The BRICK Times Vol. 24 - No. 47
In This Week’s Edition
MICROMEDIA PUBLICATIONS
JERSEYSHOREONLINE.COM
When An Emergency Hits, This Community Responds
BREAKING NEWS @
jerseyshoreonline.com
Government Page 7
Community News Page 9-13
Dr. Izzy’s Sound News Page 16
Inside The Law Page 19
Photo by Judy Smestad-Nunn Community Emergency Response Team President Tom Zdyrski shows CERT members a vehicle that was donated to them by the Board of Fire Commissioners District 1. The Department of Public Works did the detailing on the car. By Judy Smestad-Nunn BRICK - During a 2021 forest fire that started near Lakewood Airport and quickly grew out of control, hundreds of firefighters from all over Ocean and Monmouth Counties responded to the emergency, which ultimately consumed 167 acres and damaged 29 Brick homes. It’s during these types of disasters for which the township’s Community Emergency Re-
sponse Team (CERT) has trained. Citizen volunteers from the organization assist first responders - such as the police, firefighters and emergency medical services - and serve as “second responders,” said the township’s CERT president Tom Zdyrski, since first responders “can’t be everywhere.” The CERT concept was developed in Los Angeles after the 1987 Whittier Narrows (Responds - See Page 4)
Hundreds Hear Senator Kim Discuss Health Care, Other Issues
By Stephanie Faughnan BRICK – Senator Andy Kim (D-NJ) spoke to hundreds at the Brick Police Athletic League hall about his opinion on the executive branch’s overreach, the economic impact of tariffs, the threat to Medicaid, and the issue of corruption. He delivered sharp critiques of the current administration’s policies on healthcare, immigration, and foreign affairs, calling for a nationwide mobilization to protect Medicaid and oppose tariffs. Kim fielded questions from those in the
audience as well, mingling with them both inside and outside the hall. “This isn’t about Democrats or Republicans or independents,” he said. “This is about those who stand for the Constitution and those who don’t.” “We are seeing this administration take efforts to be able to consolidate and seize power within the executive branch, sidelining the other two branches of government, which is something that is unconstitutional,” Kim asserted. He expressed (Senator Kim - See Page 5)
March 29, 2025
$166.1M Tentative School Budget Introduced
By Alyssa Riccardi BRICK – The Brick Township Board of Education has approved a tentative budget of $166.1 million for the 2025-26 school year. The district will hold a public hearing for the budget on April 28 at 7 p.m. at the Professional Development Center on Hendrickson Boulevard. According to district documents, the tentative budget is $166,132,253. Of this, $130,606,297 is to be raised by property taxes. The higher number includes the general fund, special revenues, and debt service. Superintendent Thomas Farrell emphasized that this introduction is strictly “tentative” and that the budget will change prior to the adoption in April. “We’re still awaiting guidance from the state on revenue options and projections,” Farrell said. “The process is very fluid and unfortunately everchanging.” Brick is one of many school districts who suffered under S-2, a law that lowered state aid for some districts and sent it elsewhere. The budget that was introduced is for the first school year without S-2. Under Gov. Phil Murphy’s proposed budget, the Brick School District is receiving a total of $15,390,753 in state aid, which is $871,175 or 6% more than the previous year. With new state regulations, no district was (Budget - See Page 4)
Time Capsule Buried, To Be Opened in 2075
By Stephanie Faughnan TOMS R I V ER - A silent chronicle of the present now rests beneath the grand county seal at the entrance of the Ocean County Administration Building. Hidden from view, a time capsule filled with 2025 artifacts lies within a specially designed enclosed cylinder. Ocean County Deputy Director Frank Sadeghi joined Commissioner Robert Arace in physically lowering the time capsule into Photo by Stephanie Faughnan its designated enclosure on FebOcean County Commissioners Frank Sadeghi (left) ruary 27. The date marked the and Robert Arace lowered the time capsule into its commencement of the county’s (Time Capsule - See Page 14) designated enclosure.
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