BY PAIGE TAYLORTHE OCEAN STAR

TRENTON — Last week,Gov. Chris Christiesigned a bill into law thatwill require pet stores todisclose certain informa-tion to customers in or-der to allow them tomake informed deci-

sions on their pet pur-chase.

The legislation wassponsored by local legis-lators Sen. JamesHolzapfel, AssemblymenDave Wolfe and GregMcGuckin [all R-10].District 10 encompasses

BY PAIGE TAYLORTHE OCEAN STAR

POINT PLEASANT BEACH — TheBorough of Point PleasantBeach is taking the prelimi-nary steps necessary to in-quire about purchasing thehistoric building that is part ofthe United States Coast GuardStation [USCG] ManasquanInlet, here.

The USCG station’s historicbuilding incurred consider-able damage during Hurri-cane Sandy in 2012. As a re-sult, a new, elevated,hurricane-resistant multi-mis-sion station building will beconstructed on the site of the

existing boathouse and its ad-jacent parking lot. The origi-nal building was declared asexcess and will be divestedout of the USCG property in-ventory.

Last week, CouncilmanStephen Reid and Point Pleas-ant Beach Chief Financial Of-ficer Christine Riehl met withrepresentatives from Con-gressman Chris Smith’s [R-4]office regarding the process ofpurchasing the building.

“We met with CongressmanSmith’s office to discuss possi-ble funding for the purchaseof the Coast Guard station andto learn more about theprocess of what it takes to

purchase the property usingfederal dollars,” CouncilmanReid said.

Councilman Reid said hehad previously been told thatthe process of purchasing theCoast Guard station couldtake up to three to five years;however, those numbers weredispelled at the meeting withrepresentatives from Rep.Smith’s office.

The new timeline for thelength of the purchase processmay be around seven to 10years, according to informa-tion provided to the council-man.

It is no secret that theprocess is far from simple, asthe construction of a new sta-tion, the demolition of thebarracks and the creation of a

A COMPASSIONATE CLUBMemorial middle schoolers ‘Save the Animals’ PAGE 23

BAY HEAD � LAVALLETTE � MANTOLOKING � POINT PLEASANT � POINT PLEASANT BEACH

75 CENTSFRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015

Officials ‘cautiously optimistic’

Beach hopes federal dollarscan help buy USCG buildingBorough officials meet with congressmanto talk potential funding to buy structure

SEE PET PAGE 9

“It’s clear to me — tosome extent — they willbe working; we just haveto keep the pressure upon them. It seems to beworking a little bit.”

WALTER LACICEROMayor, Borough of Lavallette

STEVE WEXLER THE OCEAN STAR

Point Pleasant Beach officials have their eye on the historic U.S. Coast Guard building on Inlet Drive,which the Coast Guard is selling in favor of constructing a new station across the street.

MORGAN CAMPBELL THE OCEAN STAR

POINT PLEASANT BEACH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE DIRECTORS INSTALLEDOn Friday night, over 80 guests filled Martell’s Tiki Bar on the boardwalk to honor the newly installed Point Pleasant Beach Chamber of Commercedirectors, as well as four honorees in several categories. Among those in attendance were directors Marla Lengle [from left], Barry Lubin andDee Heckel, president Ed Brannagan, executive director Carol Vaccaro, director James Ward, the board’s first vice president Greg Shulman, anddirector Rita Permuko. For the full story, see page 11.

Local legislators’pet bill now law

Constructionstill on target

Lavallette hopeful about summer construction on Route 35BY PAIGE TAYLORTHE OCEAN STAR

LAVALLETTE — Business own-ers, residents and seasonalbeachgoers who frequent theborough might soon be re-leasing sighs of relief, as perrecent updates regarding con-struction on Route 35.

The Borough of Lavallette,as well as dozens of businessowners and residents, havebeen expressing their deepconcerns of summer road-work construction to state of-ficials and representatives ofthe New Jersey Department

of Transportation [NJDOT].They said summer roadworkcould cripple the local econo-my.

