Goings On in Aberdeen 17-18 June 2009

The Matawan Rotary Club issued six scholarships and grants on Thursday 18 June 2009 at their monthly meeting at the Buttonwood. Jonathan Bartlett, Emily Montelione, and Kara Rajmahan, all of Matawan Regional High School, received college scholarships, and grants went to the Matawan Aberdeen Public Library, the Ronald McDonald House, and Mission Matawan.

Tom Gambino of the Matawan Aberdeen School Board hosted a mission statement brainstorming session at the high school on Wednesday evening. About three dozen people, including Superintendent O'Malley, shuffled themselves between a score of thought provoking questions, giving their input in small groups led by facilitators with newsprint and markers. My wife and I attended, shared our opinions with our neighbors and gobbled up the free cookies.

The New Jersey League of Municipalities is attempting to push legislation through the State Senate that would halve the amount that libraries derive from local tax revenues, according to Librarian and Information Science News. Rather than rely on changing tax receipts to regulate revenues, the League intends to cut the factor itself, which has been the same for over 70 years. It would be a huge mistake to tinker with New Jersey Library Laws. The New Jersey Library Association's blog shows that while some towns argue that library funding should be reduced to relieve strained budgets, others recognize the increased need for library services in these difficult times. More people need to use the library to look for work, to polish resumes, to use the free computers and borrow books. The library is a great, inexpensive place to take your children to read or watch a movie. The mayor of Perth Amboy is moving to restore that town's historic library, built by Andrew Carnegie over a hundred years ago. How the township and borough are forcing our library to tap its capital improvement fund for general fund expenses was fodder for discussion (146 comments) at Aberdeener the past few days.

Joe Schroek plans to open a new cafe called Higher Grounds at 114 Main Street, right across the street from Maloney's, on the 5th of July. There will be open mic nights, poetry slams, and featured artists to go along with their coffee and smoothies. The works of local photographers and artists will appear in the cafe's gallery. Check out his Higher Grounds fan site on Facebook. Facebook members can click here to find his site and become a fan.

I had my debut on Wednesday nite at karaoke night at Maloney's. A couple of Bass ales helped me muster the nerve. If you've not done karaoke before, they have plenty of books with lists of songs by artist. You simply write down the song on a card they have on the counter, then hand it to the DJ and wait for your name to be called. The letters in the song change from white to yellow as you move through the song, so you know when to sing. Finding the note is kinda up to you, as you will note when you hear others singing. My daughter kept daring me to get up there and sing, so now she owes me a Glenfiddich.