JACKSON – After searching for months, posting the job twice and receiving troves of resumes from all over New Jersey and surrounding states, the Board of Education ultimately decided it needed to look no further than within its own family to find the district’s next superintendent of schools.

At the May 21 meeting the board voted unanimously in favor of appointing Lu Anne Meinders, the district’s current deputy superintendent, to be the new superintendent beginning July 1. Meinders will replace Superintendent Thomas Gialanella, who is retiring as of June 30.

After graduating with degrees in both business administration and English and working in private industry, Meinders began a career in education and has been with the district for 25 years. She was as a middle school math and science teacher, then an advanced placement English teacher and served as the district coordinator of grants and district coordinator of curriculum before becoming the district’s Deputy Superintendent. She is a Jackson resident.

“The Jackson School District is at a critical juncture and I am excited to have an opportunity to continue to serve the students and taxpayers of Jackson in this capacity,’’ Meinders said. “I love this district and I am honored the board has given me the opportunity to continue to shape its future.’’

Meinders said that among the district’s challenges will be implementing the momentous changes to the common core curriculum while advancing student achievement, guiding the district through historic shifts in both teacher and administrator accountability and continuing to find creative ways to manage financial responsibilities to both students and taxpayers.

“I believe fiscal responsibility means not only demanding efficiency in and accountability for how we spend public funds, but also the importance of being able to measure the results of our investments,’’ she said. “This is why we are so committed to making data-driven decisions about how to allocate those precious budget dollars.’’

The superintendent search process was handled by the board directly and began in the beginning of the school year with a community survey to help provide the board with input on what taxpayers, staff, students and residents considered valuable in a candidate. The board also held a community public forum to solicit input.

After months of interviewing candidates through multiple rounds of interviews, the board selected Meinders and voted to hire her at the May 21, 2013 meeting. The board’s vote was 6-0. Board Member Michael Hanlon was not permitted to vote on the position or participate in any of the search process because he has a family member who works in the district.

Superintendent Gialanella said he is thrilled to be leaving the district in such capable hands.

“I could not be more confident in her ability to expertly guide Jackson through what lies ahead because although she is a true educator at heart, she has incredible business acumen as well,’’ Gialanella said. “She also happens to be someone who can navigate through a challenge with intelligence, logic and grace – all the while identifying what opportunities are possibly being created in any given situation. She is truly one of a kind.’’

by Erik Weber

BERKELEY TOWNSHIP – It may have been several decades since they put down their social studies notebooks and picked up their badges, but for five of the seven current police chiefs serving in Ocean County, coming back to the halls of Central Regional High School here to reminisce about their early years in front of  the cameras of contemporary television students was a bit like coming home again.

The five – Toms River Chief Michael G. Mastronardy, Class of 1971; Tuckerton Chief Michael Caputo, Class of 1976; Ocean Gate Chief Reece J. Fisher, Class of 1985; Pine Beach Chief John M. Sgro, Class of 1987; and Berkeley Chief Karin T. DiMichele, nee Kane, Class of 1989 – arrived one by one to the parking lot of the school, once just a grass field when they all had attended, and entered a main entrance facing Forest Hills Parkway that was built years after they graduated. After photo opportunities and initial video interviews conducted by student Avery Jackson in another newer hallway honoring successful alumni, the five walked through an older part of the school – trading old stories as they passed the rows of lockers – and entered the current location of the student television studio, which once held Industrial Arts classes.

The two other Central Regional graduates currently serving as police chiefs – Seaside Heights Chief Thomas Boyd and Seaside Park Chief Francis Larkin – were unable to attend. Lt. Kevin C. Arnold, head of the Island Heights Police Department but not yet formally promoted to chief, is also an alumni.

Settling into a row of chairs before bright lights and a group of digital videocameras, the five opened up to student and host Angela Roberts for the station’s Community Spotlight program about their reaction to the changes around the school, how they learned they had all graduated from the same school, what they remembered most about their time here, and what they could offer as advice for contemporary students.

“So, pulling up into the parking lot and walking through those same hallways again, what felt different?” asked Ms. Roberts. “What has changed since how you remember it?”

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Memorial’s Chris Gehrsitz pitched a complete game shutout, giving up just four hits and striking out four.  Spencer Young was 3-3 with an RBI and a run scored.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, Mike Petrizzo came off the bench for Jackson to hit a two run home run making the score 4-0. Ed Guippone added an RBI single in the 4th inning.

On the other side of Jackson, Jackson Liberty defeated St. Rose with a single solo home run.  Danny Serreino went the distance on the mound for the Lions striking out eight.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, James Sofield hit his first home run, sending a 2-0 fastball from Brad Currao over the fence.

Liberty will play the tough number 2 seed, RBC on the road Wednesday.

Brick Memorial lost 1-0 to Wall.  CBA blanked Brick High School 9-0.

