The Gazette of Really Small News

In Neptune Township, a parcel of land too small to build on could be turned into a pocket park, according to one official. The property, 100 State Highway 35, Block 417, Lot 16, measures 150 feet by 55 feet. The current owner, 3208 Larson Road Realty Associates LLC, Wall Township, is donating the land to the township. The township committee will introduce an ordinance authorizing acceptance of the donated land at its meeting tonight. The property is vacant. "It's really too small to put anything on it," said municipal clerk Richard Cuttrell. "The township will probably keep it as a pocket park," Cuttrell said. A public hearing on the ordinance is scheduled for Monday, March 13. Tonight's meeting of the township committee starts at 7 p.m. on the second floor of the municipal complex, 25 Neptune Blvd. A workshop meeting precedes it at 6 p.m.

If you live in Monmouth County and have up to 100 lbs. of paperwork you'd like to destroy, then mark Saturday, March 18 on your calendar. That's the next day that Monmouth County will shred those papers into oblivion, free of charge. The shredding truck will be in the parking lot of the Atlantic Highlands municipal harbor from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. or earlier, if the truck fills up, officials said. The service is open to residents of Monmouth County only. There is a limit of 100 lbs. of papers per person.  Large paper binders must be removed. Staples and paper clips can remain. For information, call 732-683-8686, ext. 6721.

When it meets this Monday, Feb. 27, the Neptune Township Committee could adopt ordinances to set and remove handicapped parking in Ocean Grove, and to approve leasing township property to the county. One of the local laws would add resident handicapped on-street parking at 126 Inskip Ave. and 33 Broadway, and remove it from 31 and 36 Abbott Ave. The other would allow the township to continue leasing township property at 1825 Corlies Ave. to Monmouth County for use as a county emergency services dispatch center. According to the meeting agenda, the current lease will be extended for five years at a payment of $150,000 per year during the first three years and $160,00 per year for the last two years. This will be the final reading for both ordinances. The committee will meet in a regularly scheduled workshop session at 6 p.m. in the municipal complex, 25 Neptune Blvd. The regular meeting will follow at 7 p.m.

Registration for Neptune Township Little League (NTLL) baseball and softball is Saturday, March 4, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Field House, 600 Jumping Brook Road. The last date to register in person is Saturday, March 11, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Field House. Fees are  $75 for T-Ball, $135 for the other divisions, and $125 to add a child. The league is for township residents only. Proof of residency is required. According to Neptune Township Little League, new players must show a copy of their birth certificate. Parents of new players who don't have a sibling in the league must verify residency with three documents, one of each from among the following: driver's license, utility bill, vehicle registration, tax record, bank statement, school report card, medical record, voter registration. League officials would like to remind everyone that three utility bills are one document, not three. There are age requirements. NTLL requests using the age determination cal...

At the intersection of Beach and Heck in Ocean Grove: Instead of leaving a lost glove on the ground, somebody hung it on a street sign so it could be seen and reunited with its friend.

If you're looking for a summer job that will keep you out of doors, you might want to check out Monmouth County's opening for a mosquito field technician. Pay is $10 an hour for a 40-hour week. According to the county's web site, the field technician will work as a certified pesticide operator under the supervision of a mosquito control inspector/licensed pesticide applicator. Duties include inspecting what the county calls "known mosquito habitats," "applying appropriate control" (spraying pesticide), and maintaining records of inspections and subsequent actions. No previous experience is required, although a knowledge of basic biology/ecology is desirable. Applicants must have a valid basic New Jersey driver license and a good driving record. You can download an application from the Monmouth County web site, www (dot) visitmonmouth (dot) com. You can also request an application by visiting the county's human resources department,  1 E...

The Veterans Memorial Park Committee is selling brick pavers to be installed at the park. A 4-inch by 8-inch brick costs $50 and can hold up to three lines of text, 16 characters per line. A 12-inch by 12-inch brick costs $100 and can accommodate up to 10 lines of text, with 20 characters per line. The form may be downloaded from Neptune Township's web site, www (dot) neptunetownship (dot) org. Click on Paver Form for Veterans Memorial Park under "Quick Links" on the home page. For more information, contact Stephanie Oppegaard, 732-988-5200, ext. 230.

