By MADDY VITALE
From major snowstorms that dumped a foot of snow and more in Ocean City, to the loss of a beloved teacher and coach to cancer, to a multimillion-dollar beach replenishment project and a School Board election that swept out the incumbents, 2022 had its share of big news.
As we prepare to ring in the new year, we take a look back at the Top 10 stories that generated interest and kept Ocean City in the spotlight for the past year.
They are as follows:
Two Blizzards Slam Coast
The first winter storm of the season was on Jan. 3. It brought wind gusts of 35 mph, flooding and a steady, heavy wet snow that topped 14 inches in the resort, more than any other town in the region.
The storm caused the collapse of a roof of GG’s Diamond Cleaners at 609 Asbury Ave. The community came to the aid of GG’s owners with a fundraising drive to help them recover. While the building was unoccupied at the time, two families in an adjacent second-story residence were temporarily displaced. GG’s was able to reopen and operate out of its main building.
Just weeks later, on Jan. 29, a monster storm brought heavy snow and pummeled the region, making the weekend day anything but a typical one in January.
The powerful storm unleashed snow and wind gusts of up nearly 50 mph creating low visibility at times, coupled with 25 mph to 30 mph sustained winds.
Drifting snow made it difficult to determine the exact snow totals, but Frank Donato, the city’s director of the Office of Emergency Management, estimated at the time that Ocean City got somewhere in the range of 12 inches.
Replenishment Project Widens City Beaches
Work started in November on a $24.4 beach replenishment project stretching from the Seaview Road jetty to 14th Street. Originally the project called for 1.2 million cubic yards of new sand. However, surveys revealed that more sand would be required, so the amount was increased to 1.5 million cubic yards.
Sand is being pumped from the Great Egg Harbor Inlet onto the beaches through a massive system of pipes. In addition, Ocean City exercised an option in the contract for the project for four stockpiles of sand – an additional 10,000 cubic yards of sand in total – for use after the replenishment project is completed.
The project is expected to take two or three months to complete, city officials have said. Now that sand-pumping operations have begun, work will proceed around-the-clock, seven days a week.
Restrictions will be in place to minimize any conflicts between beachgoers and the network of pipes and heavy equipment used by the contractor. No more than 1,000 feet of the beach will be closed at any one time while the work proceeds.
Ocean City Condo Complex Gets a Big Lift
The Ocean Aire Condominiums, at 43rd Street and West Avenue, got a needed lift with a $3 million federally funded project, after dealing with flooding for years.
An elevation project to raise the 52 units in the seven-building complex put the condos well above the floodwaters that rise during coastal storms and heavy rains.
After months of work to elevate the buildings, all were completed by April and residents could enjoy the new view of the bay.
Steve Sinibaldi, vice president of the Ocean Aire Homeowners Association, worked for years to get the project underway. He spoke out about the need, and city officials listened.
Gillian Re-elected Mayor, “Big 3” Take Seats in May Election
Mayor Jay Gillian won re-election May 10 to a fourth term, defeating challenger Keith Hartzell in a showdown pitting two high-profile, veteran Ocean City politicians.
Unofficial results showed Gillian capturing 2,299 votes to Hartzell’s 1,893.
In the race for three City Council at-large seats, incumbents Karen Bergman and Pete Madden won re-election and were joined by their running mate and political newcomer, Tony Polcini.
Bergman topped all Council candidates with 2,267 votes, Polcini was second with 1,980 and Madden finished third with 1,945. As a team, they called themselves the “Big 3.”
Despite all of the seats being contested, the election was marked by a relatively low turnout – about 44 percent – of Ocean City 9,678 registered voters.
Ocean City Looks to Stop Rowdy Teens
In June, city officials rolled out a plan to curb rowdy behavior as much as possible in the family-friendly resort.
Escalation of underage drinking and fighting by rowdy groups of teenagers have turned some stretches of the beach into their own personal “nightclub,” one city councilman said.
“The crowds are larger than last year, the kids are drinking more than last year and there is more fighting than last year,” Police Chief Jay Prettyman said in June.
Prettyman put a plan in motion to keep partying teenagers on the beaches rather than having them spill out onto the Boardwalk, where they could do even more damage.
Throughout the summer, police patrolled the beaches and if teens were there partying, they kept them off the Boardwalk. There were also more officers patrolling the Boardwalk than ever before.
Lifeguards Spring into Action to Rescue Three After Hours
The summer of 2022 meant some rough waters and many rescues for the Ocean City Beach Patrol. On June 30, lifeguard made three rescues, all after hours.
At 6:30 p.m. a father and son, whose names were not released, were swimming off Fifth Street beach near the jetty when they got caught in rip currents.
Lifeguards from the Beach Patrol’s Rapid Response Team and fire and police personnel all responded to Fifth Street beach.
“The officers walked out on the rocks,” OCBP Director Allan Karas said in an interview that night. “The father was unresponsive in the water, and it took the guards a couple of times to get the dad on the flotation device.”
The boy was out of the water and on the rocks. He and his father were both taken to Shore Medical Center in Somers Point for treatment.
