SHORE LOCAL | Сoastal | October 13, 2022

Shore Local: From ideas to production to print

and accounting. Fortunately, as the business grew over the years, our adult daughter, Sarah moved back to the area to also work full-time as a staff writer. Our other daughter, Holly teaches full-time and edits part-time.

From the Editor

Over the past few years, many of our friends have asked what it is like to run a newspaper. Like you, we are locals who want to share the lat est happenings and issues that affect our community. We care about the Jersey Shore because it's our home and we love everything this area has to offer.

Shore Local has been our full-time job since its inception in March of 2016. Many people have asked how it can possibly be free. It is the ad vertisers that make it happen. they fund this publication and it would not be possible without them. We appreciate them greatly and humbly ask that you in turn, support them.

From the beginning, b ob and I took on distinct roles. I handle edito rial, online content and social media, while bob heads up all advertising

Shore Local is SO much more than simply our family though. We have been blessed with a team of fabulous writers, photographers and videog raphers, all of whom live in and care deeply about our community.

We began working remotely, but opened an office about six months prior to the pandemic. realizing we were not utilizing it as much as planned, coupled with the unknown of 2020, we quickly gave it up and resumed working from our home and favorite coffee shops.

every morning, Sarah and I will discuss story ideas, schedule inter views, and discuss upcoming publish ing dates. We will stop at Wawa and Acme on the way to a cafe, grabbing bundles of magazines from the trunk and adding them to the rack in the store lobbies.

t hen we get to work. Sarah types quickly, taking notes while she conducts an interview. I examine the layout, carefully placing each

feature. One by one, I turn in each to our graphic designer with specific instructions.

each day is a little different, de pending on how close our publication date is set. On deadline days, b ob, Sarah and I work closely with our copy editors James and Holly to get the final draft of each story. We are in constant communication with our graphic designer to set pictures and write captions, include bio boxes and headlines, and finalize the cover.

On Wednesdays, from 6 p.m. to 11-ish, the three of us are staring at our computers, studying each page to make sure there are no typos. (there is always one that gets by us.)

We submit photos and brainstorm cover headlines that will draw in new readers. At the end of the night, bob sends the final version to the printer and thousands of copies print over night.

early the following morning, bob wakes up, grabs his coffee for the road, and drives out in our cargo van to pick up all the bundles of the new issue. then it is feet on the street. throughout the rest of the day, he will hand off bundles to every delivery driver, each covering different zones.

At home, I upload the new issue to our website and post the cover shot on social media, tagging every writer and photographer included in the book. I make sure the event listings are available digitally and our subscribers receive an email outlining the new stories. We do it again and again and we have now published well over 200 issues in our six years in business.

t hank you for supporting our little family business. We couldn’t do this without you, our reader, who generously devotes their time to this homegrown publication.

Peace & Love, Cindy

Ian and Sandy: Comparing two monster storms

Ian accentuates both the good and the bad in modern day hurricane forecasting, and has forecasters and the public craving improvements in messaging and action ahead of any storm.

Weather

By Dan Skeldon

“I

t only takes one storm to define an entire sea son.”

It’s a phrase I use all the time, including in past columns, with respect to hurricane season. And it certainly applies this year, an otherwise quiet year until Fiona pummeled Puerto rico, and then Ian unleashed its fury on the Southwest Florida Gulf coast. the pictures and the stories of the devastation are heartbreaking.

Over a hundred lives were lost due to Ian, and the total damage will be staggering when calculated, like ly the costliest storm to ever strike Florida. We all knew Ian was coming and was going to be catastrophic for someone. b ut just how strong and precisely where the storm would make landfall were uncertain, in some cases until it was too late.

Let’s start with the forecast track you see on television or on your fa vorite social media feed. that track isn’t just a line, although that’s what most people focus on. rather, it typically shows a cone that extends out from the hurricane, what most know as the “cone of uncertainty.” As its name suggests, it highlights the area where a hurricane is most likely to go, but it could conceivably be anywhere in that cone. the wider the cone, the bigger the inherent uncertainty. In theory, anyone in the cone should prepare for a direct hurricane hit. In fact, those just out side the cone should vigilantly stand guard as well.

Instead, it’s human nature for res idents, vacationers, and the media to focus on the line in the center of the cone. And that’s misleading, for several reasons. First, a hurricane is more than just a point, as most can be several hundred miles wide. Sec ond, the average error in forecast ing the track of a hurricane grows

from a 40-mile error one day out to a 175-mile error for a forecast five days out. Yes, errors can be signifi cant, but that doesn’t diminish how far hurricane forecasts have come. And a major hurricane will never strike without advanced notice, not to mention saturated media cover age as well.

but remember in advance of Ian, the exact track focused on tampa (and even farther north, not south), as did the media, as ground zero. All the while, much of the Florida Gulf coast, from the panhandle to Fort Myers, was in the cone of uncertain ty. And later tracks indeed steadily shifted south, to the southern edge of the cone and the Fort Myers area.

So in hindsight, the forecast had its flaws. but so too did the messag ing, and the actions taken before Ian’s landfall. Some in the meteo rology community are wondering if just showing the cone, one without a line down the center of the most likely track, will keep a focus on the entire cone, not just the center of it. Yes, the worst storm surge will lie just to the right of where the storm makes landfall, while the heaviest rain is usually to the left, with hurri cane force winds of course on both sides. So the landfall point certainly matters. b ut a hurricane is a large circle of destruction, not just a point.

Just think of South Jersey during Hurricane Sandy, with the 10-year anniversary (and a column commemorating that) coming later this month. Sandy made a landfall in b rigantine, with the worst surge to the right (Ocean and Monmouth counties), and the heaviest rain to the left (Atlantic, c ape May, and cumberland counties). but the entire state of New Jersey was in the cone, and the entire state should have been prepared. In advance of the

storm, all of the barrier islands from Sandy Hook to cape May were under evacuation orders well in advance of the storm. While evacuations can be costly, disruptive, and inconvenient, especially if the area being evacuat ed is ultimately missed by the worst of the storm, it may be the only way to account for the uncertainty in a hurricane’s track and intensity. evac uations of more of the Florida Gulf coast further in advance could have saved lives.

Forecast accuracy matters, and while errors are still made, they are getting steadily smaller over time. b ut forecast messaging is import ant too, as the value of an accurate forecast is greatly diminished if the public doesn’t understand the ex pected impacts or believes they are off the hook.

Here in South Jersey, we learned a lot about both hurricane forecast ing and messaging from Sandy. And the most prepared communities that lead to the least loss of life are those that have a trust in their forecasts and emergency management offi cials, and have an understanding of what type of impacts to expect and what actions to take in advance of a storm. Only then can any person or community be truly storm ready when Mother Nature comes calling.

Meteorologist Dan Skeldon has a degree in meteorology from Cornell University. He has forecasted the weather in South Jersey for the last 18 years, first on the former television station NBC40 and then on Longport Media radio. Dan has earned the American Meteorological Society Seal of Approval for Broadcast Meteorologists, and now does television broadcasts on WFMZTV in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley.

Did

Air Conditioner

Keep Up This

Monarch migration is under way

“ t here is still a chance that we could see a large push of monarchs within the next week or two,” Schwarderer said.

By Steffen Klenk

South Jersey sits along one of the most captivating fly ways for migratory species. Fall provides a perfect time to witness what nature has to offer. Whether that means visiting a state park or nature observatory, you are almost certain to witness something special.

Our region has seen an increase in the number of monarch butterflies in recent weeks, but these beautiful creatures will not stay very long. With their migration season under way, groups such as the c ape May bird Observatory (cM bO) have been keeping an eye on monarch activity.

Program c oordinator Adehl Schwarderer told Shore Local there have been several small roosts ob served in cape May Point so far this October, with even larger numbers witnessed prior to tropical Storm Ian.

Witnessing a monarch roost in c ape May Point is arguably one of the most spectacular scenes in na ture. the butterflies typically roost upside-down in pine or fir trees. because monarchs are most vul nerable to predators while resting, it is vital that they blend in with their surroundings. Pro tip: if you ever witness a roost at sunrise, bring your camera and prepare for a spectacular view of them taking flight as their wings are warmed by the sun.

b efore these magnificent crea tures fly south, observers at the New Jersey Audubon’s Nature center in c ape May are tagging monarchs under a project that took shape more than 30 years ago. the Mon arch Monitoring Project (MMP) was initiated in 1990 by Dick Walton and Lincoln brower. the duo noticed how monarchs were gathering in large numbers in cape May during the fall and began tallying the population. each tag is circular and comes with its own unique ID for tracking and monitoring movement. they weigh approximately 10 mg. For comparison,

Most of the monarchs migrating through our area will end their trek nearly 2,000 miles away, high in the mountains of Michoacan, Mexico.

a typical monarch weighs 500 mg. to not interfere with flight, each tag is gently placed along the un derside of its hindwing. If you spot a tagged monarch, data may be sub mitted to the University of Kansas Monarch Watch online at monarch watch.org.

On any given day, with optimal wind speed and thermals, the aver age monarch will travel upwards of 80 miles. b ut it is not uncommon for them to travel farther. Here is an interesting statistic: according to the cape May bird Observatory, one

monarch that was tagged in c ape May was recovered three days later in Harlem, Ga., 588 miles away!

Most monarchs migrating through our area will end their trek nearly 2,000 miles away, high in the moun tains of Michoacan, Mexico. Sitting 10,000 feet above sea level, the lush greenery, coolness, and damp climate provide the perfect setting to sustain them through the winter.

While most generations of mon archs live only one month or so, the “super generation,” born each fall, can survive for up to seven months.

While many people are fortunate enough to witness part of this in credible journey every year, there is growing concern about the greatly declining monarch population in recent years. Factors, such as an ever-changing climate and weather conditions, loss of habitat, toxic pes ticides, and predators have greatly affected their viability.

In July, the International Union for conservation of Nature (IUcN) added the migratory monarch butterfly to the organization’s red List of threat ened Species. While they are classified as a species of concern, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) may consider adding the monarch to its endangered Species List for broader protection; however, that assessment will not be made until 2024.

Schwarderer stresses that more awareness is needed to ensure their survival. “We should be doing as much as we can to help them, but they’re not protected by any of the laws of other species that are (al ready) included,” she said.

In the meantime, there are various ways people can ensure the survival of the species. Planting native milk weed during the fall is one way to start. Goldenrods, thoroughworts, and native asters are also recom mended, as these can provide mon archs with much-needed nectar for

their travels. even plants that are native to Mexico, such as lantanas or zinnias, can be beneficial.

Jack McDonough, monarch field naturalist at the cM bO, stresses that more plant life would contribute to positive outcomes.

“Imagine if everybody had native plant gardens, how much habitat that would add back, how much diversity that would increase, and how much carbon would be collected,” Mc Donough said.

t he Monarch Monitoring Proj ect estimates that they tag just over 3,000 butterflies in c ape May between late August and early No vember. Dedicated staff continue to conduct vital research and educa tional programs to not only increase awareness of the species, but also to better understand their behavior and where these magnificent creatures are going.

Additional information on the project and up-to-date resources are available online at njaudubon.org/ monarch-monitoring..

Photos by Steffen Klenk

Steffen Klenk is a multimedia journalist. He resides in Ocean City and enjoys capturing the eclectic moments of shore life.

HARVEST

APPLE

SAUSAGE PLATTER

PORK OR CHICKEN SCHNITZEL

Live & Local Music Calendar

Thursday, October 13th

Beth Tinnon 6pm A touch of Italy

629 black Horse Pike, egg Harbor town ship

Doug Jennings 6-9pm. bocca

7805 Ventnor Ave. Margate

The Cliffs 7-11pm

the Lobby bar at Hard rock 1000 boardwalk, Atlantic city

Five Times Famous 7:30pm the Park at Ocean 500 boardwalk, Atlantic city

Dane Anthony 8pm-12am rush Lounge at Golden Nugget 600 Huron Ave. Atlantic city

DJ B Lee 8pm. Nola’s bar at Ocean 500 boardwalk, Atlantic city

Friday, October 14th

Royals 5-9pm

the Lobby bar at Hard rock 1000 boardwalk, Atlantic city

Jim Fisher 5:30pm. tuckahoe Inn

1 Harbor rd. beesley’s Point

Six Pack Poets 6-10pm

Sweetwater Marina & riverdeck 2870 7th Ave. Sweetwater

The Zone Trio 6pm. Villain & Saint at Ocean. 500 boardwalk, Atlantic city

Carnifex 6:30pm. Anchor rock club

247 S. New York Ave. Atlantic city

Changing Lanes 7pm. Nola’s bar at Ocean. 500 boardwalk, Atlantic city

Philly Keys 7-11pm. renault Winery

72 N. bremen Ave. egg Harbor city

No Clue Trio 7:30-10:30pm. bocca

7805 Ventnor Ave. Margate

Petty Cash 7:30pm

Yesterday’s creekside tavern

316 roosevelt blvd. Marmora

Wisin y Yandel 8pm

Hard rock Live at etess Arena

1000 boardwalk, Atlantic city

Rob Ashley 9pm

tennessee Avenue beer Hall

133 S. tennessee Ave. Atlantic city

YYNOT Rush Tribute 9pm

Superstar theater at resorts

1133 boardwalk, Atlantic city

Jazz Trio 10pm-12am

council Oak at Hard rock

1000 boardwalk, Atlantic city

Split Decision 10pm. the Yard at bally’s 1900 Pacific Ave. Atlantic city

Saturday, October 15th

Loose Ends 12-4pm renault Winery

72 N. bremen Ave. egg Harbor city

Bad Hat Harry 1-5pm. Sweetwater Marina & riverdeck 2870 7th Ave. Sweetwater

Black Car Gina 5:30-9pm

the Lobby bar at Hard rock

1000 boardwalk, Atlantic city

Dom Martino 5:30pm. tuckahoe Inn

1 Harbor rd. beesley’s Point

Jay Jones 6pm. 1927 Lounge at Ocean

500 boardwalk, Atlantic city

Suburban Sensi Duo 7:30pm

Yesterday’s creekside tavern

316 roosevelt blvd. Marmora

The B-52’s with KC & The Sunshine Band 8pm. Ovation Hall at Ocean 500 boardwalk, Atlantic city

Freestyle Free for All: Taylor Dayne, Cynthia, George Lamond, Lisa Lisa and More 8pm. Hard rock Live at etess Arena. 1000 boardwalk, Atlantic city Molly Ringworm 8pm. Anchor rock club.

247 S. New York Ave. Atlantic city Glenn Roberts 9pm. tennessee Avenue beer Hall. 133 S. tennessee Ave. Atlantic city

The Gab Cinque Band 10pm. the Yard at bally’s. 1900 Pacific Ave. Atlantic city

Sunday, October 16th

Bob Starner 10am-1pm. bocca

7805 Ventnor Ave. Margate

DJ John King 12-4pm. renault Winery 72 N. bremen Ave. egg Harbor city Goodman Fiske 1-5pm

Sweetwater Marina & riverdeck 2870 7th Ave. Sweetwater BMW+ 4-7:30pm. the Lobby bar at Hard rock. 1000 boardwalk, Atlantic city Dance to the Music: A 60’s Celebration 4pm. Sound Waves at Hard rock. 1000 boardwalk, Atlantic city Chris Farell 6-9:30pm. council Oak at Hard rock. 1000 boardwalk, Atlantic city

DJ Luap 8pm. Nola’s bar at Ocean 500 boardwalk, Atlantic city The Neptunes 8:30pm-12am the Lobby bar at Hard rock 1000 boardwalk, Atlantic city

Monday, October 17th

Kono Nation 7-11pm. the Lobby bar at Hard rock. 1000 boardwalk, Atlantic city

Tuesday, October 18th

Patty & Bugzy 8pm-12am. rush Lounge at Golden Nugget. 600 Huron Ave. Atlantic city

Wednesday, October 19th Danny Eyer 5:30pm. tuckahoe Inn 1 Harbor rd. beesley’s Point Hawkins Road 6pm. Villain & Saint at Ocean. 500 boardwalk, Atlantic city Changing Lanes 7-11pm. the Lobby bar at Hard rock. 1000 boardwalk, Atlantic city Jazz by the Bob Sterling Band 7-10pm bocca. 7805 Ventnor Ave. Margate

Thursday, October 20th Jersey Steve 5:30pm. tuckahoe Inn 1 Harbor rd. beesley’s Point

Nicki Sbaffoni 6-8pm. Gregory’s 900 Shore rd. Somers Point

Austin City Nights 7-11pm. the Lobby bar at Hard rock. 1000 boardwalk, Atlantic city

Friday, October 21st

Grooveheart 5-9pm. the Lobby bar at Hard rock. 1000 boardwalk, Atlantic city

Lisa Bouchelle 6-10pm. rush Lounge at Golden Nugget. 600 Huron Ave. Atlantic city

Atley Moon Duo w/ Jon Thompson

7:30pm. Yesterday’s creekside tavern

316 roosevelt blvd. Marmora

The Deep End 9pm. tennessee Avenue beer Hall. 133 S. tennessee Ave. Atlantic city

ZZ Top 9pm. Ovation Hall at Ocean 500 boardwalk, Atlantic city

Saturday, October 22nd

Nothin’ But Gina and A Little Bit of Steve 1-5pm. Sweetwater Marina & riverdeck 2870 7th Ave. Sweetwater

Ray on My Mind – Ray Charles Teibute 4pm & 8pm. Sound Waves at Hard rock 1000 boardwalk, Atlantic city

B Street Band 5:30-9pm the Lobby bar at Hard rock 1000 boardwalk, Atlantic city

The Loop 7pm. Nola’s bar at Ocean 500 boardwalk, Atlantic city

Dropkick Murphys 7:30pm

circus Maximus theatre at caesars 2100 Pacific Ave. Atlantic city

Tom Powdermaker Duo 7:30pm

Yesterday’s creekside tavern 316 roosevelt blvd. Marmora Engelbert Humperdinck 8pm. Harrah’s resort. 777 Harrah’s blvd. Atlantic city Colbie Caillat 9pm. the Music box at borgata. 1 borgata Way, Atlantic city

DJ Ralph 9pm. Gregory’s 900 Shore rd. Somers Point

Dr. Phil & The Heart Attacks 9pm tennessee Avenue beer Hall 133 S. tennessee Ave. Atlantic city

Chatterband 10pm rush Lounge at Golden Nugget 600 Huron Ave. Atlantic city Chorduroy 10pm. the Yard at bally’s 1900 Pacific Ave. Atlantic city

Sunday, October 23rd

Doug Jennings 10am-1pm. bocca 7805 Ventnor Ave. Margate

Triple Rail Turn 1-5pm Sweetwater Marina & riverdeck 2870 7th Ave. Sweetwater

Monday, October 24th

Steve Moore & The MIA Band 7-11pm the Lobby bar at Hard rock 1000 boardwalk, Atlantic city

Wednesday, October 26th

Glenn Roberts Duo 6pm Villain & Saint at Ocean 500 boardwalk, Atlantic city

Gypsy Wisdom 7-11pm the Lobby bar at Hard rock 1000 boardwalk, Atlantic city Events subject to change.

