Vol. 6 - No. 31
In This Week’s Edition
THE SOUTHERN OCEAN
TIMES
FOR BREAKING NEWS
JERSEYSHOREONLINE.COM
Your FREE Weekly Hometown Newspaper For Lacey, Waretown, Barnegat, Manahawkin, LBI, Tuckerton and Little Egg
Barnegat’s Crime Reduction Unit: 2018 Success, 2019 Plans
Letters Page 6.
Community News! Don’t miss what’s happening in your town.
Pages 8-11.
Dr. Izzy’s Sound News
Alzheimer’s And Hearing Loss: Early Detection May Alleviate Symptoms
Page 14.
Dear Pharmacist
Hypothyroidism Causes Depression, Anxiety And OCD
Page 15.
Inside The Law Page 17.
Business Directory Page 19.
Classifieds Page 18.
Wolfgang Puck Page 23.
| January 26, 2019
–Photo by William Clanton 2018 brought the biggest crowds in 30 years of Chowderfest. By Kimberly Bosco STAFFORD – The theme of 2019 is “Thrive in 105” for the Southern Ocean County Chamber of Commerce (SOCC). Celebrating their 105th year and recognizing the milestones reached in
2018, the Chamber held its annual State of the Chamber breakfast event recently at The Holiday Inn in Manahawkin. The event’s keynote speaker was Joseph Simonetta, Senior Partner of Public Strategies Impact, a Trenton-based firm.
Schools Unite To Fight School Funding Cuts
By Chris Lundy NEW JERSEY – A statewide coalition of school districts are asking for a joint legislative committee to be convened in order to change what they say is an unfair way of funding schools. Local school districts have long argued that the way the state funds education has problems. This came to a head recently when several of them saw a loss in the millions over
several years. The coalition numbers 57 districts in the state, adding up to about 138,000 students. In Ocean County, administrators at Brick, Jackson, Lavallette, Little Egg Harbor, Manchester, Ocean Township (Waretown), Point Pleasant Borough, and Toms River signed on. In Monmouth County, Freehold Regional, Keansburg, Manalapan-Englishtown, (Funding - See Page 16)
Simonetta brought the latest news from Trenton on various hot button issues that could affect local businesses, such as short term rentals (i.e. Air B&B rental-types), the legalization of marijuana, (Successes - See Page 4)
By Kimberly Bosco BARNEGAT – Some might say that crime is at an all-time low in Barnegat Township lately. Police Chief Keith Germain credits these “historically low levels” in part to the department’s Crime Reduction Unit, and hopes to see even more success in 2019. Barnegat Police have been working hard at tackling crime over the past year with the help of the agency’s newly created Crime Reduction Unit (CRU). Since the launch of the CRU in 2018, the unit has managed to score 125 arrests and over $80,000 in contraband, most of which were involved in drug-related incidents. “What CRU accomplished in just one year is
nothing short of outstanding,” stated Germain in a comprehensive post of CRU statistics to social media. In 2018, the CRU managed: • 125 arrests, 79 of which involved drug distribution • The seizure of over $80,000 in contraband, including $15,000 in heroin, $8,000 in cocaine, $12,000 in US currency, and $40,000 worth of vehicles used in the commission of a crime. • 10 executed search warrants These nu mbers are significant for the fully-staffed unit that was launched just one year ago. But how does the crime-fighting CRU differ from what the standard police officer does (Crime - See Page 5)
Pinelands, Little Egg Harbor Schools Sharing Administrator
By Kimberly Bosco LITTLE EGG HARBOR – The Pinelands Regional School District is delving deeper into shared service agreements, now sharing a Business Administrator with the Little Egg Harbor School District. At the December meeting, this was one of three shared service agreements approved for the district. Other approved shared ser-
vices include bookkeeper services and a night custodial maintenance supervisor. The position of business administrator for Pinelands Regional School District was formerly held by Stephen Brennan for more than 10 years. Brennan has since become the business administrator for Barnegat Township School District. While Brennan served in this position, it was not
shared with Little Egg Harbor. Taking his spot is Nicholas K. Brown, who is already the business administrator for the Little Egg Harbor School District. The agreement allows for Brown to be business administrator for both districts. Brown will also serve as the board secretary for both districts on the Board of Education. (Administrator - See Page 5)
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