As concerns about surveillance cameras mount nationwide, Shamong Township is taking steps to limit the use of Flock cameras and other automated license plate readers.
Shamong Mayor Michael Di Croce introduced an ordinance Tuesday that would establish a one-year moratorium on automated license plate readers and other vehicle surveillance technology on township rights-of-way and on township-owned property.
Flock cameras capture the license plates and other vehicle features, like bumper stickers or dents, of each passing car and compiles them into a searchable database.
“Flock cameras basically create a surveillance system for people who have done nothing wrong,” Di Croce said at Tuesday’s township committee meeting.
“I am opposed and I hope that my fellow committee members will agree that we don’t need to create another surveillance system that tracks people and where they’re going,” he said, noting that location data is already collected through E-ZPass and cell phone GPS.
“We should not create a permanent or searchable record of where law-abiding residents drive merely because they happen to pass a government camera or in the case of Flock, private-entity cameras,” he said.
“I’m not opposed to technology that helps the police solve crimes,” Di Croce said. “I’m opposed to turning Shamong into a surveillance community without demonstrating that the benefits outweigh the cost, violating our privacy implications with the potential for misuse and the loss of local control over our residents’ data.”
Shamong is not alone in its concerns about the use of surveillance technology.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro has “real concerns” about Flock cameras and is open to considering a statewide ban on the technology, a spokesperson said this week.
The ordinance is “just a statement that we don’t want these cameras in Shamong and we’re not going to have them on any township property,” Di Croce said.
Residents can weigh in on the proposed ordinance before the committee votes on its adoption on Oct. 6 at the Shamong Municipal Building.
One of Burlington County’s most popular public libraries is getting a major upgrade — its first in nearly three decades.
The Evesham Library in Marlton, part of the Burlington County Library System (BCLS), will be getting a new technology center and expand its children’s area and activity/meeting room as part of the $500,000 project.
“The improvements planned for the Evesham library will allow it to better serve residents of all ages and become an even greater resource for the community,” Burlington County Library Commission Chair Jonathan Chebra said in a statement announcing the effort.
Renovations are underway and expected to wrap up by the end of the year, the county said.
The library, which opened in 1998 as part of Evesham Township’s new municipal building complex, will remain open for visitors during the renovations.
The Evesham branch is the second most-used location in the BCLS, the county said, recording more than 215,390 checkouts in 2025. The Evesham location also has the second-highest active library users in the BCLS with nearly 10,000 active accounts.
“Evesham is Burlington County’s most populous municipality, so it’s absolutely essential that it continue to have a state-of-the-art library to serve the town and the surrounding communities,” Burlington County Commissioner Tom Pullion, liaison to the BCLS, said in a statement.
Half the funding for the project came from a $1 million state grant for capital improvements to the BCLS as part of the New Jersey’s 2023 budget. The library system matched the remaining $250,000 for the renovations in Evesham, the county said.
Burlington County’s main library branch in Westampton and the libraries in Pemberton and Cinnaminson will share the rest of the state funding, according to the county.
Pemberton branch’s renovation wrapped earlier this year and work on the Cinnaminson library is expected to finish in the fall, the county said. Meanwhile, renovations at the main branch in Westampton are still in the early stages of planning and design.
“Burlington County’s libraries are proven difference-makers and the investments we make to improve them directly benefit our residents and communities,” Burlington County Commissioner Randy Brolo said in a statement.
A developer that planned to build six homes on the site of the closed Barton Run Swim Club in Evesham would sell the property to the township to preserve it as open space, according to a letter of intent from the town.
The 3.84-acre property on Lakeside Drive would be cleared by developer Orleans Investment Land Associates and Evesham would pay between $670,000 and $810,000 for the land, according to the township, which on Wednesday announced it had secured a $405,000 New Jersey Green Acres Program grant to help fund the purchase.
Evesham has budgeted from Township Open Space funds the balance of the purchase price, which is a range because it requires a Green Acres appraisal, Zane Clark, Evesham director of public information, said in an email.
Township council authorized the letter of intent at its meeting earlier this month.