SEGURA

OCT

EARTH, WIND & FIRE

& SAT, DEC 30 & 31

DANCE TO THE MUSIC A 60 s CELEBRATION SUNDAYS

WISIN Y YANDEL FRI, OCT 14

VIC DIBITETTO FRI & SAT, OCT 14 & 15 FREESTYLE FREE FOR ALL SAT, OCT 15

ON MY MIND: TRIBUTE TO RAY CHARLES SAT, OCT 22 ADAM SANDLER FRI, OCT 28 SOLD OUT

RUBEN STUDDARD SINGS LUTHER VANDROSS SAT, OCT 29 PUSCIFER SAT, NOV 5

EROS RAMAZZOTTI SAT, NOV 12

THE COMMODORES - WAR SAT, NOV 19

JASON BONHAM'S LED ZEPPELIN EVENING SAT, NOV 26 SHOW LO SUN, NOV 27

BEE GEES GOLD THE TRIBUTE FRI, DEC 2

GRETA VAN FLEET DREAMS IN GOLD TOUR 2022 FRI & SAT, DEC 9 & 10 SOLD OUT

THE ULTIMATE ELVIS TRIBUTE EXPERIENCE SAT, JAN 28

VALENTINE'S SOUL JAM SUN, FEB 19

LESLIE

New Businesses Making a Move on Mainland

Kingbarnes is now a full-service estate, commercial and real estate law firm that provides legal services in matters relating to estates (planning, administration and litigation), com mercial entities (creation, transactions and litigation) and real estate.

Business Buzz

By Rich Baehrle

Local mothers erin Grant and c rystal Vaccaro recently opened Fringe Boutique in the Linwood Greene Plaza, Linwood. their collection of brands caters to women of all ages.

erin and crystal have a love, knowl edge, and passion for fashion. they can dress women for any occasion with items that can't be found at the big box stores. Whether you need to dress for working out, a dinner date, or for a wedding, they have you covered with a one-stop shop that provides personal caring attention.

brands that they have include free people, b ishop and Young, Z Supply, Steve Madden, vintage, hobo, and many more. Stop by and visit erin and crystal at 210 New road Suite c10 and experience what pampered shopping is all about.

r ichard King Jr. and Jeffrey P. b arnes have merged their law firms to form KingBarnes , located at 2600 New road in Northfield. It also maintains offices in cape May and North Wildwood.

t he firm now consists of five attorneys: King, barnes, tJ Mooney, former law clerk to Hon. Julio Mendez, ret.; Marisa Hermanovich, licensed in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Flor

ida, and Stepanie Malone-Seitz, LLM in taxation with an estate planning cer tification. the firm also has a dedicated estate administra tion paralegal, tina cortese, and an ex perienced support staff.

While King fo cused his former practice on estate and commercial liti gation, barnes concentrated on estate planning, estate administration and real estate.

King and barnes also are involved in land use planning, both as applicants and as counsel to cape May and Upper township land use boards. See www. king-barnes.com.

Creative Minds Insurance Agency opened its new office Oct. 3 at 2312 New road, Suite 102 in Northfield.

You may already know them. Abby Longstreet and catherine Jones have been in the tristate area for 25 years. they partner with the top insurance companies to customize employee benefits solutions for businesses of all sizes as well as individuals. they spe cialize in health insurance in all markets - group, individual, and Medicare. they also handle dental, vision and life.

Rich Baehrle of Berkshire Hathaway Fox and Roach.

Can be reached at 609226-6680 or 609-641-0011 richardbaehrle@gmail.com www.getrichinrealestateSJ.com

Enjoy your mums to the fullest this season and for years to come

Le t It Grow

By Tammy Thornton

If you enjoy decorating your porch for autumn, you’ll inevi tably find yourself buying mums (garden chrysanthemums)—the quintessential fall flower. With the rich colors of burgundy, yellow, and orange, who can resist? though some people treat mums as annuals and throw them to the curb when they are done blooming, you can plant these perennials in your garden to enjoy year after year. combine with other perennial fall flowers and throw in a few annuals for good measure, and you’ll soon find yourself with a fall festival of flowers.

to keep your mums fresh and healthy-looking, make sure you water them frequently. t hey are thirsty buggers and will quickly turn

brown and dry if they aren’t well-watered. Of course, planting them in the ground will keep them from drying out as quickly and will allow them to es tablish their roots before winter freezes occur. b ut if you are like me, it’s nice to place some on the steps and front porch to greet your guests. Keep them blooming as long as pos sible by buying mums with tight buds. choose plants that have a mix of open flowers (for instant grat ification) and unopened flowers to extend the blooming time.

mums at least once or twice, they may still bloom, but will be leggy and out of control like a wild child.

Plant

As the individual flowers fade, snip off the spent buds (deadhead) to encour age more blooms. take your decorations to the next level by ditching the cheap plastic containers that come with mums.

Instead, place mums in pretty pots, urns, or bushel baskets. Make an arrangement in your container by adding a mix of winter pansies (that laugh at the cold) and tall, fall grasses

mums

ground

mum.

year after year,

in the back. remember the rule of thumb for planting pots, “thriller, fill er, spiller”. You want something tall that makes a statement in the center or back of your arrangement, something that spills over the front of the pot (like potato vine, ivy, or pansies), and a filler (usually something with small flowers that fills in any gaps).

If orange and the other typical fall colors aren’t your vibe, go for non-traditional. White and sage pumpkins are all the rage; couple them with pink or white mums, tall spiky celosia, or asters (often labeled as purple mums). Don’t forget decorative cabbages which can have beautiful florets tinged with pink centers—vegetables never looked so good. Per sonally, I love the look of con trasting burgundy mums with the white-gray of dusty miller. Lately, I’ve been smitten with a plant called senecio Angel Wings. the silvery-white and velvety foliage almost looks a bit spooky or ghostly, which would be fitting for the end of this month.

every few years, you should divide your mums or they will develop a dead patch in the center and produce less flowers. Divide them in the spring and water well the night before. Make sure you have plenty of roots attached to each section you remove and plant the “new plants” in a section of the garden with full sun and welldrained soil.

Add new mums to your garden every fall, and you will soon have a riot of colors that rival the spring and summer gardens. combine with

Give your mums a touch of class by ditching the plastic container and opting for a pretty fall basket.

If you have planted your mums in the ground, you can look forward to seeing them again in the spring. by then, the top layer of stems and leaves will have succumbed to win ter. but if you trim away these dead pieces, you will see fresh green life sprouting up. by late spring and early summer, the mums will have regrown enough to need pruning. When the plants have grown to about 6 - 8 inches, prune half of the new growth to encourage compact, bushy plants with loads of blooms. You can do this 2 - 3 more times until the Fourth of July. Pruning after this may cause you to cut off buds that are forming. If you neglect the task of pruning your

fall-blooming perennials like Montauk daisies, Autumn Joy sedum, and asters to keep your mums company. then fill in any bare spots with pansies and the unusual flowers of celosia. top it all off with a layer of mulch and the beautiful fall garden you’ve created will comfort you as you reminisce about the warm beach days of summer.

We would love to hear from our readers. Send your gardening ques tions, comments, and photos to shorelocalgardener@gmail.com.

Tammy Thornton is a mom of four, a substitute teacher, and a Sunday school teacher. She is passionate about gardening and cooking, and loves the beach.

Events and Happenings

Friday, October 14th Atlantic City Cinefest

▶Friday, October 14 – Sunday, October 16

Lou Hammer event center at Stockton University 10 S. Albany Ave. Atlantic city the 15th Annual Atlantic city cinefest, presented by Downbeach Film Festival, will be held this weekend. tickets will be available for purchase at the door. For more information, visit atlanticcitycinefest.org.

Biennial Quilt Show – “America Quilts”

▶Friday, October 14 and Saturday, October 15 from 10am-5pm & Sunday, October 16 from 11am-3pm

Upper township community center 1790 route 50, tuckahoe

South Shore Stitchers Quilt Guild mem bers are getting ready for their 3-day Quilt Show. this show will feature displays of over 200 member made quilts, vendors, boutique table and country store sale areas, demonstra tions, and much more. southshorestitchers. com.

Margate’s Sunset Sip

▶5-7pm

Amherst Avenue Promenade experience the beautiful sunset bay views along with fine food & cocktails from the new Amherst Avenue Promenade during this new event, showcasing all that Margate has to offer during the off season. More details are available margatehasmore.com.

Somers Point Rocktoberfest

▶7pm

Somers Point VFW 500 bethel rd.

Somers Point celebrates rocktoberfest with a new show produced by the Danny eyer band entitled “Mccartney versus Lennon: Jam min’ the beatles” featuring rich “Megahurtz”

Kurtz as Mccartney, Guy “ ringo” Merollo and Danny eyer playing the John Lennon guitar. Doors will open at 6:30 and is free and open seating with no reservations. the show will start at 7pm. Presented by tony Mart cares and the volunteers of the beach concert com mittee.

Sh-Boom! Life Could Be a Dream ▶Friday, October 14th and Saturday, October 15th at 7pm & Sunday, October 16th at 2pm

Ocean city Music Pier 825 boardwalk

Ocean city theatre company presents Sh- boom! Life could be a Dream. Meet Denny and the Dreamers, a fledgling doo-wop singing group preparing to enter the big Whopper ra dio contest to realize their dreams of making it to the big time. For tickets, visit oceancityvaca tion.com/boxoffice.

Terror in the Junkyard ▶Fridays & Saturdays from 7-10pm & Sundays from 7-9pm

Fleming’s Junkyard 353 Zion rd. egg Har bor township the Scullville Fire company Presents the 20th Annual terror in the Junkyard. the men

and women of Scullville Fire company are back again this Fall to take you deep into the dark woods of Scullville. experience the horror on the terror in the Junkyard Hayride and run for your life in the All New Maze of terror. Open weekends thru October. Under 18 needs a par ent or guardian onsite. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.scullvillefire.org.

Saturday, October 15th

Horsepower by the Bay Car & Boat Show ▶10am-2pm

bay Avenue and Harbor Lane, Somers Point the 8th Annual Horsepower by the bay car and boat Show, hosted by the Somers Point Historical Society. Hot rods, antiques, classics, muscle cars, street rods, 4x4’s, military, fire trucks, classic and vintage boats, flea market, swap meet, food and trophies. Dash plaques for the first 100 cars. day of show. No charge for participating and no registration fees. All proceeds benefit the Somers Point Historical So ciety. For more information, contact Kirk Gerety at 609-204-6523 or email coupe1956@aol.com.

Porsche Boardwalk Reunion

▶11:30am-4pm

Ocean city boardwalk

Porsches will be displayed on the board walk from 6th Street to 14th Street. Over 350 Porsches or all models and years between 1954 and 2021 are expected. Free tech Sessions and Porsche related topics open to all at the Music Pier.

Atlantic City Fall Bazaar

▶Saturday, October 15 & Sunday, October 16 from 12-5pm

Noyes Arts Garage 2200 Fairmount Ave.

Atlantic city

enjoy shopping from artists and craftspeo ple, art activities for children and adults, music, food and drink vendors, and more. Shore Lo cal’s own raymond tyler will be DJing nonstop during the event. the event is free to attend. convenient parking is available in the attached WAVe garage.

Smithville Costume Pet Parade

▶1pm

615 e . Moss Mill rd. Smithville

Smithville’s Pet Parade, hosted by Paw Dazzle, will be held this Saturday. If you love playing dress up with your puppies, or just watching the furry cuteness, this is the event for you. For registration information, call 609748-7110, or learn more at historicsmithville. com.

Desert Theater at Ventnor Coffee

▶3pm & 7pm

108 N. Dorset Ave. Ventnor

South Jersey Players, Inc. will hold their annual fundraiser on Saturday, Oct. 15. Local actors will perform in short plays and mono logues by area playwrights, including veteran writers, edward Shakespeare and tom chin, as well as published playwrights. Show tickets are $20. reservations can be made by calling Marlene May at 347-920-6399.

Misty Meadow Oktoberfest

▶5-9pm

Misty Meadow Sheep Dairy 100 Dennis ville-Peterburg rd. Petersburg

Misty Meadow Sheep Dairy and Ludlam Is land brewery bring you a night of Oktoberfest. enjoy fall beers, a live Oompah band, fire pits, German food, hay rides, and more. tickets and information at mistymeadowtickets.com.

Sunday, October 16th

Historic Smithville Corvette Show

▶8am-3pm

615 e . Moss Mill rd. Smithville this show is for corvettes only and hosted by OGStcc . Day of registration is between 8:30-10:30am. Dash plaques to the first 100 registrants. Learn more at historicsmithville.com.

John R. Elliott Hero Walk and Fun Run

▶11am

Ocean city civic center and boardwalk at 6th Street the HerO Walk & Fun run is dedicat ed to raising awareness about the importance of safe and sober designated drivers, and to honor and remember those who have lost a loved one to a drunk driver. Join as an individual, start/join a team or support by making a donation. checkin starts at 9am, followed by the 1 Mile Fun run at 10am, Awards and ceremony at 10:30, and HerO Walk at 11am. herocampaign.org

Monday, October 17th

OC Reads: Keynote Talk, Q&A, and Book Signing with Author Mary Alice Monroe

▶6:30pm

Ocean city Library 1735 Simpson Ave.

Mary Alice Monroe is a New York times bestselling author of 27 books, including the bestselling the beach House series. Monroe also writes children’s picture books and a new middle-grade fiction series, the Islanders. She is the co-creator and co-host of the weekly web show and podcast Friends & Fiction. Free and open to the public.

Tuesday, October 18th Dance Society

▶tuesdays at 7:30pm

Somers Point Fire co. 1 455 b ethel rd. Somers Point. enjoy an evening of social danc ing and line dancing at the Fire company Hall. Admission is $10 per person. For more infor mation, contact rita Voli at (609) 408-3619.

Thursday, October 20th

Coffee Klatch: Hybrid

▶10:30am

Katz Jcc boardroom 501 N. Jerome Ave. Margate. Your world in 90 minutes. Join a fastpaced discussion on politics, technology, world events, arts, religion, and more. Attend in-person at Jcc or from home via Zoom. Mask encouraged for in-person. For Zoom, a link will be emailed to you. 609-287-8872 or tserota@jfsatlantic.org.

Friday, October 21st

Hamilton Historical Society Ghost Walk

▶5:30-8:30pm

the Presbyterian church 6001 Main St. Mays Landing

↘Continued on 18

Hamilton Historical Society’s 22nd Annual Ghost Walk is coming. With new stops and sto ries, this event is sure to be spooktacular fun. tour groups will be led by a Storyteller Guide. come and be entertained with local history and spooky ghost stories… a total of 21 points of interest. reservations required. this event will sell out. hamiltonhistorical.org.

Saturday, October 22nd Dog Day in Ocean City

▶9am-5pm

Ocean city boardwalk

Leashed dogs will be permitted on the boardwalk from 9am-5pm. All are welcome and encouraged to bring their favorite furry canine friend. Activities for the day include dog-specific vendors along the boardwalk, photo-op stations on the boardwalk, and the Humane Society of Ocean city’s “Pet of the Year” Announcement.

Mays Landing Fall Fest and Family Fun Day ▶10am-4pm

War Memorial Park Main Street & cape May Ave.

enjoy a free and time-honored tradition with crafters, live music, kids activities, and more. Sing along to uplifting whimsical tunes with Jodie and emily from “Mindful Melodies,” do a little shopping for unique gifts, and enjoy the fall season with a hay toss, mummy wrap, and bouncy house. there will also be a Scare crow contest with cash prizes awarded. Hosted by the Mays Landing Merchants Association and the township of Hamilton. mayslanding merchants.com.

Monster Bash in Historic Smithville ▶10am-6pm

615 e . Moss Mill rd. Smithville

Join Historic Smithville for a day of hor ror featuring local artists, music, and special guests of the gruesome variety. Horror Queen Genoveva rossi will be signing autographs all day, music from Acey Spade of Joan Jett & the blackhearts, all day Pumpkin carving and Painting contest, costume contest and more. More updates and information available

at www.facebook.com/MonsterbashNJ. rain date: October 29.

Ventnor City Halloween Fest

▶10am-4pm

Newport Avenue beach the city of Ventnor hosts its 1st annual Ventnor city Halloween Fest, behind the Vent nor Library and cultural Arts center. the event will feature live music, crafters, food trucks, pumpkin carbing, face painting, and rc truck racing. the city is also bringing back their Hal loween Parade, which steps off at 12pm from Suffolk Avenue boardwalk. Prizes awarded for best pets, babies, groups, and singles. More information at ventnorcity.org/special-events.

HSOC Howl-O-Ween Parade

▶3pm

Ocean city boardwalk

Hosted by the Humane Society of Ocean city. contestants are encouraged to dress themselves and their pooch in zany, fun Halloween costumes in spirit of the season. registration begins at 2pm at the Sports & civic center. the parade begins at 3pm and the procession is from 6th to 12th Street on the boardwalk. Vendor and Parade registration is open at www.ocnj.us/DogDay.

