On Sunday, March 5, 2017, Buena Vista Township Crowned its newest Queen Amanda Guzman of Landisville. The Villa Fazzolari Restaurant was packed with over 140 in the crowd including the 2015/2016 Miss Buena Vista Township, Ciarra Siking.

A panel of judges were wowed by all 8 of the girls performances which made it almost impossible to pick a winner. Alongside of the winner Amanda Guzman, 1^st Runner Up Megan Burke of Minotola and 2^nd Runner Up Tabatha Dalponte of Richland dazzled the audience with their grace, poise and talent. Two special recognitions were given out to the girls prior to the announcement of the winners.

The title of Miss Congeniality for this years event was awarded to Lillian Nelson of Richland for her unique and humorous personality throughout the pageant and practices.

The second award was given in the name of a past contestant Gina Durham who is remembered yearly at the pageant. The award recognizes one girl who demonstrated kindness, strength and belief in herself and others just as Gina did. This year the award was given with honor to Megan Burke.

The Buena Vista Township Special Events Committee were the host of the event along with Fazzolari Restaurant and Special Guest MC Nor Easter Nick Pitman of South Jersey News Today.

The afternoon was the perfect way to kick off the Township’s 150^th Sesquicentennial Celebrations throughout the year. Also, March 5^th was the actual Anniversary of the 1867 Founding of Buena Vista Township!

Bring your old documents and records out and have them shredded securely. This helps protect you from identity theft while cleaning out unnecessary clutter.

The Third Annual Buena Vista Township Free Shredder Event will be held on Saturday, May 6th from 10 am to 2 pm (or until the truck is full) in the parking lot of the Buena Vista Township Municipal Building, 890 Harding Highway, Buena (Rain or Shine).

Event is open to Buena Vista Township residents only with proof of residency required.  This event is on a first come-first served basis with a limit of three (3) boxes per resident or business.  Empty boxes (average size is 12” x 12” x 18”), bags or containers must be taken back by the resident once they are emptied.

We will NOT accept newspapers, magazines, phone books, binders or accordion folders.

Also take this opportunity to clean out your medicine cabinets and bring your unused medication to our disposal box located in the municipal complex during shredding hours.

Small electronics (keyboards, monitors, mouse devices, computer towers, TV’s and VCR’s) will also be accepted during shredding hours.

This three in one event will be greatly attended so make sure you pack up your stuff and come on over!

In 2017, Buena Vista Township will be celebrating its 150th Anniversary.  We are reaching out to businesses and residents in our community in hopes that you will help us achieve a very special “one-time only” request for funds that is outlined in the paragraph below.

In the Richland Village section of our town, we have a giant white oak tree that reached the age of 235 years old.  It died last year.  It was a beautiful tree.  We are making an effort to fund raise to make a carving out of the tree trunk and lower limbs featuring highlights of our Township’s 150 years in existence.  The tree is huge and we need the funds to hire a well-known chainsaw carver to make a permanent memorial out of this historic old tree located in the center of Saw Mill Park on Route 40.  It will be lighted and capture the spirit of the fine tree this once was.  It will feature a semi-circle of young white oak trees that will grow in the future behind the huge carved tree.  There will be new walkways and fencing required also.

Sample Pavers

Donors for this special project can make a donation or purchase Brick Pavers.  Preserve your name or that of a loved one well into the next millennium with a personalized Brick Paver.  Order forms can be found on our website www.buenavistanj.com or pick one up at the Township Hall.   All funds raised will go directly to this project.  We would truly appreciate any help you would consider.  For further information, contact Kristie in the Mayor’s office at 856-697-2100, then press 8.

The photos below show the work performed by local Tree Surgeon Gary Heitz of Richland who trimmed the tree back removing all the dead branches and giving it shape to be used as a monument in time for the 150th Anniversary of the Township.  The pictures show the tree trimming project which will be followed by chain saw carving in late November.

CLICK HERE for Order Form

If your dog or cat is not currently protected against rabies, please take advantage of the Free Rabies Clinics scheduled for the following dates and locations:
Click HERE for Cat License Form
Click HERE for Dog License Form

SATURDAY, MARCH 4^th at the Newtonville Fire Hall 10 am to 12 noon and the Richland Fire Hall 1 pm to 3 pm.

SATURDAY, MARCH 18th at the East Vineland Fire Hall 10 am to 12 noon and the Collings Lakes Fire Hall 1 pm to 3 pm.

