Category: Tri-Town Opinion

  • Jackson council approves $1M cut in school tax levy

    BY DAVE BENJAMIN Staff Writer JACKSON — The ax has fallen on the 2010-11 Jackson School District general fund tax levy to the tune of $1 million. On April 20, voters rejected the Jackson Board of Education’s proposed tax levy of $71.6 million for the upcoming school year. That sent the board’s proposed $135.9 million…

  • Howell education foundation will host ‘5K Race to Educate’

    HOWELL — On June 5 the Howell Township Education Foundation in conjunction with the Freehold Area Running Club will hold its first “Race to Educate” 5- kilometer race beginning and ending at Howell Middle School South, 220 Ramtown Greenville Road, Howell. Registration begins at 7:30 a.m. and race time is 9 a.m. Pre-registration for this…

  • Growth of public jobs is draining residents

    GUEST COLUMN JOHN GREENE Iconcur with Kenneth J. O’Dowd, (“Reinstating ‘Millionaire’s’ Tax Might Make Sense for State,” News Transcript, Your Turn, April 28) that there would be considerable financial savings in New Jersey if we eliminated the redundant administrative overhead of smaller school districts by combining them with other contiguous districts. However, his contention of…

  • Beyond petunias and marigolds

    GREEN SCENE GOTTI KELLEY “Gardening is a way of showing that you believe in tomorrow.” Doug Tallamy Now don’t get me wrong, petunias, especially the new-wave cultivars, are terrific showstoppers. The marigold was just named the Flower of the Year by the National Garden Bureau and justifiably so. A most durable, hardy plant featured in…

  • BlueClaws to serve up winning dishes May 26

    MIKE MORAN At 6 p.m. May 26, the covers come off the food and the eating frenzy begins at FirstEnergy Park in Lakewood – home of the Lakewood BlueClaws. For the past 10 years, the BlueClaws players have served as waiters and the coaching staff have been the bartenders at this annual event, which is…

  • Jackson community pulled together to find family’s lost dog

    We lost our dog on April 13 in the woods off Don Connor Boulevard in Jackson. My husband was out walking the woods and A.J. (our dog) took off after a deer. He was not familiar with the area and we could not find him. Not being close to home, we did not have a…

  • Maria Isabel Villaran Quinones

    Mrs. Quinones, 80, of Lakewood, died May 2, 2010. She was born in Loiza, Puerto Rico. Surviving are two sons, Ricardo Jr. and Jose Ramon; four sisters, Virginia Cartagena, Gloria Velazquez, Christina Maldonado and Elena Franco; four grandchildren; and three greatgrandchildren. A funeral service was held at the Higgins Memorial Home, Freehold. Memorial donations may…

  • Special ed. director offers program insights, updates

    Officials hope to educate more special-needs children in-district BY DAVE BENJAMIN Staff Writer JACKSON — With one out of every 94 children in New Jersey diagnosed as having autism, the Jackson School District is aiming to provide the least restrictive environment for these students and others with learning disabilities. “It means a lot to me…