Clear roads pave way for winter fun

February 7, 2010 by Phil Stilton  
Filed under Feature, Jackson News

Clear roads pave way for winter fun

Jackson, NJ -  By early Sunday morning most roads in Jackson had been cleared to the surface and residents began venturing back out into the world.   With a combined effort between the mayor’s office and the Department of Public works, road crews worked through the night to ensure that all major arteries were clear and most residential roads were being attended to ahead of one of the busiest... 

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Road crews work feverishly to clear roads

February 6, 2010 by Phil Stilton  
Filed under Jackson News

Road crews work feverishly to clear roads

Jackson, NJ – Despite snowfall in the amount of approximately one-half to one inch per hour today, the Jackson Township Department of Public Works crews are working non-stop to clear roads across the township’s 100 square miles.    Crews began digging out early in the morning and will be working non-stop until streets are cleared. Mayor Mike Reina said today that he  ”Hopes that... 

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357 Acres to be preserved in Jackson Township

February 6, 2010 by Phil Stilton  
Filed under Feature, Jackson News

357 Acres to be preserved in Jackson Township

Jackson, NJ – This past November, Jackson Residents felt the loophole in the township’s open space ordinance was too much to spend on land preservation.  At the time, many members of the community pointed out at town hall meetings that a nearly 100% increase in money collected for preservation was too much to ask during these difficult times. The measure was eventually defeated as a referendum... 

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Jackson Township prepares and braces for blizzard

February 6, 2010 by Phil Stilton  
Filed under Feature, Jackson News

Jackson Township prepares and braces for blizzard

Jackson, NJ – As the first snow began to fall Friday night in Jackson Township, crews were ready to go to avoid a repeat of the incident this past December where a record snowfall caught the township and county public works departments off guard. This time around, Mayor Mike Reina’s office made sure the word got out that crews will be working around the clock to remove snow.    Calls... 

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Holman Elementary students score one for Jackson with SOUPerbowl

February 5, 2010 by Phil Stilton  
Filed under Feature, Jackson News, Local Schools

Holman Elementary students score one for Jackson with SOUPerbowl

Jackson, NJ – Over the past week, students at the Lucy N. Holman Elementary School participated in the Souper Bowl, an event to raise donations of soup for the Jackson Food Pantry.    As students brought in their soup donations, they could choose to put their cans in either the New Orleans Saints or Indianapolis Colts marked bins located in the school foyer. Children placed their soup in... 

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Fire alarm causes evacuation of Jackson Liberty High School again

February 3, 2010 by Phil Stilton  
Filed under Jackson News, Local Schools

Jackson, NJ – Jackson Township emergency crews were once again dispatched to Jackson Liberty High School in response to a fire alarm.  The alarm went off near the end of first period this morning on a day when students arrived to school after a two hour delayed opening due to an overnight snow accumulation. Once again, as happened during the January fire incident at the school, students were... 

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Ocean County graduates three Cassville firefighters

February 1, 2010 by Phil Stilton  
Filed under Feature, Jackson News

Jackson, NJ- Graduation Ceremonies were held at the Ocean County Fire and EMS Training Center in Waretown on January 27th   Firefighters Robert Avilla, Jean-Paul Bergeron, and Anthony Riso of the Cassville Vol. Fire Co. #1, along with firefighters from all over Ocean County celebrated successful completion of their Firefighter Level I certification and training. “These 3 fine young men completed... 

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Christie shows schools he means business, vetoes $1.2m change order

February 1, 2010 by Phil Stilton  
Filed under New Jersey News

Governor Chris Christie exercised his veto power for the first time related to a $1.267 million change order approved on January 6 by the board of the Schools Development Authority. Including the vetoed amount, change orders for construction of a new addition to the Burlington City High School in the Burlington School District total $18.825 million. The original contract price was $28,723,000, meaning... 

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Would you throw away $3.4 million? Well you will be if you pay taxes in Jackson

January 31, 2010 by Phil Stilton  
Filed under Jackson News

Jackson, NJ – As I go over the proposed 2010-11 Jackson Township Schools budget proposals, I keep finding glaring inconsistencies in the budget when compared with the statements made by the BOE and Superintendent at our meetings.  Today, I discovered that despite the rally call for “reducing energy costs” by both, it is nothing more than a verbal decree as this reduction is not evident... 

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Jackson Schools miss much needed repairs after BOE gaffe

January 30, 2010 by Phil Stilton  
Filed under Local Schools

Statewide, $280 million in school construction referendums were rejected by voters.  Only two projects totaling $10.35 million were successfully approved last Tuesday by voters.  First, a simple $395,000 request to fix a roof in a Motague Township elementary school made the cut.  Secondly, a stand alone $9.9 million solar panel project in Cumberland County also made the cut. Instead, the Jackson... 

