JACKSON – It was a special night for close to 100 members of the cheer squad portion of the Jackson Jaguars, Jackson Youth Football and Cheer program during a recent Township Council meeting.
The Jaguars donned their crimson uniforms and joined their coaches to receive accolades and certificates honoring their accomplishments. The well-wishers filled the council meeting room.
“Every day we fight to get a little bit better,” coach Kim Clarke said. “We combined two teams this year.”
Mayor Michael Reina read the proclamations and the names of each member of the program.
“You do Jackson proud,” Reina said.
Cheerleading Coordinator Susan Fortunato said “We instill three things in our team members: to work as a team, to give their best effort at practice and to work hard to reach their next level.”
Fortunato said the program has been two-time national championships and has scored high in the Jersey Shore League.
“I couldn’t be more proud of these girls. They have been undefeated since 2016,” Fortunato said.
Councilman Barry Calogero remarked that “Jackson youth make the township shine. Congratulations to the team and to their coaches.”
“Each year we see national championships,” Councilman Scott Martin said. “I’m a cheerleader dad and you can’t believe the time they put into this. It is a lot of work. They deserve all the credit that they get.”
Council Vice President Robert Nixon added that “this team does us proud.”
“I commend the kids and their dedication as well as the parents and coaches that support them, Council President Kenneth Bressi said.
In other council business, Bressi discussed public building security noting that “we should look into this.”
Reina said he had recently discussed the issue during a meeting with authorities. “We have some ideas to share with you. I can’t disclose what we discussed but we will go over this.”
During the public comment portion of the meeting, resident Robert Kirchhofer noted continued flooding conditions impacting his and other residences on Whitesville Road. He said similar complaints had been made to the township before.
“Nothing has changed in a year,” Kirchhofer said.
Bressi said that the area involved some Department of Environmental Protection violations and that the party involved received an extension.
Township attorney Jean Cipriani said that “there were no pending applications and we can have our zoning officer reach out to their attorney.”
Bressi added that “if we didn’t give him an extension we’d have lost all control of the matter.”
Kirchhofer said that the conditions were caused by that proposed project. “They started this 11 years ago. I’ve been saying this for quite a while.”
Bressi said that the issue would be looked into further to determine what could be done to improve road conditions in that area.
