Come check out all of the newly planted flowers and vines as you stroll from Wellwood Park down West Maple Avenue. Residents and neighbors joined in the Garden Club's effort to fill the planters lining this streetscape following the West End Clean and Green Day on May 4th. Garden Club members supplemented the herbs and plants donated to IE Merchantville from the greenhouse at Sustainable Camden County during their trip to Platt’s Nursery on May 7th. and used the vegetation to beautify the many community spaces they maintain annually in the Borough.

Hurry, tickets are on sale! Our production of The Lion King, Jr. is right around the corner. Be sure to visit www.RisePerformers.com to purchase your tickets! Want a guaranteed great seat? Purchase a VIP ticket, and enjoy a complimentary snack and drink. The performance will take place on May 16-18th from 7:00-9:00 p.m. at the Salvation Army Kroc Center in Camden.

Recently, seniors from Saint Peter Parish in Merchantville filled a bus for a trip to Ventnor to “Follow the Way of Saint James on the Road to Life,”. The event was sponsored by Vitality Catholic Healthcare Services, as a way to celebrate and support the health and well-being of parents and grandparents. Starting at Saint James Church for morning prayer, the group of 100 proceeded to the boardwalk and walked 1.5 miles to Margate’s Blessed Sacrament Church, praying together along the way. Dating back to medieval times, The Camino de Santiago (Way of Saint James) is a network of pilgrims’ paths that end at the shrine of Saint James in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain, where it is said that the saint is buried.

Today the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports 704 measles cases in 22 states."This is the greatest number of cases reported in the United States since measles was eliminated from this country in 2000," says a CDC statement issued late Wednesday. The agency attributed the high number of cases primarily to a few large outbreaks — one in the state of Washington and two others in New York state. The longer they continue, the greater the chance measles will once again get a foothold in the United States,' said Dr Nancy Messonier. Children younger than 5 years of age and adults older than 20 years of age are more likely to suffer from measles complications. One in 20 children end up with pneumonia and 1 of 1,000 with brain swelling enchephalitis. For every 1,000 children who get measles, one or two will die from it.

Measles is on the rise again, all around the globe and travelers should protect themselves. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people who were vaccinated prior to 1968 with an early version of the vaccine, which was made from an inactivated (killed) virus, "should be revaccinated" with at least one dose of live attenuated measles vaccine. Meanwhile, most of the eldest Americans — those born before 1957 — are considered to be protected against measles and don't need a booster, because the virus was so widespread in their youth that nearly everyone was exposed.

Harriet M. Blaetz, lifelong Pennsauken resident passed away Saturday, April 27, 2019. She was 94. Harriet had retired as a Registered Nurse after many years spent working for the Methodist Hospital in Philadelphia and several doctor's offices in PA and NJ. She was also a member of Trinity United Methodist Church in Merchantville.Wife of the late Robert Blaetz; mother of the late John R. Blaetz; she is survived by her two loving children, Mary E. Blaetz of Pennsauken and Robert J. Blaetz of Collingswood. Funeral service and interment in Beverly National Cemetery will be private. Memorial contributions may be made in her memory to the Voorhees Animal Orphanage (vaonj.org). For condolences please visit www.gaskillbrown.com