The MEMORIAL’S MUSTANGS GALLOP TO CHAMPIONSHIP

Women Charged In Animal Hoarding Case Reject Guilty Plea Offer

By Alyssa Riccardi

By Chris Christopher BRICK - The

Brick ference Class A South title at 10-0. And they posted an 18-2 overall record.

“We had overall size across the board,” said Dave Shilanskas, the Mustangs’ head coach.

“Many of the boys have played basketball together for quite some time so they knew what each other were going to do on the court. They played to their strengths. There were twins on the team in Austin and Shane

Braaten. They had different playing styles. When they were on the court together, which was quite often, they were able to play together real well, almost

(Mustangs - See Page 4)

How Does News Of School Shootings Affect Students’ Mental Health ?

By Andrey Nalbantov

OCEAN COUNTY

- Nashville, TN. Denver, CO. East Lansing, MI. Chicago, IL. St. Louis, MI. Uvalde, Texas. What do all of those places have in common? There has been a school shooting in each.

From the start of the year, 19 school shooting-related incidents have occurred

The tragic reality is not just that school shootings happen, but it also impacts the mental health of every student, teacher, and staff member – even if they are indirectly affected.

While thankfully none of the schools here in Ocean County have yet found themselves on that list , students attending our schools also can feel as if they were directly in the crossfire . “We are seeing that our students in New

Jersey are having reactions as if they are experiencing the shootings,” said Maureen Brogan, Traumatic Loss Coalition Program Manager at Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care.

Brogan used the tragically life-changing event of the attacks on September 11, 2001 as an example of how a person does not have to be immediately involved in order to have a mental reaction.

But what negative effects are directly derived from those (School - See Page 5)

BRICK

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The two women allegedly responsible for hoarding 180 dogs and cats in a Brick Township home have rejected the state’s guilty plea offer.

Aimee J. Lonczak, 50, and Michele Nycz, 58, were in court before Superior Court Judge Linda Baxter on April 18 to determine whether they would accept a plea deal.

Lonczak and Nycz are both charged with animal cruelty and child endangerment in connection to the discovery of nearly 180 animals in cages in a home and vehicle on Arrowhead Park Drive in Brick Township. Back in

December, authorities found cats and dogs in cages, standing in their own feces and urine. Officials deemed the living conditions uninhabitable and the home was condemned by Brick Township code enforcement.

Additionally, Lonczak’s 16-year-old daughter was living in the home with the 180 animals.

Previously, the women filed motions to have their personal dogs returned to them. They claimed that when the animals were seized by authorities, seven of the dogs personally belonged to them and

(Hoarding - See Page 6)

Recycling Options Expanding

By Judy Smestad-Nunn

BRICK - The items that can be put into your recycling bin have been expanded to include plastics like yogurt containers, Solo cups, clam shells used for restaurant takeout, butter containers, straight jars like those used for peanut butter, and much more.

“Before, we didn’t take any plastics other than where the opening was smaller than the base, but now the county has started to collect numbers 1, 2

(Recycling - See Page 6)

Mustangs: Continued From Page 1 reading each other’s minds on the court.

“Knowing their past successes on the court, I was not surprised that the team did as well as it did,” he added.

The Mustangs won their first 15 games of the season.

“Our success during the streak was due to a lot of talent and chemistry,” Shilanskas said. “Many of the boys have played basketball together for a while at St. Dominic’s, Veterans Memorial Middle School and St. Thomas. They played other sports together as well. As far as talent goes, we could easily go 10 to 12 players deep out of the 16 who were on our team and be very good. Even our last four players were key contributors as well. They were just stuck behind very talented players.”

Brick Memorial often started point guard Jason Lajara, Tyler Garbooshian, Shane Braaten, Sean Collins and center Austin Braaten.

“Jason was also a top level quarterback on our freshman football team,” Shilanskas said. “He was a great leader and almost like an extension of a coach on the court. Tyler is a great athlete and a varsity baseball player who received varsity basketball playing time toward the end of the season. Shane is a great rebounder and defender. Austin can play multiple positions. He is a great finisher and scorer and a real good defender and rebounder.”

Players who either started or came off the bench were Nyzier Matthews, Kristian Glenn and Derek Rivers.

“Nazier is super athletic and can score in a number of ways,” Shilanskas said. “He is a real good football player who excelled at the freshman level. Kristian is a great kid with a big heart. He improved during the whole season and has a lot of length on defense. Derek is a talented young man who is a good rebounder and scorer.”

The Mustangs sped past opponents with a diversified style of play.

“On offense, we were usually in either a four out one set or a five out look versus man-to-man defenses,” Shilanskas said.

“On defense, we played both zone and man-to-man and usually used a full court press. Over the course of the season, the team improved on playing team defense. Its on ball defense became better as well as its off ball defense.”

Shilanskas’ assistant coach was former Brick Township High School player Gerry Talty.

“Gerry was with me for five years,” Shilanskas said. “He was a great person to bounce questions and ideas off of. His knowledge and passion for the game are second to none. He built a great relationship with the kids, usually during drill work at practice. We put no pressure on the team to win.”

The Mustangs fell to Toms River North by two points in the Dragon Classic at the end of the season and bested Point Pleasant Beach 82-45 in the consolation game. Not even the loss to the Mariners could lessen Shilanskas’ love for the Mustangs.

