VILLAS – The Lower Township Council signed on a new Police Department officer and chaplain as part of its final meeting before the New Year on Monday, Dec. 16.
Pastor Shelton Marsden was sworn in as the newest chaplain for the Police Department chaplain crew. Marsden took over as pastor of the Seashore Community Church of the Nazarene in the spring, replacing Pastor Tim West, who was also a township police chaplain.
Marsden spoke briefly at the meeting, telling how he was seriously injured in an accident when the ambulance on which he was serving was struck by a drunk driver. The patient they were carrying died and the driver was seriously injured.
He said the accident, and the apparent lack of support for first responders after the accident, caused him to enter the ministry and consider serving as a police chaplain. He took the oath from Mayor Frank Sippel as Heather Marsden held the Bible.
The mayor also gave the oath of office to new full-time police officer Catherine DelGuidice. Police Chief Kevin Lewis read a brief biography of DelGuidice, saying she was a graduate of Mainland Regional High School who was a corrections officer before becoming a Class II officer with the township. DelGuidice’s mother, Karen, pinned the badge on the new officer.
The mayor and council also honored township employee Georgia Dougherty, who works in the Finance Office, for her volunteer efforts in the township. Sippel presented Dougherty with a plaque for her work as a volunteer with the Lower Township Municipal Alliance. As such, she worked for many years with the After Prom Party for Lower Cape May Regional High School and in various other efforts.
Also honored at the Dec. 16 meeting were members of the Beach Drive Pedestrian Safety Improvement Project, who helped create a plan for pedestrian safety on Shore Drive running along Delaware Bay in North Cape May. Committee members included Lonnie Bedell, Mark DiDonato, Bruce Fournier, Maria Gegan, Deb Johns, Nels Johnson, Eileen Kreis, Ron Lamoreaux, Mike Lang, Steve Morey, Bob Osborn and Jim Ridgway.
Contact the reporter, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or call 609-886-8600, ext. 128.
