TheTOMS RIVER Times Vol. 20 - No. 29
In This Week’s Edition
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Government Page 8
Community News Pages 10-14
Dr. Izzy’s Sound News Page 18
Inside The Law Page 26
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Local Author’s Book Series Teaches Empathy For Neurodiverse Children
better understand autism and its impacts. However, her journey to becoming an advocate began as a young teenager. Alyssa said that watching how others treated her brother forced her to grow into the protective big sister role from an early age. She found that she was particularly affected by how Michael was bullied. “When I was 13 or 14, I sat down with the woman who’d been my four thg rade teacher,” shared Alyssa. “We created a lesson plan program called Photo by Stephanie Faughnan ‘Friends Who Are Different.’ It was all about Alyssa Lego displays the books she wrote to foster understanding and respecting students.” empathy around neurodiversity. After fine-tuning the proBy Stephanie Faughnan and on the autism spectrum,” g ram, Alyssa cou rageously TOMS RIVER - Alyssa Lego, Alyssa shared. “Michael is two pitched the concept to the Toms a 22-year-old Boston College and a half years younger than me, River School District. “Friends senior from Toms River, is on and growing up, I realized that W ho A re Different ” caught a mission to raise awareness he experienced a lot of ableism, fire, with Alyssa touring kinabout autism. Inspired by her discr imination, and bullying dergarten classes to deliver the message of understanding and brother Michael, who is nonver- because of his disability.” bal, Alyssa has dedicated time The 2021 Donovan Catholic acceptance. “I did that for about a year,” and creativity to telling stories graduate has already released Alyssa said. “For the next seven that foster understanding and fou r b o ok s i n he r “ You Me years, I was heavily involved empathy around neurodiversity. Neu rodiversit y” ser ies, each (Author - See Page 4) “My younger brother is 19 one helping children and adults
Environmental Summit Provides Hands-On Learning
By Chris Lundy BERKELEY – You can learn a lot in the classroom, but sometimes you have to go to the source. That’s why more than 200 5th-8th grade students from nine area schools spent a day learning about marine ecosystems at Island Beach State Park during the 36th Annual Clean Ocean Action Fall Student Summit. Each session was like an immersive field trip, where the students were able to learn about environmental protection in a fun and
hands-on way. While one group learned seining, another group looked for mollusks and crustaceans. They learned about invasive species and something even more invasive – microplastics. The schools participating were Bay Head School, Bordentown Regional Middle School, Calvary Academy, Hugh J. Boyd, Jr. Elementary in Seaside Heights, Lavallette Elementary, Manchester Township Middle School, Memorial Middle School in Point Pleasant, (Learning - See Page 5)
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Neighbors Want Town To Fight Hotel Plan By Chris Lundy TOMS RIVER – Residents living near the land where a hotel is proposed have been asking the governing body to fight it on their behalf. LRE TR LLC is the developer behind the 125-room hotel plan. The hotel’s entrance would be on the southbound side of Hooper Avenue just north of Walnut Street. It would be across from where all the county office buildings are being constructed. The hotel itself, though, would be in a currently wooded area overlooking homes on Walnut and Vauxhall Road. Nearby residents spoke at two recent Township Council meetings asking for help. The hotel was planned since 2009, and was approved by the Planning Board in 2019, Vauxhall resident Robert Gallucci said. This year, it was before a land use board again to ask for a change in the signage that is allowed. “The building got bigger. The design changed,” he said. Therefore, it should have to go before the land use board to get another approval. For example, there weren’t any windows facing Vauxhall in (Hotel Plan - See Page 5)
This Month In History: Should Alcohol Be Served?
By J. Mark Mutter TOMS RIVER - Our town was busy with citizen initiated efforts on local issues of the day in the early part of the twentieth century: acquiring the land for our first municipal park in 1905 and extending electrical service beyond the downtown area in 1913, both approved in voter referendums, but rejecting a plan to create a sep-
arate borough out of the village in 1914. It was all part of the Progressive era in American history when everyday citizens led reform efforts on national and local issues of the day. In Toms River, the last of these efforts in the early 1900s concerned the sale of alcoholic beverages. (History - See Page 7)
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