The Municipal Drug Alliance of Buena Borough-Buena Vista Twp-Weymouth Twp will be hosting a Substance Abuse Summit on the current epidemic affecting Atlantic County and our local Community. This event is open to all. An informative panel of speakers will be presenting the community with valuable information on all forms of substance abuse and the affects within our homes, towns and county. Attendees will have an opportunity to write anonymous questions to be answered by the panel in an open forum at the end of the event.

Please join us as we work together to educate on this epidemic.

August 29th at 7:00 PM
Buena Vista Town Hall
890 Harding Highway

Sponsored by Join Together Atlantic County

Committeeman John Armato Donates Purple Heart Sign.  On Friday, May 27^th while attending the Atlantic County’s Annual Memorial Day Services, Committeeman John Armato presented the Atlantic County Veteran’s Cemetery a Purple Heart Reserved Parking Space sign which will be utilized by the cemetery.

Mayor Chiarello Presides Over Panel At Clean Communities Conference.

Mayor Chuck Chiarello was the moderator on Thursday, May 26^th of a panel of League of Municipalities Mayors at the Boardwalk Hall who spoke about various clean community programs their towns use to remove litter and keep a pleasant environment.  The Mayors of Stone Harbor, Longport and Old Bridge were on the panel.

Buena Regional High School Dinner For Honors Graduates Held.  Mayor Chuck Chiarello and Deputy Mayor Teresa Kelly were in attendance at a special dinner on Thursday, June 2^nd at the High School Cafeteria.  Pictured is Ciara Sikking introducing herself and giving some background information on where she is attending college and what her major is.  Each student present did the same thing to the audience which was filled with the parents and guardians.

Local Comcast Employee Honored.  Comcast employee, Luis Rosado, is pictured with his son and Deputy Mayor Teresa Kelly receiving a “Making Buena Vista Proud Award”.  Rosado collected over 4,000 cases of water and delivered them to the people of Flint, Michigan because of their ongoing water crisis.  Luis lives in Collings Lakes and we are very proud of his efforts.

Local Resident Enters The United States Air Force Academy.  Rocco Sangataldo is presented a plaque by Township Committeeman John Armato, an Air Force veteran himself, recognizing Rocco’s achievement.  Rocco was also joined by his immediate family and other members of the Hensel family.

Annual Memorial Day Service Held on Monday, May 30^th.  Members of VFW Post #158 were joined by the entire Buena Vista Township Committee along with other military veterans, family and friends during a rainy Memorial Day tribute.

Motivational Program Held at MLK Center.  Mrs. Shirley Bryant of Newtonville held a program that featured various speakers and local talent at the MLK Center on Saturday, May 14^th.  She appears here with local singer Weniesha Brown of Richland who sang several selections during the event.

MLK Motivational Program Included Environmental Information.  Environmental Committee member, Marie Armato, stands by a wheel that attendees can spin to learn about different types of environmental issues during the event sponsored by Shirley Bryant.

The Natural Helpers Program of the Municipal Alliance Holds Annual Dinner.  The Dinner and program was held at Merighi’s Savoy Inn on Wednesday, May 18^th.  Graduation certificates were given out by Judy Venafro (who heads the program) to all the students involved.  Township Committeeman John Armato represented the Municipal Alliance as Chairman, along with Gia Haws, who is the Coordinator of the program.  Also shown is School Superintendent John DeStefano.

Natural Helpers students are pictured with their acheivement certificates mingling after the dinner was completed.  A “DJ and dancing for the students followed.  The program provides a helping hand and guidance to other students throughout the year at Buena Regional High School.

When Committeeman John Armato (who heads our Veteran’s Advisory Board) heard that his long-time friend Janet Pumphrey had never obtained the war medals that her husband, Overton, received during his military service in Korea, an effort to resolve that problem was taken on.

Within ten days of contacting Congressman Frank LoBiondo’s office, the medals were on hand and a special presentation was made at the May 23^rd televised Township Meeting.

Janet, who is a longtime Matron at the 1^st Baptist Church of Richland, is joined by her pastor, Rev. David Mallory ) who married Overton and Janet).  It was a very touching moment.

John also presented Janet with a restored picture of Overton in uniform.

As part of the 2^nd Annual Richland Village Festival held on May 28, 2016, John and Anne Viola of Newfield were recognized for their donation of the WI Switch Tower.  The Switch Tower, after being decommissioned, was located in their back yard at their home in Newfield.

They donated the Tower to Buena Vista Township in 2006.  It was renovated and relocated beyond the Richland Village Train Station.

The long overdue dedication just recently took place on the May 28^th rain date. See description on plaque.

The 13th Annual Run4Ricky kicked off on Saturday morning at the Wilcox Family home near Buena Regional High School.

A great crowd was on hand for the run, walk and children’s event. Bill and Diana Wilcox and family are great hosts to this annual tradition that raises scholarships in honor of Ricky Wilcox’s memory.

Mayor Chuck Chiarello, Deputy Mayor Teresa Kelly and Committeeman John Williams were on hand representing Buena Vista Township.

On Monday, June 6^th, 17 children from Mrs. Brenda DeCesero’s Kindergarten KA Class from the John C. Milanesi Elementary School paid a visit to Buena Vista Township Hall.

They started out in the Main Meeting Room where the entire Township Committee was present and had a brief presentation followed by juice and cookies.

Led by Township Clerk Lisa Tilton, they then began touring all of the offices in the Municipal Building and were given a brief explanation about what they do.

