By Dan Rogers

nj.com/south

BRIDGETON — As a teenager, Melissa Helm-brecht Kappeler, the recently appointed execu-tive director of the Court Appointed Special Advo-cates of Cumberland, Gloucester & Salem Coun-ties, Inc. (CASA of CGS), was on the verge of failing out of high school.

She failed nearly every year leading up to high school before flunking ninth grade at Arthur P. Schalick High School in Pittsgrove.

After moving to Florida, she failed 10th grade.

“I think I missed half the school year, probably,” Kap-

peler said in an interview last week. “I just skipped. ... I felt like I was drown-ing and just didn’t know how to turn things around. ... I was pretty much an

Close to failing, she now gives youths hope

(See KAPPELER, Page A-5S)

BREAKING NEWS: nj.com/south Storms, High 93, Low 74

Complete Forecast, Page A-2

TODAY’S WEATHERClassified .........EComics ............FCrossword ... C-4Dear Abby .... C-3

Garden .........D-4Horoscope ... C-8Jim Six.........D-1Nation .......... B-9

Obituaries ... B-10Region .........D-1Senior Menu . C-3 Sports .......... B-1

Sudoku ........ A-2Viewpoint ... A-10Wall St. ........D-3World ........... B-9

SUNDAYJerseySouthLOCAL BAND TO PERFORM WITH ALLMAN BROS. LIVING C-1

BIRDSOFPREYEAGLES FOOTBALL I SPORTS B-1

TEAM LOOKS FOR IMPROVED DEFENSE THIS SEASON

BREAKING NEWS ONLINE AT WWW.NJ.COM/SOUTH AUGUST 5, 2012 1ST YEAR: NO. 48 I COPYRIGHT 2012

AS MUCH AS $262 IN SAVINGS INSIDE

POWERING

$1

Ten-year-old Saadiq Wicks, CEO and founder of LLLet Me Finish (left), poses with his mother, Kim-berly Garvin, at their home in Voorhees.

Staff Photo by Dan Rogers

■ Melissa Helmbrecht Kappeler was getting poor grades in school; now she heads CASA

Lori A. Reaves, DOGeriatrician, Elder Care Specialist

Over a Decade Serving the Home Care Needs of South Jersey’s Medicare and Medicaid Recipients

GLOUCESTER • SALEM • CUMBERLAND • CAMDEN BURLINGTON • ATLANTIC • CAPE MAY • OCEAN COUNTIES

866.DOC.LORI www.vpasj.com3 6 2 . 5 6 7 4

By Dan Rogersnj.com/south

VOORHEES TWP. — Last week, 10-year-old Saadiq Wicks stood in front of a room filled with some of Cumberland County’s fin-est at the Bridgeton African American Union’s (BAAU) annual awards banquet.

It was the first time he had ever addressed a large crowd.

Saadiq, who stutters, had

turned down a previous offer to speak about bully-ing at a local church, so his mother, Kimberly Garvin, was surprised when he wrote a speech and took it to his speech therapist to practice.

“We were kind of waiting for him to just say he’s not doing it,” Garvin said. “We didn’t think he was going to.”

Boy’s stuttering is now his cause

(See SAADIQ, Page A-6S)

Staff Photo by Cindy Hepner

Melissa Helmbrecht Kap-peler is the youngest exec-utive director of CASA of Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem counties.

■ The owner of a Vineland store spoke of facing armed gunmen the previous evening

By Don E. Woods

nj.com/south

VINELAND – Kevin Kleiner opened up Dondero Diamonds and Fine Jewelry like it was any other Saturday.

The day before, he did the same,

but ended his day at gunpoint.When Kleiner was closing up the

store on Friday evening, around 5:30 p.m., two men armed with guns con-fronted him in the parking lot and took him back to the store, Kleiner says.

“Anybody that’s in the business of

jewelry, banks, or money, you always have some concerns about crime,” Kleiner said. “You take as many pre-cautions as you can to avoid these type of situations.”

Kleiner tried his best to delay the robbers but, having a gun pointed at him, his thoughts did not extend

past each passing moment, hoping that it was not his last.

“I was honestly just trying to coop-erate and just keep myself from get-ting shot,” he said.

“You’re hoping that what you say

Jeweler’s thought: Just don’t get shot

(See DONDEROS, Page A-7S)

2012 SUMMER OLYMPICS

VICTORY

LAP

OLYMPICS COVERAGE STARTS

ON PAGE B-1

Phelps ends Olympic career with one

more gold; Britain bursts onto the track

Above, Michael Phelps holds up a silver trophy after being honored as the most decorated Olympian at the Aquatics Centre on Saturday. At left, Britain’s Jessica Ennis celebrates winning gold follow-ing the 800-meter heptathlon in Olym-pic Stadium.

Associated Press Photos

By Jay Cohen

AP Sports Writer

Five things to know about Saturday, Day 8 of the Lon-don Olympics:n One last splash: Phelps

grabs 22nd medal with U.S. medley relay win.n Britannia you rock! An Olympic

day to remember for the hosts.n Pistorius makes 400 semis in

Olympic debut.n LeBron and Co. pushed in U.S.

hoops win over Lithuania.n Serena Williams gets a Golden

Slam, beats Sharapova in tennis final.

n When it was over, Michael Phelps

hugged his teammates, then headed off the deck for the final time.

Reclaiming the lead with his trademark butterfly stroke, Phelps won the 18th gold of an unparal-leled career when he helped the U.S. win the 4x100-meter medley

(See OLYMPICS, Page A-6S)

Staff Photo by Jesse Bair

A plaque is unveiled during a dedication ceremony at Mar-vin L. Watson Memorial Park in Woodstown Saturday.

By Andy Polhamus

nj.com/south

WOODSTOWN — Doz-ens of community members gathered Saturday at the dedication ceremony for Marvin L. Watson Memori-al Park to honor the memo-

ry of a borough native killed during the Vietnam War.

“It was a wonderful event,” said Woodstown Councilman Joe Hiles. “It’s really a testament to Marvin’s and all veterans’ service.”

Renamed park honors borough fallen veteran

(See WATSON, Page A-4S)

WOODSTOWN