Valley By Owner

Roadwork slows foot traffic to businesses

VINELAND -- A massive construction effort aimed at revitalizing the intersection of Sherman Avenue and the Boulevard is curbing customer flow for a few nearby businesses.

Sun Valley Pools on the intersection's southwest corner and Malench Farms on the northeast corner have seen far fewer customers drop by since construction started in March. With construction now in full swing, it's impacting sales in their peak seasons, the owners said.

"It's a big inconvenience -- even customers have mentioned it, but they are troopers," Sun Valley Pools owner Debbe Prisinzano said, noting she's thankful for her regular shoppers.

The county contracted South State Inc. late last year to revamp the heavily used intersection and add traffic signals, Dan Orr, Cumberland County's Director of Public Works, said.

Work started this past spring and Orr hopes to have the job finished by the end of the year.

A major part of the two-phase project is raising the Boulevard and its approaches from Sherman Avenue so it is level with the railroad track grade that runs between each side of the Boulevard, Orr said.

Traffic signals also will be installed, replacing the four-way stops that previously were at the intersection, he said. The signals will feature a camera system that is triggered by traffic and can adjust the signal to speed up travel.

Sherman Avenue is being widened from 40 feet to about 54 feet to make room for a turn lane, Orr said.

South State also is extending an 8-inch water line from Sherman Avenue to South East Boulevard on a request from the city, which will reimburse the county $63,245 for the work, Orr said.

"When you drive over the railroad, there's a large hump," he said. "Now there will be a smooth transition."

Plans to revamp this intersection started more than 10 years ago, following a road study by the South Jersey Transportation Planning Organization, Orr said.

"It just took this long to get through the funding and approvals," he said.

The federally funded project totals $3.15 million, Orr said.

Crews started on the west side of the Boulevard and plan to complete it by early August and start the second phase, which is the same work on the east side of the Boulevard, Orr said.

Traffic is now being diverted to Butler Avenue and away from where Sherman Avenue intersects with South West Boulevard, just outside Sun Valley Pools.

When phase two begins, that side of the Boulevard will reopen while work moves to South East Boulevard, just outside Malench Farms.

Carmel Valley native and Gracie Barra studio owner finds his ...

The martial art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu forever changed Mark Bursztyn’s life, now he’s doing what he can to give back to the community he grew up in and share the art form that promotes self-improvement, control and the ability to protect yourself.

Bursztyn, who is known to all in the martial arts community as “Doze,” opened his Gracie Barra studio in Sorrento Valley in July 2010.

Gracie Barra, founded by Carlos Gracie Jr., is one of the largest Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu associations with over 150 schools worldwide and local locations in Encinitas, Carlsbad and Linda Vista. At age 23, Doze is the youngest owner of a Gracie Barra school.

“Owning this school has taught me so many things about myself and it’s still kind of fake to me that I own this business and have all these responsibilities,” Doze said. “My biggest responsibility is for the kids and for all my students to view me as a mentor.”

Born and raised in Del Mar and Carmel Valley, Doze was part of the first graduating class of Ashley Falls School and attended Carmel Valley Middle School and Torrey Pines High School, class of 2005.

He wasn’t always as driven and focused as he is today; during and after high school he struggled to find the right path. It wasn’t until he met Coach Rafael Ramos and started training in Jiu-Jitsu that he was able to change his life.

“I was pretty lost,” Doze said. “It helped transform me from an unhealthy, negative lifestyle to a positive lifestyle.”

Five years ago at age 19, Doze cleaned up his diet, gave up the party scene that had taken a tragic toll on numerous classmates and became committed to his training.

Doze had never liked team sports so the independence of martial arts appealed to him—“It’s up to you how far you want to go with it,” he said.

He decided to take it pretty far, training to achieve his brown belt and eventually began teaching at Gracie Barra Encinitas. He also started competing in 2009. At the Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championships in Long Beach last year, Doze was among the top 20 in the world.

Doze likes to think of Jiu-Jitsu as a physical art rather than a martial art. There is no striking, everything in the art is designed to control your opponent using body weight and joint manipulations. By learning the grappling techniques, students can learn how to control a person much larger than them.

“It’s such a great art for kids to learn because bullying is such a huge epidemic right now,” said Doze, who wants kids to know they have a right to defend themselves.

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