Monmouth County Establishes Donation Drop-off at Thompson Park in Middletown

Individuals and Business Invited to Drop-off Needed Items

LINCROFT, NJ – Monmouth County has established a donation site for desperately needed items to assist the victims affected by the devastation of Hurricane Sandy. The site has been set up at Thompson Park, 805 Newman Springs Road (Route 520) in Lincroft.

The donation center is located at the service entrance of the park. It is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. to receive donated items.

Items needed include:

• Bottled Water

• Non perishable food

• Pet food

• New clothing

• Blankets

• Personal hygiene items including baby items

Thompson Park is a donation site only – no distribution will be made there. Items will be sorted and taken to three distribution sites in strategic areas in Monmouth County which will be announced as the items have arrived at those locations.

“This is a way for residents to help out during this time of need,” said Sheriff Shaun Golden. “Through this process, donations from those who were fortunate during Hurricane Sandy can assist those who were less fortunate.”

For monetary donations, please use your preferred non-profit organization.

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Monmouth County asks residents to heed weather warnings

FREEHOLD, NJ – The Monmouth County Office of Emergency Management urges residents to heed the warnings that have been issued in connection with Hurricane Sandy, currently a Category 1 storm.

Freeholder Director John P. Curley reviews plans with OEM Coordinator Mike Oppegaard

Meanwhile, county emergency personnel are continuing to monitor the effects of the storm and respond to the needs of communities. Mandatory evacuations are in effect in all or part of 15 municipalities. Nearly 1,000 residents have sought accommodation at the two county shelters.

“We are expecting Hurricane Sandy to impact the county for at least the next 24 hours,” Mike Oppegaard, Director of the Monmouth County Office of Emergency Management said. “We are hoping that residents have heeded warnings and evacuations and are prepared for the possibility of high winds, power outages and flooding.”

Over the past few days, residents have been encouraged to plan, prepare and stay informed.

“Residents who have created a kit and evacuated to the homes of friends or families or are sheltering in place should be ready to make it through the storm,” Freeholder Director John P. Curley said. “Everyone should continue to monitor local radio and television for the latest information on Hurricane Sandy.”

Oppegaard also reminds residents to be safe with these reminders:

• Do not go outside. Flying debris from high winds is a danger. As the eye of the storm passes, there will be a short period of calm followed by rapid wind speed increases to hurricane force that will come from the opposite direction.
• Avoid using candles for lighting. Use a battery-powered flashlight.
• Try to stay in an interior room away from windows.
• If flooding occurs, turn off electricity at the main breaker.
• If your power goes out, turn off your major appliances. This will minimize losing power again through a power surge and protect the equipment when power returns.
• Stay calm and do not call 9-1-1 unless it is an emergency.

Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden echoed the 9-1-1 reminder.

“Calling 9-1-1 for the wrong reason or calling the number inadvertently may keep someone else from getting the help they need,” Golden said. “If you do call by mistake, please stay on the line until the call taker can confirm that you do not require emergency assistance.”

“During severe weather and all other times, residents are reminded to call 9-1-1 only in emergencies that threaten life or property,” Golden said. “These include a fire or serious medical condition, when there is fear for personal safety or the safety of others, or during a crime in progress.”

For more information about emergency preparedness, go to the County website, www.visitmonmouth.nj.us, check the Monmouth County’s Facebook page, or sign up to receive County tweets from Twitter,MonmouthCountyGov.

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Hurricane Sandy updates for Monmouth County

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APP endorses Claire French for Clerk

Could they possibly endorse Curley and DiMaso for Freeholders too?

The Asbury Park Press has recognised the fine job Republican County Clerk M. Claire French has done over the last ten years and endorsed her for a third five year term.

The Neptune Nudniks got this one right.  They dismissed Democratic candidate Michael Steinhorn as someone who “has little to recommend him for the job,” despite the fact that he exposed the statistical anomaly of the Monmouth GOP winning the first general election ballot position in 30 of 33 years and that they like his proposal to that the clerk’s office provide mobile services to seniors and veterans.

Given their logic in endorsing French, it will be fascinating to see how they endorse at least one of the Democratic Freeholder candidates, as I expect they will.

The Democratic Freeholder campaign has been so anemic that I suspect many readers don’t even know who is running.  Despite the Monmouth Dems outraising the Monmouth GOP through September, there is little evidence that Democratic Chairman Vin Gopal and his team are trying to get their nominal slate elected.   Publicly Democratic leaders say the right things about supporting their candidates. Privately they seem resigned to a Republican blow out.