The Memorial Day weekend and the unofficial start of summer is three months away, but it might feel a little closer: officials in Spring Lake have set hours for the 2017 beach and pool season. Offices at the north and south ends of the beach open on May 27, and will be open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Sept. 4. The main beaches only will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends: May 27, 28, and 29; June 3 and 4, and June 10 and 11, conditions permitting. All beaches will be open daily, June 17 to Sept. 4, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. South end lockers only will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. May 27 to June 16. Starting June 17, the south end pool and lockers will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. through Sept. 4, conditions permitting. Adults only may swim laps from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. The north end pool and lockers will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. from May 27 to Sept. 5. Adults only may swim laps from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. On Sept. 6, 7, and 8, the north end pool and lockers will be open fro...

Spring Lake has adjusted trash pickups in the wake of today's Presidents Day holiday. Trash usually picked up today, Monday, will be picked up tomorrow, Tuesday, Feb. 21. Tuesday's trash pickups have been switched to Wednesday, Feb. 22. All borough offices are closed today for the federal holiday.

Elwood Stokes watches over a lost painting on Ocean Pathway in front of the Great Auditorium. So if you're wondering where your painting is . . . Here's a closer look. We think it's a winter scene.

Administrative formalities and the use of borough property are on the agenda for the Manasquan Borough Council's regular meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 21. According to the agenda, the council is slated to discuss use of municipal property for the Manasquan Turkey Run in November, Stomp the Monster in October, the Superhero Fun Run/Walk on the boardwalk in April, and the SBLSS Harvest Celebration in September. The borough council is also expected to change the budget meeting from March 24 to March 18 and to approve several other actions, including the payment of bills,  canceling the unexpended balances of the general capital fund, and authorizing shared services with Monmouth County to remove dredge spoil. A position in the code and construction department is also scheduled to be discussed. The agenda for the Feb. 21 council meeting is available on the borough's web site, manasquan-nj (dot) com. The meeting starts at 7 p.m. in borough hall, 201 East Main Street.

If you live in Manasquan, expect to see an increase in trucks around Fourth Avenue and Perrine Boulevard this week as dredge material from the bulkhead project is carted away. The work will begin at 6 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 21 and continue for a few days until the material is removed, borough officials said in an email to residents. The borough and the county are in a joint service agreement for the removal, according to the email.

A textured window in Ocean Grove's Bishop Janes Tabernacle, which was built in 1877. Look closely, and you can see the Great Auditorium's reflection trapped in the pattern. The swirls reminded Tip (The Intrepid Photographer) of van Gogh's "Starry Night" merged with Munch's "The Scream."

The Bradley Beach Borough Council will hold a workshop on the 2017 municipal budget this Tuesday, Feb. 21, at 6:30 p.m. in the borough meeting room, 701 Main Street. The session will include time for public comment, according to the agenda on the borough's web site.

The Neighborhood Watch crime prevention group in Bradley Beach will meet Wednesday, March 8, at 7 p.m. in the Carmen A. Biase Center, 719 Main Street. The program will be presented by the borough's police department. Refreshments will be available. New members are welcome. For information, email Ptlw. Josephine Celauro, jcelauro@bradleybeachpd (dot) com.

Need a hand or more repairing or sprucing up your home? And you live in Neptune? Applications for Neptune's 2017 Paint & Rehab Program are available. The program is open to low- and moderate-income households. Work is provided by World Changers. Applications may be picked up at the following locations: --Neptune Municipal Complex, 25 Neptune Blvd., Engineering and Administrative offices --Neptune Senior Center, 1607 Corlies Ave. --Midtown Urban Renaissance Corporation (MURC) office, 1828 Wet Lake Ave., third floor. The application may also be downloaded from the township's web site, www (dot) neptunetownship (dot) org, under Quick Links on the home page. Application deadline is Friday, March 31. For more information, call Monique Burger, 732-988-5200, ext. 298.

Manasquan residents have until Tuesday, Feb. 28, to pay their first-quarter water-sewer bills. The meters were read on Jan. 26, after a town-wide replacement of the water meters, the borough said in a notice on its website. The first-quarter bills reflect include a final reading on the old meters and the consumption on the new meters. Current usage periods might be larger than the usual three-month billing period, according to the borough. For example, the consumption period for a meter replaced on Sept. 1, 2016 would be four-and-a-half months. The next quarterly bill would then include one-and-a-half months of consumption, the borough said. As of Jan. 1, residential water-sewer rates in Manasquan are $141.12 per unit plus a water-sewer consumption charge of $4.10 per every 1,000 metered gallons. Water-sewer bills may be paid on the borough's website, www (dot) manasquan-nj (dot) com. For information, contact the borough at 732-223-0544.

The windows of the Ocean Grove landmark reflect the rising sun. /The Gazette of (Really) Small News

The special Neptune Committee meeting scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 21 has been cancelled, officials said in a statement. No reason was given for the cancellation. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the 2017 municipal budget. The meeting has not been rescheduled.

