Bradley Beach Lifeguards Take First Place in Tournament
By DON STINE Bradley Beach lifeguards pulled ahead of their life-saving peers last week during the borough’s annual lifeguard tournament. The Bradley Beach Lifeguard Tournament, held July 17, has been going on for at least 50 years and other shore towns have similar tournaments, said tournament organizer Dick Johnson. “I thought the tournament went very well and Bradley Beach’s performance was truly outstanding,” he said. Based on final scores, Bradley Beach won the tournament, out of a 10-team field, with 37 points. Belmar was second with 24 points. Johnson said such tournaments are a basic part of a lifeguard’s…
6 Boy Scouts Obtain Eagle Scout Honors
By DON STINE Six Boy Scouts from Oakhurst Troop 71 in Ocean Township obtained their Eagle Scout honors during a special ceremony recently at the Oakhurst Firehouse. Scouts Brendan Gifford, Dan Bauman, Max Natanagara, Nick Borgia, Erik Brockel and Nick Dawe were are recognized with scouting’s highest award. Gifford’s Eagle project was to construct two professional-grade information signs depicting the rich history of Palaia Park in Ocean Township, an area that dates back to the early 1800’s and was used to conduct wire-less radio research by AT&T and later the US Army. Gifford has been accepted to University of…
Neptune to Discuss Possible Park Along Shark River
By DON STINE Neptune would like to acquire about 18 flood-prone properties along the Shark River under the state’s Green Acres program. “Some properties are vacant, some are environmentally sensitive, and others are commercial and residential properties,” said Leanne Hoffman, the township’s director of engineering and planning. All properties are near the Shark River and between S. Riverside Drive and Valley Road in the Shark River Hills area. The properties can only be acquired if the owner is a willing seller and eminent domain does not come into play. “We are not going after properties that do not have…
Historic Fountain Up and Running Again in Library Park
By DON STINE The historic TenBroeck fountain in Asbury Park’s Library Square Park is up and running again thanks to the city’s department of public works and local historical society members can’t be happier. Robert Bianchini, deputy director of the city’s public works department, said the fountain was up and running last week after some repairs were made. “We sandblasted the inside of the fountain, filled-in cracks, put on a special water-resistant paint, installed new lamppost globes, and put in a new submersible pump,” he said. Bianchini said many residents were asking him when the fountain, which has not…
Asbury Park Appoints Historian
By DON STINE Former Asbury Park City Historian Werner Baumgartner was reappointed to his old position on July 8 by City Manager Jack Kelly. “I think Werner has a really good grasp on the history of Asbury Park and those things that were designed by (city founder James A.) Bradley and others for a reason. He is well-written and I think he has an unbridled honestly about local historic issues. “Sometimes you just need to hear from someone who has no other interest than these pure beliefs. I enjoy his unbridled honestly,” he said. The city manager is the…
Unique House Tour in Ocean Grove
By DON STINE Every time Ocean Grove resident Shirley Bell looks out her window or sits on her front porch there are many memories – but memories that now only bring back a lot of heartbreak. “I just want to cry sometimes and it is a real heartbreak,” she said Saturday. Bell’s family, the Hemphills, used to own the Park View Inn at 23 Sea View Ave., which is directly across from her house. Bell worked for many years in the former hotel. “I just want to cry. But it is too costly and economically unfeasible to restore it.…
City Police Chief to Retire
By DON STINE Asbury Park Police Chief Mark Kinmon is scheduled to retire Sept. 1, according to a city official. On June 30 City Manager Jack Kelly confirmed that Kinmon will be retiring after 27 years in the police department. He did not say who will replace him. “We have not made that decision yet on who will be leading the police department. We have the option to study if we will have a new chief or appoint a police director instead,” he said. Anthony Salerno, who has been on the force for 26 years, was recently appointed as the…
Fish Kill Number Rises to 800,000
By DON STINE The estimated number of dead fish removed from the Shark River after a massive fish kill about one month ago has risen from 500,000 to as many as 800,000 fish. Neptune Business Administrator Vito Gadaleta said this week that revised fish kill numbers came from the Monmouth County Reclamation Center in Tinton Falls where the fish were dumped Gadaleta said that about 310 tons of fish were weighed in at the landfill facility, with fish ranging in weight from three-quarters of a pound to a pound each. “From these weight measurements it was determined that about…
Slight Boost in Ocean Tax Rate
By DON STINE Ocean Township property owners will see an average $48 increase in municipal taxes under the township’s 2014 budget, which was adopted without public comment at last week’s Township Council meeting. It was hoped that the increase could be lowered to about $41 using pension savings to lower the tax rate. “But instead we used that money for our capital improvement program to enhance our road improvement projects due to the terrible winter we had,” Chief Financial Officer Stephen Gallagher said. Gallagher said the new budget will result in a $48 overall increase for an average home…
In Ocean Grove: Boardwalk Reconstruction on Schedule
By DON STINE The constant banging of a loud pile driver in action may be annoying to some but residents in Ocean Grove are glad to hear the sound. Pilings are now being driven and work is proceeding on schedule to complete the middle section of the historic district’s boardwalk which was destroyed by Superstorm Sandy. “We hope to be done between June 15 and the end of the month so we are still on track with that,” said J.P. Gradone, Chief Operating Officer for the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association. “The whole boardwalk corridor will now be open…
