Times
MICROMEDIA PUBLICATIONS, INC.
THE TOMS RIVER
Vol. 11 - No. 47
Inside This Week’s Edition
Business Directory....................... 20-21 Classifieds......................................... 22 Community News.......................... 9-13 Dear Joel........................................... 24 Dear Pharmacist ............................... 17 Dr. Izzy’s Sound News ..................... 16 Fun Page .......................................... 23 Inside The Law.................................. 26 Letters to the Editor............................. 7 WWW.MICROMEDIAPUBS.COM
Your FREE Weekly Hometown Newspaper | Serving All of Toms River Township
Thousands Turn Out For Ocean County St. Patrick’s Parade
–Photos by Shawn Smith The annual Ocean County St. Patrick’s Day parade marched down the center green stripe of Seaside Heights, featuring bands, groups and emergency response vehicles from throughout the county parading. Central Regional Golden Eagles Marching Band was among the participants. By Shawn Smith OCEAN COUNTY – Despite forecasters calling for a chance of rain, the 2016 Ocean County St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Sea-
side Heights was all sunshine and smiles on March 12. Thousands of residents (and their pets) celebrated in green as the parade made its way down the Boulevard.
After about an hour delay, as organizers waited for traffic to slow from visitors gridlocked coming over the Tunney-Mathis (Parade - See Page 4)
THIS MONTH IN HISTORY: NEW JERSEY VOTES TO CHANGE ITS LEGISLATURE
By J. Mark Mutter “One man, one vote.” It is a basic principle embedded in our politics today – but 50 years ago it was a hotly debated issue in our country and in New Jersey. The Background From our colonial founding, the
makeup of state legislatures was a question to be decided by the states themselves. But in 1964, the United States Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional any state legislature in which members of the same house represented varying numbers of people. Following
this landmark ruling, New Jersey courts ruled that the organization of our state legislature in Trenton had to be changed. The New Jersey Constitution – previously adopted in 1947 – had provided that each of our 21 (History - See Page 14)
Huddy Park Revamp Plans Move Forward
By Catherine Galioto TOMS RIVER – The first township park, Huddy Park in downtown Toms River, is slated for $1 million in renovations, in time for the township’s 250th anniversary next year. The township council took the next step forward on those plans, going out to bid for the project, in a vote at its early March meeting. Announced last summer after a local students’ class project was to draft a redesign of some of the historic signage and welcome ways to the park’s Block House, the extensive renovation of Huddy Park would include that new signage plus bulkhead repair. Huddy Park, at Water and Main streets downtown, is also the site of the replica Block House that marks an American Revolution skirmish. With its last re-dedication in 1992, the park has suffered wear and tear from hosting popular festivals, but also saw damage from Superstorm Sandy when it was underwater. As the township plans for its 250th year as a municipality, officials
saw it was time to again celebrate its first park, and give Huddy Park a makeover. Plans were approved for $1 million for Huddy Park, with the most expensive parts of the project to improve the bulkheads along the branch of the Toms River that runs through the site, at the corners of (Park - See Page 6)
–Photo by Catherine Galioto Plans are to add life-size silhouettes of Revolutionary War soldiers to Huddy Park. The park includes the historic site of the Block House, a Patriot fort destroyed during the skirmish which led to the capture and hanging of Captain Joshua Huddy.
Ocean County Budget Drops, But Tax Rate Up Slightly
By Daniel Nee OCEAN COUNTY – County government will reduce its budget in 2016, but the tax rate will rise less than a penny if a proposed budget is adopted by the Board of Chosen Freeholders. “This tax rate is still less than the tax rate was 12 years ago,” said Freeholder John C. Bartlett, who has spent decades shepherding the county’s annual spending plans. The 2016 budget, as proposed, is
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reduced by about $13 million from 2015, for a total this year of $399.9 million. The reduction, Bartlett said, is due to Superstorm Sandy aid and reimbursements either ending or having been completed. “It is very difficult to compare one year’s budget, now, from another year’s budget because we are still experiencing the effects of Superstorm Sandy,” Bartlett said. The county’s tax ratable base is (Budget - See Page 6)
RESULTS AFTER 4-6 VISITS!