Two Point Boro Council Members and Fire Officials Start New Terms

New Emergency Management Coordinator appointed as Borough continues tackling Sandy's aftermath

  Council members Toni DePaola and Bill Borowsky were sworn in to three-year terms at Sunday's organization meeting at Borough Hall. Jerry Dasti was reappointed municipal attorney with the lone no vote cast by Council member Chris Goss. Goss was also the lone no vote when votes were taken for a number of other appointments including: Council member Robert Sabosik as council president and as a planning board member; Hutchins, Farrell, Meyer and Allison to be reappointed municipal auditor; Jan L. Wauters of Bathgate, Wegener and Wolf to be bond counsel and appointment of T & M Associates as municipal conflict engineer. Goss was the only council member during the meeting to ask Borough Business Administrator David Maffei to reduce his council…

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Hurricane Sandy

Point Boro Fire Dept. Gets $1,300 From Fundraiser

Proceeds are from Rock-N-Relief fundraiser that was held Sat. night

The volunteer Point Borough Fire Department on Tuesday night received $1,379 from the Rock-N-Relief fundraiser that was held Saturday night at the Idle Hour. And not a moment too soon. The money might be needed fast to fix a hole in the roof of the firehouse on Beaver Dam Road. "This wasn't like this before this rain," said Fire Department President James Van Demark, smiling a bit and looking up at a hole in the roof, moments before accepting the check. Van Demark, Borough Fire Chief Daniel Mulligan, Deputy Chief Charlie Willever and Captain Bill Knecht were at the firehouse Tuesday night to accept a giant novelty check, along with the real one, from Mark Sroka and Fred Capolongo, Co-Founders and Managing Partners of Rock-N-Relief. Van …

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Letters to the Editor

Durand Masonic Lodge Praised in Point Beach

Letter to the Editor from one of hundreds helped by Mason volunteers

  In the midst of our distress, five days after the "Storm of the Millennium," six wonderful young people from the Masonic Lodge (they said they were from Spotswood, NJ, and saw on their Masonic website that people in Point Pleasant Beach needed help) walked up to our flooded home on Forman Avenue and started helping us drag our treasured belongings out to the curb. They worked for three hours, refused food, donations or even a letter or thanks to the lodge, and brought their own masks, gloves, water, good cheer and smiles to our house. They cleaned out soaked basements and crawl spaces down our entire street and I have no way to thank them except through "The Patch." When we were in our darkest hour, without power, heat or hot water, they…

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Give the Gift of Warmth to Needy Kids

Coat collection for Dottie's House

  The Point Borough Police and Community Watch are sponsoring a “Gift of Warmth” for children and other residents at Dottie’s House in Brick. "We are looking for folks willing to sponsor a child to provide a new coat and boots during the holiday season," said an email from Mary Furmato, a Community Watch official. The group is also collecting gently-used coats for women, cash donations to help offset Dottie House's heating expenses, and food store gift cards. Donations can be dropped off at the Borough Police Department on Bridge Avenue. If you are interested in sponsoring a specific child, email Mary Furmato at maryfurmato@comcast.net. Dottie's House is a transitional housing facility designed to aid women and children who have survived …

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Letters to the Editor

Letter to the Editor: Point Beach Police Chief Thanks Community

Kevin O'Hara thanks staff, volunteers and "neighbors helping neighbors"

  An Open Letter of Thanks to All Who Helped During Hurricane Sandy As I sit here writing this letter it has been three weeks to the day that “Sandy” impacted all of our lives.  Thanksgiving is now only a few days away, when “Sandy” came we were waiting for Halloween’s arrival.  In one sense it seems like only yesterday that “Sandy” was beating on our door step and in another it seems like months ago. The past three and a half weeks or so seem like a blur, like a bad dream.  It is impossible to convey in words my true feelings of thanks to all those who pitched in during such a trying time, so many who stood tall in the face of adversity and did all they could to try to make all of our lives move forward as smoothly as possible.  I’ll try…

