p oli CE B lott E r

Alleged Drunk Driver Crashes Into Manchester Home

By Alyssa Riccardi MANCHESTER – A Toms River man

the result of being intoxicated, police said.

The incident occurred around 9:50 a.m. on February 8 in the area of

Route 571, near the border of Jackson Township.

According to police, 48-year-old Scott Skweres of Toms River was driving east of on Route 571 in a 2006 Lincoln Town Car when he swerved off the roadway onto the eastbound shoulder and hit a mailbox and a utility pole. He then traveled across Route 571, left the roadway and struck the house.

An eyewitness told police that the car was seen swerving in and out of the lane of travel moments before the crash occurred.

Skweres sustained minor injuries. He refused further medical attention after being evaluated by EMTs from the Manchester Division of Emergency Services, police said.

After investigating the crash, authorities suspect Skweres of driving while intoxicated. He was subsequently arrested and transported to Manchester Police Headquarters where he was processed and released pending court.

Route 571 between Route 547 and Whitecomb Avenue in Jackson Township were closed in both directions while repairs were being made, police said.

Assisting at the scene were EMTs and firefighters from the Manchester Township Division of Emergency Services, firefighters from the Ridgeway Volunteer Fire Department, and the Manchester Township Building Inspector.

The investigation into this crash is still ongoing. This crash is being investigated by Ptl. Michael O’Hara of the department’s Traffic Safety section and K-9 Officer Steven Wendruff. Charges are merely accusations until proven in a court of law.

Wally Day Parade And Party

JACKSON – Jackson Police Department would like to invite everyone to attend “Wally Day” on February 18 at 11:30 a.m.

This parade is in honor of Wally Jamison on his 100th birthday with an after-party at the Jackson VFW to follow.

Parade will start from Jackson Justice Complex, down Bennetts Mills Road, ending at 54 Magnolia Drive. After: parade events begin at 12 p.m. Enjoy live music, food and beverages. For more information, contact mbasso@ jacksontwpnj.net.

Fun & Games

School

: Continued From Page 1 committee members and then obviously runs it through the council. That seems like the process that has been done but I’m curious because you said you wanted more authority from council. Maybe you can describe what you are talking about.”

Council President Martin Flemming explained, “we asked for a conversation about how members would be appointed and nobody ever got back to us. That is the only reason it is not on there.”

“Once we have the conversation and figure out how to man it, it will happen. It is just as important to me as it is to you,” Flemming added.

Cattonar said he came out to the night’s meeting for that specific subject. “It is a first reading and it is not even on the agenda. The land swap deal (of Leesville Drive) I was hoping would be on the agenda. It wasn’t as of this afternoon on the township website.”

Flemming said “the administration has been working on it since the fall and I saw it for the first time on Thursday. On Friday, I did my due diligence. I got opinions from three different attorneys to allay the concerns that I had. That was Friday afternoon. Monday was a holiday (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day). We gave it everything we could. I had two days.”

“I’d like to see a site plan, of where the property is specifically located,” the resident asked.

Flemming said as this was now public record, that information would be available.

Susan Cooper lives in that area and said, “we do appreciate this (the land swap) and we know there was a lot of time and effort made and it really brought the residents of that area together.”

“I just hope going forward, all the communication can be open with residents, developers with the council, the mayor because obviously we sit here and we see the tension and the non-communication and it’s hard for the residents. It’s a new year and I hope everyone can just be kind to each other, communicate and look at the great things that can happen,” she added.

Sheldon Hofstein inquired about the financial settlement concerning “Oris Bais Yaakov High School for Girls, why doesn’t the council give us what the final settlement was?”

The agreement concluded a long-standing legal challenge involving the building of a private religious school that will award a monetary settlement and grant approval for the construction of the school on Cross Street.

The council did not discuss the matter prior to its approval during a December Council meeting.

The all-girls school was rejected by the Jackson

Zoning Board for having multiple safety violations, setbacks, traffic, and other reasons.

Hofstein, who was a member of the Zoning Board at the time and he was among those members who voted to deny the application nearly a decade ago asked the council once again, what the settlement figure was.

“You people approved it (the settlement). Any numbers on that?” Hofstein asked. He had previously posed this question during the meeting where the settlement had been voted on but was told by

Township Attorney Gregory McGuckin that those numbers weren’t yet available for disclosure and he did not know them at the time.

“According to what we read in social media and the newspapers the figure was $1,350,000 does that sound right?”

“That sounds correct,” Flemming responded.

“That is the number that the township or your insurance company is giving to the school?” Hofstein clarified.

“Correct,” Flemming repeated.

Hofstein said that usually in these cases, “the attorneys for the plaintiffs are paid by the loser, which would be the town, how much are the attorneys getting.”

“That is inclusive of all the attorney fees,” McGuckin said noting that it was included in the settlement total.

“How much was our own attorney paid extra for his expert work?” Hofstein asked.

“The insurance company paid it so I don’t know the answer,” Flemming replied.