The TOMS RIVER Times Vol. 16 - No. 22
In This Week’s Edition
MICROMEDIA PUBLICATIONS
JERSEYSHOREONLINE.COM
Hope Walk Celebrates Recovery
Superintendent Healy Retiring
BREAKING NEWS @
jerseyshoreonline.com
Dear Pharmacist Page 17
Classifieds Page 22
Inside The Law Page 23
─Photo courtesy Hope Sheds Light Some HOPE Sheds Light Hope Walk participants attended the live event, but it was mostly virtual. By Bob Vosseller TOMS RIVER - The 7th Annual Hope Walk would have filled the boardwalk of Seaside Heights with yellow shirted walkers, speakers and guests but the coronavirus changed all that. Undaunted, the celebration to recognize addiction recovery went on but in a different
way. A virtual walk was held instead earlier this month and in it was a virtual success. HOPE Sheds Light (HSL) provides hope and support to families that are impacted by substance use disorder. “The journey toward hope a nd recove r y might be difficult, but the transformation at the end is really wonderful
to see,” said Stephen Willis, a co-founder of HSL. Willis has been the master of ceremonies for all seven of the organization’s annual walks, although things looked much different this year as the COVID-19 pandemic led the Toms River-based non-profit organization to make the walk virtual.
The group’s mission is to raise awareness and educate individuals, families and the community about the impact of substance use disorder by having the courage to share personal experiences and offer strength, wisdom, hope and resources that lead to positive community change and long-term (Hope - See Page 2)
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 financial 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
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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 and now with COVID, average two-bedroom many families have apartment is around become homeless.” $1,500 a month, on Brick Township rethe low end, and with cently distributed a both parents making $43,500 federal CDBG minimum wage...well, grant to 12 social seryou do the math,” she vice agencies that prosaid. “Add an illness or vide essential services the car breaks down - (Interfaith - See Page 10)
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By Chris Lundy TOMS RIVER – Superintendent David Healy has announced that his retirement from the district will take place at the end of 2020. He said he was going to retire in June of 2020, but there were a lot of loose ends and didn’t feel comfortable walking away. Instead, he will stay through the end of December. As it is, the district still has some issues, but none of them are of their own making, he has said. Schools everywhere are dealing with the coronavirus, and many New Jersey districts are still suffering from the change in the funding formula. His goal now is to get kids back into buildings, at least as a hybrid model, before he leaves. But these setbacks shouldn’t take away from the accomplishments that have come. During his tenure, there has been new curriculum, full day kindergarten, career academies, and other improvements. The district passed a $147 million referendum (Retire - See Page 4)
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 (Clinic - See Page 6)
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