The JACKSON Times Vol. 21 - No. 11
In This Week’s Edition
MICROMEDIA PUBLICATIONS
JERSEYSHOREONLINE.COM
Memorial Baseball Has Its Last Dance
BREAKING NEWS @
jerseyshoreonline.com
Community News! Page 10
Dr. Izzy’s Sound News Page 14
Dear Pharmacist Page 15
Inside The Law Page 21
─Photo courtesy Jackson Memorial High School baseball team Tommy Cartnick of Jackson Memorial wielded a potent bat. By Chris Christopher Not even the international catastrophe known as the coronavirus pandemic could stop the Jackson Memorial High School baseball team f rom achieving excellence. The fi rst Last Dance 2 0 2 0 H ig h S ch o ol World Series, presented by RWJBarnabas Health, began with 222 teams from all 21 New Jersey counties. The Jaguars were one of two teams to dance the final steps of the tournament. They fin-
ished second, falling 12-2 to Cranford in the championship game at the Arm & Hammer Stadium, home of the Trenton Thunder. The pandemic cost the state’s teams their spring seasons. The tournament was conceived by director Mike Murray, the baseball coach and athletics director of St. Joseph High School in Metuchen. “This tour nament was a lot of fun,” said Jackson catcher Tommy Cartnick, whose team won eight of nine
games. “First off, it was a gift to begin with. We were disappointed when our spring season was canceled. We had been a group of guys playing together since the age of seven. Playing in this tournament felt like a Little League All-Star tournament. We sweated and grinded it out all together. We had good team chemistry. This was a special group. I will never forget the memories and the laughs we had in the dugout.” Cartnick said the can-
cellation of the season was tough to take. “On the fi rst day of school, we began lifting weights to prepare for the season,” he said. “We do what we have to do to get a ring. We were extremely disappointed when the news came out that the spring season was canceled. Each year, we expect to be state champions. Thank God for this tournament or our season would have been a bummer for sure.” Cartnick, a senior who
(Baseball - See Page 8)
Woman Targeted, “N” Word Scratched On Her Car By Bob Vosseller JACKSON – Kiara Williams has lived in the township for a little over a year now but she never thought she would wake up to being the victim of a bias incident. The 30-year-old nurse discovered her BMW
had been keyed with the “N” word dug into the side of it on the morning of Aug. 3. She said her vehicle was “keyed in the door with a X under it. Three tires flattened. My landlord is black and says he’s get ting th reatening calls. This is crazy.”
She told The Jackson Times that “I woke up and was getting ready for work and a neighbor k nocked on my door and told me that her husband had seen trash and scratches on my car. I went outside to see what she was talking about and there
was trash on my car and it was keyed.” Beyond t he “ N ” word a not her word was car ved into it, “marked.” “The side of the door had a skeleton with an X underneath it. The front window had a gash in it. It looked
like they were trying to puncture it with something but they made a gash and couldn’t break it,” Williams said. Williams said they took a light out of her car. “It was just a mess. I don’t know who did it. I mind my business.
August 15, 2020
Open Space Tax Increase On November Ballot
By Bob Vosseller JACKSON – Members of the governing body are leaving it up to residents to decide if the township should increase its annual open space tax. During a recent Township Council meeting, Vice Council President Andrew Kern explained the move saying, “tonight we have on our agenda a resolution to add a public question to the ballot in November to increase the open space fund to allow us to use those funds for historical preservation as well as farmland preservation which currently has not been approved.” Kern, who serves as the chair of the township’s parks and recreation committee added, “this 2020 council has been clear since the beginning - it is our intent to continue in a big way our open space policy and Jackson’s commitment to protect Jackson’s unique environment.” In 2004 residents voted to increase the open space tax from 1.5 cents to 3 cents per $100 assessed value, he said. In 2010, there was a recession, so the Council at the time lowered the rate from 3 cents to 2 cents. He added that technically since voters had approved the 3 cent rate in 2004, council could vote by resolution to restore it back to the 3 cent rate. “However, given the time that has past, we would prefer to put it before the voters and let them tell us if you are in full support of giving us increased ability for historical preservation like Rova Farms that the township purchased last year for something that we can utilize and be proud of,” Kern said. He added, “it is council’s intent to show residents between now and November how we are going to spend our open space funds on properties that are in line with protecting the environment and stopping overdevelopment.” The council unanimously voted to approve the resolution which will add the ballot question to the November ballot. During that session Township Clerk Janice Kisty also reminded residents who had not sent back their 2020 census forms to do so. “For anyone who has not completed the census you can do so online at 2020census.gov
(Car - See Page 16)
(Space - See Page 9)
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