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MICROMEDIA PUBLICATIONS, INC.
Inside This Week’s Edition
THE MANCHESTER
Vol. 21 - No. 51
Your FREE Weekly Hometown Newspaper | Serving Lakehurst, Whiting and all of Manchester
Day Hopes To Rekindle Manchester Pride
Business Directory ..................24 Classifieds................................25 Community News...............10-14 Dr. Izzy’s Sound News..............18 Fun Page..................................26 Dear Pharmacist.......................19 Inside The Law ..........................26 Letters to the Editor......................8 Wolfgang.................................31 WWW.MICROMEDIAPUBS.COM
April 9, 2016
PARCC Results A “Baseline” For District By Jennifer Peacock
MANCHESTER – While most Manchester Township elementary and middle school students met or exceeded the state’s expectations its first round, high schoolers in the district lagged behind both the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) and state language and math expectations. The assessments were graded on a 1 to 5 scale, with 1 being “did not yet meet expectations” and 5 being “exceeded expectations.” For example, 41 percent of high school juniors across the state met or exceeded the state’s English goals, while only 19 percent of Manchester juniors who took the test did. In Algebra II, the highest level math the PARCC tested, 24 percent of state students met or exceeded the state’s goals, while again, only 8 percent of Manchester students met the expectations. None exceeded it. “We promised parents an honest (PARCC - See Page 7)
The township hopes the 2016 Manchester Day grows on the activities of last year, above. By Jennifer Peacock MANCHESTER – Residents had a blast last year and can expect even more fun at the 2016 Manchester Day celebration, taking place noon June 25, with
a rain date of June 26, at Harry Wright Lake. “Last year was an incredible event, it reminded me of when I was younger going to Manchester Day. It was a lot of fun,”
Mayor Kenneth Palmer said. “I hope we don’t have a rain out like we did last year, which effected attendance a little bit but we still had a great turnout and we’re looking forward to
–Photos by Jennifer Peacock an equally as awesome slate of events this year.” The town’s recreation department, headed by Tracey Lynch, has been busy at work (Pride - See Page 5)
Tourism Numbers Show Peak Year
By Catherine Galioto OCEAN COUNTY – County officials looked back to 2015 to predict an even stronger tourist season ahead. Saying tourism is the county’s number one industry, freeholders reported it counted for $4.6 billion of the local economy last year. That’s up from $4.3 billion in 2014. Those dollars are driven by attractions such as the oceanfront beaches, boardwalks and their attractions for day trippers and vacationers, but also in the Pinelands with Six Flags Great Adventure and the growing agri-tourism economy.
“There is no question that tourism is the number one industry in Ocean County,” said Freeholder Joseph H. Vicari in a prepared statement. “These numbers prove that tourism is not only strong, but is growing.” Vicari’s comments followed a report from the state Division of Travel and Tourism on the statewide tourism figures from 2015, that said “good summer weather and the fading memory of Sandy helped” the year’s numbers grow. Statewide, tourism demand grew 3.3 percent in 2015, (Tourism - See Page 5)
Decision On Energy Agreement Between Ocean County Towns Expected Soon
By Daniel Nee Officials in Stafford, Lacey and Manchester townships will likely reach a decision soon on whether to enter into an energy aggregation agreement that would use collective purchasing power to lower utility rates for residents. Known as energy aggregation, the towns would place energy generation rates out to bid and award the lowest price for a one or two year period. Customers’ electric bills would still come from their traditional power company, but the Basic Generation (Agreement - See Page 7)
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