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Two State Troopers, Driver Airlifted After Dump Truck Crashed into Motor Vehicle Stop

Knowlton Twp., Warren County-Two New Jersey State troopers were injured in a crash on Interstate 80 in Knowlton Twp. yesterday afternoon.

At approximately 2:00 p.m., a trooper stopped a Honda Accord in the area of milepost 5.3 westbound. While the trooper was speaking with the driver outside of his vehicle, another trooper was traveling westbound in a Chevrolet Caprice, attempting to assist.

As the trooper was approaching the stop, the Caprice was struck in the rear by a Mack dump truck. The impact of the crash forced the Caprice onto the right shoulder and into the rear of the Honda, which was then pushed forward striking the trooper and the driver of the Honda.

Both troopers and the driver of the Honda were airlifted to Morristown Memorial Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The driver of the dump truck was not injured in the crash.

Cause of the crash is still under investigation.

Pedestrian in Critical Condition after Being Struck by Car

On March 2nd at 7:38 pm police and medical units responded to the area of Route 37 and Hawser place for a motor vehicle crash. Upon arrival they located Lovell Smith, 39, lying in the travel lane of Route 37. Smith, of South Toms River, was transported by medevac helicopter to Jersey Shore Medical Center where she remains in critical condition.

Traffic Officer Adam Koeppen determined that Ms. Smith was at the Pine Rest Motel and was dog sitting a friends pet. The dog broke free and ran into Route 37 where it was struck by a 2006 GMC Envoy. The driver of the GMC immediately stopped to check on the dog. Ms. Lovell then entered the roadway, presumably to check on the dog. She was subsequently struck by a 2003 Ford Explorer that was being driven westbound on Route 37. The driver of the Ford, Gary Meseroll, 53, had no opportunity to avoid the impact with the woman. Meseroll, of Toms River, had no signs of impairment and charges are not expected to be filed against him.

Assisting Officer Koeppen are members of the Toms River Traffic Safety Unit, Ocean County Prosecutors Office Vehicular Investigation Unit, and the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department CSI Unit. The condition of the dog is not known at this time.

7 Buildings Damaged in Ocean Grove Fire

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_images_carousel images=”94577,94578,94579,94580,94581,94582″ img_size=”800×450″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Fire has damaged 7 buildings overnight in Ocean Grove.  Visit https://twitter.com/neptuneoem to get details on this story.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Ocean County Sheriff's Officer Charged with Stealing "Training Cocaine"

by Al DellaFave, OCPO

TOMS RIVER-Ocean County Prosecutor Joseph D. Coronato and Ocean County Sheriff Michael G. Mastronardy today announced the arrest of Lt. John C. Adams, 40, of the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department. Lt. Adams is charged with second degree Official Misconduct, second degree Theft and third degree Possession of Cocaine.

The charges stem from an investigation conducted by investigators from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, Ocean County Sheriff’s Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Federal Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms Bureau. The investigation revealed that on May 15, 2015, Lt. Adams, who was assigned to the Canine Unit, legitimately came into possession of cocaine for the purpose of training canines to detect the drug. He worked within the unit as a certified canine handler and a certified canine handler instructor. Between May 15, 2015 and February 11, 2017, cocaine was determined to be missing from the location within the Sheriff’s Department where it was kept for periodic training. Subsequent investigation alleges that Adams had diverted the cocaine to his own personal use.

Adams surrendered himself to the Toms River Police Department. He was issued his complaint summons and the Superior Court will schedule his first appearance. Adams is presently suspended from his position with the Sheriff’s Department. He has been an employee of the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department since July 2000.

Costs of Bail Reform Hindering Jersey Shore Town Still in Recovery from Hurricane Sandy

BERKELEY-Berkeley Township New Jersey is a town that in many ways is still recovering from Superstorm Sandy nearly five years ago, but the new costs associated with the Bail Reform and Speedy Trial Act are already taking its toll on the municipal budget.

Mayor Carmen Amato said this week that bail reform in New Jersey is an unfunded state mandate and is requesting the state to pay their fair share of helping his municipality comply with the new regulations imposed on his town.

Bail hearings under the Bail Reform Act are now required for disorderly persons and petty disorderly offenses are held in Superior Court, but the municipalities are now on the hook financially to pay for public defenders and sending those public defenders to appear in Superior Court in Toms River, instead of municipal court, pre-bail reform.

