Mayor Paul Medany addressed two public safety concerns regarding events a few days prior to council’s Sept. 9 meeting.
He addressed terroristic threats made on social media posts that rocked the South Jersey region over the weekend of Sept. 7. The posts threatened mass shootings at several schools, one being Deptford’s Oak Valley Elementary School.
The district closed schools for a day on Sept. 9, as did other Gloucester County districts. They reopened the next day. (See a full story on the theareats on page …. )
“The (township) manager (Thomas Newman Jr.), public safety director (Sean Dalton) and police chief (Joseph Smith) were working diligently on it with the school system,” Medany said of the Deptford response. “They’ve been in touch with them (schools), and tomorrow, the Deptford Township Police Department will be working along with school security. They’ll be visiting the middle and high school.”
At the council meeting, Medany also addressed an incident that happened on Sept. 5 – the first day of classes – at the Central Early Childhood Center behind the municipal building. Vehicles dropping off and picking up kids from schools flooded the area’s roads, Monmouth Road, Cooper Street and Delsea Drive.
The resulting traffic jam blocked access to the municipal building – where police are headquartered – and driveways of nearby homes. Officers had to be dispatched to maintain order, the mayor said.
“It was a public-safety hazard,” he explained. ‘Our police officers were exposed to traffic on Cooper Street. We assigned a total of seven police officers just to prevent somebody from getting into any kind of accident or somebody getting hurt.”
No accidents or injuries were reported, but Medany noted that the school district was warned ahead of the situation that its traffic plan would not work. He then requested that council’s public safety committee meet with the district to resolve the issue.
“There has been a total lack of communication, total lack of understanding as to the danger to our residents, and to our visitors, traveling on these roads,” he said.
Council agreed to the meeting request; its next session is scheduled for Monday at 6 p.m.