Toms River South’s Spencer Kapp broke a 3-3 tie wide open in the fifth inning with a two run double as the Indians defeated Monmouth 6-3.    On Friday, Toms River North defeated Central 5-3.  North and South will face each other Wednesday at North.

After pitching high to load the bases, Slagmolen settled in and struck out Nick Dabrio for the first out of the inning.   He then settled a score with Thaiss, striking University of Virginia prospect out.   With two outs and bases loaded, Spencer Young stepped up to the plate, but grounded to short stop for the final out of the game as the Mariners clinched their first OCT Championship in thirteen years.

After not having much success in recent years against Jackson Memorial, Coach Ted Schelmay said, “It’s about time we took care of business against Jackson.  We were seeded number two, but we had four games and four shutouts, I’m not sure that’s ever been done before in this tournament.”

Mariners’ starting pitcher Ron Marinaccio pitched 5 innings and gave up just 2 hits with 7 strikeouts.  Slagmolen came on in the 6th inning, struck out 3 and got his second save of the season.

Matt Guarino pitched 6 innings for Jackson and gave up two runs on five hits.  Spencer Young pitched in relief  for Jackson and retired the side in order.

Mariners’ Carl Blum went 2 for 4 and Carmen Sclafani went 2 for 3 with an RBI.

Brandon Janofsky and Matt Thaiss had the two lone hits for Jackson Memorial.

The OCT final may not be the last time these two face each other this season with high stakes on the line as there’s a strong possibility the two may go a few more rounds in the shore conference and state tournaments.

“That’s the way it’s been happening the past couple of years,” coach Schelmay.

On May 7, 2013, the Delaware State Police made the Jackson Township Police Department aware of the incident after the 12 year old female victim who had been on a class trip to Great Adventure reported the incident.

Detective Mitch Cowit of the Jackson Township Police Department and Detective Melissa Matthews of the Ocean County Prosecutors Office traveled to Delaware to conduct interviews in the incident. The detectives were assisted by the Wilmington Department of Police, Criminal Investigations Division. The investigation led to the arrest of Glen F. San-Andreas, age 34 of Wilmington, Delaware. He was a parental chaparone on the class trip when it was alleged he took the victim to a secluded area and assaulted her.

Mr. San-Andreas was charged with Second Degree Sexual Assault and Second Degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child. Bail was set at $125,000.00 and he is currently lodged in Delaware pending extradition to New Jersey.

The team, consisting of  Emily Golembiski of Little Egg Harbor, Jillian Hubbard of Toms River, Gillian Schriever of West Creek, Michael Signorelli of Toms River and Megan Tumpey of  Brick, will represent New Jersey in the 2013 North American Envirothon at Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana in August.

The Ocean County students competed against 33 other teams on knowledge of natural resources-related topics, including soils, forestry, aquatics, wildlife ecology and a current environmental issue. This year’s theme was “Sustainable Rangeland Management: Achieving a Balance Between Traditional Agricultural Uses with Non-Agricultural Uses on Montana Rangelands.”

“For 20 years, New Jersey high school students have had the opportunity to participate in this valuable competition and learn more about the environment, natural resources and science,” said Secretary Fisher. “We hope they take advantage of the skills they learned and consider careers in agriculture and natural resources-related fields.”

Each of the MATES team members received $1,000 scholarships from the New Jersey Association of Conservation Districts, $2,000 scholarships from Richard Stockton State College and $1,000 scholarships from Applied and Health Sciences at Kean University.

Two 5-member teams of MATES students competed in last year’s Envirothon with all but one of those students graduating. The two MATES teams placed first and second in 2012. An almost entirely new set of 10 students made up this year’s two teams.

“I am very proud of the hard work and dedication put forth by our members,” said MATES Advisor Adam Sprague.  “It was quite an accomplishment considering it was the first year competing for nine out of the 10 team members. We now turn our attention to Montana which offers an exciting variety of challenges in terms of preparation for our students.”

The second-place team in this year’s Envirothon was West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North and third place was taken by High Tech High School, North Bergen.

The Envirothon is sponsored by the New Jersey Department of Agriculture, State Soil Conservation Committee; New Jersey Association of Conservation Districts; the 15 Soil Conservation Districts; United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service; New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection; and Rutgers Cooperative Extension.

The 15 Soil Conservation Districts in New Jersey follow county boundaries and implement the New Jersey Soil and Sediment Control Act, which governs certain aspects of new development.  These semi-autonomous bodies are locally governed and play a strong role in the protection of New Jersey’s natural resources.

Saturday May 4:

- At 3:14 pm, officers responded to the Dollar General Store on South New Prospect Road on the report of a female shoplifting inside the store. Upon arrival, officers spoke with a store employee who identified the female suspect and explained what had been observed. As the female left the parking lot of the store in her vehicle, officers conducted a motor vehicle stop with her. Assorted merchandise valued at $187.00 was recovered and the 40 year old female resident of Jackson was placed under arrest. She was processed at headquarters and charged with Shoplifting and later released on summons pending a court appearance.
- At 9:37 pm, multiple officers responded to the parking lot of Six Flags Great Adventure on the report of a disturbance. It was reported that there were several people involved and possibly that bottles were being thrown. Upon arrival, park security officers were already on scene and the involved persons had dispersed. Officers stayed on location as the parking lot was emptying, no further incidents were reported.