“The foregoing necessitates municipal public defenders being required to appear in Superior Court at a considerable inconvenience and expense to local municipalities,” Amato said today in a statement.

Amato has the backing of the Ocean County Mayor’s Association which drafted a resolution to be delivered to the the New Jersey legislation, Ocean County Freeholders and the New Jersey League of Municipalities.

The resolution, supported by Mayor Amato requests legislation that would require the state to provide the public defender.  Currently,  municipal public defenders to travel to Toms River to represent defendants, under the request proposed by Amato, the state would represent those defendants, not his township.

Jackson Council Pulls Ordinance Targeting Orthodox Jewish Dormitories

The following is a brief recap of the February 28, 2017 Jackson Township council meeting.  A full story will follow later today.

JACKSON-When Jackson Township Council President Ken Bressi proposed a township wide ban on dormitories in his town, it was clear to everyone what the goal of that ordinance was and who the targets were.

In nearby Lakewood Township, home to Beth Medrash Govoha, one of the world’s largest Orthodox Jewish Yeshivas, most Jewish students live in dormitories, but some, in makeshift dormitories, sometimes in homes located in residential areas of the township.   Even though Jackson Township’s border is nearly 5 miles from the BMG campus, out of the required walking distance of the university, the township proposed the ban on dormitories.

These dormitories became a local spotlight in January when a fire at a makeshift Lakewood dormitory displaced 50 students.

Many in Jackson’s Orthodox community felt the ban on dormitories was a moot point since none currently exist and the likelihood of Yeshiva dormitories in the town is very low.  They felt the proposed law was simply another ordinance targeting members of their faith unfairly.

In the past, members of Jackson’s Orthodox community had approached the township council to offer advice and feedback, to work together to craft sensible ordinances that would help maintain the quality of life in town in a manner that would not be seen as a continued crackdown against members of their faith.  Those community leaders said their offer to support the council’s effort to maintain quality of life standards were flatly rejected.

On Tuesday night, as the township council was poised to pass the ordinance, an obvious effort to curb the growth and migration of the growing Orthodox Jewish population, they were met with with an audience of nearly two hundred Orthodox Jewish men who came to protest the action.

Upon seeing the large gathered crowd, the council quickly suspended their regular public business meeting and entered a private executive session, a rare action for the 5 member all-Republican board.

After a few minutes, the council returned to the public meeting and announced it would not be voting on the ordinance and it needed further legal and planning board review, admitting flaws in the manner in which the ordinance was proposed, reviewed and introduced.

The basic rundown…

  • A lawyer representing the Jewish community in town told the council it was one of the most anti-Semitic ordinances he has ever seen.
  • Orthodox Jewish Jackson resident called the Jackson Township council anti-semitic and alt-right fascists.
  • Orthodox Jews in Jackson are upset that the Jackson council has passed numerous ordinance aimed at curbing their growing population in town.
  • Previously, a no-knock ordinance, realtor realtor canvassing laws, a prohibition on trailers and a landlord registration law have all been aimed at slowing down the growth of the Orthodox population in the town.
  • At the first reading of the ordinance, the Jackson council was asked if the ban on dormitories also covered drug recovery homes, nursing homes, halfway houses or the dormitory facilities in the Cassville section of town. The council said it does not.
  • Jackson’s anti-dormitory law was the first such law that could be found anywhere in the United States, raising concerns about constitutionality.
  • The lawyer representing the Orthodox community declared the law an unconstitutional law that is meant to unfairly target the Orthodox Jewish community.
  • The lawyer representing the Orthodox community has already successfully tried and won cases targeting the Orthodox communities in Howell, Toms River and Ocean Township.
  • Many township residents were upset that the township council pulled the ordinance in the face of opposition.
  • Opposition to Jewish growth in town has been mounting over the years through groups such as Jackson Strong who have expressed vocally their dislikes for the rapid growth in town.
  • Despite the setback, the township council will reintroduce a the ordinance on March 14th.
  • Orthodox residents told the Jackson council at the meeting that they wish to maintain the quality of life in Jackson and commended the Jackson zoning board for being strong and said the town should have more faith in the zoning board’s ability to govern development.

The fundamental problem with the ordinance is that no such ordinance has ever been proposed anywhere in the United States.

This story is being published under Creative Commons and may be reproduced and republished without permission or consent of the author.  Attribution/No additional restrictions.

