TheTOMS RIVER Times Vol. 20 - No. 38
In This Week’s Edition
BREAKING NEWS @
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Government Page 7
Community News Pages 8-13
Dr. Izzy’s Sound News Page 14
Inside The Law Page 16
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Each Stitch Counts: Knitting Together A Community Of Caring
By Stephanie Faughnan TOMS RIVER - When Debbie Trainor picks up her knitting needles, it’s more than a hobby - it’s a mission. As the founder and president of the non-prof it Each Stitch Counts, Trainor has woven her passion for knitting into a helping hand for families experiencing hygiene insecurity. The organization distributes handmade cotton dishcloths attached to bottles of dish soap to food pantries across Ocean and Monmouth Counties. A Toms River resident and retired public school business administrator, Trainor dedicated 35 years of her career to ensuring students and staff had the resources they needed. Knitting has been a steady thread in Trainor’s life, and she especially enjoys creating usable end products. Retirement allowed her to spend more time knitting and volunteering with The Hope Center, a local organization devoted to suppor ting individuals and families
Photo courtesy Every Stitch Counts Amy VanBezooijen, Director of the Hope Center, and Debbie Trainor show a sample of the handmade dishcloths and laundry detergent provided by Earth Breeze. in crisis with dignity sign some new stitch cloths as something and compassion. patterns for one of the that had great use.” “I’ve been knitting things I love to knit,” From this idea, Each since I was a little girl, shared Trainor. “So, I St itch Cou nt s wa s and I decided to de- started knitting dish- (Stitch - See Page 4)
INPUT WANTED ON TRANSPORTATION ISSUES By Chris Lundy OCEAN COUNTY – Everyone knows that traffic is getting worse, but what is the solution? The North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority is crafting a 25-year strategy on improving various forms of transportation. It might be hard to imagine what 2050 will look like, but assuming we don’t
have flying cars yet, they want to know how to improve roads, bus service, and more. The long-range plan is called Connecting Communities. The survey can be found at njtpa. org/connecting. It only takes a few minutes and you can enter into a raffle for a $25 gift card at the end. The questions ask what town
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you live and work in, but don’t ask your name or address. They want to know how often you use public transportation, and what it would take for you to use it more. They address people who need wheelchairs or other personal mobility devices. The questionnaire is in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Hindi, (Transportation - See Page 4)
January 25, 2025
Money Still Main Issue At School Board By Chris Lundy TOMS RIVER – Finances continue to be a concern starting the new year as residents a ske d ab out s p e nd i ng a nd budget hole s during recent Board of Education meetings. South Toms River resident Krista Whittaker, who ran unsuccessfully for the Board in November, asked about an item on the agenda paying assistant superintendents Cara DiMeo and Patrick Thomas an additional $160 a day for the school days between March 1 and June 30 of 2025. Super i ntendent Michael Cit t a said t he special education director is retiring. Rather than hire someone new for the last few months of the year and possibly cause a disruption to services, the two administrators will be taking on additional duties for additional pay. He estimated that this will result in a savings of approximately $50,000. Several board members thanked DiMeo and Thomas for their extra work. Whittaker also asked about a hole in the budget in excess of $12 million. Business Administrator William Doering said there will be expected revenue from sale of assets. Whittaker noted it was January and property hasn’t been put up for sale yet. District officials said last year that if something doesn’t change, the district would run out of money by April or May. This is primarily because the state cut aid to the district (School Board - See Page 6)
This Month In History: The Voters Decide By J. Mark Mutter TOMS RIVER - Over many years, referendum votes in our town have been held concerning important issues of the day. As reported in prior columns, these questions have been decided by we the people of our community: 1905: To acquire land that became our first municipal park. 1913: To expand electric service out-
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side of the downtown village. 1918: To establish local Prohibition - before the national ban. 1960: To expand the then municipal governing body from three to five members. 1963: To enroll municipal employees in the state pension system. 1964: To create a regional school system. (History - See Page 5)
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