TRUTH. HERITAGE. ENVIRONMENT.

BEACHWOOD • ISLAND HEIGHTS • OCEAN GATE • PINE BEACH • SOUTH TOMS RIVER • TOMS RIVER

FREE May 10th ~ May 23rd, 2011

RIVERSIDE SIGNALthe

BEACHWOOD – From his volunteer service with the bor-ough municipal alliance, here, to his role as a Eagle Scout hopeful and newly certified emergency medical technician with the Beachwood First Aid Squad, 16-year-old borough native Chris Matyas is turning heads with what Councilman Edward A. Zakar calls “creating the future” of Beachwood.

Mr. Zakar, whose own volun-teer career spans over thirty years in various area fire com-panies, first aid squads and civic organizations, praised Mr. Matyas during his keynote ad-dress during Ocean County’s Spring 2011 EMT-Basic gradu-ation ceremony, held last month at Ocean County’s Fire and First Aid Training Academy, located in Waretown.

“Chris is probably one of the younger EMTs that have been certified in Ocean County, [and] he’s a great kid, he re-

ally is,” he said after prais-ing the other graduates of the class from Beachwood and the surrounding county. “Chris is also involved in the Beachwood Municipal Alliance, [which is] a program that keeps the young-sters in tune and out of the drug and alcohol scene.”

The borough councilman added that Mr. Matyas status as a role model in guiding the younger children “really, really goes over the top.”

“He’s also on his way to be-coming an Eagle Scout - I gotta tell you, when I get applica-tions, Eagle Scout stands out,” stated Mr. Zakar, who has been employed as a full-time em-ployee with Six Flags Great Ad-venture/Wild Safari/Hurricane Harbor, Jackson, for 36 years, currently holding the position of manager for Safety and Risk Management.

Mr. Matyas, who appeared bashful of the extra attention

ON THE TOMS RIVER – Earlier this month, the Signal caught up with members of the Kean-Ocean Sailing Team, who reflected upon the paths that brought them to the sport they now compete in on the waters of the Toms River.

“I started sailing my senior year of high school,” said Jamie Wasco, a junior at Kean-Ocean. “My best friend’s father is a sail-ing coach for Toms River [High School] South and thought that I would be perfect for the Ocean County College team as well as for other boats during

the summer.” Ms. Wasco sailed for OCC

prior to receiving her associ-ate’s degree and transferred to Kean-Ocean and said that OCC Sailing Coach Roy Wilkins and Kean-Ocean Sailing Coach Bil-ly Warner “supply us with basi-cally everything we need to sail, from half-priced gear to free use of the boats and the club, and traveling on the weekends.”

Juniors Tyler Kennedy and Brendan Hogan recalled a childhood spent sailing as young as ages six and seven, re-spectively.

PINE BEACH – The school, its buildings and cadets may be long gone from this riverfront borough, but echoes of Admi-ral Farragut Academy’s historic past continue to remind today’s residents of its presence. Such was the case this week when Americans reflected upon a 50-year milestone that marked the day Admiral Farragut Academy Class of 1941 graduate Alan B. Shepard, Jr. became the first American in space, making him an instant celebrity and propel-ling him forward to later be the fifth of twelve men to walk on the surface of the moon.

Born in New Hampshire in 1923, Mr. Shepard, the son of a retired Army colonel, spent part of his youth taking odd jobs at a local airfield to learn more about flight before gradu-ating from high school at the Pinkerton Academy in nearby

Novins Planetarium Programs

Exploring the Spring SkyMarvel at the wonders

of the beautiful springtime starfield through the plan-etarium’s new Zeiss star pro-jector. Beginning with a sun-rise, the program will discuss the nature and importance of the Sun before moving on to sunset. As night falls in the planetarium, participants can see the night sky as it should be seen, without the interfer-ence of modern light pollu-tion before touring the con-stellations, bright stars, visible planets and other celestial highlights of the spring sky.

This is a great program for scout groups, or anyone inter-ested in learning more about the night sky. Recommended for ages 8 and older. Friday, May 13th & 20th, 7 pm; Sat-urday, May 14th & 21st, 1 pm; Sunday, May 15th & 22nd, 1 pm.

Bad Astronomy: Myths and Misconceptions

Were the Apollo visits to the Moon actually a hoax? Have aliens landed on Earth? Can you tell your future by the stars? Prepare to debunk and tackle pseduoscience head-on with Bad Astronomy: Myths and Misconceptions, as cre-ated by the Detroit Science Center and Dassault Systemes Planetarium.

Based on the popular book and website of the same name, Bad Astronomy offers

cont. on page 14

www.riversidesignal.com

CONNECT TO THE RIVERSIDE SIGNAL

Ocean Gate Historical Society Looks Back

By Erik Weber

By Erik Weber

cont. on page 2

cont. on page 13 cont. on page 4

16-Year-Old Boro Native Chris Matyas Makes EMT

K-O Sailing Team Recalls Formative Years

Alan Shepard, 1961.

AFA Grad Shepard’s Historic Space Flight Hits 50th Anniversary By Erik Weber

Erik Weber, the Riverside SignalRunners competed in the 20th annual Toms River Kiwanis Daybreak’s River to Bay 5K this past weekend in Island Heights.

Land of the Free

PAGE 2 May 10th - May 24th, 2011The RIVERSIDE SIGNAL

Historic Space Flight Hits 50th Anniversary, continued from front

PINE BEACH – Late last month, the Pine Beach Coun-cil decided to revise an exist-ing ordinance addressing trees on private property rather than propose a new one.

The current code, said Coun-cilman Matthew Abatemarco, requires property owners to plant just one tree per 1,000 square feet of property and post a $2,500 bond until the re-quirement is met.

“It’s not strong, there’s no teeth,” he said before offering that the current code could be updated and enforced on a greater basis rather than creat-ing a new ordinance.

“What we need to do with the existing ordinance on the books is to make it something viable that makes sense,” agreed Councilman Ritty Polhemus.

“I think the consensus of the governing body is that we don’t want clear cutting – I’m brand new here but apparently no one posted a $2,500 bond ever, to anyone’s knowledge,” said Councilman Andrew Kec-zkemethy.

Mayor Christopher Boyle asked whether Mr. Abatemarco would be willing to “take a stab at it and merge it with our ex-isting ordinance,” to which the councilman agreed.

PINE BEACH - Governing body officials from the adjacent community of Beachwood were on hand during this borough’s April 25th meeting to discuss the possibility of the Beach-wood First Aid Squad, which also serves Pine Beach, enter-ing into an Emergency Services Volunteer Length of Service Award Program, or LOSAP.

The program, which was signed into law in 1998, is de-fined by the State of New Jersey as “a system established to pro-vide tax-deferred income bene-fits to active volunteer members

of an emergency service orga-nization.” The income benefits received for emergency service volunteers are made up of con-tributions from the governing body of the municipality or mu-nicipalities where the services are offered. Currently, both the Beachwood and Pine Beach volunteer fire companies hold LOSAP agreements with each municipality, but the shared services of the Beachwood First Aid Squad required that both municipalities agree to allow their entrance into such a pro-gram.

“What it does is gives an op-portunity for volunteers to actu-ally receive some sort of small stipend at the end of their ca-reers after years of service,” Beachwood Councilman Ger-ald W. LaCrosse told borough officials, highlighting the fact that the two fire companies already have agreements in place. “What we wanted to do was provide a similar program for the volunteer first aid squad because they are the ones that go out at three o’clock in the morning, and they’re there when we need them.”

He noted that the program agreement, if established, would not be retroactive for any members prior to the day it be-gins, and that while Beachwood officials are “behind it 100 per-cent,” it could not happen with-out Pine Beach officials also signing on.

Each municipality would also be assigned a percentage of the cost based upon the amount of members and service provid-ed, meaning that Pine Beach would only be responsible for part of the overall cost of the agreement.

PINE BEACH

Revised Code to Contain Tree Provision

Pine Beach to Consider First Aid LOSAP Agreement

Pine Beach Community Calendar

Republican Club Meeting

The Pine Beach Republican Club will hold its next meet-ing on Tuesday, May 10th at 7:30 pm in the borough fire company house on Prospect Avenue.

~Council Meeting

The Pine Beach Council will hold its next regular meeting on Wednesday, May 11th, at 7:30 pm in borough hall on Pennsylvania Avenue.

~Book Discussion: Angel of Harlem

On Friday, May 13th at 10:30 am, you’re invited to the Beachwood Library, Beachwood Boulevard, to engage in a lively discussion about this novelized account on the life of Dr. May Chinn, an African-American woman who broke the barriers pres-ent in the medical profession during the 1920s to become a leading specialist in cancer treatment, as set against the cultural, social and political life of the Harlem Renais-sance. Written by Kuwana Haulsey, copies of the book are available at the branch. No registration necessary.

~Town-Wide Yard Sale

The Pine Beach Municipal Alliance’s Annual Town-Wide Yard Sale will take place on Saturday and Sunday, May 14th & 15th, from 9 am to 3 pm. Participating homes may pick up maps and balloons on Friday, May 13th at borough hall on Pennsylvania Avenue between 4 pm and 6 pm.

~Municipal Alliance

MeetingThe next meeting of the

Pine Beach Municipal Alliance will take place on Monday, May 16th at 5:30 pm in borough hall on Pennsylvania Avenue.

By Philipp Schmidt

Derry and shipping off to Pine Beach and a one-year post graduate degree at Admiral Farragut Academy.

John Gardella, a Rumson native who now lives in Toms River, was a classmate and friend to “Shep” and last month recalled keeping in touch with the aspiring astronaut as he made his way through test-pilot training and into the NASA program, which he volunteered for along with 109 other test pi-lots. Mr. Shepard was one of the seven chosen.