Mark Speaker, vice presi-dent of the Lavallette Busi-ness Association [LBA], at-tended a meeting with seniorengineers and the outreachteam for the Route 35 con-struction project on Friday,Feb. 6.

At the meeting with NJ-DOT representatives, Mr.Speaker received a documentfrom the engineers and was

SEE ROUTE 35 PAGE 6

“We’re cautiouslyoptimistic, but Ihave a very good

feeling aboutwhat’s going tohappen here.”

MARK SPEAKERVice President, Lavallette Business

Association

SEE USCG PAGE 12

BY ANGELA CIROALOTHE OCEAN STAR

BAY HEAD — The winterweather has sloweddown construction workat Bay Head Elementary

School, but the time-frame of the project’scompletion has re-mained, according to Su-perintendent John Raval-ly, Ed.D.

During Tuesdaynight’s Bay Head Boardof Education meeting,the superintendent

District 10 legislators: shops mustdisplay breeder info for dogs, cats

No ill effectsfrom weather

SEE TARGET PAGE 3

WWW.STARNEWSGROUP.COM FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015 THE OCEAN STAR PAGE 9POINT PLEASANT BEACH

STEVE WEXLER THE OCEAN STAR

FUN NIGHT WITH FRIENDSStephanie Woit [from left], of Point Pleasant, Michelle Mosca, of Point Pleasant Beach, andChristina Vuocolo, of Point Pleasant Beach, each attended the Gerard’s Wine & Spirits fundrais-er event at the Crystal Point Yacht Club late last month.

Bay Head, Lavallette, Man-toloking and Point PleasantBeach.

The new law will requirepet stores in New Jersey toidentify the breeder whosupplied the dog or cat tothe store in order for patronsto make an informed deci-sion at the point of sale.

“After years of dedicationto this legislation, we arepleased this measure to pro-tect the purchaser from buy-ing sick pets for their fami-lies is now law,” Sen.Holzapfel said.

The law will require petstores to disclose the originsof the pets they sell and pro-hibit them from sourcing an-imals from breeders who failto meet basic care standardsprescribed by federal andstate law.

“By requiring a pet storeto disclose the history at thepoint of sale, we can giveconsumers the opportunityto research the breeder andmake an informed decisionon where to make their pur-chase,” Sen. Holzapfel said.

Assemblyman Wolfe al-luded to the potential resultsof purchasing a sick animaldue to lack of informationprovided by the stores.

“Puppy and kitten mills areanonymously breeding andselling unhealthy pets tocustomers without provid-ing information regardingthe medical history of theanimal,” he said. “It can bedevastating for a pet ownerto watch their new dog orcat struggle with an illnessin the early stages of its life.”

REQUIRED TO DISCLOSEAll information regarding

the pet to be purchased willbe posted on the cage or ona sign to allow for its back-ground to be understood.

The information will in-clude the age, name ofbreeder and their contact in-formation as well as thebreeder’s U.S. Department ofAgriculture [USDA] licensenumber. Additionally, con-sumers will be able to accessthe USDA inspection reportsfor all breeders. The bill es-tablishes a $500 penalty forfailure to comply with theserequirements.

Assemblyman McGuckinfurther agreed that pet own-ers should be able to receivethe background informationbefore purchasing the pet,and the bill will ensure this.

“Pet owners deserve toknow all of the backgroundinformation about its breed-er, quality of life, before thesale, and all medical historyinvolving the pet before pur-

chasing,” AssemblymanMcGuckin said. “With thislegislation, we will help putthe bad breeders out of busi-ness and ensure that fewerfamilies do not suffer fromthe financial burdens an un-healthy pet will place uponits owner.”

The Humane Society ofthe United States, the Amer-ican Society for the Preven-tion of Cruelty to Animals[ASPCA] and Friends of An-imals United [FAUN] NewJersey were involved in thesigning of the “Pet PurchaseProtection Act.”

