The JACKSON Times Vol. 20 - No. 38
In This Week’s Edition
MICROMEDIA PUBLICATIONS
JERSEYSHOREONLINE.COM
Board Members Recognize 2020 Educators Of The Year
Community News! Pages 9-10
BREAKING NEWS @
─Photo courtesy Jackson Schools The 2020 Teachers of the Year and Educational Services Professionals of the Year. jerseyshoreonline.com
Dr. Izzy’s Sound News Pages 16
Dear Pharmacist Pages 17
Inside The Law Page 19
By Bob Vosseller JACKSON − It’s that time of year again, the Grammys and the Oscars came and went but more importantly for residents of the township, it was time to honor the school district’s educators. During a recent school board meeting, the 2020 Teachers of the Year were named. School Board President Michael Walsh welcomed those who came
out to the Jackson Memorial High School Arts Center that night adding, “on behalf of the entire Board of Education, it is our honor to have you all here tonight to recognize our annual Teachers of the Year and Educational Services Professionals of the Year.” Walsh said that during the session the board would be honoring members of the school district’s staff. He noted
that early last month, “we honored another person. He didn’t work in a school, but he was certainly a teacher - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It feels right to use some of his words here tonight. Specifically: “Intelligence plus character – that is the true goal of education,’’ Walsh said. “I’ve heard that phrase quoted before. What I didn’t know until re-
cently is that he wrote those words not during his adult life as a civil rights leader, but when he was only 18 years old. They were published in an essay entitled “The Purpose of Education” for the Morehouse College school paper,” Walsh added. “For those of you who have seen our very own district mission statement, that same idea is
(Educator - See Page 4)
Plan Forming For Life Support Coverage
By Chris Lundy TOMS RIVER – With MONOC ending Advanced Life Support Services to the area, leaders in law enforcement and emergency services met to make sure that every town is covered. MONOC’s advanced life support program will close on April 1.
Hackensack Meridian Health and RWJBarnabas Health will assume full operational and administrative responsibility of the program according to a letter from Jeff Behm, president and CEO of the Monmouth Ocean Hospital Service Corp. Advanced life support is different than basic
life support. Towns either use volunteer or police-run squads (or some combination of the two) for basic life support. The towns then contract with a paid provider like MONOC for advanced life support. By way of example, both crews might arrive at a car crash. Basic life support might be for someone
who got banged up and needs to be evaluated. Advanced life support might be for someone who was thrown from the vehicle. Ocean County Sheriff Michael G. Mastronardy and the Ocean County Office of Emergency Management facilitated a recent meeting which included representatives
from the new service providers. “With the announcement that MONOC would no longer be providing Advanced Life Support Services to Ocean County residents, it’s important that information is provided to our municipalities and ultimately our residents (Plan - See Page 11)
February 15, 2020
Town’s Finances Get AA+ Score
By Bob Vosseller JACKSON – Township officials were pleased to learn that once again Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings assigned its ‘AA+’ long-term rating to Jackson Township’s series 2020 general obligation bonds. At the same time, they affirmed the township’s ‘AA+’ long-term rating on the township’s existing General Obligation debt. Bond ratings are like credit scores for towns. The better the score, the less the town pays in interest with loans. They are scored by independent companies like S&P based on the town’s financial management. The only score higher than AA+ is AAA, according to S&P’s website. “As mayor of the third largest municipality in New Jersey, I’m proud to report to our taxpayers that Standard and Poor’s has just reaffirmed our fantastic AA+ financial rating,” Mayor Michael Reina said. “This renewed Standard and Poor’s financial rating of AA+ is an excellent accomplishment. This is the result of a collaborative partnership between the mayor and council dedicated to delivering positive and measurable results to the community. I commend Mayor Reina and his Administrative staff on consistently presenting this Council with fiscally sound budgets,” Council President Barry Calogero said. Calogero added, “we proudly boast our outstanding rating as one of the most fiscally responsible municipalities in Ocean County according to our independent auditor.” Jackson is the state’s third-largest municipality by land mass and encompasses approximately 100 square miles in northwest Ocean County. The township is primarily a residential community, with residential property accounting for 88% of 2019 assessed value (AV), but it does maintain a sizable commercial and industrial presence at 9% of 2019 AV according to township officials. Several economic development projects, many of which are commercial, are in various stages of construction and expected to add to the tax base over the near to moderate term. Standard and Poor’s took note of one of the largest of the projects slated for construction, Adventure Crossings USA; a sports complex destination with hotels and restaurants (Finance - See Page 8)
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