The Philadelphia Inquirer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page 95

City Region Inside The City Region pages follow B6. These pages are designated R. Lately the median strip of South Broad Street isn't free of parking tickets. Rl. Craig Rabinowitz is to make his first court appearance since his arrest.

Rl. Obituaries, R2. Weather, R3. South Jersey Sports, D8. South Jersey Bl Thursday, May 22, 1997 L-ZLL.

JLJll 1.1 1 Judge rules in Medford development controversy A developer was told to seek state permission to nsfi a rrvmmerHfll sewer Burlco sheriff decides to stay on Gary L. Daniels withdrew his name from consideration for the county prosecutor's position. system. It would decrease aVv -n, iimimiMBiiMiBMiii iiiibii iiiihiiiiiiiiiiiii inimMHiTtmirai wMimtt'- mmmm For The Inquirer NORMAN LONO En route to the statewide competition, Clearview Regional High School students Patrick Barrar (left) and David Smith apply their makeup. The school's theater program received nine nominations for its production of 'The Secret ill The SchOOlS By Maureen Fitzgerald Academy Awards-like trip for Clearview theater group i 1 1 1 project permits needed.

By Karen Aucrbach INQUIRER CORRESPONDENT MOUNT HOLLY It was, for the casual observer, a tedious trial overwrought with technical talk about sewer systems. But for Medford officials and developer Stephen Samost, who have been haggling for almost three years over sewer permits for Sa-most's proposed Easttown and Eayr-estown developments, a judge's ruling yesterday cleared up the last major stumbling stone in the approval process. Sort of. In a trial that hinged on how many sewer permits Samost is enti-. tied to for the two projects, Burlington County Superior Court Judge Myron Gottlieb ordered Samost to seek stale permission to use a specialized commercial sewer system, called Cycle-Let, that lowers the number of sewer permits needed.

But the issue is likely to return to Gottlieb's courtroom. If the state Department of Environmental Protection says no to the system, which Samost and the township previously had agreed to use, Gottlieb said, the township would be required to supply the additional permits that the developer needs. That could increase Medford's required share of affordable-housing units, which the state Council on Affordable Housing drastically reduced on the basis of a lack of municipal sewer capacity. The town-, ship is eager for the developments to be built because they would fulfill Medford's current requirement of 77 units. The number of available sewer permits is a major factor in the size of the two massive mixed-use developments, whose proposed construction off Route 70 in a largely undeveloped section near Medford's border with Southampton has riled some residents.

Fewer permits would mean that Samost might have to scale back the projects' size. He bought up all the township's available sewer permits in 1988. A strict time frame governing Sa-most's Cycle-Let application means that it probably would be denied, one DEP official said. For the DEP to approve Samost's request, Medford first must receive department approval for an amend-! ment to its wastewater-management plari to permit the system's use at I'X r. i 'I The choir room at Clearview Regional High School was a jumble of jittery theater people.

Jennifer Busa, 17, was whirling around the room, spontaneously breaking into song; Carol Maggiancalda, teacher and costume designer, calmed her nerves by collecting money and checking off names; and Bree Leman, 19, was trying to decide which little black dress she should bring just in case she had to walk on stage and accept an award. Should she wear the black with sequins that she wore as homecoming queen or "my French one" the flared black one with flowers? Cast members from the school's musical were waiting to board a bus for the Rising Star Awards the Academy Awards for high school musical productions held at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn. Over the last few months, judges reviewed plays from 80 high schools from across the state at every high school that entered the competition and invited finalists from 49 schools in 21 categories to the awards ceremony on Tuesday. The Gloucester County school's production of The Secret Garden was nominated in nine categories, including best production and best actor. Only Union and Westfield High Schools had more nominations, with 10 each.

"It's a real mark of distinction for us," said Jack Hill, director of the play. "We really feel like we put Clearview High School on the map as top-class theater." Hill and his productions were already legendary among the local community. With this year's budget at $35,000 most of the money raised in program ads by the students themselves the cast wore rented Broadway costumes, built an elaborate set, and brought in a professional lighting designer and choreographer. But the Rising Star program, created last year, gave Hill the opportunity to see how his performances stacked up against other high school musicals around the state. Hill and four of his students were competing at another drama competition, the Teen Arts Festival in Trenton, that same day, so they would be meeting the bus at the theater in North Jersey.

The task of shepherding the students to the theater fell to Maggiancalda and Barbie Sue McCrane, the associate director and choreographer. "OK, find a seat and try to relax," Maggiancalda began, addressing the students from the front of the bus. "OK. OK. Please, no yelling or loud singing.

SAVE YOUR VOICES." "Whew," she said, collapsing into her seat. "I am nervous. It's like we're going to the By Douglas A. Campbell INQUIRER STAFF WRITER MOUNT HOLLY Burlington County Sheriff Gary L. Daniels has withdrawn his name from consideration as county prosecutor, saying that upon reflection, he wishes to complete the three-year sheriff's term to which he was elected two years ago.

Daniels said yesterday that he was interviewed by both the county and the state bar associations as a candidate to replace Stephen G. Raymond, who last month announced his resignation, having not been re- appointed by Gov. Whitman. "I assume it the interviews went very well," said Daniels, who worked in the Prosecutor's Office for 15 years, most recently as chief of county detectives. "But the bottom line here is the fact that I had a chance to really reflect upon the job of prosecutor), reflect upon what I'm doing now.

