EDITORIALS

 

The battle is on
After bold broad pronouncements by Mayor Stephen DiDonato and Hammonton Board of Education President Joseph Giralo, it looks like the battle is on between the town council and the board of education regarding whether or not the school election will be moved from April to November.
This is part of a larger statewide issue, of course. An initiative backed by Governor Chris Christie to move as many of the school elections as possible from the spring to the fall was recently given the legal go-ahead.
In municipalities and at school boards across the state, the discussion and debate is being heard – should we move the elections or not?
Hammonton is no longer excluded from the statewide conversation, now that the mayor made the argument, in his Powerpoint presentation during the council meeting last week, that the elections should be moved to November.
Giralo, for his part, made it clear that the board of education did not want to move, and had not been consulted in any way before the mayor’s presentation last week.
Like all debates, there will be pros and cons lobbed by both sides of the argument. The public will do its best to stay informed by following the information issued by the town and the school district. This newspaper will sift through the information and present it to our readership, along with an informed opinion about the debate. Eventually, we may have to weigh in with an opinion of our own – even if it is an opinion that could differ from both sides of the debate.
It certainly wouldn’t be the first time that scenario happened.
In the meantime, as winter moves into February, the kitchen tables, the coffee shops, the council chambers and the board meeting room will be warmed by the sound of people making their argument regarding whether or not the school election should be moved from April to November.
Good thing we don’t have any real problems, right?
Cameras needed
There has been enough vandalism at town-owned recreation areas, whether at Hammonton Lake Park or Boyer Avenue/Seventh Street Recreation Area, to justify the use of security cameras in these areas.
Vandalism at a level like that seen recently at the concession stand at Hammonton Lake Park warrants the step. Technology would make it possible to have surveillance at these remote locations, 24 hours a day.
The threat of being caught on camera will act as a deterrent to vandals, who are likely mostly young people who are engaging in a criminal act because they know they will probably not be caught.
It’s time the town added a little more teeth to the security at the lake and the soccer fields. Property damage has been done at both areas in recent years, and vandals need to know there is a good chance their actions will be documented, their faces will be seen, and they will be prosecuted.
In addition, by having someone viewing these cameras at all times, police can be dispatched rapidly to the scene of the vandalism, and arrests can be made immediately.
Our residents – particularly our children – enjoy these recreation areas. They are taxpayer-funded and they deserve the highest level of protection against vandalism. The town should research the cost of a camera-based security system that will help put an end to these criminal acts by vandals.