Posted: Friday, August 7, 2009 | 1 comment

The Constitution of the United States says we all have the right "peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

In rural Mullica Township, that traditionally has meant assembling at the town dump. The township's waste-transfer station is the equivalent of an old-time general store, or a modern-day Starbucks: It's where Mullica's voters go to talk and complain; it's where elected officials go to shake hands and campaign. Lately, with the Republicans in power, most of the petitioning for a redress of grievances is being done by....Continue Reading

By ROB SPAHR, Staff Writer, 609-272-7283 | Posted: Friday, August 7, 2009 | 0 comments

MULLICA TOWNSHIP - The township does not have water or sewer lines, but it could soon be in the solar panel business.

Township officials are pursuing a plan to lease a portion of the former garbage dump behind the waste transfer station on Elwood-Weekstown Road so it can be used for a solar farm.....Continue Reading

By ROB SPAHR, Staff Writer, 609-272-7283 | Posted: Monday, August 3, 2009 | 1 comment

MULLICA TOWNSHIP - In March 1918, the federal government began building a massive munitions plant and village in the heart of the township to support the U.S. Army's efforts in World War I.

It took only four months to transform the 6,000-acre site between the White Horse Pike and Elwood-Pleasant Mills Road from a wooded wilderness into an industrial hub.

But with the armistice of Nov. 11, 1918, the plant's operations ceased, and the village - named Amatol after.....Continue Reading

By ROB SPAHR, Staff Writer, 609-272-7283 | Posted: Thursday, July 30, 2009 | 0 comments

MULLICA TOWNSHIP - The Township Committee amended and reintroduced a controversial ordinance to regulate private gatherings on public property.

Under the new "Parades and Public Assemblies" ordinance presented Tuesday night, people or groups wanting to gather on public property in the township would still be forced to apply for a permit 30 days prior to gathering and then provide proof of liability insurance coverage 10 days prior to the gathering. Any request for a permit could be denied "at the discretion of the township," which also would have the authority to revoke any permit....Continue Reading

George Burleigh, 60, of the 400 block of Oak Street in the Elwood section of Mullica, is charged with carjacking, aggravated assault, criminal restraint, terroristic threats, criminal attempt, resisting arrest, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, unlawful possession of a weapon, hindering apprehension and tampering with evidence, police said.

Burleigh, who previously lived in Atco, is a convicted sex offender. He tried to sexually assault to juvenile females at knifepoint in October 1983, according to the New Jersey Sex Offender Registry.

The attempted carjacking took place shortly after 10 a.m. July 11 outside SuperFresh in the Hammonton Square Shopping Center at 75 S. White Horse Pike, Hammonton Police Detective Joel Frederico said.

A 23-year-old Hammonton woman, whose name was not released, was securing her 8-month-old son in a child safety seat in her vehicle. Burleigh approached her from behind, covered her mouth with his hand and put a knife near her stomach, police said.

Burleigh ordered the woman to get in the vehicle but she refused, police said.

The pair eventually exchanged words, Frederico said.

"The man asked the woman if she lived in the area. She replied, 'No,' and the man fled the scene," Frederico said.

The woman then got in her car and called 9-1-1, police said.

Sgt. Sam Mavilla was the first officer at the scene. The woman told him the suspect had run east toward Brand Jewelers.

A subsequent search of the area -- aided by nearby farm workers, who noticed something moving in the woods next to the store -- led authorities to Burleigh, who was lying on the ground next to a retention basin fence.

Burleigh had used his knife "to cut his pants into shorts in attempt to avoid the original suspect description," Frederico said.

Posted: Thursday, July 23, 2009 | 1 comment

From Press staff reports

Hammonton - A man was found dead in his Messina Avenue home Wednes-day afternoon after neighbors noticed something suspicious and called authorities.

Police were called to the home on the 200 block of Messina Avenue at 2:24 p.m. and found the decomposing body, police said. The identity of the person was not released because his relatives have not been notified.

Neighbor Rodney Ibarra said the house had appeared abandoned, but residents became curious when they saw lights go on.

On Wednesday afternoon, one neighbor took a closer look at the home and saw the window was covered with flies, Ibarra said. They called police, who arrived with firefighters and broke into the house.