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…
New Sephardic Youth Center Being Built in Ocean
The new Deal Sephardic Youth Center is being built off Norwood Avenue in Ocean Township at the site of the old Acme supermarket building. The new center, at 224 Norwood Ave., near Roosevelt Avenue, is now using about 25,000 square feet of vacant space in the existing CVS pharmacy, once the Acme building. By adding 3,866-square-feet to an existing interior mezzanine space, the entire center will occupy about 29,000 square feet. The application for the center, which was approved late last year, was before the Board of Adjustment because it needed a use bulk variance, one for parking, and…
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…
Ocean Township Celebrates the Earth at Green Fair
As a certified Sustainable Jersey Municipality, the Ocean Township Environmental Commission invites the public to attend the fourth annual Green Fair at the Ocean Township Library on Sat., June 14 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The free, family-friendly festival is dedicated to the Earth. Programs for all ages will include: > 10 a.m. Sing into Summer with members of the Ocean Township Intermediate School Chorus. Come and allow the children’s voices to delight your ears and tend to your soul’s garden. > 10:30 a.m The Energy Hog is back. Join this dastardly character, who makes learning about energy…
New School Chief Named in Ocean Township
By DON STINE James Stefankiewicz, the current School Superintendent at Red Bank Regional High School, has been appointed to replace John Lysko as the new superintendent of the Ocean Township school district. Stefankiewicz, who is an Ocean Township resident, was appointed at this week’s Board of Education meeting and will begin his new job on July 1. “I am very excited. Ocean Township is an outstanding school district,” he said. “And I know I have huge shoes to fill. Living here has helped me understand where this school district wants to go and I want to pick up the ball…
Spring Finally Arrives After the Longest Winter
By JOSEPH SAPIA Outside Serpico’s Pizzeria Restaurant in Allenhurst, Anastacio Acevedo sat in a chair, feet up on another one, working his cellular telephone. “First time in a long time decent weather,” said Acevedo, 37. “You can actually sit outside and enjoy it a little. I prefer the heat, the hotter the better.” OK, so Tues., April 1 was not exactly beach weather. But after this winter season’s snow-every-other-day and single-digit-temperature weather, it was at least sweatshirt warm of about 50 to 55 degrees. Additionally, it was sunny with a bluebird sky. “Nice,” said Boris Shambat, 68, an Asbury…
A Game of Chicken in Ocean
Pictured above – Timmy Koukoumis holds a rooster which he keeps in his yard on Larkin Place in the Oakhurst section of Ocean Township. By JOSEPH SAPIA A game of chicken is being played in Ocean Township and, so far, no one is backing off. The conflict basically surrounds the 15 Rhode Island Reds – one rooster and 14 hens — and their pen and attached coops at the Koukoumis family home at 395 Larkin Place in the Oakhurst section of the township. The specifics: Zoning Officer Jerome P. Donlon says the poultry and their home are farm animals,…
Social Media Helps Ocean Police Keep Residents Informed
By RICHARD VIRGILIO Due to the past few weeks of severe weather, Ocean Township residents are relying on social media platforms more than ever thanks to the police department’s email, text and tweet communication services. The department has been leveraging two online platforms to alert residents about impending storms – Nixle, a subscription-based email and text service, and Twitter. “We use both platforms to provide information to residents about emergencies, weather, traffic and crime,” said Ocean Township Police Chief Steve Peters. “Between Nixle and Twitter, residents can receive important information quickly in the way they prefer, on the…
Ocean Voters Approve Fire Budgets
Voters returned incumbent members to two Boards of Fire Commissioners in Ocean Township last Saturday and they also approved both 2014 fire district budgets. In Oakhurst Fire District 1, incumbent Commissioner Scott Nelson ran unopposed for the single seat up for grabs on the five-member board and was re-elected with 46 votes. Nelson, 50, has been a firefighter for 33 years and this will be his 11th year on the board. Voters also approved Oakhurst’s total $2,141,486 fire district budget, with $1,572,850 to be raised through taxation, by 47 to 5 votes. The tax levy is $41,219 more than…
100 Cluster-Type Homes Planned in Ocean
By DON STINE A plan in Ocean Township to build more than 100 townhouses on a large parcel of undeveloped land, west of Route 35, has raised concern among some residents. “We have been fighting this for years and it makes no sense to still create these cluster-type homes on single-family lots,” said Dr. Gary Pess, who lives near the proposed project. “It changes the whole flavor (of the area) and the traffic it generates will be incredible- shooting out onto roads that are already bad now,” he said. Toll Brothers, based in Horsham, Pa, is seeking approval to…
