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MONDAY 03.21.16

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BEGGING FOR
EXCLUSIVE REPORT

TAX HELP
New Jersey will make another $14.5 million available
to still-hobbled Shore towns, but will that be enough?

Ocean County
Republicans
not ready to
endorse Trump
ERIK LARSEN @ERIK_LARSEN

The Ocean County Republican Organization is not

ready to anoint Donald Trump as the presumptive
nominee of its party and is not expected to endorse any
presidential candidate at its March 30 convention, according to county GOP Chairman George R. Gilmore.
An endorsement for a particular candidate would
mean that Trump, Ted Cruz or John Kasich would appear on the top line of the same ballot column as the Republican incumbents for county government and Congress in the June 7 primary.
Meeting in private on March 10 at the Villa Amalfi
restaurant in Toms River, many of Ocean Countys most
influential political figures discussed the Trump phenomenon and how the county GOP could best weather
the partys civil war over the White House.
Even as Trumps delegate count mounts, there remains little enthusiasm for his candidacy among the
countys most respected Republican leaders, with Freeholder John C. Bartlett Jr. describing Trumps authoriSee GOP, Page 6A

BOB BIELK/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Donald Klieger of Manalapan wants to get the Killed in Action

flag flying throughout New Jersey.

GETTY IMAGES FILE PHOTO

Homes in the Ortley Beach section of Toms River, badly damaged by Sandy, are seen in November 2012.

RUSS ZIMMER @RUSSZIMMER

AND JEAN MIKLE @JEANMIKLE

More than three years after superstorm

Sandy, some Shore towns and schools still need
state aid in order to make ends meet without cutting basic services or raising taxes by crushing
amounts.
The Toms River Regional school district is
$7.4 million short on cash. Ratables still havent
come back in towns like Seaside Heights
down 20 percent since Sandy; Keansburg,
where ratables have dropped; or the township of
Toms River, down 23 percent, and facing a $4

million budget gap this year.

Twelve hobbled towns and schools like these,
worried about the impact on their taxpayers and
services, have been pleading for continued federal disaster aid. New Jersey recently acquiesced to this reality, agreeing to resurrect the
Essential Services Grant program but at only
one-third of the funding level that was available
last year.
That means instead of a share of $44.6 million, the 12 towns and schools will be vying for
$14.5 million. How sharp a cut is that? The aid
See HELP, Page 6A

$44.7M $14.5M

What recipients got in 2016

Toms River ..............................$7.7M
Toms River Regional ............$7.3M
Seaside Heights.....................$2.2M
Brick..........................................$2.1M
Keansburg...............................$1.2M

VS.

Total state aid in 2016

Total state aid in 2015

Can someone
answer this
veterans plea?
JERRY CARINO CARINOS CORNER
It hit Donald Klieger as he toured
the State House in Trenton last spring.
The 86-year-old Manalapan resident
noticed the black POW/MIA flag, representing prisoners of war and soldiers
who went missing in action.
Thats fitting, he thought, but there
was something missing. A symbol just
as meaningful was nowhere to be seen.
The red Killed in Action flag for slain military
members.
Immediately I thought, Why doesnt the state pay
honor to the men and women who have made the supreme sacrifice? Klieger said.
Fortunately the person giving the tour was Assemblyman Ronald Dancer (R-12), an Army veteran who
represents parts of Monmouth and Ocean counties.
Unfortunately, Dancer was stumped.
Quite honestly, I was not aware of the Killed in
See CARINO, Page 5A

Get your tickets now!

Joe Grushecky
rocks the house
Head to The Wonder Bar on Saturday, April 9, and hear Joe
Grushecky and the HouseRockers play during the Asbury
Park Music in Film Festival. Visit APMFF.com for details.

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