Times Talk
STONE HARBOR HAS NEW MUNICIPAL CLERK
Jeanne M. Parkinson
Jeanne M. Parkinson was sworn in as Stone Harbor’s new municipal clerk during the May 20 Borough Council meeting. Parkinson succeeds Emily Dillon, who accepted a similar position in another municipality.
Parkinson “has demonstrated exceptional skill in managing public meetings with precision and respect for parliamentary procedure, overseeing elections with integrity, and ensuring full legal compliance in all municipal functions,” said Council president Jennifer Gensemer. “We are beyond impressed by her resumé. Ms. Parkinson has consistently shown dedication to transparency, accountability, and customer service – values that are essential to the role of borough clerk and to the relationship between the public and their government.”
Parkinson’s responsibilities include management of public records, creating public meeting agendas and legal notices, overseeing municipal elections, and ensuring legal and regulatory compliance in all municipal functions. She previously served as city clerk in Millville for nine years through 2024. Earlier this year, she was appointed deputy clerk in Ocean City before accepting the position in Stone Harbor.
“It is an honor and privilege to serve the Borough of Stone Harbor as municipal clerk,” Parkinson said. “I look forward to providing the governing body, residents, and visitors with transparency, respect, and unwavering integrity. I am truly grateful for this opportunity.”
Avalon Flower Club Puts On 41st Annual Flower Show
Winners from the 41st Annual Flower Show.
Awards were presented in seven artistic design categories and 12 horticultural categories when the Avalon Garden Club held its 41st Annual Flower Show on June 7 at Avalon Community Hall. Attendees used pennies to vote for their favorite displays. Blue and red ribbons were awarded to first- and second-place winners, respectively.
Here are the winners in the Artistic Design categories:
Nature Captured: 1. Serena Smith; 2. Carol Szabo.
Here Comes the Sun: 1. Myla Miller; 2. Ligia Schiavi.
Wind Beneath My Wings: 1. Myla Miller; 2. Sue DeRose.
Branching Out: 1. Joan Matthews; 2. Pat Fleischman.
Waterscape: 1. Myla Miller; 2. Nancy Hudanich.
Summer Romance: 1. Joan Matthews; 2. Ligia Schiavi.
Bring Home Nature: 1. Karen Dechert; 2. Robin Schall.
Kathy Fox, the chief school administrator of Avalon Stone Harbor Schools, also presented a program that teaches students how to grow, raise, and plant dune grass in Avalon.
“We are educational, sustainable, and resilient,” club president Nancy Hudanich explained.
The club is celebrating its 50th anniversary next year.
“They plant our [traffic] islands,” said Mayor John McCorristin, who was in attendance. “And without them, we don’t have the staff or the employees to do it, so the town greatly appreciates it.”
All donations received during in the free event went toward beautification projects in Avalon.
ANOTHER ‘SWIFT’ SUMMER IN STORE FOR STONE HARBOR MUSEUM
The newly expanded Taylor Swift Exhibit at the Stone Harbor Museum is now open.
New exhibits are now open at the Stone Harbor Museum this summer, and the Taylor Swift exhibit is back for a second year, which means the museum can expect another busy summer.
Last year’s display features items donated by Swift and her family, and this year’s expanded exhibit offers an entirely new collection that showcases new research and photos of Swift’s life on the island.
“Typically, we have between 300 and 1,500 visitors a summer,” said museum curator Katie Hinchey-Wise. “Last year we had 7,000 because of the Swift family’s generous donation.”
But that’s not all the museum has to offer this year.
“We look at what the history of Stone Harbor is, and we try to make it fun in a different way,” museum president Teri Fischer said about the new exhibits this year.
For example, there are several items on loan from the Pearl S. Buck House in Perkasie, Pa.
Buck was a prominent novelist and writer who won the Pulitzer Prize in 1932 for her book “The Good Earth.”
“She owned her home in Stone Harbor from 1956 to 1962,” Hinchey-Wise noted, “and she is the first American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.”
Historical photos and postcards of Stone Harbor from the new Davis Collection are seen throughout the museum as well. Paul Preston Davis, from Wilmington, Del., was an avid collector who died in 2021 at age 89.
Last year, members of his family visited the museum and “asked if we would like all of this,” Hinchey-Wise recalled while looking at the collection.
Aside from the exhibits, there is also a sponsored scavenger hunt for kids every week.
“You can’t keep a museum going without having the youth involved. It just doesn’t work,” Fischer said. “The children last year were driving their parents and grandparents into the museum.”
The museum opened over Memorial Day weekend, and admission is free. It is open Monday to Saturday from 9am to noon.