“The Humane Society ofthe United States thanksGov. Christie for signingSen. Holzapfel, Assembly-man Wolfe and Assembly-man McGuckin’s Pet StoreDisclosure bill,” KathleenSchatzmann, New JerseyState Director for the Hu-mane Society of the UnitedStates, said. “This new lawwill protect consumers byrequiring pet stores to dis-close the source of the pup-pies they sell for purchase,and will eliminate sales inNew Jersey pet shops ofpuppies acquired from someof the worst puppy mills inthe nation.”

Debora Bresch, Esq., sen-ior director of ASPCA Gov-ernment Relations for theMid-Atlantic region and a

New Jersey resident, echoedthat sentiment.

“When New Jersey law-makers voted unanimouslyin favor of S.1870, they took astand against the inherentcruelty found in puppy mills,which show so little regardfor the welfare of breedingdogs and often produce sickpuppies later sold in ourstate,” she said. “The ASPCAcommends Sen. JamesHolzapfel, AssemblymanGregory McGuckin, Assem-blymen David Wolfe andGov. Chris Christie for en-acting a measure to allow formore transparency and ac-countability within the petindustry and ensure NewJersey consumers and theirpets are protected, not ex-ploited.”

A representative fromFAUN also thanked the offi-cials for signing the bill intolaw last week.

“On behalf of Friends ofAnimals United New Jersey[FAUN-NJ], I would like tothank Gov. Christie for sign-ing the Pet Store Disclosurebill, which will enable New

Jersey consumers to learnthe source of pet store pup-pies before they make a pur-chase,” Janice Fisher, PuppyMill Awareness Coordinatorfor Friends of Animals Unit-ed New Jersey, said. “FAUNNJ is especially grateful toSen. Holzapfel, Assembly-man Wolfe and Assembly-man McGuckin for lookingout for New Jersey con-sumers and puppy mill pup-pies by sponsoring this bill.”

Ms. Fisher added, “If youbuy a car or an appliance inNew Jersey, you can re-search the manufacturer, sowhy should you not be ableto research the ‘manufactur-er,’ or breeder, of a living be-ing — a puppy that will be-come a family member?”

The bill was signed de-spite some opposition fromthe Pet Industry Joint Advi-sory Council [PIJAC], whosewebsite, www.pijac.org,urged New Jersey residentsto tell lawmakers to defeatthe bill.

On behalf of the PIJAC,Mike Bober, who is the exec-utive vice president, said,

“We commend the sponsorsof the bill for its intentionand for the positive effect itwill have — however, we dowish there had been an op-portunity to address the pro-hibition on USDA-exemptbreeders, as that preventspet stores from sourcing an-imals from small hobbybreeders who cannot legallyregister with USDA.”

Mr. Bober added, “We dowant to say we are gratefulfor the time the sponsorsspent with us and the im-provements that were madethroughout the process thatmade sure this bill did asmuch for animals as it doeswithout unintentionally pe-nalizing responsible storeowners within the state.”

The law will take effect onJune 1.

Paige Taylor covers Point PleasantBeach for The Ocean Star. She can bereached atptaylor@theoceanstar.com or 732-899-7606 Ext 14.

New Jersey residents can purchase pets with peace of mindPETFROM PAGE 1

new parking lot are all set tooccur at Station ManasquanInlet. Councilman Reid ac-knowledged these factors andattributed the projects to thereasoning behind why thepurchase process could beseveral years in the making.He also said the nature offederal involvement in theproject takes time, as well.There are many pending

questions unanswered thatthe borough has to considerwith regard to this property,including the cost of pur-chase, the cost of mainte-nance and upkeep, the appro-

priate use for the building, aswell as how to refrain fromforcing taxpayers to reachinto their own pockets tofund the purchase and up-keep of the historic building.Councilman Reid stressed

that he does not want thecost to fall onto the taxpay-ers, and said there is a lot tofind out at this point.“There [are] so many steps

in this process,” he said. “Butwe have time.”The councilman said the

borough hopes to use thebuilding for “historical rea-sons,” although that use wasnot further detailed as it istoo soon to determine.

