Municipal Staff Celebrates Retirement

STAFFORD – Mayor Myhre and Township Council would like to congratulate Rick Barlet on his retirement! Rick has been the Township’s Plumbing Subcode Offi cial for more than 19 years. Thank you for your dedication to the Township and we wish you all the best!

Traveling Pickleball

OCEAN COUNTY – Have you been wanting to give this strange-sounding sport a try but didn’t know where? This beginner’s workshop will get you playing in no time. The parks department will be traveling to different locations to teach the game which is a combination of tennis, badminton, and ping pong. All equipment will be supplied. Please wear sneakers and bring a drink. Rain dates cannot be rescheduled.

Pickleball Courts 5 & 6, “Tip” Seaman County Park, Tuckerton: July 17 to 20 from 10 to 11 a.m.

Tennis Courts, Pearl Street & Ocean Avenue,

Beach Haven: July 24 to 27 from 10 to 11 a.m.

Pickleball Courts, Veterans Park, Tilton Boulevard off Veterans Boulevard, Berkeley: July 31 to August 3 from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m.

Pickleball Courts, Magee Avenue & The Bay Front, Lavallette: August 7 to 10 from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m.

Pickleball Courts 3 &, 4, Jakes Branch County Park, Beachwood: August 14 to 17 from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m.

Cost is $12 per person. Open to adults. To register, visit oceancountyparks.org or call 732-506-9090.

Town-Wide Yard Sale

STAFFORD – Time to clean out those closets, empty the attic and declutter the basement, the second town wide yard sale of the year is here! Yard sale will be September 9 and 10 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Complete the Registration Form and mail to: Stafford Recreation, 260 East Bay Avenue Manahawkin, NJ 08050.

Or email all information from the form to: dbudesa@staffordnj.gov. No telephone calls will be accepted for registration. Deadline for registration is August 25. No permit is necessary to join this yard sale.

Visit staffordnj.gov/409/Town-Wide-YardSale for further details and the registration form. Questions? Call 609-597-1000 ext. 8583.

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- Bonding

- Invisalign

- Porcelain Crowns

- Veneers

- Zoom In-Office Whitening

• Surgical Procedures

• Cosmetic Injections/Fillers

Dr. Edward Burg

Dr. Duncan Chapple

Dr. William Dennis

Dr. Anthony LoPresti

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Dispensary:

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When township officials fi rst approved the local law, they were the anomaly in Southern Ocean County. Neighboring towns on both sides specifically decided against any type of cannabis sales – despite the fact that a majority of voters were in favor of recreational marijuana.

Amidst financial struggles within the township’s schools, Board of Education members suggested the town might consider sharing revenue generated by potential cannabis businesses. Township officials reserved comment on the proposal – which is now a moot discussion.

Initially, under New Jersey state law, the municipality had the potential to collect a two percent share from all cannabis retail sales. However, as of July 1, 2022, the law underwent changes as far as medical marijuana. Consequently, the Township of Ocean will only receive revenue from the dispensary in the form of property taxes, the same as every other business.

Locals may recall the steel structure that stood in the Waretown Town Center for an extended period. The project was initially intended for another entity that decided to change locations. In August 2021, government authorities shared the news that they’d granted approval for the construction of a medical cannabis dispensary in the front of the plaza where ShopRite is the primary tenant.

People speculated about the delays in the mysterious construction that seemed to constantly stop and start again. Like most projects, COVID and building supply issues were a factor. A year ago, BLOC hoped to open its doors in October of 2022.

Once construction delays concluded, the next issue was the usual red tape associated with any business requiring state approval. The new dispensary invited residents to see its facility before product was on location – to bring a sense of ease to the community.

“The Township of Ocean is happy to announce the opening of BLOC-Medical Cannabis Dispensary,” said Diane Ambrosio, Township Administrator. “As the fi rst medical cannabis dispensary in Ocean County, they have been able to assist many people in need of medical cannabis with drive-thru access. Patients will no longer need to drive an hour away to get their prescriptions filled.”

Within days of BLOC’s opening, Ocean County’s fi rst recreational cannabis shop held its grand opening in South Toms River. The same tax restrictions don’t apply when it comes to recreational sales, cultivators or manufacturers – South Toms River is receiving an annual fee plus 2% of its net profits, Mayor Oscar Cradle said.

Meanwhile, the Township of Ocean has made some changes since its fi rst cannabis ordinance. While there are no new laws in place concerning recreational sales, the town is accepting applications for other types of cannabis licensed businesses. There is a $10,000 registration fee for the fi rst year and then a $10,000 annual fee is required for cannabis cultivators, manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors and medical dispensaries.

Local Firefi ghters

STAFFORD – On June 28, members of the Stafford Township Fire Company participated in a training that focused on Pump Operations, Hose Handling, Draft Operations and Tower Ladder Operations. These are common drills that teach the members lifesaving skills needed in

Wednesday night at 7 p.m. and speak to one of the members.

Bee Queen:

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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.

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 from NJ Beekeepers Association and Dr. Brian Schilling from Rutgers also accompanied me on the day’s events. Our State Apiarist, Meghan McConnell, and Ashley Kerr from the Farm Bureau also stopped by.”

Culbert and Abegg have another honey harvest for 4-H teens on August 16, which is National Honey Bee Day.

The honey bee population is threatened by climate change and Varroa mites, the leading killer of honey bees. Her ongoing study is to develop a way to predict Colony Collapse Disorder.

The recognition she’s been getting is twofold. Agriculturists appreciate both the scientific method she is using to solve a problem – the decline of hives –and the way she is teaching the public about the problem. She created the 4-H Busy Bees Beekeeping Club.

Recently, she had a 2,500-square-foot pollinator garden installed at Jake’s Branch County Park in Beachwood. It’s located on the plant discovery trail. Another is outside the nature center. Visitors can see it from inside.

Natalie Duddridge from CBS 2 NY visited the Jakes Branch hives.

“She suited up and accompanied me on a hive inspection,” Culbert said. “We were fortunate enough to find the queen on my first try. It was such an incredible opportunity to talk about and provide some insight into nature’s most important pollinator!”

She also did a live interview at NJ12 studios with Lauren Due about honey bees, the industry, native plants and more.

She’s also spending six weeks at the Research Science Institute at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She will be one of the 100 students invited to MIT for a summer science and engineering program that combines course work with hands-on research.

She encourages interested people to follow her progress on Instagram at KT.Bees and youtube.com/channel/ UC1VTjvnWwdJQMSHG2H18FpA