Physical Therapy in Long Hill Township, NJ

WARREN, NJ — Watchung Hills Regional Board of Education presented its proposed school budget for 2023-24 on Tuesday night which includes a tax increase for some sending town residents.

The proposed budget of $46,649,203 for the 2023-24 school year is an increase of 4.49 percent over the 2022-23 budget which was roughly $44 million.

"It's important that everyone realize that this was a difficult budget. It seems we say that every year, but our number one priority continues to be the student. Continues to be the education of the student. Whether academic or non-academic," said Board Vice President Michael Birnberg. "Although we are very conscious of the budget and cost, we are as conscious, if not more, of making sure the students have the opportunity to succeed and thrive."

For an average homeowner in Warren Township with a home assessed at $824,594, they would see a tax increase of $38.47 per year.

For an average homeowner in Watchung Borough with a home assessed at $802,735, they would see a tax decrease of $20.55 per year.

For an average homeowner in Long Hill Township with a home assessed at $578,714, they would see a tax increase of $52.12 per year.

The Board pointed to a number of factors for the increase in the budget including inflation, a rise in healthcare of 8.74 percent, and salaries and benefits that account for 61 percent of the budget. The district is currently in negotiations for new contracts.

The budget includes a number of costs including:

To help lower the budget, the Board is taking $100,000 from its additional reserve to help pay for the track. Additionally, the late bus will be reduced from 5 days a week to 3 days on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. The number of late buses also is reduced from 5 buses to 3 buses. This will save the district $60,000.

The district also recently was awarded $5,777,532 in state aid this year. It is roughly $2.8 million more than the district received last year.

"The aid will go toward tax relief," said Board President Bob Morrison. "We are using that to ensure we are not going to have to raise additional taxpayer funds to fund the district. This Board from the outset was committed to doing everything that we could to bring that tax impact down because of the impact inflation is having on all of the families in our community."

The preliminary budget will now be submitted to the county office for approval. A public hearing and vote on the final budget is scheduled for April 25.

Watch the full budget presentation below (It begins around the 23:15 mark):

Petition with local, international support for the preservation of the Horn antenna is presented to the Holmdel Township Committee.

|Updated Wed, Mar 15, 2023 at 9:00 pm ET

HOLMDEL, NJ — From homemaker to physicist, there seems to be broad agreement among township residents to preserve the Holmdel Horn antenna, a landmark in the history of science that is sitting silently now on the high point of Monmouth County on Crawford Hill.

A petition of more than 6,904 voices from Holmdel and places around the world was presented Tuesday night to the Township Committee, which accepted the petition and heard many supporting comments. At last 1,200 township residents joined the petition.

The Horn antenna's decades-long home on about 43 acres off Holmdel Road has been owned in the past by Bell Labs and Nokia, but is now privately owned and could be brought before township land use boards to be developed for housing.

It has not so far, and the township Planning Board is now studying the site as one to designate as an area in need of redevelopment, thus giving the township greater control of it.

One resident, Agnes King, who spoke at the meeting modestly described herself as a homemaker - "not a scientist."

Find out what's happening in Holmdel-Hazletwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

A resident for more than 50 years, she said "so many people are behind this," speaking of preservation.

And the Township Committee heard from many of those supporters and has itself acknowledged the significance of the Horn antenna.

In February, Mayor DJ Luccrelli read a statement saying the township is "in negotiations" with the current owner of the property. He said he was limited in what he could comment on because of the negotiations, but he acknowledged how unique the Horn antenna - used in the validation of the Big Bang Theory - is to the township. The statement can be heard on the recording of the Township Committee meeting of Feb. 14.

Meanwhile, local environmental and land use advocates - and residents and former residents - all wanted to formally bring the petition to the committee early in the process of deciding the future of the Horn antenna and its surroundings, said Karen Strickland, co-president of Citizens for Informed Land Use.

"We ask the Holmdel Committee to take the lead to preserve the site," Stickland said, in presenting the petition at the beginning of the public comments.

You can read more about the group's efforts at its website.

Another resident, Ralph Blumenthal, is a sort of dean among environmental and scientific advocates in the township. A physicist, he is a founding trustee of Friends of Holmdel Open Space and a member and former president of Citizens for Informed Land Use.

"We strongly recommend that the entire Crawford Hill property and the Big Bang Horn antenna be preserved in perpetuity as a park with public access," he said in his statement to the committee.

