LAKEWOOD–Looking for something to do this weekend for dad on Father’s Day? The Ocean Signal has some exciting ideas including breakfast, dinner and a cruise along the historic Toms River waterfront.

“Someone working on the system caused it go to off,” Erwin said, “But since it went off unscheduled, we had no other option than to bring the kids out. They very quickly ascertained that it wasn’t a real alarm and got the kids back in as soon as they could.”

“We would never hold a drill in that kind of weather. If we had one schedule, we would have re-scheduled it,” she added.

JACKSON-Jackson police say three individuals sustained injuries Tuesday morning in a crash involving three vehicles at the intersection of Cedar Swamp Road and Bennetts Mills Road here.

At approximately 10:48 am, a Jackson Township Department of Public Works Ford F-250 truck was traveling westbound on Bennetts Mills Road when, according to police, it failed to stop at a red traffic signal and entered the intersection, striking a Mack truck which was traveling southbound on Cedar Swamp Road.

After striking the Mack truck, the DPW vehicle spun around, striking a car driven by a 43 year old woman as the vehicle was stopped at the red light, heading eastbound on West Veterans Highway.

The occupants of the DPW vehicle were a 56 year old male driver and 39 year old female passenger.

Jackson Police say three of the four involved in the crash suffered injuries. The driver of DPW vehicle was issued a summons by the investigating officer for failure to stop or yield the right of way. No names were released by the Jackson Police Department.

Roselli announced his retirement earlier this year, citing medical issues after suffering from a heart attack.

President of the Board of Education Ben Giovine states, “The Board is confident that the appointment of Mr. Gialanella and Dr. Gaffney to the respective positions of interim superintendent and interim assistant superintendent will provide our school district with a positive and productive transition pending the selection of our new superintendent and assistant superintendent later in the calendar year.”

Tom Gialanella has been the superintendent of the Jackson School District for 11 years.

According to a release from the Toms River School District, during his tenure in Jackson he oversaw the opening of the district’s second high school, Jackson Liberty High School and a new elementary school, the redistricting of attendance boundaries for the opening of those schools, the implementation of multiple technology projects geared toward advancing student achievement and multiple facility renovations to the district’s aging infrastructure.

Gialanella was earning $209,183 as Jackson’s superintendent.  He announced his retirement in July of 2012.  If Gialanella had renewed his contract with the Jackson School District, he would have been forced to take a pay cut of nearly $35,000 per year due to a New Jersey state law that caps school superintendent salaries at $175,000 per year for a school district the size of Jackson, which educates approximately 9,000 students.

“Even though this opportunity to serve as interim superintendent for the Toms River Regional district came up sooner than I expected, I felt it was too perfect to pass up,” Gialanella said.

The Toms River School District did not release any financial information regarding Gialanella’s new position, stating only that it is “to be determined”.

Prior to his career in Jackson, Gialanella served for 29 years in the Brick Township School District. He began as a social studies teacher for eight years before becoming a guidance counselor there in 1981. In 1990 he was promoted to assistant principal at Brick Township High School and became the district director of guidance in 1992. In 1994 he was named assistant superintendent and served in that position for eight years, overseeing several areas including the district’s aggressive building plan. During his entire 29-year career in Brick, he was also the director of guidance, assistant principal at Brick Township High School, guidance counselor and social studies teacher.

Frank Roselli states, “I am very pleased that the Board of Education has chosen experienced and talented educators to lead the district as we search for a new superintendent.  These appointments will give the search committee the time it needs to recommend quality candidates.  I can retire knowing the district is in good hands.”

Gialanella will be replaced in Jackson by current Assistant Superintendent Lu Anne Meinders.   Meinders will earn $169,000 as superintendent, for a cost savings of $40,000 to the district.

Gialanella will serve as the second superintendent for the Toms River School District since the arrest of longtime superintendent Michael Ritacco was arrested on various corruption charges in 2010.

The show will begin at 7:30 p.m. and include seven of the top marching music ensembles in the world, including the 10-time World Champion Cadets from Allentown, Pa.; Phantom Regiment from Rockford, Illinois; the Bluecoats from Canton, Ohio; the Boston Crusaders from Boston, MA; Jersey Surf from Camden County; and the Raiders from Burlington.

Drum Corps: An American Tradition begins at 7:30 pm. Ticket prices range from $18 for Value

Reserved seats, up to $50 for exclusive VIP seating. A limited number of $15 General Admission tickets will be available the day of the event at the gate or in advance from members of the Jackson Liberty High School Marching Band. Ticket prices will increase $5 at the box office on the day of the show.

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.

JACKSON-After a series of gunshots rang out from a location just several hundred feet from the Lucy N. Holman Elementary School in Jackson while fourth graders were engaged in field day activities, the school was able to put its years of lockdown drills to the test in a real life scenario.

Just one block away, police later learned that 56 year old Anthony Blaszka was firing his 12 guage shotgun out his bedroom window, striking a neighbor’s home with two young male occupants.

As police descended upon the scene, the school was put into lockdown with a shooter on the loose.  At the time, police did not know where the shots came from and they searched surrounding blocks for the shooter.

They quickly discovered a home on nearby Laurelton Avenue with at least four rounds in the structure.  Bullet holes were found in the home’s roof and pillars.  Holes the size of a golf ball riddled the home.

Until Blaszka was found, nobody, not even the Jackson Police Department was sure of his motive,  intentions or wherabouts.    The Lucy N. Holman Elementary School and nearby Jackson Memorial High School and McAuliffe Middle School were all placed on lockdown.

Initially Jackson Police surrounded a home across the street from the bullet riddled home on Laurelton Avenue, not knowing the damage came from behind the home from Georgian Boulevard.