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What to do with kids in Ocho Rios

January 26, 2010 by Phil Stilton  
Filed under Travel

Ocho Rios, Jamaica – Ocho Rios, or Ochi is a very popular cruise ship destination set far away from the hustle and bustle of Jamaica’s major ports of Kingston and Montego Bay.   For many family travellers, Jamaica is sometimes a nervous experience the first time you go after hearing stories of depressed inner city political strife, gang violence and unsafe places for tourists.      Those... 

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Local martial arts master gives children confidence to break bad habits

January 24, 2010 by Phil Stilton  
Filed under Feature, Jackson News

Local martial arts master gives children confidence to break bad habits

Master Alders teaches Jackson children about breaking bad habits. Jackson, NJ – Master Eric Alders  of The Karate Dojo in Jackson Township held a free seminar for local children Saturday afternoon aimed at helping them break bad habits and gain confidence in their ability to break that habit after the seminar ended.     The group of mostly 4 to 8 year olds spent the first thirty minutes... 

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Three Jackson Township Schools Fall Short of Annual Yearly Progress goals

January 22, 2010 by Phil Stilton  
Filed under Feature, Local Schools

Trenton, NJ – Jackson Memorial High School, Goetz Middle School and Christa McCauliffe Middle School have been identified by the New Jersey Department of Education as schools which have failed to meet the  Annual Yearly Progress goals for 2009-10.  The federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), a authorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) requires states to implement... 

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Food voucher program helps Ocean County residents in need

January 22, 2010 by Phil Stilton  
Filed under Local News

TOMS RIVER – With funding from Ocean County, 25 food pantries currently are helping to meet some specialized food needs for a number of the county’s most vulnerable and needy residents through a Food Voucher Program. “Through this program we are attempting to help our most vulnerable citizens obtain proper food items to help maintain their health and meet their nutritional needs,”... 

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Jackson Township firefighters recount response to Liberty High School alarm

January 22, 2010 by Phil Stilton  
Filed under Feature, Jackson News

Jackson Township firefighters recount response to Liberty High School alarm

Jackson firefighters on the roof of Jackson Liberty High School searching for the source of smoke which caused an evacuation of the school. (Photo Courtesy Jackson Bureau of Fire Safety) Jackson, NJ  -  Firefighters from Jackson Station 55 and Whitesville Station 57 Fire Departments responded to a fire alarm at Jackson Liberty High Schools at approximately 8:17 am today. Within four minutes of dispatch,... 

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Emergency crews respond to fire alarm at Jackson Liberty High School

January 22, 2010 by Phil Stilton  
Filed under Feature, Local News, Local Schools

Emergency crews respond to fire alarm at Jackson Liberty High School

Jackson Township Firefighters respond to call at Jackson Liberty High School. Jackson, NJ  – An alarm sounded at approximately 8:30 am this morning as students were starting their day at Jackson Liberty High School.    When students and staff  noticed  smoke in the second floor of the schools, they responded immediately by pulling the fire alarm according to the fire department.   The... 

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Jackson and Brick take different paths on school board referendums

January 21, 2010 by Phil Stilton  
Filed under Local Schools

New Jersey School Boards Association cautions boards about uncertain state financial situation Jackson, NJ – Marie S. Bilik, New Jersey School Board Association Director last week issued a “Lame-Duck Postmortem” regarding several education based proposals which saw no action before the end of Jon Corzine’s tenure in office.     Several of the union backed measures would... 

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Chris Christie signs Transparency in Government Act

January 20, 2010 by Phil Stilton  
Filed under New Jersey News

       Senator Joe Pennacchio and Senate Republican Leader Tom Kean congratulated Governor Christie for making the “Transparency in Government Act” his among his first Executive Orders. The Executive Order, which has the force of law, will create a searchable, easy-to-use Web site that taxpayers can use to track government spending.                           “It’s... 

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Tom Kean praises Christie’s transparency order

January 20, 2010 by Phil Stilton  
Filed under New Jersey News

Senate Republican Leader Tom Kean said he is pleased by executive orders that  Governor Chris Christie signed today to revive the state’s economy, help businesses create jobs, and bring refreshing openness and accountability to government.             “These steps show that New Jersey citizens have chosen well and voted in a man of character and decisiveness,” Senator Kean said.            ... 

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New York Times to follow newspaper industry off the cliff

January 20, 2010 by Phil Stilton  
Filed under Business

One of the reasons I left the newspaper industry in 1999 was because as a an Information Technology engineer working on the cutting edge of technology, I realized after 4 1/2 years of working with the Asbury Park Press in Neptune, NJ that the newspaper industry just doesn’t get it. Back in 1995 I was part of a ground breaking team, led ultimately by Jules Plangere III, then owner of the... 

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