Times
MICROMEDIA PUBLICATIONS, INC.
T H E JAC K S O N
Vol. 16 - No. 52
School Transportation Department Not Privatizing
–Bus photo courtesy Jackson School District By Jennifer Peacock JACKSON – The township Board of Education vigorously refuted rumors circulating—from where, they don’t know—that the district is looking to privatize its transportation department. What is true is the garage space the school district has now is too small to accommodate growing needs. What is also true is the district is looking at numerous options to solve that problem. Board member Scott Sargent, who is on the board’s transportation committee, said he will never let control of the transportation department leave the district and be the responsibility of an outside organization, especially where the township’s children are involved. (Bus - See Page 5)
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Business Directory........................22 Classifieds ....................................21 Community News......................9-12 Dear Joel.......................................19 Dr. Izzy’s Sound News .................16 Government ...................................8 Inside The Law .............................25 Letters to the Editor .........................7 Wolfgang .....................................27 WWW.MICROMEDIAPUBS.COM
May 28, 2016
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A Field Of Flags, Each Waving In Memorial
By Catherine Galioto The patriotism of Memorial Day could possibly mean decorating your home with several small flags to adorn your lawn. A couple flags lining the property, to give it some red, white and blue. The symbolism is heavier at Southern Regional High School. The flags there number more than 6,800. Student volunteers carefully line them up outside the school, in a tremendous display that turns nearly the entire front of the campus from a green lawn into one flickering with flags – the Field of Flags. And each 12-by-18-inch f lag represents a life lost – 6,848 flags – of U.S. soldiers in the global War on Terror in Iraq and Afghanistan. The display is an annual tradition for Southern Regional, whose student volunteers and school staff help to spraypaint the straight lines for the grid that make up the careful placement of flags. Then, there is the tremendous task of placing them, which began May 26.
Southern’s Air Force Junior ROTC cadets place the flags throughout the day. Of those more than 6,800 flags, those with New Jersey roots number more than 125. One stands for Luigi Marciante of Jackson. Army Cpl. Luigi Marciante Jr. Marciante, 25, died September 20, 2007 serving during Operation Iraqi Freedom after enlisting in 2004. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Stryker Brigade Combat Team, Fort Lewis, Wash. Marciante died of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle in Muqdadiyah, Iraq, about 50 miles northeast of Baghdad. Born in 1981 in Elizabeth, Marciante had married in 2006 and in 2007 became a father to son Lorenzo, recently moving to Jackson with his wife Stephanie of Brick, who was an Army MP. He died a newlywed and new father, and his funeral services in Elizabeth were attended by Jackson and Elizabeth police.
Army Cpl. Luigi Marciante Jr. Marciante is remembered as “a beloved husband, father, son, and hero to all who knew him,” according to his published obituary. “He was renowned (Flags - See Page 4)
–Background photo by Catherine Galioto Background, the Field of Flags at Southern Regional, each flag represents a life lost in the global War on Terror. Above, Army Cpl. Luigi Marciante Jr. had recently moved to Jackson with his wife and newborn before returning to deployment in Iraq. He died September 20, 2007 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle.
Twp. Joins Opposition To Gas Rate Hike
By Jennifer Peacock JACKSON – The Township Council formally opposed a rate hike sought by New Jersey Natural Gas. Adding its voice to a loud chorus of protest, Jackson’s governing body declared such a rate hike would be a burden on its elderly and fixed-income residents, with some possibly having to choose to eat or pay the gas bill. The average customer may see an increase of $21 per month according to
Inside This Week’s Edition
township estimates. “A 24 percent rate hike would be excessive and it would a negative impact across the board on every resident of Jackson, especially seniors and those on fixed incomes,” Council President Robert Nixon told The Jackson Times. New Jersey Natural Gas filed its request with the Board of Public Utilities back in November, saying it has invested more than (Rate - See Page 23)
With the
Annual Law Enforcement Memorial Ceremony
OCEAN COUNTY – Law enforcement, elected officials and community members joined with the loved ones of police officers that have died in the line of duty in Ocean County during the 25th annual Law Enforcement Memorial Day Service held May 20 in Ocean County Park. Jackson Township Police were on hand as part of the ceremony, to remember Robert Ventura, a Jackson Police Officer who died in the line of duty, Sunday March 18, 2001.
Police Chief Kunz and Sgt. Christopher Parise escorted Jennifer Ventura and her family up to the memorial, where a rose was placed in honor of Officer Robert Ventura. Ocean County Freeholder Virginia E. Haines presented a Freeholder proclamation recalling the 18 officers that have died in Ocean County to Tuckerton Police Chief Michael Caputo, who is also President of the Ocean County Chiefs of Police
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