Category: Independent Opinion

  • Political leaders must remain behind rail plan

    Political leaders must remain behind rail plan It will take all the political support the Monmouth-Ocean county region can muster to advance a plan for passenger rail service through this area of New Jersey, which continues to explode in population. Published reports indicate that in the next decade, it is expected that approximately 25 percent…

  • Square not slice of paradise resident envisioned

    I, like many residents of Middletown, relocated here after creating a plan, working hard, saving money and, finally, realizing my dream. I decided a long time ago the never-ending traffic, the large number of daily visitors coming into the community, as well as attempting to co-exist with businesses and all the other downfalls of living…

  • Kiwanis thanks supporters for aid during food drive

    Members of the Kiwanis Club of Holmdel express their sincere appreciation to weekend food shoppers at A&P, Towne Center, Holmdel; Pathmark, Route 35 north, Middletown; and ShopRite, Route 35 north, Middletown; for their generous contributions of food to the 17th annual "Christmas Food Drive for The Hungry." President Jim Colby, who is also the coordinator…

  • Municipal chairman stymied by ‘sour grapes’ again

    Last year, the Independent published a letter from one of the Republicans who won a Township Committee seat in Holmdel. This person was unkind to the Democrats in his letter. In response, I commented in a letter (also published by the Independent) that it was unusual to see sour grapes in a letter from the…

  • Acts of kindness evoke true spirit of Christmas season

    Reading a letter from Victoria DiTomasso in the Dec. 18 Independent prompted me to write about another act of kindness in the spirit of Christmas. Last year, on Dec. 7, I lost my son to cancer. I wasn’t going to get a tree, but my grandchildren were going to be with me on Christmas. On…

  • School program to focus on preventing violence

    By maura dowginStaff Writer By maura dowgin Staff Writer KEYPORT— District students will be working hand-in-hand in a new after-school program intended to teach methods of preventing violence. At its Dec. 4 regular meeting, the Board of Education approved a new after-school club sponsored by 180, Turning Lives Around (formerly the Women’s Center of Monmouth…

  • Obituaries

    Greater Media Newspapers prints obituaries as a free community service, at no charge to the families of the deceased or to the funeral homes that provide the information. THELMA MACKEY BABCOCK, 88, of Middletown died Dec. 10 at Meridian Nursing and Rehabilitation, Red Bank. Mrs. Babcock had been a resident of Middletown since 1951. She…

  • Guest Column

    Dennis DevinoStation plaza is the future of Aberdeen Dennis Devino Station plaza is the future of Aberdeen When I served on the Aberdeen Township Council in the mid-1990s, I had the opportunity to discuss and debate the future of the community as a member of a committee that reviewed the township’s master plan. During meetings…

  • Resident: Town center is wrong kind of development

    On reading the statements made by the various groups regarding the proposed town center in Middletown, I am perplexed by why some feel a large shopping area that is not connected by a roof is superior to a mall. I do not think any large shopping area, with or without a roof, is needed in…