Despite the governor’s statements that “every boardwalk up and down the Jersey Shore” would be open in time for this weekend, at least several inland boardwalk areas, including Ocean Gate and the marina boardwalk section in Beachwood, both on the Toms River, remained under partial reconstruction at press time.

The team, consisting of  Emily Golembiski of Little Egg Harbor, Jillian Hubbard of Toms River, Gillian Schriever of West Creek, Michael Signorelli of Toms River and Megan Tumpey of  Brick, will represent New Jersey in the 2013 North American Envirothon at Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana in August.

The Ocean County students competed against 33 other teams on knowledge of natural resources-related topics, including soils, forestry, aquatics, wildlife ecology and a current environmental issue. This year’s theme was “Sustainable Rangeland Management: Achieving a Balance Between Traditional Agricultural Uses with Non-Agricultural Uses on Montana Rangelands.”

“For 20 years, New Jersey high school students have had the opportunity to participate in this valuable competition and learn more about the environment, natural resources and science,” said Secretary Fisher. “We hope they take advantage of the skills they learned and consider careers in agriculture and natural resources-related fields.”

Each of the MATES team members received $1,000 scholarships from the New Jersey Association of Conservation Districts, $2,000 scholarships from Richard Stockton State College and $1,000 scholarships from Applied and Health Sciences at Kean University.

Two 5-member teams of MATES students competed in last year’s Envirothon with all but one of those students graduating. The two MATES teams placed first and second in 2012. An almost entirely new set of 10 students made up this year’s two teams.

“I am very proud of the hard work and dedication put forth by our members,” said MATES Advisor Adam Sprague.  “It was quite an accomplishment considering it was the first year competing for nine out of the 10 team members. We now turn our attention to Montana which offers an exciting variety of challenges in terms of preparation for our students.”

The second-place team in this year’s Envirothon was West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North and third place was taken by High Tech High School, North Bergen.

The Envirothon is sponsored by the New Jersey Department of Agriculture, State Soil Conservation Committee; New Jersey Association of Conservation Districts; the 15 Soil Conservation Districts; United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service; New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection; and Rutgers Cooperative Extension.

The 15 Soil Conservation Districts in New Jersey follow county boundaries and implement the New Jersey Soil and Sediment Control Act, which governs certain aspects of new development.  These semi-autonomous bodies are locally governed and play a strong role in the protection of New Jersey’s natural resources.

BERKELEY – Central Regional TV Productions students won county and state contests and film festival awards for their video productions surrounding the events of Hurricane Sandy.

Senior Austin Steinbrick recently took the award for Best Documentary in the Ocean County Library Film Festival held at the Toms River Branch of the Ocean County Library.  Over 140 entries were received from around the world and only 43 were chosen for submission.  Austin’s video told the story of Hurricane Sandy using footage recorded by students and staff from the Central Regional High School which included eye witness accounts of the devastating events on the day of the storm.

In addition, Austin received an Honorable Mention along with senior Nicholas Castrovilly for the New Jersey State Attorney General’s PSA Contest Proms and Alcohol Don’t Mix Contest.

High school junior, Marc Wittig, won a Certificate of Excellence at the Ocean County Teen Arts Festival for his Hurricane Sandy video.  The Ocean County Teen Arts Festival is a showcase and competition held at Ocean County College.  Student works are judged and critiqued where the best in show receive a Certificate of Excellence.  The Central Regional High School TV Program has received an Award of Excellence eight times over the last twelve years.

Student works are available for viewing at the school district website at www.centralreg.k12.nj.us by linking to the “video on demand” tab.  All of our students’ Hurricane Sandy videos can be watched on Channel 21.

Community Calendar

Community Club Flower Sale

The Community Club will hold their annual flower sale on Thursday and Friday, May 2^nd and 3^rd from 9 am to 6 pm and Saturday, May 4^th from 9 am to 4 pm.  Flats of flowers and hanging baskets will be available for $10 each.  The sale will take place at the Community Club, 172 Maple Avenue.

Outdoor Art Show

On Sunday, May 5^th the Ocean County Artists Guild presents their Fine Art Show and Sale.  This event will take place on the grounds of the guild and adjacent street.  Show time will be from 10 am through 4 pm.  For more information, please call (732) 270-3111.

Mayor and Council Meeting

The next scheduled meeting for the Mayor and Council will be Tuesday, May 7^th at 7 pm at the borough meeting hall.  All are welcome to attend.

