Kudos to DiFolco and the new Councilmen for getting the County to help save the Library!
Mt. Holly Library saved!
May 22nd, 2013Too funny not to post!
May 22nd, 2013Resident calls the Mayor a Brooklyn Dodger! LMAO
Council members losing faith in Mayor Dow
May 20th, 2013Facebook posts show Dow at odds with the rest of Town Council
Apparently Dow deleted DiFolco as “admin” on a Mt. Holly based FB page causing Jones and DiFolco to vent their frustrations. Understandable considering they are held hostage for 3+ hours every Council Meeting by Dow as he talks and talks and talks.
Word is that Dow is mad because he thinks he is entitled to be appointed to the MUA and his fellow Council Members did not see it that way.
Deal near for Gardens???
May 16th, 2013Talks have heated up and the Township and the Gardens residents may be close to a settlement
It looks like Brown, DiFolco and Jones kept their campaign promise and have been working to resolve things with the Gardens. Something previous administrations could not accomplish.
Residents in Mount Holly Gardens have had it with their more than decadelong legal battle over the redevelopment of their neighborhood.
On Monday, some residents who remain in their homes, despite demolition and construction all around them, had a message for the Township Council: End our uncertainty and help us get on with our lives. Read the rest of this entry »
Police Chief gets new contract
May 16th, 2013MHPD Chief Steve Martin (not the actor) gets a 5-year deal, Mayor Rich Dow (acts like a big city mayor) wants a part-time manager
The Township Council approved the new agreement Monday. Under its terms, Martin will receive no salary increase for 2013 on his annual compensation of $110,000. In 2014, he will get a 2 percent increase and 1.75 percent raises for the final years.
A 23-year veteran of the force, Martin also served 18 months with the Burlington Township Police Department. He has been Mount Holly’s chief since 2008, overseeing a department with 19 full-time officers, four Class 2 officers (who are licensed to carry weapons), five Class 1 officers (who do not carry weapons), and 15 crossing guards. Read the rest of this entry »
Holbein violence and Mayor Dow’s ego
May 1st, 2013You no longer have to go to a Town Council meeting to hear Rich Dow talk for 2+ hours. Just attend any public meeting in the area and he is there to talk, talk, talk and remind you that he is mayor (because he doesn’t let you forget). The latest victims were the attendees of the School Board meeting on Wednesday night. Never missing an opportunity to talk Dow was there to give his two ten cents worth. What was most shocking is how easily Dow throws around his title and actually claims he is speaking as Mayor (on behalf of the Township). Just goes to show you give someone a little power and it goes right to their head.
BCT coverage of school board meeting by staff writer Rose Krebs:
4/26/13 BCT- School officials had a message for the community Wednesday: Problems with fighting at the F.W. Holbein School are being addressed, and incidents have not occurred in the past few weeks.
Superintendent Eric Hibbs updated the school board about the middle school, where fights had escalated since January to the point that police were called on several occasions and a handful of students were arrested. Read the rest of this entry »
Violence on the rise at Holbein School
April 8th, 2013Numerous fights at Holbein School
Fighting at the F.W. Holbein School has escalated to the point that police have been frequently called in the last few months, school officials acknowledge.
As a result, district officials said last week that measures will be taken to address the increasing violence at the school for sixth through eighth grade on Levis Drive. A handful of students have been arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and assault this year, and suspensions have been handed out for fighting, Superintendent Eric Hibbs said.
“We’ve had the police here often for disciplinary issues,” Hibbs said at a school board meeting. “That is unacceptable. … I take the safety of our children and staff very seriously. We are working on a disciplinary plan.” Read the rest of this entry »
More backlash about prayer at Council Meetings
February 19th, 2013Resident calls Mayor Dow a bully
While I did not attend the Mount Holly Township Council meeting on Jan. 28, I did read the article “Prayers come before arguing,” which appeared in the Burlington County Times.
Richard Dow’s response to Randi Rothmel’s request to maintain separation of church and state seemed less the words of an elected official and more those of a playground bully: “I run this meeting. … It was my call, and that’s the way it is.”
I found the comments to be arrogant, condescending and disrespectful. The issue of prayer at a public meeting is not simply “nitpicking at best,” but a serious controversy debated in loftier venues than the Mount Holly Township Council by men and women far more judicious and knowledgeable than Dow.
Is he truly “not quite sure what the objection is”? Perhaps Dow would do well to pray more earnestly (on his own time) for continued “knowledge, virtues and divine guidance,” in order that he might better listen to and honor the people whom he serves. Respect begets respect.
I do look forward to attending the next meeting. I would like to see for myself where and why the “buck stops.”
Cynthia Keely
Township dumps overpaid Gardens Lawyer
February 6th, 2013The lawyer that has made almost a million dollars and accomplished nothing is finally gone.
Mt Holly takes on new legal counsel to tackle Gardens Litigation
by Rose Krebs
The township no longer will be using James Maley as its special redevelopment counsel for the Mount Holly Gardens litigation.
Mayor Richard Dow said now was the time to break ties with Maley, who has been working on the litigation for nearly a decade, with more than $900,000 going to his Collingswood law firm. Read the rest of this entry »
Prayer at Council Meeting causes a stir
February 3rd, 2013Mayor Dow added a prayer to the meeting agenda and some residents don’t like it.
Prayer at meeting causes controversy
Mayor Richard Dow started Monday’s Township Council meeting with a prayer and a moment of silence. Shortly afterward, a dispute broke out on the council after a resident complained about the prayer.
“I think it’s important to maintain the separation of church and state,” said Randi Rothmel, who is not Christian. “I think it is inappropriate to have that at a public meeting.”
The moment of silence has been a part of council meetings for years, but Dow, who is a nondenominational Christian, introduced the prayer shortly after being named mayor in January. Prayer has been a contentious issue in other municipalities across the country. Read the rest of this entry »