councilman tackles graffiti - nj.commedia.nj.com/cumberland_impact/other/the news a-1 2-8-11.pdf ·...
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Vol. 263, No. 7
Get local breaking news 24/7 at nj.com/cumberland
One burglarized, two have glass broken
Staff Photo by Cindy Hepner
Old abandoned buildings along Cohansey Street in Bridgeton are covered with graffiti.
Councilman tackles graffiti
Abandoned buildings on Cohansey Street become canvas for graffiti.
Photo special to The News
Charles “Sonny” and Edie Rush exchange cake on their wedding day.
Ervin T. Harper
By Greg [email protected]
BRIDGETON — Gangs and graffiti, they go hand in ... spray can.
Come spring, though, the city plans to once again step up and take on this fact of urban life.
According to Councilman Dennis Thomp-son, “Cohansey Street looks like a night-mare.”
He said that the area between Irving Ave-nue and Washington Street and Cohansey and Laurel streets was being hit the worst.
“Its encroaching toward Pearl Street,” said Thompson.
It’s on telephone poles, county signs, behind barns and on newer housing units.
Above all, its mostly gang-affiliated. (See GRAFFITI, Page A-3)
By Greg [email protected]
BRIDGETON — An appellate court upheld an earlier ruling that invalidated a $2.135 million regional contribution agreement (RCA) between the city and Galloway Township.
The agreement would have meant Galloway sending Bridgeton more than $2 million for home rehabilitation, at $35,000 per unit, stemming from a proj-ect proposed six years ago.
RCAs, a practice eliminated under for-mer Gov. Jon Corzine, were typically used to ensure affordable housing units were created by developers.
Funds changed hands while an appeal was pending.
Galloway had transferred $1.4 million to Bridgeton and Bridgeton had already used some of the funds.
The state Legislature changed its stance on the practice during this period, though.
Before the project could get under way, Cherry Hill-based Fair Share Housing Center (FSHC) opposed the deal in that it did not meet state requirements.
At the time of the shift in policy, the Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) denied approval of the RCA, which was later challenged.
Bridgetoncan’t takeGalloway’srehab $$$
(See REHAB $$$, Page A-3)
By Lauren T. [email protected]
HOPEWELL TWP. — Burglars made a path of crime down Shiloh Pike/Route 49 in Hopewell late Friday night into early Saturday morning, attempting to break into at least three businesses.
According to Detective Sgt. Robert Gates, of the State Police Bridgeton Bar-racks, the attempted burglaries are still being investigated, with minimal infor-mation available without speaking with
the responding troopers as of Monday. Gates confirmed that the subjects did
not enter two of the three crime loca-tions.
Mainline Deli owner Sharmi Patel reported that the perpetrators approached the deli at 606 Shiloh Pike around 2 a.m. on Saturday.
Mainline Deli surveillance video shows at least one subject throwing an object from a car, damaging the deli’s front glass.
However, according to Patel, the glass, replaced about four months ago after a previous attempted burglary, was a type that cracks but doesn’t shatter, thus pro-hibiting entry.
A Hopewell Custard and Hopewell Dis-count Store employee reported a simi-lar incident there, claiming a front door showed spiderweb cracks but no fully bro-ken point of entry.
Shear Mania hair salon, at 512 Shiloh
Stores on Shiloh Pike attacked
(See STORES, Page A-3)
By Jason [email protected]
BRIDGETON — Officials are seeking the community’s assistance in searching for a Millville man who has not been seen or heard from since last month.
The friends and family of Ervin M. Harper, 37, who resided on Millville’s North 2nd Street as well as Hands Mill Road in Maurice River Township,
Millvilleman ismissing
(See MISSING, Page A-3)
By Stephen [email protected]
ºBy the morning, she was dead at the age of 68.
“At the funeral, pop-pop was at the head of the casket, begging God not to take his wife from him. We sat together and he was squeezing my hand hard, crying,” said Amanda.
This is when the hub came off the wheel, so to speak, for the Rush family.
“My Great Uncle John (Charles’ broth-er) and Aunt Joan would come over to my grandparents’ every Saturday and play cards,” said Amanda.
The visits stopped after Edith’s funeral. Her death weighed on Charles. When before he had been carefree and
quick with a joke, he was now somber and
took to secluding himself. He moved to a trailer park in Stow
Creek. It was clear from his routine that he
thought of Edith every day. “He would wake up and have break-
fast at the Golden Pigeon every morning,” said Amanda. “Then after that, he would visit my grandmother’s grave in Laurel Lawn.”
He and Amanda would have breakfast together at the Pigeon on the second of every month.
She saw him for the last time Jan. 13, at her cousin Brianna’s seventh birthday.
“Pop-pop was happy then. He loved being around his family, especially his grandkids,” said Amanda.
Charles’ simple routine ended two
Tragedy comes in wavesfor the local Rush family
(See TRAGEDY, Page A-3)