Cherry Hill

Whenever John Aponik cuts the grass, bits of blue tarp get caught in the blades of his lawn mower. Around Christmas, "it gets in all the wreaths," Aponik said of the tarp that has been shredding off the house next door to his on Glen Lane in Cherry Hill, where a renovation project was abandoned four years ago. No one has lived in the house since then, Aponik said, although it isn't exactly vacant. "Raccoons, possums - cats were breeding out there," Aponik said, who has set traps lent to him by a neighbor.

VOORHEES Police officers from across Camden County, including a SWAT team, descended upon a Voorhees community Sunday to resolve a domestic call that turned into a four-hour standoff and that led to the evacuation of some residents. The encounter at the Beagle Club development ended peacefully with Rishi Gala, described as in his 20s, surrendering to police about 4:30 p.m. and being taken to a Cherry Hill crisis center for evaluation, according to Voorhees Police Chief Louis Bordi. Gala's parents called police about 11 a.m. to report a domestic incident.

Again and again the grainy FBI videos flickered across TV screens Thursday, and the whole nation leaned in to study two nameless young men in backpacks. But their faces and clothing revealed nothing as they strolled toward the site of the Boston Marathon bombings. The alleged killers looked like two ordinary Americans in baseball caps. Then, overnight, came their names, news of a high-speed police chase, a fatal gun battle, and clues to their identities. They were immigrants.

Cherry Hill residents worried about development of the bankrupt Woodcrest Country Club site gathered Thursday night at a neighborhood meeting, where the mayor tried to assuage their fears. "You really can't develop the back of your homes, because there's nowhere to develop," said Chuck Cahn, using a laser pointer to circle wetlands on an aerial map of the 155-acre property while addressing about 80 residents in the Woodcrest Elementary School gymnasium. Only part of the course is within the sewer service area, Cahn said, making development expensive.

Even as it crumbles, the little cottage on a knoll overlooking Evans Pond manages to charm. It has so captivated Cherry Hill resident Kevin Cook that he's started a campaign to save the vacant structure, built as the Wallworth Park clubhouse in 1927. And even as he battles a progressive and incurable neurological disorder that affects his mobility, dexterity, and speech, Cook, 35, has succeeded in persuading Camden County to delay demolition. He also hopes the county can fix the holes in the roof.

Joe Schooley stepped into the batter's box and into the biggest moment of his life. It was the bottom of the sixth inning. The game was tied, 6-6. The 1983 Little League state baseball championship was on the line. Talk about pressure for a 12-year-old. To make matters worse, Schooley had to wait. Playing for Cherry Hill American, Schooley watched as Morristown brought in a new pitcher to face him. The pitcher was uncomfortable with the mound, causing a five-minute delay that felt closer to 45 minutes for Schooley.

For Camden County public defender Ruth Ann Mandell of Cherry Hill, her death came much like her life: complicated, a bit unpredictable, yet decisive. In her legal career, she was not afraid to stand up to her boss or defy a judge. Outside court, she aspired to be the "first white Jewish female rapper," and wrote lyrics that celebrated the work of Jack Kevorkian, champion of physician-assisted suicide. Ms. Mandell practiced law and performed rap until March 20, when doctors discovered ovarian cancer that her brother Herbert said hit her like a "sledgehammer.

The Cherry Hill school board on Tuesday night asked administrators to review the district's middle school lottery system after a group of parents criticized the process at a recent board meeting. Cherry Hill has three middle schools, one of which - Rosa International Middle School - admits students through a lottery. Students attend the other two schools, Beck and Carusi, based on where they live. The parents opposed to the lottery have children at Johnson Elementary, which sends students to both Beck and Carusi.

Kingsway mounted a valiant second-half rally at home Wednesday, but the Cherry Hill East duo of senior Caitlin Delaney and junior Taylor Patrizzi proved too much in the Cougars' 15-13 victory in nonleague girls' lacrosse. Delaney matched her career high by scoring eight goals, and Patrizzi added six. Taylor Gretz led the Dragons with four goals and three assists.

Cherry Hill has agreed to put on hold its motion to force a tax sale of Woodcrest Country Club pending an auction arranged by a bankruptcy trustee. Township solicitor Robert Wright said at a hearing Tuesday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Camden that it was in the township's best interests for the May 20 auction to move forward, with proceeds used to pay Cherry Hill $160,000 it says it is owed in taxes. Cherry Hill Land Associates, a subsidiary of First Montgomery Group of Marlton, has agreed to buy the 155-acre property for $6.25 million.