Intercom

A racist remark that was broadcast at a Wal-Mart in Turnersville has prompted the national chain to fix intercom systems that have been plagued by bogus store announcements for years. "It's something we're implementing nationwide in all our stores," said Ashley Hardie, a spokeswoman for the discount chain. The majority of 2,800 Wal-Mart supercenters "updated their systems" last weekend, she said, declining to divulge details of what that entailed. Washington Township police Sunday announced they had arrested a 16-year-old Atlantic County boy on harassment and bias intimidation charges for using the intercom at the Turnersville store March 14 to ask "all the black people" to leave.

Standing in front of a class of first-graders, J.F. Cooper Principal Tammy McDonald wears a pair of in-line skates. She was meeting a challenge posed by her students, who finished a reading program ahead of schedule. The program called for students and the community to complete a million minutes of reading. McDonald also sang over the intercom and read poetry to students yesterday.

Home engineers can save energy, sanity and their vocal cords with the newest addition to GE's line of undercabinet kitchen appliances. Without missing a beat, the GE Spacemaker intercom system (Model 7-4295) lets you announce "supper's ready" to the kids in the playroom, or your spouse in the home office or garage, while you're stirring a boiling pot, chopping vegetables or rinsing dishes. The core system ($69.95) includes an undercabinet mountable base unit with a small remote station, and a built-in AM/FM radio and clock.

We take you now to a meeting of Gov.-elect Jon Corzine and acting Gov. Richard Codey in the very near future . . . Corzine: "Dick, thanks for meeting with me. As you know, I will be sworn in as governor very soon. And I could sure use your advice about the job. " Codey: "I'm happy to help, Jon. The most important things are to keep your sense of humor, and always be your own man. " Corzine: "Sounds easy enough. " The buzz of an intercom interrupts. Aide: "Gov.

If she was only a few years younger, says Esther Struse, 76, she would move to Hollywood, put peroxide on her hair, and star in her own variety show. "I could cause quite a commotion in Tinseltown," said Struse, fluttering her flamingo-pink fingernails in the air. "Don't you doubt that for a second. " There's no doubting it. For the last 19 years, Struse has been practicing her show-biz routine Fridays through Tuesdays at the Exton Kmart store. As the store's greeter, Struse lines up shopping carts, confronts shoplifters, and smiles a lot. But that's just her warm-up.

A good deal on a short-term rental car can be as hard to find as a parking space along South Street. That's why my ears perked up when I heard good things about Ugly Duckling Rent-A-Car, Admiral Wilson Blvd., Pennsauken, N.J. Ugly Duckling has two excellent features: They will pick up and deliver customers from and to Philadelphia, and they don't force you to keep a car for a minimum number of days (although there is a $15 minimum charge per contract). Like a number of other bargain-priced car rental agencies, Ugly Duckling rents older, basic transportation.

Every morning a security guard patrols the halls of the 18-story Casa Enrico Fermi apartments in Center City, expecting to see an "I'm OK" sign on each of the doors of the 288-unit senior citizen building. When the guard got to the fifth floor yesterday morning, there was no sign on 83-year-old Elizabeth Rhodes' door. And when police entered the small efficiency apartment, they found things were far from OK. Rhodes' frail body was discovered on the floor, lying partially under her bed. Police said she had been beaten, then strangled by an unknown intruder during an apparent robbery.

No doubt about it, the kids at Camden High love Mr. Jenkins. They say the acting principal - who's been in the district twice as long as they've been alive - has turned their school around in just three short months. Last year, they say, students could stroll in as late as 10 a.m. - and many did. Last year, students cut class frequently. And those who did go to school were afraid of violent outbreaks in the hallways. Not anymore. This year, students say, the hallways are safer and discipline is tighter.

He wasn't a statesman, a historian or a college professor, but he had been asked to come and talk to students at Henderson High School about the Constitution. He seemed a bit overwhelmed by the task, at times fumbling for ways to apply his life experiences to the tenets of the 200-year-old document. But former baseball star Tug McGraw's constitutional pitch turned out to be a big hit. McGraw's visit to the high school in West Chester was one of many ways that area students celebrated the bicentennial of the Constitution.

THE HIGHLANDS AND THE MOORS AT RADLEY RUN West Chester 793-1494, 793-1567 The fields in Chester County where the De Lacey family used to put their cows out to graze are now dotted with a herd of custom-built houses selling for $380,000 and up - the Highlands and the Moors at Radley Run. The rolling hills that used to be planted with crops are being landscaped with 176 London plane trees, 56 October glory red maples, 53 little leaf...