“I knew that he was aspiring to it, and we kept correspon-dence, you know, maybe a let-ter every three or four months – almost like a ship’s log more than a letter: such and such date, did this, such and such date, did that,” he said, adding that Mr. Shepard’s grandmoth-er had grown to become close friends with his mother. “I had heard about him going up, of

course, and a funny thing that happened [was that] when he took the first sub-orbital flight, and of course it was televised, my mother was on the phone with his grandmother, and his grandmother kept saying, ‘Is he down yet?’”

“She wouldn’t look, wouldn’t see it, but kept asking if he was down yet,” he added.

On May 5th, 1961, Mr. Shepard, then 37, began his day lying on his back in the small Mercury capsule that sat atop the seven-story Redstone rocket that would launch him to his fame, but not before several hours of delays due to technical issues and the weather.

“He fell asleep before they took off, and they had to wake him up so that they were ready,” recalled Mr. Gardella.

Mr. Shepard was finally sent into the sky at an altitude of 115 miles before splashing down in the Atlantic Ocean 15 minutes

and 302 miles away from the launch site at Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Mr. Gardella reflected upon Mr. Shepard’s career advance-ments from their time at the academy to being a celebrated, national hero.

“In the Capstan [Admiral Farragut Academy’s school newspaper], they had him listed at one point as the only cadet who could trip over the white lines on the football field,” he laughed. “And he ends up going to the moon.”

Mr. Shepard passed away in July 1998 following a long bat-tle with leukemia.

Read more about Mr. Gardella, his life growing up on the Jersey Shore, fighting in World War II, and adventures in the latter half of the 20th Century in upcoming editions of the Signal.

Alan Shepard is launched into sub-orbit and history on May 5, 1961.

cont. on page 14

By Erik Weber

May 10th - May 24th, 2011 PAGE 3The RIVERSIDE SIGNAL

I have enjoyed many conver-sations about the great history of our towns along the river in Beachwood and Pine Beach, but Saturday, April 30th saw one of its lowest points that I must share with everyone in our community. The names of the individuals involved are not im-portant as I am afraid too many of us, if put in a similar circum-stance, could have made the same mistake instead of doing what was right.

The incident involved our nation’s pastime and some of our youngest athletes in the area – our nine and ten year old little leaguers – as victims to a “rule” about a time limit to a game. Most of us know that little league games are six innings while older levels like minor and major league games are nine innings and, as we saw on a recent Sunday night, they can sometimes go beyond that as the NY Mets beat the Phillies 2 - 1 in fourteen innings. Safety issues can shorten a game due to darkness or extreme weather like a thunderstorm, but other than that the game goes on. If the home team is ahead after getting three outs in the top of the sixth (last) inning then the game ends, but if not then the home team gets one last shot to “come back and win the game.”

Such was the case on Sat-urday as the Beachwood-Pine Beach Little League Pirates played the Brewers into the sixth inning. The Pirates led after five innings by the score of 7 to 5, and after three quick outs in the top of the sixth in-ning, the Pirates took the field with hopes of getting the final three outs to hold the lead and

win the game. But as all the boys got into

position on the field and in the home dugout, there was a com-motion when some man came on the field with a cell phone and another person said that the game had gone too long and would end after 5 ½ in-nings by league rule - a rule not found anywhere in BPBLL rules or policies. After about 10 minutes of discussion and con-sulting with the head of the um-pires, who said that the game should be completed, both team managers agreed that they would finish the game.

The first boy up for the Brewers made an out and the second boy stepped up to the plate and was eventually walked to first. Standing there, he saw the “steal sign” from his man-ager and took off for second, sliding in safely while the ball sailed into centerfield, allowing him to rocket off to third before sliding into home, bringing the game to a more exciting 7 to 6. The Brewers were elated as they welcomed him into the dugout, with the team now only a run away from tying it and feeling like they could do it!

They are still waiting for that chance. It was at this point that “league officials” cratered to pressure of a phantom rule and muddled game schedule by allowing the game halted for a subsequent faceoff between the Marlins and Giants at Mayo Park’s Field One, despite that beyond the outfield, Field Two sat vacant as a possible solution.

The Marlins and the Giants teams took the field to warm-up while many of the boys from the terminated matchup cried for

having their hopes dashed and their chance to come back to tie or even beat the team that had beaten them a few weeks before. The managers and coaches of the Brewers and the Pirates were stunned.

What did the Brewers and the Pirates do wrong? Noth-ing! They each had joined the league, paid their registration to play baseball, practiced hard and played sev-eral games up to this point, and then were denied the opportunity to play and finish their game.

In the end, it looked as if the two coaches for the Marlins and Giants couldn’t be bothered to take their boys over to Field Two to warm up. According to the schedule, they had the field at 3:30 pm and that was all they could “see.” Is that how it is in our community? If you are on my team, I’ll look out for your best interest, but if you are on the other team, look out. I recall the African prov-erb that basically says that it takes a whole village to raise a boy to a man. One or two peo-ple convinced others that what happened was correct and that they should enforce a rule that doesn’t exist. I wonder what they would have felt if it had been their game? Should it be any different? Shouldn’t we all try to work together as a com-munity to teach our children to try their best, to work hard, to play fair, and to finish what you start? We all have a responsibil-ity to teach our children and to

nurture their growth.A few hours later, all the

fields were empty.No one can ever convince

me that those who interceded that Saturday made a decision that was fair or prudent. Other viable alternatives were disre-garded, and to me, I will hold Beachwood Pine Beach Little League responsible. As a par-

ent, I share in that responsibil-ity to continue to raise the is-sue so that it can be corrected. The league now has a chance to learn from their mistake. With all the train-ing available

today, adults made a poor de-cision that affected our chil-dren. I would bet that if the little leaguers involved – the boys on the Brewers and the Pirates teams and the boys on the Marlins and the Giants who were waiting to take the field – were asked to decide what to do, we would have heard that the Brewers and Pirates wanted to play and finish their game and the Marlins and the Giants wanted to either watch (it was a good game) or warm up on the other field while their friends finished their game.

We need to inspire our boys to instill a confidence that will serve them in life. We want to teach them that anything is possible if they believe and work hard. We want them to un-derstand that it’s important to finish what you start and that sportsmanship means that you play hard to the end so that

PINE BEACH

Let Them Play

cont. on page 15

Rover’s ReadersChildren ages 5 to 12 are

invited to the Beachwood Li-brary, Beachwood Boulevard on Wednesday, May 18th at 3:45 pm to read to library dogs Taffy and Rusty. Please register, 732-244-4573.

~Book and Bake Sale

Come one, come all to the Friends of the Beachwood Library’s Book and Bake Sale on Saturday, May 21st from 9 am to 12:30 pm at the Beach-wood Library, Beachwood Boulevard, rain or shine. Enjoy great deals on books, music and DVDs plus a va-riety of fresh-baked goodies! Participants can also take a chance on a drawing for a “Spring into Summer” bas-ket. All proceeds raised will be donated to the Beachwood Library for educational chil-dren’s programs. The draw-ing will be held at the end of the book sale.

~Council Work Session

The next work session meet-ing of the Pine Beach Coun-cil will take place on Monday, May 23rd at 7:30 pm in bor-ough hall on Pennsylvania Avenue.

~Learn Spanish!

On Tuesday, May 24th & 31st, Pastor Pete of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church will be on hand at the Beachwood Li-brary, Beachwood Boulevard at 11:30 am to teach inter-ested residents basic conver-sational Spanish. Please reg-ister, 732-244-4573.

~Tip-A-Firefighter

NightThe Pine Beach Volunteer

Fire Company’s Annual “Tip-A-Firefighter” Night fundraiser will be held on Thursday, May 26th at the Lamp Post Inn, Atlantic City Boulevard, from 5 pm to 9 pm. Interested parties are urged to call ahead for reservations, 732-240-2211. A silent auction will also take place during the event. Questions? Call Rob Brown at 732-581-0689.

~ Join Boy Scouts

Troop 114, ages 11 through 17. If you enjoy learning life skills, camping, adventure and helping to improve your community, call Barry Wieck at 732-341-6565.

We welcome all members of our community to take this opportunity to attend our Open House and tour our beautiful club. Learn about all the activities and events that are planned for the year 2011.

Meet members from our various committees and hear about the benefits of membership. Find out why we think PBYC is such a special place. Children of all ages are encouraged to attend.

Robert E. Wahlers

By Robert E. Wahlers

PAGE 4 May 10th - May 24th, 2011The RIVERSIDE SIGNAL

Tour Cattus Island by Bike

Cattus Island Park now has adult bicycles and helmets of various sizes to loan out for use within the park. The bi-cycles are free to use with a driver’s license held until their return, and may be borrowed for two hours, seven days a week, between 8 am and 2 pm. They must not be taken out of the park.

~Woodford Cedar Run

Refuge On Friday, May 13th,

join a naturalist and travel to a 184-acre refuge tucked away in Medford, Burlington County, for a one-mile walk. Participants will also visit the refuge’s environmental edu-cation center, observe birds and see the wildlife rehabili-tation hospital. Lunch will be trailside, so please pack an easy-to-carry bagged lunch and wear comfortable walking shoes. Also, please have $6 in exact change for the tour.

Pickup will be at Cattus Island’s parking lot at 9 am. Cost is $14 per person, ages 9 to adult, maximum 12 partici-pants.

~Step Into Spring

It’s amazing what you can find just a few small steps from the Cooper Environmental Center at Cattus Island Park. Spring Azures are spreading their wings. Buds are burst-ing out leaves and flowers. Fiddleheads of ferns are push-ing their way out of the musty loam. Spring is, well… spring-ing at Cattus Island Park. Let a naturalist open your eyes to the wonder on Sunday, May 15th & 22nd from 10 am to 11 am. There is no cost or regis-tration required. All ages.

~ Scales and Tales

Snakes are frequently sub-ject to many myths. Join a nat-uralist as they uncover the real truths about snakes in this live animal presentation on Satur-day, May 14th & 21st and Sun-day, May 15th & 22nd from 11 am to 11:30 am at the Cooper Environmental Center in Cat-tus Island Park. There is no cost or registration required. All ages.

