House Of Worship Ordinance Tabled Indefinitely

By Bob Vosseller

JACKSON – An ordinance that would provide regulations concerning houses of worship has been indefinitely tabled but it is expected to return to a future agenda according to Council President Martin Flemming.

Two residents posed questions about the ordinance during a recent Township Council meeting. Ordinance 1423 entitled, “Churches and Places of Worship” was not heard during an April 13 council meeting due to a notice requirement and its second reading had to be properly advertised and it did not appear on the April 25 meeting agenda.

Flemming previously explained that the ordinance was the result of a settlement agreement following litigation on the federal level. “It is part of our legal settlement to allow for places of worship with standards in all the different zoning areas that we have in town.”

In the last several years residents have been critical toward township code enforcement measures and have given an earful to members of Council regarding complaints of (Worship - See Page 5)

By Bob Vosseller

ers and over 100 representatives from the organizations here. We had a great turnout,” Jackson Senior Center Director Kate

Slisky said. The center is located off Don Conner Boulevard. She added, “we are seeing a lot of (Senior - See Page 4)

Mayor Wanted Governor To Call After Tornado

By Bob Vosseller JACKSON – Mayor

Michael Reina criticized Governor Phil Murphy and two Democratic State Senators for their lack of contact in the matter during the tornado that touched down last month, but the governor’s office said that they reached out prior to the natural disaster.

The mayor, a Repub - lican, noted that other officials had reached out to him with offers of help during the situation. “I am sure this is going to get out throughout the state, April 1 Jackson Township made history with an EF 2 (Enhanced Fujita scale) tornado and it is nothing short of a miracle that we didn’t even suffer one injury and thankfully not a loss of life.”

The Enhanced Fujita scale (abbreviated as EF-Scale) rates tornado intensity based on the severity of the damage they cause. It is used in some countries, including the United States, Canada, China, and Mongolia.

Reina thanked the police department, all fire companies in the community, Jackson

First Aid, Jackson Department of Public Works, OEM, the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office. “They worked as hard as I have ever seen them work during a time of crisis that we had.”

“The areas that were affected were very bad and the fact that nobody was hurt is amazing. What blew me away more than anything