SPORTS Keyport rebuild SERVING ABERDEEN,HAZLET, KEYPORT AND MATAWAN Page 41 JANUARY 12,1994 25 CENTS VOLUME 24, NUMBER 2 P olice set priorities for 1994 BY LAUREN JAEGER Staff Writer on’t speed through Middletown or Matawan this year; chances are higher that they’ll catch you this time. DAnd if you’re a drug dealer, you’d better stay out of Aberdeen. Area police departments have chalked up their goals for 1994, and, the chiefs say, they mean business. From crackdowns on speeders to more arrests of drug dealers, police in several towns have selected their targets for the year. ABERDEEN In Aberdeen, Police Chief Brian Dougherty Detective Sgt. Michael Broderick of the Hazlet Police Department displays confiscated weapons that will be shipped to Trenton to be destroyed. Hazlet confiscates about 65 weapons a year. (Photo by Rich Schultz) said he wants to “increase manpower levels and ... try to keep everyone healthy and happy.” He noted that Patrolman Stanley Parrish retired on Jan. 1, and Patrolman Bruce Sebastian is expected to retire in March. “With the retirement of Parrish, we are down to 26,” he said. He would not comment on whether there would be an immediate replace­ Gotta get a gun? ment. Discussion is still underway to decide who cation approved. Lying on the application form is a felony. will be the next deputy chief, to replace Joseph FOCUS: Handgun purchase permits are issued by the police chief Booket who died last year. of the town you reside in or the superintendent of state “We stand totally ready to meet the challenges Regulating firearms police if there is no local department and are good for only of 1994 and want to do what’s best for the town Stories on pages 6 and 7 90 days. and we will,” the chief said. The purchase of a shotgun or rifle, classified as long-arm Dougherty said he wants to keep a strong liai­ BY MARILYN DUFF weapons, or ammunition does not require a purchase permit, son with the Neighborhood Watch group in the but it does require a New Jersey Firearms Purchaser community. Staff W riter Identification Card. To obtain the purchaser ID card, you fol­ Also, he wants his department to keep crack­ low the same procedure, but once you get the card, it is good ing down on area drug dealers. he gun world is a complex one. And buying a hand­ forever unless you are convicted of a felony. “We did an outstanding job last year in drug gun is a complex procedure if you do it legally. For every handgun, you need to apply for another permit. enforcement. I am thankful and proud and I think If you want to buy six handguns, for example, you need six we made a big impact,” Dougherty said. In New Jersey, every time you want to purchase a hand­ permits. Aberdeen Detective Sgt. Joseph Kelly noted Tgun you are required to obtain a permit from your local The Hazlet Police Department maintains records of all that there were more than 64 drug-related arrests police department. residents who have received permits to purchase handguns in 1993. That requires consenting to a mental health records or purchase ID cards to buy shotguns or rifles. In the previous year, the department had tal­ search, being finger-printed and then waiting, generally two Since January 1989, 906 handgun permits, an average of lied 51 drug-related arrests. to three weeks, according to Hazlet Detective Capt. Jay about 181 per year, have been issued. Some may have been “Last year, the people mostly targeted were Fetherston. issued to the same person and some may have expired with­ those involved in sales,” Kelly said. “We took a Your fingerprints are checked against state and federal out being used, Fetherston said. lot off the streets. The quality of the arrests im­ computer banks and the application is reviewed by the police Over the same period, the department issued 858 pur­ chief. Anyone who has been convicted of a felony is auto­ proved.” chaser ID cards, about 152 per year. He noted that in 1992, the drug arrests tended matically denied. By comparison, Holmdel, during the 11-month period to be mainly those involved with possession, not During certain times of the year, such as the hunting sea­ son, you could wait a month or two to get your permit appli­ Continued on page 6 Continued on page 32 Check Classified’s income Tax Directory and get a head start on your taxes. See page 46. 2 JANUARY 12,1994, THE INDEPENDENT Store Hours WE BUY VA&J Wo 10am - 8pm Store Closin M o n . Bankruptcie Sun. 11am - 5p Mixed Lots In \ r i e s NOW OPEN MON. THRU SAT. TILL 8P o y ■ - v ^ ’ GO»st 752 Poole Ave. Hazlet • Hwy 36 - — 'v 739-4649 Jack Frost! is Blowing some Big Sales your way. Come in, Check-out Our “Clearance”!! ?! 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Rice - $600 ONLY-*"! 2 ” THE INDEPENDENT, JANUARY 12, 1994 3 THIS ISSUE: Matawan seeks to fill all Main Street stores on Main Street, said he believes many Town officials, stores are empty because landlords want TO SPEAK OUT too much rent. Call 1-800-390-NEWS business groups “Rentals should be realistic,” he said. (6397) “The square footage fees they are asking The merchants association sponsored plan to meet apply to the highway. I think $5 to $6 a house tours, gift certificate drawings, and square foot is the right price.” visits from the Easter Bunny and Santa __________ BY LAUREN JAEGER__________ However, he noted, his business is Claus. doing very well since most of his sales are Staff Writer She said that more could be done to by contract with other firms, not from publicize Matawan’s interesting and long foot traffic. here are the dry cleaners, several history and other aspects of its image. Roberta Ash, owner of Garden State restaurants, the baseball card shop She also feels that the Broad Street Fire and Security Alarm Systems, said Municipal and Community Center has not T— clearly, Matawan’s Main Streetthat the problem is most likely not per­ . been used to its potential. is still in business. manent. Instead, she feels, the borough is The Matawan-Aberdeen Chamber of However, at least a half dozen empty going through a phase. Commerce has done nothing to revitalize storefronts beg to be taken. “Matawan is a very strange town,” she downtown Matawan, according to Ash. The former Sung’s Market at 106 Main said. “Every seven years it seems to die “I’ve been a member for about five or St. is vacant. So is 67 Main St., 136 Main and then it wakes up.” six years, and we go to lunch a lot and David Levin of Aberdeen will St., 143 Main St., and the former bakery “Every few years you could lay down collect money for scholarships,” she said. play 25 chess games on Little Street, right off Main Street. in the middle of Main Street and not get Another Matawan-Aberdeen Cham­ hit by a car,” she said. “And then it comes simultaneously at a special To help revitalize a flagging down­ ber of Commerce member agreed with town, Mayor Robert Shuey plans to meet alive.” Ash’s assessment, but says there is a good event this month. with the Borough Council, members of Ash said she wishes the downtown reason. Page 33 the Matawan Chamber of Commerce and could share some of the sparkle exhibited “There are only two members from the Downtown Merchants Association. by downtown Freehold, or be like downtown Matawan that belong to the The joint meeting, open to the public, Keyport, which has several organizations Chamber of Commerce,” explained will take place 6 p.m. Thursday at Jerry fighting to boost its image. Martha A. Suhayda-Vogt, the club pres­ REGULAR FEATURES Beyer’s Restaurant on Main Street. It was this reason, she explained, that ident. She added that the Main Street mer­ “We have to get the ball rolling,” the Downtown Merchants Association chants had their own, united group which Shuey said. was formed a few years ago. operated independently of the chamber. • Calendar Page 30 In the meantime, several business own­ “We tried to bring some life into the However, that group, the Downtown • Classifieds Page 45 ers have offered their opinions on how to town,” Ash noted.