Vol. 22 - No. 49
In This Week’s Edition
THE MANCHESTER
TIMES
MICROMEDIAPUBS.COM
Your FREE Weekly Hometown Newspaper For Manchester, Lakehurst and Whiting.
Community News!
Students Chat Live With Researchers In Antarctica
Don’t miss what’s happening in your town. Pages 10-15.
Letters To The Editor Page 8.
From Your Government Officials Page 9.
Doctor Izzy “Weight Loss And Hearing”
Page 18.
Dear Pharmacist “Here’s What Happens When You Cry”
Page 19.
Inside The Law “Workers’ Compensation Checklist”
Page 26.
–Photos courtesy Manchester Township School District Marine science students chat live with researchers at Palmer Station Antarctica in the Manchester Township High School auditorium. Inset, MTHS senior Charlie Kremer asks a question during a video chat with researchers at Palmer Station Antarctica. MANCHESTER – Students in the marine science prog ram at Manchester Township High School communicated via computers
Dear Joel “Should’ve Left Phone At Home ‘Cause This Is A Disaster”
Page 21.
Classified Ads Page 23.
Wolfgang Puck Page 31.
with researchers in Antarctica during a special program teaching them how scientists in the field do the kind of work that they are learning
about in school. The researchers were speaking to the students live from the Palmer Station in Antarctica, school officials said.
The students gathered in the school auditorium with the live feed on a large screen and were able to ask scientists (Students - See Page 4)
County Preserves 42 Acres In Manchester
By Chris Lundy TOMS RIVER – The Ocean County Natural Lands Trust Fund will be purchasing 42 acres in Manchester to keep it as open space, officials said at the March 15 meeting of the Ocean County Freeholders. The land is situated between property that has already been purchased by the trust, said Freeholder John Bartlett. Currently, the only things
there are just some gravel and sand roads that are used for walkways for seniors in the area. Marked on a map as the Dover Forge-Giordano track, it juts out in two “wings” from a small central point. It does not have any frontage on any major road, but it is roughly between Lacey Road and Pinewald-Keswick Road. David McKeon, the county’s planning director, (County - See Page 5)
| March 25, 2017
Manchester Schools Propose $52.9M Budget
By Jennifer Peacock MANCHESTER – The Manchester Board of Education approved the district’s tentative 2017 budget, which is now awaiting county approval. Its final adoption and public hearing is scheduled for April 26 at the board’s regularly scheduled meeting. Business administrator Craig Lorentzen said the budget is subject to change, not only from the county school superintendent’s office, but the board. The district declined to release the figures showing how the proposed budget will impact taxpayers, because those figures are subject to change. It is known, from the dist r ict’s March 15
agenda, that the 2017 proposed general fund revenue is $52.9 million, with a general fund tax levy of $44 million and a debt service levy of $2.8 million. The district also plans to use a banked cap of $350,000 for new computer servers and to replace aging technology. It was unclear at which district offices or schools that would affect. State aid has been a sore subject in Manchester for nearly a decade, with the district still feeling the effects of cuts back from 200910. While state aid remained “flat” again this cycle, that aid is still more than $1 million shy of where it was. “The primary challenge (Budget - See Page 5)
Lakehurst Tax Bills Might Raise Slightly
By Jennifer Peacock LAKEHURST – Lakehurst borough residents will see a slight increase in their municipal tax bills this year if the budget passes. The borough’s proposed budget for 2017 is $4.1 million, a decrease of $366,100 from last year’s adopted budget. However, even though the budget decreased, the tax levy will be increasing. The tax rate would increase from $1.70 per $100 of assessed valuation to $1.72, a 1.18 percent increase. The average taxpayer who owns a house valued at $159,422 will (Tax Bills - See Page 4)
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