PHILADELPHIA – Crews in Burlington County, New Jersey are battling a wildfire in Wharton State Forest. 

Officials say the fire is burning in Tabernacle Township near the Batona Campground and Apple Pie Hill. 

The campground has since been evacuated and the Batona Trail was closed between Route 532 and Carranza Road. Local Wharton State Forest roads are also closed in the area. 

Officials say the fire is impacting about 100 acres and is 0% contained. Two structures are also threatened as a result of the fire. 

The public is asked to avoid the area while crews work to contain the fire.

The New Jersey Bankers Association recently installed a new slate of officers for its 2024-2025 fiscal year, including Patrick Ryan of First Bank as chair, Craig Montanaro of Kearny Bank as first vice chair and Elizabeth Magennis of ConnectOne Bank as second vice chair.

Ryan said he is eager for the opportunity.

“I’m very excited for the coming year as chair of the New Jersey Bankers Association,” he said. “This is an exciting and challenging time in our industry.

“NJBankers is in a great position to help member banks navigate these turbulent waters. And, more importantly, the association can help drive meaningful change as we move forward. We have an amazing team of leaders at the association. I’m proud to have this opportunity to do my small part to help the industry grow and prosper in the next year and beyond.”

Ryan is the founder, director, CEO and president of First Bank, and is responsible for the strategic direction and overall performance of the company. Since the bank’s inception in 2008, it has grown to 26 locations in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Florida, with $3.59 billion in assets and 288 employees.

First Bank has been named one of S&P Global Market Intelligence’s Top 100 Best-Performing Community Banks in the nation for record growth and profitability.

Montanaro is the CEO of Kearny Bank. He was appointed to serve on the board of directors of Kearny Financial Corp. and the board of directors of Kearny Bank in 2010. He joined Kearny Bank in 2003 when Kearny acquired West Essex Bank, where he served as chief operating officer. He was appointed CEO of Kearny Financial and Kearny Bank in April 2011.

Magennis is the president of ConnectOne Bank, the bank subsidiary of ConnectOne Bancorp Inc. ConnectOne is a leading commercial bank, with over $9 billion in assets, serving the New Jersey, New York and South Florida markets.

Magennis holds over 30 years of experience in the banking industry. As president of ConnectOne, she is responsible for the growth, function and strategic direction of the bank. She joined ConnectOne Bank in 2006 and has played an integral role in growing the company to a top-performing bank with industry-leading metrics.

Steven Klein, chair and CEO of Northfield Bank, will serve as immediate former chair.

In addition, new members serving on the NJBankers board of directors for the 2024-2025 year include:

• John Borelli, Jr.: CEO, Newfield National Bank;
• Matthew Carcich: CEO, Freedom Bank;
• John DeSclafani: senior vice president/commercial banking leader, Wells Fargo Bank;
• Edward Dietzler: CEO, Bank of Princeton;
• Catherine Franzoni: Chief operating officer, Manasquan Bank;
• Donald Mindiak: CEO, First Commerce Bank;
• Michael Shriner: CEO, BCB Bank.

CAMDEN, N.J. (CBS) — As the nation celebrates its 248th birthday, dozens of new U.S. citizens celebrated their own milestone Thursday. 

“I see freedom,” said Jonathan A. Monger as he looked up at the American flag waving on the pier near the USS Battleship New Jersey. “I see this nation being a great nation and the land of opportunities.”

Monger is one of 42 men and women who took their oath of American citizenship in a special ceremony aboard the Battleship New Jersey, including nine U.S. military service members. 

“It’s a journey that I’ve come through and I anticipate to go further and I appreciate this because it falls on Independence Day,” Monger said. “That makes it historic and it’s a great day in my life.”

The citizenship candidates were all lawful permanent residents and have met the requirements to naturalize, including passing a history and civics exam unless exempt. 

More than 878,500 new citizens were naturalized in fiscal year 2023 during ceremonies nationwide.

“All of us know every immigrant has a special story or incredible story to tell how our journey started and we believe in the process of this immigration and it’s a dream come true for us,” said Armand Arana, who immigrated to the northeast in 2006. “It’s freedom, opportunity and greatness.”

The citizenship candidates originate 21 countries: Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ghana, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Jordan, Liberia, Mexico, Montenegro, Nigeria, Norway, Peru, Philippines, South Korea, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom and Venezuela.