DUI Lawyers in Jackson, NJ

A big change is coming to Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, according to a new press release.

But, don't worry, it's a good change, one you'll probably love if you enjoy eating at the park.

For the first time in park history, Six Flags Great Adventure has an Executive Chef.

Wow. Fancy.

A park representative said there is a commitment to "elevate" the dining experience for all guests.

Jeremy Hacker is the one who was hired as the Six Flags Great Adventure's very first Executive Chef.

He's a Jersey guy, residing in Elk Township with his wife and three children.

Hacker's creative skills in the kitchen (especially with Italian cuisine and seafood) have landed him at popular places such as Xfinity Live and PJ Whelihan's, among others, serving up innovative and high-quality dishes.

Hacker will lead the Six Flags Great Adventure culinary team to begin to offer "exciting" dining options.

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"I'm excited to bring a fresh, dynamic approach to dining at Six Flags. Whether it's introducing new offerings or elevating classic dishes, my goal is to offer guests a memorable dining experience that matches the thrill of the park," Chef Hacker said.

One thing Chef Hacker is excited about doing this year is reinventing the menu at Savannah Sunset.

I can't wait to check out the new food choices.

READ MORE: Reimagined Airshow COming Back to Atlantic City Summer 2025

The new season at Six Flags Great Adventure is starting soon.

Spring Break Days start April 12 and go through April 20.

There's a new coaster opening for the new season.

The Flash: Vertical Velocity is described as a boomerang coaster. It's the first of its kind in North America and only the second of its kind in the world.

Let me know how it is. I'm too much of a coward to climb aboard. Ha ha.

For more Six Flags Great Adventure information, click here.

A house in Jackson that sold for $1.3 million tops the list of the most expensive residential real estate sales in Jackson area in the past week.

In total, 10 residential real estate sales were recorded in the area during the past week, with an average price of $700,300. The average price per square foot ended up at $300.

The prices in the list below concern real estate sales where the title was recorded during the week of March 10 even if the property may have been sold earlier.

9. $320K, single-family residence at 27 Angus Court

The 1,457 square-foot single-family residence at 27 Angus Court, Jackson, has been sold. The transfer of ownership was settled in February and the total purchase price was $320,000, $220 per square foot. The house was built in 1997. The deal was finalized on Feb. 25.

8. $400K, single-family house at 260 S. Hope Chapel Road

The single-family residence at 260 S. Hope Chapel Road in Jackson has been sold. The transfer of ownership was settled in February and the total purchase price was $400,000. The -unknown- was built in 1968. The deal was finalized on Feb. 28.

7. $535K, single-family residence at 26 Pine Valley Road

The 2,252 square-foot single-family residence at 26 Pine Valley Road in Jackson has been sold. The transfer of ownership was settled in February and the total purchase price was $535,000, $238 per square foot. The house was built in 2000. The deal was finalized on Feb. 27.

6. $549K, single-family house at 62 Brookfield Drive

A sale has been finalized for the single-family home at 62 Brookfield Drive in Jackson. The price was $549,000 and the new owners took over the house in February. The house was built in 2005 and the living area totals 2,239 square feet. The price per square foot ended up at $245. The deal was finalized on Feb. 26.

5. $685K, single-family home at 8 Hummingbird Way

The sale of the single family residence at 8 Hummingbird Way in Jackson has been finalized. The price was $685,000, and the new owners took over the house in February. The house was built in 1994 and has a living area of 1,654 square feet. The price per square foot was $414. The deal was finalized on Feb. 25.

4. $705K, single-family residence at 143 Wild Dunes Way

The property at 143 Wild Dunes Way in Jackson has new owners. The price was $705,000. The house was built in 2003 and has a living area of 3,449 square feet. The price per square foot is $204. The deal was finalized on Feb. 28.

3. $720K, single-family residence at 6 Mount Olive Lane

The sale of the single-family house at 6 Mount Olive Lane, Jackson, has been finalized. The price was $720,000, and the house changed hands in February. The house was built in 1997 and has a living area of 2,815 square feet. The price per square foot was $256. The deal was finalized on Feb. 28.

