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Dear Neighbors,
As the school year begins, there are some big updates on
several stories that we have been following for quite a
while including the proposed Ashbrook School Expansion,
Super Wal-Mart, Bryan Freeman Park, and several other
smaller updates. Ashbrook
School Expansion Referendum: The
Lumberton Board of Education had scheduled a special
election for September 27, 2005. The special
election was to get voter approval for a $8 million
expansion to the Ashbrook Elementary School that
included 15 additional classrooms, an expanded
cafeteria, and a larger gym. Last
week, the Board of Education decided to cancel the
referendum. In planning the referendum, the board
assumed the state would pay almost 1/2 of the $8 million
construction cost. Based on the school board's press
release, the board indicated that available state aid is
more limited than previously anticipated, and preference is being given to urban
school districts over suburban districts. The
school board did not indicate any timeline of when or if
they would come back to the voter for approval to expand
the Ashbrook School. Super
Wal-Mart Expansion:
Wal-Mart is tentatively scheduled to be in front of the Land Development Board
on Wednesday, October 20th at 7:30 PM in the Municipal
Building. As with most cases that go before
the Land Development Board, the schedule is subject to
change at the last minute.
Wal-Mart is
expected to propose changes to their site plan to address
the issues raised with the site plan that included
buffering between the new town homes under construction
in Country Estates and the number and size of the
parking spots.
Bryan L. Freeman, Jr.
Park Dedication:
On Veteran's Day, Bobby's Run Park will be re-named and
dedicated in honor of Bryan Freeman, Jr.
Bryan grew up in Lumberton and lived here before volunteering for active duty with the
Army Reserve. Bryan was killed by enemy
action in Iraq last year.
The park will be dedicated during a special ceremony on
Veteran's Day. The township has appointed a
special committee to design a memorial and to plan a
dedication ceremony. The memorial and ceremony
will be paid for with private donations.
Anyone interested in making a donation or learn more
about making a donation, can send a check to "The
Bryan Freeman Fund", c/o Lumberton Twp., PO Box
1860, 35 Municipal Drive, Lumberton, NJ 08048.
Community Day: Community
Day or Family Fun Day is scheduled for Saturday, October 1st
from 1-4 PM at the Municipal Building. The event
will consist of the usual games, inflatable rides, live
demonstrations, food, face painting, etc. The
rain date will be Sunday, October 2nd. If you are
interested in volunteering or sponsoring an activity,
you can contact the township recreation department at
267-3217.
Halloween Parade and
Party:
The Lumberton Halloween Parade and Party will be held
Saturday, October 22nd. The parade starts at 12:30
PM outside the Walther School. The party will be
held in the Walther School from 1-3 PM. Volunteers
are needed for set-up on Friday night. If you are
interested in volunteering, you can contact the township
recreation department at 267-3217.
Road
Re-Construction: This fall the township plans
to start road reconstruction on Easlick and Beulah
Avenues to address drainage issues. The township will
also resurface Church and Edward Streets which
were badly damaged during last year's flood.
Additionally, the township will make a slight change to
Bella Road at the corner of Bridge Road to move the road
so that it no longer has to encroach on private
property.
New Features: It's official - the
Lumberton E-News Classifieds and Online Poll are hits! In the past few
months, people have been successfully selling items on the E-News classifieds
and several hundred people have taken time to participate in the various online
polls. You can check out these features by visiting the site at www.LumbertonEnews.com.
As always, I hope you enjoyed this issue, and I appreciate your
support. Please continue to share it with your friends and neighbors.
Pat Delany
Founder & Editor
122 Kingsbridge Drive
Lumberton, NJ 08048
(609) 560-8045
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