After touring half of the building, the students went outside and were greeted by Trooper Mark Campagna of the NJ State Police who showed the children his patrol car.  They were even allowed to try the siren and the lights.

Then they inspected a Buena Vista Township Public Works Department dump truck.  They were able to see the inside of the vehicle with the assistance of Public Works Department employee, Keith Dorris.

Mrs. DeCescero’s class than came and toured the other half of the Municipal Building winding up in Mayor Chuck Chiarello’s office where they were each presented a certificate for participating in the tour.

The children then hurried back to school for their regular lunch time.  The children said they had a very enjoyable time and we were proud to have them.

All homes in Buena Vista Township over the next couple of days will be receiving a 96-gallon rolling recycling container to mix all of your recyclables together in one container.  Delivery of the new containers is expected to be completed by the end of the week (May 13th) and will be handled through the ACUA.

Containers will have a microchip imbedded in them to track their location if stolen.  The containers are being purchased by Buena Vista Township and are property of the Township.

The goal is to increase recycling participation to a new level which will help to reduce our trash collection costs.  Trash costs more to get rid of than recyclables.

The Township purchased the recycling containers on a 5-year plan through the ACUA to be able to provide every home a container at the same time. The ACUA has a list of homes that have already purchased the ACUA blue 96-gallon recycling container from them.

Those homes will receive a 96-gallon ACUA rolling trash container in place of the recycling container.  No other substitutions or exceptions will be made.  The containers cost the Township $48.62 each instead of the normal $65.00 each.

Those residents who have already purchased this container through the ACUA will be given a new 96-gallon ACUA trash container instead of a recycling container. This way, every home gets a new container from Buena Vista Township and the ACUA. (Recycling containers purchased elsewhere do not count and cannot be substituted.) 

Any older blue recycling containers can also still be used along with the new 96-gallon container.  Remember, “Single Stream” recycling allows everything to be mixed together in one container that will be sorted later by the ACUA at their facility in Egg Harbor Township.

Mayor Chuck Chiarello who is a member of the Executive Board for the New Jersey Conference of Mayors has contributed an article in the second issue related to Economic Stability.

With an article titled “Economic Stability Starts at Home” Buena Vista has taken new initiatives in Difficult times. Buena Vista has taken great strides in not only maintaining ratables, but also has encouraged new commercial development and a business friendly environment.

To learn more about Buena Vista’s initiative Click HERE to view the Mayor’s article in the New Jersey Conference of Mayor’s Magazine.

The article is written by Mayor Chuck Chiarello and published by the New Jersey Conference of Mayors.

Eighth grade students from the Buena Regional Middle School formed an Honorary Township Committee along with Honorary Department Heads on Monday, April 18^th.

The students spent the day at Buena Vista touring our Municipal Building and most of our facilities including Michael Debbi Park, Public Works Department and the King Center.  The students then appeared at our televised Township Committee meeting on Monday, April 25^th where they were sworn into office for the day and participated along with the Township Committee during that evening.

The Honorary Township Committee Program was started many years ago at the Cleary Middle School and was handled by Mr. Abate.  The program ran successfully for many years but was not continued after Mr. Abate retired.   Mayor Chuck Chiarello requested that the program be restarted through the new Buena Regional Middle School when it was first opened, but to no avail.

In 2015, Committeeman John Armato became the Municipal Liaison to the school district and was able to get the program restarted with this year’s  8^th Grade Class through the help of the Superintendent, School Board and the Principal of the Middle School.

This year’s program was a true success. Thanks to all the students that participated.  The honorary student members were:  TJ Cheli, Mayor; Aliyah White, Deputy Mayor; Victoria DeRossi, Township Committee/Reporter; Louis Flannery, Township Committee; Travis Welsford, Township Committee; Sierra Gonzalez, CMFO/Administrator; Hannah Lawless, Township Clerk; Franchesca Hansen, Tax Collector; Antonina Benson, Tax Assessor; Byron Spellman, Director of Public Works.

FREE reusable bags coming soon to the Independence Day Festival on Sunday, July 3, 2016. Check out the BVT Green Team table for a reusable bag and other great items. Bags available to the first 200 people who claim them.

Green Tip of the Week:

Plastic bag litter is a growing problem. Just look around and you are sure to see plastic bags hanging from the trees, stuck in storm drains, nestled in shrubs, and floating in waterways. The bags are responsible every year for the deaths of many birds, land animals and marine mammals. They can take from 15 to 1000 years to decompose.  In addition: Plastic is petroleum-base, so the more bags that are made, the more oil is wasted. The bags are photo-degradable, so if left out in the open, they break down into smaller, more toxic petro-polymers.* (CNN.com)

We can all do our part to reduce the plastic bag problem. The easiest solution is to carry reusable bags in your car at all times. These bags have become very prevalent and available for a small fee at most grocery stores and “big box” stores (Target, Lowes, etc.). These bags are not only sturdier than plastic bags but they also hold more! And some stores will give a small discount if you have your own bags. If you do accumulate plastic bags, please recycle them. Many supermarkets in the area have bins for recycling. But the best rule to follow is to reduce first, reuse second and then recycle.

This tip is courtesy of the Green Team in BVT.  For more information call the Township Clerk’s Office at 856-697-2100 or email info@buenavistanj.com.

To be part of the BVT Green Team please contact Committeeman John Williams at (609) 513-7318 or email: jwilliams@buenavistanj.com.