As 2024 comes to an end, the Mantua Sun takes a look back at some of the top stories from the year.
Police in the park
Mantua hosted its inaugural Police in the Park event, with an appearance from a state police officers’ mounted unit.
An answer to National Night Out was Mantua’s Police in the Park on Sept. 19.
The event was a tribute not only to the township’s police department, but other employees in the county and in emergency services. Mantua estimated that hundreds of people attended, alongside 24 departments.
“This is just an incredible event,” said Mayor Robert Zimmerman. “This is, more or less, a takeoff of National Night Out. It’s the same principle, since it allows our residents to interact with our officers and see them in a different light as regular human beings outside of their uniform. It’s that camaraderie and it’s like a lot of professions.
“The police community is a tight-knit community, and when they host these events, it’s fairly typical for them all – meaning the police agencies – to come together.”
Police in the Park featured live demonstrations from K-9 units – including one from Harrison Township – an officer from the state police mounted unit, a Jefferson Health helicopter landing, a smoke-simulation trailer from the fire department and an EMS unit. The township also spotlighted its newer officers.
“We have a young department,” Zimmerman explained. “We’ve had a pretty big turnover, at least in the time I have been mayor, as a result of the attrition process. We have probably turned over close to a third of our department, so there’s a lot of young, new faces that people don’t know.
“This gives them an opportunity, meaning the residents, to come out and get to meet those officers in an environment like this,” the mayor added, “as opposed to a situation where they’re calling the police for assistance.”
The township is hoping to hold another Police in the Park at some point next year.
Expanded preschool for 2024-’25
The Mantua school district announced in April that it would expand its preschool program for 2024-’25 after it got a grant from the state Department of Education (NJDOE) worth $3.4 million, according to Superintendent Christine Trampe.
The expansion led to the establishment of the Evergreen Preschool – named for nearby Evergreen Avenue – at J. Mason Tomlin Elementary School. The new facility includes an upgraded play area, a double- security vestibule for direct access from Evergreen Avenue and a blacktop area for outdoor play. Tomlin Vice Principal Andrea Salstrom was put in charge of the program, which began welcoming preschools in September.
“I love working with our oldest students at JMT, but I am thrilled that I will be able to also work with our preschoolers every day, too,” Salstrom noted. “Having worked closely with (Sewell Elementary Principal) Kate Donocoff this year, I am excited to be the liaison between the preschool program at Sewell School and Evergreen Preschool.”
The preschool space came into play when a reduction in the teacher workforce left six Tomlin classrooms empty.
“When experiencing a reduction of force, additional classroom space is usually available,” Trampe explained. “JMT school has a wing on the Evergreen Avenue side that had most recently been used by our fourth grade. By moving our fourth graders and teachers into empty classrooms further into the building, we will use those six large classrooms to support the additional preschoolers.”
Township honors Pete Scirrotto
Deputy Mayor Pete Scirrotto got emotional at his final Mantua committee meeting on Nov. 18.
After serving more than 30 years on the Mantua committee, former mayor and Deputy Mayor Pete Scirrotto was honored in a ceremony during his final committee meeting on Nov. 18.
Dozens of people witnessed the ceremony, among them Scirrotto’s family; local organizations such as the Mantua Little League and Boy Scout Troop 7083; and politicians from other towns, the county and the state. State Sen. John Burzichelli and Assemblywoman Heather Simmons presented Scirrotto with a state proclamation and acknowledged his part in acquiring a $2.8-million grant to improve Bridgeton Pike and Mount Royal Road.
“They will tell Pete Scirrotto’s story with kindness as the years pass,” Burzichelli said, “and for a very long time, we will know that he came our way.”
“You judge a person by the company he keeps,” Simmons observed as she addressed Scirrotto. “If the Scouts, the baseball players, the police department and the fire (department) – all those people who give so much to this community – are the people who are important to you. This moment is not just imprinted in this township, but all across the state, that you are someone who cares.”
Scirrotto retired at the end of November, after service in which he never missed a committee meeting, served as mayor from 2012 to 2022, established McCarson Park and the litter patrol and supported and promoted local organizations. It was that dedication the committee recognized when it chose to rename its meeting chambers for Scirrotto, unveiling a sign during the Nov. 18 session.
“It’s only fitting,” Zimmerman noted, “and I can’t think of anybody that’s more deserving of having anything named after them, other than Pete. We had to do something, and this is what we chose to do.”
“I’m touched by the naming of the chamber here, and I’m just speechless,” Scirrotto acknowledged. “I love everybody here. I would like to thank the good people of Mantua Township for allowing me to serve all of those years. I love our town; it was a great place to raise my family.
“When you’re looking for a place to move to, you’re looking at the schools,” he added. “We have one of the best school districts. When you’re looking to live in a safe community, we have the best police department, fire service and EMS. When you’re looking at public works, we have the best. We have four parks and more open space than most towns.”