Somers Point Police Department Trunk or Treat

▶4-6pm

Shore Medical center Parking Lot bay and Harbor Ave.

t he Somers Point Police Department will host its annual trunk or treat event in the parking lot on the corner of Harbor and bay Avenue. Admission is free; SPPD will be accepting donated toys for their holiday toy drive. Please no stuffed toys. If you would like to participate as a vendor, donate candy or nonperishable handouts, please reach out to Kate MacKenzie at kmackenzie@somerspoint pd.org.

Sunday, October 23rd

Ocean City Jeep Invasion

▶12-5pm

Ocean city boardwalk

Jeeps will be displayed on the boardwalk

between 5th Street – 14th Street. For more information, visit NJJeepInvasion.com or email njjeepinvasion@gmail.com.

Witches Day Out

▶12-5pm

Historic Smithville 615 e . Moss Mill rd. Smithville

calling all witches: come dressed in your finest witch outfit for Smithville’s famous Witches Day Out. there will be plenty of ac tivities, specials, and lots of fun going on all day long. Prizes will be randomly awarded for the best overall witch, best shoes, best hat, and best junior witch. For questions, contact the Smithville Inn at (609) 652-7777 or visit historicsmithville.com.

Monday, October 24th Evening Yoga with Candice

▶6:30pm

Join candice Martin for a Yoga class via Zoom. Find balance and tranquility while ex periencing mental. Psychological and spiritual rejuvenation. burn off excess energy through gentle body movements, wind down to a deeper state of relaxation and prepare for your evening rest. rSVP by October 19 contacting tina Serota at 609-287-8872 or tserota@ jfsatlantic.org.

Tuesday, October 25th Murders, Mysteries & Ghost Stories

▶6:30pm

Somers Mansion 1000 Shore rd. Somers Point

Join Patriots for the Somers Mansion for

their 3rd Annual Murders, Mysteries & Ghost Stories. b ring your lawn chairs to this free event and gather around the campfire to hear about local murders, hauntings and spooky tales, led by Somers Point lorist and historian Kirk Gerety.

Wednesday, October 26th

OC Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Welcome Night

▶6-8pm

Ocean city Sports & civic center 6th Street & boardwalk the Ocean city chamber of commerce will host its annual Welcome Night, featuring Ocean city groups, businesses, and organiza tion. this event is free to attend.

Thursday, October 27th

Village Trivia Challenge

▶4pm

test your knowledge and compete for the top prize. trivia topics include science, geogra phy, history, music, theater, movies and more. this event is free for Holocaust Survivors and Village Members. For non-members, the cost is $5 payable prior to October 20. rSVP by contacting tina Serota at 609-287-8872 or tserota@jfsatlantic.org.

Farmers Markets

C.R.O.P.S. Market Linwood

▶Saturdays from 9am-12pm central Square 199 New rd. Linwood

Safe

Take a Payment Break

Saturdays through October 29th.

C.R.O.P.S. Mobile Market Chelsea

▶Saturdays from 1-4pm

O’Donnell Park 3501 Atlantic Ave. At lantic city

Join c r .O.P.S. for a festival of culture and community. eat your way through the summer and fall at this local farmers market. connect with local businesses and communi ty members, enjoy live performances, Music, poetry readings, workshops and more. Sat urdays through October 29th.

Health and Wellness

Virtual NAMI Family Support Group on Zoom

▶Wednesday, October 26th from 7-8:30pm

NAMI is offering a virtual meeting option for those who cannot meet in-person. NAMI Family Support Group is a support group for adult friends and family members (18+) of people with mental health conditions. Links for this Zoom meeting can be found at www. namiacm.org 609-741-5125.

Mental Health Support and Discussion Groups

Online groups are offered daily for a variety of topics, including women, men, LGbtQIA+, individuals aged 18-30. boomers, anxiety, depression, eating disorder, and ma ny others. to receive a full list and to register, call 609-652-3800 or unitedbywellness@ mhanj.org.

Recovery Groups

More than a dozen groups for individ uals living with substance use disorder are offered online. Groups are provided 7 days a week. Interested participants can regis ter for groups through unitedbywellness@ mhanj.org or by calling the Mental Health Association in Atlantic county at 609-6523800.

Wellness Groups

A wide variety of online groups are of fered to enhance wellness and introduce interested participants to ways they can improve their day-to-day mental health. these daily groups include meditation, art, music, journaling, eating healthy, exercise, spirituality, adult coloring, gratitude, and more. to register and receive links by email, call 609-652-3800 or unitedbywellness@ mhanj.org.

Caring for the Caregiver – Support Group for Caregivers of Adults

▶Fourth tuesday of the Month

cornerstone commerce building 1201 New rd. Suite 132, Linwood

Fourth tuesday of the Month. rSVP re quired. contact Jen Hand at 856-266-2817 or email jhand@brattonlawgroup.com for more information. Organized by Members of cape Atlantic caregivers coalition.

Do you have an upcoming event?

Let us know about it! Submit your next event to shorelocalevents@gmail.com.

Terror in the Junkyard celebrates 20 years of frights

By Steffen Klenk

Before the gates open at Flem ings Junkyard in egg Harbor township, members of the Scullville Volunteer Fire com pany prepare for another spooktacular evening of screams. Inside the makeup tent, the magic of the season comes to life as faces are transformed into elab orate thrilling Halloween characters. thrill seekers line up at the ticket booth to ensure their spot at one of the best frights in the entire region.

terror in the Junkyard is Scullville Fire company’s largest fundraiser of the year. Once the light of the day dips below the horizon, you are introduced to clowns, ghouls, and ghouls. As you take a Haunted Hayride through the junkyard, you never know what you will witness along this frightening excursion. For those who are feeling adventurous, the Maze is sure to send shivers down your spine with thrills and chills around every corner.

terror in the Junkyard is, hands down, one of South Jersey’s most thrill ing attractions. Located at 353 Zion road, it is open Fridays and Saturday from 7-10pm, and Sundays 7-9pm. Hayride tickets are $14 per person, maze tickets are $9, and combo tickets are available for $14. Military and first responders receive a $2 discount. to purchase tickets in advance, visit scull villefire.org/hayride. Visit Shore Local on social media for more “ behind-theScenes” content from Flemings.

Steffen Klenk is a multimedia journalist. He resides in Ocean City and enjoys capturing the eclectic moments of shore life.

Check out Witch-Craft, a mystical event with broos and spirits

everyone who attends their events.

Going Places with Dina Guzzardo

If you know anything about Jon Henderson’s Good time tricy cle production company, then you not only have an apprecia tion for how epic their events are, but you also have an expectation of them to deliver a next level experience to

Well, this year’s Witch- craft event promises to be the eerie event that you will look forward to every Fall. Witch- c raft will take place in Paradise Lakes c ampground in Hammonton on Friday, October 14 and 15. Word on the street is that the park will be totally transformed into a spooky wooded village packed with local partners who will offer up the yummiest stews and seasonal brews.

but this event isn’t just another beer festival, Witch- craft is a fully im mersive experience engaging all of your senses at once. Add in mystical undertones and a spooky environ ment, now you have something truly unique…now you have 'Witch- craft.' be sure to come to this Halloween extravaganza sporting your most ghoulish gear. Witch- craft will be co-hosted by the original monster movie characters and will feature an army of tents decked out with devilish décor or corny charm all competing for your vote for the title as the best dressed tent. each space will feature around 60 brew masters and distillery wizards pouring your favorites as well as some seasonal surprises that you must try. Guests will take a bone chill ing journey along an enchanted path while sampling some of this season’s most delicious libations.

Inside the grounds, a professional pumpkin carver will enter a dichoto mous state between art and horror to present a pumpkin morphing ex perience right before your eyes. the audience will get the opportunity to learn how to masterfully carve their own pumpkins while sipping some seasonal pumpkin brews. Using li bations from participating partners, local mixologists will be under the demo tent concocting potions that will cast a spell on you that will keep you coming back for more.

One of the most incredible com ponents of Witch- craft will be the inviting atmosphere where you can cuddle up next to the campfire and sip a brew, or if you are feeling a little

more energetic and want to connect with your wild side, you can do the Monster Mash in the DJ tent and dance the night away with your fel low party ghouls. Also included in this mystical evening will be a live Séance, fortune telling, nodding for apples, horror makeup seminars and more!

b y far, this year’s Witch- craft event will be the most memorable event of the Halloween season. If you are looking for a unique experience that encompasses the best brews, grub, and devilish fun, this is the must-attend event this Fall. Guests are encouraged to come in costume to add even more fun to this exciting event.

Purchase tickets at eventbrite at $75 or at the door for $80 a person (must be 21+). Limited parking will be available on-site for $20. On-site DD tickets and parking are available for $50. Off-site parking and shuttles are free and located at our Lady of Mount carmel 298 tilton St, Hammonton, NJ 08037.

For more information, check out www.witchcraftnj.com.

Dina Guzzardo is the Owner and Creative Director of Dina Pro ductions Group. Dina Productions Group is an innovative event de sign and execution company that designs and executes all types of corporate and private parties and events. Obsessing over every detail is the reason why DPG is one of the most sought out event production companies in our area. For more information visit www. dinaproductionsgroup.com

Killcohook: A little piece of Delaware on the Jersey side of the river

entire Delaware river over to the low-tide mark of the New Jersey shoreline.

By Sarah Fertsch Staff Writer

o drive from New Jersey to Delaware, you don’t have to cross a bridge, or even take a ferry. Just go to Salem county, where seven miles south of the Delaware Memorial b ridge you’ll find Killcohook, an incorporated area of Delaware on the Jersey side of the river, that is if they’ll let you in.

Jump back in time to 100 years before the revolutionary War. In 1681, William Penn and King charles II of england signed a treaty to sep arate Delaware from Pennsylvania, which included modern-day South Jersey. the two men agreed to draw a 12-mile circle around the city of New c astle. everything within the arc was Delaware’s, including the

because of that document, Delaware owns around 26 miles of the Delaware river from the northern tip of what is now Ar tificial Island, Lower Alloways creek, north to roughly around Logan township in Gloucester county.

At that time, Killcohook was marshland, situated just barely above the waterline. the secluded area, which today is used by the Army corps of en gineers as a dredge spoil disposal site, has emerged above the tides over the years.

tim rooney, a project manager with the Army corps, said Killcohook acts more as a federal preserve than a portion of Delaware.

“We have put up gates to keep the public out so technically, New Jersey folks can’t just step into Delaware in\ Salem county,” he said of the 1,430-acre site. “ b ut this isn’t like Area 51 or Fort Knox; it’s open wil derness.”

Locals have nicknamed Killcohook “ the baja,” after the northwestern deserted area of Mexico. the name means windswept wilderness, or a place absent from society.

thomas James, a Pennsville resi dent, reports that kids ride dirt bikes and drink beer there because New Jersey authorities have no jurisdic tion in Delaware and can't intervene in their shenanigans. “Some people think that the Jersey Devil actually lives in Delaware, in Killcohook,” said James.

If a crime were committed in the contested land, Pennsville, the clos est New Jersey town, would have no authority to act. Authorities from Delaware would have to drive miles and miles to intercept criminals or extinguish a fire.

Killcohook has become known as “New Jersey’s little oddity” and of fers a lesson in American history and federalism. Delaware, already a small state, takes pride in the additional land “won in its own way” from New Jersey and used to support the nation as a whole. However, the spot has spawned controversy even in modern times.

In 2008 the petroleum goliath b P, was prevented from building a $700 million natural gas terminal along the Delaware river, technically in the state of Delaware. the state reject ed b P’s proposed plans because it violated a law that limits industrial development along the coast.

the dispute made it all the way to the U.S. Supreme court where Jus tice ruth bader Ginsburg wrote for the majority, preserving the sanctity of the 12-mile circle. b P hoped that New Jersey would gain authority over the region and give permission for them to build the plant, but the majority cemented Delaware’s juris diction over Killcohook permanently.

New Jersey residents have joking ly discussed sending the battleship New Jersey down the Delaware river to secure the tiny piece of territory. When Jersey legislators brought up the topic, Delaware responded by threatening to call in the National Guard. No shots were fired.

Killcohook, which was a designat ed wildlife refuge before the Army corps of engineers took it over in 1998, has blossomed into a beautiful piece of land overflowing with foxes, goldfinches, deer, and unfortunate ly, mosquitoes. eight-foot tall river grasses line the unpaved roadway and give the land a wild vibe.

even if it technically doesn’t be long to New Jersey, Killcohook is still very special.

Sarah Fertsch was born and raised in Egg Harbor Township, and holds a dual degree in public relations and political science. Prior to joining Shore Local full-time, she worked at a CSPAN affiliate, writing about Pennsylvania legislation. When she isn't writing, Sarah enjoys painting, horseback riding, and Crossfit.

Discover Ocean Outdoor Teak and Poly Outlet

As we are moving into the fall season, many shore home owners and businesses are thinking of updating their outdoor spaces. When it comes to the indoor comforts of home outside, Ocean Outdoor Teak and Poly outlet is ready to help get the look you want with quality furniture that lasts.

Like many businesses, furniture retailers have faced a shortage of in coming inventory, leaving families and businesses without quality products to make their space look the best. Retailers across the country say that shipment issues are the primary cause of the shortage. Because most patio furniture makers work ou tside the United States, tariffs and taxes along with other inter national issues have been on the rise. This creates is creating big problems for homeowners and businesses alike. For tunately, local buyers need not to worry since this is n’t a problem for Ocean Outdoor Teak and Poly Outlet. They have new shipments coming in every week. Truckloads of beautiful, modern furniture are available for customers

quickly overtaking the outdoor market. Poly lumber is built mostly from recycled products and holds its color well. Com bine its color retention with stainless steel hardware, a variety of color combi nations and styles, and you may find that poly is the best choice for beach homes, vacation resorts or country living. It is extremely durable and resistant to nearly anything Mother Nature throws its way. Poly plastic furniture can be

Poly only needs to be cleaned with some good, old-fashioned soap and water.

Tables, chairs, deep seating sets and pub sets are ready to go to their new home today. Poly pub sets are popu lar at the shore. Two seat pub sets start at $950 and our four-seat pub sets with a pub table start at $1,400. Pub and bar sets are great because they allow couples and families to see over deck railings so their view is not obsured. These sets have the potential to make Ocean City, Sea Isle, and Margate customers very happy. The popular folding Adirondack Chairs start at $299. They are perfect for fire pits on cool autumn evenings. The Adirondack chairs sit low to the ground and offer a casual, relaxed feel. Alice reports they are selling very well to campers that seek comfort outdoors.

Landing, Beach Creek Oyster Bar to name of few. Our company has been in the New Jersey shore area for nearly 20 years. Our past stores in Cape May and Somers Point have been combined with one convenient store right in the middle, in Dennis Township. We offer white glove service from LBI to Cape May, Annapolis, Washington DC, and Ocean City Maryland.”

Call (609) 2871767 or check out www.TeakNearMe. com. For up-to-date information, check out their Facebook page, Teak Outlet - Ocean Outdoor Patio. Hurry and get beautiful new outdoor furniture so you can enjoy it now and for years to come.

to browse and purchase. “Because the outdoor season is relatively short here in New Jersey, it is important for us to stock enough furniture for our local cus tomers to have immediately,” says store owner Alice DiGiovanni. “We are ready now, with a full selection of colors and designs of both Poly and Teak furniture.”

Teak has always been the gold stan dard in outdoor tables and chairs but its new rival, Poly lumber furniture is

left outside in the summer and winter without any adverse effects. The plas tic is resistant to sun, rain, sleet, snow, wind, saltwater, chlorine and mildew. You can’t say that about furniture made from wood or metal.

Poly furniture is low maintenance and easy to care for; it requires no special coatings, sanding or staining. It does not require hazardous chemical treatments to maintain its durability.

After 15 years in Somers Point, The Teak and Poly Outlet moved to Cape May County. They are lo cated on Route 9 in Ocean View/ Clermont Cape May County. It's a beautiful area two miles south of exit 17 on the Garden State Parkway (Sea Isle exit). “We have a much larger store here and a lot of room to expand, with large outdoor displays, and a large workshop to finish and refinish our teak furniture.” says Alice’s daughter, Allison. “Over the years you may have seen our furniture at the Ocean City Yacht Club, Cape May-Lewes Ferry, Hyatt Penns

Is Stromboli a volcano or a sandwich?

word meaning round, and it’s thought the Greeks gave the island that name because the volcano looked round from a distance.

By Chef Joseph Massaglia

Recently a friend of mine was having lunch at an Italian restaurant out of the area.

On the table were paper placemats with a picture of the map of Italy, and while waiting for his or der he noticed that near the “boot” of Italy was an island called Stromboli. He asked me if the map was correct, and I assured him it was.

Yes, there is an Italian island called Stromboli, and it is home to about 400 people and one of the three ac tive volcanoes in Italy, which is called Stromboli. So, how did the name of this volcano come to be the name of one of the classic Italian pizza-style sandwiches on every pizza shop menu?

According to many sources, the name Stromboli comes from a Greek

So, who invented the popular stromboli we all enjoy? b elieve it or not, it was not invented in Italy. Nazzereno (Nat) romano, founder of romano's Italian restaurant & Piz zeria in essington, PA, just outside of Philadelphia, claims to have invented it.

According to the company’s website, romanostromoli.com, in the winter of 1949 Nat started to experi ment with a new sandwich, filling his secret recipe dough with a variety of Italian meats, bell peppers and cheeses that he rolled into a log and baked. He began to produce and sell the as-yet-unnamed sandwiches in early 1950.

During this time, a local resi dent and regular customer, William Schoefield, asked Nat what he called this new sandwich. Nat admitted that he didn’t have a name for it and invited Mr. Schoefield to suggest one. this was 1950 and the press was full of the scandal involving Ingrid bergman and roberto ross elini, who had become romantically involved during the filming of the

movie “Stromboli terra di Orio.” Schoefield suggested the name stromboli – and it stuck.

And so, where did calzone, the stromboli’s cousin, come from? It appears that it originated in Naples, Italy in the 18th century and because of its shape it was a popular item to eat on the go. (Interestingly calzone in Italian translates to “pants legs.)