“Once formal closing proceedings on the property are completed, and the land is restored to open space, the Township will begin engaging the community so residents can help plan for the future uses at the new park,” Clark wrote.
Orleans would be responsible for demolishing the clubhouse and pool, filling the land and planting grass at the club, which closed about 10 years ago.
Clark said the township also is seeking grants to finance rain gardens on the site.
“By securing this Green Acres funding and approving this letter of intent, we are protecting the neighborhood from further development and creating new open space for the public to enjoy,” Mayor Jaclyn Veasy said in a statement. “Once the land is under municipal ownership, the Township will ensure its safe upkeep and long-term care,” she added.
In recent years, Evesham Township has been aggressive about acquiring land to preserve as open space.
Projects have included preserving 176 acres of the former Beagle Club property on North Elmwood Road and purchasing 18 acres from the Board of Education off Greenbrook Drive in the Country Farms neighborhood.
However the town’s landmark preservation project, announced earlier this year, was the $15-million acquisition of 835 acres next to the Black Run Preserve by the New Jersey Conservation Foundation. After the purchase, the township will assume ownership and oversee the preservation of the land. The Black Run Preserve, also owned by Evesham, covers 1,300 acres.
70and73.com is a hyperlocal news site focused on South Jersey, including the communities of Cherry Hill, Evesham, Mount Laurel, Voorhees, Medford, Medford Lakes, and Moorestown.
As she welcomed her kindergarten class to New Albany Elementary in Cinnaminson Wednesday, veteran teacher Maureen Coller shook off a few nerves.
A smiling Coller stood at the entrance to Classroom 7 to welcome each student. Beginning her 26th year as an educator, Coller still gets excited and a little anxious about a new school year.
“First days are always a little bit of jitters,” she said. “You never know what’s in store.”
Across New Jersey, the state’s 1.4 million public school students are returning for a new school year. That includes first-timers like Coller’s class.
Nearly two dozen students carrying colorful backpacks and lunch boxes piled into her brightly decorated classroom. Most were excited, with only a few appearing apprehensive.
Shortly after arriving, Logan Santos, 5, raised his hand to get Coller’s attention across the room.
“Can I get a hug?” he asked trembling, his face crumbling.
Coller, a mother of five, hugged Santos and patted his shoulders. She showed him a photo of his older sister, Harper, a second grader in the same school, on her cell phone and told Logan he would get to see his grandmother, a cafeteria aide, at lunch time. He eventually settled down.
“He just got overwhelmed and missed his family,” Coller said.
Coller comforts kindergartner Logan Santos on the first day of school.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Throughout the day, Coller put all of her young charges at ease, complimenting their outfits or giving them a reassuring gentle touch. She showed them the class pets — three live rabbits munching nosily in a cage named Kobe, Iverson, and Tim (Duncan), after the NBA players.
“I love bunnies,” said Lillian Geesaman, 4, the first to arrive. She put away her backpack in a cubby at the back of the room and found her seat at a table with a “welcome to kindergarten” mat.
New Albany enrolls about 640 students in kindergarten through second grade. There are 213 kindergartners assigned to 10 classrooms. Cinnaminson, like most South Jersey schools, has full-day kindergarten.
“I’m so excited to see the kids,” principal Valerie Jones said. “I get to see them grow throughout the year.”
Coller, 47, decided at a young age that she wanted to become a teacher, playing school with her dolls. After graduating from Chestnut Hill College, she began her teaching career in Philadelphia in 2000.
After giving birth to her first child, Coller moved to Cinnaminson, her hometown, to raise her family. A 1997 graduate of Cinnaminson High School, she met her husband in the Burlington County town, and the couple lives on the same street where she grew up.
During her 20-year career at New Albany, Coller has taught kindergarten and first grade. She believes she found her niche with the kindergartners.
“Kindergarten is where I really belong. You get something different every day,” she said. “I love their energy and I love creating a clean slate.”