The Democratic candidates are William Shea and Kevin Lavan.  Shea, as Amy Mallet’s running mate, lost to Freeholders Lillian Burry and Gary Rich last year. He is challenging Freeholder Director John Curley for a full three year term.  Lavan, who lost his run for Assembly to Declan O’Scanlon and Amy Handlin in the 13th district last year, is running against Freeholder Serena DiMaso for the remaining one year of Rob Clifton’s term.  Clifton resigned upon being sworn into the State Assembly.

Shea and Lavan were not even on the same page when the Nudniks interviewed all four candidates in September.  Shea recklessly proposed a 20% across the board spending cut from the county budget without backing up how he would do it.   Lavan said “maybe” depending upon the results of an audit.

Yet, the Nudniks loath single party control of any governing body (except the federal government when it is in Democratic hands) and has a historical bias against “Club Monmouth” as they frequently call the Monmouth GOP.  They seem to forget that all of the Monmouth Republican county office holders and all of Monmouth GOP leadership has been replaced since Operation Bid Rig, except Claire French who they just endorsed.  The GOP holds all five seats on the Freeholder Board.

Will the APP editorial board affirm the nudnikness and endorse Shea or Lavan?  We’ll find out soon.  Either way, it won’t matter on election day.   It might matter to their own crediblity if the actually endorse the best people for the job and get over their own biases.

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Monmouth Court House Will Reopen Tomorrow. Bomb Threat Was An Apparent Hoax

Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden said that the K-9 search for explosives in the Court House this afternoon came up negative and that normal operations will resume tomorrow.

A male caller using a cell phone in Freehold Borough called 9-11 at 12:40 this afternoon and said that there were pipe bombs in the Court House that would explode this afternoon.

Investigators from the sheriff’s office and the prosecutor’s office are investigating the call.

Golden said there is no indication that the incident is in anyway related to the unsolved chemical/environmental event that closed the Court House for a week last June.

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Bomb Threat Closes Monmouth County Court House

All bomb threat called into 9-11 early this afternoon has closed down the Monmouth County Court House for the rest of the day as bomb sniffing dogs are searching the building.

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Monmouth Dems Outraise Monmouth GOP

In their first quarters as party chairmen, Democrat Vin Gopal bested Republican John Bennett in the fundraising battle by over $10,000.

According to their reports filed with the NJ Election Law Enforcement Commission, the Monmouth County Democrats raised $38,647.50. and spent $28,096.01.  The Democrats started the quarter with only $957 in cash. As of September 30th they had $11,509.

The Monmouth GOP ended the quarter with almost $2,000 less cash than it had when Bennett was elected.  The GOP reported raising $28,296 and spending $30,284.  Former Chairman Joe Oxley left Bennett with $34,790.  Of the $28K  Bennett raised, $6000 was donated by the Election Fund of Assemblyman Dave Rible and $3000 was donated by Senator Jennifer Beck’s campaign account.

Gopal’s large donors were Local Union 400 IBEW ($3500), the Middletown Democrats ($1850), Plumbers and Pipe fitters Local Union #9 ($1000) and the Uliano Law Firm of West Long Branch ($1500).

Gopal raised $20,710 in contributions of $300 or less.  Bennett raised $9,802 in donations of $300 or less.

“The Monmouth County Democrats are organizing at a grassroots level because residents across the county are beginning to realize there is a very clear difference between the two political parties,” said Gopal,   “At our convention last June, we had a turnout of over 90% of our county committee with hundreds of new county committee members entering the political process, many of them first time contributors to our party,”

” With party standard bearers like Barack Obama, Bob Menendez and Frank Pallone, people see that we are building and we are organizing.  The Monmouth County Democratic Party is fighting for middle-class taxpayers, fighting for small business owners and working to protect our environment.  There is a clear difference between the two county parties and our messages and people across the county are beginning to recognize these differences.”

Bennett did not return a call for comment.

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Curley: There will be no $1.2 million paid for Andrew Lucas’ property

Freeholder Director John Curley said yesterday that there is no support on the Freeholder Board to purchase the development rights for Manalapan Township Committeeman Andrew Lucas’ 98 acre farm on Iron Ore Road, despite the fact that the purchase, which was approved by the Board in May of 2011,  has been cleared of an ethics violation complaint by the State Department of Community Affairs’ Local Finance Board and was approved by the State Agriculture Development Committee.

“If elected officials want to apply for government money for their properties, they should resign from office,” said Curley, “we should not be using the positions the voters entrusted us with to enrich ourselves.”

