Times
MICROMEDIA PUBLICATIONS, INC.
Inside This Week’s Edition
THE MANCHESTER
Vol. 21 - No. 42
Your FREE Weekly Hometown Newspaper | Serving Lakehurst, Whiting and all of Manchester
Lakehurst Celebrates “Souper” Bowl By Jennifer Peacock LA K EH U RST – O ne of the perks of being mayor is getting free antacid. Not to tend to a stomach upset from politics, but from serving as a judge of spicy chili. La kehu r st mayor Ha r r y Robbins was judging the 8th annual Soup-R-Bowl of Chili Challenge, held at the Community Center January 30. He, along with Councilman James Davis and resident Andrew Hodges, sampled dozens of vegetarian and meat-filled chilies and soups to name the best of the best. Their tastes varied from the populist opinion. While the judges crowned Lakehurst Volunteer Fire Company’s chili best, the People’s Choice Chili went to Fleet Reserve. The People’s Choice Soup Trophy was awarded to AristaCare Cooking Club, which also won last year. The Lakehurst Elementary School P TA ha d a st rong showing but didn’t win this year’s People’s Choice. The money raised will benefit the Lakehurst Borough Historical Society Museum.
February 6, 2016
Teachers Contract Negotiations To Resume
(Negotiations - See Page 4)
Meet The Newest Ocean County Freeholder
The museum is located in The Old St. John’s Church, built in 1874 and the oldest Roman Catholic Church in the county.
Nor’Easter Costs County Taxpayers Over $400K
–Photo by Daniel Nee A county road in Lacey cleared of snow last week. The storm’s snow removal costs topped $425,000.
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By Jennifer Peacock MANCHESTER – Weeks have passed since both parties have sat at the table, but negotiations between the Manchester Board of Education and teachers association will resume February 11. “We looking forward to meeting with the Board and the Mediator,” Manchester Township Education Association (MTEA) president Dan Staples told The Manchester Times. “The parties have not met since December 2. The MTEA will continue to bargain in good faith towards a fair settlement.” Educators have been working under an expired contract for months; direct negotiations between the parties broke down months ago and the State was called in to mediate. However, the first mediator, due to “personal reasons,” had to back out. A new mediator was assigned to the negotiations and, after a cancelled end-of-year meeting,
–Photos by Jennifer Peacock (Above) Lakehurst Police Officer Iain James shares samples of his chili. (Right) The coveted trophies, given to the winners of the Judge’s Choice for Chili and the People’s Choice for Chili and Soup.
By Daniel Nee OCEAN COUNTY – Ocean County residents will foot a $465,000 bill for the snow removal operation during the January 23 winter storm, officials have calculated. Clearing snow from Ocean County’s road network – the largest of any in New Jersey – was responsible for the bulk of the bill, to the tune of $425,000 for labor, overtime pay, fuel, salt and calcium chloride pre-treatment of roadways. Over 200 employees participated in the cleanup effort, using 12,340 gallons of diesel fuel to plow snow off the road network, said Freeholder Joseph Vicari.
Business Directory ..................26 Classifieds................................25 Community News...............10-15 Dr. Izzy’s Sound News...............18 Fun Page..................................24 Health.................................18-19 Inside The Law ..........................23 Letters to the Editor......................8 Wolfgang.................................31
It took several days for the county to clear all lanes of its roads, with Tom Curcio, the county Road Supervisor, saying crews first opened up all of the roadways, then returned to clear addition snow from shoulders and intersections where lanes were temporarily blocked. “We bought 15 new dump trucks in 2014 and it made a difference,” said Curcio, explaining that in years past, the county’s snow plowing operations were sometimes bogged down by vehicle malfunctions. “We got rid of the older ones, and it made a big difference in (Taxpayers - See Page 4)
OCEAN COUNTY – The Ocean County Board of Freeholders welcomed the second woman to ever serve on the board. Virginia (Ginny) Haines was sworn to the office of Ocean County Freeholder on January 27 (Freeholder - See Page 4)
–Photo courtesy Ocean County Freeholders Virginia Haines was sworn in to her new title of Ocean County Freeholder on January 27.