Kindergartner Navy Lawrence is honored on her birthday with a special crown by teacher Maureen Coller on the first day of school at the New Albany School.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
New Jersey has encouraged all of the state’s more than 600 public school systems to offer free, full-day kindergarten. Currently, kindergarten is not mandatory in New Jersey. There have also been calls to mandate free preschool.
Experts say kindergarten is important because students learn basic concepts such as letters and numbers, as well as how to get along with others. It also helps develop social, emotional, and academic skills and boosts confidence.
Coller’s students spent the morning learning the routine of a school day. They sang the song of the day about a gray squirrel, colored, and listened to a story read aloud by Coller. A sign on the bulletin board reads “Believe in yourself.”
“It’s always exciting, hoping for a good year,” said Coller’s aide, Paula Otto.
Coller has earned a reputation as a dedicated and compassionate teacher. Earlier this week, she was inducted into the district’s Educator Hall of Fame.
“She’s an amazing teacher. They don’t make them like Maureen anymore,” Superintendent Stephen Cappello said.
Also honored posthumously in the 2026 Hall of Fame class was Fae Beth Zuckerman. She died about 10 years ago.
Cinnaminson teacher Fae Beth Zuckerman was posthumously indicted into the district’s 2026 Educator Hall of Fame. She died about 10 years ago.Courtesy of Cinnaminson Schools
After more than two decades in the same district, veteran educator Neil Burti is starting a new job: Mount Laurel Schools superintendent.
Burti spent nearly his entire career in nearby Cherry Hill schools, rising from teacher and coach to principal and most recently director of secondary education. His stint included taking over as principal at Cherry Hill East for several months, after a shake-up stemming from a lawsuit alleging a former assistant principal was subjected to discrimination and retaliation by the board and top administrators.
He is beginning a new chapter when the school year begins Wednesday for about 4,500 students as schools chief in Mount Laurel, a pre-K through eighth-grade district in Burlington County.
Burti, 50, succeeds George Rafferty, who retired this summer after leading the district for a decade. He took over Aug. 1 under a three-year contract.
In the first few weeks on the job, Burti said he has focused primarily on meeting as many stakeholders as possible — mostly staff — and getting ready to welcome students.
For his first year, Burti, who lives in neighboring Marlton with his wife, Jessy — his college sweetheart — and their four children, plans to visit every school to meet with more students and teachers and embark on a tour “to listen, learn, and lead.”
We talked to Burti about his decision to leave Cherry Hill, his priorities for Mount Laurel, the financial challenges facing all districts amid declining state aid, and the kind of superintendent he wants to become.
Thisinterview has been edited for length and clarity.
Why was this the right time to leave Cherry Hill?
Cherry Hill provided me tremendous opportunities as a young teacher, a young administrator, and then as a seasoned veteran. Twenty-four years is a long time.
I also recognize that change is healthy. I was at a point in my career where I was looking for some type of change, some type of new challenge, I wasn’t actively seeking a job, but when this opportunity presented itself, I knew this would be a dream position. The reality is that Mount Laurel is a destination district.
It became obvious to me that this was the right opportunity, the right choice, and Mount Laurel was the right place. I’ll always miss the connection to so many former students, families, faculty, and staff.
What did your special assignment at Cherry Hill East as principal teach you that you will bring to the superintendent’s job?
I felt privileged to be able to serve as principal at Cherry Hill High School East on special assignment.
What it reinforced for me is exactly what I already know about this business: There are things that are predictable, and there are things that are unpredictable.
As leaders, we have to be ready to handle both. Whether it’s something you see coming and can prepare for or something you’re dealing with reactively, you have to be ready. You have to be confident and competent enough to address both the predictable and the unpredictable.
What are your priorities for the first year?
My goal is to listen, learn, and lead, and I feel like I need to do it in that order.
That listening and learning will ultimately guide me as I move into the leading phase of my plan. It will have everything to do with stakeholder input and the data I collect during year one as we determine together the vision for the district.
The district is focused on academic achievement, partnering with families and the notion of belonging. That’s critical to me because we know in education, there’s a big difference between fitting in and belonging.
There are also clear goals around pre-K expansion, early literacy, and algebra readiness.
