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Jersey Shore Still Digging Out From Blizzard

OCEAN GROVE, NJ (WCBS 880 / AP) - It's been three days since the snow stopped falling and in Ocean Grove and there are still cars completely covered with snow, roads that are barely passable, and residents who are frustrated, to say the least.

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WCBS 880's Kelly Waldron reports

"I literally had to climb over a mound of snow and walk on top of cars to get to work," one man told WCBS 880 reporter Kelly Waldron. "I've never seen it where you can't get out like this. I've never seen it."

Another man, Keith Lyons, was hailing a cab to get to work because he couldn't even get to his car, which was sitting right in front of his house.

"I work at the hospital. There are people snowed in there for two or three days where they couldn't even leave," Lyons said.

PHOTO GALLERIES: Blizzard Slams East Coast | User-Submitted Pictures



Some municipal leaders say deep budget cuts are partly to blame for the slow cleanup around the state after Monday's giant snow storm.

In Brick Township, some workers facing layoffs didn't show up for work. Pequannock officials cut back on rock salt.

Short on money and manpower, Brick Township Mayor Stephen Acropolis said this is the new picture of New Jersey government.

"Guys just saying again 'well we couldn't get out of our house. We weren't sick,'" Acropolis said, referring to his 11 employees who called out. "We had four SUVs on call. If your plow driver can't get to your plow truck to plow, you've got a problem. Well that wasn't the problem here because we had people out there to pick them up."

But with an unprecedented amount of snowfall, Acropolis understands that nobody could borrow or share equipment to clean up the mess.

Regardless of the snow, though, Acropolis is upset about how it's reflecting on the Township.

"It doesn't make the union look good, but it also doesn't make the guys that took off look good to their brethren who are out busting their butts plowing for 40 hours," Acropolis said.

Gov. Chris Christie cut more than $450 million in aid to municipalities in his budget this year, but his spokesman says the state is not to blame for the problems with the storm.

Municipal administrators say they would have struggled with the clean up regardless, but the scare resources didn't help.

(TM and © Copyright 2010 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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