TheTOMS RIVER Times Vol. 17 - No. 51
In This Week’s Edition
MICROMEDIA PUBLICATIONS
JERSEYSHOREONLINE.COM
Master Gardeners Spent Months Raising Plants For A Fundraiser
From Legacy To Leadership: Citta Starts As Superintendent
BREAKING NEWS @
jerseyshoreonline.com
Community News Pages 10-14
Inside The Law Page 14
Dr. Izzy’s Sound News Page 18
Classifieds Page 21
─Photo by Stephanie A. Faughnan Volunteer master gardeners continue to nurture plants in preparation for the May 7th sale. By Stephanie Faughnan OCEAN COUNTY – Lots of fledging blooms and other plants are ripe for new homes when the Ocean County Master Gardeners open up shop on Saturday, May
7 from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. The rain or shine event will be held at the Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Ocean Cou nt y, lo cat e d at 1623 Whitesville Road (Route 527) and Sunset
Avenue in Toms River. An assortment of volunteer master gardeners continue to alternate tasks at the greenhouse in preparation for the sale, which is open to the general public. Half of the items that
will be available for sale star ted as tiny seedlings, while the other half started as plugs – or tiny plants. While many of Ocean County’s master gardeners are retired, their (Plants - See Page 4)
First African-American Woman Sworn In As Top Non-Commissioned Army Reserve Officer By Bob Vosseller L A K E H U R ST – The Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst saw some history recently with the swearing in of the first African American as well as t he f i rst woma n to become the top n o n - c o m m i s sio n e d officer of the north-
eastern United States for America’s Army Reserve. In early April, Command Sgt. Maj. Subretta L. Pompey became the new Command Sergeant Major of the 99th Readiness Division, responsible for the northeastern United States for the
Army Reserve. Pompey became the senior-enlisted leader of the U.S. Army Reserve’s 99th Readiness Division on April 8 during an assumption-of-responsibility ceremony at division headquar ters at the Joint Base. She is the first Af-
rican American and t he f i r st woma n to serve in this position throughout the Division’s 80-year history which dates back to the 99th Infantry Division in World War II. “Being selected as t h e c o m m a n d s e rge a nt m ajor of t he 99th Readiness Di-
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vision is very humbling,” Pompey said. Her career includes se r v i ng i n s up p or t of Operation Desert Shield/Storm in 1991, Bosn ia f rom 1999 2000, Operation Iraqi Freedom from 20062007 and Operation Spartan Shield from (Officer - See Page 6)
By Chris Lundy TOMS RIVER - In Michael Citta’s office in High School South, he is surrounded by memorabilia from the building’s roots as Toms River High School. It’s fitting for someone who has a legacy here. Citta will be stepping into his role as superintendent on May 1. He sat down with Toms River Online a few months ago, just after his appointment was made. “First and foremost, I’m proud to be an educator for 24 years and to give back to the kids,” he said. He’s a home-grown leader, having grown up here. The public wanted someone local from within the district to take the helm, and he has skin in the game. He began as a history teacher, then moved up to assistant superintendent. When the district lost funding, he said he voluntarily stepped down to become principal of Hooper Avenue Elementary. He’s been the principal of High School South for the last four years. “I think the uniqueness of Toms River – 54 square miles, a send/receive district plus being regional, the demographics – is different than any other district,” he said. “We are so large, but we feel so small.” Each of the schools have their own identity and distinct needs. “Some need different resources and we recognize that. It’s not one size fits all.” From being part of the district in a number of ways, from student to teacher to administrator, it’s given him the experience to know it inside and out. “I feel like I’ve really been given the background and tools to succeed.” Although his first day as superintendent was May 1, but the process began months ago so that he could hit the ground running. He was brought in to aspects of operations he wasn’t already part of, met staff he hadn’t met, and reached out to stakeholders in the community. (Citta - See Page 5)
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