Community News

Mayor Gotto: Howell Township Municipal Alliance Making A Difference in the Lives of Our Citizens

 

HOWELL-Formed in 1989 for the prevention of drug, alcohol and tobacco use among Howell Township youth, the Howell Township Municipal Alliance (HTMA) addressed the township council at Monday nights’ town meeting to tell the council and township of their efforts.

HTMA co-chairs Christa Riddle and Howell Township Police Officer Michael  Pavlick were in attendance at the meeting.

The HTMA partners with the township, police department and school district and coordinates a united township effort when it comes to youth prevention related issues in Howell.

“The biggest goal for this year to get out into the community a lot more.    Many people don’t know what the alliance is.  I wasn’t quite sure until I got involved,” Pavlick said.  “We’re going to try to get to as many youth events as we can and try to talk to the kids about the dangers of drugs, alcohol abuse and other topics we have.”

Pavlick said that you can expect to find HTMA volunteers this year at youth sporting events and invited members of the community to join the alliance and volunteer to help or provide ideas on how they can better serve and connect with the community.

“We’re always looking for volunteers,” he said.

“We’re for the prevention of substance abuse, suicide, bullying and anything prevention to protect the youth of our town,” Riddle said.   “We do a lot of prevention programs through schools, the town, police and mayor and hope to see you at our events.”

“Over the last couple of years, I have had the pleasure of working with Christa and Mike,” Gotto said. “I wanted to thank them for everything you do.”  Gotto said the partnership between the township, the police department and the HTMA has allowed the township to connect to the community and deliver prevention focused public service announcements.  He also said the HTMA partnership with the police department and township has allowed the town to find new ways to secure funding and grants for prevention initiatives.

“You’re really making a difference in the lives of our citizens,” Gotto addded. “Thank you.”

The HTMA publishes the Prevention Press newsletter six times annually.  Prevention Press updates the community about the activities of the HTMA and offers prevention advice and news.   It is distributed through the schools and current and past editions are available online.

“The leadership in this town has always taken an active role in prevention, and recent events have made us more aware that additional work is still needed,” Gotto wrote in the January edition of the Prevention Press.  “We work closely with Chief Kudrick and the task force created within the police department so we hear first-hand what is really going on in our community regarding substance abuse.  This allows us to collaborate with the Howell Alliance to implement effective prevention strategies specifically aimed at the problems we face as a community. There is no cookie-cutter solution that works in every town. Every municipality has its own dynamic due to location and demographics.”

You can learn more about the HTMA or read the latest edition of Prevention Press online.

Mayor Gotto Recognizes Howell Girls Basketball Champions

HOWELL-Howell Township mayor William Gotto and the township council recognized the Howell Hawks U11 travel basketball team for their 2015-16  Mid-Monmouth County Championship.

“It’s always a pleasure for us to reward and recognize people who have amazing accomplishments in the township especially when we get young boys and girls to go out and compete and represent Howell in a fantastic and positive way,” Gotto said.  “We recognize them for their hard work and team spirit and their positive influence they’ve had on the township.”

Coach Mike Greene thanked Gotto and the council.

“We’ve been here three years in a row, two years losing  by a basket, this year by winning a point,” Greene said.  “These kids are so inspirational to me for what they do every day. I’m very proud of them.”

The girls finished their season with a 15-1 record.

“These kids are simply the best,” Greene added. “They really are.”

Manchester Police Searching for Missing 24 Year Old Woman

The Manchester Township Police Department is seeking the public’s assistance in locating a missing township woman, Amanda Picard, who was last seen on February 5, 2016, at her grandmother’s residence in Holiday City, Berkeley.

She was dropped off by her parents at her grandmother’s home for the weekend on February 5th and has not been seen since. She does not have an active license or own a vehicle and there is no possible destination information available. Furthermore, she left the residence without her cell phone. Ms. Picard is described as a 24-year-old white female, 5’7” tall, 130 pounds, with green eyes and brown hair.

