Thursday Potpourri

Tuesday night’s meeting of the Toms River Board of Education featured the swearing-in of new members Jack Reuther and Gus Kakavas as well as the honoring of many students in the district for outstanding achievements in many different capacities. I had the pleasure of representing WOBM and Millennium Radio Group and presenting a $7500 donation to Superintendent Michael J. Ritacco and the school board from the 25th annual WOBM Christmas Classic. We are partners with the school district in the Boys & Girls basketball tournament which is held at the Ritacco Center over a 7-day period in late December. Millennium Radio President/CEO Bill Saurer was out of town and could not attend the meeting and join in the presentation but
said he looks forward to working with Superintendent Ritacco and the school district for years to come.

If rumors were correct than tonight’s Board of Education meeting in Brick was to be a wild affair but that may no longer be the case. The Board was expected to take action on the hiring of a new football coach at Brick Township High School but that was been put on hold because the school budget was voted down last week and no hirings will take place until a budget is in place. I had reported a couple of weeks ago that the next coach would be Patrick Dowling, who is currently at Allentown and before that coached at Monroe. Since that time I have received numerous calls from parents and others who said they would attend the meeting tonight to express their displeasure over the board not selecting someone with ties to former coach Warren Wolf and the Brick program. The agenda for tonight’s meeting at Lake Riviera Middle School makes no mention of a hiring but I would imagine there will be those from the public who will want to speak on the issue of the next coach for the Green Dragons.

The band Hometown Roll joined forces with Bum Rogers Tavern in South Seaside Park on a very successful fundraiser last Saturday for Oceans of Love and when all was said and done $2700 was raised for the organization which supports children with cancer and their families in Ocean County.

Tuesday Quick Hitters

A bunch of quick hitters on a Tuesday morning that’s supposed the mark the end of an unusual early season heat wave:


Steve D’Onofrio certainly knows the meaning of the word “challenging” as it sums up his last few years as owner of the Sawmill Café on the boardwalk in Seaside Park. The landmark bar and restaurant suffered what’s being called “moderate” damage during a fire Sunday night and D’Onofrio is already working to have the Sawmill rebuilt and repaired where necessary to be open for Memorial Day weekend. He has owned the popular boardwalk establishment since it opened in the summer of 1977 but over the last few years has battled with Seaside Park officials who have put strict restrictions on his liquor license. D’Onofrio vows to be ready for his 32nd summer and those who love the Sawmill’s large slices of pizza have that to look forward to.

If you’ve followed Toms River High School North football over the years you have no doubt met or noticed Paul “Ace” Cassidy. He could be seen on the sidelines doing just about anything from handing out a water bottle to helping with equipment. He loved the Mariners and especially enjoyed the last couple of years with his grandson on the team. “Ace” died over the weekend at age 83 and a small part of Mariner football went with him….here’s hoping his heaven is filled with blue and gold.

With every departure comes an arrival so congratulations to Kevin and Jackie Bernick on the birth of their first child. Kamryn Susan Bernick arrived yesterday at a healthy 5 lbs, 8 ounces and mother and baby are doing fine. Jackie’s father is my good friend Jim Hibbs, a teacher at Toms River South. We exchanged text messages yesterday and I realized he never told me if it was a boy or girl and when I finally asked he responded with
“Come on Kevin…we only do girls.” Jim and his wife Susan have three daughters and their first two grandchildren are of course….girls.

Shore Conference Players Make History

The annual selection of college football players by NFL teams took place this weekend at Radio City Music Hall and more than any other year before it had meaning to local football fans, and I’m not talking about those who root for the Giants, Jets or Eagles. On Saturday for the first time ever two former Shore Conference players were selected in the first round in the same year and the fact they played Pop Warner football together in Atlantic Highlands makes the story more compelling.

Former Middletown South and University of Georgia running back Knowshon Moreno was chosen with the 12th overall pick by the Denver Broncos. It’s the highest-ever selection of a player from a high school in Monmouth or Ocean County. Among those with Moreno when he got the call from the Broncos were his high school coach Steve Antonucci, who has been directly involved in the process since Knowshon announced he was turning pro. Ex-Red Bank Catholic and Connecticut star running back Donald Brown was selected by the Indianapolis Colts with the 27th overall pick and by his side on draft day was his former high school coach Frank Edgerly.

Day Two of the draft Sunday saw the first player in Monmouth University history selected when the Miami Dolphins picked tight end John Nalbone in the 5th round. He’ll try and become the second former Hawks player to make it in the NFL as Cowboys receiver Miles Austin was an undrafted free agent three years ago and just signed a new contract with Dallas.

Speaking of undrafted free agents that would describe former Manchester Township High School linebacker Kevin Malast who will try and earn a spot with the Chicago Bears. Malast selected the Bears over the St. Louis Rams and New England Patriots Sunday night after the draft concluded. A school-record five of his Rutgers University teammates were drafted over the weekend, including wide receiver Kenny Britt who was chosen in the first round by Tennessee. Among the other Scarlet Knights selected were quarterback Mike Teel on the 6th round by Seattle.

All in all quite a weekend for shore football.

