Every Saturday, the South Jersey Times cheers those who make our area a better place in which to live and jeers those whose actions merit derision.
Every Saturday, the South Jersey Times cheers those who make our area a better place in which to live and jeers those whose actions merit derision.
CHEERS: To choosing a new leader. Cumberland County College's presidential search committee has narrowed its choice for a new president down to three candidates -- Dr. Jacqueline Galbiati, Dr. Stephen Nacco and Dr. Yves Salomon-Fernandez, officials announced this week. One of these people will step up to head the Vineland-based community college. Now that the search committee has made its choices, the public gets a unique chance to meet and questions the candidates in person at special forums next week.
JEERS: To using a tragedy for one's own gain. We hope it's not the case, but could someone have picked up the watch of a victim of a fatal accident in Cumberland County? The family of Larry W. Waller Jr. is offering a $100 reward for the recovery of the Citizen Eco Drive wristwatch Waller was wearing when he died in a tragic crash on East Commerce Street in Fairfield Township on Feb. 4. To think someone would lift the watch from the accident scene is disheartening. If anyone does know the watch's whereabouts, please email the family at trainman110@aol.com.
CHEERS to fighting the fair fight. Nobody can accuse of Donald Norcross of anything other than hitting the ground running. The freshman U.S. representative called on Congress Wednesday to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act and ramp up legislative efforts to close the wage gap between men and women. Just last month, Norcross led another charge to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 by 2023. To Norcross, this week's effort -- a bill that would amend the Equal Pay Act of 1963 -- isn't a matter of "if" it gets passed, it's a matter of when the playing field gets leveled.
JEERS to downright dumb behavior. When nine Camden County Correctional Facility workers were busted in late 2014 for exchanging racist text messages and videos, the county took no part in covering up the mess. A Camden County spokesman said the "belligerent" behavior of the "rouge officers" was at no time acceptable and they were fired soon after -- good call. This week's release of text messages and an Internal Affairs interview with one of those nine ex-officers, provided to NJ Advance Media by the local NAACP branch, revealed that this crew had a real problem with the inmates they dealt with daily, namely the African American ones. Don't let the jail cell door hit you on the way out, guys.
CHEERS: To Deptford and Gloucester County officials who collaborated last week to help a township resident who was facing last weekend's icy temperatures with no heat. Deptford police officer Shawn Wentz responded to the home Nov. 10 for a well-being check and found the resident was using his oven to heat his condo because the heater had failed. Wentz contacted the local Lowe's about the situation and the store donated a space heater to the resident. Two days later, Officer Daniel Volpe followed up with the resident and learned that the home's heater still hadn't been fixed. That was the day before temperatures were expected to plummet to single digits. Volpe made temporary repairs to the heater at the resident's request until permanent repairs could be made by the property owner. Last weekend's temperatures fell into the deadly range. No one should have to face that with no heat. Kudos to these officers, county and local officials and Lowe's for stepping up to help a resident in need. "This is a prime example of one of the many ways that the men and women of the department go above and beyond just crime fighting efforts," Deptford Police Chief Bill Hanstein said. "I could not be more proud of the many acts of kindness and caring for the community that have been displayed by the officers of this department."
JEERS: To the organized bunch of thieves targeting meat distributors in Logan Township. For the second time since November, crooks have made off with huge hauls of frozen meat from businesses at Pureland Industrial Park. In both cases, drivers presented phony documents in order to load large shipments valued in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Police say they switch license plates and driver documents in order to elude capture once they leave these warehouses and are likely transporting the stolen goods to Florida. Neither crime produced security camera footage that could identify the driver. This is just one more reason why every business -- be it a bank or a meat merchant -- needs the highest quality surveillance equipment in order to identify thieves and help police do their jobs.
If you know of someone or something you would like to nominate for a cheer or a jeer, please send the information to sjletters@njadvancemedia.com