The HOWELL Times
Vol. 20 - No. 40
In This Week’s Edition
BREAKING NEWS @
MICROMEDIA PUBLICATIONS
JERSEYSHOREONLINE.COM
March 11, 2023
Two School Board Members Cleared Of Ethics Charges
By Stephanie Faughnan TRENTON – The state’s School Ethics Commission dismissed charges by formal resolution last month filed against a member of the Freehold Regional Board of Education and a Howell Township school board member. Former Howell Deputy Mayor Pamela “Pam”
Richmond lodged charges against Marc Parisi, a Freehold Regional school board member, and Ira Thor, who serves on the Howell Township Board of Education. Richmond, who represented herself, filed the complaint in early November 2022. The eight-page decision rendered by the School Ethics Commission included a summary of the
Firefighter Writes Motivational Children’s Book
jerseyshoreonline.com
documents submitted in the matter. The basis for the allegations focuses on social media posts purportedly made in violation of New Jersey’s Code of Ethics for School Board Members. Richmond identified Parisi and Thor as “two of the five founders” of a political activist group (Members - See Page 3)
26 Acres Of Farmland Preserved
Community News Pages 7-8
Inside The Law Page 12
–Photo courtesy Monmouth County Linney farm is located on Five Points Road near the border of Freehold.
Dear Pharmacist Page 13
Classifieds Page 15
By Bob Vosseller TOMS RIVER – With the topic of bullying receiving a strong focus these days, a township firefighter - and now author - has just released his first children’s book, “Sprinkles the Fire Dog” which will provide a lesson to young readers. The story itself however has been kicking around for quite some time and Frank Viscuso partnered with Canon and JPS Graphics to
–Photo By Bob Vosseller Toms River firefighter and now author, Frank Viscuso, holds up his new children’s book, “Sprinkles the Fire Dog.” produce and print the motivational children’s book. It was printed using Canon’s varioPRINT iX-series. The plot of the book centers around a puppy who dreams of one day becoming a fire dog and must overcome physical limitations and his own self-doubt to turn those dreams into a reality. Viscuso spoke with The Toms River Times about his passion for
raising awareness. “I actually started writing when I became the training officer for the Kearny Fire Department. I did some public relations articles and I also worked on policies and procedures but it wasn’t creative writing. “That is kind of where it started. I write about stuff that I am passionate about. In regards to bullying, when I think about being bullied as a kid, I don’t think I was
bullied any more or any less than the average person,” Viscuso said. “Bullying is unwanted aggressive behavior, mostly among school children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. I naturally had an inferiority complex and because I had that, the perceived power imbalance was always there. So, if someone talked down to me, or was rude, it wasn’t a physical type
of bullying - it was a feeling like I just didn’t belong,” he added. The writer said, “that plus being an over thinker just led to some stress and anxiety. I often tell people I was a prisoner in my own mind when I was younger. Basically, I was the character in the book, Sprinkles the Fire Dog. I had a lot of that going on in my life that I felt I was undersized, didn’t belong and (Book - See Page 2)
By Alyssa Riccardi HOWELL – With a mission to stop further development, Monmouth County along with the Township of Howell has announced the preservation of the Linney farm. Located on Five Points Road in Howell, the 25.9-acre parcel sits north of Route 33 near the border of Freehold. On February 23, Howell Township partnered with the County and State Agriculture Development Committee (SADC) and contributed just under $100,000 for the preservation. The purchase restricts any further development and ensures that the land will be permanently devoted to agricultural use. “We are happy to be part of these transactions and to preserve farmland within the Township. The Farmers Advisory Committee (FAC) and Preservation Task Force are always working with the County and State to find and help preserve farmland,” said Matthew Howard, Director of (Farmland - See Page 2)
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