Times Talk
Work continues on the Townsends Inlet Bridge.
T.I. Bridge Reopening Targeted For July 30
Work continues on the Townsends Inlet Bridge and Cape May County officials recently announced a projected reopening date of July 30. Due to the favor-able weather conditions in May and June, several necessary aspects of the project have been completed and have helped speed up the timeline for reopening, which originally had been targeted for Memorial Day weekend.
The county reports that all the pier caps have been placed and the deck stringers for spans 1 and 2 are in place. If work proceeds as anticipated, the bridge deck surface work would be performed the week of June 21. This needs to be completed before the construction of bridge components such as the sidewalks and railings.
In order to stay as close to reopening on July 30 as possible, county officials will explore options in consolidating the work schedule by permitting contract work to proceed concurrently where feasible.
Another update will be issued by the county in the next few weeks as a more definitive reopening date is determined.
Frank Dallahan
Dallahan Appointed To Stone Harbor Council
Frank Dallahan was appointed to Stone Harbor Borough Council during the organization’s first meeting in June. Borough Clerk Suzanne Stanford administered the oath of office while Dallahan’s wife, Kathleen, held the Bible. Dallahan will serve the unexpired term of Robert Levins, who announced his resignation due to medical issues. He will serve through Dec. 31. If he wishes to retain his seat on Borough Council, he will need to run in the November general election.
The Dallahans are active members of the Stone Harbor Property Owners Association, for which he serves as a trustee. He is a co-publisher of The Retail Jeweler Magazine.
For more information, go to shnj.org.
Avalon Elementary School teacher, Senora Deborah Ware and students of the sixth grade class pose for a photo with OverDrive Coordinator Marissa Gillett out front of the Bookmobile.
Bookmobile Comes With Overdrive
The Avalon Free Public Library hosted the OverDrive Digital Bookmobile on Thursday, June 6. The 53-foot Toterhome allowed library patrons as well as students from Avalon Elementary School to learn more about OverDrive and how to borrow eBooks and audiobooks with the help of the library’s platform, Libby, to which all library cardholders have access.
“The OverDrive Bookmobile visit is a way for the library to promote all of the ebooks and digital audiobooks that our patrons have access to,” said Shannon Nagle, assistant director of the Avalon Free Public Library. “The RV has a classroom demonstration area, a lounge, and an assortment of tablets and smartphones which patrons and students can use to visit our library’s own OverDrive site and explore.”
With the help of Libby, library cardholders can access the library’s ebooks and digital audiobooks from the comfort of their own homes, on their Kindles, or smart devices. Libby has many assistive features such as an Activity tab that tracks a reader’s history, a Sample tab that presents a preview of the book to browse before downloading, and a Sign-In tab that allows users to have access to selections from any and all libraries that use Libby and that they have a library card with. Libby also provides tools for readers such as font adjustments, highlighting options, and the possibility to type notes coinciding with individual book pages. Visit avalonfreelibrary.org to learn more about OverDrive or the Avalon Free Public Library.
Celebrating the opening of the Stone Harbor Police Building with a ribbon-cutting ceremony are (from left) Mantura Gallagher, Charles Krafczek, Chief Thomas Schutta, Mayor Judith Davies-Dunhour, Joselyn Rich, Reese Moore and Ray Parzych.
Stone Harbor Celebrates Police Building Expansion
The Borough of Stone Harbor held a grand-opening ceremony for the expanded, state-of-the-art Police Department Building on May 17. Members of the community joined Mayor Judith Davies-Dunhour, Police Chief Thomas Schutta, members of Borough Council, several retired law-enforcement chiefs and officers, and officers from surrounding communities to celebrate the long-overdue expansion with the Stone Harbor Police Department.
Schutta began his ceremony remarks by recalling the inception of the project in 2009, to address three issues with the old building: appropriate size, building security, and compliance with modern-day laws and regulations.
The $3.9 million project broke ground in January 2018, and Aliano Brothers Construction went to work on Phase 1, which was constructing the new portion of the building on 95th Street. Members of the police department were able to move into the new portion in December 2018, while the contractors began Phase 2, which involved renovations to the first floor of the existing building. The project was completed in April.
Schutta concluded his remarks by expressing his gratitude to the community: “Due to the hard work and persistence of those who came before many of the officers standing here today, the Stone Harbor Police Department can serve the community from a modern facility long after our youngest officer is gone. It is without hesitation that I say: Job well done, mission accomplished, and thank you.”
Davies-Dunhour, who spent over 25 years working at the Stone Harbor Police Department, also offered comments during the ribbon cutting ceremony, acknowledged the retired officers at the building dedication, as well as the department as a whole, which she stated “is a department defined by integrity, honor, and pride.”
The dedication ceremony concluded with the ribbon cutting by the building’s front doors and was followed by facility tours.
Brian Fitzgerald, right, presents Camp Director Emily O’Donnell and assistant director Jim Moreland with the custom Diller Home tags for 2019.
Diller Home Receives Custom Beach Tags
In addition to the signature purple T-shirts they will be wearing to Avalon beaches this year, campers from the Helen L. Diller Vacation Home for Blind Children will be wearing personalized beach tags, as will their families and staffers.
Jersey Cape, a nonprofit Cape May County organization that assists individuals of all abilities in acquiring employment, worked this season with the Borough of Avalon to create the specialized beach tags. The beach tag features a house printed in purple ink.
