TOMS RIVER – One hundred twenty-four students from the Ocean County College Nursing Class received their nursing pins at the Annual Nurses Pinning Ceremony on Tuesday, May 21st at in the Arts & Community Center Theatre at the OCC Main Campus in Toms River.

During the ceremony, special awards in Nursing were presented. The following Nursing graduates received awards:

• St. Barnabas Behavioral Health Award – Recipient: Kateri Norton (Howell)
• Community Medical Center Awards – Recipients: Kimberly Coleman (Forked River) and Alexa Rae Yabut (Manahawkin)
• New Jersey League for Nursing Award – Recipient: Lizbeth Santibanez (Brick)

The graduates completed the two-year course of study leading to an associate degree in applied science in nursing. Sixty-one students completed the degree requirements this May and 63 students completed the degree requirements last December. The Ocean County College nursing graduates from Ocean County include:

Barnegat: Michele Guido, Erin Little, Laura-Beth McKeown, and Donna Pierce, Jessica Hernandez and Jennifer Severin; Bayville: Lori Stewart; Beachwood: Jeffrey Huntley and April Fischer; Brick: Augusto Cespedes, Elizabeth Gannon, Lindsay Goretski, Valerie Klim, Lisa Romanow, Laura Rudorfer, Anthony Scrofine, Lynn Tedeschi, Wendy Westphal , Danielle Ann Bagley, Samantha Bernard, Maxine Hall, Jennifer Katzmann, Amy Keefe, Karl Rex, Lizbeth Santibanez, and Jaclyn Yanovsky; Forked River: William LaBruna , Danielle Androcy, Jennifer Christ, Kimberly Coleman, and Lisa Hatrak; Island Heights: Rebecca Constantine; Jackson: Druclair Flynn, Jennifer Hruschka, Caryn Keeley, Laura Spata, and Jessyca Thompson, Veronica Busch, Jason Byrne, Stephanie Christen, Aurora Cleary, Susan Fuchs, Kristie Goelz, and Ashley Siegle; Lakewood: Sashalee Coke, Chaya Freedman, Ann Friedman, Pesha Konovitch, and Shulamit Navaro, Batsheva Eisen, Stephan Gymnich, Fraidy Karmel, and John Keene; Lanoka Harbor: Christy Neill (McDonald); Little Egg Harbor: Ashley Acierno , Melissa Evans and Kathleen Friedlander; Manahawkin: Andrea Cline, Robyn Gray, Caitlin Michels, Liana Schmidt, and Dena Smith, Frances Farnung, Renee Petitt, Suzann Thoman, and Alexa Rae Yabut; Manchester: Kim Hart and Amanda Peterson; Point Pleasant: JoAnna Fabiano and Christopher Griffin, Christina Devito and Tara Rostron-Lorenz; Toms River: Mark Amiscosa, Christine Coltenback, Jadwiga Corapi, Jonathan Dacpano, Amanda Erli, Margaret Myhre, Karolina Piwnica, Darlene Rodriquez, Jennifer Rosa, Nicole VanHouten, Mary Albuquerque, Stacy Calicchio, Linda Cioppa, Elizabeth Cogan, Maria Ditommaso, Fernan Dungca, Salwa Elbyadi, Denise Gillman, Sabina Gjonbalaj, Patrick Hurler, Irving Lukas, Brittany McCabe, Donna McCurdy, Jennifer Muraglia, Melissa Naphier, Daniel Ostie, JohnPaul Tinio, Colleen Tompkins, and Erin Wiggins; Tuckerton: Valerie Mills , Katharyn Gunn; Waretown: Jacqueline Keen; West Creek: Patrick Topping and Sybil Schriever; Whiting: Cathy Ippolito.

The closure will create a 4.5 mile detour that will take motorists north on Whitesville Road to Route 70, where they can reconnect to Route 571, adding approximately two miles to the route.

