Bicyclist The Attorney General’s Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA) is investigating a fatal vehicle crash that occurred October 10 on State Route 36 in Middletown.

A 2019 law requires the Attorney General’s Office to conduct investigations of a person’s death that occurs during an encounter with a law enforcement officer acting in the officer’s official capacity or while the decedent is in custody. It requires that all such investigations be presented to a grand jury to determine if the evidence supports the return of an indictment against the officer or officers involved.

The accident involved an adult male who sustained fatal injuries, and an Atlantic Highlands police vehicle.

The Identity of both the resident and the police officer involved are not being released at this time.

According to the preliminary investigation, at approximately 1:00 p.m., an officer from the Atlantic Highlands Police Department, who was driving a marked police vehicle, collided on Route 36 in the area of Orchard Avenue with a cyclist who was riding an e-bike. The cyclist was airlifted to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune. He was pronounced deceased on October 19, 2025.

The investigation is ongoing and no further information is being released at this time.

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“if the council was balanced between parties I believe there would be more of a discussion on agenda items and that more of the residents would be represented,” said Laura Hesse, a candidate for one of the two seats to be decided in the November election for the Atlantic Highlands Council. She continued “Right now, they (the borough council) vote the way the Mayor wants them to vote.”

Hesse and Justin Thomas are running for the two seats being vacated by Vito Coloasurdo and Eileen Cusick, neither of whom is seeking another term on the local governing body.

Hesse and Thomas are both Republicans, Colasurdo and Cusick are both Democrats.

Should the Republicans win, it would mean that representatives of both political parties are represented on the borough council. Currently, the Mayor, and all six council members are Democrats, with no Republicans currently serving on the borough council.

Hesse confirmed there have been instances while the candidates were campaigning when residents, upon hearing they were Republicans, indicated they were not interested in hearing what they had to say or what plans they had for improvements in the borough should they be elected. It isn’t fair to judge us without hearing what we have to say, Hesse said.

Nor is it fair to all the residents of the borough, the candidate continued. Having both parties represented on the governing body would put the governing body on a more balanced level and let every resident of the borough feel his concerns are being taken equally, even though he might not be of the majority party. When all elected borough officials are members of the same party, it not only dominates, but is also representative of only one party’s opinion even though the borough is ruled under a bipartisan government form.

“A bipartisan town government would put all candidates on the same level. The outcome of this election should not be about party affiliation as it appears from residents who will not even listen to us when we say we are Republicans; the election should be won based on the best candidate for the job, “ Hesse said.

Hesse continued that she feels confident both she and Thomas are the best qualified for council; her feeling, she said, has been endorsed by reactions from those residents who have taken the time to hear and see them in recent weeks.

Thomas and Hesse have been meeting people door to door in various sections of the borough and will continue to do so to give every resident an opportunity to meet them and discuss what they would want the borough council to be doing. Hesse and Thomas also have Facebook pages and videos to enable residents to know more about them and how they stand on matters that affect the borough.

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With major drugstore chains closing down hundreds of locations, with chain drug stores filing bankruptcy and facing severe financial distress, now is the time more than ever to know more about and appreciate the value of a family-owned hometown pharmacy.

Bayshore Pharmacy in the Foodtown Shopping Mall on Route 36 in Atlantic Highlands is the perfect example.

CVS has announced plans to close 270 stores, on top of those they have already closed.

Walgreens has plans to shut down more than a thousand stores within the next 18 months.

Rite Aid filed for bankruptcy and now all of its stores are closed.

So what is it that keeps Bayshore Pharmacy alive and well, and continuing to help all its customers on a daily basis?

It’s simple. The bottom line is

THEY CARE!

It was 61 years ago, more than half a century and then some, that Richard C. Stryker, R.Ph. opened his pharmacy. Of course he chose to open it in Atlantic Highlands, his hometown, the town where the Stryker family laid down deep and firm roots in the 19^th century. For Richard Stryker, it was more than opening a drug store. It was opening a pharmacy in his hometown that would provide for his friends and neighbors.

Stryker built up his business slowly, honestly, and with love and concern for the people he served. He brought up his son, Richard the same way, teaching him the importance of family, friendship, professionalism and always doing the right thing. Assured young Richard held to his same ideals, and those of the senior Stryker’s family members who were in the business with him, he retired, stepping down and handing the reins over to his son to carry on the Stryker tradition.