The curtain rises tonight at 7:30 on the Spring Lake Theatre Company's production of Seussical the Musical. The musical compilation of Dr. Seuss' best-loved tales continues at the Spring Lake Community House, 300 Madison Ave., tomorrow, Feb. 18, at 7:30 p.m., Friday, Feb. 24, at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday, Feb. 25, at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Among the cast are Claude Schminke (Cat in the Hat), Joe Ronga (Horton the Elephant), Kait Halloway (Mayzie la Bird), Isaiah Drake (Grinch), and Keegan Foy (Jojo). Also appearing are Brendan Flanagan (Mr. Mayor), Laurett Gannon (Mrs. Mayor), Loretta Boyle (Sour Kangaroo), Michele Clark (Baby Kangaroo), and Brian Pollock (General Ghengis Khan Schmitz). For tickets, call the box office at 732-449-4530, or online at springlaketheatre (dot) com.

The Neptune Township Committee will meet in special session on Tuesday, Feb. 21 to discuss the municipality's 2017 budget. The meeting will start at 1 p.m. in the second floor meeting room of the Municipal Complex, 25 Neptune Blvd.

The weather for this year's Great Backyard Bird Count will be mostly sunny and carry temperatures more like April than February, according to predictions from the National Weather Service (NWS). The Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) this year runs from Friday, Feb. 17, through President's Day, Monday, Feb. 20. Friday's forecast is for sun and a high of 43. Saturday and Sunday will be mostly sunny, with highs of 53 and 56, respectively. Monday will be sunny, with a high of 50. No pre-registration is required for the GBBC. Details for participation and submissions are at the event site, gbbc (dot) birdcount (dot) org. The Great Backyard Bird Count is sponsored by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the National Audubon Society, and international partners, including Birds Canada.

The National Weather Service predicted 5 to 9inches of snow for the region before the storm tapers down this afternoon. Accumulation is off to a slow start. This was the scene at 7:30 this morning. The storm began with heavy rain began around 4 a.m. and became a mix of rain and sleet about two hours later.

A winter storm covering the northeast from Philadelphia to Bangor could drop up to nine inches of snow on the Jersey Shore, said the National Weather Service (NWS). What began shortly after 4 this morning as heavy rain is expected to change over to a combination of sleet and snow around 9 a.m. Snow can be heavy at times and accompanied by thunder, the NWS said. Snow could fall at a rate of two inches as hour between 7 a.m. and 11 a.m. as the storm intensifies offshore. The Neptune Office of Emergency Management (OEM) is urging people to stay indoors and off the roads. "Due to the heavy rate of snowfall, many roads will be impassable or hazardous throughout the day," the OEM said in a statement. Snow-parking regulations are in effect. In Ocean Grove, vehicles should be parked on the south or east sides of the street. In rest of Neptune, cars should be parked only on the even-numbered side of the street or as posted by the signs. Cars not parked in compliance with t...

Forty years ago, there were 53 pairs of ospreys in New Jersey. By 2013, there were 542. Since 2014, New Jersey Osprey Project has banded 157 of the fish hawks with red anodized bands that contain a large white code of numbers written over a capital "C" or "D." Now the project, which is part of Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey, would like you to keep an eye out for those ospreys and share what you see. The sightings will become part of Project RedBand, which the Osprey Project on its website describes as a citizen-science-based effort to engage the public in osprey management and conservation along the Jersey Shore. Data from Project RedBand also will reveal where the ospreys are, what they're eating, how long they live, where they migrate to and the route they take to get there, according to the website. Project RedBand is based in Barnegat Bay, in Ocean County, but you don't necessarily have to live there to participate. Birds get around. ...

More than 700 people braved the cold and took to the water off Manasquan Beach on Saturday to benefit a non-profit group that helps people with ALS. The 11th Annual ALS Valentine Plunge raised more than $330,000 for the Joan Dancy & PALS (People with ALS) Foundation, organizers announced on the group's Facebook page. Also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, after the Yankee baseball player who died in1941, ALS--amyotrophic lateral sclerosis--is a progressively debilitating disease of nerve cells in the brain and spinal column. There is no cure. The Joan Dancy & PALS Foundation was founded by Terry Magovern in 2005 in honor of his fiancee, Joan Dancy, who succumbed to the disease. The foundation is dedicated to improving the quality of life for ALS patients and their families. It has support groups for patients, families, and caregivers at Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank. Donations may be sent to the Joan Dancy and PALS Foundation at Riverview Medical Center, One ...

