DANGER OUT OF THE POOL

UNEXPECTED PERILS OF SUMMER

Secondary or delayed drowning is a rare, potentially fatal, reaction the body can have to what may
seem like a harmless water mishap. HEALTHY LIVING, D1
SPCA volunteer from Little Silver arraigned
FREEHOLD A volunteer for the Monmouth County
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals disput-
ed there were hundreds of dead birds in her Little Sil-
ver home, after her attorney on Monday pleaded not
guilty on her behalf to animal cruelty charges.
Gretchen Rell, 56, waved and said hello to a news
photographer as she was leaving her arraignment in
the courtroom of Superior Court Judge John R. Tassini,
where defense attorney Dennis J. Melofchik entered a
not-guilty plea.
Then, brushing past a handful of women wearing
stickers that said, Im here for the birds, Rell threat-
ened to sue the Asbury Park Press and Victor Buddy
Amato, chief law enforcement officer for the Mon-
mouth County SPCA. She told a reporter, Check your
figures, apparently referring to reports of the number
of dead animals, at more than 300, which authorities
said were found in her home on Mitchell Place in Little
Silver on March 9.
Most of the dead animals were birds that were in
cages stacked from floor to ceiling in the basement and
garage of her home, authorities have said. There also
Not guilty plea in
case of dead birds
By Kathleen Hopkins @Khopkinsapp
See BIRDS, Page A5
Gretchen Rell is arraigned in
state Superior Court in Freehold
on animal cruelty charges
stemming from the hundreds of
dead birds found in her home.
TOM SPADER/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
MORE PHOTOS
Scan the QR code or visit
APP.com/photos to view a photo
gallery.
A
wooded abandoned house sits on Creek Road in Keansburg with its windows boarded
and holes in the roof. In the back is a flood-damaged dock, still showing the impacts
from superstorm Sandy. But Keansburg officials are hoping this house may soon be
demolished and turned into a spot for crabbing as part of the states Blue Acres program. And
theyve got a list of others just like it.
We walked around, and mostly the engineers
worked with us, and the (houses) we felt were life-
threatening or a danger to the public were put on the
list, said Keansburg Mayor Art V. Boden. But (the
properties) would have to have some beneficial use for
the borough. ... It helps the town, but it also helps the
homeowner.
Its a decision that towns throughout Sandy-affected
areas are making: to have homes in flood prone areas
torn down, and turned into parkland. The states Blue
Acres program is designed to purchase homes in flood-
prone areas and tear them down. In 14 months, there
have been more than 107 purchases or closings by the
Blue Acres program on Sandy-damaged homes in Mid-
dlesex County.
Yet Blue Acres has not made its way into Monmouth
and Ocean counties, despite the flood damage in the two
BUYING, RAZING FLOOD-PRONE HOMES
BUFFERS FOR
THE NEXT ONE
Keansburg Mayor Arthur V. Boden talks about how the borough is seeking Blue Acres funds to acquire and
demolish damaged or abandoned homes and property along Creek Road. TANYA BREEN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
States Blue Acres program returns property to natural condition
By Brett Bodner @brettbodner
See BLUE, Page A4
U.S. JOBS GROWING AT FASTEST PACE IN FIVE YEARS, BUT PAYROLLS LAG PAGE 1B
Asbury Park Press APP.COM $1.00
),
/sbury Park Press daily

TUESDAY 06.24.14
VOLUME 135
NUMBER 150
SINCE 1879
ADVICE D6
CLASSIFIED D7
COMICS D5
LOCAL A3
MOVIES D4
OBITUARIES A9
OPINIOIN A15
SPORTS C1
TECH TUESDAY A14
WEATHER C8
TRENTON Lawmakers and Gov. Chris Christie are
on a budget collision course yet again this year only
this time, a state judge could sideswipe them both.
Public workers unions are asking state Superior
Court Judge Mary Jacobson at a hearing Wednesday to
halt Christies plan to reduce payments into the pension
funds by $2.45 billion over the next 53 weeks, an idea
the governor announced after wealthy homeowners in-
come tax payments fell far short of forecast in April.
In court papers filed Monday, the unions said a 2010
law signed by Christie that requires pension payments
to be ramped up over seven years requires those pay-
ments to take top priority, and that a governor doesnt
have discretion over whether to pay even if theres an
emergency.
In this case the governor has taken a hostile and
ideological stance against the funding of the pension
system, says the letter brief. In essence, the governor
rigged the appropriation process so that the only line
item which would feel the pain or be wrongfully under-
funded was pensions.
The governor goes to great pains to declare emer-
Unions asking
judge to order
pension funds
Legislators oppose Christie on
avoiding contribution next year
By Michael Symons @MichaelSymons_
PENSION CONTRIBUTION PERSPECTIVE
$887 million
Amount due this year is nearly as much as the state spent on
property tax credits and deductions combined.
$1.59 billion
Scheduled contribution next year is more than all state aid to
school districts in Monmouth and Ocean counties for both the
just-ended and coming school years.
See PENSION, Page A11
WHERE DID YOUR PHONE GO?
These free
services can
help fnd your
lost smartphone
Tech Tuesday, A14
NEW JERSEY SPORTS BETTING BID FAILS
U.S. Supreme Court refuses to consider states appeal of an earlier unfavorable ruling, A6