Around Manchester: Coronavirus Update, School Board Members Sworn

MANCHESTER, NJ — The first week of the New Year kicked off with the Manchester Township council and school board holding their reorganization meetings for 2021.

With public gathering limits still in place due to the coronavirus pandemic, virtual meetings continue to be held.

Ocean County remains in the orange "high risk" category due to the rates of transmission of the coronavirus. As of Sunday, Ocean County had 36,076 cases, up 2,525 from 33,551 on Jan. 3. The growth in the number of new cases has slowed slightly, however.

Manchester has 189 new cases in that time, with 2,384, up from 2,195 on Jan. 3, according to the Ocean County Health Department.

There have been more than 528,000 cases of the coronavirus in New Jersey since March, including 5,032 new ones reported Sunday, according to the state Department of Health COVID-19 website. As of Saturday, 3,589 people were hospitalized due to the coronavirus, with 625 in intensive care and 431 patients on ventilators, according to the state COVID-19 website. The number of COVID-19 patients in ICUs and those on ventilators has decreased over the last week.

Deaths in Ocean County have risen from 1,057 as of Nov. 29 to 1,377, and Manchester has seen an increase from 176 to 234.

Around town

The Manchester Township Council reorganized and councilmen Sam Fusaro, James Vaccaro and Robert Hudak all were sworn in to new council terms. Craig Wallis was elected council president and Joan Brush was elected council vice president for 2021.

The council's next meeting is set for Jan. 18.

The Manchester Township Board of Education held its reorganization meeting and Ken Pate and Melanie Biscardi were sworn in to new terms, while Laura Wingler was sworn in to her first full term, and George Cervenak III was sworn in to finish out the final year of Christopher Nolan's term.

Pate was re-elected as board president. There were multiple votes to choose a vice president, with Melanie Biscardi and Gayle Mount both nominated, but the votes ended in ties. The matter was tabled to the Jan. 20 meeting; if there is no resolution of the stalemate, the decision on a vice president will be sent to the Ocean County executive superintendent.

Also:

A Howell Township man is facing multiple charges in the ATV crash at the Heritage Minerals site that killed another Howell man in December. Drunk Driving, Vehicular Homicide Charges In Manchester ATV Crash

Manchester Township senior citizens are reminded to apply for New Jersey's "senior freeze" property tax rebate program. The deadline was extended to Feb. 1. Manchester Residents Urged To Apply For NJ Property Tax Rebates

The Ocean County Health Department said it has seen strong demand for the vaccine in the county, despite vocal opposition. COVID-19 Vaccine Demand Strong In Ocean County

Megamillions Ticket Worth $10K Sold In Manchester

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