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Ocean County Library (OCL) administration and staff have been keenly aware of the increase in the number of patrons who have developmental disabilities, sensory processing disorders, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), dementia, and other issues, and therefore are increasing the services that are being offered to that population, as well as to their caregivers.

The cost of Jackson’s Sensory Space was around $35,000. This cost was not covered by any federal, state or county grant. Some additional equipment arrived recently.

According to library spokesperson Sherri Taliercio, “they are welcoming spaces to all members of our community. The rooms are similar, but not identical which is beneficial to visitors because while there is a feeling of familiarity and consistency between the spaces, there will also be a few different pieces of equipment to explore.”

“How the rooms are used and scheduling are similar between the spaces and can be found on the Ocean County Library website. The Jackson Sensory Space is a bit larger than the Toms River Sensory Space. The new Stafford Branch that will be built will also include a Sensory Space,” Taliercio added.

“We have some newer pieces of equipment,” librarian assistant Alec McQuade said. “We had a soft launch after January and our grand opening ceremony was early

April.”

Since that time however, the room has continued to evolve.

“We added two wall panels which is our musical touch wall which is an electronic wall panel that follows the hand with different lights and sounds. We have different sound effects and color effects,” he said.

He said to the right of those walls is a thermochromic wall panel called Magic Hands

“that takes the heat transfer from your hand and leaves an imprint and as it goes back to room temperature it fades back to black.”

“We also have these gel floor tiles that are liquid in tiles that when you stand on them the gel swishes around and you get a nice liquid effect from that and they make nice little stepping stones. We moved the block mat closer to the wall to make it less of a loud central point to the room,” he added.

A fiber optic waterfall is a central spot in the Sensory Space room. That features heat with color changing fiber optic lights. “There is a mirror on top so you can sit and have a nice simulation of your reflection and color changing lights and a little tactile simulation,” McQuade said.

Another new addition added after its official opening are squeeze cushions. McQuade explained, “they are chairs that are designed for pressure. Kids like to call them the hug chairs. They kind of squeeze you from the side.”

There are also sequin boards which have a two-tone effect “you can go up and down or side to side and we also have some color changing lamps and a wave projector that has sound effects. The most commonly used right now is different birds and crickets.” Movies are screened as special events.

McQuade said, “one thing we are doing now is that we have a shelf that holds a laptop and we have a screen that has constant looping videos that offers different relaxing things, ocean waves, nature, things like that.”

Since it has opened McQuade said he’s seen, “a decent mix of age groups. Mostly we get younger audiences, kids ranging from toddlers to those 10 to 12.”

“Peak times typically in the week are early afternoon/late morning. Weekends are early afternoon. Evenings tend to be slower. Friday seems to be our busiest day,” he added. There is an eight-person limit and time spent in the Sensory Space is limited to a half hour and is available on a first come, first served basis. Hours of operation can be found at the OCL website or by calling the Jackson Library at 732-928-4400, ext. 3823.

Hero: Continued From Page 1 into the U.S. Army in 1942, and had become an Army Ranger. As part of his involvement in WWII, Lomell’s squad was tasked with taking the German stronghold at Point du Hoc as part of the D-Day invasion. He is credited with being the one soldier who made D-Day a victory. Lomell’s exploits, many of which had not previously been known to the author, are contained in the book.

As Gillon explained to the audience, he had met Lomell while doing a television show on the History Channel.

“I was just mesmerized by his story and incredibly impressed by him,” Gillon said of Lomell. “I know that most of his friends and people who knew him called him ‘Bud.’ To me, he was Mister Lomell. I was also struck by how modest he was, how down to Earth he was. He was just like a regular guy. He never wanted to be the center of attention.”

The idea for the book was hatched during the COVID-19 pandemic, and during the question-and-answer session, the author revealed how the book truly came to fruition.

Just as he had done with the previous 11 books he has written, Gillon did hours of fact-checking and interviews in preparation for the task.

“What happened is,” Gillon explained to his audience, “in the very beginning, I did a lot of background research before I even reached out to the family. I wanted to make sure the story held together.”

Gillon explained that historical materials about Lomell were often hard to come by, including at the Library of Congress.

“In this case there were very few of those types of documents,” Gillon said. “And what you do as an author, is you gather up as much information as you can.”

But the most noteworthy assistance came from the Lomell family themselves when the late war hero’s wife had a small gathering, which included Gillon, at her home.

“And I think it was that time, after that meeting,” Gillon related, “Renee asked me to stay behind. She went into the back room where she stored lots of [Lomell’s] memorabilia. She brought out a big black folder, and she explained to me what it was.”

Inside the folder was a 186-page letter that Lomell had written to his grandchildren in 1980 that documented his life.

“As a historian, it doesn’t get any better,” explained Gillon. “He essentially did a lot of the work for me.”

The biography recounts the heroic actions of Lomell, whose exploits, while impressive, have not been woven into the fabric of the American zeitgeist in the same fashion as such iconic figures as General George S. Patton, or Audie Murphy. From his inauspicious beginnings as a World War II draftee, the selfless bravery and resourcefulness of Lomell are accurately recounted by Gillon, who vividly painted the scene for those in attendance at the lecture.

“I just think it’s great that we have someone who’s written a nationally published book,” said Toms River Mayor Maurice B. Hill, who was also in attendance at the event. “And it’s available now to people, to read about his his- tory, and how important [Lomell] was in changing the outcome of World War Two.”

Many audience members had known Lomell, either through his membership at the American Legion Hall, through his law practice, or simply as an involved community member, and took turns sharing their stories with the author. While he did not do so publicly during the event, Hill also knew Lomell personally, as well.

“I actually met him downtown,” Hill explained, “at a number of events, Memorial Day events. He was our Grand Marshall, and he was always a very humble guy. I used to see him at the Ocean County Veteran’s Day and Memorial Day celebrations they had.

The mayor and the town council of Toms River are even working to have a new VA outpatient clinic being built off Hooper Avenue named in Lomell’s honor, with resolutions already in place.

“[Lomell was] one of the pillars of the town,” said Hill. “He’s done a lot for the community.”

Preliminary indications are that the measure will pass and that Lomell’s name will be adopted for the clinic.