The BERKELEY Times Vol. 26 - No. 15
In This Week’s Edition
MICROMEDIA PUBLICATIONS
JERSEYSHOREONLINE.COM
Going For The Gold Town Spreads Childhood Cancer Awareness
BREAKING NEWS @
jerseyshoreonline.com
Community News Page 10-11
Dr. Izzy’s Sound News Page 16
Inside The Law Page 19
Fun Page Page 23
─Photos by Chris Lundy (Above) These large ribbons are placed outside the municipal building to promote awareness of childhood cancer. By Chris Lundy BERKELEY – It’s a difficult subject to talk about. But the truth of the matter is that the most important subjects usually are tough to talk about – let alone to think about. Janet O’Brien from Emiliana’s Hope speaks during “Seven children today will die of childhood canthe most recent Township Council meeting about cer. Forty-three children today will be diagnosed. childhood cancer. She is pictured with members of It’s a staggering statistic, and there aren’t the governing body. many advocates” who will work on behalf of these children. Childhood Cancer Month, which is September. These were the words of Janet O’Brien, a townShe said she can understand why parents don’t ship resident who has been working for childhood want to think about it or talk about it. It’s terrifycancer awareness for years. ing to think about. But people have to advocate In the spirit of spreading the word, the town’s mu- for these kids because they often can’t themselves. (Gold - See Page 4) nicipal building had gold ribbons out front during
Interfaith Helps Families When They Need It Most By Judy Smestad-Nunn OCEAN COUNTY - Something as simple as a flat tire can break the tenuous fi nancial balance of some families who are living paycheck to paycheck, by creating a domino effect after missing a
day of work and having to pay for the tire repair. It’s not only single-parent homes who are struggling financially while trying to keep a roof over their heads, said Patricia Cash, Executive Director of I nter faith Hospitality Network
of Ocean County (IHNOC), which provides shelter, meals and supportive services to the homeless working poor. “We are seeing more and more intact homeless families because the rents are so high in Ocean County - an average two-bedroom
apartment is around $1,500 a month, on the low end, and with both parents making minimum wage...well, you do the math,” she said. “Add an illness or the car breaks down and now with COVID, many families have become homeless.”
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Brick Township recently distributed a $43,500 federal CDBG grant to 12 social service agencies that provide essential services to its residents. IHNOC was awarded $5,000 of the grant money. Patricia Cash has led
(Families - See Page 4)
September 26, 2020
Officials Still Demand New VA Clinic
By Chris Lundy OCEAN COUNTY – While local officials continue to push for a new veterans clinic, there doesn’t seem to be one on the horizon any time soon. The current building, the James J. Howard Outpatient Clinic, opened more than 25 years ago in Brick, but the veteran population has since outgrown it. The facility services people from all over Ocean County, but also since it’s so close to the northern border, it’s easier for some Monmouth County residents to go there, too. There are two major problems with the Brick location: space and parking spaces. There’s not enough space inside the building to serve the veterans that need help, and there aren’t enough parking spaces for them all to park either. While plans for the clinic seemed to be progressing, issues with the federal bidding process led the VA to cancel a contract to build the clinic. John Dorrity, the director of the Ocean County Veterans Services Bureau, said that the contractor got to the point of breaking ground and quit, so they had to start the whole process over again. As to what actually happened is unclear, but there are a lot of people pointing fingers, he said. He hasn’t heard any news about the project moving forward since this current rut. Even the location of the future VA is being debated. Toms River wants to move it to a spot off of Hooper Avenue behind the Seacourt Shopping Center. The land back there is being redeveloped into office buildings and housing. Brick has been wanting it to stay in their town, but at a different location. As recently as 2019, they were scouting two spots - behind the Lowe’s Home Improvement store on Cedar Bridge Avenue, and a wooded triangle-shaped piece of property located between Burrsville Road, Jack Martin Boulevard and Route 88 On a regular basis, local officials call for the VA clinic to move forward. The Ocean County Board of Chosen Freeholders have been vocal about it, as have several local officials. The most recent Berkeley Township (Clinic - See Page 5)
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