Yes, both are related yet differ ent. For a stromboli, pizza dough is stretched out into a square, then tra ditionally topped with tomato sauce, Italian meats, sometimes vegetables, mozzarella and ricotta cheeses, rolled and then baked. A calzone is actually a turnover. the pizza dough is rolled into a circle, Italian meats, sometimes vegetables, and cheeses are added

Mammograms

INDIVIDUAL SCREENINGS

22, 8AM TO 12PM

ADVANCED SHORE IMAGING ASSOCIATES

2605 Shore Road, Northfield, NJ

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Screening mammograms are proven to detect cancer early when it is most treatable. Shore Medical Center, a member of the Penn Medicine Cancer Network, and Advanced Shore Imaging Associates are working together to offer free screening mammograms.

ShoreMedicalCenter.org

100 Medical Center Way

100 Medical Center Way

Point, NJ

Point, NJ

DR. VIJAY SANDILYA,

Medical Director of Shore Cancer Center, is offering a clinical breast exam and will provide a medical script for those who need assistance.

DR. ALICIA DANIELS , Radiologist with Advanced Shore Imaging Associates, will be reading the reports from the mammograms.

Stromboli

one half, the second half is folded over and the edges are crimped and then it’s baked. In a calzone the sauce is served on the side as a dipping sauce, not put inside with the filling. but times have changed, and now you can order your stromboli or cal zone with any number of different fillings. At Mama Mia’s in Marmora, you can

yours

variety of Italian meats,

meatballs, sausage,

a

or made

like.

Discover Cape May's Revolution Rail

By Sarah Fertsch Staff Writer

Last week, editor-in-chief cindy Fertsch and I drove 45 minutes south to enjoy one of the most anticipated fall attractions in South Jersey: rev olution rail of cape May. It was one of the coolest experiences we’ve had in the tri-state area.

revolution rail began in 2016 af ter the founder became fascinated by railbikes in Japan. He reengineered a lightweight car and established loca tions in upstate New York, colorado, and New Jersey.

Jake cuomo, the director of New Jersey operations for revolution rail, gave us a tour of the cape May franchise, begun in 2020, it’s now in its second full season of operation, leasing tracks from Seashore Lines, which operates the railroad owned by the NJ transit Authority.

We arrived at the old cape May train and bus station a few minutes before our scheduled time slot. We checked in and signed waivers, and then met up with other groups par ticipating in the mid-day tour.

c uomo introduced two other “conductors” and instructed every

one on the railbikes and basic safety. Participants boarded either double or quad cars and fastened their seatbelts and adjusted their seats so they could fully extend their legs to pedal. If anyone had any loose items, they could place them securely in the basket behind the seats.

Once everyone was settled, the adventure began.

One by one, each group began to pedal, heading toward the cape May canal. each group had about 20 feet between other groups so they could enjoy their privacy.

Surprisingly, pedaling the railbike was incredibly easy. the lightweight,

aerodynamic design allows riders to feel like they aren’t pedaling at all, as if an engine was propelling them for ward. cuomo told us that revolution rail prides itself as a multigeneration al attraction, so anyone in just about any health condition could keep up with the group without breaking a sweat.

the track followed the wetlands, which made everyone feel connect ed with nature. Great blue herons soared overhead and the sun glistened on the still water. We pedaled over bridges and around the iconic cape May water tow er, surrounded by tall sea grass and billowing reeds. It was the perfect activity for a sunny, breezy October afternoon.

After 20 minutes of trav el, the groups hopped off the train cars and explored the canal shore. One of the naturalists gave a talk on the history of the cape May canal during World War II, and the unfortunate closure of the bridge after Hurricane Sandy. travelers sipped their drinks (it’s bYO b on revo lution rail) and reboarded their cars and pedaled along. the tour then stopped at the Gar rett Family Preserve. Participants once again hopped off their cars and gathered under the gazebo to learn about the monarch butterfly migrations in c ape May in a talk given by another naturalist. t he group explored the preserve, which included an insect hotel, butterfly wings sculpture, and milkweed for the butterflies. And we boarded our cars and continued on.

As we pedaled back to the station, the conductors took a profession al photo of each group, which was available for purchase after the trip concluded.

After 4 miles of travel, we arrived back at the train station feeling en

ergized by the unique experience. revolution rail offers either three or four trips each day, and guests are welcome to bring alcoholic beverages and snacks with them for the journey.

“ t his is unlike anything else in c ape May,” said cuomo. “ this isn’t a restaurant or a beach or a store. this is something your family can do together and like an amusement park ride, you will never forget your ex perience pedaling through the cape May wilderness.”

If you are interested in participat ing in a revolution rail excursion, be sure to pack lightweight, comfort able clothing, sunscreen or a hat, and any refreshments to enjoy on your trip (beer, wine coolers, cheese and crackers). the entire trip is approxi mately 90 minutes long.

revolution rail also hosts special full moon tours, leaving the station around 7 p.m. the conductors wrap christmas lights around each car, lighting the way and adding a cozy aesthetic to the experience.

Guests can book tours until early December and then again around March/April. cuomo says that in the future, revolution rail hopes to offer an excursion to Sunset beach, allow ing participants to collect cape May diamonds, and visit the lighthouse, as well as the cape May canal.

You don’t want to skip this ride. As the leaves change and the air becomes more brisk, spending time with your loved ones exploring the history and geography of cape May will allow you to appreciate this spe cial place even more than before.

For more information, visit the revolution rail website at https:// www.revrail.com/railbiking-rides/ cape-may/.

OC Knights of Columbus show their support for Heart of Surfing

On Monday, Oct. 10, 2022 the Ocean city Knights of columbus presented a check to bob and cindy

Founders and Directors of Heart of Surfing. the Knights of co

lumbus raised the funds for charity through their annual taffy sale. Heart of Surfing is a 501c3 nonprofit organi zation that offers adaptive surfing ev ery Saturday for children and adults with special needs.

Fall Block Party a blockbuster success

By Donald B Kravitz

Ocean city’s Fall block Par ty was held Oct. 8, 2022.

More than 400 crafters, food vendors and en tertainers lined a mile of downtown Asbury Avenue between Fifth Street and 14th Street. the block Party drew tens of thousands of people to Ocean city for columbus Day Weekend.

Donald B. Kravitz is an Entertainment & Special Events photographer for national publications including Getty Images & Miss America

A Look Back

OCBP Hall of Fame

plaques to the first members of the O cb P Hall of Fame: t. John c arey (1926-1937), tom Oves (1951-1964), and Dick thieler (1958-1971).

On August 13, 2022, Ocb P Alum ni directors Jack b rooks and Vince Hink inducted Lexi Santer and Dylan Kosten into the Hall of Fame.

By Fred Miller

“G

uards Named to Hall of Fame” was the headline in the September 1, 1975, the Press of Atlantic city. the arti cle included a statement from Mark Soifer, Ocean city’s public relations director: “ t his year’s lifeguards decided to honor past members of the beach patrol. Over the years the beach patrol here has been the lead er in cape May county for winning lifeguard competitions. the guards wanted to honor the men who had previously served and who had given the Ocean city beach Patrol a glori ous history.”

On August 29, 1975, during the in termission of the annual Lifeguar ball, captain George t. Lafferty presented

Since 1975, a total of 113 lifeguards have become members of the Ocean city beach Patrol Hall of Fame.

'Sh-Boom! Life Could Be a Dream' at the Ocean City Music Pier

Photos by Donald Kravitz

Full of doo-wop music, danc ing, and comedy, Sh- boom! Life could be a Dream is set in the early 1960s and fol lows Denny and the Dreamers — Den ny, Wally and eugene — a fledgling doo-wop singing group preparing to enter the big Whopper radio contest to realize their dreams of making the big time.

trouble comes in when Lois ar rives to put some polish in the act. Denny falls in love, Wally falls in line, and eugene falls apart just in time for handsome heartthrob Duke’s arrival to send the whole situation spinning.

classic 1960s rock and roll hits “Fools Fall in Love,” “ tears on my Pil low, “ runaround Sue,” “Stay,” “ earth Angel,” “Unchained Melody,” and more help tell the story.

Sh- boom! Life could be a Dream presented by the Ocean city theatre company will be performed at the Ocean city Music Pier on October 8, 14, 15 at 7:00pm with a matinee on October 16 at 2:00pm.

tickets are $22-$25 and can be

purchased by calling 609-399-6111 or by visiting www.oceancityvaca tion.com/boxoffice.

Sh- b oom! Life could be a Dream was written by roger bean, who scored a huge hit with the Marvelous Wonderettes, which ran for over 1,200 performances Off- b roadway, and lead to three sequels for the franchise.

Octc’s production is being di rected and choreographed by Jordan cyphert, who was last seen in Octc’s production of SWING! cyphert has

an impressive resume as a perform er which includes the National tour of Flashdance: t he Musical and

regional theatre credits including Mary Poppins. Oklahoma and White c hristmas. His experience as a Director/choreographer includes productions of the Full Monty, the Little Mermaid and Damn Yankees. Music Director Drew Patti returns to Ocean city after appearing in last summer’s production of the 25th Annual Putnam county Spelling bee. Patti has an extensive resume of performing credits like Phantom, charlie brown’s christmas Spectac ular, evita, and My One and Only.

Apple recipes that will make you feel cozy to your core

By Sarah Fertsch Staff Writer

It’s apple season. the underdog fruit of autumn (can you guess what the most popular fruit of fall might be? Hint: it’s orange) is back with its crunchy texture and sour-sweet flavor. From apple picking to apple cider doughnuts coated in cinnamon sugar, make sure to take advantage of the seasonal fruit until the end of its prime time on October 31st. Apples as an ingredient can be incredibly warm and comforting, offering a rustic feel to any meal. Looking to surprise your kids with after-school treats? Or maybe cook up something special with your sig nificant other? Here are four apple recipes to ring in the harvest season:

Upside Down Apple Cake

Ingredients:

● 2 golden delicious apples, peeled, cored and sliced into ½-inch wedg es

● ½ cup of brown sugar

● 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter, softened (for the apples)

● 2 cups of all-purpose flour, sifted

● 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

● 1 tablespoon of baking powder

● 2 cups of buttermilk

● 3 large eggs, beaten

● 1 tablespoon of salt

● 1 cup of white sugar

● 2 tablespoons of but ter, softened (for the cake)

● ⅓ cup of powdered sugar

● 1 tablespoon of heavy cream

In a medium bowl, mix by hand the dry ingredi ents: flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

Use an electric stand mixer to combine white sugar, 2 tablespoons of butter, eggs, vanilla extract and but termilk. Slowly, in batches, add the dry ingredients into the wet mixture using low speed until the batter is thoroughly combined.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Line a 9-inch cake pan with parch ment paper. In a medium bowl, com bine apple wedges, brown sugar, and remaining butter. Arrange wedges on the parchment paper, forming two concentric circles. Feel free to get

artsy with this part.

Pour the batter over the apples and bake for 45-55 minutes until the cake is golden and fragrant.

c arefully circle the cake with a butter knife and flip the cake onto a cooling rack with the apple side facing up. Whisk together powdered sugar and cream to form the glaze and pour over the cake. Serve warm.

Apple Fritters

Ingredients:

● 1 quart of canola oil for frying

● 2 large eggs, beaten

● 1 teaspoon of salt

● 1 and ½ cup of all-purpose flour

● 2 teaspoons of baking powder

● 3 apples, cored, peeled and diced

● 1 cup of white sugar

● 3 tablespoons of cinnamon

● 1 teaspoon of nutmeg

● 2 ounces of unsalted butter, soft ened

● 1 cup of milk

● 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract

2 cups of powdered sugar

the quart of oil into a large soup pot and heat over medium heat on the stove (reaching 375 degrees).

Mix by hand the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.

Using an electric stand mixer, combine on low speed the wet ingredients: sugar, eggs and butter. Slowly, in batches, add the dry ingre dients into the wet batter until there are no clumps and everything is evenly distributed.

Add the diced apple and carefully incorporate into the batter by hand.

Prepare the glaze by mixing together the pow dered sugar, milk and vanilla extract. Set aside.

Working in batches, carefully drop spoonfuls of the batter into the frying oil, flipping every 3 minutes until each side is golden. remove from the oil using a slotted spoon and place on a cooling rack with either paper towels or a sheet pan beneath it.

top each fritter with glaze, and enjoy!

Cider-Glazed Chicken Wings

Ingredients:

● 2 pounds of split chicken wings

● 1 tablespoon of olive oil

● 1 teaspoon of salt

● 1 teaspoon of pepper

● 1 tablespoon of paprika

● 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce

● 1 teaspoon of hot sauce

● 1 cup of apple cider vinegar

● cut celery and carrots as a side dish

Preheat the oven to 45 degrees. In a small bowl, combine salt, pepper,

paprika, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce and apple cider vinegar.

Lightly season the wings with salt and olive oil and bake for 30 minutes, rotating the wings halfway through.

Once the wings are fully cooked, remove from the oven and brush on sauce generously. Place the wings back in the oven for another five minutes.

transfer the wings into a large bowl with the remaining sauce and toss. Serve with carrots and celery.

Autumn Apple Salad Ingredients:

● 2 cups of kale, stems removed

● 1 cup of candied pecans, chopped

● 2 granny smith apples, decored and diced/sliced

● ½ cup of crumbled bleu cheese

● 1 cup of quinoa, cooked

● ½ cup of dried cranberries

● 2 lemons, juiced

● ⅓ cup of olive oil, extra virgin

● Sprinkle of salt

● 2 cloves of garlic, crushed

● 1 spoonful of dijon mustard

In a medium bowl, whisk together olive oil, mustard, lemon juice, garlic and salt until the dressing is emulsi fied. Set aside.

clean and prep all produce.

In a large bowl, add kale, apple, pecans, cranberries, cheese, and quinoa. Pour dressing over top of the mixture.

toss the salad until every ingre dient is evenly distributed. Serve immediately or chill covered for up to two days.

HERO Campaign brings DUI Simulators to area high schools

For the first time in South Jer sey, the John r elliott H erO c ampaign for Designated Drivers will use a next gen eration computer simulator to teach area high school students the perils of impaired and dis tracted driving.

the “One Simple Decision” virtual driving unit, funded by a grant from the Honda USA Foun dation, will enable students to virtually “drive” an on-screen car while their reac tions are altered to simulate impaired driving. When the drivers experience accidents, videos of police and eM ts arriving on the scene provide realistic consequences of drunk and drugged driving, including judges imposing fines and drivers losing their licenses egg Harbor township High School,

where John elliott graduated in 1996 as class president, will be the first school to utilize the simulator in its driver education classes. the virtual instruction is intended for junior and seniors who sit in front of a large desktop computer screen equipped with a steering wheel and pedals. An other module shows students the dangerous consequences of distracted driving by simulating texting and driving.

A second VDI simulator will be do nated by the H erO campaign this fall to the driver education program at the Ar thur L. Johnson High School in clark, NJ in memory of Mi chael Sot, Jr. a college of New Jersey student killed by a drunk driver.

“ this will be a game changer,” said

bill elliott, father of John elliott, who was killed by a drunk driver in July 2000, two months after graduating from the United States Naval, where he was named the “Outstanding H e rO” of his graduating class. Previous DUI prevention instruction methods had students wear “fatal vision” gog gles to simulate drunk driving. “ this is far more realistic,” noted elliott. the elliott family established the H erO c ampaign to prevent drunk driving by promoting the use of safe and sober designated drivers, and

spare other fami lies from suffering the loss of a loved one due to drunk driving.

“We are pleased and hon ored to be the first site for the DUI simulator and to partner with the H er O c ampaign and the elliott fam ily,” said Samantha e lko, Guidance Director at the high school and a friend of the elliott family. “It feels like a video game, but with a serious message. I think it will be popular with our students.” the campaign plans to offer the simulator to other area high schools with the help of the Atlantic county Division of Highway Safety and the South Jersey transportation Plan ning Organization. the campaign also is seeking additional grant funding to purchase more of the VDI units. For more information, go to www. herocampaign.org.

Why Americans are out of their gourd over pumpkins

By Sarah Fertsch Staff Writer

We as humans have a lot in common with pumpkins. We both come in a variety of colors. If you stab either one with a knife, guts will fall out. We both get painted and carved to get the per fect look. And, like most things in this world, when our time ends, we return to the earth to continue the biological cycle of life.

t his may be more morbid than you expected from a column about pumpkins. After all, pumpkins typi cally represent the wholesomeness of the autumn harvest. they’re round, cute and pudgy, which makes them the quintessential Halloween baby costume of all time.

tiktok has designated October as “ christian Girl Fall,” contrasting their “Hot Girl Summer.” According to the social media platform, knee-high boots, orange cardigans and widebrimmed hats make these christian girls stand out in a crowd. t hey spend their mornings highlighting

their b ibles and posting inspirational Instagram stories, and in the after noons, they pick up their idol: a pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks.

t he popular coffee chain introduced the pumpkin spice latte in 2003 when they started dipping their toes into seasonal offerings. From 2008 to 2012, the latte went viral and has been the most-anticipated fall item in America for at least a decade.

Starbucks has been serving these lattes earlier and earlier each year ever since so that now they make their appearance in August.

today it feels like almost every thing comes in a pumpkin form. You can purchase pumpkin spice Pringles, a pumpkin spice burger, pumpkin spice fried chicken and even pumpkin spice toothpaste. In 2013, Americans collectively spent $286 million on

pumpkins and whimsical pumpkin-in spired products.

Years ago, my friends and I would play a game we called “ cute or Abomination.” We would question the validity of an item, whether it be a toy, outfit, food, or business. A cross between a unicorn and cat plushie may be voted cute, but a necklace made with Magic Markers was an abomination.

As I reflect on these new pumpkin products, I ask the age-old question: Is it cute or is it an abomination? Pumpkin spice dog treats might be cute, but pumpkin spice cat litter is a mutant abomination worthy of extinction. Who is the mastermind behind the pumpkin spice phenome non and is that person okay?

