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Limited retail, dining from June 15

More than two months into sweeping statewide lockdowns to combat the coronavirus, the state is about to begin Stage 2 of its recovery.

Outdoor dining and nonessential retail stores in New Jersey may reopen, with restrictions, on Monday, June 15.

NJ Biz recently published details of how the reopening is intended to work, HERE.

Salons and barbershops may reopen on Monday, June 22. Youth summer programs may begin on July 6.

Haddonfield’s Borough Hall and Public Works facility also will reopen to the public on Monday, June 15, with restrictions.

Pub trivia – online!

The Public Library will become the “Pub” Library for an hour from 7pm on Thursday, June 18, when it will host a contest on Zoom, open to all, to identify Haddonfield’s titan of trivia.

There will be three rounds of general knowledge questions. Participants can play as individuals or as teams. 

Registration is required, on the “Pub” Library’s website, HERE.

One prize will be awarded: Bragging rights.

HMHS Drama Club livestream

In partnership with the Haddonfield Educational Trust, the High School Drama Club will present an evening of showtunes on Thursday, June 11 at 7pm. (This event was originally scheduled for June 4.)

Titled “Places! At Home,” the event will be livestreamed on the Drama Club’s YouTube channel, HERE.

Admission is free, but viewers are asked to donate to the HMHS Auditorium Improvement Fund, on the Trust’s website, HERE.

The Trust also is planning a golf tournament for August 17, 2020, at Tavistock Country Club. (Stay tuned.)

This Haddonfield Today news story sponsored by Lisa Wolschina & Associates (Keller Williams Realty).

Online business chat

Members of the board of the Partnership for Haddonfield – the management entity for the business district – will host a Zoom “chat” on Thursday, June 11, starting at 8:30am.

The purpose is to enable business owners to discuss “anything and everything” that’s on their minds.

The meeting ID is 862 7462 3319 and the password is 511650.

Board of Commissioners meeting

The Board of Commissioners will hold their scheduled June 9, 2020 meeting via video, beginning at 7:30pm.

Members of the public who register HERE may watch, and participate at appropriate times. Those who register will receive instructions and a personal link by email. Instructions also will be provided for those who prefer to listen by phone.

Those intending to ask questions or make comments are asked to email Sharon McCullough, the borough administrator, in advance, at [email protected]. Include name and street name for the record.

The webinar ID is 268-123-851.

One new COVID-19 case

A female in her 20s was added today to the list of Haddonfield residents who have contracted the coronavirus.

The tally now stands at 50 cases and 5 fatalities.

Statistics for Haddonfield, Camden County, and New Jersey are updated on Haddonfield[dot]Today each week day, under the COVID-19 header.

NOTE: Prior to today (June 8), the most recent update was on June 2. Severe storms on June 3 caused power and Internet outages that prevented us from updating this site, until now.

Retail, outdoor dining can reopen on June 15

Governor Phil Murphy announced today that New Jersey will enter Stage Two of its restart and recovery plan on June 15, 2020. (Read the plan HERE.)

That stage provides for the reopening of non-essential retail businesses. Barber shops and salons will be able to reopen on June 22.

Here is the major portion of the statement released today be the governor’s office:

Guided by strict protocols from the New Jersey Department of Health, as well as input from the Governor’s Restart and Recovery Commission and complementary Advisory Councils, Stage Two will include outdoor dining for restaurants and indoor, non-essential retail as of June 15th. Beginning on June 22nd, barber shops and salons will be able to reopen. In the period to follow, New Jersey will work toward the gradual opening of personal care, gyms, and health clubs, at reduced capacities as the stage progresses. All of these activities will be allowed pursuant to strict health and safety guidelines that will be issued in the coming days. New Jersey ended maximum restrictions and moved to Stage One on May 18, 2020.

“As we move through Stage One of our strategic restart and recovery process, public health data continues to demonstrate our collective success in flattening the curve of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations,” said Governor Murphy. “It is with these favorable metrics, coupled with expanded testing capacity and contact tracing, that we can responsibly enter Stage Two of our multi-stage approach to recovery. Our economic restart must instill confidence among our residents and visitors that their safety, and that of their families, is our number one priority. I encourage all New Jerseyans to continue their vigilance in keeping themselves and their communities safe by social distancing, wearing face coverings, washing hands frequently, and limiting gatherings.”

STAGE 2: Restrictions are relaxed on activities that can be easily safeguarded.

Phased-in businesses and activities, with adherence to safeguarding and modification guidelines, include:

  • Outdoor dining (beginning on June 15th)
  • Limited in-person retail (beginning on June 15th)
  • Hair salons and barber shops (beginning on June 22nd)
  • Youth summer programs (beginning on July 6th)
  • In-person clinical research/labs
  • Limited fitness/gyms
  • Limited in-person government services (e.g. – Motor Vehicle Commission)
  • Museums/libraries

All workers who can work from home should continue to work from home.

