LAKEWOOD–Looking for something to do this weekend for dad on Father’s Day? The Ocean Signal has some exciting ideas including breakfast, dinner and a cruise along the historic Toms River waterfront.

TOMS RIVER – One hundred twenty-four students from the Ocean County College Nursing Class received their nursing pins at the Annual Nurses Pinning Ceremony on Tuesday, May 21st at in the Arts & Community Center Theatre at the OCC Main Campus in Toms River.

During the ceremony, special awards in Nursing were presented. The following Nursing graduates received awards:

• St. Barnabas Behavioral Health Award – Recipient: Kateri Norton (Howell)
• Community Medical Center Awards – Recipients: Kimberly Coleman (Forked River) and Alexa Rae Yabut (Manahawkin)
• New Jersey League for Nursing Award – Recipient: Lizbeth Santibanez (Brick)

The graduates completed the two-year course of study leading to an associate degree in applied science in nursing. Sixty-one students completed the degree requirements this May and 63 students completed the degree requirements last December. The Ocean County College nursing graduates from Ocean County include:

Barnegat: Michele Guido, Erin Little, Laura-Beth McKeown, and Donna Pierce, Jessica Hernandez and Jennifer Severin; Bayville: Lori Stewart; Beachwood: Jeffrey Huntley and April Fischer; Brick: Augusto Cespedes, Elizabeth Gannon, Lindsay Goretski, Valerie Klim, Lisa Romanow, Laura Rudorfer, Anthony Scrofine, Lynn Tedeschi, Wendy Westphal , Danielle Ann Bagley, Samantha Bernard, Maxine Hall, Jennifer Katzmann, Amy Keefe, Karl Rex, Lizbeth Santibanez, and Jaclyn Yanovsky; Forked River: William LaBruna , Danielle Androcy, Jennifer Christ, Kimberly Coleman, and Lisa Hatrak; Island Heights: Rebecca Constantine; Jackson: Druclair Flynn, Jennifer Hruschka, Caryn Keeley, Laura Spata, and Jessyca Thompson, Veronica Busch, Jason Byrne, Stephanie Christen, Aurora Cleary, Susan Fuchs, Kristie Goelz, and Ashley Siegle; Lakewood: Sashalee Coke, Chaya Freedman, Ann Friedman, Pesha Konovitch, and Shulamit Navaro, Batsheva Eisen, Stephan Gymnich, Fraidy Karmel, and John Keene; Lanoka Harbor: Christy Neill (McDonald); Little Egg Harbor: Ashley Acierno , Melissa Evans and Kathleen Friedlander; Manahawkin: Andrea Cline, Robyn Gray, Caitlin Michels, Liana Schmidt, and Dena Smith, Frances Farnung, Renee Petitt, Suzann Thoman, and Alexa Rae Yabut; Manchester: Kim Hart and Amanda Peterson; Point Pleasant: JoAnna Fabiano and Christopher Griffin, Christina Devito and Tara Rostron-Lorenz; Toms River: Mark Amiscosa, Christine Coltenback, Jadwiga Corapi, Jonathan Dacpano, Amanda Erli, Margaret Myhre, Karolina Piwnica, Darlene Rodriquez, Jennifer Rosa, Nicole VanHouten, Mary Albuquerque, Stacy Calicchio, Linda Cioppa, Elizabeth Cogan, Maria Ditommaso, Fernan Dungca, Salwa Elbyadi, Denise Gillman, Sabina Gjonbalaj, Patrick Hurler, Irving Lukas, Brittany McCabe, Donna McCurdy, Jennifer Muraglia, Melissa Naphier, Daniel Ostie, JohnPaul Tinio, Colleen Tompkins, and Erin Wiggins; Tuckerton: Valerie Mills , Katharyn Gunn; Waretown: Jacqueline Keen; West Creek: Patrick Topping and Sybil Schriever; Whiting: Cathy Ippolito.

The main event is the collection of unexpected automobiles parked up and down the field. Last year there were 200 classic cars for show.

“Many people come out to see for the car show and bring their kids as well, says Patrolman Shelby, the drug resistance officer for the Berkeley elementary schools and Central Regional Middle School D.A.R.E program.

The popular, summer event will feature a coloring contest for the children, in which winners will receive 25-dollar gift certificates. The festival will also include music, food, raffles, giveaways, a large bouncy house, temporary tattoos, face painting, and vendors.

