Hackettstown Mom charged with 4th degree neglect
No words.
HACKETTSTOWN, NJ — A woman was arrested after a postal worker found her 5-year-old daughter alone outside their Hackettstown home, police said. On June 5, a postal worker delivering mail on the 100 block of Canal Way found a 5-year-old girl on the sidewalk in front of an empty home around 11 a.m.. The postal worker got the attention of a Mount Olive fire marshal, who then called police, police said. Police say an investigation revealed that 41-year-old Alison Gamba, of Hackettstown, left her daughter home alone for the day while she went to work about forty minutes away. Gamba was charged with child neglect and taken to the Warren County Correctional Facility.
- The Patch
peionieshttp://www.njherald.com/story/23089427/alcohol-fuels-summonses-for-two-in-hackettstown#//
Alcohol fuels summonses for two in Hackettstown
Posted: Aug. 8, 2013 10:40 pm Updated: Aug. 15, 2013 1:00 am
HACKETTSTOWN — An Edison man and Hackettstown woman were issued summonses for drinking alcohol at Alumni Field, police said.
On July 6 at 10:15 p.m., Hackettstown police were on routine patrol near Alumni Field on Willow Grove Street when an officer saw a car parked in the lot after hours. Through an investigation, it was determined that Cornelius Chirichella, 51, and Alison Gamba, 37, were drinking tequila.
They were issued summonses for possession/consumption of alcoholic beverage in Alumni Field and for being at Alumni Field after house, police said. Both were released pending a court appearance.
According to her FB she can only count on herself. It seems even she let herself down...
Lori...Since '73 
Botheredbyuu2 I know a lot of people like to jump in on the condemnation of others when things like this happen, but Weather Man, I fail to see how being issued a summons for having a drink at alumni 5 years ago relates to this situation (which I am not at all defending). Many otherwise law abiding citizens have snuck in a sip or 2 of alcohol in places that it is not permitted...should we go try to dig up dirt on everyone?
Localchef 
notstinky Well said localchef
I for one have enjoyed a cold brew or toke on state or federal land that was considered contraband.
Miss Gamba doesn’t need to be dragged threw the mud.
Weedwacker 
Metsman Just saying no one should drag anyone through the mud. But the fact remains that a five year old child was left alone and wandering on the street while the mom was at work 45 min away. There are county programs to help with day care. Think about the kid instead of the mother.
Kikinj Cornelius may be the father, but the kid (if she is 5 years old as mentioned in the article) was already born when they got arrested. I wonder if she was home alone then, too.
ianimal 
littlelu So sad for that little girl. News said her mother wasnt home when she got up. Postal worker says child was shaking and crying. Hopefully she will be safe with her father. How on earth do you do that to your child. Just terrible!
Mt Olive fire marshall absolutely lives in Hackettstown but not where the above person said. I went to high school with him. Keep in mind mount olive fire Marshall was (I think still is) handling fire inspections for Hackettstown.
Mommyof3 
Proud liberal I was just curious why would someone call the mt olive fire Marshall and now we know why..he lived in the area
Dodgebaal PLEASE share any information of local/country programs to HELP struggling parents with daycare. Let's turn this sad situation into something that may help another family and prevent a similar situation!
Snowcat How do you leave a sleeping 5 year old home to wake up to no one? What was this woman high... This is as stupid as people who forget their children are in the car still when they go to work.
Not every woman is cut out to be a mother.
So sad for the children. There were three bicycles in front of her front door, so it looks like she had three kids.
Where was the husband?
He had to have known that his wife had a full-time job 45 minutes away.
Older Mom Older Mom - She could have been a single mom, we don't know for sure what the situation is. Regardless, no one should be leaving a 5 year old home alone.
Thank you to the postal worker and the fire marshall who helped this child out! Thank goodness there are still good people in this world. That poor little girl very easily could have become a statistic if it werent for these people. I have to wonder how many cars and people passed this child sitting alone outside and didnt question why she was alone and crying. How scary. I have a 5 year old daughter myself and I couldnt imagine leaving her alone. I pray this mother gets the help she needs. There are many programs out there for single parents who are struggling with child care. Hopefully this mother gets the help she needs in order to work and take care of her child.
Mansfieldmomof3 I cant believe what im reading.... Of course the first line of duty is to make sure the child is safe and sound. I have always been taught "believe half of what you read" None of us were there, none of us live with that family, and none of us can throw stones when we have all gone to the post office, quick check, dunkin donuts, etc and left our sleeping child in the car or gone to the store while our child lies asleep in thier bed. I for one do not know her work was 45 min away, i for one do not know if her siblings were taking care of her and deceided to play outside. We all know the name of the mother from reports, has anyone reached out? Has anyone asked "how can we help?" Things like this may happen because a person may feel they have "NO ONE." to call upon, or circumstances may have been an emergency. Society is so quick to judge and say "what a terrible" mother. When I was growing up people looked out for one another, they watched thier streets and knew their neighbors. I never heard such blame and jugement as i have now. If you know people need help just "DO IT" instead I hear people say "call if you need anything" What a ridiculouce statement. There are so many people who for whatever reason are unable to ask for help, perhaps like this family. Dont ask, just do the right thing. I know I have.
charmer I for one, have never left my child in the car sleeping or run into a store and leave my child in the car!! I am not perfect but that is one of the most ridiculous and scary generalized statement I have ever read.
