Dear Friends,
Ocean City lost two of its finest gentlemen this week. I’m sad to report on the passing of Bill Cruice and Jim Frisby.
Jim was a neighbor, a Navy veteran, a long-time member of the Ocean City Yacht Club and a successful real estate broker.
Bill was a veteran of the wars in Korea and Vietnam, and he was a founder of the Morvay-Miley American Legion Post 524 here in Ocean City.
I’m proud that our veterans groups remain strong and provide so many valuable programs in town. We owe a debt of gratitude to people like Bill and Jim for their service to country and community.
I hope you all will join Michele and me in extending deepest condolences to their families and many friends.
Donations in Bill’s memory can be made to American Legion Post 524 and mailed to P.O. Box 363, Ocean City, NJ 08226. Donations in Jim’s memory can be made to the Humane Society of Ocean City and mailed to One Shelter Road, P.O. Box 1254, Ocean City, NJ 08226.
The Army Corps of Engineers’ beach replenishment project continues to make good progress, and work is approaching the Fifth Street jetty, an area where sand is needed the most.
The newly rebuilt beaches are elevated, wide and beautiful with plenty of room for social distancing and for any beachgoers displaced by the ongoing operations. Daily updates are available at www.ocnj.us/projectupdate.
The city continues to receive an overwhelming number of emails requesting enforcement of the new requirement that masks be worn in public places outdoors.
The executive order makes exceptions for family members, caretakers, romantic partners, young children, people exercising and others, and it requires face coverings only when social distancing cannot be maintained.
The governor’s order does not authorize police to issue summonses to everyone not wearing a mask.
N.J. Gov. Phil Murphy has publicly acknowledged the challenges of enforcing his order, but he also summed it up pretty well: “Not wearing a mask is an act of selfishness, plain and simple,” he said.
The city cannot make this happen on its own. We need your help. As I’ve been saying, this is about self-responsibility. Please mask up when you’re out in public.
Warm regards,
Mayor Jay A. Gillian