The borough will continueto hold meetings with Rep.Smith’s office to discuss thearray of factors that play intopurchasing, maintaining andaffording the building.“The landmark means a lot

to us, it’s a beautiful thing,”Councilman Reid said.As of yesterday, the coun-

cilman said, there was “noword yet on price.”The historic building at the

Coast Guard station is cur-rently in use, and the begin-ning date for construction onthe new station has been setto begin in April.The original building was

constructed in 1856, accord-ing to the Coast Guard, andsuffered millions of dollarsworth of damage after Hurri-cane Sandy hit in 2012. Theexisting station building willnot be demolished due to itshistorical significance to thearea, but will be declared ex-

cess and divested out of theUSCG property inventory;while the new, elevated, hur-ricane-resistant multi-mis-sion station building will be

constructed on the site of theexisting boathouse and its ad-jacent parking lot.The USCG is continuing to

move forward with construc-

tion on its new headquarters,located at Loughran Point,and is hoping to breakground on the project in afew short months.

Paige Taylor covers Point PleasantBeach for The Ocean Star. She can bereached at ptaylor@theoceanstar.comor 732-899-7606 Ext 14.

WWW.STARNEWSGROUP.COMPAGE 12 THE OCEAN STAR FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015 POINT PLEASANT BEACH

BY ANGELA CIROALOTHE OCEAN STAR

POINT PLEASANT BEACH— ThePoint Pleasant Police Depart-

ment recently announcedthat a joint narcotics investi-gation with the Point Pleas-ant Beach Police Departmentled to the arrest of a NewYork man.The arrest of Michael Mas-

trangelo, 31, of New York, oc-curred at the Pelican PointMotel in Point Pleasant

Beach on Jan. 21, Point Pleas-ant Lt. Robert Lokerson said.Mr. Mastrangelo was

charged with possession ofcocaine and possession ofdrug paraphernalia. He was arrested by Point

Pleasant Detective JosephHynes.Mr. Mastrangelo was then

taken to Ocean County Jail,Toms River, where he wasbeing held in default of$20,000 bail, Lt. Lokersonsaid.

Angela Ciroalo covers Point Pleasantfor The Ocean Star. She can bereached at aciroalo@theoceanstar.comor 732-899-7606 Ext 16.

Joint investigation leads tothe arrest of New York man

Man arrested forpossession of drugs,

paraphernalia

Officials seek purchase of buildingUSCGFROM PAGE 1

STEVE WEXLER THE OCEAN STAR

The U.S. Coast Guard [USCG] plans to build a new multi-mission station building on the site of its cur-rent boathouse, which is across Inlet Drive from the historic building the USCG currently uses as part ofStation Manasquan Inlet. The USCG plans to sell the historic building once its new station is complete,and Point Pleasant Beach is interested in purchasing the structure.

THE OCEAN STAR

All dogs in the borough ofPoint Pleasant Beach need tobe licensed during the monthof January 2015.Spayed or neutered dogs

cost $10 and nonspay orneutered dogs cost $13.Rabies vaccinations must

be good through Nov. 1, 2015.Payment and proof of vac-

cinations may be mailed afterJan. 1, 2015 to Karen Mills, 416New Jersey Ave. Please pro-vide a postage stamped re-turn envelope.Please call 732-892-3757

with any questions.

Reminderfor 2015

dog licenses

ST. JUDENOVENA

May the Sacred Heart of Jesus beadored, glorified, loved and pre-served throughout the world, nowand forever. Sacred Heart of Jesus,pray for us. St. Jude, worker of mira-cles, pray for us. St. Jude, help of thehopeless, pray for us. Say this prayer9 times a day. Say it for 9 days. Bythe eighth day, your prayer will beanswered. It has never been known tofail. Publication must be promised.Thank you, St. Jude. S.R.