Planning Board Meeting

The Planning Board will hold their next meeting on Wednesday, May 8^th at 6:30 pm at the meeting hall.  The agenda for this meeting will include a variance application pertaining to Gemma Block 32, Lot 1 – 251 Van Sant Avenue.  The public is invited to attend and participate. Formal action may be taken at all meetings.

Board of Health Meeting

On Tuesday, May 14^th at 9 am, the Board of Health will meet at the borough-meeting hall.  Meetings are open to the public.

Environmental Committee

On Wednesday, May 15^th at 7 pm, the Environmental Committee will hold their meeting at the borough hall.  The public is welcome to attend and participate

Island Heights Branch Library

Calendar of Events

Baby Time / Toddler Time

On Friday, May 3^rd enjoy stories, finger-plays and music.  Baby Time for ages 18 months and younger begins at 1 pm.  Toddler Time for ages 19 – 36 months begins at 2 pm.  Registration is required.

Unsung Heroes

Join Valerie Vaughn for her presentation of New Jersey’s unsung heroes through storytelling, songs and characterizations on Saturday, May 4^th at 11:30 am.  Please register.

Paws for Reading

On Monday, May 6^th at 3:30 pm, meet Cheri and Royce, two dogs who adore children and books. Young readers (up to age 12) can practice their skills by reading stories to these adorable pups.  Registration is required.

LEGO® Club

The library will provide Lego® bricks for imaginative play on Wednesday, May 8^th at 10:30 am.  This program is recommended for ages 3 ½ to 8.  Registration is required.

Preschool Story Time

Pre-school children ages 3 ½ to 5 can enjoy stories and a fun craft on Monday, May 13^th at 1:30 pm.  Registration is required.

Coping with Salt Water Flooding in Gardens

Join Master Gardener Bruce Larson on Monday, May 13^th at 7 pm as he presents information on counteracting the effects of saltwater flooding on your garden and suggests salt-water tolerant plants.  This program is offered through Rutgers NJ Agricultural Experiment Station (NJAES) Cooperative extension.  Registration is required.

Drop-in Craft

On Wednesday, May 15^th from 10:30 to 11:30 am celebrate Asian Pacific Heritage Month by making a beautiful Hawaiian lei.  This program is recommended for all ages.  No registration is necessary.

Call (732) 270-6266 to register or visit www.theoceancountylibrary.org.

TOMS RIVER–Toms River Police responded to an accident in which a vehicle struck an apartment building just before 5 p.m. on Monday at t the Terrace View Apartments.

Randy Reddiconto,  23, of Toms River was driving eastbound on Partridge Street when he reported the accelerator was stuck on his 2001 Chevy Blazer, causing him to lose control and cross over Vaughan Avenue and into building D of The Terrace View Apartments.

Sally Thomas was inside her apartment when Reddiconto’s SUV entered her living room.  She received a minor leg injury and was transported to Community Medical Center for treatment.

Reddiconto was transported to community by Island Heights First Aid for minor injury.

The Toms River building  department responded and condemned two apartments. Traffic Safety Officer David Bartoshek is investigating

Toms River Fire Companies 1 & 2 responded along with East Dover and Silverton Fire companies to assist while Accurate towing removed the vehicle from the building.  The property manger responded to assist with finding accommodations for the residents that were displaced by the accident.

Read more about the cause: http://thinkingofyouthursdays.blogspot.com/

Here are the dates for the Jeans Days:
Middle School – Friday, April 19.
High School – Friday, April 26.

Central staff members will also wear green ribbons on their respective “Jeans Day” since it is one of Sandy Hook Elementary’s school colors.

BERKELEY TOWNSHIP -The Central Regional High School Guidance Department has incorporated the robust, interactive college search engine offered by College Board called “BigFuture” as a link on our high school guidance webpage to assist students and families with their college decision-making process.
College Board is a not-for-profit membership organization committed to excellence and equity in education whose mission is to connect students to college success and opportunity.
The goal of the program is to assist Central Regional students in finding the right college in order to succeed in today’s world. In support of the College Board goal of having 55 percent of Americans with a college degree by 2025, they have launched BigFuture, the new, free, comprehensive website that improves the college planning process for students, families, and educators.
Once you link to Big Future from our high school guidance webpage, the program will guide the student through the college planning process, making it easier and less overwhelming. The step-by-step approach demystifies college planning, particularly for those students who are the first generation in their families to attend college.
Students using BigFuture answer questions and make choices about their own needs and preferences. Easy-to-use search tools and informative videos guide them through the process. The large collection of videos contains real-world advice from college students and expert educators.
“We know the best source of insight into the college planning process is from those who have experienced it,” said Roy Ben-Yoseph, the College Board’s executive director of digital products. “That’s why we asked students to collaborate with us on the site design and interactive tools that guide students as they find, afford and enroll in a college that is right for them.”
BigFuture has a robust college search tool that helps students find the schools that are best for their needs and compare their advantages. Because great education occurs in thousands of colleges and universities, BigFuture can find college options for any high school graduate.
The resource also has a scholarship search tool and extensive information about ways students can pay for college. “College is more accessible than many people think,” Ben-Yoseph said. “Families using the resource learn ways others have paid for college: securing scholarships, enrolling at a community college, saving for college and finding grants and loans. They also will see that most families do not pay the full sticker price for college.”
Students using BigFuture develop a customizable action plan that tells them exactly what to do and when.
The high school guidance supervisor, Darryl Heale, adds, “Since our counselors and teachers have a great influence on the students’ college planning, we have incorporated the best tool available that can be also used by our staff as a resource for information.”
During a time when college planning and application has grown increasingly complex, BigFuture’s step-by-step approach makes college planning easier to navigate. Visit our website today at www.centralreg.k12.nj.us and start to make inroads into college planning.