An African American shopper who says he suffers emotional distress and mental afflictions caused by a racist intercom announcement he heard two years ago at a Wal-Mart store in Washington Township, Gloucester County, is suing the retail giant for $1 million. Donnell Battie, 35, of Winslow Township, was in the crowded store on Route 42 the evening of March 14, 2010, when a male voice said over the loudspeaker: "Attention Wal-Mart customers, all black people must leave the store.

A racist remark that was broadcast at a Wal-Mart in Turnersville has prompted the national chain to fix intercom systems that have been plagued by bogus store announcements for years. "It's something we're implementing nationwide in all our stores," said Ashley Hardie, a spokeswoman for the discount chain. The majority of 2,800 Wal-Mart supercenters "updated their systems" last weekend, she said, declining to divulge details of what that entailed. Washington Township police Sunday announced they had arrested a 16-year-old Atlantic County boy on harassment and bias intimidation charges for using the intercom at the Turnersville store March 14 to ask "all the black people" to leave.

We take you now to a meeting of Gov.-elect Jon Corzine and acting Gov. Richard Codey in the very near future . . . Corzine: "Dick, thanks for meeting with me. As you know, I will be sworn in as governor very soon. And I could sure use your advice about the job. " Codey: "I'm happy to help, Jon. The most important things are to keep your sense of humor, and always be your own man. " Corzine: "Sounds easy enough. " The buzz of an intercom interrupts. Aide: "Gov.

A Coatesville high school principal is under fire for a statement he made over his school's intercom system about rumors of students bringing firearms to school. Principal William Brunson of Coatesville Intermediate High School said that when he spoke to the student body on May 11, he said, "If you're going to do it, just do it. " Brunson said his remark was taken out of context. "What I wanted to convey to my staff and my students was they weren't to be scared, intimidated, because there were a lot of rumors that had been spread," he said yesterday.

If she was only a few years younger, says Esther Struse, 76, she would move to Hollywood, put peroxide on her hair, and star in her own variety show. "I could cause quite a commotion in Tinseltown," said Struse, fluttering her flamingo-pink fingernails in the air. "Don't you doubt that for a second. " There's no doubting it. For the last 19 years, Struse has been practicing her show-biz routine Fridays through Tuesdays at the Exton Kmart store. As the store's greeter, Struse lines up shopping carts, confronts shoplifters, and smiles a lot. But that's just her warm-up.

No doubt about it, the kids at Camden High love Mr. Jenkins. They say the acting principal - who's been in the district twice as long as they've been alive - has turned their school around in just three short months. Last year, they say, students could stroll in as late as 10 a.m. - and many did. Last year, students cut class frequently. And those who did go to school were afraid of violent outbreaks in the hallways. Not anymore. This year, students say, the hallways are safer and discipline is tighter.

Standing in front of a class of first-graders, J.F. Cooper Principal Tammy McDonald wears a pair of in-line skates. She was meeting a challenge posed by her students, who finished a reading program ahead of schedule. The program called for students and the community to complete a million minutes of reading. McDonald also sang over the intercom and read poetry to students yesterday.

Every morning a security guard patrols the halls of the 18-story Casa Enrico Fermi apartments in Center City, expecting to see an "I'm OK" sign on each of the doors of the 288-unit senior citizen building. When the guard got to the fifth floor yesterday morning, there was no sign on 83-year-old Elizabeth Rhodes' door. And when police entered the small efficiency apartment, they found things were far from OK. Rhodes' frail body was discovered on the floor, lying partially under her bed. Police said she had been beaten, then strangled by an unknown intruder during an apparent robbery.

An employee at the Flying W Airport said she heard Dr. Terry J. Chamberlain's voice over the intercom shortly after 3:30 p.m. Sunday calmly saying, "Coming in, engine out. " Minutes later, the single-engine aircraft Chamberlain was piloting crashed into a heavily wooded area on Foster Town Road, 400 yards from the runway. The landing gear was down. Chamberlain, 56, a prominent forensic psychiatrist who lived and practiced in Medford, was flown to Cooper Hospital-University Medical Center in Camden where he was pronounced dead at 8:25 p.m., according to Medford police officer Steve Endt.

Home engineers can save energy, sanity and their vocal cords with the newest addition to GE's line of undercabinet kitchen appliances. Without missing a beat, the GE Spacemaker intercom system (Model 7-4295) lets you announce "supper's ready" to the kids in the playroom, or your spouse in the home office or garage, while you're stirring a boiling pot, chopping vegetables or rinsing dishes. The core system ($69.95) includes an undercabinet mountable base unit with a small remote station, and a built-in AM/FM radio and clock.