Author: atwiford

While Earth Day is still over a month away, the mayor and other township officials already want to make the area greener. 

Mayor Dave Fleisher has announced the launch of a new program called “Branching Out: Growing a Greener Cherry Hill.” This project – set to launch in spring – aims to plant more than 500 trees throughout the township, including in parks, open spaces and on residential and personal property. 

“We have an innovative tree fund that the council passed a couple years ago,” said Fleisher, “and it’s all part of … council’s commitment to replenish the trees in our community and to help keep Cherry Hill green.”  

The tree fund and ordinance were passed in 2022 and mandate that contractors and developers put money into the fund or plant one tree for every one removed during development. So far, the ordinance has netted the township $150,000 for the fund. 

“Now we’re in the phase of deploying those dollars to have the greatest positive impact on the community,” Fleisher explained. 

All of the trees will be species native to the region, specifically Franksred Sunset Maple, heritage silver birch, Eastern red bud and Jim Wilson moonglow sweetbay magnolia trees.

Fleisher credits council members Jennifer Apell and Sangeeta Doshi with aiding the initiative’s development and rollout.

“They’re also two advocates,” he emphasized. “They’ve been great partners as we’ve developed this program.” 

An analysis of the area’s tree canopy was done in the leadup to the announcement. Officials identified 13 areas around Cherry Hill that would be improved by the introduction of new trees. The township’s Department of Public Works and the Cherry Hill Environmental Board’s crew of volunteers will plant 120 trees in the designated areas this spring, with additional planting set for fall. 

Another 100 trees – each 3 feet tall – will be given to residents who reserved one through the township’s website and who pledge to plant and care for them. All available slots have been filled and a waiting list was created for those who want to be part of next year’s planting season. 

“We look to build on this success to have an even greater impact for during each planting season,” Fleisher pointed out. 

Seedlings or tube trees will be given out to another 300 residents on April 26 in honor of Arbor Day. Species include Atlantic white cedar, chestnut oak, Northern red oak and white oak. More than 400 residents will be involved in the entire process of the initiative, with 50 volunteers helping with planting and 400 receiving trees or seeds. 

“We found that people are eager to be part of the solution and protecting open space,” Fleisher stated. “We’ve been very vocal about protecting open space and keeping Cherry Hill green, and everyone in town has a role to play.

“It’s a great opportunity … to bring the community together.”

As March marks both Women’s History and Endometriosis Awareness Month, the township library honored both with a recent public screening of the 2023 documentary, “Below the Belt: The Last Health Taboo.”

Endometriosis is a condition in which tissue behaves similar to the lining of the uterus, thickening and shedding with each menstrual cycle. The condition often causes severe abdominal pain – especially during periods and infertility – as well as fatigue, bloating, nausea and other possible symptoms. 

The documentary follows four women from different backgrounds and regions who all suffer from endometriosis. They include Kyung Jeon-Miranda, an artist trying to conceive a child; Emily Hatch Manwaring, the teenage granddaughter of late U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah; Jenneh Rishe, a nurse trying to overcome the pain caused by the condition; and Laura Cone, a Canadian woman who had to leave her job caring for autistic children because of severe pain. 

Tierney Miller is the head of reference at the library. 

“I didn’t go into it with a lot of personal knowledge of endometriosis,” Miller said, “but as far as I can tell, and it seemed borne out by the folks in the audience who had more personal experience than I did, it gave a pretty strong, broad picture of what different people’s experience of the disease can be … Different ages – all the way from a teenager to middle age – some of the challenges that exist in the medical community, in the government.

“I thought it did an excellent job of giving as full a picture as possible in less than an hour.” 

The film focuses on the difficulties that come with endometriosis, including lack of adequate treatments; the cost of treatments as a barrier to access; struggles getting pregnant; losing or having to leave a job; and having to take an average of 14 different drugs, all with potentially serious side effects, to manage symptoms and pain.

At the conclusion of “Below the Belt: The Last Health Taboo,” viewers at the library screening used the points discussed in the movie as a jumping off point for further discussion. 

Stephanie Foran is a Cherry Hill resident who has personal experience with endometriosis, having suffered from it for years. She was able to find a specialist in the area who performed surgery that helped relieve her pain. 

“I thought it was very well done,” she remarked of the film. “I thought it gave a very accurate experience of what women with endometriosis go through. It depicted it well, and I liked how it showed the realism of the losses and the hope in the end.” 

Attendees of the screening also discussed why it is so difficult for people to be diagnosed with endometriosis, a conclusion that takes an average of four to 11 years after the onset of symptoms. 

Many of the women in the documentary and at the screening discussed often not feeling believed about their pain, with Rishe telling the filmmakers that she will often let her boyfriend speak for her, feeling her symptoms are taken more seriously when he does the talking. 

Michelle Brown is a licensed massage therapist and midwife who practices holistic care for patients seeking alternatives to traditional medicine for pain management.

“I think it’s great, the things that are being offered for Women’s History Month …” she noted. “I think that’s an interesting timing to have it coming out now. I have a lot of friends and family in the sciences, and the funding that was a kind of an emphasis of what the film was discussing has been severely, really severely cut right now …

“The film itself, I think it was great,” Brown added. “And I just wish there was also some more awareness that there are more things to do besides only pharmaceuticals and surgeries.” 

The only way to see the film is at a screening or by purchasing the screening rights directly. Foran first suggested the library present the documentary when it was released, though fees at the time were too steep.

