Weekly Roundup: Township implements “Washington Township Saves Lives” initiative, WTHS student headed to Columbia University for summer course
In other news, Washington Township students participated in a national planned demonstration on March 14.
Washington Township will now offer residents free Uber rides home from partcipating bars and restaurants as part of a new initiative to prevent drunk driving, and Washington Township High School junior Michael McEntee has been accepted into a summer course at Columbia University in New York. Get caught up on some of the top stories in our Weekly Roundup.
Saving Lives
On Wednesday, March 14, Mayor Joann Gattinelli, along with a number of Washington Township officials, held a press conference to announce the implementation of the “Washington Township Saves Lives” program, originally started in Evesham Township by Mayor Randy Brown. Participating bar and restaurant patrons can download the Uber app and utilize their free UberX ride back to any Washington Township residence. The offer is available Monday through Thursday from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m., and Friday through Sunday from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. When you request the ride, a $0 fare will be displayed and the charge will be covered.“We are hopeful that community participation in the use of ‘Washington Township Saves Lives’ exceeds all expectations,” Chief of Police Pat Gurcsik said. “If one life is saved, the program will be a huge success.”
WTHS students compete in pie-eating contest to benefit Tony Bucca Memorial Scholarship fund
On Wednesday, March 14 — also known as Pi Day — a pie-eating contest hosted at Washington Township High School. Proceeds from the contest, staged by the school’s Mathematics Honor Society Mu Alpha Theta, benefited the Tony Bucca Memorial Scholarship, which honors the memory of the former WTHS math teacher. The contest yielded $396, and an additional $534 was raised for the scholarship through a staff dress-down day.
Residents awarded, funds discussed at Council Meeting
Mayor Joann Gattinelli provided a “Shop Washington Township” and Human Resource update, as well as addressed concerns at the most recent council meeting. Gattinelli commenced the meeting last Wednesday by honoring three Gold Medal Environmental employees with certificates of recognition for a recent act of kindness, as well as honoring public works employee Ken DePrince as March’s Employee of the Month for helping residents bring disposables by the public works department in the rain.
WTHS junior headed to Columbia University for summer course
Washington Township High School junior Michael McEntee has been accepted into the “Mind and Markets: Finance, Economics, and Psychology” course, being held this summer at Columbia University in New York City. McEntee’s background in WTHS’s DECA Club and Future Business Leaders of America group, as well as his course load, including AP psychology, allowed him to surpass the intro level Mind and Markets courses.
GCCC’s Easter production to be held on March 23
The Gloucester County Community Church will present an original Easter production, “SO LOVED,” next weekend. The five performances will be held on Friday, March 23 at 7:30 p.m., on Saturday, March 24 at 3:30 and 6:30 p.m., and on Sunday, March 25 at 9:15 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. Admission is free — with seating — on a first-come, first-served basis. All performances will provide childcare from nursery through kindergarten. The Easter productions at GCCC remain a holiday tradition in the South Jersey area year after year.
Washington Township students join in national planned student demonstration
Washington Township students joined students across the country in a call to Congress to move school safety to the forefront of the nation’s conversation. The demonstration lasted 17 minutes, in honor of the 17 students and staff members killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on Valentine’s Day. District middle school students also assembled and discussed the importance of the day. Bunker Hill Middle School students followed their assembly by forming a human peace sign outside of their school.
