Category: Independent News
-

Borough Council sets community center fees
BY JOSH DAVIDSONStaff Writer Borough Council sets community center fees BY JOSH DAVIDSON Staff Writer MATAWAN — The Borough Council raised its fees for community center use to cover expenses at the complex. The council passed an ordinance at its Oct. 21 meeting raising the fees for groups not affiliated with Matawan to use its…
-

GOP wins committee majority in Hazlet
BY ELAINE VAN DEVELDEStaff Writer BY ELAINE VAN DEVELDE Staff Writer HAZLET — Things went the Republicans’ way this election. As of January, the majority on Township Committee will switch from Democratic to Republican. The two GOP challengers unseated Deputy Mayor Christopher Cullen and grabbed the vacant seat left by Mayor Steven Piech, who did…
-

Arts center may be site of new 9/11 memorial
BY PAT MILLERStaff Writer BY PAT MILLER Staff Writer HOLMDEL — The PNC Bank Arts Center is one of the spots being considered as a site for the National Police Defense Foundation’s 9/11 memorial for all law enforcement personnel who died in the World Trade Center attacks. The foundation wants the memorial in New Jersey,…
-

Lives shattered along with glass on Kristallnacht
Night of violenceagainst Jews signaled beginning of Holocaust BY GLORIA STRAVELLIStaff Writer Night of violence against Jews signaled beginning of Holocaust BY GLORIA STRAVELLI Staff Writer CHRIS KELLY staff A volunteer at the Center for Holocaust Studies at Brookdale Community College, Marion Favin of Little Silver fled Germany with her family following Kristallnacht in 1938.…
-

Municipal building to open doors
KEYPORT — After months of delays, Mayor John J. Merla expects the new borough hall to open sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas. "This is our first new borough hall," Merla said. "Rome wasn’t built overnight. If we have to wait an extra month, we’ll have to wait. Optimistically, I think we’ll be in there for…
-

Retired Middletown principals move on
BY JOSH DAVIDSONStaff Writer BY JOSH DAVIDSON Staff Writer Through a business venture, two retired Middletown Township school principals are using their educational experience to help others. Former River Plaza School Principal Frank Vaccarelli and Port Monmouth School Principal John St. Peter have created Educational Employment Consultants Inc., and together have taken on the role…
-

Author Gail Sheehy packs library
Book describes how Middletown coped with tragedy of 9/11 BY PATRICIA A. MILLERStaff Writer BY PATRICIA A. MILLER Staff Writer Gail Sheehy MIDDLETOWN — By the time author Gail Sheehy had spent a few weeks in Middletown doing research for her latest book, she found herself deep in "emotional quicksand." The strain of interviewing relatives…
-

Readers: Sheehy book has merit, despite errors
BY PATRICIA A. MILLERStaff Writer BY PATRICIA A. MILLER Staff Writer MIDDLETOWN — Not everyone thinks that author Gail Sheehy captured the true sprit of Middletowners in her latest book "Middletown, America: One Town’s Passage from Trauma to Hope." "Riddled with errors," said a reader from Rumson, who gave the book two out of five…
-

Finally, the end of a dirty campaign season
Finally, the end of a dirty campaign season Greg Bean Coda For the last few years, it’s been our policy at Greater Media Newspapers to forgo endorsing political candidates before municipal, state or national elections. This company’s newspapers had endorsed candidates for most of our history, but we made the decision to stop based on…
