Camden High School

The empty chip bags, a comb, and a pacifier that littered the shoddy grass of the Camden High School football field Monday will be gone in coming weeks - scooped up by a bulldozer. A year-and-a-half after receiving a $200,000 NFL Grassroots Grant for new synthetic turf, the Camden High School Athletic Field Ad Hoc Committee has gathered enough money to start working on a new field, including a $250,000 grant from the U.S. Soccer Foundation. Shovels went into the ground Monday in a ceremonial start to the renovation.

Principals, teachers, parents, and community members came out by the dozens Tuesday to meet the three current candidates for Camden school superintendent, a post whose next occupant is now to be appointed by Gov. Christie after a state takeover of the district. While it is not known if Christie will choose one of the three, the Camden Board of Education moved forward with its superintendent-selection process by hosting a meet-and-greet and question-and-answer session. All three candidates - Willingboro Superintendent Ronald Taylor; Denise Saddler of the Oakland, Calif., school system; and Heidi Ramirez, a former Philadelphia School Reform Commission member - pointed to their experience in dealing with state takeovers and charter schools.

The New Jersey Department of Education released a new performance report Wednesday that contains more data and analysis than the former school report card. But it has officials from some districts concerned about how they are being compared with other public schools statewide. In addition to the staple data such as demographics, graduation rates, and standardized test scores, the new reports for the 2011-12 school year now compare peer groups, note chronic absenteeism, and track postgraduation education.

Food Network star "Big Daddy" is one step closer to opening an American bistro in downtown Camden, but with a long way to go still. Chef Aaron McCargo Jr., a Camden High School graduate whose claim to fame comes from winning Season 4 of The Next Food Network Star and from his cooking show Big Daddy's House on the network, received a $100,000 Camden Urban Enterprise Zone grant on Tuesday for his planned restaurant. McCargo wants to take over the former Market West Grill space at 3d and Market streets, along with an adjacent building.

Cetshwayo Byrd, who led Camden High School to South Jersey Group 3 boys' basketball titles in his two seasons, has been removed from his position as Panthers coach. Byrd said Saturday that he has been suspended for the 2013-14 season by Camden administrators. Byrd said he had no intention of reapplying for the job after next season. He declined additional comment. Camden athletic director Mark Phillips was not available for comment. Two sources close to the situation said Byrd received a letter from the Camden school administration in early February indicating that he would be suspended for the 2013-14 season because he had allowed an independent filmmaker, Tony Paris, to produce a documentary on the 2011-12 season without approval from the Camden Board of Education.

Dr. Henry F. Wisniewski, 80, a dentist and former star athlete at Camden High School and Fordham University, died yesterday at the Manahawkin Convalescent Center in Ocean County. He lived in Beach Haven Park. Dr. Wisniewski lettered in football, basketball, baseball and track while attending Camden High School before graduating in 1927. He played football and basketball at Fordham University for four years and graduated in 1931. He was chosen by Time magazine, United Press International, the New York Post and others as a member of their college all-America football teams.

A 20-year-old Camden man was sentenced Friday to 40 years in prison for killing a Camden High School student who refused to fight over a girl nearly three years ago. Chance Harmon had challenged Anthony Ross, 16, on March 7, 2010, in Camden when he found out that Ross was involved with a girl who also was involved with him, the Camden County Prosecutor's Office said. Thirty minutes after Ross, who did not know the girl also was dating Harmon, refused the challenge, authorities said, Harmon shot the unarmed Ross seven times on the 1500 block of Wildwood Avenue.

When Beatrice Katz Zitomer moved to Margate in 1979 and became a real estate agent, she had visions of catching the big housing wave powered by casino gambling. Already in her mid-40s, the former Cherry Hill kindergarten teacher spent almost a decade learning the business. In 1988, she opened Beatrice Zitomer Real Estate Inc. - just in time for the housing market to hit the rocks in one of the worst crashes in recent history. When she lost her partners, she rode out the storm solo, and prospered.

Edward W. Saline, 90, a prominent Camden businessman for 50 years and a four-sport athlete at Camden High School, died Monday at West Jersey Hospital-Voorhees. Born in Trenton, he lived there until completing Trenton Middle School and moving to Camden. A 1926 graduate of Camden High School, he was considered a local sports legend at the time. He lettered in four sports - football, as a halfback; basketball, as a forward; baseball, as an outfielder; and track, where he was on the mile relay team and did the running broad jump as well.

