LINDSEY HOWARD Nicole Britton (l-r), Bridget Murphy, Kate Buff and Katie Doe take part in some arts and crafts following the Monmouth Beach tree lighting.
The West Long Branch Board of Education is considering a referendum for next September on a proposed addition and improvements for the borough’s two-school educational complex.
The cost of the project has not been finally determined as yet. The board was looking at $4.5 million but the second floor of the addition has been removed and the stairway and elevator spaces are being reconfigured, so the estimated cost will have to be recomputed.
How much tax money voters will be asked to approve for the project will depend further on whether the school district gets any funding from the state’s school facilities construction program to defray some of the cost.
Boards of Education may hold stand-alone building referendums only on four dates during the year — the fourth Tuesday in January, the second Tuesday in March, the last Tuesday in September, which in 2003 will be the 23rd, or the second Tuesday in December. A building referendum also can be placed on the ballot on the date of the annual school election, which is the third Tuesday in April, but most school districts prefer the referendum to stand alone.
Santa and Mrs. Claus will be special guests at the Italian American Memorial Association breakfast in Long Branch on Sunday, Dec. 22. They will greet the children who attend and give each boy and girl under the age of 12 a gift. The breakfast, while being held on the fourth Sunday of the month as usual, will be served buffet style rather than cooked to order as is usually done. Breakfast will be served from 9 a.m. until 12 noon at the IAMA on West End Avenue at Indiana Avenue. The cost is $2 for children 12 and under, $5 for adults and $4 for seniors. IAMA also offers breakfast on the second Sunday.
Yes, indeed, that was a fox that Monmouth Beach Borough Clerk Bonnie Moore saw in the vicinity of her house on Columbus Drive in Monmouth Beach. That’s what Capt. Richard White told Moore when she asked the police chief-designate if it could really be a fox that she thought she saw.
Monmouth University and the MU chapter of the National Council of Negro Women held its third annual Kwanzaa celebration on Dec. 10 in Anacon Hall. The National Council of Negro Women was founded on Dec. 5, 1935 and the Kwanzaa celebration commemorated the organization’s Founders’ Day and its legacy. The program began with the Black National Anthem and honored the legacy of Kwanzaa, including unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, collective economics, purpose, creativity and faith. The Monmouth University chapter of the council was started in 1999 and currently has 15 active members. The Kwanzaa celebration was open to Monmouth University students, faculty and the local community.
The Asbury United Methodist Church at 61 Atlantic Avenue Long Branch has announced the following holiday events.
On Dec. 20 at 7 p.m. the area church choirs will perform music and carols and on Christmas Eve, Dec. 24 at 7 p.m. there will be a candlelight ceremony. For more information on any of the events please call (732) 229-5544.
On Jan. 25 the Long Branch Historical Association will hold a Snowflake Dinner Dance at the IAMA Building from 7 p.m. to midnight. Music will be by the CHERUBS. Tickets are $30 each and reservations must be made in advance by calling Jo Ann at (732) 229-9258.
The Holy Trinity Parish will sponsor a New Year’s Eve Party from 7 to 1 a.m. in the Holy Trinity School auditorium (rear of the church) on Exchange Place and Division Street.
Music will be by DJ Sounds to Go and the buffet will be catered by Sal’s Italian Catering. Bring your own bottle. Tickets are $45 per person. For more information call Blondie Walter at (732) 935-0992 or Fred Fiore (732) 229-8855.