From http://www.nj.com/news/times/regional/index.ssf?/base/news-13/1214539562300540.xml&coll=5

HAMILTON — John Badalamenti, standing inside his township home, came within two feet of a black bear yesterday and he has the video footage to prove it.

The young bear — which township officials told Badalamenti was the same bruin spotted elsewhere in Hamilton and Robbinsville earlier this week — twice visited his home on Cornflower Road in the Groveville section of town.

The first time, the bear devoured the contents of a bird feeder Badalamenti had in his backyard. During its second visit, the bear climbed onto the back deck and tried to remove the cover from the barbecue grill.

Both times, the bear fled into the woods behind his home before police and animal control officials arrived.

Badalamenti said he arrived home about 2:30 p.m. yesterday and went into his backyard to turn on his lawn sprinklers.

“I saw this black thing lying on my grass with my birdfeeder in his arms. I was like, ‘Is that what I think it is?’” he recounted. He said he ran inside, retrieved his video camera and zoomed in on the animal — which was about 25 feet away — to confirm it was indeed a bear.

He called township police. Even though they responded quickly, the bear fled even faster.

Thinking the bear was long gone, Badalamenti retrieved his broken bird feeder and unsuccessfully tried to fix it. In doing so, he spilled some birdseed on his deck.

Later, about 6:45 p.m., Badalamenti looked out a window and spotted the bear in his neighbor’s yard. He watched as the bear headed straight for the spilled seed on his deck.

As Badalamenti’s video camera recorded the action and he, his wife AnnMarie and their cat looked through the window, the bear ate up the seed and then stood up, sniffed at the grill, and clawed at the grill’s cover. At one point, only a window separated Badalamenti from the hungry bruin, he said.

“It was amazing. It was on my deck and I was only two feet away from it,” he said. “It’s the first time I’ve seen a bear outside a zoo.”

Again, the bear fled before police arrived, Badalamenti said, noting that officials advised him to keep his bird feeders inside until the bear leaves the area or is captured by state wildlife staff.

THREE 3-YEAR TERMS
Carol Boyne - 729
Sharon DeVito - 787
Matthew O’Grady - 863
(John Ruch - 646)

ONE 1-YEAR UNEXPIRED TERM
Joseph Armenti - 932

SCHOOL BUDGET
Total Budget: $36.8 million
Local Tax: $28.8 million
Yes - 664
No - 703