In colonial times, attitudes toward pumpkins were less than enthusiastic. e xplorers from england traditionally ate domesticated animals and europe an crops which did not include corn or squash found in the New World. Due to food insecurity and potential starva tion, the colonists resorted to taking in calories from “pumpkin meat.”

Pumpkins were considered a peasant food and were usually eaten as a last resort. t hat’s why calling someone a “pumpkin eater” was considered the ultimate insult.

Following the Industrial revolu tion, poor farm children often grew up to work in factories in big cities like New York or chicago, and pump kins became symbolic of simpler times. When the automobile became accessible to middle-class Americans, families would take rides through the countryside and feel a sense of nos talgia associated with the vast fields of pumpkins growing on vines.

As the years passed by, families could count on visiting a pumpkin patch and picking the produce by hand. the process remained immune to modernization. Parents still teach their little ones how to properly prune a pumpkin off the vine and look for signs of rotting before picking the perfect fruit.

Pumpkins represent a connection with the earth and living slowly. the American masses don’t opt for pump kin flavor because it's delicious. every pumpkin spice latte lover wants to time travel back to their childhood, when all that mattered was playing in the haystack, rolling down the hill, and jumping in big piles of colorful leaves.

the accountant working 50 hours per week, when chewing a pumpkin cookie, imagines herself as a farmer in the countryside celebrating the rewards of harvest. the teacher dec orates his classroom with images of pumpkins to teach students about seasonal symbols. A grandparent tells the story of the headless horse man to their grandchildren around a bonfire, making new memories of warmth and an ounce of fear.

the romanticization of the Amer ican farmer is a vital part of our his tory and celebration of shared values. It also ensures our survival. Growing food is, afterall, a desirable and nec essary activity.

So listen to “ country road” by John Denver on repeat. Order that pumpkin spice latte. take your friends and family through a corn maze. carve jack-o-lanterns. the autumn season offers so much joy and fun, even if our obsession with pumpkins has gone a little too far.

What do you value?

Je ff's Journal

By Jeff Whitaker

There are so many voices around us today. It’s hard to know who and what to let in. Who has your ear? Whether it’s social media (Facebook, twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, tik tok, etc.), family, colleagues at work, friends, the media or politicians, so many forces attempt to speak into our life; some of them directly, many passively. but make no mistake, they all shape what we believe and in turn decisions we make that impact our lives and those around us. So how do you filter these influences and still hold true to who you are and what you believe?

It all comes down to what you value. Whether you know it or not, we all have core values that shape us. these values have been formed over time; some of them good, some maybe not so good. these values dictate how we live both personally and professionally. Or at least they should. I’ve thought a lot about values lately be cause of so many people, companies and organizations trying to sway our values. It’s more important than ever that we

consciously know and stand by our values. We need to pass them on to our children and live them out personally and on the job. So, how do you do that? You share those values whenever the opportunity presents itself. When it comes to your family, don’t pass up the opportunity to share stories, offer examples and model the values you want lived out by your children. On the job, it’s much the same and if you are in a leadership role, it’s paramount that you speak values into your employees.

What values do you hold? Whatever they are, they have to become a part of your DNA, who you are. but the question is, how do you do that in a way that is authentic, not hokey or corny and forced. Here’s one idea. It’s been said that vision leaks. In oth er words, you can cast a vision, talk about your values and mission but if you don’t constantly beat the drum in an authentic way, it leaks. It vanishes, disappears.

this is a constant thing. So one idea you might try to reinforce the core values you’ve laid out is to look for teachable moments each day. Just like a parent who takes the opportunity of a child disobeying to teach or explain the right thing to do, on the job you as a leader in your area, your department, your team or company look for those teachable moments when some thing comes up to simply. Look for ways to simply say “You see that’s why one of our

values is… or this is an example of us living out value number 4.”

both personally and professionally, find stories to share that can reinforce your val ues. People love stories and stories make the biggest impact. but my takeaway for you today is this. Look around you each day for practical ways to not only gather up and store away examples of your core values being lived out but take time to share mo ments with those around you. Find ways you can apply those values each day.

Most importantly, don’t let outside forces negatively influence your values. If these values are important to you, don’t be afraid to push back and live by your convictions. At a time where values are being compromised, it’s critical that you and I stand firm in sharing and living out positive values that advance our culture, not erode it.

Jeff Whitaker is a veteran broadcaster here in South Jersey. He now draws on his experience and training to work with companies and individuals to develop effective storytelling, communications and leadership skills. Find free resources and ways Jeff can work with you at jeffwhitaker.com

Words of advice for the weekend warrior

Views from the Shore

By Brian Cahill

Iam a proud weekend warrior—I spend my free time playing soccer, lifting weights, running and more. Although I think I’m still 25, the cold hard truth is that I’m not that young anymore, and staying active isn’t as risk-free as I used to think it was.

throughout the time I’ve been at Shore, I have heard two sure-fire tips on how to stay healthy - a healthy diet and exercise.

this brings me to a new question. Where to draw the line between exercising enough to stay healthy and over-exercising in a way that can lead to injury in aging bodies? I spoke with Dr. Dante Marconi, an orthopedic surgeon who recently joined Shore Physicians Group, about healthy and safe exercise for me and my fellow weekend warriors.

Dr. Marconi’s first piece of advice is that many people who have busy schedules tend to go from 0-100 when it comes to exercise. When bal ancing work and a family, people want to make the most of the little time they have to exercise. t his means no stretching and jumping right into high-level exercise.

“When you don’t ease into exer cise and take the time to have the muscles stabilize each other, tendons can get degenerative, especially as you get older,” Dr. Marconi says. “ this causes smaller micro-injuries to accu mulate until there is a serious one.”

One of the most important things people can do to prevent serious injury when exercising is to simply listen to their bodies. there usually are warning signs for a serious inju ry, but heeding these warning signs is the hard part for a lot of people, myself included.

“Listening to your body and rest ing when you feel pain or get tired is crucial,” continued Dr. Marconi. “continuing to exercise at a high-level after fatigue sets in is dangerous be cause your body will look for strength elsewhere and use other muscles, leading to poor form.”

My teammates and I are usually

stuck in the mindset that we can’t let pain stop us from playing. It’s natural to want to push through the pain and hope that more exercise will make it go away.

“Most things do get better with rest, and continuing to exercise will only make it worse,” Dr. Marconi explained. “ t hat being said, there are some cases where being decon ditioned can cause pain. In these cas es, more activity can help. this is why it’s important to train your body so you can handle going the extra mile when it’s necessary in a game.”

So how do we know the difference between an injury that requires rest

and one that requires more exercise?

Dr. Marconi explained that you can’t always tell. the best way to handle it is to educate yourself beforehand on proper mechanics, to train, know, and listen to your body, and to see a doctor when you need to.

“ talking to a doctor when you feel pain is a great way to learn what the issue is and how to treat it and pre vent it from worsening,” Dr. Marconi said. “ that’s why I got into medicine. I want to help people return to doing what they love and ultimately get their lives back.”

Dr. Marconi is with the Orthopedic Surgery and Sports Medicine Division at Shore Physicians Group, located on the 2nd floor at 710 center Street in Somers Point. to make an appoint ment, call 609-365-6280.

Brian Cahill is the Director of Marketing for Shore Medical Center and Shore Physicians Group. He is also on the Board of the Somers Point Business Asso ciation, an Adjunct Professor in the School of Business at Stockton University, and is a founding member of Somers Point-Com munity First, a local volunteer organization.

Dr. Dante Marconi

Essl’s expands to go Italian; Lizzie Rose set to reopen, needs your help

erations with not just one, but three more locations.

the biggest – and most excitingnews is that essl’s will go Italian with a new market concept.

and sausages to American favor ites to meats roasted in house, including roast beef, corned beef and more.

By Scott Cronick

Since taking over essl’s Dug out in West Atlantic city in 2018, bobby and carey Het tmannsperger have changed the culinary scene of Atlantic county. It’s not an exaggeration.

Not only did the couple resurrect e ssl’s, a legendary breakfast and lunch spot since 1972 – home of the Messl sandwich with breakfast meat, egg, cheese and homefries on a kaiser roll – but the Hettmannspergers rede fined mobile catering in South Jersey, appearing at many local events while also bringing their awesome food to weddings and private parties unlike anyone else in South Jersey.

Now, essl’s, which also operates out of the elks Lodge in b rigantine for members only, will expand its op

Located in the former east bay crab & Grille location in the cardiff Plaza Shopping center in egg Harbor township, the market – which doesn’t have a name yet - will offer everything from pizza to subs to sliced deli meat to entrees and everything in between.

How many times have you said to yourself, “Man, this area needs a place like bagliani’s?” Now, it will have one.

before essl’s Italian market opens – most likely by thanksgiving – there is a lot of work to be done in the 4,000-square-foot space, including major construction, the installation of new kitchen equipment and cos metic upgrades to meet the Hett mannspergers’ standards.

Walk in and customers will be greeted by a main counter featuring deli meats that will be sliced to order to your specifications and a case dis playing a variety of fresh-made pizzas available by the pie or slice. Meats will range from imported Italian delicacies

t here will also be pre-made sandwiches, pastas, salads – in cluding essl’s famous potato salad and cole slaw – homemade pastas, soups, sauces, roasted peppers and pre-made entrees from all ethnicities, including German and American favorites routinely offered at their original location. carey’s homemade desserts will also be on full display.

Since it will be a market, cus tomers can also expect imported, quality balsamic vinegars, olive oils, Italian sodas, imported pastas and gourmet cheeses from around the world.

“We will cut wheels, grate our own parmesan and Locatelli and even make our own mozzarella,” b obby Hettmannsperger said. “ the breads will be brought in from New York, and charcuterie and cheese boards will also be offered. We will have daily specials like we do at essl’s, and our sandwiches will be creative and fresh and interesting. the chicken and veal parms, for example, will be made with fresh cutlets, not some frozen patty. everything is about the best, quality ingredients made from scratch. And the market will feature some great things you won’t find in many other places.”

the market, which will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week, will have seating for about 40 guests, and Hettmannsperger will

host pop-up dinners once the opera tion is underway.

thanks to its enormous kitchen and walk-in boxes, essl’s market will also serve as the main location for all of essl’s catering operations, opening space at the original location for car ey to do even more baking than she already does.

“It’s the main reason we are expanding,” said Hettmannspeger, noting that the original essl’s is not closing. “We want to be able to take on more catering jobs, and we just outgrew the original location for that. this way we can take on more catering jobs, which we routinely turn down. the original essl’s was always c arey’s baby from the start, and it will continue to be. My first love has always been a deli, and I thought the

Postcards from the

community needed something like they have in other towns. there was a void to fill, and the location is just incredible.”

before locals see the new Italian market, you will see e ssl’s expand into the Atlanti c are Life center on Delilah road in egg Harbor township. Similar to a Starbucks, essl’s at Atlan ti care will feature gourmet coffees, fresh-squeezed juices, small portion desserts, grab-and-go-drinks, pro tein shakes, fresh salads and pressed sandwiches for the center’s patients and 2,500 employees. It is expected to open in the next two weeks and will be open 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays to Fridays.

And wait, there’s more!

I will keep you posted right here in this column as essl’s will once again expand into Galloway township on route 9 in the former JoJo’s Ocean ville tavern location overlooking Gal loway National Golf club in the spring.

the former bar – a noticeable tur quoise building – will be renovated into a breakfast spot open 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. A nearby building will offer softserve ice cream, and Hettmannsperg er will smoke classic texas-style bbQ in between the two buildings served at picnic tables.

“When you have good help and support from your family and friends and employees, you can do amazing

things,” Hettmannsperger said. “And I have a great partner in my wife.”

b y the way, if you can come up with a catchy name for essl’s Italian market, email b obby at bobessls@ icloud.com, and I am sure your first meal will be on b obby at the new spot.

Keep music alive in Tuckerton

If you are a music fan and have never been to the Lizzie rose Music room in tuckerton, you are missing out on one of South Jersey’s bestkept secrets.

t he intimate, 70-seat, former Victorian-era mansion is about a 30-minute ride from the mainland, a very reasonable distance to wit ness some of the best jazz, blues and independent acts that come to the shore and perform on a quaint stage in front of stained-glass windows. It’s like going to Preservation Hall in New Orleans without the drawl.

Since 2014, Lizzie rose operates as a nonprofit, meaning they don’t make a dime on the venture. there is no bar or restaurant to make profits on. they rely solely on ticket sales to stay alive. Founder Lou reichert and his fellow volunteers operate Lizzie rose out of a true passion for music, and now, as the b eatles said, they need “a little help from our friends.”

Like many music venues across the nation, Lizzie rose closed its

doors for two years because of cOVID, operating at the Pavilion in the Pines Atlantic Shores c amp ground, a 100-seat outdoor venue that helped Lizzie rose survive and keep the music playing. to move the operations back inside, Lizzie rose needs to raise about $8,000 through a Go Fund Me campaign.

“ right now, we are working hard to be able to fund some essential up dates. After not being in the room for so long, we are basically starting from scratch and have to build a new stage and sound booth, rewire the electrical system, update our sound equipment to digital, and other important im provements we want to be able to provide,” reichert said. “ the goal is to re-open for live music to start by the third week of October, and we have shows scheduled into December.We're not here to make a profit. We’re here to champion live music in our commu nity, and we need the support now. We were very happy to have been able to continue our concerts over the past two years outdoors. We had some ex cellent artists, and now we are looking forward to a grand re-opening of sorts at our original location."

Upcoming shows include a grand reopening with the Hot club of cow town on Oct. 23, the eric clapton tribute bell bottom blues on Oct. 28, blues great Vanessa collier on Nov. 6,

Professor Louie and the Woodstock Horns on Nov. 12, blues legend Pop pa chubby on Dec. 3, the tom Petty tribute Damn the torpedoes on Dec. 17, and many more.

“Our mission at the Lizzie rose Music room has always been to give our audiences and artists an up close and personal music experience they can't get anywhere else,” reichert says. “ every seat is the best seat in the house.”

Please go to LizzieroseMusic.com and find the Go Fund Me link to make a donation, and then do yourself a fa vor and head to a show at Lizzie rose, located at 217 e . Main St., tuckerton. It is truly an artistic gem at the shore.

Scott Cronick is an awardwinning journalist who has written about entertainment, food, news and more in South Jersey for nearly three decades. He hosts a daily radio show – "Off The Press with Scott Cronick" - 4 to 6 p.m. weekdays on Newstalk WOND 1400-AM, 92.3-FM, and WONDRadio.com, and he also coowns Tennessee Avenue Beer Hall in Atlantic City, while working on various projects, including charitable efforts, throughout the area. He can be reached at scronick@comcast.net.

M oms Vibe:

By Krystle J. Bailey

Every Mother’s Day, I tend to write a column about how every day should be a celebra tion of motherhood and that we need to take care of ourselves all year round. As the weeks and months get busy with school activities, travel ing, work mode, sick kids, and so on, it’s so easy to forget to prioritize ourselves. t he kids are back in school and cruising right along, and the holidays have begun knocking on our door. Now is a perfect time to take a moment to recalibrate. before the craziness of the season ensues, take a mom-minute. Ask yourself what you need to refuel and recharge so that you can contin ue to be the superhero that you are this holiday season. Of course, there’s nothing like a spa day or pedicure to get yourself in the right headspace, but here are a few other suggestions to help you reconnect with yourself and fill your cup.

A moment for mom

Buy the basics

When was the last time you took inventory of your underwear drawer or checked to make sure your bras were the right size? take an after noon to go through the basics and toss those you never wear, then spoil yourself with some new pieces that make you feel beautiful and confident.

Update your playlist

Music is the spice of life. Personally, music is how I get through everything in life, from cleaning the kitchen to navigating heartache. t hroughout the year, I add music to random lists without much organization and find myself making mental notes to clean up and organize my music. take a cou ple of hours to jump into your favorite tunes, feel some vibes you haven’t felt in a while, and organize your music to cater to your different moods. While you’re there, discover some new art ists and songs you haven’t heard yet.

Purge the junk

It may not seem like self-care, but it’s true what they say about stagnant energy and how a good purge can change the entire dynamic in a home. things get busy, junk drawers over

flow, closet floors end up with piles of clothes that don’t fit, and toy rooms burst at the seams with toys they don't play with anymore. Put on one of those new playlists and grab some trash bags. the lightness in the air is pal pable after a good clean, and that carries over into every other aspect of our lives.

Get into nature

the weather has cooled off just enough to enjoy a nice hike or a stroll around the e gg Harbor township Nature reserve. Visit batsto, take a walk on a local bike path, or take a ride down to your favorite beach before it gets too cold. For a little extra ground ing, ditch your shoes and get your toes into the dirt and connected with the earth to recenter the soul. Nature is a beautiful opportunity to put your phone down, look around, and breath in a big breath of fresh air.

Tend to the plants

Life gets busy, and we forget to water, prune, and re-pot our house plants on time. b efore the seasons

change, take some time to reconnect with those green house guests that you bought with love and good intentions. Spend a little time getting your hands dirty, buying some new pots, and nurturing your leafy babies.

However you choose to recenter, I just hope that you’ll take a moment to yourself before the buzz of Halloween, thanksgiving, christmas, Hanukkah, and then before you know it - New Year’s eve. As the saying goes, “time waits for no one,” so make a little time for yourself this week! You deserve it, and you certainly do not have to wait until Mother’s Day to celebrate all that you are, all that you do, and everything you bring to the table each and every day for your family.

Krystle J Bailey. Multimedia journalist, Author, Poet. Connect with Krystle on Instagram @thedailybailey5

By Eric Reich

We have certainly all felt the effects of the highest inflation we have seen in nearly 50 years. We have felt it in every thing from gas prices, food prices and nearly everything else we buy. Inflation, however, is far more of a problem than just some higher prices.

Inflation or Deflation?

Untamed inflation can have a disas trous effect on the economy.

