Asbury Park Press from Asbury Park, New Jersey • Page 145

AA4 As. -c 993 Profanity used against firewoman Two firemen plead guilty Get Get Classified If you want more than just a job check out the Press Classified. We've got the careers you're oSG looWngJo agreement were approved by the victim. She declined to provide any other details about the case. William Golkiewicz, administrator for Dover Township's Fire District 1, said that the membership of the fire companies will have to decide if Reynolds and Caruso will be allowed to remain members.

District 1 includes the two fire companies. "This is a decision that will be made by the companies themselves, not the administration," Golkiewicz said. Golkiewicz said that Reynolds has been suspended from Fire Company 2. He said he did not have information about Caruso. Caruso was suspended from Fire Company 1 when he was charged in September.

I-! C.T Writ Inn. By FRANK ARGOTE-FREYRE PRESS TOMS RIVER BUREAU TOMS RIVER Two volunteer firefighters have pleaded guilty to petty disorderly persons offenses against a female fire company member for using profane language against her. Patrick Reynolds, of Toms River Fire Company 2, and Salvatore Caruso, of Fire Company 1, were originally charged with two counts each of criminal sexual contact in connection with touching a female firefighter on four different occasions against her will. Reynolds, 42, of Garfield Avenue, pleaded guilty to the lesser charge on Feb. 17 before state Superior Court Judge Donald F.

Campbell, while Caruso, 30, of Lien Street, pleaded guilty on Wednesday before Superior Court Judge James N. Citta. 50OFF Regular Retail DOT approves traffic light at Route 9 and Whitty Road MOW THROUGH MARCH 3, 1993 In Stock Merchandise Only No Special Orders Heritage House Editions 408 N. MAIN ST. (RT.

9) BARNEGAT, NJ 609-698-7621 Hie Ultimate DMTAN EXPEDIENCE A IA8CI INVENTORY FOR IMMEDIATE DEUVERV By JEAN MIKLE PRESS TOMS RIVER BUREAU TOMS RIVER The state Department of Transportation has approved the installation of a traffic light at the accident-plagued intersection of Route 9 and Whitty Road, Dover Township Committeeman Roden S. Lightbody says. Lightbody said Friday a letter he received from the DOT indicated a light will be installed at the intersection as part of a plan to widen and resurface Route 9 there. Lightbody, who is also the county's traffic engineer, said the Township Committee and county officials have repeatedly requested a light at Route 9 and Whitty. Both firefighters face a maximum jail term of six months.

No sentencing date has been set for the two men. Both pleas were the result of plea bargains with the Ocean County prosecutor's office. According to the original charges filed by investigator Peter Mills of the prosecutor's sex crimes unit, Caruso touched a 32-year-old Berkeley Township woman who belonged to Fire Company 1 on March 23, 1991, and on April 12, 1991, both times in the presence of other firefighters. The woman filed an internal complaint against Caruso, but did not feel the company investigator did a competent job of looking into the matter, authorities said. She resigned and joined He said the DOT's letter said department studies of the number of accidents and the amount of traffic at the intersection pointed out the need for a traffic signal there.

Lightbody said rear-end collisions are especially frequent at Route 9 and Whitty, and gasoline and oil spills from accidents often contaminate nearby wetlands. But the letter does not say when the light will actually be installed, Lightbody said. DOT Commissioner Thomas M. Downs told the committee last year that the state planned to begin widening the intersection by Labor Day this year. The work will include installation of a left-turn lane and the traffic signal.

ument," Corby said. The borough's 1992 operating budget of $1.4 million, which includes utility operations, is suffering from the loss of an anticipated $40,000 in cash investment income. The decrease was caused by a plunge in interest rates. "It's all really related to the national economy," said Corby. This year's budget could balloon because of salary increases in a police contract that was settled last year.

The pay increases will "eat up" the state's 1.5 percent cap increase for municipal budgets, he said. "I can't recall when the borough had to so thoroughly rethink our ap curred, according to the suit, filed in state Superior Court, Toms River. Fitzgerald assaulted him repeatedly between November and December 1985, until Fitzgerald's suspension by the Ocean County Council of Boy Scouts in December 1985, the suit says. As a result of the sexual assaults, Dela Pena has suffered physical and emotional injury, anxiety and depression and is unable to live a normal life, according the suit. Budget squeeze in Pine Beach SANIBEL ISLAND COLLECTION VIOTRIA BEDROOM NICHTSTAND 6 DR.

DRESSER NOW queen HEADBOARD JJJ Fire Company 2. The prosecutor's office has said the woman then encountered the identical problem with Reynolds, who is charged with fondling her again in front of other firefighters on Oct 24, 1991, and on Aug. 13. Kevin Kelly, defense lawyer for Caruso, described the original charges against his client as "frivolous." Caruso, who works full time as a paid firefighter, is unlikely to receive any jail time because his client has no prior criminal record, Kelly said. Jay G.

