BEST OF LINDENWOLD 2018

As the year comes to a close, we celebrate some of the Best Lindenwold News of 2018. Feel free to add your own in the comments. In no particular order, here are some of the Best Stories of Lindenwold in 2018:

• More than 2700 Code violations enforced; home values up 20%
• Arborwood Redevelopment Underway 
• BieneStar Pharmacy and Wellness Center Grand Opening
• LHS Principal, Peter Brandt, Inducted to South Jersey Wrestling Hall of Fame
• Laurel Lake Public Access (bench, mulch, trash can)
• Woodland Village Apartment Complex sold for $32.1 Million
• Rutgers Baseball Coming to Lindenwold Park Spring '19 (10:40)
• New PATCO Signs & Station Improvements Spring '19 
• Driftaway Cafe Grand Opening
• The Little Tuna Migrates from Haddonfield
• Berlin Road Streetscaping - brick-lined sidewalks, period-style lighting, benches, split-rail fence
• LHS Theatre wins CAPPIE for Best Costumes (Nominated for Hair and Make-Up as well)
• New Sidewalks on Laurel and Chews Landing Roads
• Stonington Court Apartment Complex sold for $27.3 Million
• Gibbsboro Road Streetscaping - sidewalks, retaining walks, trash cans
• Love Lindenwold Recognized as Guardian Angels by Local Councilman
• 25+ new public trash and recycling bins placed throughout town
• Lindenwold School District Established F.A.C.E. Outreach Program
• Improvements at Carlton Rouh Basketball Courts and Lindenwold Memorial Park
• NJDOT Vowed to Improve the Most Dangerous Intersection in the State
• The Lindenwold "Democrat Club" Elects First Black President
• Lindenwold Sells a Million Dollar Lotto Ticket
• LHS Boys Soccer Resurgence
• PATCO to Publicize Lindenwold
• There is now content on the School District's Community page

#Lindenwold #Itsnotallbad #LoveLindenwold

DEMOCRAT CLUB ELECTS NEW LEADERSHIP

Politically speaking, Lindenwold is historically a democrat strong-hold. That being said, the Lindenwold Borough Democrats, known as the "Democrat Club", has for decades, nominated and chosen all Lindenwold Borough leaders. The Club meets on the 2nd Mondays of the month at 30 Strikes Bowling Alley and is open to all Lindenwold residents, 18 or older, who are registered Democrats.

The Club recently elected some new leadership and Lindenwold Mayor Richard Roach conducted the swearing-in ceremony. Congratulations to incoming:

• President: Sam Fields (L-Town - Lindenwold)
• Vice President: Brenda Roach (Incumbent/First Lady/Library Supervisor/Events Chair)
• Treasurer: Chris Rasmussen (Incumbent)
• Recording Secretary: Jane Rasmussen (Incumbent)
• Correspondence Secretary: Tina Pearman
• Sergeant at Arms: Shahbaz Ahmed
• Trustee: Joe DiDomenico (Councilman, Incumbent)
• Trustee: Jacquelyn Dixon (Mar '18)

Appearing in the video: Front row left to right, Shahbaz Ahmed, Sam Fields, Tina Pearman, Chris Rasmussen; Back row left to right, Brenda Roach, Jane Rasmussen.

#Lindenwold

Click here to watch video

From L-Town - Lindenwold:

Good day to all my fellow lindenwold residents....... Happy holidays to you and your families. This year coming up will be a great year to start what you've been putting off in this year; I would ask that you reflect on what you could've done and do it without hesitation. By the way I want to give you all some good news. This picture below show the swearing in of Tina Pearman as our Corresponding Secretary, Jane as our Recording Secretary, Chris Rasmussen as our Treasurer, Shabazz Ahmed as our Sargeant in Arms, Brenda Roach as our Vice President and myself as our President of our Democratic club. The swearing in was performed by our Mayor Richard Roach. Thank you everyone for believing in us and what we want to do as a team. Let's remember that the positions we hold are positions of service; so let's do our best. READY!!!!! SET!!!!!!! GO!!!!!!!!!

https://www.facebook.com/LTOWNXPRESSIONS/

COMMUNITY BILLBOARD FALL 2018

The Lindenwold Community Billboard is broadcast on local channel 192 and licensed to Lindenwold School District. Here is the latest update. For more information, visit LHSTV.com. Click here to read about a brewing opportunity for LHSTV students.

