Letter: Military Toxic Waste In Middletown

The expressed opinions or views of this letter does not necessarily represent the opinion of the MiddletownMike blog:

Dear Editor,

The Department of Defense is America’s biggest polluter.

It is known that locations such as the now-closed Fort Monmouth and it's earlier shuttered Camp Evans contain some levels toxic waste from military projects of the past, when record keeping and safety protocols were much different than today. So far, nothing located has been deemed in excess of “safe” levels.

But as these locations begin to be further adapted to civilian use, it is important we have a full picture of what contaminants are actually there.

Independent contractors should be hired by the State of New Jersey to locate any previously unknown chemical or radiological materials present at these locations, to protect the public from potential exposure to unknown contaminants.

Still active military locations such as the Naval Weapons Station Earle and Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst should be prioritized for contaminant identification and environmental remediation, to protect both the safety of the civilian public and military families.

The people of Middletown, Colts Neck, Tinton Falls and Lakehurst should begin asking more questions of their active military neighbor's environmental practices.



Eric Hafner
Toms River

Rt 520 Bridge Project Begins about April 1

Courtesy of Middletown Alerts

On or about April 1, Monmouth County will begin a construction project to replace the deck on the Route 520 bridge that spans the Swimming River, connecting Red Bank and Tinton Falls. Traffic will be reduced to one lane in both directions on Route 520 between Half Mile Road and Hance Avenue 24 hours a day until the project is complete. Construction period is 4 to 6 months. Expect heavy traffic delays, especially during commuter hours. The Middletown Police Department asks drivers to use alternate routes during construction. There will be no access for pedestrians to cross the bridge during construction.

12-3-12 Middletown Township Committee Meeting

Monday night's Middletown Township Committee Workshop meeting was short and sweet, which will make the video below a quick watch. The meeting lasted just 30 minutes but even though it was a short meeting there were a few interesting discussions worth mentioning.

The first discussion of interest takes place at about the 6:45 minute make of the video and the discussion centers around the replacement of the roofs at the Croydon Hall Senior Center and the Public Works. That discussion was followed by a discussion about the need to implement road projects in the year that the funding ordinance was adopted. Often times the township puts the cart before the horse as it pertains to road projects that are then not done in a timely manner.

Tony Mercantante, the Township  Administrator, reminded the Committee that the projects were divided so the engineering work was done in one year and the actual work was done the following year. The Administrator said the schedule is being refined so the engineering work is done in the cold months so the project will commence when the weather warms up.

Township Committee Comments start at the 12:20 mark and other than Tony Fiore, who spoke and droned on several minutes (sometimes I think he just likes to hear himself speak) about Governor Christie's visit to Port Monmouth last week, the FEMA information session at Middletown North High School on the November 28th and the Mayor's meeting that took place in Tinton Falls between 23 regional mayors and JCP&L to discuss what JCP&L could have been done better in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.
My favorite portion of the meeting, the Public Comments, starts at 21 minutes into the video.

Linda Baum asked about the cost of storm related expenses and how much money would be needed for clean-up and repairs. She also wanted to know if the earlier mentioned roof replacements where among those that were included in the solar analysis from earlier this year.

Also of note and a point of interest to those affected by flooding after Hurricane Sandy,resident Andrew Bane asked about the new FEMA flood regulations that specify how,when and why flood victims would need to elevate their homes before they could rebuild after excessive storm flooding. Tony Fiore and Tony Mercantante gave him a pretty good explanation but it was a bit confusing. For more information about FEMA's new flood regulations you can find it .... Here



As always, you can download a copy of the meeting agenda  that contains the discussion items and the proposed resolutions and ordinances that were voted on or presented during the meeting. A box around an item is a link, bringing you further into the document to that resolution or ordinance. At the end of the resolution there will be a link bringing you back to the agenda. Attached to this agenda is also the monthly bill list, so that everyone can see how the Township is spending our tax dollars

Pallone, Holt Tour New and Improved Tinton Falls Veterans Clinic

Tinton Falls, NJ – Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. and Congressman Rush Holt Monday held a ribbon-cutting to recognize the reopening of the Department of Veterans Affairs Community-based Outpatient Clinic in Monmouth County. The clinic in its new location has been expanded and the majority of the clinic’s services are now on one level to make it easier for physically challenged patients to get around the facility.

“I believe we accomplished the goals we had in mind for our area veterans as we relocated the facility, expanding services, minimally disrupting the medical services veterans rely on and relocating the facility close enough so it’s still convenient,” said Pallone. “Just because the Army made an ill-advised, misguided decision to close Ft. Monmouth, that doesn’t mean veterans who still need specialized medical care should be affected.”

Benefits of the Tinton Falls location include a larger space to care for veterans, expanded clinical services, additional specialized support for veterans currently returning from Iraq and Afghanistan and improved accessibility. Currently, 2,827 are enrolled to receive care at the facility.