He said last spring he heard about a possible threat to the Horn antenna from Bob Wilson, one of two Bell Labs researchers who won a Nobel Prize in 1978, using information captured by the Horn antenna to support the Big Bang Theory of the creation of the universe.

It was this work that led to the Horn's status as a National Historic Landmark.

Blumenthal said "As a physicist I have long known about the Horn antenna and the amazing research done with it."

He said he and his wife are also hikers and noticed the property's "plateau at the top could be a place for a high-point monument, some exhibits about the Big Bang Theory and more."

He also pointed out some economic factors in favor of preservation.

"There is ample evidence from many studies that the preservation of open space is a financial win-win for the residents and the township. The finances to acquire the property are readily available. Holmdel has an increased Open Space Trust Fund and can partner with Monmouth County Parks, Monmouth County, Green Acres, FOHOS (Friends of Holmdel Open Space) and others as has been done before."

He also asked the committee to consider creating a sub-committee of advocates and township representatives to "consider various options and the best way forward for Holmdel. Together we can create an outstanding new park for Holmdel."

Another concerned resident, Kin Gee, made a separate statement that also touched on the economic benefits of preservation:

"The public and the scientific communities have clearly voiced their overwhelming support to save the Horn antenna at its current location and to preserve Crawford Hill property as a public park. This will commemorate Holmdel’s legacy in astronomy and cosmology, improve the quality of life for Holmdel residents, and lower future tax costs – a triple win for Holmdel," Gee said.

He added that supporters of preservation "look forward to future communications from the Township Committee on the progress of the negotiations with the owner of the property."

The property was sold by Nokia to Rakesh Antala, an area technology executive, in January of 2021 for $3.6 million, said Douglas Twyman of Colliers International, who handled the transaction. Twyman said in December that Antala has said he intends to preserve the antenna.

Nokia executives also presented comments Tuesday night to the committee in favor of preservation.

Thierry E. Klein, president of Bell Labs Solutions Research Nokia, and Peter Vetter, president of Bell Labs Core Research Nokia, noted that apart from the role in the validation of the Big Bang Theory, "The Horn antenna is also an important part of Bell Labs’ history because of its role in the satellite communication research program that resulted in the very first communication satellite 'Telstar' launched in 1962. The site of the Horn Antenna was purposely chosen on the top of a hill so that it would have the best coverage and the least obstruction by the surrounding topology. We therefore support that the original site should remain the location of the Horn Antenna to educate future generations."

One action the committee did take last night was to amend its resolution for the study of possible redevelopment of the site to change the action to a "condemnation basis," Township Attorney Michael Collins said. It does not change the scope of the Planning Board's study of the site, he added.

Regina Criscione, co-president of Citizens for Informed Land Use, said the group was "surprised at the action" and "will be investigating how it affects the process of acquiring the site. We are, however, pleased that the township is taking action that appears to be in the direction of preserving the Crawford Hill property and the Horn antenna.”

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The Cherry Hill Chicken Wars have begun on Route 70! Preliminary site work and curbing has started for a new (relocated) Chick-fil-A, and a half mile away construction fencing has gone up and a backhoe is on site where South Jersey’s first Raising Cane’s is being developed.

We had previously reported on both of these restaurant locations (Chick-fil-A, Raising Cane’s), and it’s interesting that the development of both new buildings are taking place at almost exactly the same time.

Coincidence… Or is it?

Well there is likely some connection to the timing of the construction. Read on for more.

Chick-Fil-A and Raising Cane’s

As a quick refresher. both eateries are fast food restaurants focused on delicious chicken items with secret recipes and sauces.

I’d imagine everyone in South Jersey is familiar with Chick-fil-A and their signature chicken sandwiches, as well as the frequent long lines of customers waiting at the drive-thru.

Raising Cane’s is new to the Philadelphia area but in other parts of the country they have a similar cult like following for their delicious chicken.

There are several “Cane’s” locations approved and planned for South Jersey but none have opened yet. (Cherry Hill, Deptford, Washington Township, Washington Township, Glassboro, Marlton)

For Raising Cane’s their signature chicken item is chicken fingers!

The Chicken Dance

Chick-fil-A currently has an operating restaurant at the Garden State Park shopping center on Route 70, which offers a variety of stores including Wegmans.

The current Chick-fil-A location is attached to a larger building of several stores, and does not have a drive-thru.

Drive-Thrus have become a very important part of the Chick-fil-A business model. The company has reported that drive-thru sales volume regularly outpaces sales of in-store dining.

