The Southern Ocean Times

12/20/2025

🚗 An incident in Lacey Township ended with a suspect in custody after police say a vehicle was stolen while the owner was clearing frost — and the owner was struck in the process. The car was later found crashed just minutes away.

📌 Full story link in the comments below.

12/20/2025

🚧🛒 Not open just yet… but it’s getting close!

Construction crews are still hard at work on the new ShopRite in Manahawkin, racing toward an opening in the New Year. From the looks of it, progress is steady — and excitement is building.

But that raises some big local questions 👀
➡️ Are you excited for the new store?
➡️ What happens to the current ShopRite location?
➡️ With vacancies already around Stafford Township, how will this impact the area?

💬 Tell us what you think!

12/20/2025

🚨 A local business owner has been sentenced to more than 7 years in federal prison for masterminding a $172 MILLION Medicare fraud scheme that targeted elderly patients and taxpayers. 💰⚖️

NEWARK — A Monmouth County business owner was sentenced to more than seven years in federal prison for orchestrating a massive Medicare fraud scheme that drained more than $172 million from taxpayer-funded health care programs, federal officials announced. Aaron Neil Williamsky, 65, of Marlboro, w...

12/20/2025

💨 Strong winds caused a dramatic structural collapse at a Sunoco gas station along Route 35 northbound in Ocean County, forcing an immediate closure and emergency response. 💨

LAVALLETTE – Strong winds caused a major structural collapse at a Sunoco gas station along Route 35 northbound in Lavallette, leaving the station’s canopy severely damaged and damage to some of the gas pumps. The canopy at Kelly’s Sunoco was blown over by the wind, crashing down onto the stati...

12/20/2025

🚨 Five people were injured after an armored security truck and an SUV collided on a Garden State Parkway exit ramp in Ocean County.
🛣️ https://www.jerseyshoreonline.com/brick/crash-brick-ocean-armored-truck/

12/19/2025

🚨🌊A Beach Patrol lifeguard has received the United States Lifesaving Association’s highest honor for a rescue that turned dangerous fast at the Barnegat Inlet South Jetty 🌊🚁

👉 Story in the comments below
👏 Join us in congratulating this Ocean County hero!

12/19/2025

⚠️ Ocean County officials are warning SNAP recipients about a rise in EBT card fraud across New Jersey. 💳

OCEAN COUNTY – Officials are urging residents who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits to take extra precautions as scams targeting Electronic Benefit Transfer cards continue to increase across New Jersey. County Commissioner Robert S. Arace said the rise in EBT fraud is espe...

12/19/2025

🚨 A Toms River man has been indicted on aggravated manslaughter and vehicular homicide charges following a high-speed, alcohol-related crash in Lakewood that killed a Matawan woman earlier this year. ⚖️ https://www.jerseyshoreonline.com/ocean-county/toms-river-man-indicted-in-fatal-lakewood-crash/

12/19/2025

🚧 A Lakehurst man has been indicted on vehicular homicide charges in a work zone crash that claimed the life of a 50-year-old construction worker in Toms River. Two women were also indicted for allegedly providing false info to police during the probe. ⚖️ https://www.jerseyshoreonline.com/ocean-county/lakehurst-man-indicted-in-toms-river-work-zone-death/

12/19/2025

⚔️ The Revolution Came Roaring Back to Life in the Pines 🌲🔥

More than 240 years after the last shots of the American Revolution were fired, history thundered back to life at Cedar Bridge Tavern — complete with muskets, drums, cannon fire, and hundreds of spectators lining the battlefield.

Reenactors from across the region transformed the quiet forest into an 18th-century war zone, recreating what many historians consider the final land battle of the Revolution.

👉 Read the full story — link in the comments

12/19/2025

💰 Someone in Ocean County just hit it BIG! 💰

A Jersey Cash 5 ticket sold in Manahawkin turned into a nearly half-million-dollar jackpot 😳🎉 — and it happened fast.

📲 Story link in the comments below ⬇️⬇️⬇️

12/18/2025

The Jackson Board of Education has approved the $40 million sale of the former Christa McAuliffe Middle School, marking a major moment for the district — and the community. 🏫 https://www.jerseyshoreonline.com/jackson/jackson-school-district-sells-mcauliffe-school-for-40-million/