Golden Eagle Athlete And Scholar Takes Off

County’s 1st Recreational Cannabis Shop Opens

By Chris Christopher BERKELEY

- Put a lacrosse stick in Hannah Lewis’ hands and there’s excellence.

Put a soccer ball at her feet and there’s excellence.

Put a football in her hands and there’s excellence.

Put a textbook in front of her and there’s excellence.

Put a computer in front of her and there’s excellence.

By now, you probably get the idea - the recent Central Regional High School graduate is excellent in all that she does.

Take lacrosse for example.

All the attack did was turn the Golden Eagles’ record book into her biography, setting school records in career points (353), single-season points (123), career goals (320), single-season goals (110), single-season ground balls (98), career ground balls

GOP Leaders Endorse Democrat Prosecutor

By Stephanie Faughnan TOMS RIVER

Breaking the mold of traditional partisan politics, the Ocean County Commissioners have asked Governor Phil Murphy to reappoint Bradley D. Billhimer to a second five-year term as the county’s prosecutor.

All five members of the Ocean County Board of Commis -

- sioners are prominent Republicans; Billhimer is a Democrat.

During a recent meeting, the Commissioners unanimously passed a resolution requesting Murphy to consider Billhimer’s reappointment. The resolution highlighted Billhimer’s commitment to justice and his efforts to address the evolving needs of Ocean County. It praised his establishment of various community outreach programs, including Ocean County Cares and the Escape the Vape Taskforce, as well as his initiatives to combat the opioid epidemic.

Billhimer’s work in strengthening relationships between law enforcement and the faithbased community was

(260), single-season draw controls (108) and career draw controls (289). As a senior, she added 13 assists, 87 ground balls, 90 draw controls and 39 forced turnovers. Lewis, whose freshman season was lost to the COVID-19

(Athlete - See Page 4)

By Chris Lundy BERKELEY

– The first recreational cannabis store to open in Ocean County is expected to bring in tons of money for the town and give back to the community.

The Social Leaf opened on Route 9 in South Toms River, the first of its kind locally since New Jersey allowed the recreation- al sale of cannabis to those 21 and older. When you walk in, someone asks you for your driver’s license to verify your age. There’s a South Toms River officer working all hours and there are other security measures in place. The store had a soft opening on July 6, with the full opening on July 7.

(Cannabis - See Page 5)

Bee Queen Teaches Her Subjects About Pollinators

By Chris Lundy CREAM RIDGE

– The local student known as the Honey Bee Queen is being crowned with other titles and awards for her work in studying parasites that are impacting the bee populations.

Kaitlyn Culbert, a student in Toms River High School North, was presented the President’s Youth

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Athlete: Continued From Page 1

pandemic, played three varsity seasons.

She capped her career with Shore Conference Class A South Player of the Year, first-team AllOcean County, first-team All-Shore and thirdteam All-Group IV honors.

Take soccer for another example.

She erupted for a Shore Conference high 23 goals and added three assists as a senior. She was named the Class A South Player of the Year, the Ocean County Player of the Year, first-team All-Shore, first-team Class A South, first-team All-Ocean County, third-team All-Group IV and among the top 20 players in the Central Region of New Jersey. And she was honored as the Golden Eagles’ Most Valuable Player.

And for yet another example, she earned All-Shore honors, starring at quarterback, wide receiver and defensive back as a member of her school’s first-year club flag football team. She tossed three touchdown passes, caught eight touchdown passes and made four interceptions. Lewis excelled in lacrosse and flag football although the sports were played simultaneously during the spring.

Despite keeping a pace that would exhaust an Olympic marathon champion, Lewis starred in the classroom as she was a member of the National Honor Society, the Math Honor Society, the Science Honor Society, the English Honor Society and the History Honor Society as a sophomore, junior and senior.

Ranked in the top three percent of her class, Lewis graduated with a 104.3 grade point average.

“I managed to do well both in the classroom and on the field by maintaining a healthy balance between my studies and training,” Lewis said. “I take school very seriously and always put academics first. However, my constant drive to complete assignments without procrastination allowed me to have more time and freedom to train and also focus on athletics. Doing well in the classroom and on the field was definitely tough, but staying focused and constantly working hard helped me see success in both areas.”