“Andrew Lucas has not been forthcoming about the details of his purchase of this property.  The freeholders will not approve this purchase.”

Lucas, Manalapan’s former mayor and a former GOP candidate for freeholder, purchased the farm which had been slated for development in March of 2010 for an undisclosed amount. Soon thereafter he started the process of selling the development rights, for $1.152 million, through funding through the State, County and Township. Lucas participated on Township Committee discussions of his application.

The purchase approved by the Freeholder Board in May of 2011 was held up by an ethics complaint filed by former Manalapan Mayor George Spodak.  The State Agriculture Developement Committee conditioned its funding on an satisfactory ethics review of the transaction.  Local Finance Board Chairman Thomas Neff wrote Lucas last month to inform him that his application had been approved because he consulted with the Manalapan Township Attorney about his application.  Neff’s letter also said that the Board would use Lucas’s case to provide clear guidance to future office holders to recuse themselves from applications that they have an interest in.

Spodak is outraged that Neff and the Local Finance Board cleared the ethics of the transaction.  “I don’t think they even read my 111 page complaint,” said Spodak.  “I sent Neff a letter appealing his decision but have not heard back from him.”

The county monies approved in 2011 for the purchase are no longer available.  An article in the Asbury Park Press said that the county is applying for federal money to fund the purchase.

Curly said the the freeholders have not approved any federal grant application and will not approve the purchase.

Earlier yesterday, Monmouth Democratic Chairman Vin Gopal issued a statement condemning the transaction as an example of Republcian cronyism, “Club Monmouth.”  Gopal was critical of Neff’s ties to the Monmouth GOP as evidenced by his $750 to Monmouth GOP Chairman John Bennett’s leadership PAC while Bennett was President of the State Senate. Prior being appointed to his position with the Department of Community Affairs, Neff, an attorney, was an employee of the Republican Senate Caucus.

Informed of Curley’s opposition to the Lucas farm purchase and his representation that the other freeholders, all Republicans, also oppose it, Gopal said, “What has changed since they approved it last year?  Only Amy Mallet (then a Democratic freeholder) voted against it in 2011.”

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Should County Farm Animals Be Bred and Slaughtered?

A group called Friends of Longstreet Farm Animals wants the livestock animals at the Holmdel park to be neutered so they won’t breed and be sold for slaughter, according to an article in the Asbury Park Press.

The leader of the group, Suzanne Dragan of Aberdeen, says she presented the Freeholder Board with a petition with  1,175 signatures and 100 postcards asking that county raised animals no longer be slaughtered.

Freeholder Director John Curley said he sought a compromise with Dragan’s group.  When no compromise could be reached, Curley said “I love a good BLT,” while announcing that the farm would continue to breed and sell animals that end up as groceries.

Bruce Gollnick, the assistant director of the county park system, said that farm is trying to do a better job managing the breeding program to control the population so that animals do not have to be sold.

Why?

It seems to me that the proceeds of sales should be defraying the cost of operating the park.  No?   A breeding and sale program could be/should be an educational opportunity for Monmouth County students of all ages.

Breed more, sell more, slaughter more and serve Longstreet Burgers at the Monmouth County Fair.

Dragan said, “Shame on the freeholders for not listening to their constituents” by continuing the sale of animals that end up being slaughter.

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Maybe it’s just good karma

The Democratic candidate for County Clerk got a boost of sorts today from the Asbury Park Press.

Michael Steinhorn is making an issue out of the fact that the Monmouth GOP won the first ballot position in 30 of the last 33 general elections and that a Republican Clerk was responsible for all thirty drawings.   There is apparently nothing else to write about in the Clerk’s race, because the APP gave Steinhorn free space and an inflammatory headline, Are the Monmouth Republicans cheating?

Ballot positions are chosen in public when two capsules, pictures of which on here on APP,  one with the word “Republican” and the other with the word “Democrat,” are put into a box, shaken up and Bertha Sumick, the Deputy County Clerk in charge of elections picks one.   30 times out of the last 33, the Republican capsule was chosen.  APP quotes two mathematics professors saying that the odds of the happening are 1.5 million to one.  Steinhorn speculates that the capsules have been marked somehow to feel different from each other.

Theoretically, the winning ballot position should be shared 50-50 on a valid random drawing.  Just to test the theory, I flipped a coin 33 times.  It came up heads 22 times and tails 11 times.

County Clerk M. Claire French insists the annual drawings are above board.  She noted that when the Democrats held the office of County Clerk in 1978 and 1979, that the Democrats won the first ballot position in each of those years.

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