The BRICK Times Vol. 22 - No. 46
In This Week’s Edition
MICROMEDIA PUBLICATIONS
JERSEYSHOREONLINE.COM
New Council Former Brick Mayor Begins Member Chosen New Career As Judge
BREAKING NEWS @
jerseyshoreonline.com
Government Pages 7
Community News Page 9-10
Dr. Izzy’s Sound News Page 14
Inside The Law Page 17
April 1, 2023
─Photo by Alyssa Riccardi John Ducey pictured with his wife and son, celebrating his achievement as a Superior Court Judge. By Alyssa Riccardi BRICK – A packed cou r t room e r upt e d in cheers as for mer Brick Township Mayor John Ducey put on his black robe, signifying
his oath as a judge of the Superior Court in Ocean County. Ducey was officially sworn in on March 23, shortly after making the major announce-
ment of his departure as Brick Mayor. The extensive turnout included judges currently serving in the county’s Superior Court as well as the county’s consti-
tutional officers clerk Scott Colabella, Sheriff Michael Mastronardy, and surrogate Jeffrey Moran. Also in attendance (Judge - See Page 6)
Nearly 400,000 Pieces Of Trash Removed From Beaches In 2022
─Photo courtesy Clean Ocean Action A 3-foot teddy bear was one of the more unusual items found on beaches.
By Alyssa Riccardi LONG BRANCH – Everything from cigarette butts to a giant 3-foot teddy bear were among the thousands of pieces of garbage collected off our beaches during Clean Ocean Action’s (COA) 2022
beach sweeps. The Long Branchbased environmental organization recently released their 2022 Beach Sweeps Report. Volunteers rallied together last year to pick up a total of 376,969 pieces of trash, accord-
ing to the organization. Some of the most common garbage items included thousands of plastic bottle caps and lids, over 37,000 food and candy wrappers, and more than 22,000 cigarette filters. (Trash - See Page 4)
By Judy Smestad-Nunn BRICK – Melissa R. Travers will fill a vacant seat on the gove r n i ng b o dy that was created when councilmember Lisa Crate was named mayor last month after John G. Ducey resigned to become a superior court judge. “The method of filling that vacancy is set in state law,” said township attor─Photo courtesy Brick ney Kevin Starkey Democrats during the March Mayor Lisa Crate, right, 15 council meeting. is welcoming Melissa R. “The Democratic Travers to the Township Municipal Committee makes three Council. nominations…and presents them to the council, and there have been three names presented.” The council unanimously chose Melissa R. Travers, who will serve until the end of the year. The other two candidates were Erica Demaio and Emma Mammano. (Council - See Page 5)
Officials Fight $2.5M State Aid Cut By Alyssa Riccardi BRICK – School as well as Township officials are urging Trenton to restore funding as the district faces a $2.54 million cut for the 2023-24 school year. Despite the heavy blow, there may be hope on the horizon. According to the NJ Department of Education, the total state aid for Brick School District is $14,632,033, down $2,542,260 - a
14.80% decrease. “The reduction in aid is what was expected due to the continued loss of State Aid via the S-2 legislation. The loss will continue to negatively impact the Brick schools and provide challenges for maintaining educational programs,” Business Administrator Jim Edwards told Jersey Shore Online. The new school (Aid - See Page 4)
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