Vol. 15 - No. 26
In This Week’s Edition
THE TOMS RIVER
TIMES
FOR BREAKING NEWS
JERSEYSHOREONLINE.COM Your FREE Weekly Hometown Newspaper For Toms River, Island Heights, Ortley Beach & Lavallette | October 26, 2019
Mayoral Candidates On Development
Community News! Don’t miss what’s happening in your town.
Pages 12-19.
Dr. Izzy’s Sound News Hearing Health Snap Shot
Page 20.
Dear Pharmacist Page 21.
Inside The Law Page 24.
Classifieds Page 27.
Business Directory Page 28-29.
Fun Page Page 26.
Horoscope Page 35.
Wolfgang Puck Page 35.
By Chris Lundy TOMS RIVER – Development – or, as some would say, overdevelopment – has been an emotional issue in Toms River for a number of years. Toms River was a sleepy township where everyone seemed to know each other until the Garden State Parkway interchange opened in 1954, then the flood of new people came in. According to census data, the population in 1950 was 7,707 and by 1970, it was 43,751. In 2010, it was 91,239, and that doesn’t count summer residents. Republican Councilman Maurice “Mo” Hill is
running against Democrat Jonathan Petro for a four-year term as mayor. Both candidates pointed out the difference between “bad” development (large residential neighborhoods) and “good” development (businesses and jobs). For this newspaper’s election coverage, both candidates were asked the same three questions. Their answers are being spaced out over three articles since the issues are so important. Last week was the first article, which was about taxes (If you missed it, you can find this article on (Mayoral - See Page 10)
The Halloween Parade: What You Need To Know
By Chris Lundy TOMS R I V ER – Ghosts and ghouls will descend upon downtown Toms River, but it’s nothing to be scared of. You won’t have anything to worry about if you take the following information to heart. As the second largest Halloween parade in the world, it is expected to have 6,000 participants and 100,000 viewers, according to Toms River Fire Company No. 1, which has been in charge of it. The parade will be (Parade - See Page 5)
–Photos by Bob Vosseller Last year’s Halloween parade brought out all sorts of strange characters.
Gordon Ramsay Surprises Local Girl Following Viral Post
By Kimberly Bosco and Chris Lundy BEACH WOOD – Imagine you’re in school. You’re walking to your next class when all of a sudden your favorite celebrity shows up to
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surprise you. A dream come true! Seems impossible, right? Well, not for Kallista Flores. While he was in town for a bit of show-biz, celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay took a detour to
Toms River Intermediate South to meet Kallista, a Beachwood local and Ramsay super fan. The surprise was orchestrated by her father, Wolf Flores, and documented via Facebook live (Ramsay - See Page 4)
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State Aid Loss Top Issue In School Election
By Chris Lundy TOMS RIVER – Unsurprisingly, the state cuts to aid for the Toms River Regional School District were high on the list of problems that school board candidates wanted to tackle. There are six candidates for a single, threeyear seat on the board. None of them are incumbents. Each candidate was asked to list their most recent employment and experience in serving the community. They were also asked to set forward what their plan is for the school district. Their answers are being presented in alphabetical order. Financial figures could not be independently verified by press time. The election will be Nov. 5. Jeff Dingsor Jeff Dingsor owns and operates Acme Video Productions. “As a small business owner, I know how to control spending and balance a budget, which is exactly what we need on the school board at a time like this,” he said. “Year after year we face millions in state aid cuts. Yet, In the last 5 years, the school board has increased spending by $11 million. Coupled with state aid cuts, taxes have risen by $21 million in that same five-year period. We’re really going to have to hold the line on spending, and if elected I’ll make that one of my top priorities.” He’s an active member of the Greater Toms River Chamber of Commerce. “I have no experience in public office, but I look at that as an asset. People are tired of career politicians and the cronyism associated with local politics,” he said. “The biggest two issues I see impacting our district in coming years is the rising costs associated with transportation to private schools outside of the township, and the five-year pattern of increasing spending coupled with decreasing state aid,” he said. “The recent decision to bus students to private schools in Lakewood has opened a Pandora’s box that must be shut. As required by state law, we used to just offer a small stipend to students attending private schools outside of the township (School - See Page 6)
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