THE BRICK
Vol. 19 - No. 32
In This Week’s Edition
TIMES
FOR BREAKING NEWS
JERSEYSHOREONLINE.COM
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Artists Paint A Portrait Of Homelessness Community News! Don’t miss what’s happening in your town.
Pages 10-11.
Dr. Izzy’s Sound News Page 16.
Dear Pharmacist Page 17.
Inside The Law Page 26.
Business Directory Page 22-23
Classifieds Page 21.
Fun Page Page 24.
Horoscope Page 27.
Wolfgang Page 27.
By Chris Lundy SOUTH TOMS RIVER – They never craved the spotlight. In fact, they don’t want attention. However, they stepped out of the shadows to show people what the homeless of Ocean County really look like. If you walked past any of them on the street, they don’t fit the stereotype. Most people picture homeless people as living in cardboard boxes. The cartoon of a hobo with all his possessions in a bag on a stick.
—Photos by Chris Lundy (Left) The paintings were put on display at the church. (Right) Artists and the organizers stand before their works. That’s why Shore Vineyard Church wanted to show the real faces of local homeless. These are people who are stuck with underpaying jobs in an expensive area. While most people have a support system in place to fall back on when something goes wrong, these people have less. Some combination of bad luck and missteps is all it takes to find themselves with no place to sleep at night.
Local painters were of someone’s art. One man, Jamie, was given photographs of a half dozen homeless one of the subjects. people. In a ceremony Since it started, he rethat was part art show, stored relationship with part religious service, his sister, and got a job, and part community and is no longer homeevent, these paintings less. were revealed. A painting of a young Every time a portrait man named Jimmy had was unveiled, there two versions of himself were gasps and usually on canvas – one hiding someone saying “That’s in shadows and one him!” or “That’s her!” smiling in the light. One of the organizers, They were humble, and felt strange being the Taffy Spaloss, read the subject of attention and (Homeless - See Page 12)
Traffic Reporter Knows The Ins And Outs Of The Garden State
By Bob Vosseller NEW JERSEY – Matt Ward didn’t set out to be a traffic reporter but his time in that role has become very comfortable. His listeners rely on him to steer them in the right direction on the congested roads of the Garden State. With some coincidence, Ward was interviewed by JerseyShoreOnline.com during his own commute to work. He recalled his start in the radio business and how he became a staple at his current station. “I started to do traffic in May of 1989 as a part
timer and I became a full timer in August of ‘89 so it’s been a little over 30 years,” he said. “I was in radio for seven years before coming to what was then known as Shadow Traffic and we are now called total weather and traffic network as part of I Heart Media. “I worked as a sports caster, a news caster a DJ and started out at Brookdale in Middletown, which is now called 90.5 The Night. It was called just plain WBJB back then. I got a good foundation (Traffic - See Page 20)
| December 21, 2019
Herbertsville School Closing
By Judy Smestad-Nunn BRICK - After months of rumors and speculation, it was confirmed during the December 12 Board of Education meeting that Herbertsville Elementary School is closing. This is part of what is likely to be many big cuts to the Brick School District after it was announced that some $22 million in state aid would be cut over a period of seven years. Parents lined up to speak during public comment at the meeting after it was announced the school would be repurposed as a preschool by using a $4.2 million state grant. Dozens of parents pleaded with and questioned the administration during a meeting that lasted over five hours. Some read prepared statements while others tearfully held up photos of their children. Some parents said they specifically moved to the northeast area of Brick just for that school. Others said that if Herbertsville Elementary School closes they would be selling their homes and moving. (School - See Page 4)
State Denies School Aid Request
By Judy Smestad-Nunn BRICK - On Friday December 6, the school district was notified that its application for a request of emergency aid of $2.7 million was denied by the NJ Department of Education (DOE) for reasons school Business Administrator James Edwards called “beyond ridiculous.” The first reason the application was denied was because Brick submitted a balanced budget, which is required by law in New Jersey. “You can’t not submit a balanced budget, so they didn’t take into any consideration the cuts we had to make in 2020 to be able to submit a balanced budget,” he said during the December 12 Board of Education meeting. Restoring those cuts were included in the application to support reasons why the $2.7 (State - See Page 12)
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