2. $950K, single-family home at 7 Yellowwood Court

The property at 7 Yellowwood Court in Jackson has new owners. The price was $950,000. The house was built in 1987 and has a living area of 2,376 square feet. The price per square foot is $400. The deal was finalized on Feb. 25.

1. $1.3 million, single-family house at 156 Farmers Lane

The 2,449 square-foot single-family home at 156 Farmers Lane, Jackson, has been sold. The transfer of ownership was settled in February and the total purchase price was $1,250,000, $510 per square foot. The house was built in 2001. The deal was finalized on Feb. 25.

Real Estate Newswire is a service provided by United Robots, which uses machine learning to generate analysis of data from Propmix, an aggregator of national real-estate data.

After finally showing some vulnerability last season, Jackson Memorial went back to its unbeatable ways this year, winning absolutely everything in sight, placing five individual wrestlers at the state tournament, capturing the first NJ Girls Duals championship and finishing the season ranked No. 1 in the NJ.com Top 10.

That is why Jackson Memorial is the NJ.com Girls Wrestling Team of the Year for 2024-25.

The banner year was a fitting sendoff for the state’s most dominant girls wrestling program, as Memorial will shut down its high school next year and merge with Jackson Liberty. But don’t pop the corks just yet, Jackson Memorial haters, as the two schools already Co-Op, so little is likely to change in the future.

After losing its perennial grasp last year on the Queen of the East and the Kingsway Duals titles, and tumbling from its preferred spot at the pinnacle of the NJ.com Top 10, there was some uncertainty about what to expect from the Jags this season. That is, there was uncertainty everywhere but in the Jackson Memorial wrestling room.

“Every year is different, and every year we have to make adjustments and changes,” Jackson Memorial coach Joe Lemke said. “I think we made a phenomenal adjustment, in the off season, in the preseason and during the season. We put our best foot forward. We had six girls come down to Atlantic City, five place and one final. It was a great showing.”

Before the season had even moved into a new calendar year, the Jags made it clear that they were the team to beat. They opened the season by winning the team title at the Queen of the East by more than 50 points and followed that up by winning the Rumble in the Pines in Lakewood, where they outdistanced three other NJ.com Top 10 teams, Morris Hills, North Brunswick and Lakewood.

Jackson Memorial followed up those two victories by winning East Brunswick’s Lady Bear Invitational team title over No. 2 Newton and then taking the team championship at the highly competitive Lady Minuteman at Elizabeth by more than 40 points.

There would be much more success to come, but Jackson had served notice to the entire state that the Jags were back.

“I would definitely say our showing at the Queen of the East, as a coaching staff, we just looked at each other and said, ‘Oh we have something here,’” Lemke said of his team’s early season tournament victories. “I think that was really cool, and a lot of girls stepped up throughout the season. They did what they had to do. They did their job and they worked really hard. I’m so proud of these girls.”

Jackson continued into its dual meet schedule without breaking stride. The Jags would finish the season 14-0 and made a big splash early on by winning the Queen of the Hill Duals at Morris Hills in mid-January.

Freely substituting throughout the tournament, Memorial swept to the duals title, defeating No. 9 High Point, No. 5 Ramsey, Raritan, Wallkill Valley and Williamstown.

And the Jags continued to roll, winning the Shore Conference team title by 84 points in early February, before facing the biggest test of the season, the New Jersey Girls Duals at Howell on Feb. 16.

The top seeded Jags plowed through the competition, beating No. 10 PCIT 66-6 and No. 5 Ramsey 64-4, on their way to their date with destiny and a final against No. 2 Newton. In the end, Jackson Memorial won a thriller, as Marlowe Donato’s pin in the final bout resulted in a 36-33 win over the Braves to win the first ever girls state wide dual meet title and solidify its position as New Jersey’s top team.