New Jersey school districts are struggling to operate with reduced state aid. What are Mount Laurel’s biggest budget challenges?
The challenges in Mount Laurel are no different than the challenges in other districts in Burlington County, across the state, and really across the country.
Those challenges have everything to do with an inadequate funding formula, the rising cost of health and energy, and a national teacher shortage.
With the uncertainty of the state budget, there’s no way to predict what will happen financially if the state funding formula doesn’t adequately fund districts. At this point, I’m not aware of staffing reductions, program cuts, or larger class sizes on the horizon here in Mount Laurel. We expect to be fully staffed for all certificated positions.
A year from now, what will tell you that your first year was successful?
The great thing about Mount Laurel is that substantive work has already been done. I view my role as building on that past success while keeping an eye on future improvement.
When you’re starting the role, you’re not necessarily beginning with your legacy in mind. It will really be about long-range planning for the district.
At the end of my first year, I want to be able to say that we have looked deeply at Mount Laurel, not just in terms of our organizational structure and processes, but through the lens of the challenges facing us.
Neil Burti, new superintendent of Mount Laurel Public Schools, at Board of Education headquarters on Aug. 26. He previously was a teacher and administrator in Cherry Hill.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Four Green Cats Cafe, which has brought authentic European flavors to Mount Laurel for the last seven years, is about to get a bigger home.
Started as a farmers market stand in 2019, the Rancocas Woods café, whose owners have Czech Republic roots, has become a destination both for South Jersey locals and within the broader Czech diaspora.
Now, with the building’s lease expiring at the end of the year and business that owner Nadia Vasa says has been more popular than ever, she’s soon planning to move her offerings of handmade Czech delicacies to a new, larger location in Haddonfield.
Mila and Nadia Vasa posed for a portrait outside of Four Green Cats Cafe on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026, in Mount Laurel. Nadia is moving the cafe to a larger location in Camden County.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
“To continue to provide the customers authentic food and entertainment, we need a bigger space,” Nadia Vasa said in Czech, translated by her husband and business partner, Mila Vasa.
The new spot at 18 Tanner St., the former home of Sang Tong Thai, has both a larger kitchen and dining area to provide enough space to expand their menu and to continue to host musical performances, comedians, and other live events.
The expanded menu will undoubtedly include the staples that Four Green Cats has become known for: Bohemian doughnuts, traditional kolaches, apple strudel, babka — all handmade with flour imported from Europe.
Chimney cakes on display at Four Green Cats Cafe. Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Soon to be equipped with a full-service kitchen, the Vasas hope to add new breakfast and lunch offerings in addition to Nadia’s traditional Sunday night dinners.
Once complete, Nadia envisions the new location as embodying the character of classic European cafés of the past that could have been found on street corners from Vienna to Paris.
The Vasas are aiming to open the new location sometime in September and will run both locations concurrently until their Rancocas Woods lease expires, they said.
And while they never wanted to leave Mount Laurel, they hope that the community they’ve built over the years will make the move with them.
The exterior of Four Green Cats Cafe on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026, in Rancocas Woods in Mount Laurel. Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
“We’re hoping some of our customers follow us,” Mila said, but he knows that they’ll inevitably lose some of their regulars, especially those who currently live close enough to walk to the café.
More than just a coffee shop and bakery, Nadia sees Four Green Cats as a window into the world that raised her.
Owner Nadia Vasa holds a plate of Czech sandwiches at Four Green Cats Cafe. Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
She makes every decision thoughtfully and with cultural authenticity at the forefront, from using her great-grandmother’s recipes to decorating the walls with her grandfather’s art, she said.
“It’s culture that no one gets here unless you fly home,” Mila said.
The interior of Four Green Cats Cafe. Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Customers have traveled from across the country to get a taste of their European roots without having to cross the Atlantic, Mila said.
Over the years, the business has also developed a relationship with the Czech embassy in Washington, he said, which will routinely send traveling musicians and artists to Four Green Cats to experience a taste of the Czech Republic.
