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Thanks to those individuals who helped me with this month's column. Their names appear at the bottom of the article.

CHEERS-To Gloucester City Police Officer Craig Reinhart.  A resident wrote, "He is kind to the children and always stops to say hello or give the little ones a minute to look through the window of the police car.  I know he makes a point to take time in his day to give the teens in our city a little pep talk. He is such a wonderful guy and is NEVER mean or too busy to acknowledge the children. Cheers to you Officer Rhinehardt. All the parents appreciate you very much."

CHEERS-Recently the Ray Ford Old Timers held their yearly meeting. Along one wall of the Gloucester Heights Fire Hall were table after table of photos from past meetings. The individual responsible for preserving the photos from year to year and putting the pictures together is Ed Whalen. He is also the "curator" of the VFW Museum on Burlington Street. A great guy and a great photographer. Thanks Ed for all that you do.

CHEERS –To the people of Gloucester City and surrounding towns who reach out to their neighbors, and lend a helping hand, during these tough economic times. They do so not seeking credit, but as a part of giving back to their community. They do not ask questions or judge -- they only give. Kudos.

JEERS –To the N.J. Department of Education and the State for failing miserably to provide court-ordered funding for the construction of a new middle school in Gloucester City. The site lies vacant. Also, the City lost 68 homes and two businesses – plus a lot of tax revenue. Is there any movement at all on a state level to get this school built?

JEERS-To those people who scream and harass the City's Parking Enforcement Officer.  If your car is parked in a No Parking Zone and you receive a ticket remember she is only doing her job. And unpopular one no doubt but she deserves your respect. Until Council changes the ordinance her instructions are to issue tickets whether it is sunny or raining. So give her a break, and next time remember to move your car before the designated time.

CHEERS- The first annual Jim Ferry Memorial Golf Tournament was held recently with over $9000 being raised for the Gloucester City P.A.L. The money will be used to make needed repairs at the Brown Street PAL building. A big cheer to all those who participated.

CHEERS- Go to any Friday night or Saturday morning football game at Gloucester City High School and along the sidelines is two men who basically go unnoticed until there is an injury. Then you will see them in action; Dr.  Carl Vitola (the school doctor) and Dr. Walter Poprycz, an orthopedic doctor both give up their time to care for the injured. On behalf of the Lions community we would like to thank both gentlemen for their dedication. Just knowing you are there to take care of an injured player gives us all peace of mind.

CHEERS-To those people who donated and participated in the October 20^th Tony Sidoti Day.  Tony, the athletic director for Gloucester Catholic High School, recently suffered a stroke.  The Gloucester Catholic community came together that day to raise funds to help Tony pay for his mounting medical bills. Let's also give a BIG CHEER to everyone involved in the Heroes to Hero 5K Memorial Run which was held earlier in October in honor of the three firemen and three children who perished in the July 4, 2002 fire.

A SUGGESTION-The City is looking to hire a FIRE PROTECTION SUBCODE OFFICIAL to work six hours a week. Wouldn't it make more sense to train one of the 34 fulltime firemen that are already on the payroll to do that job? To cut costs sometimes you have to think out of the box, this might be one of those times.

 Contributing to this column was: Albert Countryman, Ken MacAdams,Bruce Darrow, and Shawn Marie Zingaro. If you have a Cheer or Jeer for next month's column send it to [email protected]

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