Asbury Park Press from Asbury Park, New Jersey • Page 8

no Asbury Park Press Wednesday, Jan. 10, 1996 B3 in: rcvjMEfffiN OCEAN Blizzard TODAY New train station ready Commuters' wait is over II II tW ll rPa I i a 1 a railing at the new Point Pleasant TIM MC CARTHYSUN Photographer Beach railroad station. From page Bl Scarpelli said another problem is convincing residents to move their cars of the streets so that curb-to-curb plowing can be completed. The township has not used its emergency towing power yet. "We're giving everybody a chance to dig themselves out, but we may start towing them soon," he said.

Public works employees will have to work on the Rev. Martin Luther King's birthday on Monday, normally a holiday, because of the storm, he said. "The timing couldn't have been worse," he said. "It's going to cost us an additional $20,000 in overtime, above and beyond the $100,000 for snow removal, to perform our garbage and recyclable collection on Monday. Christmas was on a Monday, New Year's was on a Monday, then the recyclables pickup, and a double garbage pickup that day." In other business The council decided to exempt Forge Pond from a proposed ordinance restricting power boats from the township's fresh-water lakes and streams.

The ordinance was initially proposed to protect the township water supply, of which Forge Pond is a major source, from possible fuel pollution. Other members of council balked at the ordinance's inclusion of Forge Pond because of questions arising about the pond's status as a freshwater or salt-water body. Waterfront resident Carol Novak, representing the Forge Pond Association, said boating enthusiasts who live along the pond are satisfied with the decision. "We've been fighting against the ordinance since the end of July," she said. Councilman Victor Cantillo voted against the exemption.

"I feel it's more important protecting the water supply than protecting the demands of this particular constituency. I'd like to get Kevin Donald (executive director of the Municipal Utilities Authority) in here to plead the MUA's position when ye make our final vote on the ordinance," he said. The final vote will take place at the Jan. 23 council meeting. Final touch: JeffBrannon welds For example, Dugo was grateful for new ramps, designed to improve access for the disabled and elderly, because she was carrying several packages.

Nearby, another commuter, Ted Baud of Neptune Township, sat on a bench outside the locked station building. Baud, who usually drives to his job as a clerk The old station, half-century, was the design of the building. By BRUNO NAVARRO and JEFFREY S. RUBIN STAFF WRITERS POINT PLEASANT BEACH Commuters waiting at the train station here in yesterday's skin-chafing, post-blizzard cold may not have been thrilled about commuting. But traveler Delilah Dugo was looking forward to one aspect of future trips to and from the borough.

This week, NJ Transit is scheduled to open a new station on Arnold Avenue to replace the temporary trailer that has been in use since 1987. Dugo, 20, of Queens said the new station should be an attractive gateway for train riders to her former hometown. "If you come to a little, run-down train station, you go, 'Hey, what kind of town is Dugo said. She had been visiting relatives over the weekend and was waiting for a New York-bound train yesterday afternoon. The new building was not yet open.

NJ Transit officials hope to open it today, but yesterday were unable to say if the opening might be delayed by the weekend storm. Even so, Dugo and her friend, Barbara Brandt, 26, of Queens said the project already has provided extra comforts for commuters. in use for a the basis for new station century, was the basis for the design of the new station building. The architect, El Taller Colobora-tivo, Union City, used suggestions from a citizens' committee, and the project was launched in June 1994. The new sta- tion features "traditional railroad architecture like an old-style train station," Ken Miller, a NJ Transit spokes man, said.

It has a stone facade, columns, a 500-square-foot waiting area, a ticket office, handicapped-accessible restrooms and a 100-square-foot space for a vendor, Penny Bassett Hackett, a NJ Transit spokeswoman, said. Instead of climbing up or down a railroad car's steel steps, passengers at the Arnold Avenue station will be able to step straight on or off the trains, courtesy of a new raised platform. Other features include bicycle racks, canopies and a tactile warning strips along the platform for the visually impaired, she said. Video screens providing schedule updates will be working in a few weeks, Bassett Hackett said. The design and construction of the 55-foot by 25-foot building cost $1.5 million, paid for by NJ Transit with money from the state's Transportation Trust Fund, she said.

NJ Transit funded an additional $700,000 in upgrades. The work includes construction of the platform and converting the overhead track signal into an underground system. A warm Grief felt at first-aider's death OCEAN COUNTY Agriculture Devel-! opment Board, 8 p.m.. Whltesvllle Road office, Dover Township. OCEAN COUNTY Audio-Visual Aids commission, 3:30 p.m., 1515 Route 70.

