Category: Independent News

  • New director brings personal experience to Vietnam vet center

    Plans call for public education and outreach program BY JACQUELINE HLAVENKA Staff Writer William Linderman brings his personal experience of serving in Vietnam to his new post at the Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial Foundation. HOLMDEL — William “Bill” Linderman is standing in the center of exhibit space at the Vietnam Era Educational Center in Holmdel, surrounded…

  • Walling resigns from Keyport Borough Council

    Three-term councilman says he’s tired of fighting with mayor By Tom Shortell Staff Writer Democratic Councilman George Walling surprised political allies and opponents alike by resigning from the Keyport Borough Council Jan. 20. Walling, a three-term councilman known for his fiery denouncements of Democratic Mayor Robert Bergen’s administration, said he was leaving office because he’s…

  • Cliffwood PTO reaches the top with new rock wall

    BY JACQUELINE HLAVENKA Staff Writer CHRIS KELLY staff Cliffwood Elementary School teachers Christopher Nasser and Fran Geroni work with students on the new climbing wall at the Aberdeen school. ABERDEEN — In a few short weeks, the students at Cliffwood Elementary School will be climbing up the walls —literally. Inside the school’s gymnasium, an 8-…

  • Man pleads guilty to insurance fraud

    A Holmdel man has pleaded guilty to setting his vehicle on fire in an attempt to defraud his insurance company, according to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office. Brian Raheb, 49, of Holmdel, pleaded guilty Jan. 15 in state Superior Court in Essex County, Newark, to third-degree insurance fraud. According to Essex County Assistant Prosecutor Michael…

  • Help is available for perinatal mood disorders

    The time when families begin preparing for the arrival of a new baby can be a time of joy, filled with hopes, dreams and high expectations for the future. While many women feel this elation throughout their pregnancy, for some women, the periods before, during and after pregnancy are anything but happy, according to the…

  • ‘Mr. Raider’

    Senior Frank Romeo celebrates winning the title “Mr. Raider” during Keyport High School’s beauty pageant for male students held Jan. 11 to raise funds for online courses for two ailing classmates. Story and more photos, page 3 and at www.gmnews.com.  

  • Bolte defends council seat in runoff election

    49-vote difference returns incumbent to office over Burlew BY TOM SHORTELL Staff Writer After a prolonged, rough-and-tumble campaign, Democrat Christian Bolte defeated Republican challenger Ed Burlew in Keyport’s Jan. 12 runoff election. The Monmouth County Board of Elections officially awarded the election to Bolte on Jan. 14, but the race was all but over when…

  • Local nurse, student among earthquake survivors

    Riverview nurse: ‘I’m not a hero’ BY KIMBERLY STEINBERG & JACQUELINE HLAVENKA The impact of the devastating Haitian earthquake has affected many area residents, including two locals who survived the temblor, as well as those who are responding with an outpouring of support for the earthquake victims.   Still feeling the aftershocks of the Haitian…

  • Keyport H.S. seniors primp for ‘Mr. Raider’ pageant

    Contest raises funds for ailing classmates BY TOM SHORTELL Staff Writer Thirteen Keyport High School senior male students strutted their stuff in a male beauty pageant Jan. 11 to help classmates with cancer.   More than 300 people, many of them teenage girls, crowded a packed Keyport Central School auditorium to see the boys compete…