Police eventually located Blaszka with two 12 guage shotguns and a stockpile of ammunition.

The school lockdowns ended and all of the children returned home safely.  Police later determined that no students were in any imminent danger, but because of routine training and drills, the staff at Lucy N. Holman Elementary School got a rare chance to test its lockdown procedures.

Not the First Real Lockdown at Holman Elementary

This is not the first time the staff at Holman Elementary has performed a real lock down.  In June of 2004, the school went on lock down after a black bear wandered around the surrounding neighborhood.  The bear traveled from nearby Jackson Mills Road and the school remained on lock down until police could confirm the bear was no longer in the area.

by Frank Cipriani

I was enjoying a little online chat with my editor when he informed me that he had to go mow his lawn. He left the chat before I could warn him of the consequences of this antiquated and barbaric practice.

Turns out, that lawns were invented in France, the nation that brought us smelly cheese and creeping socialism, and so many other un-American practices, like atheism and dudes in tights. Lawns were invented so that, from a distance, castle keepers could see that enemies were approaching. In the mid-nineteenth century, Americans wanted to imitate the Frenchified landscaping which had, by then, taken hold in Scotland and England. The wet climate and more northerly latitudes made lawns a more organic choice in Europe than they were in the United States.

I’ve been reading the dire news from Europe about how the world economies are going south and how, because we are no longer independent of the global vicissitudes of the marketplace, we may experience a renewed economic crash, just like we did at the end of the Bush presidency. If we do, it will be thanks to our dependence on the Europeans, the same people who brought lawns (and smallpox) to North America.

And this time, there will be no bailout.

In other bad news, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts an above-active hurricane season. Not to say the sky is falling, but if it’s going to fall, it turns out the worst thing you could do is mow your lawn.

What does this mean for us here along the river? Will it mean empty grocery shelves, or more long lines for gas? Will it mean that we won’t be able to send our children to college or enjoy our retirement? Will I have to drive four hours north (again) to watch “Breaking Amish?”

I don’t think it will be quite as bad as all that, especially for those of us who practice “liberty gardening.”

Therefore, I humbly suggest that each and every one of you tear out your lawns.

Think about it – grass is useless. Lawn maintenance costs money and gives nothing in return but a boring monoculture of endless steppe and greenery which demands mowing, fertilizing and watering, reducing us all to meaningless serfdom when we could be inside inventing a new form of math, or some alternate form of energy, or even publishing a newspaper. Heartier plants seed themselves in this chemical-rich environment, and the homeowner is forced to counter with even stronger chemicals. More than 60 percent of all these chemicals never reach the roots of the grass, and instead are washed into Barnegat Bay, where they contribute to the rise of jellyfish populations and algae blooms and force a die-off of fish and shellfish in the bay and ocean.

Grass, it turns out, has two different processes by which to propagate. It can be seeded, or it can reproduce by runner. Most homeowners are restricted by law from propagating their grass by seed, although this is the best method by which to maintain a thick, drought-resistant lawn. This is why most lawns propagate through underground runners. In some areas, where the soil is clay and has poor drainage, allowing grasses to go to seed is a bad idea, but in our area, which is mostly sand, local varieties of turfgrass (not hybrids) can be bred to survive our specific conditions of blistering summers, periods of drought, and wet springs and autumns. The truth is, most of the turfgrass and perennial lawn grasses we grow here in Ocean County could not survive without continued care and mowing, an absurd waste of water, and accompanied by environmentally unfriendly blasts of chemicals.

So even if you insist on growing a lawn, you really shouldn’t mow it until after it has gone to seed. This way, at least, you’re reseeding with turfgrass which is best adapted to survive you very particular little biome. If you do decide to let your grass go to seed, you can do it in patches, allowing the part of your lawn with the worst conditions for growth to complete its life cycle. This assures that any grass that does manage to survive is the heartiest grass for your particular lawn. Then, cut it gradually, collect the seeds and scatter them throughout the rest of your lawn. The best times to do this are in the spring and fall.

Personally, I hate lawns, and have grown useful edible plants instead, much to the chagrin of my neighbors. This includes wild edibles like Evening Primrose, which I harvest in the spring and freeze. Milkweed, another wild edible, attracts butterflies, and can be eaten as a potherb. Its unopened flower buds can be cooked in two changes of water and served like broccoli, and the pods it produces can be pickled. I also allow mullein to grow in my yard. The tea helps relieve my asthma. This summer, I will be writing a series of articles dealing with these wonderful “volunteers” which demand so little and give back so much – these are the plants that can feed your family in economically challenging times.

So by the time the next disaster comes, be it environmental or economic, you’ll be able to stroll out into your yard and gather some useful plants that come to you, free of charge, and pretty much maintenance free as well. While those McMansion high-falutin’ neighbors of yours struggle to fill the pantry, you’ll be sitting pretty. See, grass isn’t good eating, so unless your neighbor happens to be a cow, when the next disaster that hits, you’ll be the envy of the neighborhood.

The next time you’re summoned to mow the lawn, just show this article to your well-meaning loved one or neighbor. Just say “no” to lawn mowing.  You’re not being lazy. You’re an American, baby, a Jersey Shore American, doing your patriotic duty by letting those so-called “weeds” help you declare your independence. you’re saying “no” to Euro-culture, and socialism, and smelly cheese.

And if your sissified neighbors complain? Just tell them it isn’t an overgrown lawn, it’s a strategic alternative food reserve system, and they can come over and graze when disaster hits. Their eyes will tear with gratitude. And if they don’t? Well, the town usually gives you ten days to mow before they levy fines.