25 Ways To Add To Your LIfe

Men’s Health has put out a list of ways men can add years to your life and while time will not allow for all of them I give you 25 rather simple tips than can help us dodge the Grim Reaper:

1. Drink at least five 8-ounce glasses of water a day.
2. Don’t go to work sick.
3. Put out the fire in your chest as untreated heartburn can lead
to a heart attack.
4. Take a magnesium supplement.
5. Exercise enough to burn at least 1,100 calories a week.
6. Take a Daily Multivitamin.
7. Set a limit of 3-drinks when you go out.
8. When you need to go to the hospital don’t be a tough guy and
drive yourself….walk-in patients wait almost twice as long as
those who arrive by ambulance.
9. Eat fruits and vegetables at every meal.
10. Monitor your Blood Sugar.
11. Think positive…constant worrying shortens your life span by 16
years.
12. Keep your cool…those with anger-management issues are more
than twice as likely to have a stroke.
13. Have Breakfast within 90 minutes of waking up in the morning.
14. Eat Berries.
15. Sleep on your side.
16. Live life in a smoke-free zone….secondhand smoke raises your
Diabetes risk by 40% and also boosts your risk of lung cancer.
17. Check your smoke alarms.
18. Sip on Mint Tea.
19. Find time to exercise and do it outside as often as possible.
20. Cut out the sweet stuff.
21. Stash a cinnamon air freshener in your car.
22. Try and take a 30-minute nap in the middle of your day.
23. Enjoy your coffee…it can lower your risk of dying of heart disease
by 53%.
24. If you feel you are going to fall try and let your butt hit first.
25. Don’t jaywalk….77% of pedestrians killed while crossing the road
are not at intersections.

(No Hometown View on 4/23/09)

Budget Pass...And Fail.

School budgets fared pretty well in Ocean County Tuesday with 22 of 29 districts giving the nod to proposed spending plans….those rejected were Brick, Berkeley, Lakewood, Little Egg Harbor, Manchester, Seaside Heights and the Central Regional School Districts. Toms River Regional District voters approved the budget by a 2-to-1 margin, a resounding victory for Superintendent Michael J. Ritacco and the Board of Education while in Lakewood voters said “no” by a better than 5-to-1 margin.. Only 48,283 of nearly 369,000 eligible voters in Ocean County cast ballots, that’s just 13.5%. Proving that every vote counts Pinelands Regional passed its budget by 30 votes, Jackson voters approved their first budget in seven years by 123 votes and Brick’s spending proposal was defeated by just 48 votes out of more than 4,600 cast.

A couple of upcoming events to make you aware of:

The Toms River-Ocean County Chamber of Commerce will hold a Business After Hours/Networking Event at Anthony’s Café on Main Street in Toms River tomorrow from 5-7pm. The get together is open to both members and non-members and for more information you can call the Chamber office at
(732) 349-0220.

A final reminder for Sunday’s Hometown Heroes Fundraising event at Hemingway’s in Seaside Heights for the benefit of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Ocean County. This year’s honoree will be Sue Sedivec, the Executive Director of the community and school-based mentoring program. Sunday’s event runs from 3-6pm and will feature great food, live music, door prizes and a gift auction with all the proceeds going to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Ocean County. Tickets are $25 and you can call BBBSOC at (732) 905-5349 for tickets and more information.

School Board Elections

Most of you who are eligible to vote in today’s school board elections won’t bother. Last year just over 16% of the registered voters in Ocean County cast a ballot, meaning almost 84% did not participate in the process to vote on proposed school budgets and select candidates to serve on local and regional boards of education. Those numbers will probably be about the same today in Ocean County and throughout the state despite all the attention paid to education and the dollar figures associated with it. The reasons for this are apathy, frustration, ignorance, laziness…you get the picture.

Nothing I or anyone else says is really going to motivate those 84% who won’t be voting today but I would like to congratulate the relatively small percentage of you who will find the time and head to the polls where you probably won’t have to wait very long. By now I hope you have spent a couple of minutes looking at the budgets and those asking for your support to serve in the often unappreciated position of school board member.

School Districts are working harder than ever to present lean, no-frills spending plans, most of them even coming in under the cap. The general public may look at the whole number as being excessive but keep in mind most of those costs are built in and non-negotiable, including teacher salaries, transportation, maintenance, books and supplies. Districts that are under the cap should be applauded and are deserving of voter support, even if you don’t like the formula in New Jersey whereby our property taxes fund education. That’s an argument for a different day.

As for those who want to serve on the Board of Education, it should not be just about the spending of your tax dollar. For me it’s always been about those who will best balance what’s in the interests of the students and staff as well as the taxpayer. That is especially important today with all the talk about consolidation of school districts…you want representatives with the background to navigate through what surely will be challenging times.
Schools are a source of pride in the community and I’m happy to be among the 16% who will vote today and do what I think is best to keep if that way.

Monday morning quick hitters

The Major League Baseball season is only a couple of weeks old but here’s a quick assessment of our local teams. The Mets still don’t hit when they have runners in scoring position, the Yankees pitching has been disappointing and the new stadium is a home run haven and the Phillies have to be worried about ace Cole Hamels and their pitching staff. By the way there are 150 games left to play.

Sunday was quite a day for Monmouth University senior baseball player Mike Casale. The Toms River North graduate had a career-high four hits, including his first two home runs of the season and drove in a career-high 8 runs in the Hawks 15-6 win over Wagner. Casale is the son of Central Regional High School Athletic Director Vince Casale who I’m sure is one proud father.

Ocean County College women’s softball coach Ilene Cohen collected her 350th career victory as the Vikings split a doubleheader with Sussex County Community College. Cohen coached at Middlesex for many years before coming to OCC where she is in her 7th season.

The Jackson Memorial High School baseball team concluded an impressive weekend with an 11-0 six-inning win over Cranford Sunday in the Roselle Park Tournament. Kevin Matthews allowed just three hits for the 8-0 Jaguars who on Saturday topped Class A South favorite Toms River North
behind Kevin Needham. Coach Frank Malta has the Jaguars playing very well.

How about a little love for the Toms River South Girls Lacrosse team, one of the real surprises at the shore this spring. The Indians of Coach Cathy Homiek are 7-0 after topping Jackson 12-9 Saturday behind a 7-goal effort from sophomore Meredith Kalinowski. This week includes a Thursday night showdown with Toms River North.