A representative from the state's 11th Legislative District will be at the Neptune Senior Center on Tuesday, Feb. 14, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. to assist constituents. The towns covered by the 11th District include Neptune, Asbury Park, and Ocean Township. District representatives are Senator Jennifer Beck (R-Red Bank),  and Assemblymembers Joann Downey (D-Freehold) and Eric Houghtaling (D-Neptune). The Neptune Senior Center is at 1607 Corlies Ave.

The Neptune Township School District will hold two information sessions about pre-school registration on Thursday, Feb. 9, at the Early Childhood Center, 11 Memorial Drive. Residents may attend either the morning session, 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., or the evening session, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. For information, call the school district at 732-776-2000.

History, music and dance are among special events celebrating Black History Month in the township. On Tuesday, Feb. 7, Tony Richardson will speak about the history of the Negro Baseball League. The presentation is slated for at 11 a.m. at the Neptune Senior Center, 1607 Corlies Ave. Richardson also will tell how and why the league was formed, and discuss the struggles its men and women endured while breaking down racial barriers and making history. On Thursday, Feb. 9, also at 11 a.m. at the Neptune Senior Center, Rosalee and Friends will  perform traditional African drumming and demonstrate traditional African dances. On Saturday, Feb. 11, the Universal African Dance & Drum Ensemble will appear in Before We Were Slaves , a celebration  of African history and culture. The event will run from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Michael T. Lake Performing Arts Center, Neptune High School, 55 Neptune Blvd. Admission is free.

The Spring Lake Borough Council on Tuesday, Feb. 14, will hold a public hearing on the ordinance to fund the purchase of two new municipal vehicles. The hearing will be part of the council's regularly scheduled meeting, which starts at 7 p.m. in borough hall, 423 Warren Ave. The borough is eyeing a new sanitation truck and fire truck. The ordinance allows the borough to appropriate a total of $760,000 for both vehicles: $284, 800 for the sanitation truck, and $475,200 for the fire truck, which is fully equipped. If the ordinance is adopted, the borough will issue $720,000 of the total purchase in bonds and notes--$270,000 for the sanitation truck, and $450,000 for the fire truck. The council introduced and passed the ordinance on its first reading on Jan.  24.

The Spring Lake Recreation Department hosts Open Gym Night for adults every Tuesday evening at the H.W. Mountz Elementary School, 411 Tuttle Ave. The sessions run from 7:30 to 9 and are open to residents ages 19 and up. For more information, call the recreation department at 732-449-0800 ext. 602.

The Spring Lake Public Library on Thursday, Feb. 9, will host a special crafts program for children in Kindergarten through third grade. Valentine's Day Crafts for Kids will start at 3:30 p.m. at the library, 1502 Third Ave. Registration is required. To register, or for more information, call the library at 732-449-6654.

The house rodent, a sweet little boy guinea pig known as Baby Orry Baby-Boar, saw his shadow when brought to the front stoop shortly after dawn this morning. Yes and alas, seeing his shadow means another six weeks of winter. He wheeks apologies to all and wants everyone to know he prefers an early spring, too. Unless you like winter, and snow and ice and hot chocolate and ice skating and cozy clothes. If you're happy with winter, he is, too. Baby Orry Baby-Boar, the house prognosticator/Photo by The Gazette of (Really) Small News

Monmouth County's Mobile County Connection will be at Monmouth Mall, Eatontown, on Thursday, Feb. 2, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Representatives from the offices of the county clerk, sheriff and surrogate will be on hand to help  residents with such services as applying for passports, renewing old passports, and obtaining veterans and Ident-Adult identification cards. Passport fees must be paid for by check or money order only. Passport photos and  notary services will be provided free of charge. There is no charge for veterans and Ident Adult cards. The outreach also will include information about the Starlight for Vets Program, identity theft, Project Lifesaver, the Special Needs Registry, voting and elections, probating estates, and guardianships and adoptions. The Mobile County Connection is at Monmouth Mall on the first Thursday of each month.

Take care if you usually walk or run on the local boardwalks. The frost that accumulated overnight might be pretty to look at, but it can make you slip and slide--and possibly fall--if you're not in the right footwear. In Ocean Grove, the frost appears to affect the part of the boardwalk that was restored after Hurricane Sandy destroyed the beachfront in October 2012. Older parts of the boardwalk appear less affected by the frost and have more traction. The Gazette hopes to speak to the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association about this later today. The sheen on the boardwalk is caused by frost./The Gazette of (Really) Small News