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…
Ocean Woman Wins Seat on School Board
By DON STINE One of five write-in candidates for a seat on the Ocean Township Board of Education garnered enough votes in the November general election to be seated to a three-year term. Amy McGovern, 36, who is a flight attendant and lives in the West Allenhurst section, outdistanced her four rivals with 329 votes. She will be sworn in with two other winning incumbent candidates at the school board’s Jan. 7 reorganization meeting. School Board /Business Administrator Kenneth Jannarone said that the county Board of Elections recently officially certified McGovern as the winner and added that the board…
2 Incumbents Win in Ocean Plus Write-In Candidate Not Yet Named
Two unopposed candidates won two, three-year terms on the Ocean Township Board of Education in Tuesday’s general election while a still unknown write-in candidate won a third seat. Incumbent board member Sylvia Sylvia was top vote-getter with 3,654 votes, or about 45.5 percent of ballots cast. Incumbent Sean Moore got 3,358 votes, or about 41.75 percent. School Superintendent John Lysko said Wednesday that the county Board of Elections office said the winner of the write-in candidate spot should be announced by Nov. 18, or in about two weeks. “I am happy to continue working with everybody and I am…
Ocean School Chief to Retire in June
Retirement is in the near future for Ocean Township School Superintendent John Lysko, who will leave his post at the end of the school year. Lysko, 64, has been in the school district for 42 years and his retirement takes effect June 30, 2014. “Ocean Township is the only place I have ever worked and it has truly been a privilege to live and work here,” he said. Lysko started his educational career as a biology teacher at the High School, then became supervisor of science and was then promoted to high school principal for three years. He then…
Ocean to Receive $1.3 Million Grant to Purchase Property
Ocean Township will receive a $1.3 million state grant to help fund the acquisition of Whalepond Village- a 96-unit affordable-housing complex that was threatened with high rent increases. Sen. Jennifer Beck and Assemblywomen Mary Pat Angelini and Caroline Casagrande announced the grant, awarded by the Department of Community Affairs, in a Sept. 27 press release. The grant will assist the township in passing the property to a new owner who will ensure the facility remains affordable housing available to senior citizens. The former owner had considered selling the property to a developer who would have allowed the affordable housing…
Ocean Names First Ever Police Chaplain
Father Andrew Eugenis, of St. George Greek Orthodox Church, was sworn in last week as the Ocean Township police department’s first police chaplain. “Father Eugenis is a dynamic person and a great community leader and it is a great honor to have him be a part of the Ocean Township police department,” Mayor William F. Larkin said. Larkin said Father Eugenis, who is also a chaplain with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, will offer counseling and support for the police department. St. George’s moved from Asbury Park into a new church in Ocean Township in…
