The HOWELL Times
Vol. 20 - No. 26
In This Week’s Edition
BREAKING NEWS @
jerseyshoreonline.com
Community News Pages 6-7
Inside The Law Page 12
Dear Pharmacist Page 13
Classifieds Page 15
JERSEYSHOREONLINE.COM
MICROMEDIA PUBLICATIONS
December 3, 2022
NFL’s Ray Lucas Tells Student Athletes Students, Staff About His Struggles With Addiction Lauded For Volunteering
By Stephanie Faughnan HOWELL – New Jersey’s own football legend, Ray Lucas, was in town last month to tackle the hard-hitting subject of getting hooked on drugs – and the path to his recovery. An NFL veteran who scored big with the New England Patriots, New York Jets, Miami Dolphins and Baltimore Ravens, Lucas also made Rutgers Scarlet Knights history as a star quarterback. An audience of 700 Howell High School st udent athletes sat captivated as Lucas delivered a firsthand test i mon ial of how he developed an opioid addiction to deal with multiple football injuries. If ever there was a time for local teenagers to benefit from the words of a sports icon, this was the one. Opioid addiction is still rampant and many cases (Addiction - See Page 2)
–Photo by Stephanie Faughnan Former NFL player and Rutgers star quarterback Ray Lucas tackled the hard-hitting subject of getting hooked on drugs – and the path to his recovery as he met with Howell student athletes.
Food Drive Fills Truck Volunteers, Civic Groups And Businesses Answer The Call
By Chris Lundy TOMS RIVER – Lots and lots of groceries were bought on the weekend before Thanksgiving but they didn’t all make it home. If they were purchased at the ShopRite on Fischer Boulevard in Toms River, some of it wound up in a huge Pepsi truck parked outside. It was part of the WJRZ Share The Joy collection of food, toys and supplies for Fulfill, formerly
the Food Bank of Monmouth and Ocean counties, as well as Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Jersey Shore Animal Center. They set up a portable stage and broadcast from that location for two days. Donations were also taken in Neptune for Fulfill and Holiday Express, and at Brave New World in Toms River. Jackie Farago, marketing director for WJRZ, said that the last few years have been different for the drive, which
has been around for a number of years. There were, of course, the challenges of COVID. People were out of work and donations were needed more than ever. People who usually would give more found it difficult to help out. During these years, Big Brothers Big Sisters was just accepting gift cards, she said. Now, they are back to accepting toys. This has delighted donors because (Food Drive - See Page 3)
By Alyssa Riccardi HOWELL – Students and staff from the Howell Township School District were recognized at the recent Board of Education meeting for their hard work volunteering with the nonprofit foundation Dylan’s Wings for Change. Dylan’s Wings for Change is a nonprofit foundation dedicated to the memory of Dylan Hockley, one of the first grade victims of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012. Their message is: “We are guided by the ‘Butterfly Effect,’ how just small changes can accumulate with massive effect... the flap of a butterfly’s wings might cause a hurricane.” “Dylan’s Wings for Change has been a program we’ve been working with for a little while now and it is really taking hold. (The) enormous sense of pride around the work that our staff, along with our student leaders, have accomplished over nearly two years has been absolutely remarkable,” Superintendent of Schools Joseph Isola said. The district began a partnership with Dylan’s Wings for Change in January of 2020. At that time, district staff and students from both Howell Middle Schools North and South had the opportunity to hear a very unique presentation by Ian Hockley, Dylan’s father and the Founder of Dylan’s Wings for Change. Although the pandemic forced this partnership to be put on hold, the district renewed its commitment and continued to find ways to partner with Hockley and Dylan’s Wings for Change. At the November 16 Board of Education meeting, Director of Pupil Services Dorothea Fernandez introduced the program before certificates were handed out to the volunteers. “We’re proud to say we have six trainers, three in each middle school, who received specific training to lead a cohort of youth leaders to become facilitators able to conduct peer led, experimental educational activities that inspire empathy, courage and connection,” Fernandez said. She went on to discuss some of the work the volunteers did this year and the difference they’re making each day. (Volunteering - See Page 3)
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