The Bay Head Beacon

Dr. Victor "Octohands" Moreau is a modern day mad scientist, but don't tell him that. "I am anything but 'mad'," Dr. Octohands says with a laugh. "In fact, I'm one of the happiest people you'll ever meet." Still, Dr. Octohands admits that the primary motivation for his research is to play god. He says, "I believe that if a scientist is not pushing the boundaries of nature and exploring the dark realms of creation, they're just not trying."  Exploring the dark realms of creation is what Dr. Octohands has been doing for the past 20 years. In his basement lab at his home in Hohokus, New Jersey, the doctor has been toiling away trying to cross a human with an animal to create some sort of hideous creature. With a grant from the National Science Foundation, Dr. Octohands has been able to finally have some success. "One of the more difficult choices was deciding what animal to cross with a human. People suggest things like ...

Freddy Voorhees and his best friend Jason Krueger have always loved Halloween. Since the first time they Trick-or-Treated together when they were four, they were hooked. "I mean, c'mon," said Freddy. "How can anybody not love Halloween? You get to wear a disguise and force people to give you candy! It's like getting to be a criminal for a day, and it's cool with everyone. Even moms think it's ok. I love it!" Both boys turned 12 this year and anticipated this to be their best Halloween ever, "Who knew a health crisis would mess up everything for us," said Jason. "This was the year, man! Young enough that we can still get candy, but old enough to finally do some major Mischief Night stuff. It's just not fair." Mischief Night is the evening before Halloween where children and teens play pranks on friends and neighbors. Typical activities include throwing toilet paper on front lawn trees, writing with soap on car windows, heaving ...

In the attic of the Barre family's Bay Head home, a "time capsule" of sweets has been found. What could have been mistaken for trash, might actually be worth as much as  100 grand .  As a baby, Ruth Barre visited her grandmother's house in Bay Head for the first time. "I don't remember that visit, but almost every summer afterwards included time with Grandma Mary Jane and Grampa Henry," she recalls. "I used to love everything about visiting my grandparents, except the candy. For some reason they never quite figured out candy." " Oh, Henry would laugh if he could hear you say that," says Mrs. Barre with a snicker . "He just hated to see anything go to waste. Neither of us were much for sweets; we were afraid we'd get chunky.  So when the candy wasn't eaten, he would seal up the bowl and save it for next year. He insisted it wouldn't go bad, and I guess he was kind of right." Ruth found the bowl after a marathon...

Children's songwriter, Nino Chanson, has passed away at the age of 70. Chanson spent his entire life in Point Pleasant Borough where he worked as an accountant. What he will be remembered for most, though, is the many children's songs and rhymes that he created. Chanson's daughter, Nina, said that her father's greatest legacy was the songs that children still sing on the playground. "My dad was a very humble man," she said. "Most people don't even realize that he is the one responsible for so many of the songs they grew up on, and that now their children sing. I remember the first time I heard my own son singing one of Dad's songs when he was only six. Even when I think of it now, it makes me smile." Chanson started creating songs at a very young age. His first came to him when he was only nine years old. He introduced it at his older sister's birthday party: Happy birthday to you! You belong in a zoo! You look like a monkey! You smell li...

When the Point Pleasant Canal was completed in 1925, no one could have anticipated how the boat traffic would grow in 95 years. Back then, the canal was expected to primarily provide a shortcut for canoes, rowboats, paddle boats, strong swimmers, and bootleggers. With the new canal, it was just a quick, "23 skiddoo!" from the Manasquan River to Barnegat Bay. However, after nearly a century, the venerable canal is having trouble keeping up with the multitude of massive boats that traverse the waterway. Sue Z. Panama, Assistant to the mayor of Point Pleasant Borough, has been working with the Army Corps of Engineers to find a solution to the canal's traffic woes. "We realized that it was not feasible to expand the canal," she said. "The majority of land is too developed for that. But then someone hit upon the idea of creating passing lanes." It was an unusual idea, but Captain Mars Venice, of the Corps of Engineers, said it is not without precedent. ...

Five years ago, when Fred Jones bought a small bungalow on Niblick Street in Point Pleasant Beach, he thought it would be a great investment. "It's a one bedroom house, and it needed some work, but it was only a couple of blocks from the beach," said Jones. "It wasn't expensive, either. I thought I had really lucked out. I guess I was wrong." Jones and his girlfriend, Daphne Blake, spent that first winter fixing up the house themselves. They didn't really notice anything odd, at first. "Sometimes we'd hear noises," said Blake, "and it would just feel colder in certain parts of the house, but we thought that was normal for an old house." By the time they finished their repairs and upgrades, the noises and temperature variations had increased. They also started to notice the distinct smell of beer. Still, Jones and Blake didn't think it was anything supernatural. They had no problems getting tenants for the next summer. Their fr...

Martin Pinzon has created a whole new form of historical study. Instead of doing painstaking academic research, Pinzon has himself hypnotized and records memories of his past lives. The result has been a string of successful, but controversial books. His first book, "Founding Father's Footman" told the story of the creation of the Declaration of Independence from the perspective of a waiter. His next book, "Caesar's Salad Maker," was told by a cook for Roman Emperor Julius Caesar. More recently, Pinzon published "Custodian of the Cosmos," told by a janitor at NASA during the Apollo space program. Now, Martin Pinzon is releasing what may be his most controversial book to date. It is called "Columbus's Cabin Cleaner" and is told by Diego de Salcedo, servant to Christopher Columbus on his voyages. "I am fortunate that so many of my past lives have involved such important historical events," said Pinzon. "It was fascinating...

On June 29, we first reported the rash of sandal thefts on Bay Head and Mantoloking beaches.  Police from both towns dubbed the culprit the Flip-flop kid. Now, as the summer comes to a close, it seems like the nightmare may finally be over. Detective Richard Tracy announced that after months of investigating, the Bay Head Police have apprehended a suspect they believe to be the Flip-flop Kid. “We are confident that we have the right individual in custody. We had received reports of vans in areas where the crimes occurred. Yesterday, an officer approached a parked van near Bridge Avenue with a male suspect who resembled the person drawn by our police sketcher . It was at this time that the suspect drove off and our officers began pursuit. A lengthy chase followed that ended on Route 9 West , when the suspect’s vehicle ran out of gas. The suspect then exited the vehicle and headed for the timber land near Freehold. Our officers continued their pursuit on foot where they finally ca...