2016-12-10 - The Southern Ocean Times

Page 1

TIMES

MICROMEDIA PUBLICATIONS, INC.

THE SOUTHERN OCEAN

Vol. 4 - No. 25

Inside This Week’s Edition

Business Directory ........................... 18 Classifieds ........................................ 19 Community News ......................... 8-11 Dear Joel ..........................................16 Dear Pharmacist .............................. 15 Dr. Izzy’s Sound News .................... 14 Fun Page ......................................... 20 Inside The Law ................................. 17 Letters to the Editor ............................ 6 Wolfgang ......................................... 23 WWW.MICROMEDIAPUBS.COM

Your FREE Weekly Hometown Newspaper | Serving Lacey, Waretown, Barnegat, Manahawkin, LBI, Tuckerton and Little Egg

The Season For Flu

By Judy Smestad-Nunn OCEAN COUNTY – There has been very low flu activity in New Jersey so far, but it is hard to know what the actual numbers are since long-term nursing care facilities and schools are not required to report flu outbreaks, said Leslie Terjesen, public information officer for the Ocean County Health Department. However, hospital emergency rooms report influenza symptoms, and so far the number of reports are the same as last year or “maybe a drop higher,” she said. “When people start showing up in the ER and check in with respiratory problems, we know the flu is here,” Terjesen said from her office at the OCHD in Toms River. The OCHD offers flu clinics, and there used to be lines so long they encircled the building, but now that flu shots are available everywhere the department buys less and less of the vaccine, she said. “We don’t care where you get your flu shot, we just want everyone to get one,” Terjesen said. The OCHD visits many of the adult villages to administer the shots; people aged 65 and older get a trivalent vaccine to protect against flu viruses that have been prevalent in the southern hemisphere. The 2016-2017 influenza vaccine is made to protect against the most common of them, which are A/California; A/Brisbane; and A/Hong Kong. Those under the age of 65 get a quadrivalent flu vaccine that protects against (Flu - See Page 12)

December 10, 2016

Ro�te 72 Brid�e Constr�ction P��lic Hearin�

The underside of Route 72’s bridge. The spans would eventually open two lanes each way. By Chris Lundy MANAHAWKIN – Construction on the Route 72 bridge will continue next year, with the even-

tual goal of opening the bridge up to two lanes each way, with additional lanes for pedestrians. According to documents from

the New Jersey Department of Transportation, there were many problems with the bridges that needed to be addressed.

–Photos by Chris Lundy The Manahawkin Bay Bridge is deteriorating from age. In addition, there was no safe lane (Bridge - See Page 13)

Center Opens With Tree Lighting

By Chris Lundy STAFFORD – A December 2 ribbon cutting officially opened the Bay Avenue Community Center in Stafford Township. The original community center closed for four years after Superstorm Sandy. Originally, the community center was located on Mill Creek Road. Now, it will be located at 775 East Bay Avenue, across

from the Manahawkin Plaza and next to Woodhaven Lumber. The Mill Creek building was destroyed during the 2012 storm, although township officials had a hard time explaining this to federal authorities. The township had to convince the Federal Emergency Management Agency that the building was more than 51 percent damaged and therefore able

Read The SOUTHERN OCEAN TIMES on your...

to be repaired with federal funds. The township received word in November that FEMA’s first $1.2 million payment has been approved, Administrator James Moran said. The building cost approximately $2.2 million, Moran said. The cost was bonded with the hopes that FEMA would pay 90 percent. Without the community center, various township groups and recreational programs

had to go elsewhere for meetings and events, Mayor John Spodofora said. He thanked the other locations for being able to host these groups. Volunteers do a lot of work in the community, and they deserved a place that they could call home, he said. These groups go above and beyond to help seniors, veterans, (Opens - See Page 13)

DESKTOP • SMARTPHONE • TABLET

Powered by issuu.com! WWW.MICROMEDIAPUBS.COM


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.