“That was definitely one of the highest moments of our entire season, absolutely,” Lemke said of the dramatic finish to the team championship. “The excitement from the girls was phenomenal. That was so fun. And tied with that is getting down (to Atlantic City) and getting all these girls down here, doing what we do best. We had six girls come down last year and six the year before that.”

Madison Rucci placed second at the state tournament at 100 pounds, while Ava Bonilla finished third at 107, Briana Dugo was fourth at 126, Marlowe Donato was fifth at 114 and Jada Figueroa was eighth at 120. Dominique Lopez did not place at 138, after losing in the blood round, but qualified for states with a second place finish at the Central Region.

“Every single one of these girls, from top down, this is a very, very, very special team,” Lemke said. “I’m so excited for them for this year. Sad that it’s over, for now. But next year is looking bright again.”

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Michael Holcombe can be reached at hssports@njadvancemedia.com

JACKSON - For the third time in two years, Mayor Michael Reina is getting a new salary. But this time, it's going down — by a lot.

The Jackson Township Council last week voted to cut Reina's municipal salary in half to $32,000 per year, the latest in a series of fluctuations.

Reina, 66, was paid just over $63,000 last year while earning a $65,000 annual salary, according to township payroll records. As Ocean County superintendent of bridges, Reina also received a $108,000 public salary last year, according to payroll records.

"I made a promise to the residents that we would review every dollar of spending and cut costs wherever possible," Council President Jennifer Kuhn said. "The truth is that the mayor and the council are part-time elected positions. It simply makes sense for these roles to receive a part-time salary.

"If we have the opportunity to save our taxpayers over $30,000 with one vote, we have the responsibility to act," she said.

Reina acknowledged that the council "acted within their right" to change salaries, but pushed back at Kuhn's statement that the job deserved a part-time salary.

"Somebody's philosophy of what somebody does or does not do on the job is just an opinion," Reina said. "And everybody's entitled to their opinion."

Reina has been filling in as the township's business administrator since former Terence Wall quit the post last month.

The council also voted to lower Kuhn's salary to $32,000, equal with other council members. Kuhn, elected to office in 2022 and named president of the five-member council in 2023, had been earning $35,000.

Jackson NJ mayor's salary fluctuations

The latest cuts are the third salary adjustments for Jackson's elected officials in three years.

Reina had earned a $29,500 annual salary from the township since he was first elected as mayor in 2008. But in May 2023, the council gave Reina a 45% raise, upping his salary to $42,725 in what was described as a cost-of-living adjustment.

Last year, the council voted to give Reina another raise of more than 52%, increasing his municipal salary to $65,000.

But after the various up-and-down fluctuations, Reina's salary now stands $2,500 more than he was paid two years ago, an 8.4% increase.

Meanwhile, council members last year voted to nearly quadruple their own compensation from $8,667 to $32,000 last year. Besides Kuhn's additional stipend as council president, those salaries remain untouched.

"We did go through cutting the council salaries, as well, but didn't feel it was warranted," Kuhn said. "We felt that $32,000 was appropriate."

The newest salary adjustments were approved by a 4 to 1 vote. Councilman Nino Borrelli cast the only dissenting vote, citing a lack of explanation as to why Reina's salary should be cut but council salaries should remain untouched.

Borrelli voted against increasing the mayoral and council salaries in 2023 and 2024, saying he was unable to justify salary increases while "many of our residents haven't been getting pay raises." But he voted against reducing the salaries last week because he hadn't received a proper explanation as to why the moves were necessary, he said.

Borrelli also earns $121,000 as a personnel assistant in the state Department of Human Services, according to state payroll records.

"I didn't receive any justification or reasoning to adjust (Reina's) salary by half, especially as he took on extra duties as the township administrator," Borrelli said. "I don't think you're really cutting costs and saving a lot when you compare it to our budget."

The six council members' and mayors' salaries make up 0.3% of the township's $59.2 million budget.