Lewis began her day around 4:30 a.m.

“I managed my time by waking up early so that I could get in the gym each day before school,” she said. “I was always super busy after school with practices, games and homework. I got my lifts and runs in during early mornings.”

Lewis lives by the slogan, “Prove all wrong.” One of her coaches, Lauren Koenig, provided her with the words, which adorn a bracelet she wears. Koenig presented Lewis with the bracelet as a graduation gift.

“It has played a big role in all of my success,” Lewis said. “I wish I had the bracelet with me for my whole career. It’s a good reminder to have - to never let others bring me down. She never let me doubt myself. She always gave me confidence. She always had my back.”

Central lacrosse coach Cayla Linfante is impressed with Lewis’ mental makeup.

“Hannah is so successful because she is determined and works hard toward achieving her goals,” Linfante said. “She sees either a challenge or an obstacle and rises to the challenge. She continues to perfect her craft and works hard during the offseason.”

Lewis will be missed.

“The legacy she leaves is her love of the sport, her desire to be great and the support of her teammates,” Linfante said. “Her leadership, compassion and drive will be greatly missed on and off the field.”

“I am glad I was able to bring a good name to Central lacrosse,” Lewis said. “I am glad I was able to inspire other girls to try playing it. There is no feeder program here. I am sure there are a ton of girls who will love it if they try playing it.”

The Golden Eagles won a program record 16 games and lost four during Lewis’ senior season. Lewis, senior middie Riley Coltenback and senior goalie Evelyn Rauscher captained the team, second in Class A South at 6-1 in 2022.

Recruited as an attack, Lewis will continue her career at James Madison University, winner of the NCAA Division I Tournament in 2018. She chose the Dukes over Rutgers University, the University of Connecticut, Boston University, Stanford University and Hofstra University. She will study kinesiology. Lewis exploded for four hat tricks and seven multigoal matches during her senior season on the soccer field last fall.

“The key to my success during my senior year was the positive, family-like atmosphere that my coaches (head coach Marykate Sullivan and assistant coach Carly Setaro) created,” Lewis said. “I received support from my family and teammates and constant encouragement and motivation from my coaches. They never let me put my head down. They always supported and pushed me.”

Lewis was chosen the Ocean County Player of the Year by a unanimous vote of the Shore Conference Soccer Coaches Association. She netted three goals as a junior and two goals and two assists as a sophomore.

“It was super crazy leading the Shore Conference in goals because I definitely hadn’t had an established soccer career going into my senior season,” she said. “And this season was so special because I just let myself have fun and in doing so put up some awesome numbers. I helped my team have an incredibly successful season, which was most important to me.

“Everyone on the team was so close with one another. We did psyches before every game and took part in pasta parties before every game. We just all had each other’s backs.”

Sullivan was impressed with Lewis’ play during her senior year.

“She earned this honor as she had an incredible breakout season,” Sullivan said. “She always demonstrated good sportsmanship and was extremely humble, which made her a perfect candidate for this honor.”

Lewis, a forward, senior forward Christina Jimenez, junior defender Lindsay Smith and senior goalkeeper Allyson Smith captained the Golden Eagles to their first winning season since 2015.

“Hannah helped put Central soccer back on the map,” Sullivan said. “She also inspired all of the underclassmen and taught them the true meaning of hard work. She began the season as not one of our starting 11 players - crazy, I know. She put in the work every single day at practice until she proved us coaches wrong.”

Central flag football coach Billy Kvalheim said it did not take Lewis long to excel.

“She picked up on things very quickly,” he said. “Lacrosse took priority because it is a varsity sport, but she was a game changer when she was able to get here. She attacked the ball as a defender and was athletic enough to throw and catch the ball. She was very coachable. She was positive with her teammates and a great role model for the younger girls on the team. My wife was her head coach in lacrosse at Central for two years and she always said how coachable and athletic Hannah was. It’s a blessing that I had the opportunity to coach Hannah Lewis.