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Hurricane Sandy

"I Only:" It Means A Lot More Than You Think

What you think isn't much means the world to those struggling in the wake of Sandy

While friends and family at the Jersey Shore were still reeling from the impact of Hurricane Sandy, they sprang into action. Volunteers from across the nation started collecting items to help people devastated by the storm. People without homes. People they'd never even met. Often, they heard the phrase, "I only." But as Debbie Nelson, one of those who rallied friends and communities to help those of us here will tell you, "Every 'I only' is like a penny: put a bunch of them together and they add up." *** Debbie Nelson watched the reports about Hurricane Sandy with concern. The mother from Dallas had one son living in the Belford section of Middletown, and the grandfather of her older children lived in Barnegat. She had been struggling …

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Hurricane Sandy

See Point Beach Volunteers' Post-Sandy Home on "Ellen" Today

Engaged couple's renovated Brick home to be on TV today

  If you want to see what a local couple's home looks like after undergoing a post-Sandy TV makeover, watch "The Ellen DeGeneres" today. The Princeton Avenue, Brick home of Jonathan Miller and Megan Baglivio has been transformed from its Sandy-flooded and ravaged mess into a home fit for the selfless volunteers who helped rescue, treat, transport, feed and shelter storm victims. The home was purchased by Miller in recent years, the couple worked on renovating it during the summer, the storm flooded the renovations, which have now been restored, and the home offiicially becomes the couple's new home after the two get married. Miller is captain of the Point Pleasant First Aid and Emergency Squad and Baglivio, a teacher at Memorial Middle …

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Hurricane Sandy

Point Pleasant Presbyterian Church is New Site for Free, Hot Meals

St. Mary's volunteers serving meals at Presbyterian Church today through Monday

  St. Mary's By-the-Sea Episcopal Church, a FEMA-designated disaster relief site, will temporarily relocate its free hot meal service for those impacted by Hurricane Sandy. From today through Monday, the volunteers of Mary’s Table will prepare and serve meals (dine-in or take out) across Bay Avenue at the Point Pleasant Presbyterian Church, Point Pleasant Beach. Meals will be served in the Christian Education Building from 2p.m. to 6 p.m. More than 5,000 hot meals have been served since the storm. St. Gregory’s Pantry, located at St. Mary’s Church, remains open for the distribution of non-perishable food, household items and cleaning supplies during the following hours: Monday-Friday: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday-Sunday:  2 p.m. to 5 p.m. St…

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Hurricane Sandy

Ellen DeGeneres Surprises Point Beach First Aid Volunteers

Engaged couple gets help with flooded house in Brick

Jonathan Miller and Megan Baglivio from the Point Pleasant First Aid and Emergency Squad never expected to be on the Ellen DeGeneres TV show, much less to leave the set with the gift of their lives. The two volunteers, from "Point Beach EMS," the squad that serves Point Pleasant Beach, Bay Head and Mantoloking, are getting their flooded home gutted and made over by Kitchen Cousins, professional home remodelers, thanks to the generosity of DeGeneres. The home, on Princeton Avenue in Brick, is Miller's home that the couple spent a lot of time renovating during the summer to get it ready for when they live there as a married couple, according to what is discussed in the video clip. The renovations to the kitchen and living room were destroyed…

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Hurricane Sandy

St. Mary's and St. Gregory's Pantry Cannot Take Anymore Food or Supplies

But cash donations welcome to continue feeding community

  St. Gregory's Pantry and St. Mary's By the Sea Episcopal Church in Point Beach are asking the public to no longer donate clothing or supplies so volunteers have time to sort and distribute. "St. Gregory's Pantry and St. Mary's By the Sea Episcopal Church of Point Pleasant Beach continue to offer a wide range of disaster aid for those impacted by Sandy," said a prepared statement released Sunday. "Anyone in need is welcome, and hundreds are being helped every day. "Regarding donations, we appreciate the tremendous community response to the needs of our neighbors. However, at this time we kindly request that no further donations of clothing and supplies be brought to the church until our current stock is sorted and distributed. We will …

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