So what is inflation and how does it happen? Inflation can be defined as the rise in prices over time. It can also be the decrease in purchasing power over time. As prices rise over time, it takes more dollars to buy the same amount of something. there fore, each dollar you have is worth less than it was before. It is the goal of the Federal reserve to maintain inflation at a rate of roughly 2.5%. A small amount of inflation is good for the economy. too much inflation

though can cause economic hardships for those on a fixed income or low wage earners. they are least able to handle a dramatic rise in prices. When people have less disposable income, they are forced to make choices on where to cut back spend ing. those cutbacks are usu ally discretionary expenses like eating out or luxury pur chases. this in turn causes the economy as a whole to decline which can lead to higher unemployment, etc.

One of the more obvious causes of the recent rise in inflation has been the Fed’s policy of easy money, seemingly endless stimulus packages, extended unem ployment, etc. We should not have expected that these mostly unnec essary efforts would have no effect on the future of the economy, and we are now paying that price. the Fed’s inability to act sooner I believe has contributed to the magnitude of inflation we are now experiencing. the good news, is that the Fed now seems to have a good handle on how bad the situation is and has been ag gressively increasing interest rates in order to slow the economy and in flation. We have seen multiple 0.75% consecutive interest rate hikes in the last few months. this is intended to make the cost of borrowing money more expensive, thereby slowing business spending, and ultimately slowing down the economy.

b ut is the Fed going too far too fast? the difficulty for the Fed is that they have to wait for last month’s da ta to make decisions about what to do going forward. If they raise rates and next month inflation is still high, as we have seen, then the raise rates again and keep repeating the cycle. My concern, however, is that they aren’t pausing long enough to see if the rate hikes are actually working. It seems as though they are compen sating for starting to raise rates too late by raising them too fast now. We should not expect the rate increases to have an instant effect on inflation. recently, the noise in the economic community is getting louder that per haps the Fed is moving so fast that they are going to severely damage the economy at the current rate of interest rate increases. I happen to be in agreement with this crowd. I believe that the Fed, if they aren’t taking time to pause runs the risk of creating a deflationary environment which is worse than inflation.

Deflation is the opposite of infla tion. It’s when prices for everything

drop. t his might sound good, but it isn’t. the price of goods, wages, etc. should all trend up over time. A contraction of the economy is not healthy. At the very least, we could be looking at stagflation which is when inflation runs high but the economy is not growing. Stagflation plagued Japan for 20 years. this is not something we want to see in the U.S.

Overall, I’d say the Fed has done a terrible job at managing the economy. they are struggling to fix inflation that they in large part created them selves. Sadly, we are the ones paying the price. My hope is that the Fed pause to access the effects of the interest rate increases and sees the obvious global slowdown that is oc curring when making future interest rate decisions. For now, I think the current path will continue, so I would expect to see interest rates rise above 4% and even as high as 4.5% in the coming year before the Fed starts to go the other way and cut rates.

I do expect to see rate cuts happen next year which means those who have not refinanced or purchased a home might still get a chance at reasonable rates in the future. Until then, we will keep an eye on the Fed’s decisions and continue to relay what the effects on you and your money might be.

Eric is President and founder of Reich Asset Management, LLC. He relies on his 25 years of ex perience to help clients have an enjoyable retirement. He is a Certified Financial Planner™ and Certified Investment Manage ment AnalystSM (CIMA®) and has earned his Chartered Life Under writer® (CLU®) and Chartered Financial Consultant® (ChFC®) designations. A lifelong resident of Cape May County, Eric resides in Seaville, NJ with his wife Chris sy and their sons ,CJ and Cooper, and daughter Riley.

By Charles P. Eberson A Senior’s Observations, Opinions and Rantings

It’s been years since we had a dog. Our first dog, Sheba, was a German Shepherd. We were told they are great with young children, which we had at the time, and she certainly was tolerant and gentle. We were new dog owners in training and discovered what a responsibility owning a dog was, but Sheba made it all worthwhile. After Sheba’s passing, our daughter surprised us with a Jack russell terrier, we named Maggie. We weren’t looking to take on another dog, but Maggie was adorable. My daughter was insistent and would not be denied.

After Sheba, Maggie seemed like she drank too many red bulls. When someone came to the front door, Mag gie would bark excitedly at the door, spin around like a Whirling Dervish and lose control of her bladder. Our guests would do their best imitation of riverdance to protect their shoes from Maggie’s rotating sprinkler.

Dog Days of October

the one advantage of Maggie was her size. We were able to smuggle her through hotel lobbies either under my jacket or in my duffle bag and she was a squirmer. “Nothing to see here, folks.”

After Maggie, my wife and I were well into our fifties and decided we needed a watchdog. We picked a dog up at an animal shelter and named him Memphis after the city he was rescued from after Hurricane Katrina forced the disbursement of pets to safer locales.

Memphis was a cross between a rhodesian ridgeback and a Pit b ull. He grew to about sixty-five pounds of sleek muscle with long legs and resem bled a young deer so much so that on hikes we had him wear an orange vest. Memphis was such a brilliant dog who amazed us at every turn; however, we didn’t think he knew he was a sixtyfive-pound dog.

He craved personal contact and was incredibly affectionate but if you came to the front door, you feared for your life. As guests entered our home, Memphis would be straining at the leash, barking fiercely while we implored our guests “don’t look at him, just come in. Avert your eyes.” After a few minutes, Memphis would be snug

gled at their feet.

Memphis’ passing after thirteen years affected us so deeply, we knew we could not go through this experi ence again and swore off dog ownership. the years rolled by, and my wife began longing for the companionship of a dog. I was still adamant ly against it and for good reasons; our ages, travels and lifestyle does not lend itself to the responsi bilities of dog ownership at this time. However, when my wife’s best friend asked us to watch her geriatric Hava nese for two and a half weeks while she traveled to Hawaii, we just couldn’t refuse.

“Hunter” is fifteen years old and came with boxes of pills, ear drops, eye drops, canned food, dry food, three different types of treats and 2 full sheets of instructions. His panting, soft palate noises, snoring and mini strokes kept us on high alert. Hunter must go to the bathroom even more than I do and always seems to be when I have just settled in. He can’t walk steps, so we had to carry him in and out of the house and up and down the stairs in our home. He also needed to be lifted up and down from the sofa bed or ottoman.

Of course, on one instance when I had him in our backyard, he took off down our driveway and headed towards the street. Did I mention that Hunter is also deaf so my calls to him literally fell on deaf ears. I chased after him running faster than I have in years and scooped him up like a fumbled football before he reached the end of

the driveway. I wondered what we would have told the owner if the unthink able happened and if we still would have had to return him.

Naturally, one of his favorite places to rest was under my recliner when I reclined which required a heightened awareness or I could enclose him in the up holstered sarcophagus for eternity.

Hunter also replaced my spot in our bed. We were afraid that if I turned over onto him during the night, it may result in the untimely demise of the little furball with hardly a “yip.”

It has been ten days into our stew ardship and Hunter has served his purpose. Along with helping a good friend who would rather entrust her beloved pet to us instead of putting him in a kennel, Hunter has success fully convinced my wife that at this time, a dog is no longer a necessity for happiness in our lives. Nevertheless, little Hunter with all of his challenges, proved to be an endearing addition. We were like doggie grandparents, enjoying his company in the short term before gladly handing him back none the worse for wear, as far as his owner knows.

Charles Eberson has been in the newspaper business for over 25 years. He has worked as a writer, advertising executive, circulation manager and pho tographer. His photography can be viewed at charles-eberson. fineartamerica.com

By Michael Bray

Ithink all of us would agree that pumpkin is one of the most iconic symbols of autumn, and one of the season’s most cele brated flavors. beyond the ever-pop ular pumpkin spice latte, fall brings an abundance of pumpkin-inspired fare that can lead to really fun and unique wine pairings.

Pumpkin Chili: Dry Riesling

A variation of a classic chili recipe with the addition of pumpkin puree, cinnamon, and roasted pumpkin seeds calls for a white wine with noticeable fruit and balanced acidity. Pierre Sparr riesling (Alsace, France; $16.99) deliv ers across the board, with a vibrant, fruit-forward nose and palate. It’s dry, but not too dry, with a creamy texture and combination of floral and fruity flavors that stand up to the warm spice and texture of the chili.

Pumpkin Ravioli: Valpolicella typically served with a brown but ter sauce and a touch of sweetness and spice, pumpkin ravioli is one of autumn’s coziest dishes. the powerful

Pumpkin pairings

flavors in the dish will sing when paired with a robust red, and a classic Valpolicella from Italy is a perfect choice. Sometimes referred to as a “baby Ama rone,” Valpolicella is made from a blend of Italian grapes that produce full-bodied, fruit-driv en wines with a chewy texture and deep flavors. b rigaldara Valpolicella classico (Veneto, Italy; $16.49) is made from a com bination of corvina, corvinone, and rondinella, and offers warm aromas of flavors of red currants, blackberry, and violet.

Pumpkin Pie: Tawny Port

I couldn’t mention pumpkin pair ings without highlighting the most revered pumpkin dish of all time –pumpkin pie! Desserts provide some unique challenges when it comes to wine pairing, as the sweetness of the food can easily overpower the struc tural elements of the wine. As such, its safest to aim for a wine that’s sweet er than the dessert, and a fortified wine like tawny Port is pumpkin pie’s best friend. tawny Port is gradually exposed to oxygen during the aging process, which leads to “brown” aro mas and flavors of nuts, brown sugar, baking spice, and dried fruit. Niepoort

tawny Port (Douro, Portugal; $15.99) is balanced and flavorful with nutty aromas and a palate marked by spiced fig and currant. It will pair beautifully

with pumpkin pie, and an array of other fall desserts, as well.

Hungry yet? Keep me posted on your journey into food and wine pair ings this fall and beyond. reach me any time at michael@passionvines.com.

Drink passionately, Michael

Michael Bray is the founder of and director of operations at Passion Vines Wine & Spirit Company in Somers Point and Egg Harbor Township. He serves on numerous local boards.

What a great time to be a Philadelphia sports fan

Extra Points with Pete Thompson

What a great time to be a Philadelphia sports fan.

t he e agles remain un beaten at 5-0 and it also

happens to be “Dallas Week” as I write this. the Phillies not only made the play offs, but then won their N.L. Wildcard series against St. Louis. they’ve also won Game 1 of the NLDS against Atlanta. the Flyers are getting ready to make their 2022-23 season debut. the Sixers begin their regular season on October 18th in boston. even the Philadelphia Union are on a hot streak! On the local front, an Absegami grad is on the 53-man roster for the Atlanta Falcons and getting de cent playing time. An Ocean city grad is excelling at the next level for Muhlenberg college.

●

As great as it is to have an unbeaten football team, I think we have to begin with the Phillies as they not only make the playoffs, but have already advanced past the N.L. Wildcard round. Let’s re wind first to where the Phillies clinched a playoff spot in Houston on Monday October 3rd. Aaron Nola took a perfect game into the seventh inning, and Kyle Schwarber led off the game with a home run off Lance Mccullers. When it was all said and done, the Phillies were in the playoffs for the first time since 2011, and headed to St. Louis.

● I thought it was classy of the Astros to put “congratulations Phillies” on their big screen scoreboard after the final out of the clinching game. Nice move by the Astros.

● Now, let’s get into the St. Louis series, where the Phillies were able to line up Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola on regular rest. Wheeler struck out four and only walked one in 6.1 innings of work, but the Phillies found themselves down 2-zip heading to the ninth inning. things looked bleak.

● After all, the cardinals were 93-0 when leading by at least two runs going to the 9th inning in playoff history. So, what happened? A historic inning as the Phillies put up a six-spot and eventually won Game 1 in stunning fashion 6-3.

● J.t realmuto began the decisive rally with a single off ryan Helsley, and walks for bryce Harper and Nick castellanos loaded the bases before the All-Star closer plunked Alec bohm to cut the lead in half at 2-1. Andre Pallante came in, and Jean Segura squirted a ground ball past second base to bring home two more runs. edmundo Sosa just slid home to make it 4-2 when he brazenly scored on bryson Stott's grounder to first base, and b randon Marsh drove in another run when a tough hop got past c ardinals shortstop Paul De Jong to make it 5-2. by the time Kyle Schwarber added a sacrifice fly, Phillies

Jalen Hurts - NFC Offensive Player of the Month for September

reliever Zach eflin had plenty of wiggle room in the ninth. the Phillies eventu ally won Game 1 in St. Louis 6-3 and found themselves just one win away from advancing to the NLcS.

● On Saturday October 9, the Phillies got that win as Aaron Nola took a four-hit performance into the seventh inning. they got an early home run from bryce Harper and some gutsy performances out of the bullpen. Zach eflin retired tommy edman to leave the tying run on base, and the Phillies had squeezed out a 2-0 victory over the cardinals for a sweep of their National League wild-card series.

● the drama was palpable as both Yad ier Molina and Albert Pujols had late singles in what will be their final plate appearances of a Hall of Fame career for both of them. the sweep also al lowed the Phillies to get an extra day of

rest prior to starting a best of 5 game N.L.D.S. with Atlanta.

● In Game 1, Nick castellanos was the hero for the Phillies as he finished 3-5 at the plate, with a double, a run scored and 3 rbI in a 7-6 win over the braves. castellanos also made a crucial diving catch in right field to help preserve the win. After scoring a total of eight runs in the two-game wild-card series sweep of the St. Louis cardinals, the Phillies needed the offense to deliver against Atlanta starter Max Fried. For a change, the offense went through castellanos.

● castellanos inside-outed a first-pitch fastball to right field for the third of four consecutive two-out singles in a two-run first inning. He banged a dou ble off the right-field wall and scored

The

clinched a playoff

Personalized Service

a run in the third. In the fourth, he stroked a two-run single to right field to open a 6-1 lead and hush the sellout crowd of 42,641 at truist Park. that’s just what the Phillies hoped for when they signed him to a five-year, $100 million contract in spring training.

● Now, the Phillies can ride a tsunami of momentum into Game 2. they will hand the ball to Wheeler, who was born a few miles from this sparkling ballpark in cobb county, Ga., and grew up about an hour away. He was nearly drafted by the b raves in 2009 and made his major league debut against them in 2013. Wheeler has a 2.04 er A in 10 starts against his hometown team since joining the Phillies in 2020.

● One final piece of Phillies news to report and that’s about manager rob t homson. right before the Atlanta series began, Phillies President of baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski removed the interim tag from thom son’s title and extended him a two-year contract to become the permanent manager through 2024. the Phillies went 65-46 since June 3, when they elevated thomson to replace the fired Joe Girardi after a 22-29 start. they made the playoffs for the first time since 2011 and swept the St. Louis car dinals in the wild-card series. thomson is the first manager to take over a team midway through a season and steer it

to the playoffs since Jim tracy with the 2009 colorado rockies. Players lobbied the front office for thomson to get the job permanently.

● Moving on to the eagles now, as they remain unbeaten at 5-0 after wins over the Jaguars in the rain and the cardinals in a dome. Let’s start with the Jacksonville game as the b irds beat their former coach in Doug Ped erson 29-21. this game was played in a heavy rain, and Miles Sanders finished the contest with 27 carries for a career-high 154 yards and two touchdowns. the Jaguars had jumped out to a 14-zip lead, so to win “ugly” was big for the birds.

● Most recently, the eagles went to Ari zona and won a close one with a back up kicker in c ameron Dicker. Dicker

made a 23-yard field goal to put the birds in front with 1:13 remaining. car dinals backup kicker Matt Ammendola’s 43-yard field goal attempt sailed wide right and the eagles escaped the desert with a three-point win and their unbeaten record intact.

● Jalen Hurts ran for a pair of one-yard touchdowns. the eagles improved to 5-0 for the first time since 2004, when they won their first seven games and finished 13-3. Phila delphia scored the go-ahead field goal on a grinding 17-play, 70-yard drive that lasted nearly eight minutes. Hurts ex tended the drive twice with 1-yard runs up the middle on third down, getting a great push from his offensive line for enough room to dive forward. " that offensive line is full of warriors," eagles coach Nick Sirianni said after the game.

Then the Phillies swept St. Louis out of the playoffs

defenseman r yan ellis on long-term injured reserve again. ellis is unlikely to play for the Flyers this season.

● Up next, it’s “Dallas Week” as the birds will play at home against the cowboys on N bc ’s Sunday Night Football in prime time on October 16. As I write this, the eagles are 5.5-point favor ites for the second consecutive week. they opened Week 5 at FanDuel at that number and closed there, too. they did not cover the spread in Arizona.

● Also, the “Dak Prescott Watch” is offi cially on for Week 6. the quarterback says he’s day-to-day and will be reeval uated again this week. the cowboys (4-1), with cooper rush under center, have been just fine without him. that’s largely because Dallas’ defense has been outstanding. the cowboys, in four straight wins after a Week 1 loss, have averaged 13.25 points against per game. Only the bills and 49ers have allowed fewer points so far in 2022. And only San Francisco has more sacks (21) than Dallas (20). the cowboys are the toughest defense the eagles have faced so far in 2022, and eagles quar terback Jalen Hurts has not beaten Dallas yet in his young career as the eagles’ starter.

● this eagles team, of course, is a lot better than the eagles teams Hurts played on in 2020 and 2021, and Hurts a lot closer to a complete player now than he was then. I’ll be going up to the Linc as a fan for the game, and will write more about what happens in my next Shore Local extra Points column.

● In hockey, I enjoyed watching “ t he Standard” Inside Flyers training camp” on N bc Sports Philadelphia as they did a nice job of previewing what the team will look like under new coach John tortorella. the Flyers will open the season with 12 players who are 25 years old or younger. Unfortunately, they won’t have top-line center Sean couturier as he will start the season on injured reserve. they also had to place

● to say that I am LeSS than optimistic about the Flyers chances, would be to put it mildly. GM chuck Fletcher has listed center Sean couturier (back) on injured reserve and forwards bobby b rink (hip) and Patrick b rown (back) and goaltender Felix Sandström (low er body) on the injured non-roster list. the good news is that couturier doesn’t need surgery. couturier missed the final 53 games last season after undergoing back surgery, and has re sumed skating as he is being described as “week-to-week”. Let’s hope he re turns sooner rather than later.

