The HOWELL Times
Vol. 22 - No. 28
MICROMEDIA PUBLICATIONS
JERSEYSHOREONLINE.COM
Holiday Event Sets Festive Mood For The Season
In This Week’s Edition
BREAKING NEWS @
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Community News Pages 9-12
Dr. Izzy Sound News Page 15
Inside The Law Page 16
Classifieds Page 18
Photo by Liz Ciocher Residents took photos with Santa Claus at the annual tree lighting. By Liz Ciocher HOWELL - To celebrate the holiday season, residents and officials gathered at the Howell Township Municipal building for various festive activities, including the town’s annual tree lighting ceremony. The ceremony was open to the public and offered activities like pictures with Santa, a bounce house and a petting zoo. Children and adults ranging all ages attended the ceremony, making it one of Howell’s biggest community events this year. The event was held on a Wednesday evening, and according to
Town Manager Joe Clark, was widely successful. “It’s a bright spot,” he said. “The events here this year have been stellar.” According to Clark, while it wasn’t as heavily attended as in the past, there were a couple hundred residents who came out. The inside and outside of the municipality grounds were swarmed with people, taking in the atmosphere and things to do. An iceless skating rink was another featured activity for children and residents, composed of synthetic ice in front of the municipal building. The 25 by 50 foot rink held between 8-10
skating children and adults to mimic the traditional holiday pastime. Craft tables and hair tinseling were also available, along with a petting zoo consisting of chickens, rabbits, goats and sheep. Residents may have seen these animals before, as they live on a farm local to the Howell area. Shuttle buses were provided for residents to attend the event, with a pickup and dropoff spot located at the Howell Commons Shopping Plaza. There was a council meeting held at 7 p.m. during the event, but that did not deter residents or councilmembers from enjoying the atmosphere. “This is just another great [event]. It is the fourth or fifth one we’ve done so far. It makes Howell nice.” Clark said. Santa and his elves were available for free pictures for Howell residents, and was definitely the most popular attraction of the evening. A similar event will be held on Dec. 26 for a Menorah lighting at the same location. Residents are encouraged to attend.
Unidentified Drones Draw Concern Across Tri-State Area
By Bob Vosseller JERSEY SHORE – Amid many reports of car-sized drones f lying at night across areas of New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York and lukewarm responses from federal and state authorities, people are still asking who put them in the air and why? Speculation by the public has ranged from the drones being a new military
technology being tested by the government for surveillance purposes to others feeling the devices are being operated by a foreign power for more sinister purposes. Mayors from throughout the state were called to the New Jersey Regional Operations & Intelligence Center recently. They were told by state authorities that there was nothing to worry about. How-
ever, they didn’t know what they were. This didn’t answer everyone’s questions. “How can you say there’s no need for concern when you don’t even know where they come from and where they go or who owns them?” Berkeley Mayor John Bacchione said the following day. The Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office issued a post about the situation stating, (Drones - See Page 5)
December 21, 2024
Banner Year For Shade Tree Commission By Liz Ciocher HOWELL - After an eventful year of service, Howell Township’s Shade Tree Commission gave a presentation summarizing their success, endeavors and future plans at the latest Town Council meeting. The presentation was given by Lisa Dowd, the commission’s chairwoman. She gave the council members a walkthrough of the year’s accomplishments in thorough detail. The Shade Tree Commission received four grants to continue their environmental efforts, including an Arbor Day Foundation Grant and a Superstorm Sandy Recovery Grant for bare-root seedlings. Also this year, the commission’s efforts earned Howell Township another Tree City USA certification, making 2024 the 26th year Howell was dubbed a ‘Tree City.’ Part of the township was also registered as a ‘Community Wildlife Habitat’ this year. For their hands-on efforts with Howell residents, the commission did many projects with Howell Schools, especially in the spirit of the season during Arbor Day. The commission planted one tree at each school and distributed over 600 seedlings to third graders to support their education in their environmental unit. There were also seedlings donated to members of the community during two different events this year: a spring and fall seedling giveaway, which donated hundreds of seedlings to community members. Notably, the Shade Tree Commission worked in various collaborations with other commissions and organizations this year. This included work with other Howell organizations, such as the Howell Green Team and the Howell Township Environmental Commission, but also reaches further to groups like Rutgers Water Resources and FirstEnergy. Rutgers Water Resources and the Shade Tree Commission worked on a rain garden project in Howell’s Soldier Memorial Park, a garden designed to capture rain and prevent runoff in the park’s parking lot. For 2025, the (Banner - See Page 4)
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