97TH STREET PLAYGROUND REOPENS FOLLOWING MAKEOVER
Angelo Caracciolo, Ken Biddick, Josee Rich, Charles Sommer, Mayor Tim Carney, Eric Reuf and Jack Kelleher celebrate the ribbon cutting at the 97th Street Playground.
The playground at 97th Street in Stone Harbor reopened to the public over Memorial Day weekend. The improvements include new slides, benches, equipment, and updated basketball and bocce courts. New public restrooms and a new recreation office will also be added after the summer season.
“Playgrounds are more than just for children,” said Stone Harbor Mayor Tim Carney, who spoke at the June 14 ribbon-cutting ceremony. “They are the glue that brings our community together. It provides a safe location for parents, families, and children to bond. Projects like this happen through collaboration. The mayor’s role is to appoint citizens to our Recreation Advisory Committee. This committee is a voice of our citizens.”
Accessibility was a major factor that went into planning the project.
“One of the special things about this is the inclusivity,” said Angelo Caracciolo, who chairs the Recreation Advisory Committee. “Any type of disabilities that a child might have, we have things for them to play with, so everybody can enjoy it.”
The 82nd Street recreation area will also be rebuilt in collaboration with the “Jake’s Place” organization, whose mission is to make playgrounds all-inclusive. The nonprofit started in 2009 as a tribute to “Baby Jake” Nasto, who died from a rare heart disorder that prevented him from playing on the playgrounds that he loved.
The projects are mainly funded by a $1.2 million grant from Cape May County and a $750,000 grant from the state Department of Environmental Protection’s Green Acres program.
Said Carney: “My favorite part of projects like this is seeing the smiling faces and hearing the loud voices of children from our community and also visitors to our community who are enjoying this special place.”
Members of the community are already excited and enjoying the new 97th Street playground while they look forward to exploring the revamped 82nd Street location.
POST 331 RECEIVES NEW DEFIBRILLATOR
From left, Ricky Cahill, Michael Bennet, Mike Gihorski, Chief Roger Stanford, Post 331 Commander Tom McCullogh, Jon Ready, Robert McClure Jr, Jim Fleischmann, and Mark Puterbaugh.
The Stone Harbor Fire Department collaborated with AtlantiCare to provide American Legion Post 331 with an automated external defibrillator on June 1. The need came up when a member noticed the current AED had expired.
“One of our members, who was a member of the Stone Harbor Fire Department, brought it to my attention,” said Post Commander Tom McCullough. “He followed up with Chief Roger Stanford to see if the Stone Harbor Fire Department could assist us in any way.”
Originally, there was going to be a minor cost for the post. However, the SHFD was able to partner with AtlantiCare to provide the vital equipment at no cost.
Said McCullough: “We have an older population on this island, and we have an older membership. This equipment is vital to have on-site in case of an emergency at any given time.”
American Legion Post 331 is located on Second Avenue in Stone Harbor. Its building features historical exhibits and tower views of the island. This is not the first time the post has worked together with the island’s first responders.
“In the beginning, when we were formed as a post 79 years ago, the American Legion used to meet at the Stone Harbor Fire House,” McCullough noted. “The generosity and the giving of the firemen and the police on this Seven Mile Island are second to none.”
Post 331 hopes to never need the device, but it is certainly grateful to have it.
FRIENDS OF AVFD TO HOST 16TH ANNUAL 50/50 RAFFLE
The Friends of the Avalon Volunteer Fire Department will draw the winners of its 16th annual 50/50 raffle on Tuesday, Sept. 2, at The Princeton Bar and Grill on Dune Drive.
Only 300 tickets will be sold, and eight winners will be named. Six lucky participants will win $500. One entrant will receive $2,000, and the top prize of $10,000 will be awarded to the first-place winner. Tickets cost $100 per person, and all proceeds go toward the Avalon Volunteer Fire Department.
“We go through almost our entire year using those donations to do a lot of things,” said Kevin Scarpa, secretary of the Friends of the Avalon Volunteer Fire Department charity. “The Borough is a very generous, well-funded, and well-run operation that gives us X-amount of money. But we break a lot of things. You’d be shocked how many things we can break in a drill night or at a fire. We use the donation money to supplement that and keep the emergency equipment available.”
The money raised is also imperative for recruiting volunteer firefighters in Avalon.
“If you see someone with an Avalon Fire T-shirt on, we used a donation to dress that member,” said Scarpa, who is also the captain of the AVFD. “It is an absolutely critical piece because we are still 100% volunteer. We have to keep the members motivated and recruit new members because everyone just gets older, and it’s a young man’s job to do firefighting.”
The Friends of the Avalon Fire Department has also used some of their funds to help build and maintain the Avalon September 11th Memorial Plaza that was dedicated on Sept. 11, 2012.
For raffle tickets, call 609-967-4111 and leave a voicemail or email avalonfireraffle@gmail.com with a message.