The interior of Four Green Cats Cafe on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026 in Mount Laurel. Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
More than once, he said proudly, traveling Czechs have raved that Nadia’s food is better than what they have at home.
“Now, she has the room to do what she wants to do,” Mila said.
The body of a 33-year-old woman who disappeared in the Delaware River after she rescued a struggling swimmer on Monday afternoon has been recovered, the Delran Township Police Department said Tuesday.
Search crews located the body of Priscila Alvares Pereira Dos Santos about 20 feet off a beach at Amico Island Park in Riverside shortly after 8 a.m. Tuesday, Delran police said, roughly 16 hours after she was last seen in the water.
Alvares Pereira Dos Santos reportedly drowned after saving a girl who was struggling in the river around 4 p.m. on Monday, according to officials.
She was able to push the girl toward bystanders on the shore before she vanished under the surface, they said.
The girl she saved has not been publicly identified and her condition is unknown.
Amico Island Park was closed Tuesday as the investigation into the incident continued.
Authorities were searching for a woman who disappeared in the Delaware River after rescuing a girl Monday afternoon, according to Delran Township police and Burlington County officials.
Delran police responded just after 3:50 p.m. to Burlington County’s Amico Island Park for two possible drowning victims, officials said.
Officials gave the following account:
Police were told that the woman entered the river to rescue a struggling juvenile girl.
The woman pushed the girl toward the shore, where bystanders pulled her safely from the water.
During the rescue, the woman went under the water and did not resurface.
Officials said the search included personnel from the Delran Police Department, the Delran Fire Department, the Delran Emergency Squad, the New Jersey State Police, the Philadelphia Police Department, and the Camden County Dive Team, officials said.
Burlington County is in the early phases of designing a new $30 million extension of the Rancocas Creek Greenway Trail that would cross Route 130 and Rancocas Creek.
The preliminary plan is to build a boardwalk-style path along the southbound Route 130 embankment and underneath the highway that will connect to a new bridge across Rancocas Creek, officials announced Monday.
Likely years away from completion, the project would extend the trail system from Pennington Park in Delanco to separate connections in Willingboro Lakes Park in Willingboro and Rainbow Meadow Park in Delran.
The first segment of the Rancocas Creek Greenway Trail, a four-mile stretch between Amico Island Park in Delran and Pennington Park, opened in 2022.
The new trail will put the county one step closer to achieving its goal of building a path along the 30-mile stretch of Rancocas Creek from the Delaware River to its source in Pemberton Township.
In a statement, Burlington County Commissioner Deputy Director Allison Eckel said the extension will “provide an important route for vulnerable pedestrians and cyclists to travel across the Rancocas Creek and Route 130, providing a long-sought safe connection for both sides of the highway.”
While the project is still in its preliminary phase, the community can weigh in on it during a virtual public information session on Wednesday at 5 p.m.
The project is expected to cost around $30 million and will be paid for mostly by federal funding, according to the county.
The Delaware Valley Planning Commission has already approved more than half a million dollars for planning and design on the trail extension.
With the project still in the Local Concept Development phase, it is too early to nail down a detailed timeline, county spokesperson David Levinsky said in an email.
“The county anticipates finishing that portion of the planning and design later this fall,” he said, before it pursues funding for preliminary and final engineering for the project.
“Construction would come after those steps,” Levinsky said, which is still “several years” away.
He expects a timeline could come once the design phase is completed.
According to New Jersey Department of Transportation data, there were 111 crashes involving pedestrians or cyclists along Route 130 between 2019 and 2026, including 11 fatalities.
“The deaths and injuries on Route 130 over the years are proof positive that more needs to be done to improve safety for all road users, especially pedestrians and cyclists,” State Sen. Troy Singleton (D., Burlington) said in a statement.
Singleton cosponsored legislation in 2018 to reduce the speed limit on Route 130 and make other safety improvements along the highway within Burlington City. The law is named after Antwan Timbers Jr., a 17-year-old Burlington City High School student who was killed in 2016 after being hit by a car along a stretch of the roadway.