“Hannah will go down as one of the best athletes to come through Central Regional High School. She loves competing and gives back to the community. She is a positive influence on everybody she is around.”

Cannabis:

Continued

From Page 1

They were ready earlier than that. The state took a while to give them a permit, said co-owner John Earp, who also owns Bubby’s Beanery not too far away in downtown Toms River. In fact, all of the delays they had were due to Trenton red tape. All the co-owners said South Toms River has been wonderful to work with.

“They’ve been as helpful as can be,” said Thomas Marino, CEO and one of the founders. He also owns Signature barbershops. He said the state took 41 days to get the OK. He knows this figure without having to look it up. They were waiting day by day for the approval to open.

Mayor Oscar Cradle said that the town will be getting $5,000 a year

GOP:

Continued From Page 1 also commended. Additionally, the prosecutor’s focus on bias prevention and his collaboration with numerous organizations for public safety and education in Ocean County were recognized.

The resolution passed by the Ocean County Commissioners includes references to Billhimer’s commitment to school-aged children. He and his team have conducted over 145 presentations in more than 70 schools during the 2022- from the business plus 2 percent of its net profits.

“That’s going to help a town our size quite a bit,” he said.

The business partners met with town officials and the process was very smooth.

“We made a commitment to hire in town as much as possible,” Earp said.

“We carry as many brands as we possibly can. There 30 or so allowed in the state while California has thousands.

Although they are not a medicinal cannabis clinic, he said that many recreational users buy it for pain, depression or anxiety.

There are five co-owners, including Jennifer Forsdahl and William Hall.

And they all live and own businesses around Toms River and Lacey.

Frank Guzzi, who also owns Guzzi

2023 academic year alone. Through these meetings, they have reached over 20,000 students, educating them about topics such as internet safety, social media, and bullying.

As the county’s top law enforcement officer, Billhimer has taken his role beyond prosecuting crimes. In a remarkable initiative, he organized a symposium for local police officials to engage in a candid and accelerated discussion about perceived biases in law enforcement interactions. This proactive approach distinguished

Masonry and Paving, said that they are the third store to open in New Jersey. The shop is open seven days a week, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

When the state approved the sale of cannabis, every town government in New Jersey had to decide whether they were allowing it within their borders. This took several different options, including medicinal or delivery. Lakehurst and South Toms River, both small towns, were the only ones that agreed to a recreational sale location.

Fighting Stigma

Even though cannabis is now legal for those older than 21, the co-owners said there’s still a stigma they have to break through. Part of that is to be a good neighbor.

“We plan on reinvesting into the com -

Bee Queen:

Continued From Page 1 munity,” Guzzi said. “We’ve created 50 local jobs.”

Environmental Protection Agency. It was given to her by the EPA Chief of Staff, Olivia Glenn, at the Honey Harvest in honor of Pollinator Week at the Rutgers Cooperative Extension Bee Yard in Cream Ridge.

The Honey Harvest that she organized was a way to show other youth the importance of hive health. There were 18 teenaged 4-H members and their parents from six counties who attended, she said.

There’s also a stigma coming from people who used marijuana before legalization. Some think of stores as “going corporate” or “selling out.”

Only the black market dealers really think that way, the co-owners said. The black market doesn’t understand how having a business that pays taxes and gets product to people legally is a boon to the community.

Part of the challenge comes from multistate operations. These have headquarters outside New Jersey and generally don’t care as much about the towns they are in. It’s like a big box store putting a mom and pop shop out of business.

However, Social Leaf is a group of five local people who have roots in this community and intend to give back for many years to come.

The 4-H members accompanied Chelsea Abegg from Rutgers to the bee lab to learn about different species and hives. They ended the day by extracting honey. They also got to look at pollinators under the microscope.

“I was honored to discuss my science research on Varroa mites and thymol-based essential oils with Secretary of Agriculture, Doug Fisher, Assemblyman Alex Sauickie, and Paul Hlubik from the Department of Agriculture,” she said. “Jeff Burd and Angela Juffey (Bee Queen - See Page 9)