Sunday May 5:

- At 6:17 pm, a Jackson resident made a report of Burglary and Theft from a property located on Evergreen Drive. It was reported that unknown person(s) had made entry to a detached garage on the property and stole tools and equipment valued in excess of $30,000.00.
- At 9:51 pm, multiple 911 calls were placed to the Police Department by what appeared to be children with a cell phone who were reporting that their parents were dead and they needed help. Multiple Officers from Jackson and Howell were involved in an attempt to determine the location the calls were coming from as dispatchers also tried to obtain further information. During the incident, it was later determined that the calls were being placed by children at a residence on Overlook Drive who were in possession of a cell phone that was only able to dial 911. It was then verified that everyone at the location was safe and there were no fatalities. The incident is still under investigation.

“As part of our annual overlay program, we will be starting work shortly on safety improvements including stormwater drainage work, new paving and reconstruction on several roads throughout Ocean County,” said Ocean County Freeholder Director John P. Kelly, Director of Law and Public Safety. “All totaled we will be repairing more than 13 miles of roadway starting in the next few weeks.”

The Board of Freeholders is scheduled to award a contract to Earle Asphalt Company, Farmingdale, in the amount of $2 million to reconstruct portions of seven roadways.

“This work will get under way in the next few weeks and while there may be some inconvenience to motorists during the work surely the completed repairs will make for better and safer traveling around OceanCounty,” said Freeholder Deputy Director James F. Lacey, who serves as liaison to the Ocean County Road Department.

The roadways to be improved under the contract are 1.05 miles of Herbertsville Road in Brick Township from the Monmouth County line to Lanes Mills Road; 1.24 miles of Farraday Avenue in Lakewood; one mile of Long Beach Boulevard from 31^st to 59^th street in Long Beach Township; almost one mile of James Street, from Main Street to Hooper Avenue in Toms River; 6/10ths of a mile of Massachusetts Avenue, from Cox Cro Road to Route 70 in Toms River; 1.12 miles of Vermont Avenue, in Toms River, from Cox Cro Road to the Lakewood border and Buckwald Drive at Ocean County College in Toms River.

In addition, the Board is scheduled to go out to bid to provide safety improvements to four additional roads with work expected to begin in July.

Those roads include 2.16 miles of Church Road in Toms River, from Hooper Avenue to North Bay Avenue; 1.39 miles of Lanes Mills Road in Lakewood and Brick Townships, from Route 88 to limits of Garden State Parkway Interchange 91; 1.11 miles of Lighthouse Drive in Ocean Township from Route 9 east to Barnegat Bay and 2.34 miles of West Bay Avenue in Barnegat Township from Pine Street to Route 72.

“We maintain more than 620 county road miles so it is imperative we have a program in place to maintain our infrastructure,” said Kelly, who serves as liaison for the Ocean County Engineering Department. “Each year we perform improvements to a number of roadways. Well maintained roads certainly are safer for our motorists and pedestrians.”

“It is with deep regret the Jackson Mills Fire Company announces the passing of Life Member and Ex-Chief Raymond Hosford,” read a message released by the Jackson Mills Fire Company.  ”Ray passed away this morning at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Ray and his family will be in our thoughts and prayers.”

Last week, members of the fire company began a fundraising website to help Mr. Hosford’s family pay for medical bills incurred from his hospitalization.   Instead of hosting their annual dinner, the firefighters at the station began the fund.

Hosford served in the United States Army and was served as a volunteer in New York City at Ground Zero just hours after the attacks.   He joined the fire department in 1981 and served as worked his way up through the ranks.

Donations are still being accepted on the website set up by Mr. Hosford’s fellow firefighters for the family:  http://www.crowdrise.com/rayhosford/fundraiser/jmfc

JACKSON–Jackson Memorial, the number one seed in this year’s Ocean County Tournament defeated Toms River East at home on Sunday 7-5.   Across town, Jackson Liberty lost a 1-0 game against Toms River South.   Liberty had runners in scoring position twice, but were denied by the Indians, including a close out at home plate to avoid a tie in the sixth inning.

Toms River North defeated Brick Memorial 3-0 and Monsignor Donovan shutout Brick 2-0.

Scores:

Toms River South 1 Jackson Liberty 0

Photo Gallery: on.fb.me/13b0mG3

Toms River North 3 Brick Memorial 0

Monsignor Donovan 2 Brick 0

Jackson Memorial 7 Toms River East 5

Semi Finals:

Toms River South @ Jackson Memorial
Toms River North vs. Monsignor Donovan