And close to the same time, a lifeguard on a jet ski from the afterhours team made a rescue of a girl at 10th Street. Her identity was not released.
Opposition Continues to Transmission Line For Wind Farm
The debate loomed through 2022 involving an offshore wind farm proposed 15 miles off the South Jersey coast to be built by 2024.
During a Zoom hearing in November before the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, Cape May County and its shore towns presented a united front in opposing plans for an underground transmission line. The line would cut through environmentally sensitive wetlands and beach lots in Ocean City to connect the offshore wind farm to the land-based power grid.
Attorneys representing the county, Ocean City and other shore towns criticized the Danish energy company Orsted for its preferred route for the transmission line to serve the proposed Ocean Wind 1 wind farm.
Orsted plans to run a transmission line under the seabed to bring electricity onshore through the beach lots of 35th Street in Ocean City. Orsted has not publicly disclosed how much the transmission line would cost.
The BPU is charged with deciding on whether to grant an easement and regulatory permits for the transmission line.
Over the objections of Ocean City officials, the BPU approved plans for the transmission line on Sept. 28.
The sum of the oral arguments on behalf of the county and the shore municipalities is that the parties feel “shut out” of the decision-making on where the transmission line is installed.
New Superintendent Hired
Dr. Matthew Friedman began July 1 as the new Ocean City schools superintendent in the district.
The Ocean City Board of Education selected Friedman at its May meeting. Interim Schools Superintendent Dr. Tom Baruffi was acting superintendent since the retirement of Dr. Kathleen Taylor in August of 2021.
Friedman has more than 24 years in the education world. His most recent position was assistant superintendent at the South Orange-Maplewood School District in Essex County, N.J.
He is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University and other distinguished universities.
“I am honored to be the new Superintendent of the Ocean City School District and am looking forward to partnering with our students, educators, school board, families, and community in accomplishing the district’s mission of continued excellence by inspiring critical thinking, fostering intellectual curiosity, and promoting acceptance of individuals.” Friedman said.
Ocean City Mourns Loss of Tom Oves, Mikenzie Helphenstine and Tim Kelly
Tom Oves – a leader in service to people, education, civic groups, businesses and sports – passed away on Feb. 12, following several years of battling health issues. He was 87.
Oves was best known as co-owner and co-founder with his wife, Anne, of Oves Restaurant and Bicycle Rentals.
It started out in 1968 with bike rentals at the Delaware Hotel at Park Place and the Boardwalk, today the site of the Gardens Plaza condominium.
Oves moved the business to its present location at Fourth and the Boardwalk in the early 1970s.
There, master carpenter Craig Mensinger took over operations of the bike lot and built and expanded the current restaurant building and worked with Oves for the businesses’ run of 53 years so far.
Mikenzie Helphenstine was a coach, teacher, mother, wife, sister, and daughter. Her no-nonsense approach to all things helped her and others around her achieve the best on and off the field, in the classroom and throughout life.
Helphenstine, affectionately known as “Coach H,” made sure she did all she could, until she couldn’t anymore. Her love and zest for life and family, dedication to her players and her students, resonated with the Ocean City community.
She was just 43 when she passed away on May 4 after a courageous battle against breast cancer.
On May 12, hundreds of mourners came out to St. Peter’s United Methodist Church in Ocean City to pay their respects and to celebrate the life and memories of a strong woman who touched so many.
Tim Kelly was a spokesman, a reporter, an author, a colleague, a friend, a devoted son and father who made it all look easy, even when it wasn’t.
Kelly will not be forgotten for his accomplishments in a career that spanned over 50 years and produced award-winning pieces as well as a book.
Later in his career, he wrote for the MediaWize digital news sites, primarily OCNJDaily.com. His pieces on Ocean City history and sports were where he really showcased his talents.
The Ocean City resident died Nov. 8 after battling brain cancer for two years. He was 70. He is survived by his daughter, Devon, and many friends and colleagues who deeply miss him.
Newcomers Sweep Board of Education Election Nov. 8
The Ocean City Board of Education election proved to be a contentious battle that saw four incumbents lose, including Dr. Patrick Kane, Dr. Charles Roche, Greg Whelan and Ryan Leonard.
Running as a team, newcomers Catherine Panico, Liz Nicoletti and Robin Shaffer prevailed. Another newcomer, Kevin Barnes, also won a seat on the board.
Panico, Nicoletti and Shaffer were outspoken in their opposition to the Board of Education’s approval this year of state sex education standards that they assert are too graphic for schoolchildren.
“I believe that the town did not want that. They were scared to death,” Nicoletti said of how she thought voters felt about the sex education standards.
Nicoletti noted that she has friends who pulled their children out of the Ocean City school district because they objected to the sex education curriculum.
Panico and Shaffer emphasized that, as new school board members, they want to repeal the sex education standards promulgated by Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration.
“My goal is to repeal and replace Murphy’s sex agenda standards with what we had on the books prior to this year,” Shaffer said.
Panico responded “absolutely” when asked whether she wants to repeal the sex education curriculum.
“I want to bring back integrity and respect for everyone in the school district and push back on the sex education standards,” she said.
