Vol. 7 - No. 3
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
Government Page 7.
Lacey Opens Floating Playground At Lake
Community News! Don’t miss what’s happening in your town.
Pages 8-13.
Dr. Izzy’s Sound News
Tips For Hearing In Noisy Situations
Page 16.
Dear Pharmacist
Mullein Has 5 Tremendous Medicinal Benefits
Page 17.
Inside The Law Page 19.
–Photo by Kimberly Bosco Lacey Township Recreation recently cut the ribbon on the new Wibit floating playground, which is a big, inflatable waterpark for kids to run, jump, and swim. By Kimberly Bosco LACEY – Local families can do more than just sunbathe at Lake Barnegat this summer. Lacey Township Recreation recently cut the ribbon on the new Wibit floating playground, which is a big, inflatable waterpark for kids to run, jump, and swim. Township officials held a grand opening at Lake Barnegat for the
Wibit playground on June 29. The inclusion of the inflatable park was meant as a revitalization effort on behalf of the recreation department. According to the recreation department, the township hopes to bring the number of lakefront visitors up with the addition of the $160,000 inflatable water park. Kids can swing from the mon-
key bars and jump from piece to piece during play time on the unique playground. The park was purchased from Wisconsin-based Commercial Recreation Specialists. Officials believe the park will pay for itself from user fees over the course of the next few years. For a small fee, residents and (Lake - See Page 4)
Classifieds Page 21.
Business Directory Page 22.
Wolfgang Puck Page 27.
Small Businesses Weigh Impact Of Minimum Wage Increase
By Chris Lundy TOMS RIVER – A law increasing minimum wages went into effect July 1, and will top out at $15 an hour for most wage earners in 2024. Several local businesses said they’ll be able
to shoulder the additional cost, but mostly because they don’t have too many employees. Frank Kenny from Ken’s Ha rdwa re i n Toms River has been a family-run business since his father opened
up shop 42 years ago. “We’ve always paid our employees more than minimum wage because we want to keep them here,” he said. “This $15 minimum wage is not going to affect me.” At the time of the in-
terview, the store had eight full time workers and four part time, not including Kenny and his brother. He said he wasn’t concerned about employees leaving for better paying jobs, because (Wage - See Page 5)
| July 13, 2019
New Oyster Creek Owner: Land To Be Ready In 10 Years
By Kimberly Bosco LACEY – The sale is finally complete. Oyster Creek Generating Station has officially changed hands from Exelon Generation to new owner, Camden-based Holtec International. The purchase was made complete on Monday, July 1. Oyster Creek Generating Station officially closed its doors and powered down its operations on September 17, 2018. One of the oldest nuclear power plants in the country, Oyster Creek was in business for nearly half a century. “For 49 years, the plant safely and reliably powered more than a half-million homes and businesses with carbon-free energy,” stated Exelon Generation. Prior to the completion of the sale, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approved the transfer of the plant’s operating license to Holtec subsidiaries Oyster Creek Environmental Protection, LLC (“OCEP”), as owner, and Holtec Decommissioning International, LLC, as operator (“HDI”), for decommissioning. With the help of the OCEP, Holtec Decommissioning International will oversee decommissioning, another word for the dismantling of the plant. While Exelon’s original decommissioning plan laid out a timeline over 60 years, Holtec plans to complete the process and have the land ready for reuse in just 10 years. “Our primary goal is to decommission Oyster Creek safely and with the community’s best interests in mind. Many of the excellent plant staff will join our exceptionally qualified engineers as we set a new bar in decommissioning excellence,” said Holtec President and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Kris Singh. According to Holtec, their new spent fuel storage systems will allow them to speed up decommissioning by transporting radioactive fuel into storage casks years earlier (Oyster Creek - See Page 4)
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