JACKSON-Community inclusion is great.  It’s something every town should actively engage in.  Municipalities should accommodate and make all residents feel welcomed and wanted.

That was the intended goal when Jackson Township Mayor Michael Reina appointed eight religious leaders to a new board of clergymen to assist residents in their time of need.

Six out of the eight appointments were people who are actively engaged with the Jackson community, pounding the pavement and part of the ever changing fabric of what makes Jackson Township.

Two however have caused the community to doubt its future once again after so much progress has been made between the schtickle pioneers of the Orthodox Jewish community and the greater Jackson community.

One rabbi, Mordechai Burnstein has been an open advocate on community building between the two communities.   He is seen regularly at township council meetings, meet the mayor events and other community events. He is always available for discussion to help Jackson residents understand and hopefully, accept his fellow Orthodox Jews who have decided to call Jackson home.

Like the original settlers of the New World, our ancestors came to America for a new life, “Far from the reaches of kingdom and pope,” as penned by the wisdom of John Kay.

Same with the “schtickle pioneers” who chose to come to Jackson over the past few years.  They left their old lives to start new.  They came to Jackson for the same reason most of us ended up in Jackson.  To get away from it all, live a simple life in a nice neighborhood in a nice rural community.

5 rabbis were appointed, but three were appointed to represent the same 600 or so Orthodox Jewish households in town.   Mordechai Burnstein, who lives in Jackson and two others who are deeply entrenched in Lakewood and county politics received the nominations from the mayor.   The other two are Yankel Wenger and Israel Burstyn.

I consider Wenger and Burstyn friends of mine, hopefully after this editorial, they could still see it that way, but for me, Jackson comes first.   I met them both through JTOWN Magazine and covering events around the county.  They are both men of decent character and if they ever do decide to move to Jackson, I would completely welcome them as members of our township clergy, but since their appointment, residents in town, both Orthodox and non-Orthodox have wondered why?

It’s a big problem for a community that is trying very hard to become one community, bound by their similarities, not separated by their religions.  This is not to say there are nefarious intentions in play, but the goal of Jackson moving forward should be to have a clear and defined border between what is Jackson and what is Lakewood.

While some use “Don’t become Lakewood” as an anti-Orthodox rallying cry, “Don’t become Lakewood” means just what it says.  When I moved to Jackson from Toms River in 2004, I could have moved to Lakewood…but I chose Jackson instead…for the same reasons most of the people here chose Jackson.

The blurring of the clear boundaries of both geographical and political lines between Jackson and Lakewood should never happen because it is that blurring that will eventually turn Jackson into Lakewood.

This was a political appointment under the guise of religious needs, but the religious needs of the Jackson Orthodox community have spoken loudly and clearly, they don’t need Lakewood rabbis representing them in their local government.  They seem quite happy with the appointment of Burnstein to represent those 600 families.

For the sake of moving forward in the future and the future success of Orthodox and Non-Orthodox relations in Jackson, I would ask that Wenger and Burstyn reject their appointments to serve as Lakewood residents within the township government.  If they truly cared about Jackson being one community, they would respectfully decline this offer.

TOMS RIVER-Ocean County Freeholder Joseph Vicari would like to see Trenton do more to fix the current conditions of New Jersey’s state roads that pass through Toms River as construction projects have seemingly spun out out control.

Vicari said the project to improve Route 166 and Route 37 have had adverse effects on local businesses and traffic long before the reported motorcycle crash last week due to potholes on Route 37.

READ MORE: Motorcycle Crash Blamed on Potholes on Route 37.

“Before this incident, we have been telling the state they need to do a better job,” Vicari said. “I had the chance to meet and speak with Governor Murphy when he was here and I asked him if he could do something, he said he would look into it.”

Ocean County Freeholder Joe Vicari.

Vicari said the crash on Route 37 that went viral last week only highlighted the problems he and other residents have faced for quite some time.  Vicari lives near Route 37 and he said the road had been littered with potholes, but is powerless to help residents because it is ultimately a state road, outside of the jurisdiction of the county.  Vicari said occasionally, state road crews drive by filling holes with “cold patch”, which he described essentially as compacted gravel.

“Now, cars drive down the road and now they have rocks coming at their windows, they’re hitting potholes, it’s all costing the drivers here,” he said.

Vicari also criticized two Chris Christie era road projects, the Route 37 bridge and Route 166.   Vicari said the nearly $100 million bridge project could have been done differently with a long term goal in mind.

Toms River Councilman Brian Kubiel.

“Here we spent all this month, to repair a nearly 75 year old bridge that was damaged in Superstorm Sandy for tens of millions of dollars and it looks no better than it did before,” he said. “We still have a draw bridge that opens every 30 minutes, backs up traffic in the summer all the way down Route 37, affects businesses along the road when we should have probably replaced it.  Eventually it will have to be torn down and replace, why not do it when we had the opportunity?  So now, we spent all this money that might get us another twenty years or so, then we’ll have to tear it down and build a new one.”

When it comes to the pothole issues on Route 37, Vicari said there is a state plan to repave the highway, but he doesn’t expect it to begin until at least 2019.

Meanwhile, on Route 166, troubles continue for businesses plagued with constant traffic pattern shifts and closures.  Vicari said at some points during construction, some of the local businesses had to be shut down because of the construction, costing local merchants much needed income.

Toms River Councilman Brian Kubiel said he has been adamant on making sure the state knows the burdens being placed on local residents because of the construction and neglect along Route 37.

“This is another reason why I have been an advocate to have Governor Murphy to take charge of this project and get it completed,” Kubiel who is also the administrator of the Toms River Fire Department.  “Unfortunately, this incident could have resulted in death. Thankfully they were experienced riders who knew how to deal with the situation which prevented serious injuries.”

Vicari said he will give the new governor a chance to remedy the situation, since most of the problems facing Toms River’s state roads come at the hands of former Republican Governor Chris Christie.

by Christian Antunez

HOWELL-On May 9, 2018, Howell Township Police Department arrested 62-year old David F. Hohsfield of Columbus Avenue in Whiting and charged him with eight counts of harassment. The arrest comes after Hohsfield allegedly followed women and their daughters as young as 8 years old, around stores in Howell while purposely making sexually explicit and vulgar comments in their presence. Hohsfield, a Tier 3 registered sex offender according to the New Jersey State Police Sex Offender Internet Registry, was charged with one count of harassment per victim which are fourth degree crimes due to his status as a parolee.

On May 4, 2018 Howell Police responded to the Target in Howell where the female victims, a mother and her 12 year-old daughter, reported being followed around the store. At one point, the man later identified as Hohsfield, followed the 12 year-old female around the children’s swimsuit section. While she was being followed the man was making sexually explicit comments as he pretended to speak to someone on his Bluetooth cell phone earpiece. The girl notified her mother and they contacted security, however, Hohsfield had already left the store.

After learning of the incident via social media, another female victim reported a similar incident occurring at the TJMaxx store located in the adjoining shopping plaza as Target, also on May 4. The woman was accompanied by her 11 year-old daughter who heard Hohsfield making sexually explicit and vulgar comments in the same manner previously reported.

Two more incidents occurred on May 7 at WalMart and Target in Howell. In those cases the two females and their 12 and 8 year old daughters, who were at separate locations and are unknown to each other, were followed around the stores while Hohsfield engaged in similar conduct previously reported.

Howell Township Police Department and Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office are working together to find more victims who have not reported the incident to police and are asking they come forward by contacting Detective Sergeant Christian Antunez #243 at [email protected],Det. Janet Benitez #627 at [email protected] or by calling Howell Police headquarters at (732)938-4111.