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

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.

Over 100 homes to be razed through Toms River’s PPDR program

TOMS RIVER – Mayor Tom Kelaher is pleased to announce that the Township’s demolition program will begin this Saturday. “Our residents are eager to start the rebuilding process,” Kelaher said. Hurricane Sandy damaged over 6,500 homes on the barrier island and almost 4,000 homes on the mainland. “Most of the homes had some form of flooding, but a lot of the dwellings will need to be knocked down because of structural problems,” Kelaher stated.
Toms River residents with structurally damaged homes were mailed a packet of information encouraging them to enroll in the Township’s Private Property Debris Removal Program, or PPDR. Assistant Township Planner Erika Stahl has been assisting homeowners in registering for the PPDR program, which is free to residents who have homes that have been structurally damaged. Stahl says, “Enrollment in the program must be approved by FEMA, which can take a while because there are many steps involved.”
According to Public Works Director Lou Amoruso, “We are starting our demolition program on Saturday May 17th. We will begin by taking down a structure on Seagull Lane and then move onto Beier and Nichols Avenue in Ortley Beach.”
After the first round of Ortley Beach homes are demolished, the contractor will move onto the North Beach area and also homes on the mainland.
The Township’s Demolition program will cover the cost of demolition and removal of homes, if approved beforehand. The PPDR program will also cover the removal of debris such as sand, neighbor’s dwelling or buildings, and other debris that may have floated onto another property.

By Phil Stilton
Photo by Phil Stilton

TOMS RIVER—Shortly after announcing the creation of a municipal position to help Toms River Township residents navigate through the difficult networks of red tape involved with disaster recovery, Mayor Thomas Kelaher told the Ocean Signal today that the township has hired long time resident Trevor Newman for the job.

Mr. Newman will start his job as Disaster Recovery Ombudsman on Monday, May 20^th.  Initially, he will meet with township officials and department heads to work out a plan on how the township can begin to offer assistance to those negatively impacted by Sandy who are struggling to understand FEMA guidelines, insurance policies and to help them seek out available programs they may qualify for.

Shortly after the announcement of the position was made, Mr. Newman ironically tells us that he was sitting at the Band Wagon Diner on Route 37 and was thumbing through the inaugural issue of the Ocean Signal when he read the article about the Ombudsman position.

“I saw the article and read what the mayor was saying and thought, “That’s me”, so I sent him an email and my resume and some thoughts I had.  The rest, as they say, is history,” Mr. Newman said.

Newman, 67, who has lived in Toms River for 40 years, said he worked as a front line manager for Allstate insurance in property loss for 37 years.  He is a certified adjuster for the National Flood Insurance Program.

“When Katrina took place, most of the flood qualified people were sent to Louisiana,” he said.  “What they failed to recognize there were flood damages in other places and nobody was going to those places.”

Newman was tasked by his company to devise a plan to branch out beyond Louisiana and help those affected in other states by the hurricane, handling over 1,600 claims between the end of 2005 and 2006.

He also warned that there’s no quick solution to many of the problems residents in Toms River now face.  “We have a long way to go as a town and there are an awful lot of people who don’t understand the programs and that are where the problem lies, people need to know the programs available and how to wade through the mass of documentation to get back on their feet,” he said.   “Many people have expectations that their policies can’t meet and it’s because they didn’t understand the policies that they run into those problems, which isn’t unusual.”

Part of the problem, according to Newman is the complexity of the situation between insurance companies, FEMA and other programs designed to help people.

It’s a problem Mayor Kelaher and the township are fully aware of.  “We have a lot of residents who are overwhelmed with paperwork and the process involved in fixing up your home from Sandy,” Mr. Kelaher said.  “The purpose of the ombudsman is to help residents work through the steps, and assist with insurance problems, FEMA applications and grant programs.”

Newman concurs.

“It’s a complicated program on a good day, on a bad day it’s much worse,” he added.   “My hope is that I can clarify for people what they have and where they are going and help them make the necessary applications to get them on their feet.”

Newman said one of the ways he hopes to help people is by helping them properly fill out the right paperwork and in the right order to ease some of the pains sometimes associated with the recovery process.    He said during the process you have to be aware of everything, including municipal building codes, the permit process and the application processes for various assistance programs.

