Category: Tri-Town Opinion

  • William David Rakes

    Mr. Rakes, 56, of Jackson, and formerly of Freehold, died March 2, 2009, at CentraState Medical Center, Freehold Township, after a battle with cancer. He had been employed by the Montgomery Care Center, Freehold Township, and for the last 12 years was an employee of Quest Diagnostics, East Brunswick. Mr. Rakes was a U.S. Air…

  • Silly season is over, and now it’s the Season of the Weird

    Coda • GREG BEAN It was the late, great Hunter S. Thompson who observed that “when the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.” And these days, it looks like we’ve got a whole passel of people looking to shed their amateur rags and exchange them for the flashy professional variety. We have definitely entered…

  • Gabriel Del Virginia

    Mr. Del Virginia, 81, of Freehold Township, died March 11, 2009, at CentraState Medical Center in Freehold Township. Born in Newark, he resided in Hillside, Cranford and Tinton Falls prior to moving to Freehold five years ago. Mr. Del Virginia served in the U.S. Marine Corps. He was predeceased by his wife, Mildred, in 1999.…

  • Libraries are helpful resource during an economic crisis

    Guest Column • Norma E. Blake During the past year, more than 100,000 New Jersey residents lost their jobs, adding their names to a list that was already well over 200,000. Many families in our state are facing economic challenges, some for the first time. Businesses, both large and small, are closing their doors as…

  • Frances Cook Van Derveer

    Mrs. Van Derveer, 100, of Applewood Estates, Freehold Township, died March 12, 2009. Born in Farmingdale, she had lived in Freehold since 1930. Mrs. Van Derveer was an elementary school teacher for many years in Asbury Park, Freehold Township and Howell. As a volunteer, she knitted over 1,000 baby hats for newborns at CentraState Medical…

  • William P. Bayer

    Mr. Bayer, 95, of Jackson, died Feb. 27, 2009, at Bartley Manor, Jackson. He was born in New York City and had resided in Marlboro and Freehold before moving to Jackson. Mr. Bayer was an electrician for Hansen, Van Winkle & Munning, Matawan, and later was employed by Monmouth County. A U.S. Army Air Force…

  • Girlfriends: the anchors that keep single women grounded

    Girl Talk • CLARE MARIE CELANO Divorce changes you. It’s been almost 10 years for me, and my life now bears little resemblance to my life before my marriage ended. Running into a close friend I hadn’t seen in a long while allowed me to remember this. The truth is, when two people split up,…

  • How to hook the kids into fishing

    Fish On • RON NUZZOLO Every spring on the first warm day, I get calls from friends who want to take their kids fishing. They are usually acting on what is called fishing fever and spend money on unnecessary tackle. I decided to share with you the simplicity of getting the kids hooked on fishing.…

  • Plumsted school budget amounts to $25.7 million

    BY DAVE BENJAMIN Staff Writer PLUMSTED — The Plumsted Board of Education has introduced and adopted a tentative budget of $25.7 million for the 2009- 10 school year. A public hearing on the budget will be held at 7 p.m. March 31. Residents may comment on the budget or ask questions about it at that…