“After the Army’s misguided decision to close Fort Monmouth, we committed to working with the VA to ensure that local veterans will continue to have access to the medical care that they rely on and have earned,” said Holt. “The new clinic marks a significant step toward fulfilling that commitment, and it will provide a wide and growing range of services to local veterans.”
Improved services include expanded Telehealth Services, social work services and nutrition psychiatry and laboratory services.

The clinic schedule is 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, with extended hours on Thursdays, beginning October 6, 2011, from 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Veterans can call the Tinton Falls clinic (732-842-4751) to schedule appointments.

Barbara Thorpe: The Lying Liars of Middletown

As many reader's of this blog know, Barbara Thorpe is a Lincroft resident and a friend of this blog. She is a registered Republican and over the years has worked tirelessly to better the quality of life for those who live in the Lincroft area.

Over the past few years she has become disillusioned with the local republicans in office and has started to speak her mind, for doing so she has been ridiculed and threatened with retribution by the powers that be.

Mrs. Thorpe sent me the following email that she wished me to publish on the MiddletownMike blog, to further highlight that the local republicans have no ideas of their own and wish to capitalize on the efforts of others in order to "enhance their resumes" :

Hi Mike,

To add to your points against Scharfenberger and Brightbill ,I'd like to give you some of my own where these two do nothing individuals use other people efforts to enhance "their resumes" .

In 1992,when Joe Leo was township administrator.I began my crusade to get the speed limit reduced on Swimming River Road. It took over 10 years to accomplish that feat. I was helped by the LVGA Board of Directors members,especially Mary Ellen Hintz and Walter Horan who dedicated themselves to getting this done. In about 2003,Rosemarie Peters,then mayor,agreed to a resolution to the County to get the reduction. The township police chief at the time was no help....he threatened it could be increased. Good riddance to that one !1 It was finally temporarily reduced in January 2004 while I was in Minnesota when my daughter-in-law was tragically killed in an accident with a speeding truck on an icy county road there... Bill & I suffered the kind of loss we always fought against here.Our grandchildren,who were in the vehicle with their mother, were miraculously spared,thank god.

Then in later years Bil & I,with the help of the LVGA,Tinton Falls Council President Jerome Donlan,and then Middletown Mayor Tom Hall ( he helped with many endeavors ) and many citizens from the area who signed petitions, and the Monmouth County Freeholder Board, stopped the expansion of the Marpal Recycling facility on Wayside Road.

Also the LVGA, Tom Hall and Bill & I put in tireless effort to stop the Home Depot in Tinton Falls on Wayside Road. One day I knocked on doors in Tinton Falls to alert the residents there to what their own officials were not telling them. We (Bill & I and Mary Ellen Hintz and Walter Horan ) were in Tinton Falls with Tom Hall the night referred to by the recent assault on my character by one of the Middletown Republican "lap dogs". Tinton Falls would not even let Tom Hall speak except as a concerned citizen. I wrote letters to the press about Tinton Fall's Planning Director Joel Davis's demeaning behavior towards Tom Hall. That night I succeeded in presenting a Monmouth County Board of Health noise study I had requested that Mr Davis repeatedly tried to avoid accepting in the hearings for the proposed Home Depot Plan for Wayside Road. which were attended by the afore mentioned individuals from Lincroft. The then mayor of Middletown ( Gerard Scharfenberger),WAS ABSENT as always when needed. He and his cohort, Pam Brightbill, never did anymore than cast a vote. No time ,no effort expended..

The same holds true for the current garbage contract in Middletown.perhaps these two voted in favor,nothing more that I am aware of. The only official that put time and effort into this endeavor was Tom Hall. I can't say enough positive about my encounters with this man as he never let the citizens of Lincroft down in the problems those of us in this corridor experienced. I'm not sure the whole truth exists publicly regarding the proposed "sports complex". Some of that was half truths and hysteria....it never came to pass and it cost one Lincroft resident his life. I might add that Pat Short also helped the people of Lincroft in that instance and he was only a candidate at the time.I never saw Scharfenberger or Brightbill put in an appearance.Seems they are all talk and no action most of the time. In regard to both of them,my observation is they sure know how to ride someone else's coattails !! I resent both of them for trying to take credit for the hard work the LVGA and Bill & I and former mayors Hall and Peters put into these accomplishments. Today my advice to Scharfenberger and Brightbill would be "put your money where your mouths are". I'm sick to death of the deception,the lies and the acts of intimidation and threats and other psychological and emotional tactics they use to try and control the citizens of this township.Give it up because they don't fool this resident and they don't fool a lot of other residents either.

The other people who live on Swimming River Road with this resident were penalized during the installation of the gas and water pipes because those two do not like my current political choices!! An illegally conducted survey and it's consequences violated every citizen's right to equal protection under the law. I long for the day when both of these committee persons no longer serve. I don't believe they serve the people's interests....they serve themselves and the Republican party faithful. In my opinion neither are suited for public service..

Rush Holt To Hold Town Hall Meeting in Tinton Falls on Dec. 4th

Rush Holt, Congressman for the 12th Congressional District will be holding a town hall meeting Tinton Falls . The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. on Thursday, December 4 at the Ranney School , which is located at 235 Hope Road in the Distance Learning Center.