The project began May 29^th as crews worked to complete bridge repairs that will reinforce the bridge over the Toms River. In 2011, flooding from Hurricane Irene damaged several bridges in Jackson Township crossing the river.  The floodwaters also undermined the road surface at the bridge on Route 571.

Eastbound traffic will be allowed to traverse the bridge during the length of the project.

The following was compiled from releases provided by the Ocean County Board of Chosen Freeholders.

Sandy Volunteers Honored at Luncheon

More than 140 senior citizens who devote much of their time volunteering to help others were honored at a special luncheon in Toms River on May 22nd.

For the past 31 years, the Ocean County Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) has teamed older adults with members of the community in need of assistance.

Freeholder Gerry P. Little and Freeholder Joseph H. Vicari presented a proclamation to Alisa MacCrate, RSVP program director, thanking her, her staff and the more than 500 volunteers who participate in the program.

“Ocean County has the highest concentration of senior citizens in the nation and many of them are 85, 90 or even older,” Mr. Vicari said. “They need your help more than ever before.”

Freeholder Vicari is chairman of the Ocean County Department of Senior Services, while Freeholder Little is liaison to the Ocean County Board of Social Services.

In 2012, volunteers provided nearly 37,000 hours of service which, if paid for by the county, would cost nearly $950,000, noted Freeholder Little.
Dates Announced for 2013 Hazardous Waste Collection Program

Ocean County announced the additional dates, times and locations for the county’s household hazardous waste collection program, which runs until October.

“This year we started a new approach to scheduling the collection of this material,” said Freeholder James F. Lacey, who serves as liaison to the Ocean County Department of Solid Waste Management. “Instead of grouping all the dates in one month in the fall and one month in the spring, we are holding the collection one day on a weekend each month through October.”

The Ocean County Board of Chosen Freeholders is expected to award a contract to Radiac Research Corp. of Brooklyn, N.Y. at almost 40 cents a pound to conduct the program.

Dates, times, and locations for the upcoming monthly collections are: Lakewood Township Public Works Yard, 1 America Ave., on Sunday June 23; Berkeley Township Public Works Garage, Pinewald-Keswick Road, on Saturday July 27; Jackson Township Public Works Garage, 10 Don Connor Blvd., Saturday Aug. 24; Long Beach Township Public Works Garage, 7910 Long Beach Blvd., Saturday Sept. 28 and Point Pleasant Beach Municipal Parking Lot, Arnold and Ocean avenues, Saturday Oct. 5. Collection times are from 9 am to 3 pm on all collection dates.

Last year, 306,951 pounds of household hazardous waste was collected and safely disposed of.

Freeholder Lacey also noted that municipal recycling centers and the county’s recycling centers allow for drop off of a host of materials including used paint, motor oil and car batteries.

“Our residents should check with us or their local recycling center to determine what is accepted so items do not have to take up space in their garage or basements,” he said.

While Ocean County’s Household Hazardous Waste Collection program is free, citizens must register with the County. Residents can drop off a maximum of 200 pounds of dry material and 20 gallons of liquid. No containers over five gallons will be accepted.

The county is using funds from the State Recycling Enhancement Act Tax Fund to operate the program.

Materials accepted at the household hazardous waste collection sites are: paints, thinners, boat paints, solvents, pool chemicals, pesticides and herbicides, aerosol cans, auto products, toilet and drain cleaners, silver polishes, oven cleaners, photographic chemicals, rug and upholstery cleaners, polishes and bleaches, waste oil and used gasoline.

Additional information can be found on the county website at www.co.ocean.nj.us or by calling 1-800-55-RECYCLE.

Ocean County 911 Operations Getting New Home

Ocean County’s emergency dispatching 911 operations is getting a new home with room to meet future needs of the county and state-of-the-art equipment.

The current 911 dispatching center has been moved to an existing warehouse on Chestnut Street in Toms River, which the county had used in the past to store its voting machines. Those machines were moved to a warehouse in Lakewood. Work began on the expansion project in late 2012.

