Maple Place students shine in civics lesson

OCEANPORT — Within a 60-minute period, 13 Maple Place Middle School students tackled various issues that the Borough Council has been tackling over the past six months.

Mayor Michael Mahon and the Borough Council watched in amazement as the students conducted a mock council meeting on May 7 in council chambers.

Under the direction of seventh-grade social studies teacher John Vaccarelli, the middle school students held an election on April 6 and the 13 students were chosen for their positions.

Emma Feroce was chosen as mayor; Alex Becker as clerk; Katti Thomasian as financial officer; Robbie Whitacre as engineer; Kristin Dolan as chaplain; Sheri De- Nucci as attorney; Sammy Irace, Michaela Curits, Katie Sempkowski, Liza Sidun, and Jessica Olson as councilwomen; Mark Mac- Study as councilman; and Heather Tier as a concerned citizen.

The 13 students spent their time after school getting ready for the mock council meeting.

"You all did a great job," said the mayor. "And ironically, we have been asking the same questions you did for the last six months."

The mayor also praised the group for speaking their minds.

"It's great that everyone shared their own opinions," he said. "We also disagree on issues and have different opinions, but that is all part of the job."

The students, with the help of Councilman Joseph Irace, whose daughter Sammy was elected as a councilwoman, dealt with current events issues, such as the closure of Fort Monmouth; potential dispatch shared services; expanding the Oceanport downtown with new businesses such as coffee houses, restaurants and clothing stores to keep tax dollars down; and finding funds for road-pavement programs, addressing the flooding issue, repairing sidewalks and for the beautification of borough parks.

During the discussion, the students said they would not like to see a shopping center at the Fort Monmouth site.

"We're worried about tourists," said Katti Thomasian, financial officer. "[Even] though it is good for tourists to come in, we want Oceanport to stay the small town that it is."

"This was a great experience," said Alex Becker, who posed as the borough clerk for the council. "We did a lot of research before tonight. It was a lot of fun."