TOMS RIVER

By Erik Weber

Toms River Community Calendar

Council MeetingThe Toms River Council

will hold its next meeting on Tuesday, May 10th at 6 pm in town hall on Washington Street.

~Zoning Board MeetingThe next meeting of the

Zoning Board of Adjustment will take place on Thursday, May 12th at 7:30 pm in town hall on Washington Street.

~Food Fest

The first Toms River Food Fest will be held on Saturday, May 14th on Washington Street. A parade will begin at 11 am featuring local march-ing bands, fire and first aid squads and other local civic groups. After opening cer-emonies, the event will run from noon until 8 pm. Games and inflatable rides will be available for children. Music entertainment will be pro-vided by local DJ’s from ra-dio stations Magic 100.1 and 95.5 The Rat as well as from live bands on the main stage. In addition to the food pro-vided by vendors, the Toms River Fire Company No. 1 will sponsor a beer and wine garden for adults. This event replaces the previously an-nual Founder’s Day, which was discontinued indefinitely following last year.

~Arts & Music Festival

The 3rd Annual Toms River Arts and Music Festival will take place in conjunction with the new 2011 Toms Riv-er Food Fest at Huddy Park on Saturday, May 14th from noon to 5 pm. Live music, dance, visual arts and fine ju-ried crafts of the region will be featured.

Cattus Island Park Programs

“I started sailing at the age of six, out of Beachwood Yacht Club’s junior program in the summer,” said Mr. Kennedy. “My whole family has been sail-ing forever, so that was how I was introduced.”

“I started sailing at age seven at Shore Acres Yacht Club, lo-cated in Brick,” recounted Mr. Hogan. “I went to high school at Monsignor Donovan, and was immediately drawn to the high school sailing team, and it just happened that Mon-Don prac-ticed alongside Ocean County College.”

Upon graduating, Mr. Hogan said that he knew what his plans were when he decided to attend OCC.

“Then, when Kean@Ocean started, Roy Wilkins and Bill

Warner knew that we needed to continue to build our local pro-gram and talent while still en-couraging the large team turn-outs that we have been blessed with,” he continued. “The an-swer was to start the Kean@Ocean team, and thankfully, so far, so good.”

Mr. Kennedy also recalled getting into the Kean-Ocean team out of OCC.

“Billy was getting the team started this semester, so I knew getting involved would help the program,” he said.

“I love everything about col-lege sailing,” said Ms. Wasco. “Sailing for Kean-Ocean is es-pecially nice because I live at home and sailing allows me to travel on the weekends and visit other college campuses up and

down the East Coast.” Mr. Hogan concurred.“It is really a great program, I

mean, we can hang with the big guys, beat up on some of the Ivy League, so we really are almost there,” he said. “With OCC’s new fleet of 18 boats, combined with the Kean@Ocean boats, and the Toms River Yacht Club Tech Dinghys and facilities, we really are on par with some of the top tier programs.”

“Billy once told me that if I gave him one semester of sail-ing, I would come out in the end with either a job, a best friend, or a boyfriend,” laughed Ms. Wasco. “I think I’m the prime example of how true his claim is, because I currently have all three, due in part to my time sailing.”

ON THE TOMS RIVER – The Toms River Yacht Club continued its 2011 Spring Series on May 1st & 7th with their E-Scow and Flying Scot regattas. One week remains in the sea-son, with races to conclude on Sunday, May 15th.

Following the E-Scow series races of May 1st and 7th, Lit-tle Egg Harbor’s Jeff Bonnani moved up to first place with an average score of 1.69, pass-ing the Seaside Park Yacht Club team of John Brown and Will Demand, who now hold an av-erage score of 1.85. Toms River Yacht Club’s John Manderson, who did not compete in the first week of the series, is holding on to a third place spot with an av-erage score of 2.75.

Toms River Yacht Club’s Ran-dy Hartranft, who also did not compete in the first week of the series, has taken fourth place with an average of 3.67, fol-lowed by fellow TRYC Member Joe Thorpe in fifth with 5.11, Lake Hopatcong Yacht Club members Chris Norman and Pat Flinn in sixth and seventh, with 5.92 and 6.38, respectively, and Toms River Yacht Club’s Glenn Shaffer holding onto eighth with 6.89.

James Miller currently stands in ninth place with an average of 7.31 and after flipping at least twice, and Seaside Park’s Todd Nosher has tenth with 7.38.

In the Flying Scot competi-tion, Peter Sayia maintains his

first place position going into the fourth and final week of races with 1.31, Rich Kerdock is in second with 1.77, Steve Miller holds third with 2.62 and Steve Berglund, who did not compete in the first week of the series, is in fourth with 3.44.

K-O Sailing Team, continued from front

TRYC Spring Series, Weeks Two and Three

May 10th - May 24th, 2011 PAGE 5The RIVERSIDE SIGNAL

TOMS RIVER – This is the real estate report for single-family homes in Toms River for April 2011.

There are 12.39 average months of inventory (months to sell present inventory at present sales rate), 1,371 active listings with an average list of $390,636 spending an average 121 days on the market.

There were 290 new listings carrying an average list price of $366,426 for this April. This is a drop from the number of new listings for April of last year, which had 333 homes listed carrying an average price of $364,085.

There are 121 pending sales this month with an average list price of $283,789 after an aver-age of 75 days on the market. Last April had a higher number

of pending sales, with 160 listed at an average price of $292,585 after an average 99 days on the market.

There were 89 homes sold last month for an average 91 percent of their average list value of $269,361, or $244,686, after spending 109 days on the market. Forty-one of the sales were cash, 27 were conventional loans and 15 were FHA. Infor-mation on five of the homes was not available. The number of average days to close was 67.

Last April, 89 homes were sold for an average 94 per-cent of their average list price of $281,075, or $265,150, af-ter spending an average of 95 days on the market. Forty-six of those sales were cash, while 29 were conventional and 26 were FHA. The number of average

days on to close was 49.Robert Suarez is a Realtor

with Coldwell Banker Flanagan Realty and an independent real estate correspondent for the Riverside Signal. For more in-formation, he can be reached at Coldwell Banker Flanagan Re-alty’s Toms River office, located at 1541 Route 37 East, 732-270-6100 or through e-mail at robert.suarez@coldwellbanker.com and online at www.robert-suarez.net.

Disclaimer: All information was gathered from the Mon-mouth/Ocean M.L.S. All opin-ions are that of the author and do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of Coldwell Banker and/or Coldwell Banker Flanagan Realty or the River-side Signal.

TOMS RIVER

Municipal Alliance Meeting

The next meeting of the Toms River Municipal Al-liance will take place on Thursday, May 19th at 6 pm in town hall on Washington Street.

~Author Visit

Best-selling mystery author Lawrence Block will discuss his new book, “A Drop of the Hard Stuff,” at the Toms River Library, Washington Street, on Monday, May 23rd at 7 pm. Please register, 732-349-6200.

~Memorial Day Parade

The George P. Vanderveer Post 129 will observe Memo-rial Day on Monday, May 30th with their 82nd annual parade, which will assemble at 9 am before stepping off at 9:30 am from Highland Parkway at Main Street be-fore proceeding south to Toms River Town Hall for memorial ceremonies. In case of inclement weather, the parade will be canceled and ceremonies will be held inside town hall at 11 am. All patriotic and civic organiza-tions, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, church groups and citizens of Toms River are invited to join post officials and mem-bers in a tribute to their de-parted comrades. For more information, please contact Bob Scheiderman at 732-232-7095 or knottoday@comcast.net.

Cattus Island Park Programs

Turtle Feeding The Cooper Environ-

mental Center at Cattus Is-land Park houses a variety of native turtles, including the Diamond-back Terrapin, the Box Turtle and the Painted Turtle. Naturalists and youth volunteers will be on hand to answer all of your questions while they feed and other-wise care for their native tur-tles on Saturday, May 14th & 21st and Sunday, May 15th & 22nd from 1:30 pm to 2 pm at the Cooper Environmental Center in Cattus Island Park. There is no cost or registra-tion required. All ages.

~ Winged Friends Nature

Walks The warmer days of spring

bring a variety of new oppor-tunities for viewing wildlife, and the park’s two o’clock na-ture walks represent a long tradition of offering a fun, ed-ucational and interactive look at the wilds of Cattus Island County Park. Take a break from the daily grind and get back to basics with a short jaunt through one of Ocean County’s best-kept secrets with the Wading Bird Watch Na-ture Walks on Saturday and Sunday, May 14th & 15th and the Beginning Birdwatching Nature Walks on Saturday and Sunday, May 21st & 22nd. All walks take place from 2 pm to 3 pm. There is no cost or reg-istration required. All ages.

Real Estate Report with Robert Suarez

Flipped!

Erik Weber, the Riverside SignalLavallette Yacht Club’s James Miller and crew try to recover during this past weekend’s E-Scow races during the Toms River Yacht Club’s Spring Series.

PAGE 6 May 10th - May 24th, 2011The RIVERSIDE SIGNAL

OCEAN GATE

Ocean Gate Community Calendar

Free Karate Classes Free karate classes are of-

fered every Friday from 6 pm to 7 pm in Adrian Hall on East Cape May Avenue to all borough residents.

~Council Meeting

The next meeting of the Ocean Gate Borough Council will be held on Wednesday, May 11th at 7 pm in borough hall on Ocean Gate Avenue.

~Democratic Club

Meeting The Ocean Gate Democratic

Club will hold its next meet-ing on Monday, May 16th at 7:30 pm in Adrian Hall on East Cape May Avenue. The club is currently seeking new members from the commu-nity and invites anyone inter-ested to attend.

