Sports Complex Design Drops Dome

instruments for nearly 20 years.

By Alyssa Riccardi

BRICK – As a certified music practitioner, Bonnie Leigh uses her voice and her string instruments to provide therapeutic music to patients.

Bonnie has been a traditional folk music performer and teacher for 32 years and has traveled all over the east coast to dulcimer festivals teaching and performing. She performs and sings at nursing homes, club meetings, coffee houses.

“About 10 years into it, I decided there was somebody I wasn’t reaching with my programs and it was the people who were not coming into the day rooms in the nursing homes, they were stuck in their rooms,” Bonnie said. “When I realized there’s people in the nursing home that weren’t hearing or seeing the music, I decided to become a music practitioner to help them. And it turns out that was an amazing choice.”

A certified music practitioner is a specially-trained musician who helps the sick and

“I would work for several hospices, and I would see their patients who are on hospice during the time they came on until the time they have passed. The nurses would call me when they would have a problem with the patient, whether they were struggling with their breathing or having high anxiety, or if it was close to their time to go,” Bonnie said. “I would go in with my music, and you do what’s needed for the patient. You don’t have a setlist, you don’t know what you’re going to do until you get there. You have to look at the diagnosis of the patient and see what the patient needs.”

Bonnie explained how she can use her small harp or dulcimer and set by a patient’s bed

By Judy Smestad-Nunn

BRICK - A design revision for the proposed superdome sports complex required a hearing before the Planning Board when it was announced there will no longer be a dome in the plan.

The original three-building layout included the 75,000-square-foot dome fronted by two additional buildings housing a daycare center, basketball courts and offices.

The plan was altered due to fire code com - pliance.

“We ran into a concern that Mr. [Kevin] Batzel the fire official had with our dome design,” said applicant attorney John Jackson.

“Due to the spacing of the buildings he felt that regulations require that it has to have a fire suppression system, but it’s hard to hang in a blow-up building.”

The developer, LCP Sports II Urban Renewal looked at a variety of options and decided to remove the

Jersey Shore Shell Art Travels Worldwide

By Alyssa Riccardi JERSEY SHORE –

What started out as a part-time hobby collecting shells at the beach has grown into a worldwide phenomenon of colorful, decorated shells.

“I’ve always liked to do beach walks and pick up anything interesting on the beach. At one point I had so many shells my husband asked me what I was going to do with all of them,” Carrissa Caramico Chapkowski said. “I decided to paint them and give them away.

It definitely gave me an excuse to do more beach walks.”

Carrissa started painting shells four years ago and decided to share her ideas by creating a Facebook page called “Jersey Shore Shells.” Carrissa said she first had the idea after coming across a similar group in Florida.

“I vacation in Florida once a year and I thought it would be nice to paint shells not just one week out of the year, but for the entire year. I thought ‘I can do that too,’” she said. “I had talked to the people who had created a similar Facebook page from Florida and I asked if I could copy some of their ideas they were doing and they were

(Shells - See Page 7)

Music:

Continued From Page 1 and help bring their breaths from 40 to five a minute.

“It’s a big honor to be there when they pass,” Bonnie said. “This process also helps the family who’s in the room, who are normally high stressed and scared. The music relaxes them.”

“Now, doctors have noticed that this practice helps patients. Alternative medical doesn’t always get acknowledged, and now it finally is 10 years after I’ve started,” Bonnie added.

Throughout her years of playing music, Bonnie has also collected a wide variety of instruments including antiques. She recently shared some of her collection with the Brick Township Historical Society. It is on display in their showcase inside the township municipal building.

“The dulcimer is handmade and built by individual builders making each one sound different. I started collecting the Appalachian dulcimer, I now have 14 of them. They’re all different and they all sound great,” Bonnie said. “When starting to collect that, I also played a lot of other string instruments, so I would start collecting those too. It became fun to find all the oddball instruments that you can find. And there’s a lot of them out there.”

Bonnie began her collection in the early 2000s. They consist of playable instruments and also antiques that are not usable. Bonnie explained that she personally doesn’t restore instruments and likes to keep them in the natural state that they’re in.

“Sometimes if it’s a really unique antique

Council:

Continued From Page 1 spacing between the buildings and combine the three structures into a solid, single building, which Jackson called “a better product” since the building is “safer, more sturdy, more attractive and can handle a modern fire suppression system.”

The change is simple and straightforward, said applicant engineer Jeffrey Carr. “It wasn’t something that stemmed from a desire that the applicant had, but it was more one of a combination of the building code official, Mr. [Daniel] Newman, and Mr. Batzel looking at it after we started applying for building permits.”

The buildings were separated by 20 feet. The single building eliminates the spacing, and aside from a four-foot shift forward, would have nearly the same footprint as the previous proposed buildings, the engineer said.

The traffic circulation stays the same as in the original plan, Carr added.

The building sits 24 feet from the back property line instead of the original proposal, which was 20 feet away. A fire truck can access all around the property, he said, and the new plan allows for four additional parking spaces.

Township planner Tara Paxton said if and very different I will get it, even if it’s not playable because it’s so interesting to see and touch,” Bonnie said. “A lot of times with antiques the wood has gotten dried or brittle or has cracks in it. You have to be careful with an antique if you try to restring it and play it because some of them are not playable.”

Some of Bonnie’s favorite pieces that she owns includes a fife from World War I along with an army song book.

“It is not very playable, it’s a little warped, but I love it. I love looking at it,” Bonnie said.

Another one of her favorite pieces is an Appalachian mountain dulcimer from the 1960s that is handcrafted by Jean Ritchie, who is known as the “Mother of Folk.” there had been a fire in the dome, the bubble would collapse and suppress the fire, but since the other buildings were so close, a fire could spread from the dome to the other structures before the dome collapsed. Sprinklers would have to be installed in the bubble, which cannot be done on the structural fabric.

“It’s handmade by Jeanie Ritchie, and her husband and uncle. The three of them made this instrument and it’s one of 300 that they made. It’s very rare to find one of hers,” Bonnie said.

Today, Bonnie is still collecting, admiring, and teaching the history of these instruments, despite not being able to play anymore. She shared that six years ago, she suffered an injury that left her incapable of playing.

“I can’t play any of my instruments anymore. I lost my career and it’s heartbreaking,” she said.

However, Bonnie has faith that she will be able to play again.

“I’m not giving up the hope that maybe one day I can start up again. You never know,” Bonnie said.

You can check out Bonnie’s collection that is on display at the Brick Township municipal building located at 401 Chambers Bridge Road.

“So that wouldn’t work,” she said. “We tried for weeks and months to solve the fire issue.”

Paxton, who also called the new single building “more aesthetically pleasing,” said that previous testimony and approved variances still apply to the revised plan.

There were no questions from the audience or Board members, who unanimously voted in favor of the revised development.

The site is in the middle of Brick Township and has a long history, Jackson said.

It was formerly the site of a Foodtown, and the 11-acre parcel was purchased by the township for $6.1 million in 2003.

The property was split and the township was paid a total of $5 million. An Aldi supermarket was built on the parcel fronting Route 70 and had its grand opening in December 2022.

“We’re just seeking to put this final piece together, and my clients are very anxious to get going with this,” Jackson said.