The Week in Review

Here's our rundown of the biggest stories from the last week on Barnegat Patch: 

• The Barnegat High School varsity cheerleading team held onto its third-in-the-nation title at the national championships held in Orlando last weekend.

• Police reported arrests in two recent drug busts this week, one of which was the culmination of a two-month investigation.

• We got out in the community this week to see what Valentine's Day looked like from the perspective of a local flower shop.

• The Jersey Shore Council of the Boy Scouts of America is starting a troop for boys with special needs in the shore area, which will meet in Barnegat. 

• Ocean County Freeholders introduced their 2012 budget this week, which includes a $300 million tax levy.

• A local group that regularly protests Oyster Creek has joined advocates around the country in calling for an expansion of the emergency evacuation zone around nuclear plants to 50 miles.

• Lots of local readers weighed in to comment on one of the big state news stories of the week: the passage by the legislature and the subsequent veto by Gov. Chris Christie of a bill legalizing same-sex marriage.

• The NJEA and others called on Ocean County College president Jon Larson to resign this week after a whistleblower alleged Larson was involved in illegal and unethical dealings.

• The Barnegat Police Department released details this week on drug seizures in 2011.

• On Thursday, the jury in the trial of Jahmell Crockam, the man accused of killing Lakewod police officer Christopher Matlosz last year, delivered a guilty verdict. Police and others who followed the case closely said the verdict helped bring a sense of closure to a painful chapter in the lives of many.

• The Ocean County Health Department is warning of an outbreak of whooping cough in the county, and is urging parents to get kids vaccinated and make sure the adults in their kids' life have had their pertussis booster vaccines.

• Staff at the Barnegat Nursing and Rehabilitation Center were among 400 unionized healthcare providers celebrating a contract settlement this week. Union leaders said their threat of a strike helped management at the nursing home's parent company agree to a settlement after a year of negotiations.