“You have to follow proper procedures to be successful,” he concluded.

It is alleged that Teron Savoy was the leader of a network distributing drugs in Ocean and Monmouth Counties.  Investigators intercepted phone communications between Savoy and his wife, Yolanda Terry, in furtherance of their drug trafficking crimes.  The defendant’s attorneys attempted to exclude these communications from their trial claiming that they fell within New Jersey’s marital communication privilege which generally excludes from court communications made between spouses. The trial judge ruled the evidence admissible, however, stating that since the communications were made in furtherance of crimes, they were “not worthy of protection.”

But the trial judge’s decision was reversed on appeal. The Appellate Division ruled that the conversations were prohibited from use at trial by the marital communications privilege, and that there is no exception to that privilege in New Jersey even where the communications are in aid of a crime.

Ocean County Prosecutor Joseph D. Coronato said, “I have directed the prosecuting attorneys’ of my office to petition the State Supreme Court to review the case.  The marital communications privilege suppresses relevant evidence so as to protect the tranquility of a marriage, but where evidence of crimes is withheld from a jury, there is an obvious detriment to the public. The Supreme Court should decide whether the privilege applied in this case, and if so, whether a crime or fraud exception to the privilege would better serve the public’s welfare.”

TOMS RIVER–On Saturday, approximately 40 cadets from the U.S. Naval Academy were treated to dinner at the Toms River Country Club by retired Air Force Brigadier General Robert Paschon, of Toms River.   The cadets spent their week volunteering and helping the Bucket Brigade in Ortley Beach under the direction of Cassandra Vitale.

The cadets were thanked by Toms River Mayor Thomas Kelaher and Robert DiBiase, who coordinated the event for the township between the Naval Academy and the Bucket Brigade.

TOMS RIVER–For the record, record-setting pitcher Jordan Weed claimed the Most Valuable Player honor at the Ocean County Tournament after throwing her Toms River High School East team to a 10-0 victory over Toms River North in the championship game at Toms River South on Tuesday.

     But the honor could have gone to a number of people.

     And the person who wouldn’t have minded that the most was none other than Weed herself.

     “Before my name was mentioned, I was thinking it was Val Hirschfeld,” said Weed of her battery mate. “I called it … and I was wrong. But I give her a lot of credit for what she did.”

     Hirschfield is one of the younger “unsungs” on the East softball team. And while seniors like Weed and shortstop Sara Bencivenga get a lot of the notoriety, it’s the underclassmen who have made a big difference in this East team, according to Debbie Schwartz, who added on to her record total of nine championships as East mentor, including the last three and five of the last seven.

     “Jordan Weed had a hell of a tournament, but so did Val and she could have been MVP of the tournament,” Schwartz said. “Val stepped up in a big way and she helped to break this game open. It settled Jordan down. Kudos to Val, then the support on the defense — Jodi Bruno played well (at third base). Taylor Dziedzic had four hits and a nice catch in right field. (Second baseman) Cassie Varvaro made some plays over at first base and had three hits.

     “A lot of the kids have stepped up for us,” Schwartz added. “Our little freshman, Sam Lanzano, had some key runs in the game. Everyone stepped up.”

     By collecting 14 hits, East tied its own team record from beating Lacey in the 1994 championship, 9-5. And Dziedzic’s four hits tied her with East’s Amy Mullane in that same ’94 final for most hits by one player in the championship. As a matter of fact, the top two hitters in the East lineup — Dziedzic and Varvaro — were a combined 7-for-9 with five runs scored and an RBI. Hirschfeld was 2-for-4 with the back-breaking hit of the game in the third inning, a two-run single that turned into an error by right fielder Chrissy Ribaudo that allowed a third run to score on the play, taking the game from 1-0 to 4-0.

     All this happened while North coach Mary Ellen Tutzauer was forced to scramble after regular starter Ashley Hussey was not available to pitch. Tutzauer stuck junior varsity pitcher Ally Vandenberg, a freshman on the mound for this one and she did a good job in holding her own the first three innings. It marked the first time a pitcher ever started an OCT championship without throwing a single inning of varsity

     “She did a hell of a job for her first time,” said Weed of Vandenberg. Weed finished with a six-hit shutout, allowing three walks while striking out 10 Mariners. Weed became the first pitcher in OCT history to not allow an earned run in her four starts on the mound. Weed struck out 55 batters in four games, coming up two strikeouts short of the mark set by New Egypt’s Emily Bausher in the 2010 tournament.