● regardless of who makes the lineup for opening night, the Flyers will play plenty of kids throughout the season. On the initial 23-man roster, the Fly ers list 12 players ages 25 and under — egor Zamula, 22, Joel Farabee, 22, Samuel ersson, 22, Owen tippett, 23, Morgan Frost, 23, Noah cates, 23, ron nie Attard, 23, carter Hart, 24, Wade Allison, 24, tanner Laczynski, 25, travis Konecny, 25, and Ivan Provorov, 25. this doesn’t include Felix Sandström, 25, and players currently with the Phantoms, including defenseman cam York, 21, and forwards bobby brink, 21, and Jackson cates, 25, who likely will see time at the NHL level this season.

● t he bottom line? t he Flyers are YOUNG and it’s up to new coach John

The interim tag was removed for manager Rob Thomson

Absegami grad & ACJFL alum Abdullah Anderson is on the Atlanta Falcons 53-man roster

tortorella to turn them into NHL play ers. Stay tuned.

● things are relatively quiet on the Sixers front as they get ready to begin the sea son in boston on tuesday October 18. Philadelphia retooled its roster around Joel embiid and James Harden over the offseason. It appears as though Harden took full advantage of his healthy sum mer, as he appeared to be in very solid shape at the team’s recent media day. He joked that he lost "100 pounds" over the summer, and while he was obviously exaggerating, he was clearly svelte.

● Sixers third-year guard tyrese Maxey probably had the line of media day when he was asked about his individ ual goals for the upcoming campaign. " coach Doc said something in the locker room recently: t his is a 'we' season, not a 'me' season. this season is going to be all about us as a group, as an organization, and I just want us to be the best we can possibly be... I'm not really worried about the individual accolades, I just want to help my team as much as possible."

● “We” not “Me”...they should put that on Sixers t-shirts! Or make that the slogan for the season. I can’t wait to see how things turn out. the Sixers home opener is thursday October 20 against Milwaukee.

● things are so good with Philadelphia pro sports right now that even the

Union are making into this week’s column. the Union are coming off a 4-0 rout of toronto and Jim curtin’s club has earned a first-round playoff bye. the defense is also playing at a historic level. With a 15th shutout of the year, the team finished the regular season with 26 goals conceded, a Major League Soccer record for fewest goals allowed in a 34-game campaign. the Union (19-5-10, 67 points) finished the year unbeaten at home in 17 games, with 12 wins and five ties. the MLS playoffs are next.

● As always, I’ll close with some local items as I want to recog nize Ocean city grad Joe repetti on his success as a sophomore quarterback at Muhlenberg. repetti was named c entennial c onference offensive player of the week for the second week in a row on October 2. repetti accounted for 415 yards of offense, the third-most in a game in program history, and a school-record-tying six touchdowns in the Mules' 56-17 win against Gettysburg. He recorded his first career 300-yard passing game with 338 yards through the air, be coming only the second Muhlenberg

quarterback to throw five touchdown passes in back-to-back games, and the first to throw touchdown passes to five different receivers in a game. repetti also rushed for a team-high 77 yards on only eight carries, scoring a touchdown with a 14-yard run on fourth down. through the first half of the season, repetti leads the Mules in both rushing yards and passing yards - something no Muhlenberg player has done for a whole season since 1971. Way to go Joe…!!!

● Finally, I want to give a tip of the cap to Absegami grad and current NFL play

er Abdullah Anderson as he has been elevated to the 53-man roster for the Atlanta Falcons and has four tackles in four games so far. He was on the game-day roster for the Falcons recent 21-15 loss to tom brady & tampa bay. Anderson is also an alum of the Atlantic county Junior Football League and was at that big banquet that I was the Mc for last spring. Way to go Abdullah! I’ll close with my usual thanks and let you know that I am very thankful for your readership and hope you will patronize the businesses you see in the pages here. re member, the LOcAL in Shore Local comes from the support of those businesses, so please support them!

Pete has been the local "sports guy" at the Jersey Shore since 2004. After a decade with TV 40, he joined 97.3 ESPN radio to talk Eagles, Phillies, Sixers & Flyers with Mike Gill on "The SportsBash" from 2-6 p.m.

Pete is proud to be a "voice" for the annual ShopRite LPGA Classic each June, and does emcee work for groups like the National Football Foundation, The Old Grad Awards, and The 200 Club of Atlantic County. You can hear Pete each Tuesday and Friday on 97.3 ESPN at 5:00pm, and if you see him out & about in the community, he requests that you please say "Hi". Send comments to PBrooksT@aol.com

Ocean City grad & current Muhlenberg QB Joe Repetti with his Mom & brother

Eat the right kind of carbs

Nu trition

By Nancy Adler

It seems nowadays everyone is hesitant to include carbohy drates to their daily intake of nutritious foods. that is a big mistake!

Whole grains are low glycemic and completely nutritious. Whole grains and whole wheat have a glycemic index of about 50. When it comes to bringing breads and carbs into your diet stick with a low glycemic index.

You must however, avoid white breads at all costs and eat only healthy whole grain breads especially those that contain sprouted grains. eat grains in their purest form. brown rice, hulled barley, buckwheat and oats. When shopping, look for whole grain items, including barley oats and amaranth. these work particularly well at controlling blood sugar which aids in weight loss.

even though oatmeal is high in carbohydrates, which diabetics need to watch out for, it’s a food that is medium on the glycemic index (GI) when it’s prepared with minimal pro cessing. this is why steel cut oats are a good choice. It is slowly digested and metabolized resulting in a lower rise in blood sugar.

even though it’s perfectly healthy to enjoy a low glycemic carbohydrate with any meal, let’s not forget to in clude protein to balance it all out.

You may enjoy this recipe in my cookbook “Nancy’s recipes for Life“ available at my Linwood office Lo cation and capellas Oil and Vinegar store in Ocean city

Blueberry Buckwheat Pancakes

Ingredients

● 3/4 cup buckwheat flour

● 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour

● 1 1/2 baking powder

● 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

● 1 cup buttermilk

● 1/4 tsp salt

● 3/4 cup nonfat milk

● 2 large eggs

● 2 tbsp canola oil

● 2 cups blueberries , divided

● 1/2 cup light maple syrup

● cinnamon (optional)

In a large bowl, whisk together

the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl, beat together the buttermilk, non-fat milk, eggs and oil. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, mixing only enough to combine them. Stir in one cup of blueberries. Preheat a large non-stick griddle or skillet over me dium flame. Ladle the batter onto the skillet with a 1/4 cup measure. Flip the pancake when it’s golden brown on the bottom and bubbles forming on the top, about 1 1/2 minutes . cook the other side until golden brown for about 1 1/2 minutes. Serve topped with blueberries and maple syrup and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Nancy Adler is a certified nutritionist and practitioner in Linwood. Her office is located in Cornerstone Commerce Center, 1201 New Rd. Learn about her practice at ww.nancyadlernutrition.com (609)653-4900. Nancy is the Recipient of the Best of The Press 2020 and 2021 Gold Award. You may listen to Nancy every Sunday at 2 pm Nancy Adler Nutrition LIVE! NewsTalk 1400 WOND and 92.3 the station is fm

Atlantic City Boxing Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

2014 One of Atlantic Citys World Class Events

By Marc Berman

Ray Mccline, Founder and President of the Atlantic city b oxing Hall of Fame has honored the biggest names in the fight game since 2014. Inductees are not only the pugilists but, fight doctors, judges, managers, promoters and more from the world of boxing.

t he 2022 class of inductees include: Lennox Lewis, Julio césar chávez, James toney, Frank Fletch er, Dave t iberi, chuck Mussachio, Kathy collins-Globuschutz, Kathy Duva, Pat Lynch, Kevin rooney Sr., Lynne c arter, randy Neumann, Dr.

Domenic coletta, tom c asino, and posthumously: James b road, eddie Aliano, and Harold Lederman. the boxers portraits are painted by Pat Killian the official artist of the Atlantic city boxing Hall of Fame

Spotted also in attendance, “ Hands of Stone” roberto Duran, Mi chael Spinks, “Merciless” ray Mercer, promoter J russell Peltz and many more.

t he National Anthem was per formed by “Sister Sledge: lead singer the world famous, Kathy Sledge who was spectacular and local jazz “cat” and retired music educator the fab ulous, eddie Morgan also performed.

Pat Killian the official artist of the Atlantic city b oxing Hall of Fame painted portraits of the class of 2022 boxers who were inducted. the event ran three day with vari

ous events and meet and greets tak ing place in locations around Atlantic city and the Induction ceremony was held at the Hard rock Hotel and casi no. Visit the Atlantic city boxing Hall of Fame Online at www.AcbHOF.com

Marc Berman is a Former Talk Radio Host, Travel Photogrpaher and Director Of Marketing for Berman Travel. Prior to that, Marc owned Marc Berman Entertainment, a very successful DJ company in Philadelphia from 1978 thru 2004. Marc is a strong advocate for Atlantic City and that's where he and wife Susan live year round.

Goodbye to Jessica Fletcher & Mrs. Potts

That's Entertainment

By Pete Thompson

Inormally don’t like to begin a col umn with sad news, but we have to say goodbye to actress Angela Lansbury, who passed away just five days shy of her 97th birthday. Per haps you knew her best from her role as Jessica Fletcher in the cbS televi sion hit Murder She Wrote from 1984 to 1996. Or you might remember her from her animated role as Mrs. Potts in the Disney classic b eauty & t he beast. No matter what you remember Lansbury for, she was, in fact, a rarity in show business: a star character ac tress. that’s because Lansbury had a long, versatile career in films and on broadway as well. Lansbury was hired by MGM at 17 to play the saucy maid in Gaslight opposite charles boyer and Ingrid b ergman. She wound up with an Oscar nomination for best Support ing Actress, as she did the next year,

for the Picture of Dorian Gray. How many of you remember Lansbury as the mother in 1962’s the Manchurian c andidate? Her impact as Laurence Harvey's heinous mother made the role indelibly hers and it brought her a third Oscar nomination. She never won an Oscar, and was given an hon orary emmy after 18 nominations but no wins during the Murder She Wrote days. She did, however, win five tony Awards for her work on b roadway and was given a sixth tony for Life time Achievement. r .I.P. to one of the greats, Angela Lansbury.

In happier celebrity news, Kaley cuoco is getting ready to become a mom. the Flight Attendant and b ig bang theory star, 36, announced on Instagram that she is expecting her first child, a daughter, with fellow actor tom Pelphrey, 40. Pelphrey was most recently seen in Ozark on Netflix.

With regard to the streaming ser vices, apparently I’ve been missing a popular series called Derry Girls on Netflix. Season 3 just dropped last Friday, as the series about a group of teens living in Northern Ireland in the ’90s as they go through peak puberty is both beloved and reportedly hilarious. Season 3 also is the final season. Here’s a brief description of the show from

Decider as they write, “Set against backdrop of the troubles in 1990s Northern Ireland, the show is the story of five friends at a strict catholic high school, erin (Saiorse-Monica Jackson), her cousin Orla (Louisa Harland), clare (Nicola coughlan), Michelle (Jamie-Lee O’Donnell) and Michelle’s english cous in, James (Dylan Llewellyn), as they come of age. It’s bittersweet to let go of the hilarious, nostalgia-filled series as we’ve watched the cast grow up, but as the new season focuses on Orla and erin turning 18, it’s time for them – and us – to move on.”

Amazon Prime has Lena Dunham’s latest film, catherine called birdy. It’s based on the 1994 novel by Karen cushman. Again, according to Decider “At the heart of the story is c ather ine (also known as b irdy), played by bella ramsey, who you know and love from her role as Lyanna Mormont in Game of thrones. ramsey’s b irdy is an equally feisty young woman, who will stop at nothing to avoid having to marry one of the suitors her father (Andrew Scott) wants her to wed so he can advance their family’s social status. the film belongs to that “mod ernized history” genre that can be hit or miss, but in this case, ramsey is stellar and the modernization of this story set in the Middle Ages is clever and fun.”

Finally, there’s a new series on Showtime called Let the right One In. this one is inspired by the Swedish film and novel of the same name (and later, a 2010 American version of the film which co-starred Kodi Smit-McPhee and chloë Grace Moretz). the ten-ep isode series will air weekly on Show time and stars Demian bechir as Mark, a father whose 12-year-old daughter, eleanor (Madison taylor baez), was turned into a vampire when she was a baby. Unable to leave the house until dark, eleanor is trapped inside, while her father has to find a way to not only feed her the blood she craves but try to find a cure for her.

Speaking of vampires or scary movies, actress Jamie Lee curtis is insisting that this is the LAS t time we will see her as Laurie Strode when Halloween ends comes out in the theaters on October 14th. "I need to now cut her loose and let her live in the minds and hearts of the fans that have supported her," curtis recently told entertainment Weekly. Halloween ends is set four years after the events of Halloween (2018) and Halloween Kills. In addition to curtis, the film stars Andi Matichak, James Jude courtney, Will Patton, Kyle richards, and fran chise newcomer rohan c ampbell. Halloween ends premieres in theaters and on Peacock Oct. 14.

From “regular” t V, I would be re miss if I didn’t mention Ocean city’s cris Pannullo who has been on a win streak lately on my favorite game show Jeopardy. As I write this, Pannullo has already racked up seven straight wins, and locked down a spot in the show’s tournament of champions later in the season. Jeopardy is now in its 39th season, and just as good as ever if you ask me!

Finally, my girlfriend and I are going to give a chance to Alaska Daily star ring Hillary Swank on Abc the pilot description reads, “after a fall from grace, fiercely talented and award winning investigative journalist eileen Fitzgerald leaves her high profile New York life behind to join a daily metro newspaper in Anchorage.” With Swank a two-time Academy Award winner, and a supporting cast with great ac tors like Jeff Perry (Grey’s Anatomy & Scandal) & James McDaniel (NYPD b lue), I feel like this one is worth DVr ’ing and checking out.

As always, if there’s something out there I’m not covering or discussing in this column, please feel free to email me at Pbrookst@aol.com

I’m very thankful for your reader ship and hope you will patronize the businesses you see in the pages here. the LOcAL in Shore Local comes from the support of those businesses, so please support them!

Pete has been the local "sports guy" at the Jersey Shore since 2004. After a decade with TV 40, he joined 97.3 ESPN radio to talk Eagles, Phillies, Sixers & Flyers with Mike Gill on "The SportsBash" from 2-6 p.m.

Pete is proud to be a "voice" for the annual ShopRite LPGA Classic each June, and does emcee work for groups like the National Football Foundation, The Old Grad Awards, and The 200 Club of Atlantic County. You can hear Pete each Tuesday and Friday on 97.3 ESPN at 5:00pm, and if you see him out & about in the community, he requests that you please say "Hi". Send comments to PBrooksT@aol.com

Angela Lansbury 1925-2022

Sin AC mega Halloween party returning to Showboat Oct. 29

Sin AC

● Saturday, Oct. 29

● 9 p.m.-3 a.m.

● the Showboat Hotel

● tickets start at $25

Going Places with Dina Guzzardo

Sin Ac , the biggest Halloween party on the east coast, will return to the Showboat Ho tel, 9 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29. Must be 21 or older to attend. coming off the success of last year’s event, Sin Ac is still being talked about as the place to be during the Hal loween season. the entire production was a specta cle with a constant flow of libations and head-turning entertainment. this year, Sin Ac is kicking it up about 100 notches.

the event is being pro duced again by the Dina Productions Group, which means it will be bigger, crazier, and even more daring. If you thought last year was wild, wait until you see what’s in store for 2022.

Walking into the graveyard en trance, you will be welcomed into a theatrical display of eerie décor which will set the mood throughout the night. Fiery displays and dimly lit corners will be accompanied by impromptu performances and unex pected twists and turns all evening and into the early morning. the par

ty will heat up the later it gets, with unexpected shocks all night that will keep the party alive.

A human snake pit set in the center of the club with expertly hand-painted creatures will hypnotize the audience with their lifelike scales while gliding along the surfaces of the central podium.

b rand new this year will be a burlesque dancer who will entertain from two stages in gothic attire, per forming for captive partygoers. She will encapsulate all elements of sexy, spooky, and surprising.

the other element added to this year’s party is t he Hellfire e xotic Lounge, guaranteed to bring your heart rate up and your inhibitions down.

the party will once again be host ed by Jordan torres (@officialjt), who set the bar so high last year that fol lowing in his footsteps would be near impossible. He currently boasts more than 350K followers on Instagram and runs in the same circles as some of the most popular influencers in the country. Since last year, Jt has exploded in popularity to become one of the most sought-after hosts in the country, so securing him to host this year’s event again is nothing short of epic.

those who attended last year will remember the non-stop tunes, which had people on their feet all night long. the DJs were all in top form throughout the night. this year, three of the hottest DJs on the east coast are performing, including the return of headliner and crowd favorite DJ c aution (@djcaution856). DJ c au tion has been going from strength to strength since last year’s event, and he is undoubtedly going to close the party with a bang that continues until 2023.

the costume contest returns with $1,000 up for grabs for the sexiest costume and $500 for a runner-up, awarded by a panel of celebrity judg es. So it’s time to go all out on make up and costumes if you want to walk away with the grand prize in 2022. there will be several bars operat ing throughout the night, which will

be serving a selection of mixed concoctions, beer and wine.

Ultra-VIP booths will be back, which of fer your own private area with a dedicated VIP waitress serv ing your drinks and food while you enjoy the party. Prices for Ultra-VIP start at $600 and include the cover charge, a pri vate booth, and one bottle for up to six people. to inquire about VIP booths, see https://www. sincityac.com/vip. there are a limited number of booths available, so submit an inquiry as soon as possible.

there are also regular VIP tickets starting at $40, which include four drinks, the cover charge, costume contest and DJ show.

General admission tickets begin at $25 and include one drink, the cover charge, costume contest, and the DJ show. For tickets see https://www. sincityac.com/atlantic-city-hallow een-party-tickets.

If you are looking for somewhere to stay, look no further than t he Showboat Hotel, 801 b oardwalk, Atlantic city. With more than 800 rooms, and located at the same lo cation as the party, the Showboat is the ideal place to lay your head when the party stops. Attendees can get a discount using the code SINAc to book a room, see www.showboatho telac.com.