“This will provide over 16,000 square feet for a new enlarged 911 center,” Freeholder James Kelly said.

The expanded call center has the capacity to include 18 state-of-the-art police and fire dispatch stations and eight call taker stations for a total of 26 stations, an increase from the 12 dispatch consoles and six call taker stations currently there.

Ocean County has answered more than 82,000 911 calls so far this year, not including officer dispatched and department calls.

During the time span from October 28th to November 3rd, 2012, dispatchers handled more than 17,000 calls before, during and after Hurricane Sandy.

The county will also upgrade its radio communications to 700 MHz from 500, meeting Homeland Security requirements.

The expanded facility also includes training rooms for staff and dispatchers. In addition, the roof and other parts of the structure have been upgraded to withstand hurricane force winds.

There will also be back-up generators on the site in order to assure residents emergency calls will continue to be answered during hurricanes or natural disasters of any kind.

County Projects Repair Sandy Damaged Roads

The Ocean County Road Department recently completed the rebuilding of some Ocean County roads damaged by Hurricane Sandy.

“Prior to Memorial Day weekend work crews from the county road department finished rebuilding a portion of Ocean Terrace in Seaside Heights and Long Beach Boulevard leading into Holgate in Long Beach Township,” said Freeholder Lacey, also liaison to the Ocean County Road Department. “It was imperative for public safety and to accommodate our citizens and the increase in visitors to the county over the Memorial Day weekend that these projects got done.”
The Ocean County Road Department completed work on 3/4ths of a mile of Ocean Terrace from the border of Seaside Park to Hiering Avenue in Seaside Heights on May 20th. As part of the work, the Ocean County road crew rebuilt four intersections that had been washed out by the October storm, in addition to milling and paving the roadway.

The freeholder noted that work on repairing the bridge that leads from Bay Boulevard in Lavallette to the West Point Island section of the borough was near completion.

As part of the repairs, the county installed new sheathing and capped the area under the span with concrete in order to reinforce the structure from future washouts.

The repairs also included replacing the rip rap on both sides of the bridge.

“The work at the bridge is expected to be completed soon,” Freeholder Lacey added. “The span has been open to traffic while most of the repair work has taken place below it.”

Doggy Yappy Hour at Ocean County Park

A Doggy Yappy Hour will be held on Friday, June 14th at the Ocean County Park in Lakewood. The Ocean County Parks and Recreation Department is conducting an evening out to enjoy the company of county residents’ pet canines. Frisbee, obedience, agility demonstrations, and doggy games will be held.

All dogs must be vaccinated and on a leash.

The demonstrations will be conducted by area businesses. Music will be provided by WOBM radio. The event will run rain or shine and will be held from 6 to 8. There is no charge for this event.

More than 30 vendors will be available for information, displays, shopping, and food. For additional information call toll free 1-877-OCPARKS.

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?”

Read More of this Story: http://issuu.com/oceansignal/docs/20130524_ocean_signal/7

FREEHOLD–A Manchester Township man is charged with the Robbery and Felony Murder of a Point Pleasant man found in the backyard of a Long Branch home, announced Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni.

Alan Bienkowski, 54, of Pinecrest Manor, Manchester Township, is charged with first degree Felony Murder, first degree Robbery, second degree Unlawful Possession of a Weapon and second degree Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose in connection with the April 10, 2013 death of Michael Wells, 56, of Point Pleasant.

Mr. Wells, an employee of Dutch Prime Foods on West Avenue in Long Branch, was the focus of a missing person investigation that same day. At approximately 5 a.m. a co-worker reported him missing when some of his personal effects were found at the work location but Mr. Wells was not there. Wells was later found dead from a gunshot wound after Long Branch police responded to an 8 a.m. call reporting a man lying on the ground in the backyard of a nearby Cleveland Avenue home.

An investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes and Forensic and Technical Services Bureaus and the Long Branch Police Department revealed Mr. Wells arrived at Dutch Prime Foods for work around 4:30 a.m. on April 10, where he was confronted and robbed at gun-point by Bienkowski. During the course of the robbery Bienkowski shot and killed Mr. Wells.

If convicted of Murder, Bienkowski faces a sentence ranging from the minimum mandatory sentence of 30 years in state prison with a 30 year period of parole ineligibility to a potential maximum sentence of life in prison without parole. If convicted of Robbery, Bienkowski faces 10 to 20 years in state prison, subject to the provisions of the No Early Release Act (NERA) which requires him to serve 85 percent of any sentence imposed for the commission of that crime.

If convicted of the weapons offenses, Bienkowski faces a mandatory minimum sentence of three to five years in prison, pursuant to the Graves Act, with a maximum sentence of ten years on each charge.

Bienkowski is currently being held in the Monmouth County Correctional Institution, Freehold Township, on $1,450,000 bail, cash only with no ten percent cash option, as set by Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Honora O’Brien Kilgallen, J.S.C.
Authorities are asking anyone with information about the whereabouts of Bienkowski around the date and time of the murder to contact the two lead detectives on the case, Det. Kevin Condon of the Prosecutor’s Office and Det. Brendan Cahill of the Long Branch Police Department. Det. Condon can be reached at 1-800-533-7443. Det. Cahill can be reached at 732-222-1000.
The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office, the Manchester Police Department and the Jackson Township Police Department, all contributed to the investigation culminating in the arrest of Bienkowski.

Despite these charges, every defendant is presumed innocent, unless and until found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, following a trial at which the defendant has all of the trial rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and State law.

This case is being prosecuted by Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutor Thomas Huth, director of the Major Crimes Bureau, and Assistant Prosecutor Matthew Bogner of the Major Crimes Bureau. No attorney has yet entered an appearance on behalf of Bienkowski

Assisting at the scene were, Whiting Vol. Fire Dept, Quality Medical transport, Whiting First Aid, MONOC Paramedics, CIU, NJ State Police, NJ DOT and the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office.  The crash is under investigation by Ptl. Douglas Higgins, and Ptl Thomas O’Hare of the Manchester Traffic Safety Section.

Anyone with information about the crash, please contact Manchester Twp Police, Traffic Safety Section, at 732-657-2009, X4401.

The Medical Examiner’s autopsy, conducted Wednesday (May 15), found the victim’s cause of death to be from multiple blunt force traumas to the head and face.  The manner of death is ruled a Homicide.

Investigators from the Manchester Township Police, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office and the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department continue their call for anyone with information to contact the Manchester Township Police at 732-657-6111, the confidential tip line at www.manchesterpolicenj.com or the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office at 732-929-2027.

MANCHESTER – On Monday, May 13th at approximately 5:18 pm, the Manchester Township Police received a 911 call reporting a 76 year old male unconscious and not breathing. Upon arrival of Emergency Services personnel, it was determined that the manner in which the victim was found was suspicious in nature.

The victim, Anthony “Tony” Verdicchio, age 76, was found in his home, located in the Pine Acres Manor Mobile Home Park in Manchester Township. Based on the preliminary investigation, law enforcement authorities believe that Mr. Verdicchio suffered head trauma and succumbed to his injuries. An autopsy is scheduled for 12:00 noon on Wednesday, May 15, 2013, to determine the exact cause and manner of Mr. Verdicchio’s death.

The victim was last seen on Sunday, May 12th, 2013, at the 9:00 am mass, at St. Paul Lutheran Church on Cable Avenue in Beachwood NJ. Law Enforcement Authorities are interested in speaking with anyone who may have spoken to, or seen, Mr. Verdicchio between 10am Sunday morning and 5pm Monday evening. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Manchester Township Police at 732-657-6111, the confidential tip line at www.manchesterpolicenj.com or the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office at 732-929-2027.

This investigation is currently being conducted by the Manchester Township Police, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office and the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department.

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.

“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.”