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DAMAGING DAY
IN OCEAN GROVE

SAVE

SATURDAY 02.07.15

News swirled around Gov. Chris Christie this

week regarding his vaccinations comments,
lavish travel, a new federal probe of an ally
and a whistle-blowers claims of abuse of
power.

Christies
very, very
bad week
PETER ACKERMAN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Latest: Feds probe travel

of governors associate

Firefighters pour water onto a fire at 50 Main Ave. in Ocean Grove. Several businesses in the building were damaged.

Three-alarm blaze strikes at the heart

of communitys business district Friday

BOB JORDAN @BOBJORDANAPP

Federal prosecutors are reviewing the personal travel of David Samson, the former chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, highlighting Samsons close association with Gov. Chris Christie and capping a week of unfavorable news for the governor.
A spokeswoman for United Airlines on Friday said
the carrier has been subpoenaed and is cooperating in
an investigation of flights by Samson between Newark
Liberty International Airport and his home in South Carolina, a route Samson referred to as the chairmans
flight, according to a report in The Record.
United has received subpoenas for information and
is cooperating. United has no further comment,
spokeswoman Megan McCarthy said.
Here are the reasons why the Samson probe and other events made this a week that cant end fast enough for
Christie:

KEVIN PENTN, ANDREW FORD

AND KALA KACHMAR
@KEVINPENTONAPP, @ANDREWFORDNEWS, @NEWSQUIP
OCEAN GROVE In this community of closely situated wooden Victorian homes, there is one word that
strikes fear in the hearts of many residents: fire.
As temperatures hovered in the 20s on Friday, a
three-alarm blaze struck at the heart of Ocean Groves
downtown, damaging several businesses but leaving no
residents injured.
Given the circumstances, I think we can consider
ourselves very lucky that things were not worse,
Township Committeeman Randy Bishop said.
The fire began at approximately 3:30 p.m. in an upper-floor apartment in the Main Avenue building, Monmouth County Fire Marshal Henry A. Stryker III said.
The cause still is undetermined, he said.
One firefighter had a injury to a knee that is not considered life-threatening, said Lt. Tina Duda of the
Ocean Grove First Aid Squad. A dog from an upperfloor apartment was unaccounted for, she added.
Businesses impacted by the blaze include Smugglers Cove, Yvonnes Cafe, Village Plaza and the Barbaric Bean Coffee Roasters, Bishop said.
The fire spread to an adjacent building on Heck Avenue, but the damage there appeared not to be as severe,
said Michael Bascom, Neptune Townships Office of
Emergency Management coordinator.
Bascom said the fire was under control after 6 p.m.
Residents often hold their breath when they hear a
fire siren because many of the quaint structures were
constructed with wood and are stacked up against each
other, Bishop said.
This was a really bad day for a fire, said Bishop, as

See CHRISTIE, Page A5

Ryan Ugrovics and C.J. Akalegbere watch with a neighbor as

a fire burns next to their apartment building. They said they
had a kitten inside.

God can stay in

Pledge, judge says

Given the circumstances, I think we

KATHLEEN HOPKINS @KHOPKINSAPP

can consider ourselves very lucky that

FREEHOLD A Monmouth County judge has thrown

out a lawsuit against the Matawan-Aberdeen School
District seeking to remove the words under God from
the Pledge of Allegiance recited daily by students.
Superior Court Judge David F. Bauman ruled that
recitation of those words in the pledge in schools does
not violate rights guaranteed to individuals under the
New Jersey Constitution.
Baumans written opinion, made public Friday, dismissed a lawsuit filed last year by the American Humanist Association, an organization that works to protect the rights of atheists and other non-religious
groups.
In his decision, Bauman noted that the nation was
founded on a belief in God. He cited historical references to the nations founding fathers, including George

ANDREW FORD/STAFF PHOTO

things were not worse.

RANDY BISHOP,

TOWNSHIP COMMITTEEMAN

See FIRE, Page A7

Scan the QR code to see a video from the scene of the re.
For other videos, photo galleries and more, visit

APP.com

See PLEDGE, Page A5

TURBOTAX HALTS STATE FILINGS AMID FRAUD OUTBREAK PAGE 1B

PRESS INVESTIGATION

What happened
inside the
Monmouth County
Jail that led to an
inmates death?

TYING THE KNOT

Asbury Park couple vie for
live-streamed wedding. INDULGE, D1

In Sundays
Asbury Park Press

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VOLUME 136

D6
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NUMBER 33

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