UPDATE! Tuesday Briefs From WOBM News

News from Ocean & Monmouth counties and around New Jersey.

TOMS RIVER – Toms River voters who haven’t yet registered for Saturday’s fire district elections can do so until Thursday at the Ocean County Clerk’s office on Washington Street. Polls are open Saturday from 2PM-9PM. District one proposes a budget of just over seven-million dollars, and district two’s spending plan calls for slightly more than $3million.

STAFFORD - A Little Egg Harbor man is arrested for allegedly stealing credit cards specifically targeting senior citizens. Stafford Police arrested 26 year old Christopher Wells, charging him with two counts of theft and credit card fraud. The arrests stems from two incidents where wells allegedly followed elderly women through a store and removed credit cards from their purse.

STAFFORD - A retired New York City Police sergeant who now lives in Barnegat is charged with shoplifting at a township convenience store here. Police say that two patrol officers enjoying coffee at the Route 72 Wawa on Sunday noticed Lawrence Bach eyeing them as he roamed the store, carrying newspapers, food items and a cup of coffee. Investigators say Bach carried his armload with him as he bolted outside, ostensibly to use a cell phone.  He was collared in his car as he tried to leave the lot.

TOMS RIVER – Toms River Police are investigating a robbery at the Asby News Hooper Avenue in Silverton. A white male demanded money from a female clerk and fled on foot with about $200 in cash. The suspect is described by police as a white male about 6’ 3” wearing dark clothing, sunglasses and a dark hat.

CAMDEN – The Delaware River Port Authority says vehicle traffic fell to an 11-year low last year on the four toll bridges it operates in south Jersey. Ridership on PATCO trains reached an 11-year high.

OCEAN CITY - Three dead dolphins found along the shore are puzzling experts. Officials with the Marine Mammal Stranding Center in Brigantine were notified about a dolphin that was trapped underneath a dock of the Ocean City lagoon. Other dolphins have been found in Lower Township as well as in the Barnegat Bay in Stafford.

TRENTON – The Recreational Fishing Alliance endorses State Senator Joe Kyrillos for U.S. Senate. RFA officials say the 13th district representative has reached out to the fishing community over the past 8 months and visited important ports in new jersey.

NEPTUNE CITY - The Monmouth County Prosecutors Office and local police are investigating fatal stabbing of a Neptune City woman. Prosecutors officials confirm that police were called to a home on Morris Avenue early Monday morning about a female suffering from a stab wound. The unidentified woman was transported to the jersey shore medical center and was pronounced dead about an hour later.

NEPTUNE – There’s a new boss at the FoodBank of Monmouth And Ocean Counties. Carlos Rodriguez arrives at the Neptune headquarters with 15 years experience, most recently at the FoodBank for New York City. Rodriguez is credited with expanding nearly a thousand hunger relief programs at the agency.

ATLANTIC CITY – Look out, Harrah’s, Pauly D’s about to rock your world. The Jersey Shore regular, frequently spotted around Seaside Heights, is the new resident DJat the casino-hotel’s Pool After Dark. He’s on a roll, having just spun off into the Pauly D Project and opening for Britney Spears on her recent Femme-Fatale tour. His AC debut is March 31.

MAYS LANDING- An auditor who worked for the state could get up to 10 years in prison if convicted of bribery. Jerry Moore of Mays Landing was arrested Friday at a Gloucester County convenience store where New Jersey taxation investigators say he took $900 from the owner.

TRENTON – Military veterans who served on or after 9/11 can fast-track to teaching careers under a shore-based measure that cleared the state Senate Monday. The Vetteach bill by Senators Chris Connors and James Whelan would create a 36-month program at Richard Stockton College toward a bachelor’s degree and certification for elementary and some secondary posts. The assembly version is still in committee.

TRENTON – Before New Jersey’s doctor gap widens, state lawmakers are trying to plug it. The state Senate Monday approved a bill by shore Senator Robert Singer that would convene a planning summit of state agencies and boards along with medical schools and teaching hospitals. A recent report anticipates a shortfall of 3000 doctors in New Jersey by 2020.

BARNEGAT – Four township men suspected of drug dealing await municipal court dates. Jonathan DeCicco, 24, James Ciani, 19, and Jason Somerville, 21, were apprehended February 2 after patrol officers say they observed suspicious behavior among the three. They’re charged with possession of oxycodone and possession with intent to distribute. Ciani and Somerville are also charged with distribution. Five days later, police ended a two-month probe of Edward Jackson Jr., 26, with his arrest on counts of heroin and oxycodone possession, intent to distribute heroin and heroin distribution. He was collared after a warrant search of his house by the Ocean County Regional SWAT Team.