Precautions that apply across all stages include:

  • Clinically high-risk individuals who can stay at home should continue to do so.
  • All residents and businesses should follow state and federal safeguarding guidelines:
  • Wash hands
  • Wear masks in public
  • Respect social distancing
  • Minimize gatherings
  • Disinfect workplace and businesses
  • Minimize gatherings 
  • No mass gatherings

New Jersey will move toward subsequent stages based on data that demonstrates improvements in public health and the capacity to safeguard the public, including:

  • Sustained improvements in public health indicators, including new COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, individuals in intensive care, and ventilator use;
  • Substantial increase in testing and contact tracing capacity;
  • Sufficient resilience in New Jersey’s health care system to include adequate bed capacity, ventilators, personal protective equipment, and workforce;
  • Widespread safeguarding of workplaces;
  • Widespread safeguarding and capacity of child care, schools, and mass transit;
  • Continued public compliance.

If public health indicators, safeguarding, or compliance worsen on a sustained basis, New Jersey will be prepared to move back to more restrictive stages as well.

Two new COVID-19 cases

A male in his 70s and a female in her 60s were added today to the list of Haddonfield residents who have contracted the coronavirus.

The tally now stands at 49 cases and 5 fatalities.

Statistics for Haddonfield, Camden County, and New Jersey are updated on Haddonfield[dot]Today each week day, under the COVID-19 header.

Police statement on racial conflict

The following message, from Police Chief Jason Cutler and Commissioner Colleen Bianco Bezich (Director of Public Safety) was posted on the Police Department’s Facebook page on Saturday, May 31:

This week, the Haddonfield Police Department was deeply saddened and disturbed by the murder of George Floyd. Over the past few months, as we also mourned the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor, we have sought to process these horrific crimes and confront the racial injustice that motivates similar actions in communities throughout our country. We do not condone the actions or omissions of the officers involved in these events. Instead, we condemn them.

Our Department encourages open communication between officers & citizens in order to build and sustain community partnerships & trust. In upholding our mission, we strive to interact positively with our entire community, and create lasting relationships that enhance law enforcement, crime prevention & quality of life. This community policing philosophy means that in the coming days, weeks, and months, we will engage in more outreach and an ongoing dialogue about racial injustice, including the ways in which our own law enforcement officers can and will improve our capacity to recognize and respond to incidents of racial bias.

To those who are angry, frustrated, hopeless and in mourning, we hear you — and we are here for you. We encourage everyone in our Borough of Haddonfield to partner with us as we move forward.

Message from incoming superintendent Klaus

OFFICIAL from Haddonfield School District on May 29, 2020

We all have heard that “as one door opens, another closes.” This is something I am particularly aware of as we begin to close the 2019-20 school year. As I open the door to my new position as Superintendent of the Haddonfield School District on July 1, and as I close the door on my two-year service as Assistant Superintendent, I am proud to say we are also closing the door on our New Jersey Quality Single Accountability Continuum (NJQSAC) review.

As you are probably aware, NJQSAC is the New Jersey Department of Education’s monitoring and self-evaluation system designed to ensure that students are provided a high-quality education and safe learning environments while the district is fiscally responsible to the community. Many view NJQSAC as a “cross your i’s and dot your t’s” process; that is simply not true. The NJQSAC process requires districts to be evaluated in five areas: Program and Instruction, Governance, Finance, Operations, and Personnel. Generally, review occurs on a three-year cycle; however, Haddonfield had experienced a nearly 10-year exemption based on student performance scores. In the fall of 2018, Haddonfield School District (HSD) was found to be subpar in four of the five regulated areas, only passing Governance based on an appeal.

There were many questions as to how such a high achieving and successful school system could perform so poorly. In short, our five schools were siloed. Each school performed well based on focused students, dedicated staff, and supportive families. What was lacking were the systems in place to guarantee that the level of services provided to our students would continue and grow. The challenge, starting in the summer of 2019, was to put in place the systemic changes necessary. This would require the cooperation and efforts of all HSD staff members.

I am proud to say that, over the last 18 to 20 months, HSD staff members rose to the challenge. Central Administrative Office procedures were honed and corrected. Building-level administration and office staff developed systems that centralized data, curriculum, training, and record-monitoring. Teachers across the district revisited, rewrote, and published a rich and rigorous curriculum. All of this resulted in revised NJQSAC results with HSD passing in every area. This did not come easily. The focus and efforts of everyone in the organization was necessary for HSD to grow, improve, and impose systemic changes that will guarantee continued growth for the district. At the conclusion of this two-year process, I am happy to say HSD is ready for new challenges in the future.

An additional note. As we look to close the door on one school year and open the door on another, building principals have been working to create safe and efficient processes for the closure of school. Each principal has been developing plans to collect school-owned materials and return student materials left in school buildings, provide transitional support for grades five and eight, and to organize ceremonies to honor promotion from fifth grade and eighth grade as well as high school graduation.

Also it should be noted that, while we are still four months away from the opening of the new school year, we have already started to discuss ways in which we can support our students academically, emotionally, and socially as they return to school in the fall, whether that return is “in-person,” virtual, or a blended format.

The finish line for 2019-20 is in sight. We have three weeks of remote education left, and I am confident our staff, students and families will wrap up the year with as much energy, creativity and perseverance as they have demonstrated since March 17. I am proud to step into my new role and to work with all of you.