“It’s such an important topic, and one of our focuses here at the library is education on physical and mental health,” Miller observed. “So this fit right in line with our mission. I was thrilled to be able to do it after all.”

Cherry Hill council’s biweekly meeting was held on March 10 and began with Mayor Dave Fleisher going over agenda business.

He also took time to acknowledge Women’s History Month and Ramadan, which began on Feb 28. 

“For all those in our community who celebrate, I wish everyone Ramadan Mubarak,” Fleisher said. “March is also Women’s History Month. I know personally, I’m blessed to have strong and special women in my life and as colleagues in the community.”

Upon his early departure, council moved on to ordinances, one of which would expand section 422, the agricultural, horticultural and commercial AHC overlay zone. That would add additional parcels to the zone and update its map. Council approved the measure unanimously and there was no public comment.

Other routine business was attended to during the meeting, with unanimous approval of the following: a resolution authorizing the payment of bills, resolutions awarding and renewing contracts for groundskeeping and maintenance, authorizations to purchase licenses for accident programming software, the lease or purchase of 12 utility vehicles for police and authorizations to accept grants and subgrants from the county and federal government. 

The meeting then moved on to public participation both in person and online. Val Sadwin asked council to issue a resolution marking March 31 as Trans Day of Visibility, a nationwide observance.

“Over the past two months, there has been an onslaught of anti-transgender propaganda,” she said. “We have seen abusive executive orders, speeches riddled with lies, hate-filled legislation at the federal level … It’s a simple resolution.

“The simple act will say volumes about who we are as a community, and will send an important message to all of our transgender community members that they are loved and welcomed in all we have to offer in Cherry Hill.”

Rev. Eric Posa, of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Cherry Hill, echoed much of what Sadwin had to say and spoke about LGBTQ members he has come to know in his church role.

“I just wanted to add to the good person who spoke just before me a personal note about the impact that a proclamation in favor of acknowledging Transgender Day of visibility on March 31 … would bring to many of the people that I’ve come to know,” he explained. “In the last few months, it has been a treat to get to meet so many of the trans and non-binary members and friends of the congregation I serve, as well as those who live in the larger community.

“It has been heart-wrenching to hear the pain, the very understandable pain.”

But not all residents were in favor of the Trans Day idea.

“I … would say, don’t celebrate something like this,” said Rick Short. “And the reason being is because right now, we are in a state of hysteria over the trans community. I am currently involved in a federal lawsuit against the New Jersey Department of Education. What they’re doing to our kids in our schools is not acceptable.” 

After public comment, Councilwoman Carole Roskoph spoke about why she feels the ideals of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) are important to her personally and to the wider community.

“We talk about getting rid of equity in this town (and it) makes me a little nervous,” she acknowledged. “I have to be honest with you now, let’s go on and talk about inclusion by words. When you talk about getting rid of inclusion, what you’re really talking about is exclusion, just by the nature of what the word means.”

The next council meeting is scheduled for Monday at 7:30 p.m.

Camden Catholic High School students working on the spring musical “Tuck Everlasting” were in tech week early this month. 

“Tuck Everlasting” was written by Natalie Babbitt and published as a children’s novel in 1975, adapted into films in 1981 and 2002, and also staged as a musical. Set in 1880, it centers on a 10-year-old girl named Winnie Foster who discovers the Tuck family has achieved immortality by drinking water from a magical spring at the base of a tree near her home.

The novel and its adaptations explore themes of immortality, love, time and the meaning of life. 

Angela Leone Carrozzino, who graduated from Camden Catholic in 2004, is directing “Tuck Everlasting.”

“I generally start thinking about what the show is going to be a year in advance,” she said, “and we just play around and bounce things back and forth. And ultimately, we decided that we had a really strong cast and a lot of different options for the leads, and it was a story that resonated. And it just felt like the right group of kids and the right time to tell the story.

“So we moved forward.”

The school’s adaptation of the show is closer to the book than the film versions, according to Carrozzino. The sets have been designed by professional Rob Klaus, also a 2004 alum of the school, and include two different homes with exteriors and a boat. 

The role of Winnie went to senior Sienna Long, who is part of the school’s Shakespeare Troupe. 

“I am really excited about the tree that we have,” she enthused. “It’s like – during one of the songs – I sing with another cast member. We climb up the tree, and we sing on top of the tree, and it’s just a really cool part of the show. And I’m very excited for audiences to see it.”

A lighting designer, sound designer and professional painter also created the technical and stage-dressing elements needed for the production. Until opening night on March 7, the show’s crew spent evenings setting up sound effects, lighting cues, props, changes in costume and scenery. 

Being a part of the musical was how both Long and sophomore Finn Mazzola – who portrays family patriarch Angus Tuck – first experienced the story being brought to life on stage.

“I did not know it very well before hand,” Mazzola acknowledged, “but after reading through the script, I thought it had some really important things in it, and over time, it really grew on me. I wasn’t knowing what to expect from it, but I ended up enjoying it a lot.”

The show’s second weekend of performances take place at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 2 p.m. on Sunday, in the school auditorium. For tickets, visit www.cchsperformingarts.com.

“It’s a really heartwarming, touching story,” Carrozzino promised. “You’re going to learn something … I’m always most excited for audiences to see the hard work of the students. We really push them to push themselves and it always shows. And I always feel like our audiences are always very surprised by what they’re able to accomplish.

“And that’s always my favorite part.”