~Cover Dish Dinner

The Ocean Gate Histori-cal Society invites members, friends and prospective members to a cover dish din-ner and storytelling pro-gram on Tuesday, May 17th at 6 pm in the Ocean Gate Yacht Club, Ocean Gate Av-enue, with meeting to follow at 7:15 pm. Interested par-ties may contact the follow-ing members if they plan to attend and bring: appetizers, Patrice Purcaro, 732-269-5710; salads, Dolores Brown, 732-269-4299; and entrees, Diane Gavin, 732-269-1560. Dessert will be provided. Handicap access is available by elevator.

~Republican Club

Meeting The Ocean Gate Republican

Club will hold its next meet-ing on Thursday, May 19th at 7:30 pm in Adrian Hall on East Cape May Avenue.

OCEAN GATE – Late last month, the governing body of Ocean Gate unanimously ad-opted their 2011 municipal budget following a public hear-ing in which no members of the public came forward with com-ment for what Mayor Paul Ken-nedy said was the third year in a row.

The $2.8 million budget is an increase of one cent from the previous year, or $0.63 per $100 of assessed value, amount-ing to an annual increase of $24.10 based upon the average

assessed property at $241,009.“I want to thank [Council-

man] Tony [Digironimo], the finance committee chair and the committee, as well as CFO Paulette Konopka for their due diligence and hard work again working on our municipal bud-get,” Mayor Kennedy said fol-lowing its adoption. “It’s quite interesting these past several years to see no one really get up and ask questions about what you spend and why taxes are the way they are.”

OCEAN GATE – Reflecting upon the recent annual Eas-ter Egg hunt/scramble, here, Council President Richard Rus-sell recalled the moments just before the scramble and said it was “one of the funnest days of my year, stopping these little kids for what seems like an eter-nity from picking up thousands of pieces of candy inches away.”

“One little girl in an Easter dress, she had my number, she wasn’t scared of me at all,” he laughed. “She was over the line

and laughed at me, then came over and gave me a big hug.”

Councilman Charles Mailot, who chairs the borough recre-ation committee, agreed as to its success.

“It went astounding well and it’s amazing how much prepa-ration and planning can disap-pear in two minutes,” he said. “All the kids had a good time and we awarded over 70 prizes.”

The councilman thanked all volunteers involved.

OCEAN GATE – Following the request of a number of resi-dents who have recently cited vandalism and issues along the waterfront recreation areas as a problem related to the bor-ough’s 11 pm curfew for minors, the borough council introduced an ordinance during their April 20th meeting that would

change it to 10 pm, matching adjacent Berkeley Township’s ordinance.

A public hearing and pos-sible final adoption on the or-dinance will occur on May 11th during the council’s next regu-larly scheduled meeting, begin-ning at 7 pm in borough hall on Ocean Gate Avenue.

OCEAN GATE – During the first public comment portion of the Ocean Gate Council meet-ing on April 20th, East Cape May Avenue resident Barbara Cotto, an ongoing opponent to the current borough wind turbine that went online in No-vember 2009 and continued de-tractor of the borough’s public plants to construct a second tur-bine in the vicinity, read a state-ment relating recent events in Lacey Township whereby blades of a privately-owned turbine there had fallen off on March 2nd.

“It was called an ‘abnormal occurrence,’” read Ms. Cotto. “Two weeks later, on March 14th, 2011, in Rugby, North Da-kota, the blades fell off another turbine. That was called an ‘iso-lated incident.’”

“On March 8th, 2011, the New Jersey State Office of Clean En-ergy put a halt on applications of inland wind turbines in New Jersey until further investiga-tion of the Lacey turbine ac-cident,” she continued, adding that the borough has been lucky thus far to not have any similar incidents in its own turbine, which was constructed and stands on East Arverne Avenue.

“Since ‘Turbine One’ went up, you have heard from many of us living in close proximity to it,” the East Cape May Avenue resi-dent stated. “Many of us locally have been quiet at recent meet-ings regarding the turbine. Please do not mistake that to

mean that we have changed our minds or gotten used to ‘Tur-bine One.’”

She highlighted a November Veteran’s Day ceremony held partly in Adrian Hall, which is located across the street from the current turbine.

“Everyone there got a full show of the shadow flicker that Lori Ditzel and I have spoken of at these meetings,” Ms. Cotto said. “Did any of you then see how annoying that could be?”

She concluded by stating that she felt borough officials did not care about the complaints received by residents living near the turbine, as they them-selves did not live within close

proximity.

Ocean Gate Council Recap2011 Municipal Budget Passes

Russell: Egg Hunt “Wonderful”

Borough Curfew Slides to 10 pm

East Cape May Ave Resident: Say No to Turbine No. 2By Philipp Schmidt

By Erik Weber

By Erik Weber

By Philipp Schmidt

May 10th - May 24th, 2011 PAGE 7The RIVERSIDE SIGNAL

OCEAN GATE

Central Alumni Golf Luncheon

The Central Regional Alum-ni Association will hold its 4th Annual Golf Outing Lun-cheon for alumni on Tues-day, May 24th at Yesterday’s Restaurant, 938 Atlantic City Boulevard, Bayville, at 2 pm. Cost is $30 per person, which includes luncheon, beer and wine. For more information, e-mail cenreg76@aol.com, call Cheryl Altieri at 732-269-4700 or visit crhs.info and click the Alumni tab.

~Blue Star Mothers

Meeting The next meeting of the

Blue Star Mothers of the Jer-sey Shore, Chapter 4, will be on Saturday, May 21st from noon to 4 pm in Adrian Hall, East Cape May Avenue.

~Star-Spangled Memo-

rial Day Breakfast On Sunday, May 29th, from

8 am to noon in Adrian Hall, East Cape May Avenue, the Civic Club of Ocean Gate will hold its Star-Spangled Me-morial Day Breakfast, con-sisting of French toast with ham, sausage, or scrambled eggs or ham or sausage and roll, and juice, coffee or tea. Tickets may be purchased at the door on the day of the event or in advance from Ter-ry Nieves, club president, by calling 732-269-2019 or from Maria Golda, by calling 732-237-9121.

After spending almost two decades working on and off in restaurant management it’s no surprise that I am a connois-seur of sorts; most especially when it comes to personable customer service. And it never fails to surprise me that more than 80 percent of the time I’ll hear that one famous catch phrase that just makes me shudder. My mother has come to know this all too well about me, and it amazes even her to hear it all too often. There we will be, sitting oh so patiently, perusing over our menus, when out of nowhere our server will appear and ask us “what can I get you guys?” It absolutely kills me to hear it, and I cringe al-most instantaneously. And it’s in that moment that my mother looks right at me and I look at her and we pretty much mouth a silent repeat of “you guys” right back at each other, as if we are asking a question.

“You guys” is a term of en-dearment that I’ve encountered

from one side of the United States to the other. It seems to know no boundaries. However, more popular in New York is “what can I get youse?” In the south it’s “what can I get ya’ll?” And in the Ap-palachian’s it’s “what can I get you-uns?”

Now let me ask you this, and it doesn’t matter who you are or what you do, but if you were go-ing to approach two women and your main objective in speaking to them was to inquire what you could get for them, wouldn’t it make sense to walk up to them and simply ask, “what can I get you ladies?” At my worst I don’t look like a guy, and it’s idiomat-ic to refer to any more than two women as “guys.” Let’s not even begin to discuss how disrespect-

ful it is. Call me old fashioned, but in a career path based upon providing some type of quality customer service, wouldn’t you want to address the public in a manner that would deem you

positively note-worthy rather than immature or redundant? To be clear, it doesn’t matter what your job is or what kind of career you hold. Good, respectful, verbal customer service is impor-tant for every-one.

I’ve led sales building classes time and again, and when it comes to points-of-service I’ve encouraged my staff over the years to put the “you guys” phrase to rest. Try us-ing “you folks,” “ladies,” “girls” (when you want to be cute and creative) and same rules for the men. Refer to them as “gentle-

men,” “boys,” even “fellas.” I usually refer to my staff as “kids” or “gang” when I speak to them. I keep it light, and I keep it fun and pragmatic. Sure, some of it sounds really hokey, but have one woman pull you aside just once and thank you for not calling her and her companion “guys” and you will never forget it. I know this, be-cause I’m just the gal to pull you aside and do it!

Let’s get it right, ladies and gentlemen!

Liz Cochrane is a divorced mother of three who works as an assistant restaurant manager for Artisan’s Brewery & Italian Grill in Toms River and is an in-dependent distributor for Bore-sha’s BSkinny Coffee. She prides herself on her people-skills and the ability to live life to the full-est and resides in Ocean Gate with her boys and two dogs, Ab-bey and Penny. If you have a topic of etiquette you feel needs addressing, please email her at lizcochranecampbell@gmail.

OCEAN GATE – This is the real estate report for single-family homes in Ocean Gate for April 2011.

There are 7 average months of inventory (months to sell present inventory at present sales rate), 39 active listings with an average list of $269,407 spending an average 114 days on the market.

There were eight new listings carrying an average list price of $292,090 for this April. The number of new listings for April of last year was 14, and they carried an average list price of $218,974.

Two homes are presently pending with an average list value of $144,900 after an av-erage 185 days on the market. During the same month last year, four homes were pend-ing with an average list value of $148,081 after 68 days on the market.

There were six sales month, at an average 94 percent of list price of $207,366, or $194,333. One was a cash sale, two were conventional loans and three were FHA mortgages after an average 37 days to close. This was higher than the same pe-riod last year, when four homes

were sold for an average 97 per-cent of list price of $194,333, or $162,181. One was a con-ventional loan, two were FHA mortgages and one was listed as other.

Judging the numbers, my opinion is that Ocean Gate is showing some stability with list prices still a tad high and sellers getting 94 percent of that price.

Robert Suarez is a Realtor with Coldwell Banker Flanagan Realty and an independent real estate correspondent for the Riverside Signal. For more in-formation, he can be reached at Coldwell Banker Flanagan Re-

alty’s Toms River office, located at 1541 Route 37 East, 732-270-6100 or through e-mail at robert.suarez@coldwellbanker.com and online at www.robert-suarez.net.