Dina Guzzardo is the president and executive promoter of the Dina Media Group, LLC. Dina Media Group is an innovative, cut ting-edge event production and marketing company that produces and promotes large events as well as a talent agency that manag es some incredible talent. Learn more at dinamediagroup.com.

The top 10 home improvements for fall

1. Lawn Maintenance and Upgrades

Real Estate Matters

By Elisa Jo Eagan

There are many ways to add value to your home, but expensive and exten sive renovations may not always offer the best return on your investment. In fact, according to the National Association of realtors’ most recent remodeling Impact Survey, it is not always the big-ticket items that pay off when it is time to sell.

t his list includes a variety of home improvements that are ide ally suited for fall DIY and weekend warrior projects. each offers the chance to add to your enjoyment of your home today, and add value and market appeal when it comes time to sell in the future. b est of all, these affordable projects offer exceptional return on investment (rOI) potential.

t hink about how much of your home's curb appeal is dependent on the condition of the lawn. While many homeowners spend their weekends on lawn maintenance during the spring and summer, in the fall we tend to focus more on leaf raking and removal.

be sure to take the time to prop erly aerate your lawn and prepare it for hibernation. cover planting beds with fresh straw or mulch, and have irrigation systems drained and pre pared for winter.

2. Plant a New Tree

According to the Arbor Day Foun dation, fall is an ideal time to plant new trees. Fall planting offers an added growing season after the stress of the hot summer months and encourages optimal root growth. According to the United States Department of Agricul ture, healthy, mature trees can add an average of 10 percent to a home's value, as well as providing insulation and home energy savings. that means that planting a tree this fall could pay dividends for years to come.

3. Upgrade Your Curb Appeal there are a variety of ways to add curb appeal with simple and afford

able upgrades. t hese can include painting the front door (black is a color with high return on investment rOI), replacing the hardware, street numbers, mailbox, and light fixtures, and painting or power washing the front steps. If you are looking for an even bigger impact, consider having a new garage door installed. It can practically pay for itself in value when it comes time to sell.

4. Install a Fire Pit and

Upgrade Your Outdoor Space

Fall is the perfect time to upgrade your outdoor spaces and install a fire pit for those cool autumn evenings. this upgrade is simple to do your self and it can improve your home's marketability as part of an overall outdoor refresh. consider repairing, refinishing, or expanding an existing deck or terrace, adding landscape lighting, or having an irrigation sys tem installed for additional appeal.

5. Install an Elegant Wet Bar

You may remember the giant 1970's re-room bars, but today's wet bars are sleek and chic. You probably have space in an existing coat closet or unused nook where you can fit shelv ing, a small counter and sink, plus an under-counter wine fridge. this pro vides a lovely accent and helps simplify serving when entertaining at home.

6. Upgrade Your Closet Space reimagine or reconfigure your current closets for added appeal and user-friendly convenience. Knock out a wall to turn a step-in closet into a walk-in, or borrow some space in the bathroom to create dual closets. Install an updated organizational sys tem in an existing closet for a custom design and optimal space utilization. Add upgraded lighting and finishes for a high-end look and feel.

7. Refinish or Repaint Cabinetry

If you don't have the budget for a kitchen overhaul, start with the most prominent visual feature - the cabi nets. Just by painting your existing outdated, plain wood cabinets white, gray, a shade of light blue or even a cheerful turquoise, can transform the entire look and feel of your kitchen at a minimum cost.

check online for how-to and de sign ideas. changing your cabinet hardware will also add to the refresh of your kitchen.

8. Repaint the Interior repainting the interior can have a significant impact on the way buyers see your home - and the way that you do as well. According to the National Association of realtors survey, re painting helps homeowners enjoy their space while also offering a sim ple DIY way to add additional value to your home.

choose from a neutral palette to make the interior more appealing to eventual buyers. Or, if you do not have the time or the energy to repaint the entire interior, start simple with a fresh coat of paint in the entryway or foyer.

9. Replace Outdated Fixtures and Finishes

If you are looking for a super-sim ple and inexpensive way to upgrade your home's interior, changing out dated fixtures and finishes is the way to go. replace mismatched light switches and outlet covers with new, neutral styles. replace old-fashioned interior door hardware with a cohe sive, contemporary finish throughout. change out cabinet hardware, update lighting fixtures, and switch out fau cets to create a modern look and feel throughout your space.

10. Install Smart Home Upgrades

Smart home upgrades offer the benefit of energy efficiency while you are living in the home, and a "wow" factor when it is time to sell. there is a lot of technology avail able to choose from. Start simple with smart door locks and light bulbs, and then invest in a smart home thermostat and security setup. Plan ahead to ensure that all of your smart home devices work well together for a simpler, more integrated, and more enjoyable system.

Are you unsure where to start? Feel free to contact me directly for more info and or to help you priori tize your honey-do list. reach out to discover your own home's current value, and what specific upgrades you can do to increase your home's resale value.

Until next time… Happy fall, happy house hunting and happy home im provements to you!

With hugs, love and warm regards.

Holy Spirit Alum Innovates and Modernizes His Family Business

By Sarah Fertsch Staff Writer

It’s the Fourth of July weekend. tens of thousands of families trek from Philadelphia to the Jersey Shore. rental homes are completely booked and doowop motels don’t have any vacancy. Almost a million people gather on the sand to tan or build sandcastles, warming up to jump into the refresh ingly-cold ocean.

Almost every vacationer experi ences the same hiccups. Maybe they forgot to pack more than one bath ing suit. Maybe the group has chosen to grab dinner at a fancy restaurant and someone forgot to pack an extra button-down shirt. Maybe a toddler spilled their lemonade on their last clean sundress. How will they survive this social catastrophe?

cade Antonucci, a young alumnus of Holy Spirit High School in Absec on, has come up with a solution. His grandparents started Ye Olde Washaus, a laundry service chain with locations in Somers Point, Pleasantville, and egg Harbor town ship. After graduating from Auburn University, he came home to work with his family to bring laundry ser vices into the modern world.

“ everyone wants convenience, and everyone has to do laundry,” said Antonucci. “Since August, Ye Olde Washaus now offers wash-and-fold services to residents, businesses, and vacationers.”

Ye Olde Washaus picks up soiled laundry, washes it, folds or hangs each garment, and delivers it to the original property the next day (on weekdays). Antonucci told Shore Local News that his business cus

tomizes each load to the customer’s requests. For example, they can add fabric softener, tumble dry, or wash on a delicate cycle.

On running a laundry service business, Antonucci says that “it’s surprisingly tough.” “People don’t re alize that it’s a full-time job between machine repairs, supply chain orders, and working with customers,” he said.

Antonucci says that he is in credibly thankful to work with his grandparents and mother in his hometown. His grandparents plan on retiring this year, so Antonucci has been stepping up as a leader, as well as taking advice from his elders. t his year, Antonucci built the business’s first website (in its thirty years of existence), and set up credit card payments for laundromat services.

On their website, in the ‘about us’ section, it reads, “We are a proud family-owned business and have been in service in our community for 32 years. cynthia and butch Drozdov started off with purchasing their first store in Somers point in 1990 then

fell in love with the business and purchased our egg Harbor township and Pleasantville stores in 1995 and 1998. ever since then we have been a staple in the local community by providing laundry service. 32 years later cynthia and butch are ready to retire, and their daughter and grand son will be taking over the family business. rommi (their daughter) is a loving mother who has worked at Ye Olde Washaus since the be ginning. cade (their grandson) is a recent Auburn University graduate and laundry enthusiast. Under the new leadership we plan on taking customer service to the next level providing the cleanest, most family friendly environment around!

“We are the best at what we do, and we make it convenient to get your chores done,” said Antonucci. “ b ecause we handle your laundry, you have time to focus on your life, whether you are focused on work, spending time with family or pursu ing your dream.”

For more information on Ye Olde Washaus, check out their website at https://www.yeoldewashaus.com/.

Everything you need to know about rescuing a furry friend

By Heidi Clayton

Rescuing a dog can be a rewarding experience and can lead to a life of joy for both you and the dog.

Just like bringing home a puppy from a breeder, there can be a level of anxiety or panic of bringing a dog of sometimes unknown origins into your home. Start by finding the right rescue group that will guide you and assist you in finding the perfect dog for your lifestyle.

Finding the right rescue or ganization to work with is sim ilar to finding a good breeder. A quick Google search of dog rescue can lead you down a rabbit hole that is never end ing. Just like breeders, there are excellent and responsible rescue groups that love dogs and there are groups that are malicious and driven by profit. How to spot the difference can be tricky.

to avoid rescue regret, try supporting a community based rescue program before adopting a dog from an out of state rescue or off of the internet. Go to a local shelter and meet the staff who care for these animals. Visit twice and make sure you are committed to taking the dog home. I have worked with the Steve Dash and the Humane Society of Atlantic county for de cades and know that he and his staff want nothing more than to find the right dog for you AND for the dog. If you are unsure if you are ready for the full-time commitment of owning a dog, rescue organizations are always looking for foster homes and volun teers. Fostering a dog can be a great start in seeing if you are ready to take on a dog full time. Shelters are always in the market for volunteers to come and walk dogs and play with them. either route can be help you de cide if you and your family are ready to adopt full time.

before you agree to take a dog you have never met from a person you have never met, ask a few questions.

How long has the particular rescue group been active? Are they incorpo rated with a board that oversees their activities? What do they know about the dog and where has the dog been spending its time since coming into their care? What vet practice do they use to make sure the dogs are healthy and free from diseases?

Finally, sometimes an adopted dog develops issues that are beyond the adopters skill set or just not what you signed up for. A good and responsible rescue group will always take the dog back with no questions asked and will not guilt you for having tried. be sure that when you sign the adoption contract or pay the fee that if an issue develops the rescue group is there to help you through it or will take the dog back.

If rescuing a dog is important to you, consider paying a visit to our local shelters. the Humane Society of Atlantic county in Atlantic city, the Atlantic county Animal Shelter in Pleasantville, or the Humane Society of Ocean city are great places to find your new best friend.

Any questions please email fou ronthefloorschool@gmail.com.

Heidi Clayton is a retired 25 year veteran of the Atlantic City Police Department. She started Four on the Floor Dog Training a result of her own struggle to find a positive & reward based dog trainer in the South Jersey area. She is passionate about giving every dog, even the difficult ones, a voice and the skills they need to thrive in life.

She breeds, trains, and shows her own Bull Terriers under the SoraBullys’s Kennel Name.

The Benefits of Preplanning Your Funeral, part

By Andrew Hoffman

As I continue this series on pre planning funerals, keep in mind that each step you take makes life easier for your loved ones. So now you have had your discussion with your family and the funeral director, so you are all on the same page. If cremation is chosen, you’ll choose the container you like and to this point you have completed what we in the industry call a Plan-No-Pay prearrangement. the definition of which is you have all your vital statistical infor mation recorded, you have all your wishes recorded as to what type of service and what is to happen to your remains and you have recorded your selections to carry out your wishes and services. You can stop right now and have the funeral director make you a copy for your loved ones and the funeral home will keep the original for their records to work as a guideline.

Now you can move on to the next step, and in my opinion, the biggest rea son to prearrange in the first place, which is to prefund your prearrangement. What that means is that you have put money down on your funeral arrangements and/ or you are making payments on your fu neral arrangements to freeze the costs and also prepare for a possible Medicaid situation.

So, how is the prefunding done? Well, I first want to talk about some funding options that were done in the past and some people still practice but it is not the best option. the first is a burial trust or burial cD through a bank. It involves going to a bank with a certain amount of money and you either place that money in an account or cD with the intent that this money is meant for your funeral services. these are not the best options because it is not safeguarded towards the goal. It may also be considered an asset, making it harder to qualify for Medicaid.

All Types Of Shades

Andrew B. Hoffman is a funer al director at Jeffries and Keates and Keates-Plum Funeral Homes. He is a twenty-two year veteran of the funeral industry.

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Ghost

SHORE

Saying goodbye to The Current Newspapers

By James FitzPatrick Contributing Writer

With its announcement of the new monthly current of Linwood, Northfield and Somers Point, the

Press of Atlantic city also revealed that the remaining six weekly current and Gazette newspapers would be discon tinued. the family of publications, which were a vital source of timely community news for more than 20 years, is gone for good.

It was sad news for former current/ Gazette staff members who poured everything they had into making the group of free publications a valued and trusted part of the communities they served. It marks the departure of weekin-week-out local news coverage that may never be seen again by some of the communities served by the currents and the Gazettes.

Unlike Shore Local, which provides quality stories on interesting people and events in a region, the current Newspa pers, in the era before corporate own ership, were known for their hyperlocal coverage, meaning they focused on one or two towns per edition.

Former current employees have fond memories of what the papers were able to achieve.

“One of the most lasting impressions I have from covering egg Harbor town ship for the current was how much our community valued being proactively in formed so they could participate in civic decision making,” said Laura Stetser, who reported for the current of egg Harbor township full-time from 2011 to 2017.

“Proudly, I feel our hyperlocal cover age enabled and empowered our fellow community members to take action and have their own voices heard. It also cre ated an environment where the elected and appointed officials needed to value this feedback.”

b eing hyperlocal meant the cur rents could dive deep into issues that would otherwise not receive close at tention, such as city budgets and local elections.

Sue Marino, who was a full-time staff writer from 2004 to 20018 covering Downbeach and the Mainland, said the current helped readers make informed decisions about who runs their cities and schools. Sometimes it was a really big job.

“ there were 13 candidates running for the non-partisan Margate city com mission,” said Marino, recalling one ex ample. “Some ran with teams and others solo.”

the Downbeach current ran in-depth coverage weekly leading up to the vote, giving each candidate the same ques tions and the same amount of space to respond. Marino even managed to get all 13 candidates in front of city Hall for a photo.

“It ran on the cover of the Down beach current one week prior to the election with the headline: ‘Which three Will It be?’ the voters had been given the information on each candidate over many weeks to make an informed choice on the ballot.”

t hen there were heart-breaking stories that demanded extra care. the papers covered tragic news with as much sensitivity as possible.

“I felt a responsibility to get it right when 14-year-old Aisling cooke was killed by an impaired driver and followed that story through the driver’s conviction,” she said, noting how she took the same approach covering the murder of April Kauffman.

One of the most important stories cov ered by the current team was the yearslong aftermath of SuperStorm Sandy in hard-hit b rigantine and in Downbeach, especially Margate’s decision to resist a state and federal dune-building project.

“Although two of the municipalities south of Atlantic city welcomed the dunes, Margate fought the proposed project in Superior and Federal court,” said Nanette Galloway who covered Downbeach from 2014 to 2017.

the dispute divided the community and led to a protracted court battle which Margate residents followed every step of the way thanks to her thorough and award-winning reporting.

“My stories chronicled the project from inception to completion,” Galloway said.

While reporters stayed on top of the big stories, they also spent time on the stories that were important only to the unique audiences of each edition.

the currents were part of the com munity, sending reporters to classrooms and fire halls. If someone was turning 100 or a boy Scout earned eagle status, the current was there. If a veteran was being honored or a new business had a ribbon cutting, the current found a way to get it covered.

As true community newspapers, the currents and the Gazettes were partners with their readers, relying on submitted content not only to maximize coverage and stay in the know, but to solidify re lationships.

the current got the call because read ers knew they could rely on the papers for coverage.

Schools were especially important, providing news and photos of student achievements. t heir help allowed indepth coverage of high school gradua tions. chances are that if you had a child in a local school, there was a clipping from the current stuck to your refrigerator.

“What was important in one town rarely mattered to other towns,” not ed r ick travers, former publisher of catamaran Media, the company which produced the current and the Gazette Newspapers. “ the readers appreciated the strong local focus and the presence of local reporters in their communities, covering their schools and youth events and at their town meetings.”

travers noted how readers never hesitated to express their fondness for the papers, a fact that inspired staff to do even better.

“With all of that praise and love, I believe it made our staff want to do that much better week in and week out,” he said.

It was a fun job, but it was important work.

“ thanks to the current, residents found out where their tax dollars were going, who was spending them and why,” said Joan Kostiuk who was an associate editor for catamaran Media from 2005 to 2018. “ but it was also where they learned about the disabled veteran who sat on the sidewalk every day waving a greeting to passing cars, or the 4-year-old who was battling a rare bone disease.”

the six papers that were shuttered were the remainder of the 12 distinct lo cal editions that were in operation when the Press took full control of catamaran Media in 2014. the remaining six names were the last vestiges of what was once a thriving family of successful weekly publications.

Atlantic county readers might re member t he current of e gg Harbor township; the current of Downbeach; the current of Absecon and Pleasant ville; the current of Galloway township and Port republic; the current of Ham ilton township, egg Harbor city and the brigantine beachcomber News.

In cape May county there were the Ocean city Gazette, the Wildwood Lead er, the cape May county Gazette, the Upper township Gazette and the cape May Gazette. Some dated back to the 1880s. there were also the Free-time and the SandPaper summer publications.

Although it was the Press of Atlantic city that ultimately got rid of the cur rent Newspapers, it was also the Press that got things started in the first place back in 1994 with the launch of the orig inal current of Linwood, Northfield and Somers Point, followed quickly by the current of egg Harbor township.

When competition heated up be tween the currents and the Gazette Newspapers, a new partnership was born in 1997 called catamaran Media.

“ the management and ownership of the daily newspaper remained totally at a distance from the weekly newspaper operation,” travers recalled. “Further, there was total support as the weekly newspaper group was expanded by de sign at a rapid pace.”

today the Press has wiped the slate clean.

“

b ecause this product has a new content, distribution and design model, we do not consider this newspaper a re launch of the former current produced by catamaran Media,” said Allison Alto belli, publisher of the new monthly.

While not a relaunch, Altobelli said she is happy to have the goodwill built by the old current.

“I am glad we were able to retain the name the current given its brand recog nition in these areas,” she said.

James FitzPatrick was the ed itor of The Current Newspapers from 1997 to 2017.