     Like Weed on this night, Bausher led her team to the title and won MVP honors.

     “I give her all the credit in the world and I’m very proud of her and she has a great career at North ahead of her. I wish her the best,” Weed said. “She did her best against us and I’m sure that’s all the coach could ask of her.”

     “The biggest thing I can say about our team is we love the game and we respect the game and everything about it,’ said Hirschfeld, who completed her night by throwing out two would-be stealers on the basepaths. “Seeing a new pitcher makes it interesting and makes for a new experience. So we were excited to see what (Vandenberg) had and she’s an excellent pitcher coming in as a freshman. We respect our opponents every game.”

     “I had no knowledge of what happened (to regular starter Hussey),” Tutzauer said. “I wanted a backup pitcher because Ally is a freshman and she was with me all year long pitching JV. In this big showcase game, I didn’t know how she was going to do, so I had another freshman girl ready to pitch. Our girls rallied around Ally. To beat East, we know you’re not going to score a bunch of runs. So obviously we had to keep it close. I was proud of our kids and how they played. I have a young team. They’re going to be all right. They’re tough.”

     Though East put 10 up against Vandenberg, Weed really only needed one run in this one. The only run the Raiders needed came within the Dziedzic-Varvaro portion of the show in the first inning. Dziedzic skied a flyball to left field that missed being the first home run in an OCT final in eight years and ended up at second with a double. A wild pitch moved her to third and Varvaro connected for a single to center field to make it 1-0.

     North got two runners on base in the first inning as Sam Reilly delivered the first of her two hits and Taylor Ward singled. But Weed struck out Sarah Culp swinging to end the threat.

     It remained 1-0 until the third when No. 9 hitter Jodi Bruno walked to lead off. Dziedzic beat out an infield single. Varvaro sacrificed both runners up a base, but Sara Bencivenga’s hot grounder was snared by third baseman

Brielle Perrotta, who fired a strike to catcher Reilly to nail Bruno. But just as it looked as if Vandenberg was going to get out trouble, she walked Weed to load it up for Hirschfeld.

     On a 3-2 pitch, Hirschfeld drilled a shot to right field to score Dziedzic and Bencivenga and when the ball bounced off right fielder Chrissy Ribaudo’s glove for the first of two errors she made in the game, courtesy runner Alyssa Cenci came around to score, to, making it 4-0.

     “What I was really looking to do was put it into play and do what I can to help my team,” Hirschfeld said. “Coach (Schwartz) had to calm me down a little bit. I was amped up. But I was glad to help the team out in anyway. It felt good.”

     Down 4-0 to Weed, who two years ago tossed a no-hitter in East’s 2-0 championship game win against New Egypt, made things harder for the Mariners. In the bottom of the fourth, Culp blooped a single into left-center field with one out. Sam Saloman walked and both runners moved up on wild pitches after Weed struck out Brielle Cerchio. But with two runners in scoring position, Weed induced Ribaudo into a flyball that Dziedzic raced in on to make a fine catch and end the threat.

     East went from there, methodically adding on to its lead in the last three innings. A Varvaro single in the fifth turned into three bases for the junior when Ribaudo misplayed it into an additional two-base error.   Bencivenga walked and Weed delivered a squeeze bunt single to plate Varvaro, making it 5-0. After Hirschfeld forced out courtesy runner Cenci for the first out and moved Bencivenga to third, Lanzano hit a long flyball to left field that Brielle Iacobino appeared to have caught at the wall, but dropped for an error. Bencivenga scampered home with the run. Vandenberg avoided further damage when Ward snagged a Cassandra Anderson line drive and threw to Perrotta at third to double off courtesy runner Jenna Platten to end the inning.

     In the sixth, Dziedzic, Varvaro and Bencivenga all singled to load the bases with one out. Weed hit a sacrifice fly to score Dziedzic, Hirschfeld delivered another single to score Varvaro and Lanzano doubled down the left-field line to plate Bencivenga even though courtesy runner Platten was thrown out at third to end the inning.