ST. JUDENOVENA

May the Sacred Heart of Jesus beadored, glorified, loved and pre-served throughout the world, nowand forever. Sacred Heart of Jesus,pray for us. St. Jude, worker of mira-cles, pray for us. St. Jude, help of thehopeless, pray for us. Say this prayer9 times a day. Say it for 9 days. Bythe eighth day, your prayer will beanswered. It has never been known tofail. Publication must be promised.Thank you, St. Jude. J.J.

WWW.STARNEWSGROUP.COMPAGE 6 THE OCEAN STAR FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015 LAVALLETTE

“assured that current andtimely updates would followon a regular basis” in theform of a schedule for thenext two weeks of construc-tion — something that hadnever been provided before.“We have been misin-

formed and misdirected mul-tiple times in the past andthey have shown minimal in-terest in giving us the sched-ule, which is very importantto the folks in town,” Mr.Speaker said. “We’re cau-tiously optimistic, but I havea very good feeling aboutwhat’s going to happen here.”He said the professionals

assured him there will be noconstruction from Brown Av-enue to Bond Avenue onRoute 35 for the summer of2015, “with the added assur-ance that temporary pavingwould also be installed, andparking on both sides of thehighway within the zone [B2]for summer 2015.”He also said, “Areas north

and south will have two trav-el lanes and parking on oneside of the highway for thesummer 2015.” Work on oneshoulder is currently sched-uled to continue.While this may not be a

“perfect solution,” Mr. Speak-er said it is a much better sce-nario than what was previ-ously outlined.Mr. Speaker said prior to

this meeting, he was surethere would be “virtually noparking” by the time Aprilrolled around due to thescope of the work. He saidthere was no schedule givento the LBA beforehand,which is a huge step in thisprocess. Mr. Speaker said if the

good faith continues and thebi-weekly schedules are pro-vided, he and the mayor willsupport enlarging the scopeof the work from three blocksto more at a time, which willbenefit the overall produc-tion and cost of the project.

Mr. Speaker said this situa-tion could potentially negatethe worry of summer con-struction if the project movesahead of schedule.At this week’s council

meeting, Mayor Walter LaCi-cero mentioned that he re-ceived the “good news” fromMr. Speaker.“He’s been in contact with

the state with regard to thehighways; we’ve been tryingto stay on top of what’s goingon and what’s the plan for thesummer, and Mark has gottensome more up-to-date infor-mation than even I have,”Mayor LaCicero said.“It looks like the plan now,

as it stands for the summer, isthat the B2 district will be ful-ly paved although not perma-nently paved, so we will haveparking on both sides of thestreet,” he continued. “Forthe rest of the highway we’llhave two lanes of travel andone shoulder for parking, sothat’s a little bit of an im-provement; although theystill have not stated emphati-cally that they’re [not goingto stop working this sum-mer].”Mayor LaCicero clarified

that the borough has not re-ceived word that roadworkwill come to a complete haltfor the summer months.The mayor also said he re-

ceived a document from aresident of Ortley Beach thatprompted him to believe theroadwork will continue, asthe towns share a “contrac-tor’s district.” He said thedocument, which was fromthe DOT to residents, ad-vised that there will be con-struction on the side streetsin Ortley Beach.“It’s clear to me — to some

extent — they will be work-ing; we just have to keep thepressure up on them. Itseems to be working a littlebit,” Mayor LaCicero said. Mr. Speaker is hopeful a

good deal of work will becompleted before the touristseason arrives.