Trachtenberg, defense lawyer for Reynolds, could not be reached for comment Friday. Assistant Prosecutor Madelin F. Einbinder said the terms of the plea Lightbody said he hopes the signal can be installed within a year. He pointed out that a Feb. 11 letter Downs sent to the committee, the commissioner said the DOT plans to begin preliminary engineering work immediately for improvements to several Route 9 intersections.

The Whitty Road intersection is one of the sites mentioned by Downs as the "best candidates for early action since little or no right of way will need to be purchased." "It will not be done within the next six to eight months, so I would not want to get people's hopes up," Light-body said of the Whitty Road improvements. "But it may be started in the near future, perhaps within a year." proach to finances," Corby said. "There seems to be a general consensus that by making the right budget decisions now, we can get back on track and next year's budget will be easier." The certified state aid numbers were received by Corby Thursday. After a final meeting with the Advisory Committee, Corby said he hopes to introduce a preliminary budget to the council by the March 9 public meeting. The 10-member Advisory Committee was created by the mayor six years ago to "review every aspect of the local budget plan." sexual abuse Fitzgerald pleaded guilty in September 1989 to two counts of third-degree sexual assault, one of which took place in March 1987 and the other in March 1988.

He was sentenced to four years in the state Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center at Avenel, Woodbridge Township. Fitzgerald worked in Stafford Township and was the committee chairman for local Boy Scout Troop 26, Ware-town, and a coach with the Barnegat Pee Wee soccer team. Yes! I went to Recycle Basket SELECTION OF DINING CROUPS CPHM 7QQ TABLE AND A CHAIRS rlXWlVI ODESSEY BEDROOM NKp 6 DR. DRESSER now QUEEN rnO HEADBOARD By VANESSA E. JONES PRESS TOMS RIVER BUREAU PINE BEACH The borough will have to deal with a loss in investment income and a rise in municipal salaries and benefits as it prepares its 1993 budget, the mayor says.

The Citizen Budget Advisory Committee's 1993 budget recommendations, submitted last week, reflects those problems, Russell K. Corby said. "Those two items, coupled with ill-advised actions by the council in overriding the citizen's group recommendations in last year's budget, will make this budget a very different doc tributed to this story. Tax rise could be 2.4 cents PRESS TOMS RIVER BUREAU LAVALLETTE The borough's tax rate for municipal purposes could increase by 2.4 cents per $100 assessed valuation this year, Mayor James M. Boekholt Jr.

said Thursday. "This is the biggest increase we've had in three years," he said. The Borough Council introduced a $2.8 million 1993 municipal budget on Wednesday that included an ordinance that would raise the budget cap to 5 percent. Under the budget proposal, the tax rate would rise to 36 cents per $100 of assessed property value. This year's budget totals 2,872,538, up $16,893.

Some $2,103,039 of the budget would have to be raised by taxes, up $115,982. The budget would spend $416,100 from the surplus account, leaving $378,650. Last year, the council used $378,650 from the surplus account. The budget also includes $165,000 to pay for delinquent taxes, down $65,000. The tax collection rate for last year was 97 percent, and this year it is expected to be 95 percent, Boekholt said.

The borough expects to raise $658,189 in local revenues through fees and licenses, down $34,267. The capital improvement fund was increased by $10,000, to $40,000, this year. The borough plans to spend a portion of an estimated $400,000 to repair fuel tanks to comply with federal law. Some $5,000 will cover ongoing bay-front improvements, Boekholt said. The borough will also spend $10,000 to pay for fencing around the borough yard.

The public hearing on the proposed cap change and the municipal budget will be March 31 at 8 p.m. order the Press HERITAGE HOUSE Mm Interiors I N. MAIN ST. (RT. 9) BARNEGAT, NJ 609-498-7621 OPEN DAILY INCLUDING SUNDAY 10 AM TO 5 PM- Ex-scout leader sued over I By PATRICIA A.

MILLER PRESS TOMS RIVER BUREAU A STAFFORD Township man filed suit Thursday against his former Boy Scout leader, who he said sexually abused him at a Boy Scout camp in 1985. Jeffrey Dela Pena, Bay Avenue, accuses John Fitzgerald, 35, who was working and living at the Brookdale Boy Scout Camp in Waretown (Ocean Township) when the incidents oc Mow do I submit a letter to be published in Readers' Forum? Providing a forum for public debate is a vital function of a free press. Every day we run as many letters as space permits on our Editorial pages. In selecting letters for publication, we strive to present a full range of opinions. Forum letters must carry signature, full address and telephone number for verification during business hours.

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