In particular, the new School Performance Reports seek to:

• Focus attention on metrics that are indicative of college and career readiness.
• Benchmark a school’s performance against other peer schools that are educating similar students, against statewide outcomes, and against state targets to illuminate and build upon a school’s strengths and identify areas for improvement.
• Improve educational outcomes for students by providing both longitudinal and growth data so that progress can be measured as part of an individual school’s efforts to engage in continuous improvement.

TOMS RIVER REGIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICT

BEACHWOOD ELEM
CEDAR GROVE ELEM
EAST DOVER ELEM
HOOPER AVE ELEM
JOSEPH A CITTA ELEM
NORTH DOVER ELEM
PINE BEACH ELEM
SILVER BAY ELEMENTARY
SOUTH TOMS RIVER ELEM
TOMS RIVER HIGH EAST
TOMS RIVER HIGH NORTH
TOMS RIVER HIGH SOUTH
TOMS RIVER INTERMEDIATE E
TOMS RIVER INTERMEDIATE N
TOMS RIVER INTERMEDIATE S
WALNUT STREET ELEM
WASHINGTON ST ELEM
WEST DOVER ELEM

JACKSON TOWNSHIP SCHOOL DISTRICT

CARL W GOETZ MIDDLE SCH
CHRISTA MCAULIFFE MID SCH
CRAWFORD RODRIGUEZ ELEM
ELMS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
HOWARD C JOHNSON ELEM
JACKSON LIBERTY HIGH
JACKSON MEMORIAL HIGH
LUCY N HOLMAN ELEM
SWITLIK ELEM
SYLVIA ROSENAUER ELEM

BRICK TOWNSHIP SCHOOL DISTRICT

BRICK COMM PRIM LEARN CTR
BRICK TWP HIGH
BRICK TWP MEMORIAL HIGH
DRUM POINT ROAD ELEM
EMMA HAVENS YOUNG ELEM
HERBERTSVILLE ELEM
LAKE RIVIERA MIDDLE
LANES MILL ELEM
MIDSTREAMS ELEM
OSBORNVILLE ELEM
VETERANS MEM ELEM
VETERANS MEM MIDDLE SCH

BERKELEY TOWNSHIP SCHOOL DISTRICT

BAYVILLE ELEM
BERKELEY TOWNSHIP ES
CLARA B WORTH ELEM
H & M POTTER ELEM

CENTRAL REGIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICT

CENTRAL REGIONAL HIGH
CENTRAL REGIONAL MIDDLE

The blackout along the riverfront present here since the night of October 29th will soon be given the “all clear,” and electric lights repaired and turned on to brighten the night.
During their February 26th meeting, the borough council met and considered several proposals for repairing the damage wrought by Hurricane Sandy, including the destruction of the electric system in the Central Avenue pavilion and along the River Avenue boardwalk.
Additional damage there included bulkhead capping that floated away, breakage by a motorboat that crashed against the bulkhead west of the yacht club with its trailer attached before finally losing the trailer offshore and coming to rest directly on top of the boardwalk, loose and raised boards at odd angles, the near total destruction of flooring on the first floor of the recently restored historic pavilion, and a half-circle area of decking directly north of the pavilion on River and Central avenues that floated all the way down to an open lot on the corner of River and Chestnut avenues, four blocks away.