D.A.R.E Day vendors will consist of artists, food and activities for children to accompany the festivities from 10 AM to 4 PM at free admission.

All of the proceeds go directly to the D.A.R.E program. The money raised strengthens the organization and provides prizes, t-shirts and supplies for the children.

The annual Berkeley D.A.R.E. car show and festival is one of the many summer festivals hosted by the Berkeley Township Parks and Recreation Department. A field full of cars will be waiting at Veteran’s Park, one of the largest parks in Bayville.

D.A.R.E or The Drug Abuse Resistance Education’s goal is to provide students with information to avoid drugs, gangs and violence. Peer pressure, making good choices, friendship foundations and bullying are also emphasized.

For more information about the D.A.R.E program and other sponsored events, visit www.dare.com. For addition information about summer activities and festivals in Berkeley Township visit, www.btrec.org.

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.

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 grant will come in the form of two $200,000 payments and is to be used for residents only,” the mayor said. “It can’t go to anything commercial or the town.”

In the last round of funding on March 19th, several other local recipients were awarded grants by the Robin Hood foundation.

Hometown Heroes for Toms River Township will also receive $400,000. Toms River was one of the hardest hit areas in New Jersey with 14,285 “mainland” homes having some form of wind or water damage and 7,083 impacted homes on the Barrier Island. The Township has partnered with Hometown Heroes to assist residents with rebuilding and the purchase of building materials and essential home contents such as furniture, cabinets and appliances.

Berkeley Township also received a $200,000 grant.

Homes for All, Inc. will receive $575,000. This grant will fund 15 significant rebuilds and minor home repairs to another 85 homes in Ocean County which lack or have insufficient insurance/FEMA coverage.

Other Ocean County recipients included in this latest round of funding include the Northern Ocean Habitat for Humanity ($150,000), Toms River Regional Schools Hurricane Relief Fund ($75,000), Hometown Heroes Ocean County ($150,000), St, Francis Community Center ($35,000) and Senior Citizens Activities Network of Monmouth & Ocean Counties ($30,000).

With its latest slate of grants totaling nearly $7 million, the Robin Hood Hurricane Sandy Relief Fund has made more than $62 million in grants since Sandy devastated the region in late October. To date, approximately 42% of the funds have been allocated to New Jersey-based organizations, 42% to organizations based in New York City, 14% to Long Island/Westchester, and 2% to Connecticut. The vast majority of funds (60%) have been devoted to housing-related groups that are helping residents repair and rebuild their damaged homes. In total, the Robin Hood Relief Fund has made grants to more than 400 different organizations in the tri-state area

Casale will remain as the school’s athletic director. Kevin Williams of Shore Sports Network points out that the 41-year old Jacobs is the only African American head coach in the Shore Conference.

Ocean County Prosecutor Marlene Lynch Ford made the following statement concerning the arrest of Daniel O’Leary, age 51, of 66 Barbuda Street in the Holiday City section of Berkeley Township.

Daniel O’Leary was arrested yesterday by detectives from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office and the Berkeley Township Police Department and charged with the second degree crime of aggravated arson.  Mr. O’Leary is charged with intentionally setting fire to the residence at 77 Barbuda Street in Berkeley Township on Friday, March 15, 2013 knowing that the residence was occupied at the time by two (2) people.  The fire was set during the late evening hours.  The residents of the home, both of whom suffer from medical disabilities, were able to safely evacuate the home during the fire.

Second degree arson is punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to ten (10) years.  This specific arson offense is subject to the provisions of the “No Early Release Act”, which provides that eighty-five percent (85%) of any sentence imposed by the court must be served before an individual may be considered for parole supervision.

Mr. O’Leary’s bail was set at $150,000 with no ten percent option by the Honorable Wendel E. Daniels, P.J.Cr.P.  He is presently lodged in the Ocean County Jail in default of bail.

Anyone who has any information concerning this case is asked to contact Detective Thomas Haskell of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office at (732) 929-2027 extension 3953 or Detective Joseph Robertazzi of the Berkeley Township Police Department at (732) 341-6600.

I want to commend the efforts of the investigators from my office, the Berkeley Township Police Department, the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department Criminalistics Investigations Unit, the Sheriff’s Department K-9 unit and the Ocean County Fire Marshal’s Office.

The media and the public are reminded that criminal charges are merely accusations.  Every person charged with a crime is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.