MediaWize

In his weekly message to the public, Mayor Jay Gillian expresses his gratitude to the community for the condolences and outpouring of support he and his family have received following the passing of his mother this week.

A Cumberland County man was arrested Thursday and charged with multiple counts of drug possession, including, cocaine, methamphetamine, marijuana and prescription pills, Ocean City police said. At 12:52 p.m. Thursday, Detectives Richard Wilent and Matthew Crowley pulled over a vehicle for traffic violations driven by 44-year-old Eliezer Rodriguez, of Vineland. While making the traffic stop, the detectives smelled marijuana coming from inside the vehicle. They conducted a search and discovered crack cocaine, methamphetamine, marijuana, prescription pills and drug paraphernalia. The drugs were packaged for distribution, police said.

The Ocean City Board of Realtors is continuing its Food Is Love winter food drive through Feb. 28. Donations of canned items, juice, microwaveable meals and more are sought. The Food Is Love, Share Some Love food drive will collect non-perishable food items, laundry and dish detergent, as well as ShopRite gift cards, which will be donated to the Ocean City Ecumenical Food Cupboard to provide for local needy families and senior citizens.

All are invited to a family-friendly Nature and Environment Fun Day from 10:30 a.m. to noon Saturday, Feb. 16, at the Howard S. Stainton Senior Center. The event will feature zoo animals, crafts, games, music and stories, and will be geared toward young elementary school and preschool children. It is free to attend.

Sustainable Jersey for Schools and the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) announced that the Ocean City School District has been awarded a $10,000 Sustainable Jersey for Schools grant. Eleven $10,000 grants and 36 $2,000 grants were distributed to fund a variety of projects, including OCSD’s proposed expansion of its classroom gardening program at the Ocean City Intermediate School (OCIS). With the awarded $10,000 grant, OCIS will now work to install two vertical greenhouses outdoors in the school courtyard, a classroom hydroponics system and a classroom aquaponics system.

Fun, fellowship and great chili was the order of the day, when St. Damien’s Parish hosted a Chili Cook-off recently. The intimate, but competitive event brought local chili cooks together to share good times and good chili...

With the arrival of spring a little more than a month away, Ocean City is planning a full calendar of special events. Registration is now open for vendors, contestants and participants as the 2019 season kicks off. A listing of spring events follows.

Ocean City has released the latest update for construction work on the North End Neighborhood Drainage Project. Details follow for the week of Feb. 11-15.

Ocean City firefighters were on the scene Sunday night at the McMahon Insurance Agency at 901 Simpson Ave. for a report of fire. The large building provides a major commercial presence entering town on the Ninth Street corridor heading downtown.

Due to expected inclement weather, all Ocean City schools will be opening two hours late on Monday morning, the district announced on its Facebook page.