To rectify the lack of a drive-thru at this location, Chick-fil-A is building a brand new freestanding building at the Garden State Pavilions shopping center just a 1/2 mile to the West where a Friendly’s restaurant used to stand.

Normally this would be seen as a decent loss for the Garden State park shopping center, as Chick-fil-A does draw a fair amount of traffic and shoppers into the complex.

But in the Cherry Hill Chicken Wars… all is fair in love, war and chicken!

To counter the loss of the Chick-fil-A, the Garden State Park center signed on Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers restaurant to join the popular shopping center.

That alone is a nice, interesting twist… swapping out one popular chicken restaurant for another.

But add to that the Raising Cane’s is literally being developed directly next to the current Chick-fil-A. I’m talking like 40-50 feet away.

The new Raising Cane’s will be developed in a parking lot area between the current Chick-fil-A and the next set of buildings which has a Vitamin Shoppe as the end cap store.

interestingly the Raising Cane’s is being developed with its own drive-thru!

So while Chick-fil-A chose to move to another complex to support their drive-thru needs, Raising Cane’s was able to make their new building with drive-thru work within the Garden State park complex.

Chicken or the Egg Chicken

What I don’t know is which aspect of this came first.

Likely I would assume that Chick-fil-A first made the move to exit it’s existing location (without a drive-thru) and develop 1/2 mile away. And then the Garden State park leasing team was able to quickly fill that void with Raising Cane’s.

But Raising Cane’s is pushing hard with new locations in South Jersey, so who knows how that really played out!

But we do know that Chick-fil-A has a front row seat to watching it’s newest area competitor get developed directly next store.

Speaking of Raising Cane’s if you’re unfamiliar with them, last year I did drive over to Philadelphia to try them out and I’ve shared that experience. To read more check out this article from when we broke the story on raising canes coming to Cherry Hill.

Links and Location

Raising Cane’s Cherry Hill – (Planned, Not Open)Market Place at GSPRt 70 and Haddonfield RdCherry Hill NJ

Raising Cane’s Corp WebsiteRaising Cane’s Corp Facebook

Chick-fil-A (Cherry Hill New Location Not Open)

It will be at least another three weeks until Seton Hall University gets approval for a new basketball practice facility after planning officials adjourned a meeting without a vote Tuesday following three hours of questioning from residents downhill of the campus in South Orange and Newark concerned about flooding.

Just hours before Tuesday night’s South Orange Planning Board meeting, some of those same residents were among more than 100 people who attended an informational meeting on the campus to hear preliminary findings of a historical review of flooding in Newark’s low-lying Ivy Hill neighborhood dating to the late 1800′s.

Predominantly Black Ivy Hill residents and their mostly white South Orange allies also heard Newark officials present long- and short-term plans to address the area’s flooding in conjunction with Seton Hall, Essex County and the state, well beyond any potential impact of the school’s pending project.

Newark officials, including Mayor Ras Baraka and the city’s water and sewer utilities director, Kareem Adeem, told residents that the area of Seton Hall’s campus surrounding its athletic complex was already completely covered in impervious surface.

And, they said, Seton Hall’s proposal for a 12,862-square-foot expansion of the Richie Regan Athletic and Recreation Center would not exacerbate the flooding. To the contrary, they and Seton Hall representatives said the project would reduce the area’s existing impact on flooding by creating greater-than-required detention basins to slow the release of runoff to avoid overwhelming a 36-inch stormwater pipe along Woodbine Avenue that drains the area.

In addition to the Ivy Hill neighborhood’s topography as a bowl that naturally attracts floodwater, officials said climate change had caused more severe storms, creating worse flooding.

“This is not a new problem, just a recurring problem as the rain has gotten more intense,” said Francisco Brilhante, a senior flooding modeler with HDR, the engineering firm hired by Newark to do the historical review and recommend fixes.

They include working with Essex County to enhance and improve drainage of Ivy Hill Park. The county park has increased its impervious surface in recent years by laying artificial turf for a softball field leased by Seton Hall, and where Essex is now building a multi-purpose turf field.

Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo told residents that his government would do whatever was necessary to ensure the new field did not aggravate neighborhood flooding.

Adeem said the city would create more, larger catch basins and increase the size of existing ones along Reynolds Place, a dead-end off Woodbine Avenue, a process that could begin in a matter of days. He said the city would also clear debris from storm pipes, while Seton Hall will clear pipes on its property.

Longer-term fixes could include new drainage pipes from the Seton Hall campus or other uphill areas that bypass a low point where Woodbine ends at a campus gate and the worst flooding occurs.