“There are options thatcould possibly speed thework up in these areas pre-summer, and these were pre-sented to the DOT engineersat Friday’s meeting,” Mr.Speaker said.He also said he will contin-

ue to remind the NJDOT ofthe importance of these workschedule updates. He saidbusinesses should keep inmind that these schedules are“fluid” and susceptible tochange should the weatherpresent a problem. “This is not an exact sci-

ence,” he said.The “completion” — a

term Mr. Speaker used loose-ly — may occur sometimearound or after MemorialDay Weekend.He also told business own-

ers to inform him if theirbusiness has a large shipmentor delivery scheduled, as hewill inform the DOT.“If you have individual

questions or concerns, con-tact the DOT Outreach Team,not the on-site inspectors orlabor force,” he said. “Themost effective way is viaemail atRestore.NJ35@dot.state.nj.us.”Mr. Speaker thanked the

business association for itspatience in this “trying time.”“We have conquered

worse. We have a great townand mayor to support us,” hesaid. “I truly believe we havecrossed a bridge here. Wewill hold the DOT to theirword, and I believe a reason-able solution is at hand.”Kevin Israel, a spokesper-

son for the DOT, said theoverall intent behind themeeting with the LBA was toimprove communicationamong all parties. He alsosaid the DOT assigned a per-manent team member to co-ordinate efforts and act as aliaison for the Route 35 north-bound roadwork.“A weekly look-ahead will

be provided to give businessowners and residents an idea

of what’s going on,” he said,so there are no “surprises.”He said residents and busi-

ness may contact the DOT’s

hotline with concerns at 732-230-7356 or emailrestore.nj35@dot.state.nj.us.

Paige Taylor covers Lavallette for TheOcean Star. She can be reached atptaylor@theoceanstar.com or 732-899-7606 Ext 14.

Lavallette hopeful about roadworkROUTE 35FROM PAGE 1

ten to the meeting.Mayor LaCicero replied,

“No, I’m going to have youremoved” for disrupting themeeting.Two police officers arrived

at the council meeting to en-sure Mr. Angelo had left,which he did without fur-ther incident.

Mayor LaCicero chose notto comment on the incidentafter the meeting, but saidthe police will be notified ifMr. Angelo arrives at anoth-er meeting.Chief Colin Grant said he

has an open-door policy andMr. Angelo may speak withhim if he has a personal con-cern, and the same goes foranyone in town.According to Chief Grant,

the police department haspending charges against Mr.Angelo, including a disorder-ly persons offense, having adog on the beach, and dis-obeying the orders of a life-guard.Sgt. Toscano could not be

reached for comment bypress time.

Police requested at boro meetingRESIDENTFROM PAGE 5

dictate, on those properties,just how high they must be inthe future. She will consultthe planning board for fur-ther planning, she added.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCE FOR INFOOcean County, as well as

the New Jersey Department

of Environmental Protection[NJDOT] and FEMA arekicking off two open housesin the county, which is thenext step in the mappingprocess for the PreliminaryFlood Insurance Rate Maps[FIRM]. The open houses will allow

residents of Ocean Countywho are in flood zones tospeak with representatives

from FEMA, NJDEP andOcean County about theirrisks, updated flood hazardmaps, flood insurance andflood risk mitigation. There will be the same

open house on two differentdates, at different venues; onein the northern part of thecounty and one in the south.Residents can attend eitherevent.Northern Ocean County’s

open house is set to takeplace on Wednesday, Feb. 25,from 4- 8 p.m. at the JusticeComplex, Cafeteria [Building5], 129 Hooper Ave., TomsRiver.Southern Ocean County’s

open house is set to takeplace on Thursday, Feb. 26,from 4-8 p.m. at the OceanCounty Southern ServiceCenter, 179 South Main Street[Route 9], Manahawkin.

Paige Taylor covers Lavallette for TheOcean Star. She can be reached atptaylor@theoceanstar.com or 732-899-7606 Ext 14.

FEMA issues updated mapsRESIDENTFROM PAGE 5

COURTESY OF STEVE WEXLER

The roadwork on Bond to Brown Avenue is set to hault during the summer months per a newagreement between the New Jersey Department of Transportation and the Borough as well asLavallette Business Association.