Category: Independent Opinion

  • Berenice H. Schlosser

    Mrs. Schlosser, 92, a resident of Belford for 55 years, died April 15, 2010, at home. She was an active member of Court Fulgens Corona Catholic Daughters of the Americas for 54 years and served as past regent and district deputy. An active communicant of St. Mary’s Catholic Church, New Monmouth, Mrs. Schlosser was a…

  • Fiorendo C. Sigismondi

    Mr. Sigismondi, 81, of Aberdeen, died May 2, 2010, at Overlook Hospital, Summit. He was a lifelong farmer in Aberdeen and Manalapan. Mr. Sigismondi was a dedicated patrolman with the Aberdeen Police Department, retiring in 1993. Surviving are his wife, Rose (née Tedesco) Sigismondi; three sons, Constantino, Theodore and Frank, all of Manalapan; a daughter,…

  • William Wanamaker Weisbrod

    Mr. Weisbrod, 89, of Montville and Jersey City, died April 16, 2010, at Veterans’ Memorial Home at Menlo Park. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II. Upon his return to the United States, he worked briefly in banking in New York City and at Western Electric before establishing his own auto body…

  • Mayor again asks MTEA to agree to wage freeze

    With the recent defeat of the Middletown school budget on April 20, the task of cutting the budget now goes to the Middletown Township Committee. In an effort to significantly cut the budget, I immediately reached out to the Middletown Township Education Association (MTEA) and asked them to accept a one-year wage freeze. This would…

  • Message from school elections: Enough is enough

    Voters in New Jersey on April 20 rejected 59 percent of all school budgets, including many in wealthy, high-performing school districts, including Holmdel and Colts Neck. This was the first time since 1976 that more than 50 percent of school budgets were defeated. I think there are a couple of important messages in these results.…

  • Hazlet ex-mayor says actions of GOP majority are irresponsible

    In August 2008, my Township Committee colleagues and I introduced an ordinance dissolving the Hazlet Sewerage Authority. As we explained at the time, the decision was the result of a careful review that examined ways to reduce the tax burden on homeowners and small businesses. The vote to dissolve the authority was unanimous, and I…

  • Holmdel committee should make cuts to school budget

    This is an epilogue to my comments that were published in the Independent issue of April 15 (Resident Wants More Transparency in Holmdel BOE). In the Holmdel school board election on April 20, one incumbent, who had in the past exhibited some fiscal sense, was elected along with three newcomers. The proposed school budget was…

  • Letter to Christie suggests revamping sports programs

    Dear Gov. Christie, Let us go back to World War II, gas rationing, food rationing and blackouts. High schools had to ration the sports programs. All programs were reduced by a minimum of 20 percent. Teams did not travel more than 10 miles. We played the same teams at least two times to save on…

  • Resident sees disdain in Township Committee’s actions

    I f hypocrisy were a qualification for leadership, the mayor of Middletown would be king of the hill. Hypocrisy exposes the lack of leadership qualities possessed by this man. The fiasco surrounding the recent proposal for turf fields during the current economic recession is a classic example of the ambiguity that this mayor operates by.…