Adeem asked that residents do their part by keeping the curbside entrance to catch basins clear of leaves or other debris or alerting his office where there are obstructions.

Representatives of the state Department of Community Affairs and the Governor’s Disaster Recovery Office told residents who had sustained flood damage that their agencies would assist them with individual claims for the Federal Emergency Management Agency and provide financing for projects undertaken by Newark, Essex, or South Orange.

In one notable case, the review found that a 24-inch storm sewer on the Seton Hall campus was built around an existing 8- or 10-inch sanitary sewer line that runs perpendicular to it, creating a potential impedance to the flow of stormwater that could then back up and contribute to flooding. The review recommends the sanitary pipe be relocated.

Some residents were encouraged by the broader mitigation plan for the area based on the historical review. But after decades of flood-damaged basements and ruined furniture, as the Seton Hall campus has built up, they remained suspicious of the university’s latest proposal.

And later, at the planning board meeting, they asked officials why they couldn’t incorporate the review’s findings into the case or even wait for the broader mitigation efforts to get underway.

“Why can’t we look at Seton Hall’s historical total runoff impact?” South Orange resident Oren Goldberg asked the board during a portion of the meeting when the public was allowed to cross-examine expert witnesses or ask the board and its staff questions.

The board’s lawyer, William Sullivan, told Goldberg that his clients were legally bound to weigh only the impact of the proposal at hand — the gym expansion — and could not consider it in a broader context. “Mr. Goldberg,” Sullivan told him, “this board is confined to the application that’s in front of it.”

Tuesday night’s special board meeting was part of an ongoing public hearing on Seton Hall’s application to build a 12,862-square-foot addition to its Richie Regan Athletic and Recreation Center, where the Pirates men’s basketball team would practice.

The project is part of Seton Hall‘s ongoing effort to remain competitive in college basketball’s Big East conference, which included hiring former St. Peter’s head coach Shaheen Holloway, whose first season ended just past Midnight Wednesday with a 17-15 overall record, after a 1-point loss to Colorado in college hoops’ National Invitational Tournament, or NIT.

The planning board’s delayed vote was at least a temporary victory for residents of Newark’s Ivy Hill neighborhood and their allies.

During the meeting, some exchanges between residents and Seton Hall’s representatives grew contentious. Newark resident Libre Jones accused Seton Hall’s lawyer, Elnardo Webster, of having lied to the board at a previous meeting when he said he had met with residents impacted by flooding on some 30 occasions.

Instead, Jones said Webster had never contacted her or her neighbors who suffered the worst flooding, whether from severe storms like Hurricane Ida in September 2021 or ordinary rains.

“Why are you telling the Planning Board that you’ve been communicating with the community when you haven’t been?” Jones said.

Webster declined to address the allegation.

The virtual meeting was halted for several minutes when the board’s attorney, Sullivan, was absent due to a technical glitch. But upon rejoining, Sullivan said anyone was free not to answer a question, though the board could consider the non-answer when weighing its decision on the application.

The board chairman, Harold Colton-Cox, finally called it quits just after 11 p.m., adjourning the public hearing with Webster’s consent and scheduling it to continue on April 6. Colton-Cox noted that the continuation will likely last as long or longer than Tuesday night’s meeting because it will include public comments on the application that need not be in question form.

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Nov. 19, 2022, in Philadelphia

They met as sixth graders at Bunker Hill Middle School in Washington Township, N.J., but it was in Miss Lewis’ seventh-grade reading class in 2007 when Alex really noticed Amanda.

“I just remember seeing her and knowing instantly – oooh! That girl is exactly my type,” he said.

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Everyone wanted to be around Alex, Amanda remembers. “He was very much the class clown, the one making jokes, while I was the more reserved bookworm.”

They swayed to the music together at the seventh-grade dance. Alex was the first boy Amanda ever invited to her house. And then one weekend, she had a bunch of people over to play video games and board games in the basement. “He lingered on the steps when everyone was leaving, and we had our first kiss,” she remembered.

By eighth grade, their romance had fizzled, but they remained friends. Freshman year at Washington Township High School, he was her escort in the cheerleader fashion show. They flirted a little. Then, in sophomore year, they fell into dating again. They went as a couple to the sophomore dance and he was her date for her Sweet 16. They were together every weekend until almost the end of summer. Then Alex told Amanda that he worried they were too serious for two 16-year-olds and they broke up.

