Wins mean more than stats to Whelan, B-1

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Vol. 264, No. 143

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• A recent analysis of poverty in New Jersey identifi es a portion of Bridgeton as the most impoverished area in New Jersey south of Camden. We speak with local leaders and residents about this dubious distinction.

• A new review reveals several Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Offi ce employees are also collecting big pensions from their time working with the state police and local police departments. While some call that a form of double-dipping, the practice is perfectly legal under New Jersey’s pension laws. We examine what this means in a county straining to close a massive budget defi cit.

• Jim Six profi les Larry Trimmer, a Marine fi rst sergeant who runs marathons and just might be your mailman.

• Senate President Stephen Sweeney talks about his push to legalize gay marriage in New Jersey.

• We spend “5 Minutes” with Pittsgrove school superin-tendent and Vineland resident Henry Bermann.

You’ll fi nd your TV book, comics, Parade magazine and plenty of ads from your favorite stores. Ring in the new year with South Jersey’s

Sunday news leader.

Liquor license available for Green Olive

Staff Photo by Cathy Cramer

The Green Olive Restaurant located in Hopewell Township.

Cuff indicted for shaking death of son

Winter art on display at Fiber Arts Cafe’

Winds fierce in county

Strong winds did a consider-able amount of damage includ-

ing blowing down a silo and tipping over a tractor trailer, at Cruzandale Farms in Stow Creek Friday.

Staff Photos by Cathy Cramer

By Lauren T. Taniguchiltaniguchi@sjnewsco.com

HOPEWELL TWP. — After months of paperwork and procedure, Hopewell Township received a liquor license for the Green Olive Restaurant, 610 Shiloh Pike, from the state Division of Alcoholic Bever-age Control (ABC) on Thursday.

“The license is here for the taking; as soon as Green Olive is ready to put an effective date on it, all they have to do is call me, and I’ll email that date up to the state,” said Hopewell Township Clerk Willy Daddario at the township Municipal Building on Friday.

The plenary retail consumption license, issued by the state as number 0607-33-001-001 to indicate Hopewell Township’s first such approval, “entitles the licensee to sell alcoholic beverages for consump-tion on the licensed premises and also to sell in original containers for consumption off the premises,” according to Title 33 of the New Jersey statutes.

Daddario clarified there are limita-tions and particular requirements on the license’s permission for carry-out sales;

for instance, beverages to be sold for con-sumption off premises must be stored in enclosed, specified areas — not open shelves — since the license issued is not the same as a retail distribution license.

Hopewell Township residents petitioned to get the question of local alcoholic bever-age sales on the November 2010 election ballot, then approved the referendum 773 votes to 485.

Green Olive was the lone bidder for the Hopewell Township liquor license in April 2011 at an amount of $150,000, a one-time payment put toward the township general fund.

The restaurant also will be required to pay a $2,500 yearly license renewal fee that will also go into the Hopewell Town-ship coffers.

Green Olive owners were unavailable for comment on Friday, but Daddario said he believed restaurant co-owner Barry Yilmaz, “a good businessman,” had planned to prepare for alcohol sales all at once upon receiving final approval, as opposed to completing any desired prepa-rations bit by bit during the application

(See LIQUOR, Page A-5)

By Jason Ladayjladay@sjnewsco.com

STOW CREEK TWP. — Strong winds whipped through Cum-berland County Friday afternoon, causing at least one farm to lose a grain silo and two barn doors to the violent gusts.

Lois Cruzan, one of the owners of Cruzan-dale Farms, said the wind claimed a 25-foot-tall empty grain silo, lift-ing it off its foundations

(See WINDS, Page A-8)

By Jason Ladayjladay@sjnewsco.com

BRIDGETON — A Cumberland County Grand Jury this week indicted a 19-year-old Vineland man for mur-der and other charges in the death of his 2-month-old son.

Ronald L. Cuff Jr., who was arrested in late July 2011 at his Park Towne Apartments residence, is accused of violently shaking his son, identified by the county prose-cutor’s office as “R.C.,” causing fatal injuries.

In all, Cuff faces one count of first-degree murder, one count of second-degree aggravated assault and two counts of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child.

A second defendant, named Melina A. Vega, has also been indicted for two counts of second-degree endanger-ing the welfare of a minor.

Cuff allegedly abused the infant by shaking him on July 25.

Sometime after that, the child’s maternal grandpar-ent claimed the child and rushed him to South Jersey

(See CUFF, Page A-5)

Staff Photo by Cathy Cramer

Friends, Students and Staff of BHS from left to right are Angelica Boner, James Boner,Liz O’Brien, Lauren Hawk, Benjamin Gonzalez, Liam Gonzalez, Bronwen Sewall, and Matthew Brenner at the Bridgeton High School Art students Winter Art Show held at Fiber Arts Cafe, Books, Yarn, Coffee on Commerce Street Friday.

By Jim Cook Jr.jcook@sjnewsco.com

BRIDGETON — A local business opened its doors to the public and to the student artists at Bridgeton High School Friday night, for a spe-cial opening of their winter art col-lections.

For the first semester of their school year, which runs from Sep-tember through January, area stu-dents put their hand to the canvas and the kiln, create various forms of visual art for the public to enjoy at the Fiber Arts Cafe at 21 E. Com-merce St.

Fiber Arts Cafe owner Carol Moore even took down her holiday decora-tions as soon as she could to begin loading in the artwork.

“I love it,” Moore said. I had to take my Christmas decorations down to make way for the art from the Bridgeton High School students.”

She called the reception Friday night, and her exhibition of their art-work, a “celebration of youth.”

“That’s what we need,” Moore said. “And that’s what this is. It’s a cel-ebration of our youth.”

Moore added: “There’s actually one piece in the window that I really want for myself. It’s just all so cool. I love it.”

The man at the helm of the event, Tim Cubbage, was very proud of the students and their artwork.

“We’ve been doing this since 2008,

it has been great ever since,” the dis-trict art supervisor said, while point-ing out the various types of art on display.

The current display at the cafe and yarn shop is the school’s winter dis-play. They have a major display in May at the school.

“This is our smaller scale exhib-it,” Cubbage said. “When the cafe switched owners to Carol (about two years ago) she kept it going.”

Cubbage said that the exhibit will be open until the end of January, and has “a little bit of everything.”

(See ART, Page A-8)