Brick Officials Work to Ensure Pedestrian Safety Near Beaches

Brick's portion of Route 35 patrolled by police officers, crossing guards all summer long

The barrier island staple of traveling on foot or by beach cruiser bike has been a way of life for many, as natives and tourists find it easier than trying to drive Route 35 and find parking. But is the mix of resort towns, a busy Route 35 straightaway, and heavy pedestrian traffic a safe one? On the night of June 17, a 17-year-old pedestrian was struck in a hit-and-run incident while walking south on the east side of Route 35 northbound near Silver Beach Road. The teen was critically injured. It was the most serious collision between pedestrian and vehicle known on the barrier island this season. Brick guards, police on patrol However, the state only controls so much. The funding and number of crossing guards and police officer stations …

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Sunday Morning Parkway Accident Fatal to Lacey Woman

State Police confirm the crash near mile-marker 89.2 southbound.

A 39-year-old Lacey Township woman was killed early Sunday morning in a one-car accident on the Garden State Parkway, according to State Police spokesman Sgt. Julian Castellanos. Penelope Jones-Scarpa,  of the Forked River section  of Lacey Township,  was pronounced dead at 3:25 a.m., according to police sources.  She was the single mother of two who was on her way home from work. The Toms River Police Department also responded to the accident, where police found the women's car off the highway, where it apparenetly struck a  line of trees. First arriving State Police officers first reported three victims of the accident as DOA (dead on arrival) at mile-marker 89.2 in the southbound lanes of the Parkway. But police later said there was one…

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Video: Chris Matlosz, and Goodbye

Bagpipes, a riderless horse and tears for the slain Lakewood officer

Many echoed the phrase "remember him" Friday as Lakewood Police Officer Chris Matlosz was laid to rest. In that spirit, Patch.com has put together a slideshow of images to capture a day of pageantry and sadness for the slain 27-year-old, who was a Manchester resident and Howell High School graduate. Click on the video icon to view the slideshow.

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Brick Schools Will Be Delayed 90 Minutes Tuesday

No morning BEST program

Brick Township schools will be delayed by 90 minutes Tuesday morning.

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Suspect Caught; $5M Bail Set in Lakewood Cop Killing; Funeral Arrangements Made

Crockam apprehended in Camden by state and federal 'high risk entry' teams, taken to Ocean County Jail in Toms River

The suspect in the murder of a Lakewood police officer was captured Sunday during an early morning “high-risk entry” in a Camden apartment, ending a two-day manhunt for the killer, authorities said. The suspect, Jahmell Crockam, 19, is accused of killing Chris Matlosz, a 27-year-old Lakewood police officer from Manchester who was a Howell High School alumnus, authorities said. A viewing will be held Wednesday from 4 to  9 p.m. at the Lakewood Funeral Home in Howell. A funeral Mass will be held at 12 p.m. Thursday at St. Mary of the Lake Church on Route 9 in Lakewood. A candlelight vigil for Matlosz will be held at 7:30 p.m. Monday in front of the Lakewood Police Headquarters at 231 Third Street. Police arrested Crockam at 6:30 a.m. Sunday …

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What gets delivered in a blizzard? Mail no, pizzas yes

Deliveries were a mixed bag as snow hampers drivers.

Toms River residents anxious for Christmas credit card bills to start arriving in their mailboxes today, or hoping to return a wrong-size, wrong-color or wrong-preference gift via FedEx, can blame 27 inches of fluffy white stuff for putting the kabosh on their plans. Some couldn't even raise a live body on the phone at Toms River branch of the U.S. Post Office, or at Silverton Pharmacy, a USPS vendor. "A lot of deliveries were suspended in those areas today," said Ray Daiutolo Sr., USPS spokesman for the region that includes Toms River. "Employees had a hard time getting to work and getting mail to the post offices there. There may have been some deliveries made, but not much." Want to get mail on Tuesday? Make sure access to your curbside…

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Ocean County Judge Halts Prayer in Point Beach

ACLU Says Order Shows Government Cannot Show Religious Preference

An Ocean County judge ordered Point Pleasant Beach officials on Friday to stop holding prayer at municipal council meetings, according to an ACLU press release. The American Civil Liberties Union's New Jersey chapter said the judge's order "clearly violated the New Jersey constitution, which obligates the government to not show a preference for one religion over another." "We support the right of government officials to pray on their own time, but when they act as the voice of government, they cannot promote their own religious beliefs," said Jeanne LoCicero, ACLU-NJ Deputy Legal Director, who argued the motion. The policy allowed its municipal council members to lead meetings with prayers that reflect their personal religious beliefs, …

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School Employees To Be Switched to State-Run Health Plan

Over objections from the leader of Brick's teachers union, BOE votes to switch health insurance carriers to save up to $1.2 million.

Employees of the Brick Township school district will now have their health benefits provided through a state-run insurance plan. The Board of Education voted in favor of switching to the state plan from directly buying health insurance policies from Horizon Blue Cross-Blue Shield of New Jersey. The plan could save taxpayers up to $1.2 million per year, according to James Edwards, the district's business administrator. The move was panned by Brick Township Education Association leader Tim Puglisi, who said employees were notified of the potential switch only one day before the board was set to vote on the matter. The board met Thursday; the agenda for the meeting was posted on the district's Web site during the day on Tuesday. Still, the …

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Shoreview

Shoreview: A Brick Story

It's Good to Be Back in Brick Township

Beyond the tree-lined roads and horse farms, and far away from the traffic that routinely packed the Laurelton Circle, my father made his living, one day at a time. It wasn't always easy getting out of bed at 5 a.m. every day, for 20 years, and facing a few hundred chatty kids who packed the small classrooms of the aging Herbertsville Elementary School. Stan Davis was a teacher, then principal of a school that was so crowded, there wasn't enough room for an all-purpose room. Gym class and lunch were always held in the classrooms, right at the students' desks. But my father got up every day, anyway, for 20 years, and he didn't really ever want to let go of the old-fashioned simplicity that long defined the Herbertsville section of Brick. "…

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