TOMS RIVER – Anthony “Tony” Verdicchio was a 76-year-old creature of habit, who was an avid collector of everything from baseball cards to Disney figurines and who loved flea markets. On the morning of May 12, 2013, Verdicchio stopped on his way out of Mass at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church to wish a long-time friend, Mary…
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Trial starts for man accused of beating elderly neighbor to death
TOMS RIVER – Anthony “Tony” Verdicchio was a 76-year-old creature of habit, who was an avid collector of everything from baseball cards to Disney figurines and who loved flea markets. On the morning of May 12, 2013, Verdicchio stopped on his way out of Mass at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church to wish a long-time friend, Mary…
NASA Remembers Challenger Disaster Astronauts
Arlington National Cemetery Wreath Laying Now to Start at 11 a.m. EST WASHINGTON, Jan. 27, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — NASA will pay will tribute to the crews of Apollo 1 and space shuttles Challenger and Columbia, as well as other NASA colleagues, during the agency’s Day of Remembrance on Thursday, Jan. 28, the 30th anniversary of the…
30th Anniversary of Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster
Lola Gayle, STEAM Register January 28, 1986 was a tragic day in NASA history. At 73 seconds into its flight (11:39 EST, 16:39 UTC), NASA Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart, leading to the deaths of its seven crew members as the orbiter disintegrated over the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Cape Canaveral, Florida. STS-51-L crew:…
Jackson Township Conducting Forensic Audit of Historic Snowfall Cleanup
JACKSON-Days after Jackson Township was hit with over two feet of snow from “Winter Storm Jonas”, Jackson Township officials are looking into the reasons why some township roads remained unplowed almost four days after the last snowflake fell. Mayor Michael Reina said snow removal preparations and operations were running smoothly through Saturday night, but the township had to hire additional outside contractors to complete the job due to the large amount of heavy, wet snow that remained on the town’s 1,800 roads.
Reina confirmed that an emergency meeting was held on Monday afternoon by township officials to devise a plan to handle the large amounts of calls by residents who called the township to inquire about snow removal.
The township entered into new contracts with Bil-Jim Construction of Jackson and Russo Construction of Freehold to supplement the beleaguered crews of A&M Harrison of Jackson and Galloway Enterprises of New Egypt who had been working 24 hour shifts since Saturday night.
“I want to personally thank those township workers who did come out to plow after the storm and the contractors who worked together and got the job done,” he said.
Rumors circulated on social media about many DPW workers not showing for work after Saturday’s initial dig.
Reina said he could not confirm the rumor, but has ordered an audit of records from public works director Fred Rasciewicz.
Delays in the snow removal process prompted the Jackson Township School District to cancel school on Tuesday and remove the in-service day scheduled for Friday although all school grounds were cleared.
On Monday night the township’s new fleet of snow removal equipment sat dormant in the township’s new Burke garage as independent contractors continued digging the town out. Many in town were still snowed in, many roads remained uncleared.
Chet Smilek, shop steward for Transportation Workers Union Local Branch 225 who represents the snow plow drivers employed by the township issued a statement denying that the call-out was organized by his union.
“I would like to put an end to the allegations of an ‘organized union/labor work stoppage'”, he wrote. “At no time was the union contacted for verification or information before these fabricated allegations were made.”
Smilek did not explain why the equipment was idle and township officials were forced to hire expensive private contractors to complete the clean up in the town when it is in possession of one of the newest snow removal fleets in Ocean County.
Over the past several years, Jackson township has invested hundreds of thousands of dollars to replace its once aging fleet of snow removal equipment.
Township Business Administrator Helene Schlegel confirmed the township is reviewing the staffing numbers.
“That information is not yet available and I will not provide any inaccurate numbers,” she said. “I can tell you that we have 25 employees (not counting mechanics) that hold CDL licenses and can operate equipment.”
“Not only is it unconscionable to think that public employees would take any organized action that would jeopardize the safety and welfare of the residents, in most cases, any organized work related action by public employees is illegal and subject to sanctions, both to the individual and the organization that would encourage such activity,” she added. “But again, I have no specific information regarding any organized action.”
Reina said despite the declared state of emergency in Jackson, workers from the union were under no legal obligation to work overtime this past weekend, but thanked those who did. He also thanked the township’s police department and volunteers of the Jackson First Aid and volunteer fire companies for their dedication to the community during yet another natural emergency.
Reina said once the forensic audit is done, he will release the facts and only the facts of what transpired this weekend in the township.
Six Flags Great Adventure Unveils New Scream Machine
JACKSON─ Chaos reigns supreme at Six Flags Great Adventure in 2016 as one of the world’s most iconic DC Comics Super-Villains commandeers the park’s 14th and most unique scream machine in its history, The Joker.
Earlier this fall, the world’s largest theme park announced “Total Mayhem,” which quickly became one of the world’s most anticipated new coasters of 2016. But behind the scenes, criminal mastermind The Joker was secretly plotting to take over the new 4D, free-fly coaster and name it as his own.
“The Joker is undeniably one of the greatest DC Comics Super-Villains ever created. Only someone with his warped sense of humor could provide this level of insanity ─ or spinsanity ─ with a new, vertical coaster that delivers gravity-defying somersaults with utter unpredictability. It is the perfect addition to our dynamic line-up of award-winning roller coasters because this ride delivers total mayhem with its next-generation, cutting-edge thrills,” said Six Flags Great Adventure President John Fitzgerald.
After being lifted straight up a 12-story, 90-degree hill, this 4-D, free-fly coaster will wreak havoc as riders flip head-over-heels at least six times along the weightless journey. Thrill seekers will experience exhilarating leaps and dives along a horizontal plane, along with unexpected drops as they tumble from one level to the next. The wing seats amp up the pandemonium since riders will experience all of this chaos with no track above or below ─ just the sky, ground and adjacent Great Lake churning around them.
The unique design of The Joker features:
- Massive, imposing, floating and twisting I-box track frame in a unique two-tone design
- One-of-a-kind onboard magnetic technology featuring smooth head-over-heels free-fly flips providing guests the feeling of weightlessness as they soar outside the confines of a traditional track
- 4-D wing vehicles that seat up to 8 per vehicle with a total of 5 vehicles
- Face-off seats that allow riders to face each other as they tumble head over heels
- A 120-foot-tall, 90-degree hill that is ascended by an elevator-style, chain link lift
- Two beyond 90-degree “raven” drops giving the sensation of free-falling
The Joker is expected to wreak total mayhem beginning in the spring of 2016, and join the ranks of all legendary roller coasters at Six Flags Great Adventure.