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ASBURY PARK PRESS

MONDAY 04.20.15

Sack master
Kemoko Turay shines on
Rutgers defensive line in
scrimmage. SPORTS, 1D

Scrumptious mall meals @PLAY, 1C

Nightmares come true: RREM contractor left Long
Branch home to rot, causing $14,000 in damages

UNACCEPTABLE
COURTESY OF PINELANDS PRESERVATION ALLIANCE

A view of Heritage Minerals looking west. The Lakehurst side

of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst is seen in the distance.

Radioactive
past may
not halt plan
for homes
AMANDA OGLESBY @OGLESBYAPP
MANCHESTER Decades ago, a portion of the former
Heritage Minerals mining quarry was dotted with signs
warning of radiation. In the future, that space could be
transformed into a grass-covered park not far from
thousands of new homes and businesses.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission once licensed
operations at the mining quarry, spread over 7,000
acres of forest wedged between routes 37 and 70 south
of Lakehurst. For years, sand containing monazite an
ore with small amounts of the naturally occurring radioactive materials thorium and uranium was mined
on the site.
Mining operations ceased long ago, yet 45 acres of
land remain contaminated where radioactive mine tailings, or leftover mining material, were concentrated.
That hasnt precluded interest in building on the site.
Hovsons Inc. of Neptune wants to build Manchesters newest community on the old quarry. A prohibition
against building on the contaminated section the 45
acres has been a hurdle. All told, the builder plans as
many as 2,450 new homes across hundreds of acres.
Last week, Manchesters Planning Board unanimously approved a solution that would pave the way to
building all 2,450 homes, notwithstanding the problematic 45 acres.
Under the plan, the troubled section would be
capped that is, a protective covering would be placed
over the contaminated land. The area then would be re-

DOUG HOOD/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Water seeps into the basement of Robin Bucks Long Branch home. He was told to leave it and have the utilities disconnected
by Nov. 1, 2014, so that it could be elevated, but the RREM-approved contractor never touched his home.

RUSS ZIMMER @RUSSZIMMER

Auditors find red

flags in review of
Sandy relief
funds.

Page A3

For more on
superstorm
recovery efforts,
DOUG HOOD/STAFF

visit

sandy.app.com

PHOTOGRAPHER

Buck talks about foundation

problems with the house.

See HOMES, Page 10A

Ninety days, in and out. Thats what Robin Buck was

expecting when he signed up in September to have his
home elevated through a state-sponsored superstorm
Sandy rebuilding program.
That prospect was shattered in March.
Buck, 34, left his familys home in Long Branch to a
contractor in the Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Elevation and Mitigation (RREM) program in November. The
state-assigned contractor not only failed to lift the home
as promised but also neglected to winterize the property leading to at least $14,000 in damages, according to
one estimate. Buck had already spent $42,000 in 2014 restoring the first floor of his home after Sandy.
For Buck and his family, their situation continues to
take an emotional toll. They are unsure where they will
live when their current lease expires and do not know
how they will pay both their mortgage and rent.
See RREM, Page 5A

JERRYS JOBS

Keansburg Amusement Park duties

JERRY CARINO CARINOS CORNER
KEANSBURG My hand is hovering
over the button. I am waiting for the
signal, a thumbs up, from my colleague
in the lookout tower.
Im about to send two teenage girls
hurtling 10 stories skyward at a speed
of 35 miles an hour.
This is the closest Ill ever come to
launching a rocket ship.

No, Im not working at NASA. Even better: Im

working at Keansburg Amusement Park.
To get an insiders taste of this fun-and-games
world, I spent two straight Saturdays making the
rounds with Erik Knutsen, the parks 41-year-old operations manager. It was a drink from the fountain of
youth.
Youre a kid, Knutsen said of the job. I dont
think Ive ever not been one.

PETER ACKERMAN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Kayla Pedone gives Jerry Carino a lesson in making zeppoles

at Keansburg Amusement Park in Keansburg.

See DUTIES, Page 4A

HUNDREDS FEARED DEAD AFTER BOAT CAPSIZES IN MEDITERRANEAN PAGE 1B

Teams walk
in Lake Como
to end MS

TODAY, 3A

ADVICE
BUSINESS
CLASSIFIED
COMICS
LOCAL

4C
6A
6C
5C
3A

LOTTERIES
OBITUARIES
OPINION
SPORTS
WEATHER

2A
7A
9A
1D
8D

VOLUME 136
NUMBER 94

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