TheTOMS RIVER Times Vol. 15 - No. 44
In This Week’s Edition
MICROMEDIA PUBLICATIONS
JERSEYSHOREONLINE.COM
Plungers Get Warm Reception During A Chilly Event
Contest For GOP Nod For 3rd District Seat Heats Up
Community News! Pages 11-15
Members of the Elizabeth PBA pose for a photo while in the surf. BREAKING NEWS @
jerseyshoreonline.com
Dr. Izzy’s Sound News Pages 20
Dear Pharmacist Pages 21
By Bob Vosseller SEASIDE HEIGHTS – Thousands of supporters of the Special Olympics came out to enter the chilly surf off the borough’s ocean front. They were freezing for a reason and that reason was to support a good cause and have some fun along the way. The cool event provided a warm reception for plungers who are considered to be the
heroes and heroines of the day and who enter the ocean for an icy dip, many in colorful costumes, to raise money pledged through sponsorship from supporters. Some plunge as individuals or as families while others form teams all in the cause of supporting the Special Olympics organization. To assure security within the large crowd the borough’s police de-
County’s Budget: Spending Up, Tax Rate Down
By Bob Vosseller TOMS RIVER – For the fourth year in a row, the county’s proposed tax rate will drop. The Board of Ocean County Chosen Freeholders introduced its $450,793,747 spending plan during their latest meeting.
Freeholder Director a proposed county Joseph H. Vicari said, property tax rate of “We are talking about 33.7 cents per $100 of a blueprint to operate an equalized value. Ocean County for the Each of the county’s next year. The good 33 municipalities will news is we will not cut experience that rate back on services and differently to allow for we will drop your tax the tax burden to be equitably distributed. rate.” The budget includes (Budget - See Page 31)
VETERAN &
FIRST RESPONDER
DISCOUNTS OFFERED
─Photo by Bob Vosseller
partment and members of the Ocean County Sheriff’ Department were also there in force. The top plunge teams included 2 nd Avenue Freeze Out, Bayshore Sh r i n k y Di n ks, NJ Knights of Columbus Polar Penguins and Cat Crew. The top team, the Little Silver Crocs had raised $97,947 as of Feb. 21, a day prior to the plunge. This year’s plunge had special signif icance
for the team’s captain, Mike Laver ty, as it marked his final plunge. “I’ve plunged for Special Olympics since 2004. I got st ar ted because I have two developmentally and physically disabled children of my own Tim (37), and Laura (30) - and I wanted to help thousands of people like them,” Laverty said. His goal was to hit $36,500 this year (Polar - See Page 24)
Vetwork Lends A Helping Hand To Veterans
By Wendy McClure LACEY - Originally started as the Ocean County POW/MIA Organization in 1984, Vetwork is helping veterans get on their feet. Their mission is to meet the immediate and longterm needs of lower income veterans. The main goal is to provide a continuum of care to enable veterans to maintain and achieve self-sufficiency. (Vets - See Page 8)
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By Chris Lundy OCEAN COUNTY – After an important recommendation by local Republicans, Kate Gibbs was given a higher profi le to compete against Democrat incumbent Andy Kim for the state’s 3rd District seat in the House of Representatives. Before the general election in November, there’s a primary election in June. That’s when each party chooses who will represent them on the ballot. But there’s a challenge before the primary, and some Republicans said they want to make sure there’s a unified front in this election. The Ocean County Republican screening committee recommended Kate Gibbs to be the candidate, said Frank Holman, the chairman of the Ocean County Republicans. However, she still has to win the convention on March 4. The fourth district includes parts of Burlington County as well. She was endorsed by that county’s Republican Committee. Gibbs is a former one-term Burlington County Freeholder. Although Holman said he didn’t participate in the process of recommending Gibbs, he said the nine-member screening committee was diligent in interviewing her, David Richter, and Barnegat Mayor John Novak. “There were three good candidates,” he said. “We need more women in our party for sure, and we need more young people.” Part of the screening process was answering for some legal issues she had in the recent past. According to reports, Gibbs shoplifted about $80 worth of clothes from a Kohl’s in Cherry Hill in 2006, when she was 20 years old. She is now banned from Kohl’s. When she was 22, she was charged with possessing less than 50 grams of marijuana and 5 grams of hashish in Long Beach Township. The case was conditionally discharged under the fi rst offender law. When she was 28, she was charged with (Seat - See Page 25)
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