UPDATE: Pelican Island Residents May Return Home Tomorrow

Residents will be first of Toms River's part of the barrier island to return

EDITOR'S NOTE: A computer glitch prevented this story from delaying properly. We apologize for the inconvenience. Pelican Island residents will able to return to their homes tomorrow morning, making them the first Toms River residents on the barrier island to be able to return to their homes after Hurricane Sandy, Mayor Tom Kelaher said. We are delighted that Pelican Island residents can move back home earlier than we anticipated," Kelaher said in a statement posted on the township's Website. "We are looking at getting the Northern Beach area residents in next." All four utility companies for Pelican Island have finished their testing and residents for all of Pelican Island may move back home beginning 8:00 am Thursday, Dec. 20, Kelaher …

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UPDATE: Pelican Island Residents May Return to Homes "Before January 1st" - Mayor Says

Township sent request to state to allow residents to return.

Residents of Pelican Island may be able to return to their homes "within the next few days" after Hurricane Sandy struck in late October, Mayor Tom Kelaher said on the township's Website. Kelaher said the township submitted a request through county's Office of Emergency Management  to Governor Chris Christie, asking to permit re-popuation. The Township had updated its Website at 1:30 p.m.  The site had previously said Pelican Island residents may return to their homes as early as Jan. 1. Electricity and sewer service are restored to Pelican Island homes and New Jersey Natural Gas has indicated that all gas meters will be reset Dec. 19 (tomorrow), the township said. Currently the water on Pelican Island is not suitable for drinking and NJ …

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Direct from the Source

Mayor: Check Out Senior Services in Toms River

Mayor Kelaher says Toms River has strong offerings for senior citizens

Column as submitted by Toms River Mayor Thomas Kelaher: Toms River is certainly well-known for its outstanding programs and facilities for youth sports. (Remember Toms River East Little League defeated Japan and won the Little League World Series). But, less well-known are all the wonderful programs for our Senior Citizens who make up a large percentage of our residents. These activities are centered around our Senior Center on Garfield Avenue. The modern multiple-use facility features a large meeting area, a modern kitchen, card and billard rooms and an outdoor bocce-ball court. The center operates under the supervision of our Director of Senior and Human Services JoAnn Benson, who has overseen these activities for over 25 years. …

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Election Guide

Kelaher Begins Second Term as Mayor; Councilmen Hill, Sevastakis to Lead Council

Annual reorganization meeting sees parting words from Councilman McGuckin

2011 is over, but many of the same issues, projects and faces will be around in 2012, officials at the annual reorganization meeting of Toms River said this evening. Sworn into his second term, Mayor Thomas F. Kelaher laid out the agenda for the coming year. He said he expects the 2012 budget to again be challenging to put together, in that state aid levels have fallen off dramatically over his last term. However, the mayor pointed to 2011 as a year of great cooperation and hard work in spite of financial obstacles. Kelaher said that they literally weathered the storm in 2011, facing the additional cost of blizzards while being forced to keep budgets under a 2 percent cap. 2012 Kelaher said the significant financial hurdles of 2011 were …

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Toms River Reorg Meeting Set for 5:30 p.m. Jan. 3

Swearing in of new terms, announcement of annual appointments

It's time to start a new term and set all the appointments for the coming year. At 5:30 p.m. Jan. 3 the Toms River Township Council will hold its annual reorganization meeting. The meeting, which will also be streamed live on the township website, will be held in Toms River Town Hall on Washington Street. Having won the election, incumbent councilmen Maurice Hill, John Sevastakis and George Wittmann will be sworn in to start their new terms. Mayor Thomas Kelaher will be sworn in to his second term as mayor. The council will vote on the professional appointments for the township, such as township attorney and engineer. Vacancies and annual appointments to the township committees and boards will be established, as will the calendar of …

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orlando

5:10 pm on Tuesday, January 3, 2012

so what job will the township give him ??   more ›

Direct from the Source

Kelaher: Girls Ready to 'Play Ball' at New Township Facility

Open space money helped pay for new field on North Bay Avenue

Editor's note: Submitted by Mayor Thomas Kelaher: Now that the election is over, I can devote my time to a number of ongoing projects that are really going to be great for Toms River. In this article, I would like to concentrate on our new girl’s softball facility that is being constructed on township-owned property on North Bay Avenue at the intersection of Whitty Road. Historically, boys played ball and girls sat in the bleachers and watched. Those days are gone forever. There are currently over 900 young girls in Toms River who are in the girl’s softball league, who for years have been treated like step-children when it came to the availability of facilities.  As we all know, the Toms River Boys Little League program has two magnificent…

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concerned

3:13 pm on Friday, December 16, 2011

maybe they should gate and lock it up like the TRELL facility is   more ›

Election Guide

Kelaher Wins Second Term as Mayor; Republicans Sweep Council Race

Incumbents victorious by wide margin in Toms River

It was a clear win for Republicans in Toms River, who re-elected Thomas Kelaher to his second term as mayor by a 2 to 1 margin in many districts. According to unofficial results, Kelaher established a strong lead early against challenger and former mayor Paul Brush. The incumbent won 62 out of 63 districts. In the race for three at-large council seats, Republicans again commanded victory in Toms River, with current council member John Sevastakis, George Wittmann and Maurice Hill winning over challengers Mary Malagiere, Matthew Sage and Robert Bianchini. The unofficial results: Mayor race (15,925 votes total) √ Kelaher: 9,697 votes, 60.89 percent Brush: 5,608, 35.22 percent (I)Donald Flett: 606, 3.81 percent At-Large Council  (44,881 votes …

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Election Guide

Toms River's Mayoral Race Again Three Candidates

Since the switch from Dover Township, Toms River's mayoral races have each been between three candidates

The race for mayor this year is a three-way one between a Republican incumbent, a Democratic former mayor, and an independent candidate. That the mayoral race is between three candidates, though, is not unusual for Toms River Township. Since the town switched from Dover Township to Toms River Township, each mayoral race has been a three-way race, said Township Clerk Mark Mutter, who also serves as town historian. This will be the third mayoral election under the new form of government. This year, the race is between Democrat Paul Brush, Republican Thomas Kelaher and Independent Donald Flett. In 2002, voters voted to change the form of government from Township Committee  to direct election of mayor. Previously, Mutter said, “the ‘Chairman’ …

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Election Guide

GOP Outspends Dems Three Times Over In Toms River Race

According to state reports, Kelaher team outspending Brush slate 3:1

Heading into Election Day, Toms River Republicans are outspending Democrats in the race for mayor and council, and doing so by a wide margin. Mayor Thomas Kelaher and council candidates John Sevastakis, George Wittman and Maurice Hill (all incumbents) have spent more than three times the amount former mayor Paul Brush has spent with his slate of Robert Bianchini, Mary Malagiere and Matthew Sage. Meanwhile, the lone independent candidate, Donald R. Flett, has done so little spending he is not required to report it to the state. Kelaher and his team have spent just under $60,000 through the end of October, while Brush and his team have spent just below $17,000. Flett comes in at under $4,000. Kelaher’s re-election campaign has received …

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