Students Get Their Day In Court At Mock Trials

By Stephanie Faughnan

TOMS RIVER – Ten

Southern Regional High School students found themselves before judges last Saturday – on a day when the Ocean County Courthouse traditionally remains locked tight.

The nine young wom- en and one young man attempted to mask their apprehension – unrelated to any worries they could wind up behind bars.

As team members of one of the eight Ocean County schools participating in the Vincent J. Apruzzese High School Mock Trial Competi-

VA Clinic Likely To Be Named After Local Hero

By Chris Lundy TOMS RIVER – How

does the Leonard G. “Bud” Lomell Outpatient Clinic sound?

tion, each of the students assumed assigned roles. Four donned suits as attorneys prepared to represent their clients in a civil case. A plaintiff, a defendant, and four witnesses were ready to give testimony and even the prospect of grueling (Court - See Page 5)

Local officials feel that it’s a pretty good bet that the new facility being built will be named after the World War II hero from Toms River.

The official address is 1051 Hooper Avenue.

The groundbreaking was on Caudina Avenue, which is the back road past two banks that leads to the Seacourt Mall. Officials at the groundbreaking last year said that the building will enhance services currently provided, and will also add more. Some of the specialties noted during the presentation was primary care, mental health, dental, podiatry, and women’s health, which is the fastest growing department.

Mayor Maurice “Mo” Hill has been pushing for the facility to be named after Lomell. He said in a recent (Clinic - See Page 6)

$1995

Kayak: Continued From Page 1 and at least one had a bagpiper. Attendees were given numbers for their kayaks, and they were counted as they passed a pier. Rinderer said on the day of the event that they ran out of numbers because so many people came. Some of the participants gave their numbers back so the organizers could flip the number over and write a new number on the back. The estimate at the time was around 1,250 people, so they weren’t too far off. It took some time to go through the count to make sure that the number was correct. The last finisher, for example, got there after the tally. They joined with area groups like the Pine Beach Yacht Club and the Ocean Running Club to organize it. The Berkeley Township Underwater Search and Rescue was on hand as well as other emergency crews and police to make sure everything was safe. There were no incidents reported. Rinderer added, “we are still getting participants email thanking us for a great day and we’re still amazed with the wonderful response. We raised over $15,000.”

Unfortunately, this won’t be the start of an ongoing summer activity.

“This was a once in a lifetime event, lots of planning, organizing multiple police departments, water safety crews, volunteer groups, traffic control, and more so I don’t plan on this being an annual event,” Rinderer said.

She said, “it was an honor to work with the Save Barnegat Bay organization staff, they are a great group of caring people that are dedicated to the health of the bay and river.” Rinderer is eagerly awaiting receipt of the Guinness World record certificate.

A $10 fee was required upon registration because people are more likely to go to something that they already paid for. All the money was collected for Save Barnegat Bay, an environmental advocacy and education group.

Britta Forsberg, executive director of Save Barnegat Bay, said last year it was a fun way to celebrate the environment.

“Not only does it help people get engaged, but it shows the love for the river and our bay. This provided education and awareness that what we do when we live near the water impacts its health,” she said.