Category: Independent News
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Keyport council approves sale of water and sewer service
Ordinance passes unanimously on first reading By maura dowginStaff Writer By maura dowgin Staff Writer The Keyport Borough Council is one step closer to selling its municipal water and sewer service to a private company. The council unanimously passed an ordinance on first reading, allowing the sale of the borough’s water and sewer service at…
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Retiring principals plan new business venture
By josh davidsonStaff Writer By josh davidson Staff Writer JEFF GRANIT Port Monmouth School Principal John St. Peter (l) and River Plaza School Principal Frank Vaccarelli are both retiring in September. They are planning to open a consulting business together. MIDDLETOWN — Two well-respected and longtime district principals will be leaving their posts in September.…
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Board holds off purchase of two buses
By josh davidsonStaff Writer By josh davidson Staff Writer Matawan — Due to the concerns of a local bus service owner, the Board of Education will review its future purchase of two new school buses. The board tabled a vote to accept the July 18 bid to purchase two buses from H.A. DeHart & Sons,…
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Matawan man charged in stabbing of brothers
By maura dowginStaff Writer Matawan man charged in stabbing of brothers By maura dowgin Staff Writer KEYPORT — A Matawan man was arrested on aggravated assault charges after two local brothers were stabbed during an alleged dispute over money. Two Matawan men were stabbed in the face and head in the middle of the afternoon…
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Church community prays for local teen vandals
By elaine van develdeStaff Writer By elaine van develde Staff Writer ELAINE VAN DEVELDE The Rev. Daniel Hesko, pastor of St. Catherine’s Church, North Middletown, blesses parishioners’ cars during the feast of St. Christopher, patron saint of travelers, Sunday. Parishioners at the church, which was vandalized by a neo-Nazi group the weekend before, prayed for…
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Boro worker charged in theft from senior center
By maura dowginStaff Writer By maura dowgin Staff Writer KEYPORT — A former borough employee was arrested for stealing from the Keyport Senior Center. Jonathan Rhodes, 49, Fifth Street, was arrested on a charge of third-degree theft for allegedly stealing cash and checks totaling $3,600 out of a locked drawer while working alone in the…
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Hockey coach fined $750 for fighting after game
By charles kim and josh davidsonStaff Writers By charles kim and josh davidson Staff Writers SOUTH BRUNSWICK — A former Middletown High School South varsity hockey coach has pleaded guilty to creating a disturbance and was fined $750. Adrien Thomas, 31, of Farmingdale has since been relieved of his coaching duties and has been replaced…
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Grassroots neo-Nazi group discovered
Five local teensarrested and charged in connection with bias crimes By elaine van develdeStaff Writer Five local teens arrested and charged in connection with bias crimes By elaine van develde Staff Writer Police say a statue of St. Joseph holding the baby Jesus was spray-painted by members of a grassroots neo-Nazi group during a vandalism…
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Coastal issues stretch well beyond the beach
By gloria stravelliStaff Writer By gloria stravelli Staff Writer CHRIS KELLY Head of the American Littoral Society, a conservation group, Timothy Dillingham believes it’s possible to contain sprawl and accommodate population growth without sacrificing the environment. Idyllic childhood hours spent exploring beaches, tidal marshes and coastlines instilled the seeds of stewardship for the ocean and coastal…