Mike Davis has spent the last decade covering New Jersey local news, marijuana legalization, transportation and a little bit of everything else. He's won a few awards that make his parents very proud. Contact him at mdavis@gannettnj.com or @byMikeDavis on Twitter.

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JACKSON

An Orthodox Jewish school group successfully bid $13.1 million to purchase Sylvia Rosenauer Elementary School.

Asbury Park Press

UPDATE: The Jackson school board and Bais Yaakov of Jackson fully executed the contract for the sale of Sylvia Rosenauer Elementary School on March 28.

JACKSON - The sale of Sylvia Rosenauer Elementary School is off.

In a lawsuit filed in Ocean County chancery court last week, the would-be buyer alleged that the Jackson school board changed the terms and conditions of the group's agreement to purchase the 62-year-old school for $13.1 million.

The intended buyer, Bais Yaakov of Jackson, is an arm of the Lakewood-based Bais Faiga School, itself the all-girls' component of the Lakewood Cheder School.

The two sides spent months "discussing the contract" through their attorneys but, in late February, the school board "accused (Bais Yaakov) of delaying the execution of the draft contract" and demanded they close on the purchase by March 24.

The school board also shortened the mortgage contingency period to 10 days, despite the original bid specifications allowing for a 60-day contingency period.

Bais Yaakov offered to submit a $655,500 deposit, or 5% of the $13.1 million purchase price, according to the complaint. Instead, the school board sent a contract requiring an "initial deposit" of $1.3 million, 10% of the purchase price, and an additional $5.2 million deposit, 40% of the purchase price. Those requirements weren't included in the bid specifications, Bais Yaakov argues.

The Asbury Park Press independently confirmed that the original bid requirements, posted on the district website, specified a 60-day contingency period that allowed the board to cancel the deal if the winning bidder hadn't obtained financing. The only mention of deposit was a 10% bid guarantee, with a maximum $20,000 value, that Bais Yaakov said was included in their bid package.

On March 10, the Jackson school board told Bais Yaakov that it was "going to move in a different direction."

Adam Pfeffer, an attorney representing Bais Yaakov, did not return requests for comment.

In a statement, district spokeswoman Allison Erwin said "we strongly disagree that the Jackson school district changed the terms of any agreement," but declined to comment further.

On March 19, the school board unanimously passed a resolution authorizing district executives to put Rosenauer out to bid again, including to other bidders, or explore alternate uses for the property if a contract wasn't executed.

The sale of Rosenauer was meant to fill a budget hole in the 2024-25 school year. The district's financial problems are multifaceted, but can largely be attributed to a revamped school funding formula that has seen its state aid cut nearly in half since 2017 while transportation costs ballooned as more Jackson children attend non-public schools.

Under state law, school districts are required to provide transportation to all children within its purview, even if those students attend private schools. If transportation can't be provided, the district must pay the child's family $1,177 in aid-in-lieu for each student.

Enrollment at Jackson public schools declined by 8% between the 2017-18 and 2023-24 school years, during which the town's Orthodox Jewish community grew substantially. Orthodox families send their children to private religious schools, most of which are located in neighboring Lakewood.

But following an injunction and the resolution of a myriad of discrimination lawsuits against the town, school groups -- including Bais Yaakov -- and developers have won approval for new school campuses across the town, building campuses for as many as four schools and thousands of students.

With fevered interest in opening schools, it's likely that Rosenauer won't be the last Jackson school to hit the auction block.

Faced with a $13 million budget gap in the 2025-26 school year and a declining public school population, the school board agreed in February to merge its two high school student bodies into one at Jackson Liberty High School while sending seventh- and eighth-graders to what is currently Jackson Memorial High School and fifth- and sixth-graders to Carl W. Goetz Middle School.

Christa McAuliffe Middle School is slated for closure. The building is expected to be rented or sold, but its fate is still uncertain.

Mike Davis has spent the last decade covering New Jersey local news, marijuana legalization, transportation and a little bit of everything else. He's won a few awards that make his parents very proud. Contact him at mdavis@gannettnj.com or @byMikeDavis on Twitter.