Disclaimer: All information was gathered from the Mon-mouth/Ocean M.L.S. All opin-ions are that of the author and do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of Coldwell Banker and/or Coldwell Banker Flanagan Realty or the River-side Signal.

What Did You Call Me? Let’s Get It Right! with Liz Cochrane

Liz Cochrane

Real Estate Report with Robert Suarez

Not a commitment to lend.LO NMLS# 298472, Company NMLS# 1599Licensed by NJ Dept. of Banking & Insurance

Contact Toni Gratzel today!

tgratzel@franklinamerican.com623 Main Street, Toms River, NJ 08753

PAGE 8 May 10th - May 24th, 2011The RIVERSIDE SIGNAL

ISLAND HEIGHTS

Island Heights Community Calendar

Election Day!The borough municipal

election will be held on Tues-day, May 10th. Residents may vote in borough hall at the Wanamaker Complex on East End and Van Sant ave-nues between the hours of 6 am and 8 pm.

~Board of Health

The Island Heights Board of Health will hold its next meeting on Tuesday, May 10th at 9am in borough hall at the Wanamaker Complex on East End and Van Sant av-enues.

~Preschool Storytime

Parents and children ages 3 ½ to 5 can enjoy stories and a fun craft at the Island Heights Library, Central Ave-nue, on Wednesday, May 11th & 25th, at 10:30 am. Please register, 732-270-6266.

~Land Use Board

Meeting CanceledThe Wednesday, May 11th

meeting of the Island Heights Land Use Board has been canceled.

~Yoga Classes

Yoga classes for residents are held every Thursday morn-ing from 10 am to 11 am in borough hall at the Wana-maker Complex on East End and Van Sant avenues for a cost of $5 per session. Multi-session rates are available.

~Council Meeting

The Island Heights Council will next meet on Thursday, May 12th at 7 pm in borough hall at the Wanamaker Com-plex on East End and Van Sant avenues.

~Celebrate Frog Jumping Day

Participants ages six and up can hop by the Island Heights Library, Central Avenue, and celebrate Frog Jumping Day with froggy stories and a fun craft on Friday, May 13th be-ginning at 4 pm. Please reg-ister, 732-270-6266.

ISLAND HEIGHTS – Two incumbents and one newcomer will be vying for two seats on the nonpartisan Island Heights Borough Council this week, with newcomer Robert Wilber looking to bump sitting coun-cilmen Brian Taboada or John Bendel out.

Last month, the candidates were given a set of eight ques-tions plus the option to make added comments. Four sets of questions and their answers ap-peared in our previous edition, and the final four plus their added comments are printed below. The candidates’ answers appear verbatim and are listed in alphabetical order by last name.

~5. How do you see the role of

the environment and general health of the river and bay af-fecting your future decisions, if elected?

A: Bendel - Barnegat Bay and the Toms River are tremendous assets. Their value cannot be overestimated; their health is of prime importance to Island Heights, the entire region, and to the State of New Jersey. I will act accordingly. By the way, Island Heights is working to implement storm water run-off regulations and we were among the first towns in the state to ap-prove controls on certain lawn chemicals, since superseded by most welcome state law.

A: Taboada - I am a big fan of the bay. I have been on it my entire life. I have work with en-vironmental engineers cleaning up the environment for over 17 years. It is time to stop study-ing and start doing as far as I am concerned. The borough is a very small contributor to the problems of the bay. We need to support those initiatives that we want other communities to enact as this is a regional prob-lem. However, there is only very little we can do. We are nearly built out, and do not have the resources, land or money, to put in place many of the measures currently on the table.

A: Wilber - The River and Bay are a very important part of our waterfront community, and its future. Many people in our town live here and enjoy recreating on the River and Bay. Clean water helps the ma-

rine environment and it helps in attracting people to live in our town so they can enjoy this great resource.

Decisions being considered by Mayor and Council in this re-gard need to be carefully evalu-ated for cost versus benefit.

6. What are or should be some priorities of the borough council moving forward into the next year?

A: Bendel - Increased effi-ciency, lower costs. Period.

A: Taboada - I think fixing our town will receive the high-est priority. Fixing the finances and infrastructure.

A: Wilber - Stop all Frivolous spending

Explore in house services vs. shared services or consolidation in ALL areas and act when nec-essary and in the best interest of Island Heights.

Write job responsibility’s for all employees to avoid dupli-cation of staff and develop an evaluation process for better ac-countability.

Our infrastructure is also a concern of mine. Roads, Bulk-heads, Water distribution lines, Sewer lines, all have issues. Most need money to address. We have Fire Hydrants that have been knowingly leaking since 1993, and possibly before, and they still leak to this day. I can only imagine how many thousands of gallons of water have leaked into the ground. Some of these things can be remedied without a lot of money. A sound yearly maintenance plan should be put into place to address these issues and honestly should have been in place a long time ago.

7. What are some cost-saving options the borough could or should further research in this still down economy?

A: Bendel - We should re-search everything. And small savings on individual purchases and minor shared services are very welcome, of course. But even in aggregate they will have virtually no impact on the bor-ough’s budget or taxes. We will have to make changes in major

services, including personnel reductions. Our challenge will be to maintain those services and keep Island Heights inde-pendent.

A: Taboada - We can do more with shared services but I don’t see the savings that Trenton keeps touting. We do not qual-ify for many grants because we are “Rich”. We need to follow through on some of the ideas that have been present to the borough. We need to more carefully review those expenses brought to the borough. We need to stop dragging out feet in dealing with contracts and legal affairs. We need to priori-tize our capital improvements, assign value to them, and follow that guidance.

We need a real Master Plan to adequately provide the vi-sion of what the town, not just the governing body, wants for this town. We need to establish alternative revenue sources out-side of selling borough

assets. We need to be more efficient about how we conduct our business and continuously review those practices. We need to maximize the in house ex-pertise contained within the borough for services that may be reduced costs or donated. We need to be more open and honest with the happenings in the borough so people can as-sist or be prepared for what is coming down the road.

A: Wilber - Again the items I want to pursue if elected are the cost saving measures stated above.

Shared service such as Gar-bage and recycling removal.Better purchasing practices.Make everyone accountable.Consolidation of services.

8. What are some of your personally favorite aspects of Island Heights?

A: Bendel – The people, the landscape, the houses, the river, the parks, the trees, the bay, the flowers, the rain, the... should I go on?

A: Taboada - I like that it is surrounded by the river/bay with a ton of public access. I

like the fact that there are no stop lights. I like that it is pri-marily a walking community. I like that people are friendly. I like the history and character of the town.

A: Wilber - Small town com-munity feel. People interacting whether it be dropping your kids off at the grade school or going to the Post Office.

Being able to pull off the road to talk with a neighbor, friend or police officer.

Volunteering my time with the Fire Department. Probably the longest standing organiza-tion in Island Heights, and it’s a good feeling to be a part of its rich history in serving the com-munity.

Please write any additional comments here:

A: Bendel – The candidate did not respond to the offer.

A: Taboada – The candidate did not respond to the offer.

A: Wilber - Island Heights in the envy of places to live in Ocean County. I firmly believe that without serious, immedi-ate and business like atten-tion to our finances, our small town could very easily become a thing of the past, which I would hate to see. As mentioned ear-lier, continually taxing people without anything coming in ad-ditionally on the non-tax rev-enue side is a bad formula.

We are somewhat limited on the non-tax revenue, and our ability to find ratables that do not affect services, which is why shared services must become one of our most serious topics of discussion in our immediate future.

I am very confident in my ability to lead in some of these discussions and I hope our resi-dents see my past commitment and future commitment to our great town.

~The municipal election will

be held on Tuesday, May 10th. Residents may vote in borough hall at the Wanamaker Com-plex on Van Sant and East End avenues from 6 am to 8 pm.

Three Candidates Vie for Two Council Seats

John Bendel Brian Toboada Robert Wilber

By Erik Weber

May 10th - May 24th, 2011 PAGE 9The RIVERSIDE SIGNAL

ISLAND HEIGHTS

Mother Goose for Babies

Parents can bring their in-fants and toddlers up to 24 months old to the Island Heights Library, Central Avenue, for rhymes, music, fingerplays and more on Saturday, May 14th at 10:30 am. Please register, 732-270-6266.

Environmental Committee Meeting

The next meeting of the Is-land Heights Environmental Committee will take place on Wednesday, May 18th at 7 pm in borough hall at the Wana-maker Complex on East End and Van Sant avenues.

~Pajama Tales

All ages are invited to wear your PJs for great stories at the Island Heights Library, Central Avenue, on Monday, May 23rd at 7 pm.

~Friends of Library

Meeting The next meeting of the

Friends of the Island Heights Library will be held on Mon-day, May 23rd at 7 pm in the Island Heights Library, Cen-tral Avenue. The Friends of the Island Heights Library are an important link be-tween the library and the public. The group plans pro-grams and fundraisers for specific library needs.

~Council Meeting

The next meeting of the Island Heights Council will take place on Tuesday, May 24th at 7 pm in borough hall at the Wanamaker Complex on East End and Van Sant av-enues.

Going to the Philadelphia Antiques Show is like going to a museum, but the best part is that you can purchase what is being exhibited. That is, if you have really deep pockets. But even if you don’t, you can see and learn what makes an an-tique so valuable.

This year’s show, which was held April 9th through 12th at the Navy Yard, Philadelphia Cruise Terminal at Pier One, celebrated 50 years of antiques shows that have raised more than $17 million for Penn Med-icine.

