Gloucester County News in Brief

Jerome Frecon of Turnersville was among five New Jersey residents who work or volunteer for Rutgers Cooperative Extension who were recently honored for excellence.

Frecon was recognized in the category of extension faculty. He is the agricultural and resource management agent in Gloucester County, delivering outreach educational programs to the agribusiness, field flower, forestry, fruit, landscape and nursery industries and their constituents in the county.

Frecon also delivers similar programs to the fruit industries in Cumberland and Salem Counties, and the tree fruit industry in Atlantic, Burlington and Camden Counties.

His cooperative extension research program has included reintroducing the encore peach, which is now the number one peach in the state; evaluated, tested and wrote the patent for John Boy peach, the second-most heavily planted new peach variety in New Jersey, and identified plum pox in New Jersey, which led to the eradication of the disease in North America.

Michelle L. Duffield of West Deptford has joined the law firm Capehart Scatchard in the workers' compensation department in its Mount Laurel office. Duffield represents insurance carriers and employers in the defense of workers' compensation claims at all stages of litigation.

She received her law degree from Rutgers School of Law in Camden and her bachelor's degree from George Washington University.

She is admitted to practice law in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Duffield is a member of the American Bar and Camden County Bar Associations.

With help from a state Green Acres grant, Mantua and Gloucester County teamed to buy a 35-acre farm in the township and preserve it from development.

The land, at Berkley and Mount Royal Roads, was purchased for $810,000 from the descendants of Marie and Jacob Kammerer, who bought it in 1903.

The grant will cover about half the price. The county and the township will make up the rest.

The parcel will be used for recreation and woodland conservation.

Wenonah has been awarded a $52,000 community development block grant. It will add two rest rooms at Lisle Field, its community recreation center. Borough officials said they hoped to begin construction this winter. The field, used primarily for baseball and softball, now has only portable toilets. The project is expected to take six to eight weeks to complete.

The Appel Farm Arts and Music Center in Elmer was honored with an award for tourism excellence at the Governor's Conference on Tourism in Atlantic City earlier this month.

The regional arts center received recognition for its Arts and Music Festival, an annual event that attracts thousands of visitors to Appel Farm's venue in Salem County on the first weekend in June.

The festival was cited for its strong social conscience and artistic integrity that highlights both established and emerging artists and musicians.

"We are thrilled to receive this prestigious award," said Mark Packer, executive director of Appel Farm Arts and Music Center. "Close to 50 percent of the people who attend the festival come from out of state, and we are proud to be one of New Jersey's popular destinations for tourism."

This year, the festival is scheduled for June 7.

Moorestown Visiting Nurses and Hospice has named Arlene Meyers as its volunteer coordinator.

She will direct all volunteer activities for the organization, including recruiting, training and recognition of volunteers.

"My goal is to expand Moorestown Visiting Nurse and Hospice's volunteer program, creating new opportunities for community members to support their neighbors," she said.

The hospice is recruiting volunteers for its Camp Firefly program for bereaved children, which is held in August at YMCA Camp Ockanickon in Medford.

Moorestown Visiting Nurses and Hospice provides home and community-based health-care services to families in Burlington, Camden and Gloucester Counties.

To learn more about volunteering, call Meyers at 856-552-1300, extension 2182, or visit the organization's Web site at

» READ MORE: www.moorestownvna.org

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