Letter to the Editor: Thank You Freehold Township Voters

The following letter is from Freehold Township Mayor Anthony Ammiano and Committeeman-Elect Tom Cook.

Dear Freehold Patch, On November 6th, we had the honor of being elected to the Township Committee of Freehold Township. We wish to publicly thank the voters for their support and the confidence they have placed in us. It is humbling to represent such a fine community, and continue the tradition of outstanding local government. Freehold Township has always been a model of how local government is supposed to work. And while not perfect, Freehold Township has continually had a stable tax rate, outstanding services and a professional business approach to governing. We are committed to keeping our community the wonderful place it is to live, work and raise a family. Wishing you and your families a wonderful holiday season, Anthony J. Ammiano …

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Hurricane Sandy

A Storm Refugee Looks Back On Hurricane Sandy

The new normal is hard to take

  I knew even before I called my next door neighbor the news was probably bad. "How is it?" I asked. "You don't know?" he replied. My heart sank. We had fled our sweet little Bayville home near the Toms River at noon on Monday, the deadline for the mandatory evacuation order. We headed for my son and daughter-in-law's house in Toms River. A Bayville fireman knocked on our front door about 9 p.m the Friday night before Hurricane Sandy. He smiled, then stepped into our cozy living room lit with harvest lights. We had to sign a paper acknowledging that we understood if we stayed and got into trouble, no one would be able to help us at the height of the storm. And so began preparations for the exodus. I filled zippered plastic bags with water …

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Would Coffee Consumption Link to Glaucoma Make You Stop?

Harvard study links drinking three or more cups a day to development of 'exfoliation glaucoma' in study participants.

Excuse us while we sip from our third cup of the day. Whether you're an early morning riser, or a night owl, or even at times both, many people enjoy a fresh cup of Joe in the morning, afternoon or, heck, even all day long. But, according to a New Jersey Newsroom article, those of us enjoying our coffee a little too often might be at greater risk of damaging our eyesight. According to the article, citing both articles in Medical Daily and Science Daily, a study conducted at Harvard University has determined that people who drink three or more cups of coffee a day have a better chance of developing what is called "exfoliation glaucoma" than those who do not partake. Alas, such news does not bode well for a place like Freehold, which has …

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POLL: Should Freehold Borough Have Rebid Road Contract?

Vote in our poll and tell us if you agree with the council's decision to perform road work with only one construction bid.

During the Monday night council meeting, Freehold Borough Council members voiced their opinion on whether or not they should award a contract to the one bid proposed by Earle Asphalt Company to do road construction and repaving on local roads. Earle was the only company that bid to perform the repairs for $865,913.13. A grant in the amount of $175,000 would be applied to that cost. The roads that would be receiving work would include George Street, Stillwell Place, Douglas Road and the Court Street parking lot. Three council members voted in favor of the contract, two abstained, and one council member, George Schnurr, voted against it. The three to one vote resulted in the contract being awarded to Earle. Schnurr suggested that the Borough…

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Surfing Heals: Autism Group Takes Kids Riding The Waves

Surfers are part of 8th Annual Beach Bash on Belmar Beach

To say that he had been looking forward to it all week does a disservice to the magnitude of his new-found obsession. Surfing. On a real surfboard. With a real surfer.   Sunday could not come fast enough. And no neurotypical child can possibly fathom the fantastic, all-encompassing, living-and-breathing obsession that my 9-year-old son had lived these past few days. He didn’t just look forward to surfing with Surfers Healing — a nonprofit group that takes kids with autism for an authentic surfing experience — Sunday at Belmar’s 7th Avenue beach. It was simply the only reason the sun rose and set. And it was pretty obvious to everyone at the event that my boy just might be the day’s most willing participant. “(Your son) is psyched!’’ said …

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Letter to the Editor: Shared Roads, Shared Responsibilities for Bicyclists and Motorists

Bicycling organizations throughout state call on both bike riders and drivers to work together.

Dear Editor, Tensions between bicyclists and motorists are in the spotlight this summer and we believe it’s time we all took more responsibility for cooling the confrontation and sharing the road. We represent bicycle clubs and organizations with over 2,000 members in NW and Central NJ. Each of us is also a motorist. We understand sharing the road from behind the wheel of a car as well as on a bicycle. We are as upset as anyone when a bicyclist does not ride safely or a group of cyclists block the road and surround a car as reportedly happened in Tewksbury this summer. Our organizations train riders on safe road sharing, criticize riders who do not, and are ready to work with police and town officials to make the roads safe for all. We …

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Poll: Should Judges Pay More for Health Benefits?

Legislature overwhelmingly votes to allow citizens to decide whether to change state Constitution

The state's voters will decide this fall whether the New Jersey Constitution should be amended to allow legislators to force members of the judiciary to pay more for their health and pension benefits. Only three members of the Legislature voted against the measure, which was swiftly passed after a divided state Supreme Court ruled that requiring greater contributions is tantamount to a pay cut, forbidden by the Constitution.  "Rarely has the public seen such unanimity between the legislative and executive branches that the judicial branch was dead wrong," Gov. Chris Christie told the Star-Ledger.  The top court's majority ruled that the Constitution's prohibition on pay cuts protects the judiciary from partisan meddling while the state …

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Do You Agree with Supreme Court on Healthcare Reform?

In a complicated decision, the justices upheld most of the health care reform legislation popularly known as Obamacare.

  Do you agree with the U.S. Supreme Court's decision Thursday upholding most of President Obama's signature health care reform legislation? By a 5-4 vote, the justices upheld most of the act, although the opinion is a complicated one. The court upheld the requirement that every American purchase health insurance or else pay a penalty, as a tax decision and upheld it on those grounds, in an opinion written by Chief Justice Roberts. "Our precedent demonstrates that Congress has the power to impose the exaction in Section 5000 under the taxing power, and that Section 5000 need not be read to do more than impose a tax," Roberts wrote in one of the key sentences from the opinion. Click here to read the full text of the opinion. Vote in our …

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POLL: Should Children Be Able To Use Facebook?

The social-networking site apparently is mulling over the idea.

Facebook is developing technology that would allow those under the age of 13 to access the site under parental supervision, a move that could help bring in a sea of new users for revenue but that could also increase privacy concerns, according to a report in Monday's Wall Street Journal. The technology being tested would allow children's accounts to be tied to their parents' accounts so that parents would decide whom their children could "friend." New kid-friendly features also could allow Facebook and its partners to bill parents for games and other entertainment accessed by their kids. Currently Facebook bars anyone under the age of 13. But several studies show that many kids use Facebook despite the ban, often with their parents' …

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Can You Be Sued If a Driver Reading Your Text Message Causes a Car Crash?

Judge in New Jersey to decide Friday if woman whose boyfriend seriously injured a couple in an auto accident while reading her text message can be added to lawsuit.

  One of the big advantages of sending a text message as compared to an e-mail is that the text pops up on the front of someone's cellphone immediately. So can you be held liable if the person reading that message loses control of a vehicle and injures someone? A New Jersey judge says he will rule on that question Friday in a case involving a Dover couple who each lost a leg after their motorcycle was struck by a driver allegedly reading a text message. According to the Daily Record, court records show that Kyle Best, who was 18 at the time, and his girlfriend, Shannon Colonna, exchanged numerous text messages on the day of the crash, including one sent just before he lost control of his pickup truck near Montville and struck a motorcycle …

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