Middle Road Detour, June 2011

The Asbury Park Press reports that the section of Middle Road between Poole Avenue and Union Avenue in Hazlet will be closed Wednesday through Friday for a temporary bridge repair. Expect detours. The bridge will be completely replaced within the next two years.

Firefighters Part of Memorial Day in Matawan

Fire fighters honored at Memorial Park in Matawan.

History: Decoration Day Parade in Matawan, May 1884

The 31 May 1884 edition of The Matawan Journal describes the route of the annual Decoration Day parade in Matawan.

It is expected that the line will parade up Main street to the intersection of the Old Bridge turnpike; countermarch down Main St. to the Morristown road thence they will proceed to Rose Hill cemetery,
where the graves of soldiers and firemen will be decorated. They will then return to town, and up Jackson to Church; cross Church to Broad; down Broad to Little; cross Little to Main, and up Main to the vacant store formerly occupied by Chas. A. Geran, where a collation, provided by ladies of Matawan, will be spread for all in the line.

A collation is a light meal. The term has Roman Catholic origins.

Decoration Day memorialized Civil War dead in many parts of the North after the war.

Matawan Avenue Woman Jailed on Drug Charges

Monmouth County officials arrested a 47-year-old Matawan Avenue woman and others on drug distribution charges last week after a nearly 3-month long sting operation in a drug-free school zone in Long Branch, according to APP.

Huskies Win Third Consecutive NJSIAA Track & Field Championship.

Matawan Regional High School (80) edged out Long Branch (77) at the NJSIAA Track and Field Sectional Championships, according to the Daily Record. It all came down to the pole vault competition, which Huskies senior Dylan Spadaccini clinched handily. The Huskies became Group II champs for the third year in a row.

Photos of the 2011 Matawan Memorial Day Parade

Here are a few photos of the Matawan Memorial Day Parade. They added a nice collection of tractors this year, but I missed getting photos of them. Probably because I was cooling off in Maloney's! It was quite hot out there today.

Photos

Works by Local Artists to be Exhibited in Rumson

Works by 24 gifted and talented students from the Monmouth County Arts High and Middle Schools have been selected for display at the Oceanic Free Library in Rumson during the month of June 2011, according to the Atlantic Highlands Herald. Local artists from Matawan Regional and Keyport High School will be represented in this 8th annual exhibition of such works.

Matawan Memorial Day Parade 2011

Matawan's Memorial Day Parade leaves St Clement's at 2 pm on Sunday 29 May 2011. The route follows Main Street, crosses Route 34 and ends at Memorial Park at the intersection of Main and Broad.

Update: See my photos of the parade.

Epcot Memory

There's a nice photo in the puzzle section of The New York Times of a Matawan father and daughter at Epcot.

Cub Scout Mom Roughs It at Cheesequake

Middletown Patch has an interesting article by a local Cub Scout mom who joined the pack on a Cheesequake camping trip.

25th Annual NJ Seafood Festival in Belmar

Belmar will host the 25th annual New Jersey Seafood Festival from 10 - 12 June 2011. Plan to travel from Aberdeen-Matawan by NJ Transit train and avoid parking hassles.

37th Annual Monmouth County Fair Set for July 2011

The News Transcript advises that this summer's Monmouth County Fair will run from Wed 27 July thru Sun 31 July 2011! The paper provides some useful details about scheduled fair activities, rates, and ride discounts. Check the fair's webpage for details about how to participate in the 2011 Home and Garden Competition or become a vendor. They even have directions, including a map. It's apparently too early to find a schedule of events or a list of the actual entertainment being featured this summer, but they usually hire some fine musicians and other performers. We'll all just have to wait and see.

UPDATE: The Atlantic Highlands Herald carried the entertainment list for the county fair on 15 Jun 2011.

How Do They Spell DWI in Warrrensburg? The Same as in Matawan

A Matawan man was charged with DWI in Warrensburg, New York, according to The North Country Gazette. The driver had an astonishing blood alcohol level of 0.14. Yikes! He was also charged with felony operation of a vehicle under a suspended license. Surprise, he lost his privileges for a previous DWI. I hope the Matawan and Aberdeen PDs will take note.

What's with all these middle aged Matawan men heading out of town and getting in trouble with the law lately? Dentists? Policemen? I'm running out of ways to say Matawan Man...

Burned Out at Twilight

Here's another burned out house lingering in Cliffwood Beach. This one is on Twilight Way off Woodmere Drive. Maybe the Township should light a flame under the insurance companies if they are to blame for these unfortunate relics still gracing our neighborhood?

Tall Grass

Cliffwood Avenue at Route 35 across from A&P in Cliffwood.

Route 35 at Amboy Road across the street from McDonald's in Cliffwood.

Broadway at Route 35 near Town & Country Inn in Keyport.

