Times
MICROMEDIA PUBLICATIONS, INC.
Inside This Week’s Edition
THE SOUTHERN OCEAN
Vol. 3 - No. 51
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Business Directory...................22 Classifieds................................21 Community News.................8-13 Dear Joel..................................20 Dr. Izzy’s Sound News...............16 Government...............................7 Inside The Law .........................19 Letters to the Editor.....................6 Wolfgang.................................27 WWW.MICROMEDIAPUBS.COM
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UPDATED ‘STRING OF PEARLS’ TO RETURN TO LBI CAUSEWAY BRIDGE
By Daniel Nee n 1959, the Manahawkin Bay Bridge was something of an engineering marvel, carrying Route 72 across the bay and providing a prolific icon that helped define southern Ocean County’s resort identity. The most identifiable feature: the “string of pearls” made up by the lights that uniquely were built into the rails that lined the bridge, providing the dual purpose of lighting the roadway for drivers and impressing onlookers with a beautiful sight. These days, most of the lights have burnt out, despite projects over the years to find manufacturers that could replace the embedded fluorescent tubes in the hand rails. “Unfortunately, this system became difficult to maintain as the lights burned out frequently,” said Kevin Israel, spokesman for the state Department of Transportation, which has jurisdiction over the span. Last month, a new Manahawkin Bay Bridge opened to traffic, intermittently carrying vehicles in both directions over the bay, until the original
–Photo by Daniel Nee The new design for an illuminated Manahawkin Bay Bridge will regain its “string of pearls” appearance with lighting similar to its iconic history. bridge can be rehabilitated and modernized. But despite being hailed as an impressive structure, one thing was striking to locals and early season vaca-
tioners: the brightly-lit, brand new bridge had traditional highway lighting on poles rather than the signature handrail lighting scheme.
Don’t fret, state officials say. “When designing the new bridge project, the public made it clear that they would like (Bridge - See Page 5)
In Surf City, The Bell No Longer Tolls
By Daniel Nee SURF CITY – A staple of Long Beach Island life – or, at least life in Surf City – is the familiar sound of the fire company’s siren alerting members of the volunteer company, as well as the community, that an incident is taking place. More familiar still is the daily “12 o’clock whistle” that signifies noontime. Lately, however, things have been quiet. The fire siren unexpectedly stopped working, a consequence of daily exposure to salt air and the overall coastal elements, the company said in a statement it released following questions from the public. “A brand new siren is pretty expensive, so we are taking the time to explore options of a used siren or possibly rebuilding our siren,” said Fire Chief Michael Wolfschmidt. “It is our goal to have
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the siren working again as soon as possible, as it is an extremely important device for summoning our volunteers.” Even in an era that boasts more modern ways of alerting firefighters to a call, there is still a place for the seemingly old-fashioned siren, Wolfschmidt explained. “First, it rarely fails, like expensive electronic-paging equipment does from time to time,” he said. “It also alerts our community that there is an emergency going on, and to be on the lookout for responding volunteers and apparatus. We also live in a unique shore community, where our volunteers may be at a location where they cannot carry electronic paging equipment.” Volunteers have responded to calls from the beach, out in Barnegat Bay and even surfing, the chief said, making the siren – last replaced (Bell - See Page 5)
June 11, 2016
Barnegat May Revive Rent Leveling Board
By Daniel Nee BARNEGAT – A long-simmering issue concerning residents of two mobile home communities in Barnegat, the dissolution of the township’s rent-leveling board, may be reversed in the coming month, officials said. The township committee recently voted to table an ordinance re-establishing the board, but not before promising to hold meetings with residents to hear concerns and develop a more comprehensive resolution for a vote at a future meeting. “We’re going to have a back-and-forth,” said Deputy Mayor Albert Bille. “We want to come out to you, take it all in, and come back with a resolution.” The purpose of the board was to enforce the township’s rent-leveling ordinance, but often became a forum for residents and landlords to delve into disputes – an aspect of the board Bille said should not return in the future. “You need to separate your problems being resolved at your place … from the (Rent - See Page 5)
OCC Softball Finishes Sixth In Nation
By Chris Christopher It was a memorable season for the Ocean County College women’s softball team. The Vikings went 26-13 overall. They won the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III Region XIX Tournament. And they finished sixth at the NJCAA Division III Tournament. The program was born in 1977. It was the first time the Vikings won the Region XIX title and the initial time they qualified for the nationals. “Our team was very even keeled,” said Bob Mazanec, OCC’s seventh-year coach. “It never got too high. It never got too low. We
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