Charmer some of what you said is true but come on... That's a special kind of stupid to leave a 5 year old home alone so you can go to work 45 minutes away. It's not like she went down the street to quick check to get milk. The girl obviously had no clue where her mother was. That's pretty traumatizing to a kid that age.
Metsman dear.... If all the facts are true i totally agree.... It was mentioned about 3 bikes being outside. All I said is perhaps their were siblings that were suppose to watch her. Also several different news channels and paper said 3 different things about how far away her job was. I cant be clearer enough... I so DONT agree with this, I just wasnt there and I dont know the whole story. Ive read too many storys that say something totally different in the end. Not judging until then. :)
Molly, let me guess.... youre under 30... Not so ridiculous as you think. Ask your mom, your aunts, your teachers. Being naive to things like this is scary... :)
Charmer, I am a 60-year-old grandmother that has lived in Hackettstown my whole life and still... no, I have never left my children in the car. I do not have to ask anyone for any kind of justification for this.
That's crazy I would never leave my children in the car and attended as I have little ones and I certainly would not go up the street without bringing my children with me to go get milk at Quick Chek. Times have changed and you read in the newspaper about kids getting stolen because they keep their car running while they go inside to get something in the store and that criminal takes off with your car and your kid no thank you not in today's world
If there were older kids home that were so supposed to watch her then the mother wouldn't have been charged. I remember watching my sisters one summer when I was 14. They were around that girls age.
Again Metsman, I agree with you. I just dont judge untill i get all the facts.
Molly, relax it was a joke.... No harm intended
OK so we may not know the whole story.....but the bottom line is that a very young child was left alone and should not have been. There are no excuses for that. Luckily the police were called and she is safe.
I believe there are programs out there to help with child care if you need it. Whatever reason she had for leaving a child that young alone is not good enough IMO. She went to work outside of the area not just across the street or down the block. This mother either has absolutely no common sense whatsoever or something is seriously clouding her judgement.
JRT Hey all! Since I don’t live in town anymore I don’t come on here often but I do check in from time to time because I miss Hackettstown so much. I haven’t said anything about this story but now I feel I have to. I personally know this family. The mother who was arrested worked for me for 4 years and we became friends. Our sons played together regularly and my son worked for her ex husband for a summer. Let me say that I in no way condone what has happened. I was shocked and appalled as soon as I read it. But I was also confused. This isn’t the Alison I knew. (And yes, my name is Alison too but I’m not her. Lol. Many of you know me and I moved to VA two years ago). She loves her children and would never knowingly put them in danger. I have spoken with the family and her and all I can say is that this is obviously a terrible time for all of them. Alison is a wreck over what happened. Know that this was a horrible situation. I can’t say specifically what happened but I can say that it isn’t what it appears to be. I wish I could say more but it isn’t mine to share. She is too ashamed to even leave her house. This is horrible and I just hope I can be a good friend to all of them. I wish I lived closer so I could help more but I don’t. So please just know there is more to the story. What happened is terrible and Believe me, this is something that she will never forgive herself for.
Alisondev I would love to say more but I don’t know what she is and isn’t allowed to share for legal reasons, I’m sure you can understand that.
Here is my take on this entire thread:
It's too easy these days with Facebook, twitter, online forums, etc. to accuse one another. No one knows what burdens another person has been dealt in life, or what their struggles are. Every single person is dealing with SOMETHING. We don't know what those burdens are, but we are quick to judge, because it's so easy today with the internet to do so.
Not just this particular incident, but the countless others that happen every day, everywhere.
I feel badly for the child, of course, but also feel badly for the mother. She will have her time in court, but she has to deal with the "internet of opinions" in the meantime. Imagine for a moment the additional stress this is causing her. I think it's unnecessary... but I, too, have been guilty of the same thing in the past: passing judgement based on a police report and news article. I now think I was wrong. I believe if we all knew what another person was actually going through and facing in life, we would be less quick to judge and make any type of comments online.
Further, this creates a horrible climate for us to all live in. G-d forbid one of us makes a mistake... we will all be likely judged in the same way. And it can happen to any one of us, because none of us are perfect human beings.
Rebecka 
positive Well unfortunately this incident was on the TV news stations. The woman is going to go through hell for several months I'm sure. And I wouldn't be surprised if DYFS had a judge sign an order to keep the woman from being able to see her child until she jumps through hoops for them.
justintime Yes, we all make mistakes and nobody is perfect. Some mistakes however end far more tragically than others. I am glad this one did not since it involved a child.
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