Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Both win one-year unexpired terms on the governing body
Township Council President James J. Byrnes and Councilman Kevin M. Askew coasted to easy wins in the race for the Ward 1 and Ward 2 seats. Byrnes received 2,040 votes, or 60.48 percent for the Ward 1 seat. Lynn Hansen, his Democratic challenger, received 39.49 percent, according to figures provided by the Ocean County Clerk's Office. Byrnes - the former longtime president of the Berkeley Board of Education - was appointed to the Township Council Ward 1 seat in January, to replace Karen Davis, who resigned because of health reasons. Askew was also appointed to the Ward 2 seat in January, to replace Carmen F. Amato Jr., who was elected mayor in November 2011. Askew received 2,440 votes, or 57 percent, compared to his Democratic challenger …
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Democrats still mulling over their choices
The Berkeley Township Republican Club has picked James J. Byrnes and Kevin Askew to run for the Ward 1 and Ward 2 seats up in the November election. Byrnes - who is currently Township Council president - and Askew have served on the council since they were appointed in January to fill the two vacant seats. The two men had some competition for the slots at a recent meeting of the club's screening committee, Club President James Fulcomer said. "It was not a unanimous vote, Fulcomer said. Byrnes - who is filling the unexpired term of former Councilwoman Karen Davis - was challenged for the Ward 1 seat by Charles Abbate and John Hudak. Hudak withdrew his candidacy before the vote was taken, he said. Askew - who is filling the unexpired term …
Friday, February 10, 2012
Berkeley Board of Education members approve a resolution requiring parents to pay $150 for the outdoor education program
The 42-year-tradition of sending Berkeley students to Stokes State Forest as part of the district's environmental education curriculum will continue this year, but will come with a price tag for parents. The Board of Education passed a resolution at the Feb. 9 meeting that will require parents of sixth-graders to pay $150 per child to attend the outdoor education program in Sussex County. Board Vice President James Fulcomer offered the board several options to keep the program going. "Obviously, we will have to transfer funds to supplement the money from parents," Fulcomer said. "We don't know how many people are going to sign up for this at $150 a head." The Stokes trip is still part of the elementary school curriculum, he said. "For …
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Foundation accuses administration of blocking trip; administration says foundation has failed to raise money
A 40-year tradition appears to be on the verge of ending – again. Maybe. But no one seems to know for sure. “I am not involved with that program at all,” said Joseph H. Vicari, superintendent of the Berkeley Township School District, when asked if the sixth-grade trip to Stokes State Forest was still in the plans for the end of the current school year. “You would have to talk to Jim Byrnes or Jim Roselli.” Lori Fitzsimmons, a parent of a sixth-grader at Berkeley Township Elementary School, says she has asked James Roselli - who until January was the principal at BTES - and his answer was that it hadn’t been decided yet. “We just want to know: Are we definitely still going or not?” said Dana Dozois, another parent of a sixth-grader. Byrnes…
Thursday, January 19, 2012
More cops needed to replace retiring officers, mayor says
How many police officers does Berkeley Township need? That depended on who was doing the talking at the Jan. 17 Township Council meeting, after Mayor Carmen F. Amato Jr. announced plans to hire five more officers to replace officers who are retiring. "We want to get them in the academy (Ocean County Police Academy) and get them through so our public safety will not miss a beat." Amato said he had met three times with Police Chief Karin T. DiMichele since he was sworn in on Jan. 1 to discuss the department's needs for the next several years. Amato has already toured the police department building. "It's in need of improvement, I'll say that," Amato said. "We need to make sure they have the tools they need." Berkeley Township Taxpayers …
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Councilwomen Judy Noonan and Fran Siddons both voted to appoint James J. Byrnes
Only two of the seven Township Council members who were up on the dais all last year were still there at the New Year's Day organization meeting. Judy Noonan and Fran Siddons are now the senior members on the Township Council, which has had five new members sworn in since Jan. 1. So some residents at the Jan. 17 council meeting seemed surprised when just minutes after Berkeley Board of Education president James J. Byrnes was sworn into the Ward 1 seat, he was elected board president for 2012. But Noonan and Siddons, who are both serving their first terms, voted for Byrnes and say they have no problems with him serving as council president, even though he has never served on the council before. "No, not at all," Noonan said today "He has a …
Kevin M. Askew selected as Ward 2 representative, replacing Carmen F. Amato Jr., who won the mayoral election in November
Up until about 7:15 p.m. Tuesday, Bayville resident James J. Byrnes was president of the Berkeley Board of Education. Several minutes later, he had a new title — Township Council president. Byrnes, 62, Dogwood Drive, made the jump from the school board to the governing body shortly after Township Council members unanimously selected him as the Ward 1 representative at the Jan. 17 council meeting. He replaces former Township Council President Karen Davis, who resigned on Jan. 1 to concentrate on knee surgery rehabilitation. "I'd just like to thank the board for your confidence," Byrnes said, as he took his seat at the center of the council dais. "I'm flattered to be moved here so fast. I think I can do more for the schools and the town by …
Friday, January 13, 2012
Moving from 50 to 65 students will cost an additional $8,000
Camp Paw, a summer reading program for at-risk students in Berkeley’s schools, needs $8,000 to expand its enrollment this summer. James J. Byrnes, president of the Berkeley Township Board of Education, told the school board at Thursday night’s meeting that the program currently has $30,000, which is enough to support 50 students this year. School officials want to expand to 65 students, which requires an additional $8,000, money that the Paw Family Group, the organization that supports the program, hopes to raise at a fund-raiser on March 23. Jeffrey Zito, principal of H&M Potter School who is one of the program’s directors, said the camp, a 20-day program for students from second through fifth grades who are identified as at risk, either …
Friday, June 10, 2011
Board members vow to fight possible elimination of DARE program
While the Berkeley Township Board of Education protected the Operation Schoolhouse and gifted and talented programs Thursday night, the well-regarded DARE program may be at risk. “I have 224 letters on my desk about it,” Superintendent Joseph H. Vicari said. Several members of the board expressed surprise that the program may be on the town’s cuts list, and the board agreed to draft a resolution asking the town to keep it. “We recognize the importance of it,” Vicari said, noting the Berkeley Township Elementary School Auditorium was filled with parents and grandparents for the recent fifth-grade DARE graduation. “We know it works.” Board President John A. Bacchione said the finance committee found ways to protect both Operation Schoolhouse…
Friday, May 6, 2011
Fulcomer, Kowalewski and Ferlise sworn into three-year terms
Newly elected Berkeley Board of Education member James Fulcomer wasted no time getting down to business shortly after he was sworn in. Fulcomer called on the board to pass a resolution authorizing Business Administrator Laura Venter to contact all the towns in the Central Regional school district to see if they would be interested in joining a single K-12 district. "I think it's very important if we ask them to see if they are at least interested," Fulcomer said. "It is important we extend our hands and our interest in this direction. It would be good to know what boards are interested." Fulcomer was sworn in to his first term on the board, along with his running mates Noriko Kowalewski and Salvatore Ferlise. The board unanimously selected…
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