If anyone has any information concerning the whereabouts of Amanda Picard, or has had any form of communication with her, please contact the Manchester Township Police Dispatch immediately at 732-657-6111 or Detective Rich Jupinka at 732-657-2009, ext. 4206. Anonymous tips can be submitted online at www.Manchesterpolicenj.com. Tips may also be submitted through private Facebook message. Any help the public can provide in locating this individual is greatly appreciated.

Toms River to Set New Date for Chabad Hearing

On Thursday, the Toms River zoning board will announce a new date for the hearing of the application for the Chabad Jewish Center of Toms River.  The controversial application involving a Jewish community center’s variance has caused the township to move meetings to the auditorium at Toms River High School North.    After canceling the February 18th meeting, the board is scheduled to meet tonight, but will not hear testimony on the Chabad application.

Tonight’s regularly scheduled meeting will be held at 7:30 pm in the L. Manuel Hirshblond Room, Town Hall, 33 Washington Street, Toms River, New Jersey. It will be listed on the agenda for rescheduling purposes only.

 

Toms River Township Bans Real Estate Soliciting in North Dover

Township Administrator: Unchecked real estate canvassing is fertile ground for blockbusting.

TOMS RIVER-A large portion of the North Dover section of Toms River Township has been declared as off-limits to door to door real estate salespeople after complaints by residents here.   On Tuesday night the township council voted unanimously to sanction the canvassing after months of aggressive door-knocking went unchecked, with numerous complaints dating back to last summer when the apparent surge began.

Residents say realtors from Lakewood based real estate companies have been engaging in overly aggressive tactics to persuade homeowners to sell their homes to Orthodox Jewish families seeking to vacate Lakewood Township.

The area affected runs from the town’s border with Jackson Township, where residents are encountering the same issues, south to Riverwood Drive.

Door to door soliciting in the township has been restricted in Toms River since 2004 when a traveling magazine salesman entered the home of an elderly woman and brutally murdered her.

“Beginning in mid- to late 2015, the Township received increasing reports and complaints of real estate agents, most of whom were based in other municipalities, going door-to-door in certain neighborhoods and using highly intrusive, intimidating, and questionable tactics to induce residents to sell their homes,” Shives said in the report. 

In 2015, the township enacted a second ordinance that covered real estate canvassing that prohibited “blockbusting”, the threat of racial or religious intimidation to scare people into selling their homes.

“Nonetheless, real estate canvassing in certain sections of the Township continued unabated, either in direct defiance of these ordinances or through the newly established permit procedure, whereby a select few real estate agencies would, on a monthly basis, repeatedly mine the same neighborhoods attempting to generate sales,” Shives said. “Additionally, residents in these neighborhoods reported being approached — even accosted – in their front yards and on their streets by individuals eager to purchase their homes.”

Vocal public opposition to these incidents prompted the Township to explore other ways to combat real estate canvassing, which had reached excessive levels. In researching how other juris dictions have dealt with this issue, the Division of Law discovered a New York statute permitting the imposition of “cease and desist” zones to prohibit door-to-door solicitations of real estate in areas that experienced intense and repeated canvassing. That statute was upheld by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit against a constitutional challenge, Anderson v. Treadwell. 294 R3d 453, 456-57 (2d Or. 2002), cert, denied. 538 LLS, 986 (2003). The United States Supreme Court denied review, letting the ruling, and the “cease and desist” statute, stand.

Township officials said through a lengthy investigation they did find evidence that Lakewood’s realtors engaged in blockbusting and other suspicious behavior.

Shives said the township found credible evidence to support the residents’ claims of stalking and harassment by real estate agents to attempt to coerce homeowners to sell.

The township held a public hearing that detailed incidents in North Dover.  The Tallymawr development, which is the northernmost residential neighborhood along Whitesville Road was witness to many complaints.

Residents complained of frequent real-estate “Drive-bys” and realtors walking the neighborhood taking photographs of homes not for sale.

“Realtors and buyers were approached by another neighbor … in front of my house,” one Tallymawr resident claimed.  “An argument ensued where the realtor had gone through a stop sign while texting and speeding while there [were] children playing, all part of a Monday afternoon activity of going through the neighborhood taking pictures of houses.”

