Year in Review
By: Vanessa S. Holt
This is the third in a series of four articles recapping some of the events of 2003 as reported in the Register-News. The following dates reflect the issue in which the story was published.
July 3
Chesterfield residents complain about noise from the New Jersey Turnpike.
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The Northern Burlington County Regional High School Class of 2003 held commencement exercises June 25.
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Due to weather-related construction delays and school budget cuts, officials in the Northern Burlington County Regional School District are considering delaying the opening of the new middle school until February.
July 10
Florence Township motorists are alarmed by erratic rail gate movements of the Camden-Trenton Light Rail line.
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Close to 200 residents gathered at the clubhouse in the Four Seasons community for an informational meeting about sewer rates that may be headed for a hefty increase in the coming months.
July 17
Officials from Franklin Fire Company No. 1 asked township officials to endorse the department’s five-year plan, which includes plans for a new headquarters, a substation, and possibly a paid staff of firefighters.
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The Northern Burlington County Regional Board of Education has settled a lawsuit involving soil contamination caused by leaky gas tanks located on school property.
July 24
Patrick G. Malloy, mayor of New Hanover Township for the past 37 years, was charged with witness tampering in connection with the investigation of a federally funded contract awarded to his brother. He later pleaded guilty and is scheduled to be sentenced in February.
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The federal Environmental Protection Agency’s list of Superfund sites for its 2003-04 fiscal year does not include the Roebling Steel Mill.
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Florence officials received input from residents on ways to improve the township’s emergency medical services.
July 31
The Jeremy Fund hosted a swim-a-thon to raise money for families struggling with the cost of medical bills for relatives diagnosed with cancer.
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North Hanover residents bid farewell to Edward Drechsel, who tendered his resignation after serving on the Board of Education for 23 years.
Aug. 7
A state Superior Court judge in Mount Holly on Tuesday issued a permanent domestic violence protective order against suspended Bordentown City Police Chief Philip J. Castagna.
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Bordentown City resident’s yard is transformed by the crew of BBC’s "Ground Force," a popular garden makeover show based in England.
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With 110,000 acres preserved on 918 farms, and plans to preserve 20,000 acres per year in the future, the state Farmland Preservation Program celebrated its 20th anniversary last month.
Aug. 14
A Vietnam veteran has resumed his duties as honor guard at the Brig. Gen. William C. Doyle veterans Memorial Cemetery after officials there fired him last year for saying a blessing during graveside flag-presentation ceremonies.
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A proposed housing development along the wetlands area near Blacks Creek has drawn fire from a pair of local watchdogs, prompting the state Department of Environmental Protection and the city Planning Board to postpone final approval of the plan.
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North Hanover Township officials said they will closely watch the projects taking place on Fort Dix and McGuire Air Force bases to improve and expand housing occupied by members of the military and their families.
Aug. 21
Officials gathered last week at the Roebling Steel Mill to demand continued funding for cleanup at the toxic site and to blast the federal government for its lack of support there.
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The Mansfield Township Committee meeting was almost filled to capacity Aug. 13 when many of the town’s senior citizen residents came to voice their opinions on the governing body’s new five-year plan for the Fire Department.
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Officials in the Bordentown Regional School District said they will most likely will ask for another round of bids on the construction project for the new high school.
Aug. 28
Federal Environmental Protection Agency officials were expected to present the agency’s new proposal to cap 34 acres of contaminated soil, sediment and groundwater at the former Roebling Steel Mill site in a public meeting.
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Organizations that want to use facilities in the Northern Burlington County Regional School District would have to pay usage and service fees recently proposed by the school board.
Sept. 4
Following a statewide trend, overall crime in Burlington County dropped in 2002, but locally the total number of reported crimes increased in four towns, according to the State Police Uniform Crime Report (UCR) for 2002.
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The federal Environmental Protection Agency last week presented its final-phase cleanup plan to cap contaminated soil and to dredge and contain toxic sediment and ground water at the former Roebling Steel Mill site.
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Florence soldier, Capt. Jason Foerter returns home from tour of duty in Iraq.
Sept. 11
The Florence Fire District sought to unite Florence Volunteer Fire Stations No. 1 and 2 with Roebling Volunteer Fire Station No. 3 in a consolidation plan that should not affect the tax rate.
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Two years after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, area schools are choosing to teach the path of peace.
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Roebling residents were concerned about the planned expansion of the Ready Pac Produce facility on Railroad Avenue.
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In remembrance of the tragedies of Sept. 11, 2001, officials in North Hanover have dedicated one of the Police Department’s vehicles to the victims of the terrorist attacks.
Sept. 18
As New Jersey monitors the progress of Hurricane Isabel, county and local emergency crews prepare for the possibility of a direct hit. The storm’s track later changed, sparing New Jersey.
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The intended home of the Roebling Historical Society Museum was badly damaged by a pair of fires that broke out in the early morning hours Sept. 14.
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Northern Burlington Regional students waited outdoors from noon to 3 p.m. while school officials investigated a building threat that took place Sept. 12.
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A four-year study by the Department of Defense has resulted in the decision to cut 220 civilian jobs at Fort Dix, a move that has stunned officials and workers.
Sept. 25
A brief but violent storm moving along the Delaware riverfront Tuesday morning ripped through parts of the Roebling business district, prompting a state of emergency and leaving uprooted trees and downed power lines in its wake.
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A state-appointed mediator was assigned to the stalled contract talks in the Northern Burlington County Regional School District between teachers and the school board.
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Northern Burlington County High School is included in the 67 percent of the state’s high schools to be put on notice that it failed to meet the standards set by federal No Child Left Behind law.