Proposed Field House Debate Raises Even More Questions

Concerns about a field house's costs to exclusivity swirl as the school board and public press for more information on a field house in memory of Nick Brandemarti, a township resident who died in the terrorist attacks on 9/11.

A large crowd gathered at the West Deptford Board of Education meeting on Monday night sought to have some of their questions answered about a proposed field house donation for the high school's football team. In January, a community group led by former soccer coach John Cobb and former board of education member Edward Houghton proposed donating a field house for the football team to the school district. The field house would be named after Nick Brandemarti Jr., a West Deptford High School alumnus and football player who died at the World Trade Center in the 9/11 attacks. Since the initial meeting, the proposal has ignited a firestorm of questions from the board of education as well as local residents. Brian Gotchel, the chairman for the …

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Field House Dedicated to 9/11 Victim Brandemarti Proposed to BOE

Organizers want to build and donate a field house in Nick Brandemarti Jr.'s name to honor the terrorism victim. All that's left is the school board's OK—and fundraising.

It's been 15 years since he graced the West Deptford football stadium; 11 since the unspeakable acts of terrorism on 9/11 killed this West Deptford native son. But Nick Brandemarti Jr.'s name could live on at the high school if a newly unveiled tribute to him moves forward. With the Nicky Brandemarti Memorial Golf Tournament wrapping up after 10 years, members of the West Deptford community banded together to plan a final tribute in the Brandemarti's name. With seven months of planning behind them, organizers revealed their plans to the school board Monday to donate and construct a new field house to memorialize the fallen West Deptford High School alum.  After learning about the proposal 36 hours prior, school board President Christopher …

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Viewfinder

Viewfinder: Sept. 11, 2012

Gloucester County gathers to remember the three local victims of at the World Trade Center on the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

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'It’s Something We Will Always Commemorate'

The intervening years haven't diminished the loss for the Brandemarti and Rodak families.

Eleven years after terrorist attacks brought down the World Trade Center and took the lives of their loved ones, the memories are no less familiar, and the pain no less sharp for the Rodak and Brandemarti families. As they’ve done every year since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, the two families gathered in the stillness and shadows of the Place of Reflection in Mantua’s Chestnut Branch Park to memorialize John Rodak and Nick Brandemarti Jr. alongside family, friends and community members. And as with every year, the loss—the holes torn in their families like the hole ripped in the I-beam at the center of the grove—was felt deeply. “It intensifies as time goes by,” Nick Brandemarti Sr. said. For he and his wife Nancy, it’s thoughts of a branch…

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Patch Readers Remember the Twin Towers

The iconic beacons were both the subject and a backdrop to tens of thousands of photos for the 30 years they stood sentry over lower Manhattan.

During the summer, Patch began collecting readers' photos of the World Trade Center, a growing gallery in tribute to the Twin Towers.  As the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks draws near, we'll be remembering New Jersey residents who died that clear September morning. But we also wanted to pay tribute to the towers—iconic symbols of hope and prosperity—when they stood tall and proud, dominating the New York City skyline.  We asked and you delivered, sending in more than a hundred photos statewide that represent your favorite memories: the shimmering skyline at nightfall, the view from lazy, summer boat rides on the Hudson, the towers standing in the distance as everyday life—farmers' markets, picnics, Yankee games—carried on. …

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What Should We Tell Students About 9/11?

A new curriculum guide written by volunteer educators and people affected by Sept. 11 aims to teach students about terrorism, bullying, war, and hatred in a constructive and sensitive way.

"A Letter to Caitlyn"  "You asked your mom why everyone is so sad around your birthday and you wonder why you never got to meet your Uncle Johnnie. I hope I can help you understand. "Before you were born, there were two really big buildings in New York City called the Twin Towers. Your Uncle Johnnie worked on the 104th floor of the building, almost at the very top! He worked with bankers and had lots of friends who worked with him. "A week before you were born, a group of men who did not like our country did a very bad thing. They hijacked airplanes, which means they forced the pilots to let them fly the planes. Instead of landing the planes, they flew the planes into the Twin Towers in New York City, a building called the Pentagon in …

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