The second Richard Stryker follows his dad’s directives and guidance well; the pharmacy continues to be the pharmacy that is right there to assist every neighbor, every customer that comes through the door.

However, over the past half decade or so, the pharmacy industry as a whole has faced severe financial distress. The chain stores shut down locations and took major efforts to restructure their businesses. That included reducing labor costs, eliminating leases, shutting down stores that weren’t making enough of a profit, cutting back on services that did not make them any extra funds. In short, the needs of maintaining high profits took precedence over the everyday concerns of the chain store pharmacy patron.

But at Bayshore Pharmacy, the accent was still on customer service, still on maintaining a quaint and friendly business that had grown from being just a drug store to being the major gift shoppe and pharmacy for the area, while still keeping the accent on providing every pharmaceutical need every customer has. Their work and their constant desires to meet the needs of individual customers are highly effective.

Last year, the Bayshore Pharmacy family, for indeed it is a family, celebrated 61 years in business with flourish and fanfare that broke back scores of residents to celebrate and remember. Families who had moved out of state after raising their children here came back to celebrate with newcomers who didn’t know the history but knew they liked everything Bayshore Pharmacy had to offer. People knew Bayshore Pharmacy was more than a drug store, more than a gift shop; it was the home for family care.

Because it is a family-owned business, Bayshore Pharmacy is an independent pharmacy rather than part of a chain. As such the pharmacy focuses on what is needed most: personalized service, community commitment, and specialized programs.

The present Rich Stryker will tell you the key points of this store are the personalized relationship-based care that is offered. At Bayshore, no customer is a number; each is an individual name, a person the pharmacist will say Hi to from his place in the glassed- in work area behind the counter; tor he’ll come down to chat with a customer concerned about a new med, or to answer a customer’s question about his latest prescription, a question he answers in terms the customer can understand. Or any of the staff might just stop to talk for a minute, to assure himself his customer is happy and well taken care of.

As an independent pharmacy, Bayshore does not have any specific quota it feels obligated to fill; the accent is rather on providing specifically what the customer wants or needs.

As an independent pharmacy, Bayshore also offers convenience packaging, called ‘medication synchronization. That means the pharmacist and staff package all medications by date and time, simplifying complex regimens for many customers. It’s a service that’s offered that is particularly appreciated by senior citizens or caregivers, saving time and assuring accuracy in time and amount of every medication.

And while medications that are prescribed for renewal can always be renewed with ease, Bayshore offers reminders and arranges to have meds ready and waiting for the time and day requested by the customer. Or, delivered right to the home, should that be the request.

Bayshore also goes far beyond prescriptions. There are numerous health programs, including a Diabetes Education program, a Wellness Center, and other programs that encourage a customer to focus on being proactive in the areas of personal improved health and preventative care. The Health Center is now a major part of the pharmacy’s offerings, with its health sessions keeping individuals informed on everything from vitamins and supplements to heart health, diabetes and GLP1 support. It has grown in leaps and bounds since first opened less than five months ago as customers realize the benefits education offers in maintaining their own health standards and practices.
When it is a family-owned business in a town where literally everybody knows your name. Bayshore also offers a staff that is as warm and welcoming, as knowledgeable about their own work obligations and duties as the Strykers themselves. Many of the staff have been employed for decades, Store Manager Ellen Duda has been part of the Bayshore family for nearly three decades; others are second-generation employees whose parents also proudly worked at Bayshore Pharmacy. Even the rare new employee quickly learns the names of each customer, knowing each is far more important than simply being a person standing before the counter.

Bayshore Pharmacy has a long history in Monmouth County as a family-owned business that shows more than efficiency and excellence in the store. It’s also deeply grounded in the community, generous in their offerings of service and education, with the owners also involved in many other ways in the community. The senior Stryker, who still stops in the store long enough each week or so to ensure his son is maintaining his high standards and to revel in the friendship of the customers, was a long time Mayor of the community, the present owner is on the board of directors of the Portland Pointe senior housing community.

There is little doubt chain-owned and operated pharmacies are losing the confidence and trusted business of their customers.

That’s a far cry from what is happening at the family owned and operated, 61 year old Bayshore Pharmacy.

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