Monmouth County continues to battle West Nile Virus

Ground spraying to occur in Ocean Township and Spring Lake on Thursday morning

Deputy Freeholder Director Serena DiMaso

The Monmouth County Mosquito Control Division will be conducting a ground spray operation in the Oakhurst section of Ocean Township on residential streets near Palaia Park, specifically, north of Deal Road to Dow Avenue and east of State Highway 35 to Whalepond Road and in Spring Lake on residential streets south of Washington Street to Monmouth Avenue and First Avenue west to the NJ Transit railroad tracks on Thursday morning August 25.

Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

Goofy Gopal Denies Accusing Monmouth GOP, MoreMonmouthMusings of Paying Belmar Protesters

photo via facebook

Monmouth County Democrat Chairman Vin Gopal drew more attention to the grassroots uprising of Belmar residents against the policies of their mayor, “Lawless Matt” Doherty, yesterday with a post on the Monmouth Democrats facebook page denying the Observer (formerly PolitickerNJ) article that reported that he and Doherty accused the Monmouth GOP and this website of paying protesters to demonstrate outside Doherty’s house during a campaign fundraiser last week featuring Senator Cory Booker.

Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

County combats West Nile Virus in Atlantic Highlands, Middletown, Lake Como, West Belmar and Spring Lake

Deputy Freeholder Director Serena DiMaso

Monmouth County’s Mosquito Control Department has discovered evidence of the West Nile Virus in Atlantic Highlands and the Hillside section of Middletown.

Residential streets in Atlantic Highlands east of First Avenue to Sears Avenue and north to E. Washington Avenue in Atlantic Highlands, and from Portland Avenue to Grand Avenue north of Hillside Avenue in the Hillside section of Middletown will be ground sprayed on Tuesday morning July 26 from 4 a.m. till 6 a.m., weather permitting, according to an announcement by Deputy Freeholder Director Serena DiMaso.

Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

Mosquito Spraying Scheduled for Lake Como and West Belmar Friday Morning

Deputy Freeholder Director Serena DiMaso

Monmouth County’s Mosquito Control will be conducting ground spraying in Lake Como and the West Belmar section of Wall Township on Friday morning between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m. according to a statement by Deputy Freeholder Director Serena DiMaso. Evidence of West Nile Virus in the area prompted the scheduled spraying.

Weather permitting, the Mosquito Control staff will conduct a ground spray operation on residential streets south of 17th Avenue between Highway 35 and Route 71 in Lake Como and Wall Township, on residential streets north of Wall Road between Highway 35 and Route 71 in Spring Lake Heights and in Marucci Park in Spring Lake.

Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

Tips for dealing with the heat

With temperatures expected to be in the 90’s for the next several days, Monmouth County’s Office of Emergency Management and the Health Department have issued  some reminders on how to avoid dehydration and other heat related ailments:

• Stay in the shade;
• If you head to the beach, be sure to bring an umbrella;
• Wear sunscreen and lightweight, light-colored clothing to reflect some of the sun’s energy;
• Drink plenty of water even if you do not feel thirsty. Limit alcohol, and sugary drinks which speed dehydration;
• Slow down. Avoid exertion during the hottest part of the day. If you must do strenuous activity, do it during the coolest part of the day – in the morning between 4 and 7 a.m., and
• Eat small meals and eat more often.

Deputy Freeholder Director Serena DiMaso, the freeholder who overseas OEM, asks that residents watch out for those most susceptible to getting beat by the heat; children under four years old, seniors over sixty-five, overweight people, and those with illnesses and on certain medications.

Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

Sheriff Golden, Freeholders demand that Trenton fund 911 centers

Sheriff Shaun Golden points to the $.90 fee on his phone bill. Click photo for larger view

Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden and all five Monmouth County Freeholders called for the State of New Jersey to stop diverting the $.90 per phone line surcharge New Jersey consumers pay with their cell and landline bills from it’s intended purpose…the funding of Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs)… at a press conference outside the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office Public Safety Center in Freehold this afternoon.

According to draft resolution that the New Jersey Association of Counties is urging all 21 New Jersey Freeholder Boards to adopt, New Jersey is in violation of federal law, the “NET 911 Act of 2008” (H.R 3403) for having diverted 89% of the $1.25 billion in 911 System and Emergency Response Fees collected since 2006.

Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

Wall and Spring Lake Heights Mosquito Spray Postponed

Deputy Freeholder Director Serena DiMaso

Monmouth County’s Division of Mosquito control has postponed tonight’s  scheduled spray in Wall Township and Spring Lake Heights due to weather.  The operation has been rescheduled for tomorrow, June 29, between 9:30 p.m. and midnight, according the Deputy Freeholder Director Serena DiMaso, the freeholder who oversees the division.

The spraying is a response to evidence of the West Nile virus in the West Belmar section of Wall and northern Spring Lake Heights. Mosquito Control staff  will conduct a ground spray operation on residential streets south of Belmar Boulevard between Route 35 and Route 71 in Wall Township and on residential streets north of Allaire Road between Old Mill Road and Route 71 in Spring Lake Heights.

“The goal of the ground spray program is to reduce the public health risk from West Nile in the area,” said DiMaso. “It is also important to remember to always wear insect repellant when outdoors, even if it is only for a few minutes.”

Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

Monmouth County Launches Flooding Awareness Program

John Szeliga, Verizon; Middletown Mayor Gerald Scharfenberger; Monmouth County Freeholder Deputy Director Serena DiMaso; Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden; Capt. Jay Steingold of Naval Weapons Station Earle; FEMA Region II Administrator Michael Moriarty and Tony MacDonald Director of the Monmouth University Urban Coast Institute.

A countywide collaboration with Monmouth County’s government, FEMA, Monmouth University Urban Coast Institute, New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium, National Park Service, Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve at Rutgers University, Navy Weapons Station Earle, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and Verizon designed to raise the public’s awareness of flood risks and to encourage the mitigation of those risks was launched this morning in Middletown with the installation of a High Water Mark (HWM) sign at the Belford Ferry Terminal.

FEMA and the National Flood Insurance Program’s High Water Mark awareness program gives participating municipalities Community Rating System (CRS) points which result in residents of the community getting a break on their flood insurance premiums.

Municipal participation is voluntary and there is no cost to the towns for participating.

Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

Freeholders Give Combat Wounded Vets Special Parking Privileges

The Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders, Gary Rich, Lillian Burry, Director Tom Arnone, Deputy Director Serena DiMaso and John Curly, commemorate the installation of a Wounded Warrior parking spot at the Hall of Records.

The Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders has followed the lead of Deputy Freeholder Director Serena DiMaso in making the lives of combat wounded war veterans a little easier.

Under a new program announced yesterday, the Freeholders are designating special parking spaces at county facilities for use by Purple Heart Medal recipients.

“We all recognize the tremendous sacrifices our military personnel have made to secure the freedoms we enjoy every day,” said DiMaso. “Regretfully, many of these men and women have returned home with physical and emotional injuries that will follow them the rest of their lives. A designated parking space is a simple way to say thank you.”

Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

Pulling the curtain on Lawless Matt Doherty’s Trickery

First in a series

By Art Gallagher

Belmar Mayor “Lawless Matt” Doherty’s first order of business after winning the Democrat primary for Monmouth County freeholder was to promote his record of not raising taxes in the borough.  He’s attempting to put his fiscal credentials up against Republican Freeholder Director Tom Arnone and Deputy Freeholder Director Serena DiMaso who, along with their colleagues on the Board, cut county taxes $4.5 million this year and have kept spending flat since 2008.

Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet