UPDATE! Friday Briefs From WOBM News

News from Ocean & Monmouth counties and around New Jersey.

LAKEHURST – The Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst may soon have a new aviation hangar. Reports say $47million has been allocated in the Army’s 2013 budget. The hanger would replace one in Lakehurst built in the 1940s. It first needs US House & Senate approval.

BRICK – A Brick resident is arrested and charged with the December armed robbery of a Freehold Township man. The Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office says 26-year-old Caleb Applewhite allegedly attacked Brandon Randolph for a controlled dangerous substance. His first court appearance is set for Tuesday.

EATONTOWN - Fire destroys a two-story home in Eatontown. No one was injured when the house on Ruth Place went up in flames yesterday afternoon. Investigators believe the cause was accidental.

BRICK – The fate of brick township’s Mayor’s salary is back on the agenda for next week’s Council meeting. The ordinance reduces the $52,000 a year paycheck to $15,000 if the Mayor holds a full time job. A decision could be made Tuesday night.

EATONTOWN - The U.S. Postal Service is closing the Eatontown mail processing operation and moving the work to Trenton. The move could add a day or two to the delivery of first class mail through Out Monmouth County. It’s a part of a billion dollar nationwide cost cutting effort.

LITTLE EGG HARBOR – Lawmakers in the 9th district are once again pushing the Turnpike Authority to construct A Park-And-Ride on Route 539 in Little Egg Harbor. State Senator Chris Connors along with Assemblymembers Brian Rumpf and Diane Giove say it would help commuters. The Authority plans to meet with the legislative team.

FREEHOLD - Freehold officials fail to derail T-mobile’s bid for a 120-foot cell tower on a Robertsville Road lot. The New Jersey Supreme Court denied the petition filed last October to overturn two lower court rulings.

BRICK - A Brick resident is arrested and charged with the December armed robbery of a Freehold township man. The Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office says 26-year-old Caleb Applewhite allegedly attacked Brandon Randolph for a controlled dangerous substance. His first court appearance is set for Tuesday.

FREEHOLD – Former Hazlet Fire Commissioner Anthony Ciavarro, 45, heads to prison for up to five years for skimming death benefits meant for firefighters’ widows. He pleaded guilty last October and was sentenced in a Monmouth County courtroom this morning. Ciavarro admitted taking $30,000 from insurance companies through forged documents in 2009. He’ll serve two years before he can be considered for parole, and will be responsible for full restitution.

TOMS RIVER – Ocean County is teaming up with the New Jersey Turnpike Authority to improve Parkway overpasses in Toms River and Brick.  Work will begin later this year on Church Road, Old Freehold Road and Chambersbridge Road.  It’s part of the Parkway widening project.

WALL TOWNSHIP – MONOC Mobile Health Services deepens its reach into North Jersey, taking control of CenCom emergency dispatching for Livingston-based Atlantic Ambulance Corporation as of April 2. MONOC operatives predict no changes or interruption of service or cost fluctuations. They’re meeting with affiliated agencies prior to the changeover.

MARGATE – I’ts the passing of legend in Atlantic City’s gaming history. Resorts CEO Dennis Gomes died over night at age 68. The entrepreneur once was a nemesis of the underworld while a prosecutor in Las Vegas. His exploits are chronicled in the film “Casino.”