Residents also complained about a high volume of canvassing done on Christmas eve.

Others complained about realtors speeding through developments asking children if they know of any homes for sale in the neighborhood.

“Over the past several months, certain neighborhoods, specifically those in the northwest quadrant of the Township, have been persistently and aggressively besieged by real estate canvassers,” Shives said in the report.

Shives argued that a cease and desist action was necessary because unchecked real estate canvassing is fertile ground for blockbusting.

The township found through their investigations real estate agents did engage in drive-by photographing of homes, accosting teenagers, sent mailers of questionable validity, sped through residential neighborhoods and engaged in aggressive behavior.

Aggressive real estate tactics are not unique to Toms River.  Nearby, Jackson Township officials are grappling with the same problems, but have yet to introduce any solid legislation or take any firm action against realtors.  In Howell and Brick, township officials have reexamined and introduced ordinances to protect residents from the aggressive tactics.

 

 

2013 Miss New Jersey Dies From Injuries Sustained in Crash

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A former Miss New Jersey winner critically injured in a crash last week died this morning at Cooper University Hospital in Camden. Cara McCollum, 24, of Margate, died at 4:31 a.m. Monday, according to a Facebook group, “Prayers for Cara,” which has provided periodic updates about her condition. McCollum was driving a 2014 Ford Mustang convertible…

New Jersey DOT Announces Route 37 Bridge Restrictions Prior to Polar Bear Plunge

Visitors to Seaside Heights this weekend and during the St. Patrick’s Day weekend events may have to seek alternative routes, according to the New Jersey Department of Transportation.   The NJDOT said the construction project on the Mathis Bridge will cause longer than normal traffic delays.

“In order to minimize congestion and help traffic flow as smoothly as possible for this weekend’s Polar Bear Plunge, and for St. Patrick’s Day festivities in March, NJDOT is working with local officials and event organizers to direct traffic to use multiple routes to get to Seaside Heights while Route 37 eastbound/Mathis Bridge is under construction for the winter/spring season until May 12th,” the NJ DOT said. “During construction there is one eastbound travel lane and two westbound travel lanes available on the Tunney Bridge. Although one eastbound lane is open, motorists choosing to use Route 37 eastbound to get to special events in Seaside Heights can expect congestion and delays. Visitors should allow for more travel time in getting to their destination.”

No parade floats or trailers over 11′ will be permitted on the bridge eastbound into Seaside Heights.

The $74 million federally-funded Mathis Bridge project will replace the existing bridge deck, which is 65 years old, make safety improvements to the barrier and railings, and repair and replace mechanical and electrical components that operate the moveable lift span.

Construction is anticipated to take place for three seasons and is expected to be completed by the summer 2018. The construction cycle requiring a full closure of the Mathis Bridge will be limited to November 1 to April 30 each year. During each of these construction cycles, summer traffic from approximately May 15 to September 15 will not be affected and all three current lanes on each bridge will be open to traffic.

New storm-protecting berm lasts just one storm

HOLGATE — It took only a couple days of storms to wash away week’s worth of work to build a protective berm on Long Beach Island where successive storms have taken their toll on many beaches this winter, officials said on Wednesday. In what literally has been a situation of shoveling sand against the tide, Long…

"The Train I was Supposed to Take Blew Up"

Shyam Patel (right), a recent graduate of Montclair State University, tells his girlfriend, Amina Abdelrahman (left), a story about the summer vacation he will never be able to forget. It was July 11, 2006. That was the day that my family and I were leaving India, after a spending the summer visiting relatives. We planned on…

Meet N.J.'s new 'American Idol' contender Gianna Isabella

JACKSON — For years, “American Idol” has chronicled its contestants by splitting their lives in two, juxtaposing the singers’ polished, pop-star performances with humanizing, “this could be you’ backstories. A typical “Idol” tale goes like this: “John rocks the night away as his bar-band’s gritty frontman — when he’s not busy as a construction worker and…