Though planning was slowed after Hurricane Sandy struck, Toms River's Food Fest is on for this year. "With all of the devastation resulting from Hurricane Sandy, we need to do something fun for the community," said Mayor Thomas Kelaher in a statement.  The third annual event will be held downtown on Washington Street from 12 to 9 p.m. on Saturday, May 4, with a rain date of May 5. Event committee members met later than usual this year as township employees have been dealing with storm recovery efforts. "I hope in some small way this will get everyone’s minds off the attention of Sandy," …

If you have giant boxes of sensitive information to get rid of, the county is again offering to take it off your hands and shred it into tiny strips. Ocean County's Residential Document Shredding program continues, when on Friday, Nov. 9, county residents can lug their documents to Toms River Public Works for shredding. You'll have to show proof of an Ocean County address, but that's the only requirement of the free service. Document shredding will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. that day. The Toms River Public Works Department, Recycling Convenience Center, is at 1672 Church Road, Toms River, 08753…

Fall vegetables, locally made foods and mums aplenty will still be available at the Downtown Toms River Farmer's Market, but tomorrow is the final installment of the weekly event. Wednesday Oct. 24 is the final day of the Farmer's Market weekly event this season, and will open at 11 a.m. at West Water Street and Irons Street. Held each Wednesday since late spring, the Farmer's Market this year moved from Huddy Park to West Water Street parking lot across from the Post Office. The move, said Toms River Business Improvement District Director Jody Alessandrine, was to accommodate visitors while …

Government offices, courts, schools, post offices and many banks will be closed on Monday for the Columbus Day holiday. All county facilities other than parks will be closed. All branches of the Ocean County Library are open today. Toms River Regional Schools are not in session today. The post office is closed today. Toms River's recycling pickup is canceled on Monday. If your collection day falls on one of these days or after, your recycling and garbage will be collected one day later. This will follow through for the whole week, until Friday's collections are completed on the next day, …

The expanse of Cattus Island County Park and its fall beauty will be on display this weekend in a special annual event that celebrates the natural history of the park and the season of fall. The Sunday event lasts all day and features vendors, artists, crafters, nonprofits, environmentalists at tables around the main nature center. Visitors can also enjoy activities such as bird seining, van and boat tours, bird watching, hikes and more. The Cattus Island Nature Festival, held annually in the first week of October, runs until 4 p.m. Sunday, allowing plenty of time to explore the multiple …

Big week ahead. We leave summer vacation behind and head back to school. With around 17,000 students heading to classes today in Toms River Regional Schools, children and their parents lurch back into the school routine. All the teachers and staff are back at work and there undoubtedly will be lots of learning going on today. But be mindful that the return of the school year also means the return of student pedestrians, school speed limits, crossing guards and the like in your commute mix. Also, budget some extra time if your travel coincides with the first or last school bell rings of the …

To some, Gilford Park’s reputation is that of a nice part of town, on the water with its own yacht club and marina. For others, Gilford Park remains stigmatized as an unsafe neighborhood.Toms River Chief of Police Michael Mastronardy said recent criticism and banter online was sparked by misinformation of a shooting that happened on Gilford Avenue several weeks ago, located in a section of Toms River known as Windsor Park. Gilford Park is the section of Toms River located south of Route 37, between the borough of Island Heights and bridge to Seaside Heights, according to Toms River’s planning…

Grandma's pumpkin pie, chocolate silk, red velvet and other unique flavors delighted thousands who packed Washington Street for a chance to sample the entrants for the state's ice cream festival in Toms River Saturday. A crowded festival thanks to tasty flavors and sunny skies, there were also dozens of food and retail vendors as well as live music, balloonists and face painters. A block away in Huddy Park, the Toms River kept wooden boats afloat as part of the annual Wooden Boat Festival. Check out our gallery from both events.

Can you dive head first into a plate of ice cream and come up having eaten the most, the fastest? This Saturday is your chance to find out. The New Jersey Ice Cream Festival in downtown Toms River will feature ice cream eating competitions. There's versions for the kids as well as the adults. Who do you think eats ice cream faster? In previous years it's been a hands-behind-back, head first competition. You line up to a plate and each as much as you can. How exactly can you cement your melting victory in competitive ice cream eating? Champion competitive eater — who held the Guinness Record …

It was flying low enough to read the words "US NAVY" from the ground, when at 9:20 a.m. June 11 onlookers had the unusual chance to spot a military blimp overhead in Toms River. A Public Affairs employee at the Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst confirmed that the MZ-3A airship which is moored at US Naval Air Station disbursed early this morning out of Lakehurst and was flying within focal range. The airship passed overhead against the backdrop of cloudy gray skies and 70-degree temperatures. According to the Navy Times, the MZ-3A is the Navy’s scientific test platform for surveillance cameras…

This map of Toms River shows where some users have reported issues such as potholes, graffiti, blight, traffic issues and more. We've embedded the map here, and you can add more using the map tools. Check it out and see if someone else has spotted your least favorite pothole in town, or if there's a speed trap you never knew about.

