HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP: Background checks law OK’d

By John Tredrea, Special Writer
   The Hopewell Township Committee voted Tuesday night to adopt an ordinance requiring criminal background checks for current and prospective recreation employees and volunteers in the township.
   Under the ordinance, those who have criminal background checks done will pay for them at their own expense.
   The measure states that its purpose is to provide “the safest possible recreation” for users of programs in the township.
   The new ordinance covers all programs using township facilities and programs that are funded and supported, in whole or in part, by the township. These would include programs in baseball, softball, soccer, football, cheerleading, wrestling, lacrosse and others.
   Under the proposed measure, a successful background check will remain valid for five years.
   If an individual undergoing a background check is found to have been convicted of a crime or crimes involving danger to other people, or theft, or controlled dangerous substances, that person will not be able to work or volunteer in township recreation programs.
   Requiring the background checks came at the recommendation of the township’s director of parks and recreation, Judy Niederer, a former Township Committee member.
   Voting in favor of adopting the measure were Mayor Michael Markulec, Deputy Mayor Jim Burd and committee members Kim Johnson and Allen Cannon. Vanessa Sandom was absent.
   — Introduced Tuesday was a proposed ordinance regulating parking on Grant Street, a short residential street in the Titusville section of the township.
   Under the measure, parking would be prohibited on both sides of Grant Street, at all times, between Route 29 and a point 135 feet west of Route 29.
   — Also introduced was a proposed ordinance that would allow the hunting of deer on municipally owned land. The measure states that the hunting would be allowed “solely for the purpose of managing and reducing the township’s deer population.”
   If the measure is adopted, permits would be required for the hunting, which would be allowed at times of the year scheduled by the township.
   The proposed ordinance comes at the recommendation of the township’s Deer Management Advisory Committee, a volunteer group appointed by the Township Committee.
   At Tuesday night’s meeting, Bill Cane, a member of the deer committee and a former township mayor, said each municipal property on which the hunting would be allowed would be regulated as to whether bow or shotgun hunting would be permitted and how many hunters would be allowed at the same time.