Category: Independent Opinion

  • ‘Gift Trees’ project a success

    The members of the Woman’s Club of Middletown would like to sincerely thank all the residents of Middletown Township and the surrounding areas for their participation in the club’s 2004 annual “Holiday Gift Trees” project held this past December. More than 175 wrapped gifts were donated, collected and delivered to the Visiting Nurses Association at…

  • MOM line station better off in Matawan or Red Bank

    In response to Assemblyman Joseph Azzolina’s letter last week, the proposed Monmouth-Ocean-Middlesex rail line should be built — but not through South Brunswick. While he espouses the virtues of the Lakehurst to Monmouth Junction alignment, he does not reveal the reason why the 1996 study opted for enhanced bus service on Route 9. According to…

  • Many in our communities are making a difference

    It seems only fitting that at this time of year we publish the latest installment of our "People Who Make a Difference" series. The holiday season and the new year are for many of us a period of reflection and celebration. Just about everyone who touches our lives "makes a difference" in some way. But…

  • Obituaries

    Minnie W. Weaver Mrs. Weaver, 90, of North Middletown, died Jan. 1 at Laurel Bay Rehabilitation Center, Keansburg. Born in Newark, she had been a resident of North Middletown since 1947. Mrs. Weaver was the owner and operator of Weaver’s Candy Store, North Middletown, for 27 years before her retirement. She was a communicant of…

  • Monmouth-Ocean-Middlesex rail line is good public policy for central New Jersey

    Joseph AzzolinaGuest Column Joseph Azzolina Guest Column The possibility exists that the draft environmental impact statement for the Monmouth-Ocean-Middlesex (MOM) rail line currently in progress might result in "no preferred alternative." This would be a travesty to every resident affected by the traffic and congestion in the central region of New Jersey. The mere possibility…

  • Arthur J. Fitzgerald

    Mr. Fitzgerald, 87, of Ormond Beach, Fla., died Dec. 20 at home. Born in Jersey City, he had resided in Whiting and in Brooklyn, N.Y., before moving to Ormond Beach. Mr. Fitzgerald retired from the New York Police Department, in 1973, where he had attained the rank of lieutenant. He was a U.S. Army veteran…

  • Tsunami victims are in desperate need of assistance

    This truly is the season for giving, not because of any holiday but rather because the people of the world are in dire need. As many of you may have watched or read about, tidal waves caused by an earthquake under the ocean floor in Southeast Asia caused devastation in 11 underdeveloped nations on Dec.…

  • Obituaries

    Joseph J. Penniplede Mr. Penniplede, 59, of Matawan, died Dec. 26 at his home. Born in Jersey City, he had lived in Union City before moving to Matawan 34 years ago. He was a Union City fireman for 27 years, retiring 9 years ago, and had previously been a Union City police officer for five…

  • 2005 will bring busy local agendas

    As we prepare to turn the calendar page from 2004 to 2005, we mark the end of another year of service to the communities in which our newspaper circulates. The stories of 2004 have taken their place in the history books and we look forward to all that the new year holds in store for…