Alvin Sherby, 66, of Mt. Laurel, who taught and coached in the Camden School District for 37 years, died of a heart attack Monday at Methodist Hospital in Philadelphia. Mr. Sherby, who grew up in Cumberland County, graduated from Bridgeton High School, where he played football. He continued playing at the University of the Ozarks in Clarksville, Ark., where he earned a bachelor's degree. He began his teaching career at Cramer Elementary School in Camden. While there, Mr. Sherby was an assistant football coach at Camden High School.

The empty chip bags, a comb, and a pacifier that littered the shoddy grass of the Camden High School football field Monday will be gone in coming weeks - scooped up by a bulldozer. A year-and-a-half after receiving a $200,000 NFL Grassroots Grant for new synthetic turf, the Camden High School Athletic Field Ad Hoc Committee has gathered enough money to start working on a new field, including a $250,000 grant from the U.S. Soccer Foundation. Shovels went into the ground Monday in a ceremonial start to the renovation.

Cetshwayo Byrd, who led Camden High School to South Jersey Group 3 boys' basketball titles in his two seasons, has been removed from his position as Panthers coach. Byrd said Saturday that he has been suspended for the 2013-14 season by Camden administrators. Byrd said he had no intention of reapplying for the job after next season. He declined additional comment. Camden athletic director Mark Phillips was not available for comment. Two sources close to the situation said Byrd received a letter from the Camden school administration in early February indicating that he would be suspended for the 2013-14 season because he had allowed an independent filmmaker, Tony Paris, to produce a documentary on the 2011-12 season without approval from the Camden Board of Education.

The New Jersey Department of Education released a new performance report Wednesday that contains more data and analysis than the former school report card. But it has officials from some districts concerned about how they are being compared with other public schools statewide. In addition to the staple data such as demographics, graduation rates, and standardized test scores, the new reports for the 2011-12 school year now compare peer groups, note chronic absenteeism, and track postgraduation education.

Food Network star "Big Daddy" is one step closer to opening an American bistro in downtown Camden, but with a long way to go still. Chef Aaron McCargo Jr., a Camden High School graduate whose claim to fame comes from winning Season 4 of The Next Food Network Star and from his cooking show Big Daddy's House on the network, received a $100,000 Camden Urban Enterprise Zone grant on Tuesday for his planned restaurant. McCargo wants to take over the former Market West Grill space at 3d and Market streets, along with an adjacent building.

When Beatrice Katz Zitomer moved to Margate in 1979 and became a real estate agent, she had visions of catching the big housing wave powered by casino gambling. Already in her mid-40s, the former Cherry Hill kindergarten teacher spent almost a decade learning the business. In 1988, she opened Beatrice Zitomer Real Estate Inc. - just in time for the housing market to hit the rocks in one of the worst crashes in recent history. When she lost her partners, she rode out the storm solo, and prospered.

Principals, teachers, parents, and community members came out by the dozens Tuesday to meet the three current candidates for Camden school superintendent, a post whose next occupant is now to be appointed by Gov. Christie after a state takeover of the district. While it is not known if Christie will choose one of the three, the Camden Board of Education moved forward with its superintendent-selection process by hosting a meet-and-greet and question-and-answer session. All three candidates - Willingboro Superintendent Ronald Taylor; Denise Saddler of the Oakland, Calif., school system; and Heidi Ramirez, a former Philadelphia School Reform Commission member - pointed to their experience in dealing with state takeovers and charter schools.

It's easy to focus on the past when it comes to Camden High School basketball. Coach Cetshwayo Byrd doesn't forget about the future. "Those guys are going to be good," Byrd said of freshmen Jamal Holloway and Brad Hawkins. Holloway and Hawkins are aware of Camden's rich tradition. They are excited about their potentially prominent roles in the program over the next few seasons. But they have something else on their minds: The present, which includes a championship game against Newark Eastside in the Group 3 state finals Sunday at Rutgers University.

It's easy to focus on the past when it comes to Camden High School basketball. Coach Cetshwayo Byrd doesn't forget about the future. "Those guys are going to be good," Byrd said of freshmen Jamal Holloway and Brad Hawkins. Holloway and Hawkins are aware of Camden's rich tradition. They are excited about their potentially prominent roles in the program over the next few seasons. But they have something else on their minds: The present, which includes a championship game against Newark Eastside in the Group 3 state finals Sunday at Rutgers University.