Cinnaminson Getting Piece of Ground Zero

A piece of ground zero will soon make its way to Cinnaminson.

Township administrator Frank Locantore said shortly after he took the job as administrator last August, committee members Anthony Minniti and Don Brauckmann expressed interest in obtaining a piece of the World Trade Center to use in creating a 9/11 memorial in the township.

Locantore, a former Evesham Police officer, made contact with individuals from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and, after some back and forth, was able to secure the township a piece of steel from the structure.

The piece will be used to create a "suitable memorial" in the township, with the plan being to erect one at Memorial Park, Locantore said during the township committee meeting Monday. 

"The idea is to improve upon Memorial Park as a true memorial park," said Minniti. 

Locantore said the township is one of roughly 1,300 municipalities, including Evesham and Medford Lakes locally, that have made requests for a piece of ground zero.

He said the steel should arrive at some point this summer.

In other business:

• Mayor Ben Young presented Det. Sgt. William Covert with a proclamation honoring him for his 30-plus years of service with the Cinnaminson Police Department. Covert, who started with the department in 1982, officially retired on Dec. 31, 2012. In his years with the police, he served in a number of roles, Young said, including gang intelligence coordinator, Megan's Law coordinator and arson investigator, among others.
• Locantore said the final hurdle has been cleared for the demolition of the abandoned gas station at Route 130 and Willow Drive. The demolition had been delayed while the property owner was waiting for American Water Company to shut off water to the site. Locantore said he got a fax from American Water last week that the utilities had been shut off. 
• The township's Memorial Day ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. Sunday, by the veterans monument in front of the municipal building.
• DARE Day will be held at Wood Park on Monday, June 3.