Times
MICROMEDIA PUBLICATIONS, INC.
Inside This Week’s Edition
THE MANCHESTER
Vol. 21 - No. 48
Your FREE Weekly Hometown Newspaper | Serving Lakehurst, Whiting and all of Manchester
A Late Night Leads To Possible Teacher Contract
–Photo by Jennifer Peacock Red seen everywhere at the Feb. 17 meeting of the Manchester Board of Education, denoting support for the union, in the middle of contract neghotiations. By Jennifer Peacock MANCHESTER – They were up all night, but not cramming for an exam. At about 3 a.m. March 11, both sides in the negotiations over teacher’s contracts in Manchester signed a tentative Memorandum of Agreement, an understanding between two parties that many times
comes before the more detailed contract. The Manchester Township Educators Association and the Board of Education must now agree to salary guides to submit to the MTEA membership for ratification. Both MTEA president Dan Staples and district Business Administrator Craig Lorentzen said the state-appointed me-
diator put a “details blackout” on the specifics of the negotiations until the contract is ratified. “In negotiations, neither side leaves the table completely satisfied but the Board and Administration feel a lot was accomplished through this process and the (Meeting - See Page 7)
Thousands Turn Out For Ocean County St. Patrick’s Parade
By Shawn Smith OCEAN COUNTY – Despite forecasters calling for a chance of rain, the 2016 Ocean County St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Seaside 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 bridge, it was time for police, firefighters and emergency services to blare their horns and sirens to kick off the parade around 1 p.m. The street was lined several people deep in some places, as others watched and waved from homes, hotels, and even the Bamboo Bar. (Parade - See Page 6)
–Photo 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.
Business Directory ..................26 Classifieds................................25 Community News...............10-13 Dr. Izzy’s Sound News..............14 Fun Page..................................24 Dear Pharmacist.......................21 Inside The Law ..........................23 Letters to the Editor......................8 Wolfgang.................................31 WWW.MICROMEDIAPUBS.COM
March 19, 2016
Lakehurst Changes Parking Rules
By Jennifer Peacock LAKEHURST – The council has eliminated parking on Fays Lane, and is asking the county if it can eliminate a cross walk on Union Avenue to add a couple parking spots there. –Fays Lane, Residents, business Lakehurst owners and patrons will have to find somewhere else to park after March 20, as the Lakehurst Borough Council followed through on its plan to prohibit parking along Fays Lane, the road that runs parallel to Union Avenue behind the Veterans of Foreign Wars building. Borough Clerk Bernadette Dugan told The Manchester Times that Council suggested “they would contact the Ocean County Engineer to request that the mid-block crosswalk in front of 26 Union Avenue be eliminated to free up some parking spaces along Union Avenue.” Upon inspection, eliminating that crosswalk may open up six or more parking (Parking - See Page 7)
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 reduced (Budget - See Page 4)