It was a difficult de-1 cision to make. It was a very prudent decision on my part." Raymond, who served for 15 years as county prosecutor, was in 1982 the youngest person to be named to that position in New Jersey and became dean of the prosecutors. Despite Raymond's being a Republican, Whitman didn't reappoint him, saying that he was blocked by the refusal of state senators from the county to endorse him. But Sen. Jack Casey, a Democrat in the Seventh Legislative District and the only Democratic senator representing Burlington County, said he had not blocked Raymond.

Daniels, whose name was frequently mentioned as the front-runner to replace Raymond, said "there was never any communication relayed to me that I was Whitman's number one choice. As I understood it, there were a number of people, including myself, who were interested and had applied for the position." He said he phoned the Governor's Office and wrote a letter this week withdrawing his name from consideration. Daniels said he was gratified by the governor's consideration. "Nor am I foreclosing this in the future. I owe the voters, as well as the employees of this department, my commitment to finish my term and to continue to finish the number of projects we've started," he said.

eral key votes. McGreevey calls into question Andrews' votes on "the Gingrich tax scheme that threatened Medicare" and the Gingrich-sponsored welfare plan that would have abolished the federal school-lunch program. Andrews, McGreevey said, "even voted with Gingrich against vaccines for children." The ad concludes: "He says he's a Democrat, but is Rob Andrews really on our side?" Andrews fired back, declaring through a spokesman that McGreevey, a state senator from Middlesex County and the mayor of Wood-bridge, was running a "negative, gutter campaign." "Mr. McGreevey is desperate. That's why he's gone negative," said a statement issued by the Andrews campaign.

'New Jerseyans are styk of Jim McGreevey's kind of politics, which distorts and outright lies See MCGREEVEY AD on B5 Christian Eastburn rehearses. He was a nervous wreck as the winners were read. state championships." As the bus rumbled into the theater lot two hours later, the students were hungry and eager to dress for rehearsal. As contenders for best production, the students would be performing in full costume a piece of the prologue from the musical. After a quick bite to eat, they were back on the bus, transforming themselves from students in T-shirts and shorts and sneakers See CLEARVIEW on B2 the site.

The township submitted 1 the amendment in July. In a best- case scenario, the DEP will decide See MEDFORD on B5 Campaign '97 Lenape district board lets Woodland in McGreevey TV ad assails Andrews on voting record did it," said Robert Backer, administrative principal of the 187-pupil K-8 Woodland district. The Woodland board sought the change because "we feel that Lenape provides a far superior schooling to what students are receiving at Pemberton High School," said Krista Karycinski, Woodland's school board president. Pemberton, one of the school districts the state has designated as "needy," had long resisted the move, saying that Woodland students received a quality education at Pemberton High School. In addition, Pemberton The had been to switch sending students Pemberton High township trying from to School.

In December, the board had said it would consider Woodland's request to send students to Lenape in September if there were plans in place to relieve overcrowding at all three of Lenape's high schools and if the new state funding formula would not have a negative impact on the residents of Lenape's seven current sending districts. Now, nearly 6,000 students attend Cherokee, Lenape and Shawnee, Lenape's three high schools. There are 1,300 students at Pemberton High School. "We're disappointed that Woodland students will be leaving the Pemberton district," said Wendy Schadt, Pemberton's school superintendent. "They Woodland students have had a positive impact on the school." Woodland parents have long cited statistics showing that Lenape Regional High School does better than Pemberton in several categories.

For example, the SAT verbal average in Pembeaton was 469 last year, while it was' 523 in Lenape. The math average respectively was 478 See WOODLAND on B2 school board president. "Basically the assistant commissioner told the board it needed to vote yes, we'll accept Woodland, or no, we won't," said Lenape School Superintendent Daniel Hicks. "Although the board would have preferred accepting Woodland with the conditions, the consen sus of the board last December was that there would be no financial impact associated with accepting Woodland and that the insignificant number of high school students coming from Woodland would not seriously impact our facilities. Tuesday's decision was based on the same consensus, said Hicks.

"There were no significant reasons to deny Woodland's request," Hicks explained. "In making the latest decision, the board also took into cpnsideration its receipt of a survey which indicated over 300 Woodland residents supported the idea of joining the Lenape district." By Louise Harbach INQUIRER CORRESPONDENT After years spent trying to sever its sending-receiving relationship with Pemberton Township, the Woodland Board of Education has finally gotten its wish: Come September, high school students from the sprawling 94-square-mile township deep in the Pinelands will attend school in the Lenape Regional High School District. Next year, about 15 Woodland students from the sparsely populated municipality will go to Lenape Regional High School, one of three high schools in the Lenape district, following a decision Tuesday by the Lenape school board. As a result of the Lenape board's decision, Woodland will be admitted as the eighth member of the regional district. Since 1958, Lenape has consisted of students from Evesham, Medford, Medford Lakes, Mount Laurel, Shamong, Southampton and Tabernacle.

"It'sougher in this state to sever a sender-receiving school relationship than it is for a country to withdraw from the Soviet Union, but we Andrews voted with Gingrich, says the ad, airing in the Jersey market. By Tom Turcol INQUIRER STAFF WRITER With the June 3 primary less than two weeks away, Democratic gubernatorial candidate James E. McGreevey has struck at the heart of rival Robert E. Andrews' South Jersey base with a scorching assault on Andrews' support for Republican measures in Congress. In a sharp-edged television commercial airing in the Philadelphia-South Jersey market, McGreevey urges Democrats to reject Andrews, a congressman from Camden County, because he had sided with House Speaker Newt Gingrich and conservative Republicans on sev stands to lose more than $277,000 in tuition payments from Woodland.

After the Lenape board was directed by the state Department of Education to clarify its December decision regarding Woodland's request tojoin the Lenape district, the Lenape board voted to accept Woodland without the conditions imposed then, said Paula Lee, Lenape's.