The BRICK Times Vol. 25 - No. 50
MICROMEDIA PUBLICATIONS
JERSEYSHOREONLINE.COM
One Year After Jones Road Fire, Dry Conditions Still Dangerous
Beach Sweeps Net Tons Of Trash
In This Week’s Edition
April 18, 2026
BREAKING NEWS @
jerseyshoreonline.com
Government Page 7
Community News Page 9-12
Dr. Izzy’s Sound News Page 14
Inside The Law Page 17
Photo courtesy Pick Up Brick Pick Up Brick cleaned up Brick Beach I, II and III in collaboration with Clean Ocean Action. By Chris Lundy BRICK – Imagine how the beaches would look if no one cleaned them? Although municipalities rake and prepare the beach for the hundreds of thousands of people who visit the Photo courtesy shore every summer, it falls to volunteers to hit the sand Surfrider Foundation Jersey Shore in spring to collect tons of trash. According to Clean Ocean Action, there were more More than 200 golf balls were collectthan 4,000 volunteers at 77 sites across the state for their ed at the Edwin B. Forsythe National spring Beach Sweeps. Some were individuals; some Wildlife Refuge. were groups such as scouts or businesses. To date, volunteers have spent over 1 million hours include a burned boat, a car bumper, gears, collecting over 8.9 million pieces of debris. a shopping cart, a motorcycle seat, metal Clean Ocean Action’s “Roster of the Ridiculous” boat parts, refrigerator parts, bone, and a highlights the most unusual items found by volunteers. fragment of a utility pole. A sampling of the silly found throughout the state (Beach Sweeps - See Page 4)
County Historical Society Examines Its Own Past
Photo by Chris Lundy Ridley and Anne Enslow sang and played the violin and the hammered dulcimer. The violin being played was made in 1776.
By Chris Lundy OCEAN COUNTY – A group that celebrates history recently celebrated its own past as the Ocean County Historical Society marked 75 years. The Society was founded in 1950, at the centennial of the county, said its president, Joseph Latshaw. For a long time, they didn’t really have a home of their own. There were exhibits in the courthouse and meetings were held in people’s homes.
GOLD Exceeds $4,500 an Ounce! OVER 20 YEARS IN BUSINESS
HIGHEST RATED CASH FOR GOLD STORE IN OCEAN COUNTY
(County Historical - See Page 4)
SILVER Nears $70 an Ounce!
90% SILVER • MEDALLIONS FLATWARE • SCRAP • JEWELRY TEA SETS • TRAYS • PITCHERS CANDELABRAS
Photo courtesy DEP Firefighters battle the Jones Road Wildfire last year. By Stephanie Faughnan NEW JERSEY - The ground may feel damp some mornings, but by afternoon it is already drying out across the state, including parts of Ocean and Monmouth counties. That was the message from New Jersey environmental officials, who warned that lingering drought conditions continue to fuel wildfire risk despite a snowy winter and recent rain. During the New Jersey Forest Fire Service’s annual spring briefing, now in its third year, officials said conditions beneath the surface remain a concern as the state enters peak wildfire season. “We were dry going into the winter, reservoirs were low, groundwater supplies were not exactly where we’d like to see them,” said John Cecil, assistant commissioner for State Parks, Forests and Historic Sites. “Some of that snowfall evaporated and didn’t contribute to groundwater the way we would like.” Cecil said recent rainfall is being quickly absorbed by plants and trees that are now in a period of rapid growth, leaving surface conditions vulnerable to drying out as temperatures rise and winds pick up. That dynamic is especially concerning in Ocean and Monmouth counties, in what officials describe as the wildland urban interface, where development meets forested land. State Fire Warden Bill Donnelly said the spring wildfire season, which runs from mid-March through mid-May, is already underway. “People typically think it’s summertime when it’s dry and hot, but here in New Jersey, our spring fire season (Jones Road Fire - See Page 5)
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