Berkeley Township Mayor, Council Vote to Oppose Bail Reform

BERKELEY-Berkeley Township Mayor Carmen Amato and the township council on Monday passed a resolution to call for the repeal of New Jersey’s new Bail Reform and Speedy Trial Act.

The governing body unanimously approved the resolution which will be sent to Governor Chris Christie, the New Jersey Legislature, New Jersey Courts and office of Attorney General Christopher Porrino.

The council cited the recent resolutions passed by the Ocean County Association of [Police] Chiefs that called for the immediate suspension of the law which has allowed even violent criminals to be release from jail after pre-trial hearings, in some cases, multiple times.

Trump Looks to Give Black Colleges and Universities a Boost

By Anita Kumar and William Douglas

President Donald Trump is expected to provide historically black colleges and universities a long-awaited boost as he looks to outdo his predecessors — including the nation’s first African-American president — on a surprising issue.

Trump will sign an executive order as early as Monday, when the schools’ presidents arrive in Washington for a visit. It’s expected to significantly strengthen the office that pushes the federal government to do business with the colleges by moving it to the White House…

“It would be truly, truly historic,” said Leonard Haynes, a longtime educator who ran the office and is helping to write the executive order. “It’s part of a long time dream…none of (the other presidents) had the courage to do it.”

Though African-Americans overwhelmingly support Democrats at the polls, many education experts credit Republican leaders for helping to improve HBCUs, the common shorthand for historically black schools.

Some black college administrators say they were disappointed in President Barack Obama for not making the schools a priority and, in some cases, harming their financial health and contributing to declining enrollment with the changes he made to loan programs.

“The president has a strong commitment to them and understands over the last eight years they’ve been woefully neglected,” White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said. “And I think he wants to really show a commitment. … And so you’ll see, I think, not just a push this month, but in his budget and going forward.”

During the transition and into the start of his presidency, Trump’s advisers met with HBCU officials as they considered how to make good on Trump’s “New Deal For Black America,” which he unveiled at a speech in Charlotte, N.C. that alluded to black colleges.

Those meetings included Omarosa Manigault, a graduate of Central State University in Ohio and Washington’s Howard University, both HBCUs. She gained fame in the first season of “The Apprentice” and now serves as communications director for the Office of Public Liaison in the White House.

Some are pushing him to commit to a goal that HBCUs be awarded 5 percent of total federal grant, internship and cooperative agreement funding; and 10 percent of total federal contract funding awarded to colleges and universities, which would nearly double federal support to HBCUs. They also hope he will boost funding in his budget to be released mid-March.

The executive order will coincide with the visit of about 90 presidents of historically black colleges and universities, who will be in Washington for a daylong conference. House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C. are scheduled to attend.

SUSPENDED: Liberal Lecturer Punished For Assaulting Conservative Student

A university has suspended a lecturer who was caught on tape assaulting conservative students. Eric Canin, a cultural anthropology lecturer at California State University, Fullerton has been suspended after calling CSUF College Republicans “uneducated,” pushing one of them and a student government member who attempted to intervene, and getting forcibly dragged away by campus security, as…

Slate Under Fire for 'Repulsive' Alan Colmes 'Obituary'

Just hours after liberal Fox News commentator Alan Colmes died on Thursday, a Slate writer devoted an entire article to viciously attacking Colmes as a “buffoon” and a “patsy.” Colmes, who hosted “The Alan Colmes Show” on Fox News radio and was a former co-host of “Hannity & Colmes” with conservative counterpart Sean Hannity from 1996-2009,…

Health Department Sponsors Drunk Driving Awareness at Ocean County Mall

Calleigh McGinley, a senior at Toms River HS North and the president of S.A.D.D. (Students Against Destructive Decisions), navigates a driving course with goggles that simulate the effects of drinking and driving. The Ocean County Health Department sponsored “The 3 D’s: Drinking, Drugging and Driving” to promote awareness of the consequences of driving under the influence.

Manchester Drug Arrest Leads to Vehicle Seizure

MANCHESTER-A Manchester man was arrested on numerous drug charges following a two month narcotics distribution investigation which was led by the Manchester Township Police Department’s Narcotics Enforcement Team (NET).

Jemel Cooper, age 37, of Ridgeway Road was arrested and charged with narcotics offenses after he was found to be in possession of a quantity of heroin and cocaine when officers stopped his vehicle on Route 70 and later executed a court authorized search warrant on his residence.

