officials announced today.

The citizen-soldiers and -airmen will serve alongside federal agents for one year as an augmentation force. The troops will work to prevent illegal immigration and drug trafficking north of the border, as well as to counter weapons and cash smuggling going south, Alan Bersin, CBP commissioner, said today at a Pentagon news conference.

\”I would like to thank Assemblyman Schaer and the Commission for its hard work, and I will take its recommendations under consideration,\” said Gov. Chris Christie. \”The section of the report supporting tax credits for scholarship programs is especially important. Many states provide such tax credits, and we support providing them here in New Jersey, as well. They would immediately expand the scholarship assistance available to poor and working families, and with it the educational opportunities available to their children.\”

The Study Commission report states that nonpublic schools provide choice and opportunity for more than 160,000 students in New Jersey, and it shows that there are also important economic reasons to keep private schools strong.

In the five years between 2004 and 2009, the financial stresses affecting New Jersey’s families caused enrollment in privately managed schools to decline by 29,810. Most of these students entered the public education system, and the report calculates that this is now costing taxpayers more than $430 million a year in increased public school expenses. It would be far cheaper for taxpayers to provide scholarship assistance to working families so they could once again consider private school options for their children.

Education Commissioner Bret Schundler welcomed the \”creative suggestions\” offered by the Commission, which was established under former Governor Jon Corzine in December 2009. \”The report highlights the fact that a few thousand dollars of financial assistance can make it possible for a child to attend a privately managed school, and save taxpayers three to five times as much in public education costs,\” said Schundler.

To help keep privately managed schools affordable for families, the report recommends that the state increase funding for the transportation assistance it provides them, by raising it in line with inflation. The report also recommends an increase in support for nursing services for privately managed schools. Support should also be provided, the report argues, for technology and special education classes.

A failure to keep private sector schools affordable will cause more school failures, dramatically increase the cost of our public education sector, push up taxes and – the report concludes – further strain the already \”perilous state of our economy.\”