The Brant Mackley Gallery of Hershey, Pennsylvania had a number of exceptional Ameri-can Indian pieces for sale, in-cluding a Winnebago beaded bandolier bag, circa 1890-1900, which was priced at $7,500. A Navajo or Pueblo transitional yard manta, circa 1890s, was priced at $4,800 and a West-ern Great Lakes ball club, circa 1820-1840, sold for $32,000. The gallery also had a circa 1840 Penobscot Indian powder-horn, marked at $4,800, and a Sioux Buffalo Effigy stone head club, circa 1880s-1890s, at $3,200.

An 1823 hand-colored en-graving of a map of New Jersey by Fielding Lucas, Jr. could be had from the Philadelphia Print

Shop for $550, while an 1822 hand-colored engraving of a map of our fair state by Carey & Lea was marked at $650. Revo-lutionary War collectors would be interested in the 1778 nauti-cal chart of the Delaware Bay, which was pub-lished in Paris by Joshua Fisher and priced at $2,600. There was also a com-plete set of 12 sporting prints from “Shooting Pictures” done in 1895 by the popular artist A.B. Frost priced at $15,000.

Christopher T. Rebollo, of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, had a pair of Federal games tables, probably made in West Chester, Pennsylvania, between 1790 and 1810, with a very early if not original finish, and made of mahogany, walnut, poplar and holly marked at $24,000. A hollow-cut silhouette of Isaac Todd of Washington, D.C. or Al-exandria, Virginia and signed by John Langdon, New Hamp-shire and dated 1793 was priced at $3,850. A silk embroidery, circa 1815, and attributed to Miss Royce’s School of Boston, Massachusetts with the original Doggett-type gilded frame was

offered at $3,500. A carved gilt-wood looking glass from Ire-land, circa 1760-1770, and made of pine and spruce with some restoration and metal sconces missing was $9,500. There was a small, 12” x 10” portrait of

George Wash-ington, Ameri-can School cir-ca 1825-1850 and done in oil on poplar board marked $2,600.

The Herrs, of Lancaster, Pennsylva-nia, had a red

painted Pennsylvania tin teapot from the 19th century priced at $6,500, and a rare Horse & Rider with Horn tin cookie cut-ter from southeastern Pennsyl-vania from the late 19th or early 20th century for $2,900. A clas-sic red Center Diamond Amish quilt made of wool in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, circa 1920, was $8,750. A silk on linen sampler worked by Sarah Walter, prob-ably from Goshen Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania and dated 1798 was marked at $24,000. An appliquéd Friend-ship Quilt signed and dated, “Sophie Pyle’s quilt pieced by her mother in 1848,” and made in Harford County, Maryland,

was $15,000. Jacquard Pattern coverlets were priced variously at $2,500, $1,100, $950 and $1,800.

Dalton’s American Decora-tive Arts of Syracuse, New York had a Gustave Stickley Crafts-man Workshops china cabinet, circa 1910, marked at $16,500. A Stickley copper umbrella stand, circa 1905, was $6,500, while a circa 1910 Grueby Fa-ience gourd vase was priced at $22,000.

On the day I attended the show, there was a free lecture by Robert K. Wittman, author of the New York Times bestseller, “Priceless: How I Went Under-cover to Rescue the World’s Stolen Treasures.” He is the founder of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Art Crime Team, which has recovered more than $225 million worth of stolen art and cultural prop-erty. Speaking during the show, he said that 88 percent of muse-um theft is done by an insider. Should be an interesting book.

The Brandywine River Mu-seum Antiques Show will be held on May 28th through 30th in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. For additional information go to www.brandywinemuseum.org.

Patricia H. Burke

Antiques, Etc. with Patricia H. Burke

PAGE 10 The RIVERSIDE SIGNAL May 10th - May 24th, 2011

SOUTH TOMS RIVER

A Mother for Hard Times: A Mother’s Day Assignment for you all. By Frank Domenico Cipriani

South Toms River Community Calendar

Municipal Alliance Meeting

The next meeting of the South Toms River Munici-pal Alliance will be held on Wednesday, May 11th at 7 pm in borough hall on Mill Street.

~Democratic Club

MeetingThe South Toms River

Democratic Club will hold its next meeting on Wednesday, May 11th at 6 pm in borough hall on Mill Street.

~Drive Carefully!

With the warmer weather, residents and visitors of all ages will be out enjoying the outdoor amenities that our area has to offer. Please slow down, obey all local speed limits and be alert when driv-ing near playgrounds and on residential streets.

~Council Meeting

The South Toms River Council will hold its next regular meeting on Monday, May 16th at 7 pm in borough hall on Mill Street.

~Land Use Board

MeetingThe next meeting of the

South Toms River Land Use Board will take place on Tuesday, May 17th at 7 pm in borough hall on Mill Street.

A seventy-four year old doll with a broken leg sits on the bed at my sister’s house. It was given to her by my mother.

That doll is a real survivor, her tight-blond plastic curls impeccable and her embroi-dered dress, only slightly faded. The doll’s name is impossible for Americans to pronounce: Győngyi. Each phoneme of that name is as foreign to South Toms River or Beachwood na-tives as the story of her remark-able survival. When my mother was four years old, visiting her grandparents in Budapest, air raid sirens blared, forcing my mother and her family into the basement below the apartment.

No one knew if it was the Allied or Axis forces attack-ing. Both sides bombed Buda-pest. What mattered that night in that basement bomb shelter was one simple fact: A little girl, my mother, was crying for her doll, left in the upstairs apart-ment three stories from safety. My mother’s grandmother vol-unteered to risk her life to save this object of my mom’s affec-tion. My great-grandmother scrambled up the basement steps, climbed the stairs to her pitch-dark apartment, and res-cued Gyongyi as the bombs fell just blocks away.

I know very little about my great-grandmother. What we remember of our ancestors’ stories dwindle with time, until they are pared down to single incidents that shed some light on who these people were, and how they are connected to us by a chain of love, despite distance and circumstance, language and time. What we recall, the flashes of

personality that endure, are preserved in the stories of those

moments where a mother’s love meets the challenges of history.

~ Now, the hard times have

come to our shores. Perhaps not so dramatically as they did for Hungar-ians during the second World War, but for many of us living on the South Side of the River, these are some rough days.

A mother sits on the bench at a home game watching her son play ball. She has a text-book open on her lap. Between innings, she studies. One of the kids berates her, “Are you crazy, bringing homework to a baseball game?” And I smile, and I hope that her son realizes the depth of her sacrifice, the commitment to the betterment of her family. I hope that her son tells stories to his children about how his mother was there for him, even as she struggled to improve his conditions.

Mothers who man the con-cession stands, who sit in the cold, pouring October rain at Pop Warner practices, who struggle in loveless marriages to provide a foundation of sta-bility for their children, these are all individuals whose stories may continue to be told three

generations hence. I tell my own story to my chil-

dren, about a mother who sat for two hours in the dark lobby of the Vanderbilt Planetarium on Long Island so her nervous fif-

teen year old son, so desperate to look cool, could have some privacy with a potential girl-friend on their first date. I don’t remember if I thanked my mom that night, but that act of kind-

ness moved me, made me won-der how many more such mo-ments of sacri-fice had passed unnoticed.

How do these vignettes, stories of good times compare to my father’s stories of the sacrifices his mother made during the De-pression? How do they com-

pare to stories of those heroic mothers who hold down the fort while their husbands are in Af-ghanistan and Iraq?

We measure success by how little our children realize that times are hard. My father grew up in poverty, during the De-pression, and never realized that he was poor until he left his neighborhood and entered the Air Force. My grandmother always managed to provide an exquisitely cooked meal, sewed him fashionable clothing, and made sure that he was

shielded from the finan-cial worries of the grown-up world. A mother’s sacrifices and struggle are the kind that, for our own peace of mind, are of-ten completely invisible to us as children, and only recognized from the perspective of our adulthood.

My mom is an avid gar-dener. She taught me how to garden for food, and to value

those “volunteers,” the dandeli-ons, chickweed and violets that found their way into our garden. She taught me that just because they had been planted by the winds of chance, they were no less valuable than those seeds that we had planted intention-ally. Each plant had its special gift. This was a poignant meta-phor from my mother’s own story of immigration. It also has broader meaning for the trials that we all go through. I know several young adults whose mothers were once frightened teenagers with a difficult choice to make. I know a handful of young women who are facing motherhood, literally bearing the consequences of that same difficult choice to become a mother with little outside sup-port. I wonder if their children will ever fathom the depth of sacrifice that these mothers once made, valuing the special gift of the “volunteers” that had sprouted in their gardens, and which so deeply changed the landscape of their lives.

This Mother’s Day and in the weeks and months that fol-low, I think the best gift for any mother, as she smiles through a breakfast of omelets and egg-shells, burnt toast and ceramic art projects so misfigured that they seem to have been crafted on Jupiter, is to acknowledge some memorable act of kind-ness that characterizes your mother’s loving struggle. You may not be able to afford to buy her a huge gift, or take her out for a meal, but still, In these hard times, you could tell her a story, the story by which her great-grandchildren will know her. This way, she will know that her family bears witness to the timeless heroism of her love.

Frank Domenico Cipriani

PAGE 11The RIVERSIDE SIGNALMay 10th - May 24th, 2011

SOUTH TOMS RIVER

Scenes from the Spring Fair, May 7, 2011

PAGE 12 The RIVERSIDE SIGNAL May 10th - May 24th, 2011

BEACHWOOD

Jakes Branch Park Programs Spring Has Sprung Photo

Contest!Calling all amateur pho-

tographers! Park staff invites you to celebrate the beauty of spring at Jakes Branch Coun-ty Park by capturing it in a photo – anything from birds and flowers to butterflies and landscapes. All photos must be taken within park bound-aries between April 1st, 2011 and May 31st, 2011. Photog-raphers must be 18 years and older and submit your photo (1 per person) on 8.5” x 11” photo paper to the Nature Center by 4 pm on May 31st.

First, second and third place winners will receive prizes in the form of gift cer-tificates good toward Ocean County Parks and Recreation programs, and all photos will remain on display in the nature center through June 30th. For more information, please call 732-281-2750.

