Haddonfield Sun

By ROBERT LINNEHAN | The Haddonfield Sun
The Borough of Haddonfield and the Cherry Hill Township signed a shared services agreement to provide support for victims of domestic violence abuse. The two municipalities have specialized teams at the police departments to provide counseling for the victims.
The special Side-By-Side program is an inter-local agreement between Cherry Hill and Haddonfield. It offers an easy and accessible support system for the victims of domestic abuse, Cherry Hill Mayor Bernie Platt said. The two police departments are also paired with the Camden County Women’s Center.
Developed and organized by the Community Policing Network, the program has a number of resources and a fostered team of well-trained volunteers that assist victims of domestic abuse that come to the police department.
Commissioner Ed Borden said the response team provides an invaluable service to victims of domestic abuse.
In early October, Mayor Tish Colombi proclaimed the month as Domestic Violence Awareness Month, with members of the borough’s Side-By-Side team being honored at a recent commissioner’s meeting.
Colombi praised the team for the work they do in the borough and the support they give domestic violence victims.
“The impact of domestic violence is wide ranging, directly affecting individuals and society as a whole, as well as here in this community and throughout the United States and the world,” Colombi read from the proclamation. “Battered women have been in the forefront of efforts to bring peace and equality to the home.”
Platt shared the same praise for the program at a recent Cherry Hill council meeting.
“Offering an easily accessible, strong and caring support system for victims of domestic violence through Side-By-Side is a service that helps some of the most vulnerable members of our community,” Platt said. “I’m proud of the program we’ve established, and I’m pleased that its strength and effectiveness will allow the Haddonfield police department to direct domestic-violence victims to the confidential counseling services it provides.”
Haddonfield will pay Cherry Hill $2,500 for its share of the services.
In other borough news:
n An ordinance restricting where sexual offenders could live in the borough was officially repealed last week. The commissioners unanimously approved the repeal of the ordinance on second reading.
The state recently found such ordinances were unconstitutional, Borden said. Passed in 2006, the ordinance didn’t allow convicted sex offenders to live a certain distance away from schools, playground, daycare centers and other such facilities.
To avoid a lawsuit or any potential legal fees, Borden said it was necessary for the borough to repeal the unconstitutional ordinance. However, even though the ordinance had been in place for several years it never had to be enforced, he said.
“Nobody up there is happy that we are repealing this ordinance,” he said.
According to the National Sex Offender Registry, there are currently no convicted sex offenders living in the borough.
n Colombi announced a resolution for a change order for the recent reconstruction project of Redman Avenue that would save the borough several thousand dollars.
It’s always a surprise when a project comes in under budget, she said, but not a bad one. The overall cost of the project was reduced by $18,000, she said.

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