“Usually [campers’ and counselors’] purple Diller shirts get us on the beach,” said Camp Director Emily O’Donnell, “but the beach tags are for my staff and, more importantly, the families that come and drop their campers off, so they can make a day out of the beach and don’t have to pay.”
Jersey Cape has manufactured beach tags for the town for more than 40 years. Director of Operations Brian Fitzgerald said part of the reason Jersey Cape wanted to create the tags was because of the Diller Home’s long history in providing a summer-camp experience to blind and visually impaired children.
The beach tag donation “is an example of our community,” O’Donnell said. “Mostly every activity we do is donated to us and it’s just another example of the community impact Avalon has on this program. We wouldn’t be here without Avalon.”
To learn more about the Diller Vacation Home, visit dillerblindhome.org.
Stone Harbor Mayor Judy Davies-Dunhour announces the Stone Harbor Police Department as the 2019 Survivor winners: from left, Ed Donahue, Scott Thomas, Matt Minutolo and Chief Tom Schutta.
Police Win Stone Harbor Survivor Title
Charging through the crowd with an American flag in hand, the Stone Harbor Police Department team of Tom Schutta, Matt Minutolo, Scott Thomas and Ed Don-ahue sped past their competition and won the 2019 Stone Harbor Survivor championship on May 25 at the 95th Street beach.
In the annual Survivor Beach Opening Ceremony, the police department, the Stone Harbor Beach Patrol, and Fire & Rescue competed in a series of challenges to celebrate the official unlocking of the beaches for the summer season.
“It was exciting and fun, and it’s always nice to win,” said Police Chief Schutta.
“I applaud the fire department and the lifeguards for their efforts and competition.”
The competition consisted of six challenges. First, each team had to locate its designated bean bags buried in a pit of sand. Members from each patrol scrambled to remove the excess sand, without losing track of the bean bags. After five minutes passed, the teams called in the big dogs to help find the bags: children. Eventually all bags were retrieved, and each team could move onto the next challenge, cornhole. The Fire and Rescue team sunk their bean bags first, then tackled the leaky bucket challenge before the other two teams. Having to fill a bucket with water only using a leaking pail, Fire & Rescue lost enough time in the challenge for both the Police and Beach Patrol to catch up. The Beach Patrol moved into the overall lead with the balance-beam challenge, then moved on to the knot-untying challenge and the puzzle. In the end, the Police Department was the fastest to build the “Beach Opening 2019” puzzle and ultimately place their flag in the winning position.
Following the friendly competition, Mayor Judy Davies-Dunhour and Beach Patrol Captain Sandy Bosacco “unlocked” the beaches to mark the start of summer 2019.
Said Schutta: “We’re all looking for-ward to a happy, fun and safe season.”
Members of the Avalon Public Works Department planted trees throughout the borough.
Avalon Tree Project Completed
With the help of a $30,000 grant from the New Jersey Forest Service, the Borough of Avalon recently completed a project that involved the planting of 89 trees throughout the Borough. Trees were planted last fall and this spring.
“The execution of this tree planting program was to accomplish goals in Avalon’s Community Forestry Management Plan,” Mayor Martin Pagliughi said. “I want to thank the Tree Committee of the Avalon Environmental Commission, and the entire commission for their assistance with our professionals for the successful planting of the trees through the spring season.”
The program was completed under the direction of the Avalon Department of Public Works with guidance from Lomax and Associates and Taylor Design Group. Different species of trees such as Skyline locust, red oak, willow oak, London plane, eastern red cedar, crepe myrtle and Japanese lilac were planted by Bayshore Landscaping and Public Works. Locations included sections of Dune Drive and Ocean Drive, the east side of Ocean Drive adjacent to the recreation complex between 10th and 12th streets, on the traffic island along 30th Street
between Ocean and Dune drives, and on the west side of Dune Drive next to the 39th Street tennis court complex.
Locations for the new trees as well as which species to plant were carefully considered with help and recommendations made by the Tree Committee. Trees that are native were implemented where possible and were required to prove resistant to the impacts of coastal storms, flooding, and high salt levels in the tree environment. Locations were selected where wear and tear were caused by previous storm events.
Nina Ranalli, Bonita Risley and Bill Mengel with the wooden Avalon Hotel sign.
‘Early Avalon’ Exhibit Opens At History Center
The Avalon History Center recently opened its “Early Avalon” exhibit featuring artifacts, photographs and information from Avalon’s earliest years. Opening June 15 in conjunction with the Avalon Historical Society’s Olde House Tour, the exhibit includes a full display room of interesting pieces that will let you travel back in time.
“Avalon’s early history is a story of the town being shaped into a vacation community,” said History Center Director Nina Ranalli. “The exhibit showcases that early history, giving visitors a sense of how their beloved shore resort developed.”
Visitors will enjoy seeing images of Avalon’s early homes, some showing then-and-now photographs of original houses that are still around. There are also timelines, photos and more from Avalon’s oldest and beloved hotels, including the Avalon, the Puritan and Peermont hotels, as well as the Windrift and Golden Inn. Some of the artifacts to be viewed on display include the wooden Avalon Hotel sign, handwritten letters from the 1890s on Hotel Avalon notepaper, Princeton flatware, room rates and advertisements.
“So many people are passionate about Avalon’s Victorian houses, and they are so beautiful; we want to dig into those stories and tell them to the wider public,” said Bonita Risley, the History Center’s collections coordinator, who curated the exhibit.
The History Center, located at 215 39th St., is open Monday-Friday from 10am-4pm, and Saturdays from 11am-4pm.
Visit avalonhistorycenter.org for more information.