~Tiny Trekkers

Take a walk with your tod-dler and learn about forests and ponds on Thursday, May 12th from 9:30 am to 10:15 am and Saturday, May 14th from 11 am to 11:45 am. Please register. Cost is $6 per team (1 child, 1 adult), ages two to three years, maximum 10 teams.

~Frogs by Flashlight

Frogs are easily heard but often difficult to spot. On Friday, May 13th, Hike the trails and sandy roads of Jakes Branch exploring potholes and puddles in search of the many amphibian species na-tive to the Pinelands. Bring a flashlight. Afterward, the nature center’s observation tower will be open for night-time viewing. Please register. Cost is $6 per person, all ages, maximum 25 participants.

~Native American Garden:

Gourds and SquashGardening with native

crops provided the Lenape In-dians with most of their food. Corn, beans and squash grow together as “three sisters” and each plant benefits the other. Drop in and plant seeds using traditional gardening tools on Saturday, May 14th. Program will be held from 12:30 pm to 3 pm at the Jakes Branch Park Nature Center. No registra-tion required. Free, all ages.

Beachwood Community Calendar

Municipal Alliance Dance

The Beachwood Municipal Alliance will hold its next dance on Friday, May 13th from 7:30 pm to 10 pm in the Beachwood Community Center on Compass Avenue. Open to 5th, 6th, and 7th graders, space is limited, bracelets available for pur-chase beginning at 6:30 pm. Parents must pick up at end of dance at 10 pm. For more info, call 732-286-6000.

~Vendors Wanted

Anyone wishing to partici-pate in the borough’s annual Memorial Day picnic as a crafter or food vendor may call 732-286-6000 prior to May 14th.

~Republican Club

Breakfast on the RiverThe Beachwood Republican

Club’s 23rd Annual Breakfast on the River will take place on Sunday, May 15th from 8 am to noon in the Beach-wood Community Center, Compass Avenue. Tickets are $5 per person.

~Democratic Club

MeetingThe Beachwood Democratic

Club will hold its next meet-ing on Monday May 16th at 7 pm in the Beachwood Com-munity Center, Compass Av-enue.

~Rover’s Readers

Children ages 5 to 12 are invited to the Beachwood Li-brary, Beachwood Boulevard on Wednesday, May 18th at 3:45 pm to read to library dogs Taffy and Rusty. Please register, 732-244-4573.

~Council Meeting

The Beachwood Council will hold its next meeting on Wednesday, May 18th at 7 pm in borough hall on Pinewald Road.

Aiming for the Best

Erik Weber, the Riverside SignalMembers of the Beachwood Soccer Club’s Wolf Pack (seen here in pinneys) and Lions battled for the win at the club fields off Berkeley Avenue earlier this month.

Q: I am a college student and I am considering chiroprac-tic as my career. My concern is whether chiropractic has be-come mainstream or is just an alternative profession. My ques-tion is whether the chiroprac-tic profession is going to be ac-cepted by the insurance industry in the future the same way the medical profession is accepted?

A: I can tell you are a good student already. You are look-ing into the future and gauging your opportunity and stabil-ity on facts. Chiropractic is the largest natural healing profes-sion in the world. We started from humbled and contentious beginnings to its current state of mainstream healthcare provid-ers. Chiropractic has improved its educational and licensing systems substantially giving it an increase in public credibility and improving its market share. The public utilizes chiroprac-tic largely for spinal pain syn-

dromes and has a remarkable high patient satisfaction rate. The greatest inroads are in the private and public health care financing systems and are in-creasingly viewed as an effective specialty by many in the medi-cal field.

Much of the positive evolu-tion of chiropractic can be as-cribed to a quarter century long research effort focused on the core chiropractic procedure of spinal manipulation (adjust-ment). This effort has helped bring spinal manipulation out of the investigational category to become one of the most stud-ied forms of conservative treat-ment for spinal pain.

I believe chiropractic will be integrated into all healthcare systems in the near future. Pa-tient demand and patient satis-faction is higher now than ever. People are sick and tired of being sick and tired and chiro-practic is supplying a solution.

I hope your motivation to be

a chiropractor is not generated by money alone. I guarantee you will not survive long in a healing art such as chiropractic if that is your priority. A great mentor taught me to serve for the sake of serving, give for the sake of giving and love for the sake of loving.

Quote of the week: “You have reached the pinnacle of success as soon as you become uninter-ested in money, compliments, or publicity.” - O.A. Battista

Dr. Stephen J. Pollack began his career in 1981 and opened his own practice in Beachwood in 1983. Completing more than 300 hours in Applied Kinesiol-ogy, he became one of the first certified Chiropractic Pediatric physicians in the United States in 1996 and is a founding mem-ber of the International Chiro-practic Pediatric Association. He donates his time to screen hundreds of preschoolers for scoliosis each year.

Chiropractic is a Mainstream Healing Profession Ask the Chiropractor with Dr. Stephen J. Pollack, D.C.

May 10th - May 24th, 2011 PAGE 13The RIVERSIDE SIGNAL

BEACHWOOD

Read a Story, Make a Story Come to the Island Heights

Library, Central Avenue, on Friday, April 15th at 4 pm for stories and the chance to cre-ate your own story by making a comic book. Open to ages 6 and up, space is limited to 20. Please register, 732-270-6266.

~Springtime Fun!

Children ages 5 and up are invited to welcome spring with stories, a fun craft and a special treat to eat at the Island Heights Library on Monday, April 18th at 7 pm. Space limited to 20, please register, 732-270-6266.

~Municipal Alliance

Meeting The Island Heights Mu-

nicipal Alliance Committee will hold its next meeting on Wednesday, April 20th at 3 pm in borough hall at the Wanamaker Complex on East End and Van Sant avenues.

~Environmental Committee

Meeting The next meeting of the

Island Heights Environmen-tal Committee will be on Wednesday, April 20th at 7 pm in borough hall at the Wanamaker Complex on East End and Van Sant avenues.

~Annual Easter Flower Sale The Island Heights Volun-

teer First Aid Squad will hold their annual Easter flower sale at Lake and Central ave-nues on Thursday, April 21st and Friday, April 22nd from noon to 6 pm, and Saturday, April 23rd from 9 am until sold out.

~Annual Easter Egg Hunt

The Island Heights Recre-ation Committee will hold its annual Easter egg hunt at Memorial Field, corner of Lake and Maple avenues, on Saturday, April 23rd at 10 am. Open to all Island Heights children through 6th grade, the rain date will be on Sunday, April 24th at 1 pm.

Jakes Branch Park Programs

Make a Dream CatcherDream catchers trap bad

dreams in their webbing, al-lowing only good dreams to pass to the sleeper. Like dew-drops on a spider web, bad dreams are destroyed by the morning sun. Build your own dream catcher on Saturday, May 14th at Jakes Branch Park Nature Center between 3:30 pm and 4:30 pm. Cost is $8 per person, ages 6 to adult, maximum 12 participants.

~Live Animal Talk

A live animal talk will be held on Sunday, May 15th from 1 pm to 1:30 pm for all ages at the Jakes Branch Park Nature Center. This event is free and no registration is re-quired.

~What’s in Bloom at Jakes

Branch?The Pine Barrens are home

to many lovely wildflowers. Come for a hike to see what’s blooming in the pines on Sun-day, May 15th from 11 am to 12:30 pm, beginning at the Jakes Branch Nature Center. Cost is $6 per person, maxi-mum 20 participants, ages 12 to adult.

~Blooms and Buds

Nature WalkLocated in Monmouth

County on New Jersey’s coast-al plain, Allaire State Park boasts over 200 species of wildflowers, trees and shrubs. Join in as we witness this park come alive in the spring on Sunday, May 15th, with par-ticipants meeting at the Jakes Branch Nature Center at 9 am for the trip north. The pro-gram is expected to run until 1 pm, cost is $6 per person, maximum 12 participants, ages 9 to adult.

~Nature & History: Colo-

nial Nesting Birds of N.J.Barnegat Bay and Ocean

County support many colo-nial nesting waterbirds. These colonies have been surveyed for over 30 years. Come and learn what species are here and how they have changed or stayed the same over the years during this Jakes Branch Park Nature and History program on Monday, May 16th from 7 to 9 pm in the nature center. Please register. Cost is $5 per person, ages 12 years to adult, maximum 25 participants.

Shade Tree Commission Meeting

The next meeting of the Beachwood Shade Tree Commission will take place on Thursday, May 19th at 7 pm in the Beachwood Com-munity Center on Compass Avenue.

~Senior Health Fair

The Beachwood Senior Health Fair will take place on Friday, May 20th from 11 am to 3 pm at the Beachwood Community Center on Com-pass Avenue. All seniors are encouraged to register.

~Book and Bake Sale

Come one, come all to the Friends of the Beachwood Library’s Book and Bake Sale on Saturday, May 21st from 9 am to 12:30 pm at the Beach-wood Library, Beachwood Boulevard, rain or shine. Enjoy great deals on books, music and DVDs plus a va-riety of fresh-baked goodies! Participants can also take a chance on a drawing for a “Spring into Summer” bas-ket. All proceeds raised will be donated to the Beachwood Library for educational chil-dren’s programs. The draw-ing will be held at the end of the book sale.

~BYC Open House

The Beachwood Yacht Club will be hosting an open house on Sunday, May 22nd from noon to 3 pm. Information will be available on the sail-ing program, which the club states is a great alternative to day care, and the coastal kids program, which is geared toward those two young to sail. Sailboat rides are also planned.

~Land Use Board

Meeting The Beachwood Land Use

Board will hold its next meet-ing on Monday, May 23rd at 7 pm in borough hall on Pinewald Road.

~Learn Spanish!

On Tuesday, May 24th & 31st, Pastor Pete of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church will be on hand at the Beachwood Li-brary, Beachwood Boulevard at 11:30 am to teach inter-ested residents basic conver-sational Spanish. Please reg-ister, 732-244-4573.