ROADS AROUND 4 OF LINDENWOLD SCHOOLS GET FAILING GRADE

Good news and bad. Good news is, you were right all along and now there's evidence to back you up. Bad news is, with three D's and an F, the routes to our schools need a lot of help. How dangerous are the drivers around your kid's school? Find out here. 

To expand on this topic a bit...so the front end of this research is that the roads of Lindenwold, specifically around our kid's schools, are very dangerous. As if that wasn't bad enough, the back end is that insurance companies use this same data to justify charging Lindenwold residents more for our auto insurance policies (our high crime rate plays a role here as well). 

#rightallalong #wecandobetter #slowthecars #reducecrime #lovelindenwold

CHANGES PROPOSED TO STATES' MOST DANGEROUS INTERSECTION

The New Jersey Department of Transportation recently held an information session in Clementon, to discuss proposed changes to what ranks as one of the states' most dangerous intersections - Route 30 and Gibbsboro Road between Clementon and Lindenwold. For those who couldn't make it, here are some of the materials from that October 4th, 2018, event.

Flyer Detailing Event and Project

Click the image above to enlarge/read/save.

An illustration of the proposed changes:

Click the image to enlarge/view/save. Or click here for a pdf version.

GUARDIAN ANGELS

How do you know when you're on the right path? When leaders of neighboring communities reach out in admiration with words like "guardian angel."

Click to Enlarge

Thank you to the hundreds, if not thousands, of Lindenwold residents we've connected with and who support us. It is in your honor that we share the following correspondence.

Focus on our future as we Build a Better Borough!

If you're newly finding us, Welcome, join the excitement for change in Lindenwold. We are a group of passionate residents, intent on building a better borough while spreading positive news and thoughts for our town.

We host a number of online destinations to share the positivity that's percolating in Lindenwold. For more info, check out the links below. 

Facebook: Instagram: Twitter

OPRA 101 FOLLOW-UP

Thank you to the dozens of people who attended our recent workshop: OPRA 101: Using the Open Public Records Act to Hold Your Government Accountable Workshop.

One of the most memorable lessons from CJ: there's no need for the 4 page form. Simply draft an email to the Borough/County/State records clerk. "This is a request for public records made under OPRA and common law right of access. Please acknowledge receipt of this request. Records requested include: (enter the records you want here)"

Click image to enlarge. 
Click here to visit CJ Griffin's OPRA Blog

Let us know if you'd like any of the meeting presentation materials. We can email them or send you a link.

Find us at your favorite hangout:

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Twitter

HOW CAN WE REDUCE CRIME

With #Lindenwold so close, and being #CamdenCounty's #highcrime cousin, what can @LindenwoldPD glean from @CamdenCountyPD's world-class model for #communitypolicing to help #reducecrime and #violence in Lindenwold? Perhaps the @Eagles would take the place of the @Giants to help share the info? #TuesdayThoughts #LoveLindenwold

From The Vera Institute @verainstitute· Sep 11, 2018

In Camden, NJ—what was one of the most violent cities in the US—police have completely reimagined their role. We teamed up with the @Giants to spotlight @CamdenCountyPD's community policing approach which now serves as a model for the rest of the country. Link: https://bit.ly/2oW0j1A

New York Giants and Camden County Police

"What we did is we changed the way we did things. We started policing Camden a different way. We knocked on doors and introduced ourselves. Where we are now with partnering with the community and listening to the community, we’re at a 50-year low in crime.”Link: https://bit.ly/2oW0j1A

SJFCU BENEFIT

Did you know that as a resident of Lindenwold, New Jersey, you're eligible to open an account at South Jersey Federal Credit Union​? 