Lakewood. OCEAN COUNTY Board of Freehold-; ers, 4 p.m., county administration building. BRICK TOWNSHIP Planning Board. 7 p.m., municipal complex. JACKSON TOWNSHIP Charter Study i Commission, 7:30 p.m., municipal building.

Route 528. LAKEWOOD Planning Board, 7 p.m., municipal building. Caucus meeting: The public Is Invited, but public participation generally Is not allowed. UPCOMING PINE BEACH: The Widows or Wid- owers of Ocean County will hold a i dance social with live music at 7 p.m. Friday In the flrehouse, Prospect Ave- nue.

Another dance social will be held Jan. 26. Call (908) 269-3379. FREEHOLD: The New Jersey Antique I Radio Club will meet at 7:30 p.m. Frl-; day at Grace Lutheran Church, corner of Park Avenue (Route 33) and West Main Street.

Call (908) 462-6638. LAKEWOOD: The Service Corps of Retired Executives Association (SCORE) will present a program at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in the public library's meeting room. The discussion will focus on charac-- terlstlcs required to be successful In a small business and the mechanics of starting a business. teen seriously hurt in car crash STAFF REPORT HOWELL TOWNSHIP A 17-year-old Jackson Township girl suffered serious head injuries last night when the car she was riding in hit a truck backing into a parking lot.

The teen-ager, who police wouldn't identify, was a passenger in a car heading south on Route 9 near West Farm Road around 9 p.m. when the accident happened. The car, driven by another 17-year-old, struck a truck that was backing into the Mark-O-Lite Sign Co. on Route 9, Patrolman An- drew Kudrick said. The truck, carrying medical supplies, had mechanical problems and driver was trying to get it off the road and into the parking lot, Kudrick said.

The truck's nose was jutting into Route 9 when the accident occurred. The truck driver, George Murphy, ,54, East Orange, suffered head inju-i ries and was taken to Kimball Medical Center in Lakewood. The car's driver also was taken there, Kudrick said. The passenger was taken to Jersey Shore Medical Center, Neptune. School From page Bl allow districts to end their participation in regional school districts and sendingreceiving relationships.

Currently, such a withdrawal requires the consent of the other participating municipalities. The measure also was amended in the state Assembly last month to Jackson firefighter at a nearby supermarket, took the train yesterday as an alternative to digging out after the snowfall. "I would feel more welcome, seeing a new train station," Baud, 20, said. The old station was condemned in 1987 by Borough Engineer John E. Walsh, who said the concrete-slab structure had settled too much.

The old station, in use for a half- Her husband volunteered for Ocean Gate First Aid Squad and emergency management staff since January 1994, said his wife, Irene C. Metzger. She is a member of the first aid squad. He was trying to dig the vehicle out of the snow with a shovel, Mrs. Metzger said.

She had left him moments before his body was discovered. Doctors told the family the man appeared to have died of a heart attack, Mrs. Metzger said. palities would have to pay more for their youngsters' schooling. "Now we can work on what's fair for everybody," he said.

"Let's all get together and come up with a fair formula." M. Peryl King, president of the Central Regional school board, said she was relieved the bill failed. "It's one more year we don't have to worry about it," she said. Staff writer Greg Trevor contributed to this story. 1 VMV 1 4 DON MALARIKSfMCial to th Pntl "Tkank You? to those who hraved the cold to help Jersey Shore Medical Cent continue to care for our patients during the Blizzard of '96.

By BART CALENDAR and RALPH ORTEGA STAFF WRITERS OCEAN GATE Frederick H. Metzger, the 64-year-old man who died while shoveling his wife's car out of the snow Sunday, was a first aid volunteer and member of the borough's emergency management staff. "We're all saddened by this," Mayor Peter A. Terranova said. "To lose a person like him is a blow to this small community, which depends so heavily on volunteers." apply specifically to Seaside Park.

The school district and member communities then joined forces to hire a lobbyist and rally opposition. Berkeley Township Mayor Bill Zimmermann one of the bill's most vocal opponents, yesterday said he was thrilled by the outcome in the Legislature because the borough's withdrawal would have been a bad move. Zimmermann insisted he wants to see the situation remedied, even if it means some of the district's munici 2 -1 struck We are grateful to our doctors, nurses, technicians, healthcare workers, volunteer drivers, police, fire, first aid and emergency personnel, and concerned community members who kept our critical services functioning during the recent state of emergency. Your extra efforts turned an ordinary 48-hours into an extraordinary team effort we won't soon forget. Jersey Shore Medical Center Rt 33, Neptune NJ First-aiders tend to a Jackson Township fireman hit by a car yesterday Bennetts Mills Road near Cooks Bridge Road.

Additional details were while riding a bicycle on unavailable..