By MAYOR MICHAEL MIGNOGNA
The arrival of spring offers a wonderful opportunity to enjoy the fresh air and the Voorhees park system. Connolly Park along Centennial Boulevard is a 49-acre oasis. Acquired by the township in 2001, it contains two dog runs, a half-mile walking and jogging track with newly installed lights, a large grass field for multi-sport usage, a cricket pitch, an open-air picnic pavilion and a comfort station with restrooms. The child play area has been expanded with new equipment. Connolly Park is also the home of our Summer Concert Series and our Halloween in the Park. Last October, our residents came together to build a new community playground at Connolly Park. There is a one minute time lapse video of the community build on the township Web site at www.voorheesnj.com. We have also added new picnic tables at the park.
Lions Lake Park is located on Dutchtown Road off of Route 73. Our community banquet facility can accommodate up to 100 people and there are three conference rooms that each hold up to 25 people. Lions Lake contains a children’s playground, a picnic grove and fishing lake. It is also home to the Voorhees Girls Softball Association with four fields, three of which are fully lit. The National Softball Association named Lions Lake as one of three “Outstanding Parks” in the northeast and the only facility in New Jersey to receive the award.
Kirkwood Park, located along Laurel Oak Road behind the Hampton Inn, has a lighted softball field, paved walking path, basketball courts, a children’s playground, a multi-purpose field, and two bocce ball courts. The park lighting was recently upgraded through a state grant. The township also purchased the nearby 14-acre Kirkwood Forest, enhancing and preserving the beauty of this natural setting.
The Maiaroto Sports Complex is home to the Voorhees Soccer Association and host to the annual Memorial Day Soccer Tournament, one of the largest in the country. Maiaroto includes all natural turf fields with recently improved lights. It also offers tennis courts, basketball courts and a fully operational snack bar with public restrooms.
Home to the Gibbsboro Voorhees Athletic Association (GVAA) is the Rabinowitz Baseball Complex located along Kresson Road, with seven fenced baseball fields. “Sprinturf Diamonds” have been installed on the Babe Ruth and Majors fields. Three of the fields are fully lit. The complex also includes a small playground as well as a snack bar and public restrooms, all of which recently had upgrades.
The GVAA Vikings Youth Football and Cheerleading as well as Voorhees Lacrosse Inc. use Giangiulio Recreation Complex along Victor Boulevard. There is a lighted athletic field with synthetic turf. The field can be used year round by our youth football, cheerleading, lacrosse and soccer organizations. In addition, there is a baseball diamond with lights, a grass lacrosse field and a tot lot. Giangiulio also includes a snack bar, a children’s play area and public restrooms.
Stafford Farm is our largest piece of preserved land. The 140-acre parcel includes a one-mile walking path that follows an old stagecoach trail through undisturbed woods. The township also purchased the 5.5 acre piece of land adjacent to Stafford Farm to be preserved as open space.
Voorhees dedicated John Hale, Sr. Memorial Park at the site of the former Voorhees Township Department of Public Works sewer plant on West End Avenue in the
Ashland section. In partnership with the Ashland Residential Coalition (ARC) and with a grant from the Camden County Open Space Advisory Board, a playground was installed by the Township and an oasis was born.
The former Buzby Landfill on Centennial Boulevard is now The Voorhees Environmental Park. The chain link fence was removed and an environmentally friendly white picket fence was installed. The township has partnered with Rutgers University and the Voorhees Environmental and Cultural Education Foundation to develop a conceptual plan for the future use of the park.
The township maintains neighborhood playgrounds on Round Hill Road in the Green Ridge neighborhood, Elliot Playground on Elliott Drive in the Beagle Club, Sandpiper Playground in the Avian section, the Lake Villa Park Playground, the Cornell Drive Playground as well as the Sheppard Road basketball courts off of Centennial Boulevard.
The Township Committee will continue to work to improve our park system. All of our parks are maintained without the use of pesticides.
Enjoy the outdoors!
As part of Alcohol Awareness Month in Voorhees Township, the Voorhees Breakfast Rotary is sponsoring a video contest for eighth grade students at the Voorhees Middle School and students at Eastern Regional High School. Contestants can create a 30-second video helping raise awareness of alcohol-related problems.
Each participant will receive a community service certificate and names of all participants will be published in the local newspaper. The winner receives a $100 prize at a future township committee meeting and breakfast with the Voorhees Breakfast Rotary Club. Second and third place finishers will also be invited to breakfast with the Club. Videos must be submitted before May 9.
Videos can be e-mailed to voorheesbreakfastrotary@gmail.com.