Having a credit union account opens up a world of financial freedom and educational opportunities not offered by traditional banks. 

Students, for example, are able to open savings accounts with a $25.00 minimum and access the same benefits as members who have checking accounts. This allows them the possibility of helping pay for their education or apply for mortgages in the future. 

All of these benefits and more are especially pertinent to African American and Latino residents, who make up the vast majority of underbanked and unbanked citizens (according to the 2015 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households). 

Residents of the Borough of Lindenwold, who would like to join the South Jersey Federal Credit Union (SJFCU), please check out their website: southjerseyfcu.com or stop by one of their 9 branches to see if you are eligible for membership in SJFCU!

To make paying Borough bills easier, SJFCU has also installed an ATM machine within Borough Hall. No fees for account holders.

WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY FOR LINDENWOLD AND OUR STUDENTS!

As our students return to school, we want to share with you a brewing opportunity for them and Lindenwold. This summer the folks at LoveLindenwold.org met with PATCO General Manager, John Rink, who offered to help promote our town by showcasing Lindenwold on the newly installed TV monitors within the Head House and up on the loading platforms of our Lindenwold station.

Click Here for more about Lindenwold PATCO

We feel that a natural fit for those monitors is the Community Billboard which airs on channel 192, and is produced by our local high school students. We've secured approval from PATCO and the Lindenwold Board of Education expressed approval as well as the content is already part of the public domain.

This is a tremendous opportunity for Lindenwold students to gain valuable portfolio fodder and an equally important opportunity to promote a positive Lindenwold within our most trafficked Borough resource - our PATCO station. All we're waiting on now is for Mayor Roach to "Turn on the Pride!"

Click Here for More Info About LHSTV.com

What's more is that PATCO has also offered resources to place a kiosk within the station to house Borough information (event calendars, bike maps, newsletters, etc) that will further promote Lindenwold to the thousands of travelers who use PATCO everyday.

Please share your enthusiasm for these opportunities with your Mayor by sending him an email. And don't forget to thank John Rink of PATCO and congratulate our high school students!!

We see this as a springboard to a greater sense of community and a means to Build a Better Borough! Thank you and keep your eyes on those monitors!

Mayor Richard Roach: rroach@lindenwold.net
PATCO General Mgr, John Rink: jdrink@drpa.org
LHS Channel 192 Teacher, Bill Flickinger: bflickinger@lindenwold.k12.nj.us

ARE YOU A STRONG CITIZEN?

"A strong citizen, simply put, is someone who cares. They care about their community, their neighbors, and the place they call home...When strong citizens work collaboratively, it can turn a neighborhood full of disjointed families into a thriving community." 

For more, click the link above

An arts festival organized by strong citizens in Akron, Ohio gets families out playing games, listening to music, eating local food and enjoying art in the community. (Source: Jeffrey Klaum via Akronstock)

BE INFORMED. PLUG IN.

We can't thank you all enough for the valuable feedback and warm wishes. In addition to the steps outlined in our last post, we encourage taxpayers and residents to continue the conversation. Knowledge is power. Here are a few more tools to 'Get in the know.' (all recommendations are FREE)

• Attend Public Meetings (Council, Land Use, School Board, etc)
• Visit Lindenwoldnj.gov and sign up for news updates
• Access Recycle Coach or download the App
• Receive Local Agency Alerts, text your zip code to 888777 on your smartphone (nixle)
• Encourage friends, family and neighbors to join their neighborhood's NextDoor community online or with the app
• Download Atlantic City Electric's App to know about outages and to report streetlights
• Regularly visit njpublicnotices.com or set up an email auto-search for Lindenwold
• Set up an auto-email at crimereports.com 
• Check out @LoveLindenwold on Twitter
• Recruit others to Get Involved in our Future
• Vote, vote, vote