Vol. 25 - No. 37
In This Week’s Edition
THE MANCHESTER
TIMES
JERSEYSHOREONLINE.COM
Your FREE Weekly Hometown Newspaper For Manchester, Lakehurst and Whiting
Spending Holidays With Big Brothers and Sisters Page 10.
Mold Mayhem Following an especially humid summer, mold infestation was a major problem in many local schools at the start of the 2018-2019 school year. In Lakehurst, the Lakehurst Elementary School was closed down for the first half of the school year for mold remediation, sending students to
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 there. I started my professional career in 1982 as a sports reporter on WJLK in Asbury Park. I was hired by the late Dennis O’Mara who would wind up going to Shadow Traffic a few years later,” he said. O’Mara hired Ward for Shadow Traffic in 1989. “I was also working with Jim Hunter who was the regular sports caster at WJLK. He had just gotten a full-time job with CBS radio and he needed a backup for the local sports reports so that is how I got hired there. Jim is a very successful baseball broadcaster with the Baltimore Orioles. He’s been doing their games since I think 1997. We’re still in touch. He was just inducted into the Brookdale Community College Athletics Hall of Fame, and he was kind enough to ask me to do his introduction at the induction.” The ceremony was held on Feb. 9 in Freehold. Later Ward briefly became a DJ for WHGT AM and then moved on to a station in Long Branch which was a Top 40 station at the time and later became a hybrid rock station. “That was in 1987. Then I got a job opportunity in Florida. I worked
(Manchester - See Page 16)
(Ward - See Page 8)
Community News! Don’t miss what’s happening in your town.
Pages 12-15.
Dr. Izzy’s Sound News Page 20.
Page 21.
Inside The Law Page 25.
Business Directory Page 26-27.
Classifieds Page 28.
Horoscope Page 35.
Wolfgang Puck Page 35.
—Photo by Bob Vosseller Nevaeh Wilson, 2 ½, Lacey, left, joins her mom Jackie Wilson who has served as the big sister to Samantha Brady, Toms River for 10 years as part of the Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Ocean County program. By Bob Vosseller Jackie (the big sister) were paired up in the of things together. She TOMS R I V ER – and Samantha (the little program. My parents learns from me and I Lacey resident Jackie sister) came togeth- felt that since I have learn from her. Now Wilson and Samantha er with more than a older brothers it would I have a 2 1/2-yearBrady, 15, of Toms Riv- hundred others during be nice for me to have old daughter, Nevaeh, er have a very special the 19th annual Hol- an older sister and it w h i c h h e r m o t h e r bond. They celebrated iday Party of the Big didn’t take long for us pointed out is heaven a decade of friendship Brothers Big Sisters of to be matched up and spelled backwards,” and love as part of the Ocean County held at within a few weeks, we Jackie said. Big Brother/Big Sisters the Toms River Rama- got very close,” SamanThere was a time when of Ocean County pro- da Inn. tha said. Samantha required fosgram during a recent “It worked out so well ter care and Jackie was “It was right before holiday gathering. my 5th birthday that we and we have done a lot (Holiday - See Page 4)
A Look Back On The News Of 2019 By Kimberly Bosco MANCHESTER – As we ring in the New Year and enter a new decade, we say goodbye to 2019. This past year saw a lot of new beginnings, changes, and even a few “rebirths” in the Manchester area. Before we forge ahead in 2020, let’s take a look back on some of the newsworthy highlights.
| December | October28, 27,2019 2018
Traffic Reporter Knows The Ins And Outs Of The Garden State
Letters
Dear Pharmacist
FOR BREAKING NEWS
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