If the mothers in your life want flowers, fear not: There's plenty of local organizations that want you to buy from them and support a fundraiser. Annual flower sales at many local churches and firehouses will begin Friday, but organizers said reservations are possible to simplify picking up a gift for mom. Call the numbers below for more info. Here's a rundown of some places around Toms River hosting Mothers Day Flower Sales: • Toms River Fire Company #2 is having a Mother's Day flower sale to raise money for the station on May 11 from 3 to 7 p.m., May 12 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and May 13 …

After a usual routine of clearing plastic lunch trays and tossing brown paper lunch sacks into the garbage, students head outside into the sunshine to enjoy the back half of an elementary school lunch period. On Monday, an unexpected visitor was flying nearby. Flitting against a blue sky Monday at East Dover Elementary's rear playground was a tropical bird. Students pointed up at a pine tree, for a bird that appeared lost on the south side of the school property. A school employee told Toms River Patch the bird was spotted during the last lunch of the Monday school day. The bird was about the…

Do you have a case of the Mondays? Predicted high of 88 degrees might leave you yearning for a beach day instead of starting the week at work. April 16, beaches are unguarded and beach passes are not in effect. However, if you feel like making a jaunt to Island Beach State Park, make sure you've purchased a park pass for your car. If you can't escape to the beach, it might be because you are one of the thousands of students and employees headed back to Toms River Regional schools. Spring break is over today. Time to hop onto the school bus, or find yourself stuck behind one that's picking up …

For more than a year, a girls softball complex on North Bay Avenue has been a project in progress for the community, but some of the residents near the site are wondering how it will affect the neighborhood. There were many mixed feelings in the surrounding community about new stadium lights and felled trees, but the complex also represents another community epicenter where neighbors can gather. “I’m glad it’s here. I’m excited,” said Steve Cassarino, pastor at Trinity Fellowship Church, directly across from the fields.  “It’s our desire as a church to serve the community, and the complex …

When was the first snow of the 2011-2012 winter for Toms River? Early morning, Jan. 5. Toms River and other parts of Ocean County saw its first snowflakes of the season around 1 a.m. this morning, with some roads just dusted over. Chances are the snow will have melted by the time you awake but the National Weather Service issued a hazardous weather outlook and had predicted scattered flurries with a low around 27 degrees. This time last year Ocean County was blanketed with several feet of snow. The township roads remained slick, and residents were stranded as it took days to dig out. The 2011…

With the call that Hurricane Irene was coming, many business along the eastern corridor of Toms River took to hammering plywood over their windows to protect from the possible storm. But for one property on the corner of Route 37 and Fischer Boulevard, the plywood has yet to come down and is covering the vacant storefront, save for one tenant — a nail salon. Hurricane Irene hit early August 28. We headed out to the facility to see how the remaining tenant is doing, and how the neighborhood feels about a large site boarded with plywood. For Yours Nails Only located next to the abandoned …

Gather ‘round the fireplace, kids, and let me tell you a little story about Christmas right here in our own little backyard. Now, when I was a kid, my parents used to pile me and my sister in the car and drive around the neighborhood to see all the pretty houses decorated with lights just for Christmas. We’d always shout out which ones we liked; my sister and I always liked the bright, colorful houses with big colored lights but my mom liked the houses decorated tastefully with white lights and maybe candles in the windows and a wreath on the front door. My dad always drove the car, silently…

It’s a bright sunny afternoon, but only after the thick clouds of morning and overnight kept visibility under a mile, according to the National Weather Service. After sunset yesterday, visibility quickly worsened in Toms River, blanketing the area in deep foggy conditions that lasted into morning Thursday. Toms River Police Chief Michael Mastronardy said that despite poor driving conditions, there were no spikes in motor vehicle accidents or issues with pedestrians. Here’s the view (or lack there of) around midnight at Hooper Avenue between Walnut Street and Route 37.

Garbage collection is both ramping up to collect storm debris, and shutting down thanks to Labor Day on Monday. Brush collection will begin immediately, to pick up all the branches and debris after Hurricane Irene, said Toms River Township Mayor Tom Kelaher. He said the department of public works will immediately begin to pick up brush left curbside. However, if you think you can roll a giant fallen tree to the curb, public works won’t help you. You’ll have to only put out branches that are shorter than 4 feet long and no thicker than 6 inches, said the department of public works. And come …