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MONDAY 02.29.16

ON LEAP DAY...

EXCLUSIVE

HAPPY, HAPPY
24TH BIRTHDAY!

Drug program
scores early
success in
first month
KEN SERRANO @KENSERRANOAPP

In the summer of 2011, Angela Cicchino found herself living in an abandoned house off Route 37 in Toms
River, going without showers for weeks at a time.
There was no running water for the toilets, no electricity. The only thing that mattered was copping heroin to get her through the day.
Hygiene wasnt really my thing, she said with the
black humor of an addict recalling rock-bottom.
I thought I was going to die there. I was hoping I
was going to die there, the 26-year-old Toms River
woman said. Walking out into the real world scared
me.
When she did walk out, it was to go to jail. It took
that to get her into treatment for opiate addiction,
where she developed a network of support. And it was
the feeling of not being alone that got her to the other
side, she said.
With that hard-earned knowledge and the drive to
keep people from slipping away, Cicchino is part of
the reason for the early success of a program that
aims to steer opiate users revived from overdoses into
rehab.
She is a recovery specialist in the New Jersey
See TREATMENT, Page 4A
BRIAN JOHNSTON/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Friends light a candle for Kathie Taylor, who is preparing to celebrate her 24th birthday, at Sea Brook Village in Tinton Falls.
She was born on Feb. 29, 1920, a leap year.

For Feb. 29 babies, every four years

is a special opportunity to celebrate
JERRY CARINO CARINOS CORNER

ELECTION 2016
And of the candidates remaining on that
stage, (Donald Trump) is the best person to
beat Hillary Clinton, which is job one for
Republicans, Gov. Chris Christie said.

with a birthday on Feb. 29, a date that shows up on the calendar once

Christie on Trump:
Theres things I
disagree with him

every four years. Its an awkward deal. e Some (Leap Day) people

BOB JORDAN @BOBJORDANAPP

Meg Porter didnt want to have a baby on Leap Day. The doctor gave
her no choice. e She ended up coming in an emergency C-section,
Porter said. It was 10:51 at night. e So Bridget Porter got stuck

use March 1 as their birthday, and Im like, thats kind of my birthday but not
really, said Bridget, a Point Pleasant Borough resident who is celebrating her
Sweet 16th or is it her fourth? Its more special when theres a 29th. e There
is a 29th this year, and Leap Day people everywhere are loving it. e Im so glad
to have a whole day thats really my birthday, said Tinton Falls resident Kathie
Taylor, who is turning 96. If you cant make it on the real day, its strange.
See LEAP, Page 4A

One of the top backers of Chris Christies now-suspended presidential campaign says the New Jersey
governors endorsement of Donald Trump is an astonishing display of political opportunism, and urged
others in the Christie camp to reject the governor
and Donald Trump outright.
Hewlett-Packard CEO Meg Whitman, who was national finance co-chair for Christies campaign, says
Trump is a dishonest demagogue who plays to our
worst fears.
Christie knows all that and indicated as much
many times publicly. The governor is mistaken if he
believes he can now count on my support, and I call on
Christies donors and supporters to reject the governor and Donald Trump outright. I believe they will.
For some of us, principle and country still matter,
Whitman said in a statement obtained by NBC News
on Sunday. Christie deflected when questioned about
Whitmans statement during a 12-minute segment on
ABCs This Week with George Stephanopoulos, and
Christie otherwise tried to square his past opposition
to Trump with his new embrace.
See CHRISTIE, Page 10A

JASON TOWLEN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Leap Day baby Bridget Porter celebrates her Sweet 16 and fourth birthday with family and friends
on Sunday at St. Pauls United Methodist Church in Bay Head.

Person nominated to replace

Antonin Scalia may have
many shoes to fill. 1B

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VOLUME 137
NUMBER 51
SINCE 1879