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MICROMEDIA PUBLICATIONS, INC.
Vol. 15 - No. 26
Inside This Week’s Edition
THE BRICK
mes
By Judy Smestad-Nunn BRICK – Gerry Mailley brought her husband, Chris, and their three young sons to the Fall Fest & Food Truck Event, held at Windward Beach Park October 15. “It’s fun just being out as a family - we rarely have time off together,” said Gerry, who lives in the Midstreams section. “We’re having fun, we’re having a couple of snacks and enjoying the weather.” It was a perfect autumn day with temperatures in the upper 60s and not a cloud in the sky, which might have been the reason
the Windward Beach parking lots were almost at capacity just a half hour after the event began. According to Director of Recreation Dan Santaniello, the lots had to be closed four times for 45 minutes each time because of the volume of cars during the Fall Fest, which ran all afternoon and culminated with fireworks at 6 p.m. “The fireworks were the best show we’ve had by far,” he said. “In fact, it was like a show-and-a-half because we used some (Season - See Page 6)
–Photos by Judy Smestad-Nunn Fall Fest featured a range of fun activities such as rides, games, food and more.
By Jennifer Peacock and Catherine Galioto OCEAN COUNTY – He walks Manchester town hall with a cup in his hand. It’s not filled with electrolyte-infused designer water or Hawaiian volcanic water or even the water bottled in Maine. No, Manchester Public Works director Al Yodakis fills his cup from the municipal water fountains that dot town hall’s hallways. The town’s water is safe, officials said. Resident Hank Glen asked officials about (Water - See Page 5)
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October 22, 2016
Your FREE Weekly Hometown Newspaper |Serving Brick and Lakewood Townships
Celebrating The Season
QUESTIONS RAISED ABOUT DRINKING WATER SAFETY
Business Directory................... 24 Classifieds................................ 23 Community News................. 8-14 Dear Joel.................................. 29 Dr. Izzy’s Sound News............. 18 Fun Page.................................. 25 Inside The Law......................... 28 Letters to the Editor.................... 7 Wolfgang................................. 31
BOE Candidates Discuss Conflicts Of Interest, New Funding Formulas
By Judy Smestad-Nunn BRICK – As Election Day approaches, we asked the candidates to their thoughts on the so-called Fair Funding Formula proposed by the governor, and also if there were conflicts of interest that could require they abstain from voting on certain board matters. The Brick Times asked each candidate: Do you have any conflicts that would make it difficult for you to be impartial while voting on any matter? The second question is about Governor Chris Christie’s proposed Fair Funding Program, which would give every school district in the state the same amount of state aid per student, $6,599. This would reduce aid to urban (Abbott) districts, and (Candidates - See Page 20)
County Sees Spike In Turnout For Mail-In And Primary Voting
By Catherine Galioto OCEAN COUNTY – No doubt, a hot presidential contest that grips headlines has led to increased voter turnout, as seen in the June primaries and in the mail-in ballots so far, officials said. Voter turnout saw a tremendous spike when comparing this presidential primary to the last one, 2012. And a look at absentee/ mail-in voting numbers so far this season show those ballots outpacing previous years, according to the county clerk’s office. Primary Turnout With 47 percent of registered Republicans and 51 percent of registered Democrats voting June 7 in their party’s presidential primaries, the increase is attributable in part to the open election – that is, each
party having a contested primary without an incumbent, said Ocean County Clerk Scott Colabella. However, Colabella said it is the national interest in this year’s election in particular that is helping to drive the county’s numbers, as well as voter turnout state-wide. “There was definitely a huge increase in voter turnout,” said the county clerk of the primary. “That’s compared to 2012, the last presidential primary.” Similar to this year, the presidential candidate for each party was already presumed going in to the primary in 2012. “At that point, both primaries were already pre-ordained,” said Colabella. “In 2012 Mitt Romney had already won enough delegates, as the case this year with Donald trump, while
Kasich and Cruz still have their names on the ballot.” In the 2012 presidential primary, 24 percent of registered Republicans voted in the primary, compared to 47 percent this year. On the Democrat side, the 2012 primary turnout was 24 percent, but was 51 percent for this year’s primary. Mail-In Ballots The county clerk’s office is also busy issuing mail-in ballots, also called absentee or vote-by-mail ballots, at a clip outpacing the last presidential race, Colabella said. As of October 4, the county clerk’s office has issued about 5,000 more mail-in ballots for this year’s General Election than for the 2012 one. (Voting - See Page 16)
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