By senior year, they got past the awkwardness. “We started talking again, being friends again, and texting every day again,” said Amanda.

Amanda, who is now 27 and teaches math at Rosa International Middle School in Cherry Hill, studied math education at the College of New Jersey. Alex, who is now 28 and a facilities support specialist for environmental consulting firm Integral Consulting, studied philosophy at West Virginia University. The friends still texted each other, and always got together with the old gang on school breaks. “He came to my parents’ house for dinner one night, and they have a pool and he would come over to go swimming,” Amanda said. He even visited her at college during their junior year. It was always platonic – both were dating people they met in college.

After graduating in 2017, both returned to Washington Township. In October 2018, the gang that had been pals since middle school met up once again at Ott’s On the Green. For the first time in years, both Amanda and Alex were single, and their friends were all contemplating whether they would get back together. They did not have to wonder for long.

“We kissed at the bar,” Amanda said. “And then we all went to his house afterward, and we kissed there, too.” There was no prior discussion, no should we or shouldn’t we, Alex said, they were just together again – and for good this time.

“I love his sense of humor,” Amanda said. “I’m a very naturally uptight person, and he definitely relaxes me and makes me more carefree and a happier person in general. We are always smiling and laughing and making jokes together.”

“I can be a little unserious, and I think Amanda motivates me to be the best version of myself, because I want to be the best for her that I can be,” said Alex. “We have always gotten along so easily, and we know each other so well. It just always felt right.”

In April 2021, Alex used AmazingCo to create a mystery picnic scavenger hunt in New Hope. He asked them to tell him the final answer – the picnic location – so he could have a friend there with her camera.

From site to site Amanda and Alex went, with some clues leading them to ceviche and baguettes and macrons, and finally, with supplies gathered, to a park on the outskirts of town.

“I was nervous,” Alex said. “I drank half our bottle of prosecco.”

Amanda hadn’t seen him drink like that before. “What are you doing?” she asked. “Are you OK?”

He knelt and answered her questions with one of his own. “Will you marry me?”

There was never a question that Amanda and Alex would marry at Epiphany of Our Lord Catholic Church in South Philadelphia. When she walked down the long aisle, Amanda followed in the footsteps of four previous generations: Her parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and great-great-grandparents had all gotten married there, as did her sister and brother-in-law and many aunts and uncles.

“I have seen the photos of all of these generations of women in my family getting married in this church, and it was so exciting to be the next in line,” she said. “My grandmother passed when I was young, and I felt like a piece of her was there with me. And my grandfather was so excited to see me married there.”

“We were able to recreate some of the pictures that Amanda has of her grandparents and other family members from their weddings, and it really just makes those pictures timeless,” said Alex.

The couple had 18 attendants, including six people who have been their friends since middle school. Amanda’s niece, the flower girl, and nephew, the ring bearer, stole the show, though. Her nephew held a sign that read “Uncle Alex, just wait until you see her!”

The reception for 125 was held at the Philadelphia Cricket Club, where the bride and groom had their first dance to “Is That Alright” by Lady Gaga. The lessons they took didn’t make it any less nerve-racking, but it was also wonderful, Amanda said.

The dance floor was packed as the DJ played hits from their high school days and going back to the 1950s and ‘60s. It was all the more fun because Amanda hired sax player Jason Nelson – who she knows from college – to add a live performance element, Alex said.

On and off the dance floor, Amanda and Alex made a conscious effort to be together as much as possible. “I have vivid memories of us sitting together at our sweetheart table, just taking it all in together,” Alex said.

The couple spent a week in the Virginia mountains, hiking the Appalachian Trail and visiting wineries and restaurants. “After so much time worrying and stressing about the wedding, and what could go wrong, and deadlines and payments, it was nice to take a deep breath,” Alex said. “We made good use of the Jacuzzi.”

The couple bought their Merchantville home in March 2022 and have been doing a lot of renovations, learning as they go. A day of work often left them with energy enough only to order takeout and watch a movie, with black and brown tabby cat Marla on Alex’s lap and tortoise shell Prudence on Amanda’s.

Between renovations, wedding planning, and Amanda’s wrap-up of her master’s degree in curriculum and instruction, it’s been awhile since they’ve had much time for other things. This spring and summer, Alex and Amanda plan to spend more time with friends and family and head down the Shore.

They dream of traveling to Europe one day, but a bigger dream comes first.

“Kids are next on the list,” Amanda said.

Both sets of parents have already volunteered to babysit.