On Friday evening, February 17th, members of the department’s Narcotics Enforcement Team were conducting surveillance in the area of Cooper’s Ridgeway Road residence when they observed him leaving in a 2011 Dodge Charger. Cooper was stopped on Route 70 near the Toms River border for a motor vehicle violation and found to have in his possession a quantity of crack cocaine. Cooper was arrested without incident and his vehicle was towed to Manchester Police headquarters. During this time, a search warrant of his home was executed wherein an additional quantity of crack cocaine, a quantity of heroin and a large quantity of cash was located. Altogether, police seized over 13 grams of crack cocaine, 110 doses of heroin, and $1,001.00 in cash; believed to be proceeds of narcotic sales from the Manchester area.

Cooper was charged with possession and distribution of heroin, possession and distribution of cocaine, and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was released on criminal summonses pending a court appearance. Cooper’s vehicle was seized pending forfeiture.

Also assisting with this investigation were member of the Manchester Township Police Patrol Bureau and the K-9 Unit.

Residents are reminded that drug tips can be reported to the Manchester Police anonymously at 732-657-6111 or online via the Department’s website, www.manchesterpolicenj.com, by clicking the “Tip Line” link

Brick Snow Corps Debuts in February 9th Storm to Shovel Out Those in Need

Submitted by Brick Township

Brick-The Brick Township Snow Corps was called up for the first time this month, during the February 9th snow storm. Following the storm, Mayor Ducey paid a visit to a few of the people who received much-needed assistance, who talked about how crucial it was for them to have help clearing their cars and driveways. The visits also gave him an opportunity to thank the volunteers personally for their service.

Thank you to the Repage Family, Jason Carey and all the other volunteers for your service and dedication to the program!

TRFC Team Raise Money for Injured Toms River Police Officer

by Ralph Stocco, TRPD

TOMS RIVER-Local youth raise money for injured police officer: A special thank you goes out to Toms River Football Club. TRFC “Hulk” traded goals with TRFC “Dempsey” this weekend as a charity event. The boys played these games outside of their regular schedule to show support for Officer Brett Hansen who was recently injured in an off duty motor vehicle crash. Great job guys and thank you from all of us here at TRPD.

Police Capture Home Burglar in Jackson

On Sunday, February 26, 2017 at approximately 4:40 am, Police Officers Michael Basso and Javier De La Torre responded to a residence located on Brewers Bridge Road on the report of a burglary.

Upon arrival, the residents reported that they believed that an unknown male had attempted to make entry to their house through an unlocked rear door. The residence had a video surveillance system and a recording was played for the officers showing a male subject at the rear door of the residence. The victim initially believed that his barking dog may have scared the suspect away.

A check of the area was conducted for the male suspect but he was not located. Upon further investigation at the residence, it was discovered that the female resident’s wallet was stolen from her purse, which had been on a counter in the room just inside from where the entry was made.

At approximately 7:05 am, Police Officer Cherrick Daniels was on patrol in Anillop Plaza on Brewers Bridge Road when he observed a male who matched the description of the suspect in this incident. Officer Basso responded to the area and was able to positively identify the male as the suspect in the home’s surveillance video he had observed and placed him under arrest.

Arrested:

Antunee Adams, age 21, of Jackson, NJ. He was charged with burglary and theft and released on summons pending a court appearance after being processed.

A short while later, the victim contacted headquarters to advise that the stolen wallet had been located, minus the money that had been inside, near the residence while the victim was walking their dog.

Jackson Police Officers Take the Polar Bear Plunge

Originally published by JPD Sgt. Christopher Parise,

JACKSON-On Saturday February 25, 9 members of the Jackson Police Department took part in the annual Polar Bear Plunge in Seaside Heights. Our Officers were part of the approximate 7,000 people who braved the 42 degree water temperatures to help raise money for the Special Olympics of New Jersey. In the picture below is Sgt Larry Logan, P.O. Robert Reiff, Sgt Christopher Parise, P.O. Kyle Stybe, P.O. Wes Thomason, Sgt Fred Meabe, P.O. Keith French, P.O. Derek Thomason and P.O. Andy Falzarano. Approximately 40,000 people were present at the event which raised 1.8 million dollars for the Special Olympics of New Jersey.

Decomposed leg washes up along Delaware River

NATIONAL PARK — The lower part of a person’s decomposed leg was discovered Sunday after washed up along the shoreline of the Delaware River in Gloucester County, authorities said. A woman found the limb while walking her dog in National Park. The foot was attached to the limb, the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office said in a…