“Infrastructure enhancements, like the one Burlington County is planning, will absolutely save lives and improve mobility through the Route 130 corridor,” Singleton said.
Betty J. Wilson, 92, of Cherry Hill, celebrated longtime South Jersey teacher, singer, poet, mentor, community advocate, volunteer, and two-time chapter president of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., died Thursday, July 16, of cancer at her home.
Mrs. Wilson taught elementary school students in Bordentown, Bridgeton, and Mount Laurel from the early 1960s to the late 1990s, and served as two-time president of the Mount Laurel Teachers Association. She was named one of the country’s top teachers in 1972 by the old Outstanding Teachers of America Association and told the Courier-Post: “Children are our most valuable asset. If we don’t give them the proper training early, there’s not much chance for the future.”
Her family called her “dynamic and outgoing” in a tribute, and her daughter, Saundra Umstead-Capers, said: “She was a born leader and had a commanding presence.”
Mrs. Wilson championed discipline and parental participation in school and at home, and told the Courier-Post: “Most of our children are allowed to talk first and ask too many questions before complete directions are given. … If the child is used to directives, he won’t resent authority. And in life, we all have to take directions from someone else no matter who we are.”
She represented Mount Laurel teachers during sometimes contentious contract negotiations with Board of Education officials and helped improve teacher benefits and job protection through the New Jersey Education Association.
She joined Alpha Kappa Alpha in 1953 at what is now Virginia State University. Later, she cofounded local AKA chapters in Cherry Hill and Voorhees, served as two-time president of the Theta Pi Omega chapter in Cherry Hill, and was recognized by national AKA officials for her contributions.
Friends called Mrs. Wilson “a phenomenal woman” and “a beautiful, smart, professional woman” in online tributes.Courtesy of the family
The theme of her sorority presidency was service, scholarship, and Black American heritage, and she helped establish social service, public speaking, and scholarship programs. “Her presence,” sorority colleagues said in an online tribute, “will be profoundly missed.”
As a singer, Mrs. Wilson had a soaring soprano voice, and she took lessons in high school and college. She performed on a local TV station in Western Pennsylvania when she was young and sang with a traveling choir in college and for the school president.
She also wrote poetry for years and acknowledged the one-year anniversary of the 1999 death of her husband, Wilbur Wilson, by writing in 2000: “Your legacy stays with us and shall always light the way/We thank God for your presence and your sharing every day.”
She lobbied locally for the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act in the 1960s, and volunteered with the Rancocas Valley chapter of the Links and the South Jersey chapter of the Continental Societies. She served on the education committee at Evergreen Baptist Church in Palmyra and tutored the children of many church members.
In online tributes, friends called her “a phenomenal woman” and “a beautiful, smart, professional woman.” One friend said: “She impacted so many lives, especially the students she taught.”
Betty Jane Atkins was born April 6, 1934, in Library, Pa., about 12 miles south of Pittsburgh. The oldest of nine children, she was an honor student and the lead singer in every musical during her years at the old Snowden Township High School.
She attended Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Library, earned scholarships to attend college, and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in education at Virginia State.
Stylish and sophisticated, Mrs. Wilson was a popular figure on the college campus. She was selected by the football team to represent it on their homecoming float in 1953, and she served as the school’s Miss Valentine in February, Miss Apple Blossom in the spring, and Miss ROTC.
She was an engaging storyteller and, her daughter said, “a lot of fun.”
“Sister Wilson embodied the ideals of an Alpha Kappa Alpha woman,” sorority colleagues said, “elegant, poised, and gracious.”
In addition to her daughter, Mrs. Wilson is survived by a granddaughter, three sisters, a brother, and other relatives. Two sisters and two brothers died earlier.
Visitation with the family is to be from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 7, at Boyd Funeral Home, 1458 Mt. Ephraim Ave., Camden, N.J. 08104. Services are to be at 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 8, at Evergreen Baptist Church, 602 W. 3rd St., Palmyra, N.J. 08065.
Donations in her name may be made to Evergreen Baptist Church, 602 W. 3rd St., Palmyra, N.J. 08065.