Dugout Strategies

Erik Weber, the Riverside SignalMembers of the Beachwood-Pine Beach Little League had a moment to strategize and reflect upon the game before them earlier this month.

during the ceremony, later spoke about his interest in emergency volunteer work with-in his hometown.

“I’ve lived in Beachwood since the day I was born, and I’ve been interested in the first aid squad for as long as I can re-member,” he said. “My brother-in-law is a life member of the squad, and I would always see him going on calls, and I would be jealous that I couldn’t go.”

On his membership in scout-ing, the Toms River High School South student recalled

that he joined local Boy Scout Troop 70 “about six years ago, and that’s when my interest in going into first aid really be-came something I wanted to do.”

He acknowledged his scout-master, Bayville EMT Aaron Bremer, with showing “off the ambulances at meetings and [teaching] us basic first aid skills.”

“Ever since then, I could not wait to get on the truck,” Mr. Matyas stated. “In the future I would love to go to school to be-

come a paramedic and possibly eventually go in to emergency medicine in a hospital setting.”

He also had some encourag-ing words for anyone consid-ering emergency medical re-sponse volunteering.

“It is by far one of the great-est things to get involved in – you meet great people, gather a wealth of knowledge that will only help you advance, and the best thing is being able to get off the truck and say, ‘I saved a life today.’”

16-Year-Old Boro Native Makes EMT , continued from front

PAGE 14 The RIVERSIDE SIGNAL May 10th - May 24th, 2011

Business / Service Directory

Novins Planetarium ProgramsContinued from front

a unique and fun approach to learning about the cosmos. Join the “Bad Astronomer” Phil Plait as he takes a criti-cal look at popular myths and misconceptions to show you how science can be used to evaluate questionable claims. Recommended for ages 10 and older. Friday, May 13th & 20th, 8:15 pm; Saturday, May 14th & 21st, 2:30 pm & 7 pm; Sunday, May 15th & 22nd, 2:30 pm.

~One World, One Sky: Big

Bird’s AdventureFollow Sesame Street’s Big

Bird and Elmo as they explore the night sky with Hu Hu Zhu! Take an imaginary trip from Sesame Street to the moon

and discover how different it is from Earth. Children can in-teract as they watch; drawing constellations and counting the time it takes for the sun to set. As they take a tour of the current night sky above New Jersey, they will learn about some of the constellations and visible planets seen at this time of year.

Recommended for ages 7 and under. Saturday, May 14th & May 21st, 11:30 am; Sunday, May 15th & 22nd, 11:30 am.

~Dawn of the Space Age

Tracing Man’s first steps into space, this program takes a look back at both the Russian and American ventures into the cosmos from the launch

of Sputnik to the American Gemini, Apollo and Shuttle programs and missions to Mars and the outer planets.

Participants will then take a tour of the future, learning about the International Space Station, private space explora-tion and the possible future of human exploration. Beyond the technology, prepare to be inspired by the drive, passion and perseverance of the men and women who took part in these death-defying endeav-ors. This show makes full use of the new full-dome video ca-pabilities of the theater.

Recommended for ages 10 and older. Saturday, May 14th & 21st, 8:15 pm.

~

Tickets are available at the door and go on sale ½ hour before each show. Please note there is no admission or read-mission once the show has be-gun.

Admission Prices, per show: $10 adults, $8 seniors (60+) and OCC Rewards mem-bers with card, $7 children (12 and under) and OCC students with I.D. Family Pack: Up to two adults, three children, $41 value, only $35. Want to see more than one show on a given day? Ask for our Combo Deal and receive $1 off per show. Special group rates ($7 per person) are available for groups of 15 or more with ad-vance contract. Call for ar-rangements or further infor-

“Right now we have approxi-mately five members who live in Pine Beach [out of] 39 rid-ing members, and the percent of calls I don’t have down yet but we’re talking 1,500-plus calls a year for the squad it-self,” said Beachwood First Aid Squad Captain Joe Hipple, who said that from that number the squad responds to a rough esti-mate of about 300 calls to Pine Beach.

Beachwood Councilman Edward A. Zakar, a longtime volunteer with numerous orga-nizations, including Toms River Fire Company No. 1, said that he did not get into volunteering for the agreement, but that “it’s an incentive to retain EMTs.”

Pine Beach Council Presi-dent Lawrence Cuneo said that the borough governing body would review the agree-ment and discuss it further with Beachwood officials at an up-coming work session meeting.

LOSAP Agreement, continued from page 2

PAGE 15The RIVERSIDE SIGNALMay 10th - May 24th, 2011

Seeks Re-election of Councilman Bendel

Letters & Continued From

Dear Editor

Published by

Riverside Signal, LLCP.O. Box 93Beachwood, N.J. 08722

Erik J. WeberPublisher & Editor

publisher@riversidesignal.com

Lisa ProthersToms River Beat Reporterlisa@riversidesignal.com

Jeri MorrisCalendars & Blotters

jeri@riversidesignal.com

Advertising732.701.SELL

News Room732.903.TIPS

Wendy KonarAccounting

accounting@riversidesignal.com

Advertisingads@riversidesignal.com

Events Listingsevents@riversidesignal.com

Letters & Submissionseditorials@riversidesignal.com

Subscriptionssubscriptions@riversidesignal.com

Photograph and Motion Picture photos@riversidesignal.com

Sally DracikiewiczDesign

sally@riversidesignal.com

Steven J. BaeliHeritage Writer & Research Associate

steve@riversidesignal.com

Frank Domenico CiprianiColumnist

frank@riversidesignal.com

Philipp SchmidtAssociate Publisher & Salesphil@riversidesignal.com

Let Them Play, cont. from page 3

Editor, the Riverside Signal:

Your pre-election coverage of the three candidates vying for two vacancies on the Island Heights Council was excellent and revealing. My preference is the defeat of John Bendel.

At the Council Meeting of Nov. 10 2009 I proposed the possibility of creating an elec-tronic bulletin board in the vi-cinity of the Borough Complex that would inform residents of goings on in Island Heights, provide information in case of emergencies and so forth. Mayor Biggs appointed Coun-cil Person Bendel as a liaison to investigate the issue and report back to Council.

That very evening Mr. Ben-del sent an email (copied to me) that in 872 words itemized 10 specific reasons to reject the suggestion. He poisoned the well before we even had a chance to sit down together and discuss the issue. Instead Mr. Bendel could have advised the Mayor of his a priori bias and suggested the appointment of a different Council member.

The Governing Councils do not provide a seat that permits personal preference to interfere with Council business.

signed

Charles Harris, M.D.

Editor, Riverside Signal:

As a long-time resident of Is-land Heights, I endorse John Bendel’s re-election to our bor-ough council.

During the past 16 years, I have come to know John and appreciate his commitment to Island Heights. He is careful to find learn the facts before vot-ing on council resolutions. He responds to citizen concerns, and as we plan costly improve-ments to our water system, I’m confident he will be sensitive to

the financial pressures on our families.

Because I want to be sure Is-land Heights retains its identity, I plan to vote for John so he can continue his work on the coun-cil. I urge my fellow voters to join me in supporting him on Election Day, May 10th.

Sincerely,

Laura Lee PowerSassafras LaneIsland Heights

Editor, the Riverside Signal:

Now that it’s May, thoughts turn to Election Day through-out our many towns and bor-oughs. It’s sometimes hard to know much about those who are running, so I’d like to share just a few thoughts about John Bendel, an incumbent Island Heights councilperson running for re-election. I had the honor in past years to serve with John on the council and I found him to be a fair and thoughtful per-son. We didn’t always see eye-to-eye on every issue, but I could count on the fact that he would listen and respond with respect

and due diligence. John served on the council a few years back, took a break and then returned this last term. That says some-thing right there about his de-votion to public service. One thing I really like about John is that he often asks the ques-tions no one else thinks to ask, and then he isn’t afraid to hold a different point of view from others on the council if he feels it’s for the good of the borough. He’s a good gatekeeper for Is-land Heights. Re-elect John Bendel on May 10th.

Betsy HyleIsland Heights

Editor, the Riverside Signal:

The turbine that has been put up in Ocean Gate was, in my opinion, an experiment that I think has shown us more of the downside or turbines near resi-dences than the positive side.

The below internet link gives some thought to why the offshore turbines may affect whales.

Article Title: Large number of dead whales wash up. Off-shore windpark construction may be the cause.

Article Link: http://www.win-daction.org/news/29063

I think people need to start voicing their opinions (and soon) to their elected represen-tatives or we will all end up with things we do not want, costing us big in more ways than just money.

Barbara CottoEast Cape May AvenueOcean Gate

Seeks Defeat of Councilman Bendel

Bendel a Devoted Public Servant Wind Turbines May Affect Whales

both teams know the exhilara-tion that comes from doing your best and giving it everything when you compete. Baseball is a game without clocks. Games are measured in outs not min-utes or seconds. At this level, 36 outs is the limiting factor with a possibility of the game end-ing after 33 if the home team is leading going into the bottom of the sixth.

A regular parents meeting is set for May 19th, and this will surely be a topic. In advance of that meeting, those that can “rewrite” the unwritten policy should consider the following:

An improved schedule with more time between games (to anticipate delays due to weath-er, injury, bad pitching);

A conflict resolution process that allows for alternatives to be considered that are fair and eq-uitable for all parties;

And the opportunity to al-low the boys themselves to de-cide in certain circumstances.

The Beachwood Pine Beach Little League has had a rocky existence in the last decade, but due to several of the cur-rent parents involved, they have greatly improved the situation. There is still work to be done. What happened is now history. Intelligent people learn from mistakes and correct them so that progress is made. Let’s improve the foundation of the environment for our boys to compete.

PAGE 16 The RIVERSIDE SIGNAL May 10th - May 24th, 2011