“What made the boys fun to coach was their love for each other and their love of the game,” he said. “They were very coachable and never gave us an attitude problem.”

Shilanskas, who completed his 18th season at the helm, said the Mustangs have won nearly 250 games. During one season, his team was 23-2 overall with one loss to Colts Neck in the championship game of the Mustang Classic, an

Police EMS Seeking New Members

BRICK – Come join the Brick Township Police Department EMS family! Brick Police EMS is currently accepting applications for part-time EMT with potential of full-time with expansion of the program in 2024. Full- time staff is hired first from within the part-time roster.

Brick Police EMS is a large progressive municipal based program selected as the 2022 Pre-Hospital program of the Year for the State of New Jersey, running 11,000 calls for service per year with a Special Operations Division, Tactical Medical Team embedded in the Brick Police SWAT Team, water rescue and Technical Rescue with Brick Township Fire Companies. event Brick Memorial hosted for some 20 years until it was lost to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

“Most years,” he said, “I have had very talented kids and good records. I would say we have had either 15 or 16 winning seasons. During many seasons, we have only single digits in losses. I feel we have been so successful because of my dedication to coaching and my passion for Brick Memorial basketball. The talent I have had over the years has been amazing. I enjoy watching boys grow and develop during the season and then over their next three years in high school.” and students.

Shilanskas, 47, is a 1994 graduate of Brick Memorial where he played freshman basketball under coach Gene Monahan and competed in four seasons of varsity soccer under legendary coach Woody French.

“I was lucky enough to play for coach French,” Shilanskas said.

Shilanskas played soccer for four varsity seasons at Green Mountain College in Poultney, Vt. The team advanced to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics national championship match in 1997.

Part-time starts at $25 per hour with annual raises up to $27.50 per hour with eight paid holidays and a $200 uniform allowance annually.

For more information, visit brickpoliceems.enrollware.com.

School

: Continued From Page mental reactions?

Terri Dawe, Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) Assistant Clinical Director at Calm and Sense Therapy, considers the most disturbing effects of school shootings are feelings of ongoing danger that spread through schools. She states that the climate and sense of community in schools have been profoundly damaged.

“Where children once found schools to be a safe haven, they are now ‘unsafe’ often leading to hypervigilance, anxiety, depression, and vicarious trauma responses,” she said.

The power of media also plays an important role here as well. The constant exposure to media and detailed coverage of the shootings can be a trigger to the mental health-harming symptoms mentioned by Dawe.

For students like Brianna, a senior from Toms River High School South, while unsurprising to her, the news of another school shooting leave her angry and overwhelmed.

That media exposure, according to Brogan, is also adding a sense of hopelessness to the anxiety of students that further contributes to them losing their sense of control.

In order to combat that, Dawe shares the idea of parents and teachers encouraging “news breaks” to their kids

“It is important to limit the time spent watching TV or staying connected online because constant exposure may heighten their anxiety and fears,” she said.

In addition to the constant media exposure, here in Ocean County, multiple schools have been subject to a number of fake active shooter treats. High School South was one of them. Those threats have led to lockdowns, evacuations, and missing school days, all negatively impacting Brianna and her fellow classmates.

“I always feel an overwhelming sense of dread and anxiety,” said Brianna, commenting on the recent active shooter threats on social media.

Brianna, who had grown angry and exhausted over the topic of school shootings, found that educating others on the severity of the topic of active shooters has helped her cope, even though she finds it hard to stay strong when there is not much done about the number of school shootings.

When it is too late, and the exposure has done damage to the mental health of the student, it is time to start asking the question: What should that person do in order to receive help?

According to Brogan, once a student reaches that point they should start asking themselves who are the people that they can go to and ask for some support? For her, asking for help when a person is in need is a sign of bravery.

“Asking for help is actually a strength and not a weakness,” said Brogan. “By sending the message that even the strongest people, the smartest people also need help at some point of their lives… we want to send this message of help-seeking behavior.”

She also states that adults should also be reaching out and willing to offer support to children and adolescents that need help.

Often their parents are the closest adults in their lives, but unfortunately , some parents don’t find the value in mental health. In that case, Dawe suggests that students should turn to their school counselors to ask for help, or even a trusted coach or mentor for support.

Parents should be mindful when addressing concerns about their children’s safety, she said. Parents should not downplay the fears of their kids because that might lead to a shutdown of communication.

“It is not appropriate to tell the child that they will never experience a school shooting because we do not know that,” she said. “At the same time, we want to help them to feel safe enough so that they do not become fearful of going to school.”

Schools can and should be able to offer support for students, she said. “Schools need to provide psychoeducation on the vicarious impact school shootings have on the mental health of its student body,” said Dawe. “De-stig - matize mental health by validating (that) having fear/anxiety are natural responses to traumatic events even if (they are) not directly involved.”

For Brianna, ready access to mental health resources in schools for students and their families and the financial support needed to obtain those resources would be the best course of action that schools can take.

Constant exposure to school shootings can potentially lead to dangerous tendencies. According to Brogan, instead of developing depression and anxiety, some students will just become numb.

She said that with some of the school shooters, the theme of disconnectedness is present. Whenever people might not have a sense of belonging and they feel like they have been marginalized, that’s when they might have a desire for revenge or notoriety.

Dear Pharmacist

See Page 15