An adult must accompany the pet and vicious dogs must be muzzled.

Cat Licenses are $7 for spay/neuter or $9 for non-spay/non-neuter and Dog Licenses are $12 for spay/neuter or $15 for non-spay/non-neuter and will be sold at all clinics.  Licenses are also available at the Clerk’s Office, Monday through Friday 9 am to 5 pm (Tuesday evening until 7:30 pm).  There will be a late fee of $7.00 applied for each license renewed after March 31, 2017.

Rabies Facts:
Rabies is a deadly disease caused by a virus.  Only mammals, including people, can get rabies. The virus is found in the saliva of a rabid animal and is transmitted by a bite, or possibly by contamination of an open cut.  Left untreated, rabies attacks the nervous system and causes death.  For you and your pets sake, please take advantage of the free clinics listed above.

The 2017 Miss Buena Pageant will be held on Sunday, March 5^th at The Villa Fazzolari at 1 pm. If you are a young lady in grades 9 to 12 and a resident of Buena Vista Township,  you are eligible to enter.

Applications are now being accepted and can be obtained at the Municipal Complex, 890 Harding Highway.  Contestants will be judged in four categories:  Casual Wear, Formal Wear, Talent and a Question/Answer category.

Look for more details soon. For questions, please contact Kristie Knapp, Mayor’s Office at (856) 697-2100 ext. 8.

You can cheer on your favorite contestant and enjoy an afternoon of fun and entertainment.

The application is available by clicking HERE.

Buena Vista Township is about to unveil new “Welcome to Buena Vista” signs at all the entry points to the Township.  The signs replace previous “Welcome” signs that have been in place for over 10 years.

The new signs are in celebration of the Township’s Sesquicentennial 1867 to 2017 and say “150 Years of Pride…”.  There are new photos as part of the sign that feature Township Hall, a deer, a tractor representing the farm community and the giant Richland Oak Tree from Saw Mill Park at its most beautiful.

The Township symbol of the America Eagle also appears on the sign in our logo.    Look for them soon.

Buena Vista Township’s Deputy Mayor Teresa Kelly received the 2016 Elected Public Official of the Year Award from the National Association of Social Workers – New jersey Chapter at a ceremony held on October 27, 2016.

The event was held at the Forsgate Country Club in Central New Jersey.  Teresa’s 25 years of service as an elected official and her lifetime career commitment to social work was honored.

Congratulations Teresa!

The Joey Reiser Foundation visits St. Christopher’s Hospital in Philadelphia on a regular basis. This photo taken around Halloween shows a group of their members during their last visit. Many of the regular members are from the Collings Lakes area or in the Reiser family.

The group celebrates Joey Reiser who lost his life to cancer at a young age.  They raise money for scholarships and other charitable activities.  Alice Reiser (seated third from left) and John Reiser (standing in rear third from left) are Joey’s parents.  Township Committeeman John Williams and his wife Sue are seen in the second and third row second from the right.

For more information about the Joey Reiser Foundation, call 609-567-6368.

Pole Barn Replaces Blue House in Richland Village

A pole barn will be leased or sold for retail use only. It will be located next to the “It’s a Toy Store” on Route 40. The 1500 sq ft. barn will fit in with the theme of Richland Village. It will be completed by late December.

Buena Regional Middle School & Abundant Living Choirs perform on December 2^nd at Township Hall

Collings Lakes Elementary Christmas Play on December 13^th

Santa & His Elves were on hand November 12^th at Saw Mill Park

A Crowd of 200 visited Township Hall on December 2^nd for a fun evening.

A festive tree lighting at Saw Mill Park with a visit from Santa & Co. were among the fun things to do.

Saw Mill Park Tree Glows

Judge Raso and Family

Hamilton Township Municipal Building is now the new home of Buena Vista Township Municipal Court which became effective January 1, 2017.

The Township Committee has looked at the court situation for a long time dating as far back as 2008 when we did a study to consider consolidating our court with five other municipalities.

More recently, in the past year, it has become evident that we needed to look for alternative ways to provide these services.  An ongoing discussion was had with the Mayor and Business Administrator of Hamilton Township to the point where they reached an agreement that will be in effect for the next five years.

Being a State Police community, the amount of revenues of State Police fines amount only to just court costs.  In these difficult economic times, it is hard to survive on primarily court costs.

Our expenses exceeded $250,000 per year and our revenue was approximately $95,000 per year.