Electric service was also knocked out by the hurricane at the Lake Avenue boat dock, where a half-dozen outlets needed to be reinstalled and service rebuilt, and at the pavilion on Summit Avenue Beach, which was picked up and moved off its foundation northwest to a new location alongside Dillon’s Creek, where Mayor Jim Biggs directed public works crew to provide it a new foundation and abandon the old location in the weeks following the storm.
For the past several weeks, members of the department of public works have been busy removing the damaged wood from the pavilion and fixing and repairing where possible, but Councilman Brian Taboada stated, “they already demolished [the flooring] and as soon as the joists are in we want to run conduits into it – they will actually need to do that prior to them placing the floor on.”

The borough received two bids for the three project, from Linesider Electric of Shark River Hills, Neptune, Monmouth County and John E. Camburn & Son of Island Heights.

In the River Avenue lighting project, needed repairs and replacement included the electric service located on the first floor of the pavilion and across from Ocean Avenue on the boardwalk, service at the West End dock, and the rewiring of 24 pole lights.

On Lake Drive, repairs were needed to the underground service located near the lightpole at the entrance to the dock, and six evenly spaced outlets replaced.

On the Summit Avenue Beach pavilion, repairs were needed to reinstall mast service on the pavilion, including reinstalling four outlets and a lighting fixture.

Total cost of the three projects from the two contractors came to $33,915 through Linesider and $34,700 through Mr. Camburn. Following a discussion of the pricing, Mr. Silver noted that Mr. Camburn’s firm offered a great deal more work and protective equipment upgrades for only slightly more than Linesider’s proposal, as seen in his detailed, typed proposals, including moving the service for the pavilion and River Avenue lighting up from the first floor to the second floor of the structure and into a secure watertight container, thus making it far less susceptible to future storm damage.

Councilman Peter Kier noted that Mr. Camburn’s typed proposal was also far more detailed than the handwritten one provided by Linesider.

Mr. Silver requested that the borough hire Mr. Camburn due to the professionalism of his proposal and quality and breadth of work offered among the proposals received.

The council unanimously approved his proposal with the added request of including a motion sensor on the second floor of the Central Avenue pavilion to deter trespassers after curfew, which residents nearby said was an ongoing issue.

In other actions of the borough mayor and council at the late February meeting:

Public Works Requests
The council unanimously approved several purchase order requests from the department of public works, including a 48-inch panic bar at the post office delivery door for $564 from Mr. Keys; new Cooper vehicle tires for $924 from Edward Tire Co.; and a vehicle maintenance bill from Midas Auto Service on Route 37 for $648.30.
Just Say No to Benny Bill
A resolution was unanimously passed opposing a state bill promoted by northern legislators demanding free beach access and comfort facilities to the public in exchange for financial aid for storm repairs, as it would place an undue hardship on all shore municipalities without funding beachfront safety, maintenance and operations.

Water Treatment Plant
Cost Increase
Also unanimously approved by council was a water treatment plant replacement modification no. 5, which provides a flushing system to prevent the lime chemical feed system from clogging and modifies the filter face piping to enable the water treatment plan to operate automatically. As a result, the overall contract for the plant construction increased by $25,539.76 for a new total of $1,911,519.44.

Public Works Vehicle
& Financing
Chief Financial Officer Louis Palazzo stated he was approached by Jon Brodbeck of public works who stated that one of the department’s trucks was in poor shape and becoming unserviceable but was needed for future work, including plowing snowfall on borough streets. The state contract on vehicle purchases had however just listed new trucks, including a Ford F350 basic four-wheel drive with a diesel engine model, for $21,000, which would likely come to a total of $27,000 with the plow accessories needed. Mr. Palazzo said he was looking into leasing the truck for its useful life span of five years rather than absorbing the cost into one budget year, but Borough Attorney William T. Hiering, Jr. stated he was unsure whether that was permitted. Mr. Palazzo said he would speak with the borough’s bond council regarding the legalities on how to finance it to give the least amount of impact on the budget.

New Police Vehicle
Speaking further on vehicle purchases, Mr. Palazzo stated that while in a meeting with Councilman Joe Rogalski, liaison to the police department, and Lt. Kevin Arnold, they learned that the engine of the Dodge Durango police vehicle was severely compromised and would require a replacement. From the state contract, the chief financial officer said they were looking at a new four wheel drive Ford Interceptor sport utility vehicle. Mr. Kier asked if an engine rebuild on the Dodge would be impossible, and Lt. Arnold stated that he had gone to three car service garages for quotes but that they were having a hard time finding the engine and that Dodge had essentially stopped supporting that year. The council voted unanimously to purchase a new police vehicle after Mr. Palazzo finds out how to best legally finance it.

New Computer Firm Sought
Mr. Silver stated he they were having some difficulties with the firm currently hired to maintain