     With one out in the seventh, pinch-hitter Cenci — who became the first player to be part of a two-generation OCT championship link (her mother, Cristy Iorio, was the starting shortstop of East’s 1989 championship team) — beat out an infield single. After Bruno grounded out to move Cenci to second, Dziedzic delivered her OCT-record tying fourth hit, another infield single just inside the third-base line, to get Cenci to third. Cenci would score on a wild pitch.

     Weed became the first pitcher in OCT championship history to win two championships via shutout, including the no-hitter in 2011 against New Egypt. Weed was on her way to an OCT championship as a pitcher in 2012 when her team’s final with New Egypt on North’s field was called in the fourth inning when a terrential downpour flooded North’s field and put the game on hold. New Egypt, having to play the state Group I championship two days later, decided it was not interested in finishing the game, meaning East took the forfeit win.

     “We thought we were the winners last year, so no, it didn’t take away any bitterness from what happened,” said Schwartz, whose team was winning that game 2-0 when the rains came. “We left that field with a 2-0 lead and I was pretty confident we earned that title. It was just a shame we didn’t get a chance to play it out.

     “Coming into this game, it was a new year, new drive, new start … all in.”

     Before the championship, a moment of silence was observed in honor of former tournament director Tim Osborn, the Jackson Liberty coordinator of athletics and football coach who suddenly passed away on April 13. Osborn had taken leadership of the tournament in 2012. After that, Bonnie Shapiro Dusza, who earned Top Hitter honors of the 1993 Ocean County Tournament when North stormed to the championship as a fourth seed, tossed out the first pitch to North catcher Reilly.

OCT CHAMPIONSHIP
At Toms River High School South
TR EAST                     TR NORTH
               AB R H RBI                    AB R H RBI
Dziedzic, lf       5   3  4   0   Reilly, c          4   0   2   0
Varvaro, 2b      4   2  3   1   Vuyovich, cf   1   0   0   0
Bencivenga, ss  3   3  1   0   Perrotta, 3b     3   0   0   0
Weed, p            2   0  1   2   Ward, ss          2   0   1   0
Cenci, cr           0   1  0   0   Culp, 1b          3   0   2   0
Hirschfeld, cf   4   0  2   3   Salomon, 2b    2   0   0   0
Platten, cr         0   0  0   0   Cerchio, dp      2   0   0   0
Branda, cr         0   0  0   0   Vandenberg, p 0   0   0   0
Lanzano, dp      4   0  2   2   Cuthbert, pr     0   0   0   0
Norris, 1b         0   0   0   0   Ribaudo, rf     3   0   0   0
DePalma, cf     2   0   0   0   Iacobino, lf     3   0   1   0
Coppinger, ph  0   0   0   0   TOTALS     23   0   6   0
Anderson, lf     3   0   0   0
Cenci, ph          1   1   1   0
Bruno, 3b         2   0   0   0
Platten, ph        1   0   0   0
TOTALS       31 10 14   8
TOMS RIVER EAST                   103 023 1 –10
TOMS RIVER NORTH               000 000 0–  0
E – Ribaudo 2, Ward, Iacobino. DP – Toms River North 2. LOB – Toms River East 7, Toms River North 7. 2B – Dziedzic, Lanzano. SB – Ward. CS – Cerchio, Ward, DePalma. S – Sharp, Anderson. SF – Weed.

TOMS RIVER EAST          IP  H   R  ER  BB SO
Weed, W                                  7    6    0    0     3   10
TOMS RIVER NORTH      IP  H   R  ER  BB SO
Vandenberg, L                         7  14  10    9     5    1
WP — Weed 2, Vandenberg 2.  Umpires — Home, John Bransley; First Base, Karen Hartnett; Third Base, Kevin Calver.

T — 1:44.

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.

DOVER BEACHES NORTH– Toms River Police responded to a Silver Beach Road home here at 2 pm on Tuesday after receiving an alarm regarding a 24 foot boat that was fully engulfed in fire.

Ocean Beach, Seaside Heights and Lavallette fire departments responded and quickly extinguished the fire.

The boat located in the front yard was totally destroyed and the fire damaged the vinyl siding on the front of the two story home.    A 68 year old man Normandy Beach man was taken to Brick Hospital for burns to his hand and foot.  The man stated he was working on the boat and it caught fire when he turned the engine on.