nj.com/bridgeton monday, july 5, 2010 operation quality of
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Vol. 261, No. 133
Get local breaking news 24/7 at nj.com/cumberland
Bridgeton on the Fourth
Photos special to The News/SAM FEINSTEIN
Don Woodward has on the right shirt for Fourth of July horseshoe pitching compe-tition in Bridgeton Sunday.
Kevin Harwas puts the right spin on a ringer in the pits. Story and photos on Page A-7.
From staff reportsMILLVILLE — Officers with the city police depart-
ment’s narcotics unit and the Cumberland County Orga-nized Crime Bureau hit Center City streets between June 23 and July 1 in an effort to quell recent problems and violence there.
The main goal of the initiative, dubbed Operation Quality of Life, was “keeping the peace,” Millville Police Det. Sgt. Jody Farabella said.
“The focus of this operation was simply to improve the quality of life of citizens residing in Center City areas,”
he said. “During this period, police spoke to (people at) several problem houses where persons gather for the purposes of engaging in unlawful conduct.”
Tenants and landlords alike were advised of the exces-sive number of police responses to problem residences, and made aware of the statute allowing police to cite them for maintaining nuisance properties.
More than 20 arrests were made during the eight-day operation, for offenses ranging from curfew violations to drug offenses and from jaywalking to maintaining a nuisance property.
Police cited Shirley L. Palmer, 53, for maintaining a nuisance property at 513 N. 2nd St., the scene of numer-ous police responses since February, during Operation Quality of Life, Farabella said.
The operation stressed making officers highly visible, with the aim to eliminate large crowds from gathering in “known problem areas.”
Farabella noted city police and the Organized Crime Bureau are working with the housing authorities for Millville and Vineland to eliminate problem tenants liv-ing on Section 8 vouchers.
Authorities hit the streets in Millvilleoperation Quality of life
By Joe [email protected]
DEERFIELD TWP. — An off-duty Cum-berland County Sheriff ’s officer was killed in a pre-dawn crash Saturday morning on Vineland Avenue.
Officer Timothy Morris, 24, of Rosen-hayn, died at the scene of the one-car crash, to which police were dispatched at 3:16 a.m.
Although the accident was still under investigation, state police on Saturday said Morris failed to negotiate a curve, and his vehicle left the roadway and crashed into trees.
They could not say roughly how fast Morris was traveling, nor could they give further details.
Trooper C. Piligno was assigned to the investigation.
Even at his young age, Morris had already been an officer for four years.
The flag at the sheriff ’s office on North Laurel Street flew at half mast Saturday, as officers carried on with their duties at the onset of the holiday weekend.
County Sheriff Robert Austino, not yet two years into his term, hadn’t known Morris very long.
But he could tell the officer’s zeal for the job matched his youth.
“He was a very good officer,” Austino said on Saturday afternoon. “He was one of those people who just lived to be a sheriff ’s officer. He wanted to do it 24/7. He will be sorely missed.”
Sheriff’s officer diesin one-vehicle crash
By Joe [email protected]
BRIDGETON — First and third dis-trict state legislators are supporting the latest compromise on a property tax increase cap that they say still preserves vital exceptions.
The proposed bill announced on Satur-day would lower the cap from the current 4 percent, to 2 percent. It would also slash the number of exemptions from the cap from 14 to four.
Only pension benefits, health care, capi-tal spending and select emergency fund-ing would survive as exemptions.
Assemblywoman Celeste Riley (D, 3rd) on Sunday said she and colleagues aimed “to make sure schools and municipalities aren’t crippled by the cap.
“When we got together, we were very concerned that, even though there was a (proposed) 2.5 percent cap, it wasn’t actu-
ally addressing all the issues of property tax reform,” she explained.
Although Riley said she “absolutely” supports the tax cap, she insisted it still needs work.
“We still have to focus on what we’re going to do about funding our schools,” she said.
She added that she and others wanted to include state Education Commissioner Bret Schundler in grueling state house talks throughout the few days prior to Independence Day aimed at coming to a compromise before this week.
But Schundler was not available, Riley said.
State Sen. Jeff Van Drew (D, 1st) ini-tially broke with many fellow Democrats when he supported Gov. Chris Christie’s drive to insert a tax cap into the constitu-tion rather than make it a law.
Legislators backproperty tax cap
(See TAX CAP, Page A-5)
Downe celebrates Fourth
Staff Photo by Greg Adomaitis
John Laws’ antique fire truck is part of Downe Township’s Fourth of July parade on Sunday, in Fortescue. Story and more photos on Page A-7.