Route 35 jughandle at Cliffwood Avenue across from Goodwill in Cliffwood

Route 35 U-turn near Home Depot in Keyport.

Has anyone else noticed how damned tall the grass is getting along our public roads? There is high grass obstructing drivers' views at key merges along Route 35 at Town & Country Inn in Keyport, at the jughandle near Home Depot in Keyport, and at Cliffwood Avenue in Cliffwood Beach. I simply can't see oncoming traffic anymore.

As I understand it, our local municipalities have a joint contract for grass cutting and lawn maintenance with Mark Landscaping of Jamesburg. Are they responsible for the sorry state of affairs?

Matawan Man Practices Dentistry on Suspended License

A Matawan man was arrested in Brick for practicing dentistry on a suspended license, per APP.

Freeholders Say No to SCAT

Republican Freeholders are scrambling to put the right spin on recent actions taken against Senior Citizen Area Transportation (SCAT) and other non-profit transportation services by Monmouth County Freeholder Director Robert Clifton and Kathleen Lodato, the new director of the county's Division of Transportation. Each has taken abrupt steps to rein in county funding of senior citizen and disabled persons transportation. According to APP, MCDOT has stopped funding SCAT and is seeking reimbursement for funding already received in 2010 and 2011. If these services don't go away completely, rates will be rising.

Lodato, President of the Monmouth County Federation of Republican Women, is being paid less than half the salary of her predecessor and has little if any practical experience for the job. She worked in Republican legislative offices for nearly a decade as an events coordinator, then spent five years with a now-defunct home builder. She's unwilling to discuss her resume after 2007. According to APP, the Republican Freeholders signed up Lodato outside of regular Board business.

Cocaine Allegedly Leads Matawan Man Astray

The Middlesex County prosecutor announced on Thursday that a 23-year veteran of the Piscataway Township Police, a resident of Matawan, was charged last month with stealing cocaine for personal use from the evidence locker he was in charge of, according to APP.

New Jersey Skips The Rapture; End Times Will Have to Wait

This evening's storm was the closest our area came to fulfillment of the much-predicted scriptural end times today. Perhaps God skipped New Jersey for political reasons? Who could blame him? I myself was reassured to see a rainbow once it was all over.

Telephone Pole Along Seawall?

A telephone pole has been erected along the Cliffwood Beach seawall. Wonder what that's about? Maybe the authorities plan to mount some security cameras?! Now that would be great. A good location, for sure.

Burned Out Cliffwood Beach House Untouched After 4 Months

That burned out shell of a house in Cliffwood Beach that I mentioned here back in late January remains untouched four months after the fire. It would be nice to know what the situation is with the owners and what issues are delaying demolition. It seems unreasonable for local residents to have to endure this unsightly and dangerous hulk this long. Spring home sales in the area were surely affected. Was the house uninsured? Does anyone know the story here?

Cliffwood Beach Sewer Main Improvements, May 2011

The intersection of North Concourse and West Concourse in Cliffwood Beach was blocked with construction equipment for about a week or so for $120,000 in capital improvements to the sewer system. The work seems to have involved the pipes between the Cliffwood Beach Pumping Station and the manhole in West Concourse. I'm sure the homeowners along the detour, especially those along Brookside and Wayside, are delighted that the work is completed.

Aberdeen Township Council Ordinance 3-2011 contained the following outline of sewer projects. The Cliffwood Beach project is listed below under part E.

SCHEDULE OF IMPROVEMENTS, PURPOSES AND AMOUNTS

A. Acquisition of new additional or replacement equipment and machinery consisting of a grinder for the Strathmore Pump Station.
Appropriation and Estimated Cost $ 20,000
Sewer Utility Capital Improvement
Fund Appropriated $ 20,000
Period of Usefulness 15 years

B. Funding the contribution by the Sewer Department towards the cost of the acquisition of equipment and machinery purchased by the Department of Public Works and jointly used by both departments.
Appropriation and Estimated Cost $ 15,000
Sewer Utility Capital Improvement
Fund Appropriated $ 15,000
Period of Usefulness 15 years

C. Undertaking of epoxy coating on wet well walls to eliminate infiltration.
Appropriation and Estimated Cost $ 40,000
Sewer Utility Capital Improvement
Fund Appropriated $ 40,000
Period of Usefulness 15 years

D. Replacement of the sewer force main and roadway reconstruction on Euclid Avenue.
Appropriation and Estimated Cost $800,000
Sewer Utility Capital Improvement
Fund Appropriated $ 40,000
Bonds and Notes Authorized $760,000
Period of Usefulness 40 years

E. Replacement of the sewer force main and manhole at the intersection of North Concourse and West Concourse.
Appropriation and Estimated Cost $120,000
Sewer Utility Capital Improvement
Fund Appropriated $ 10,000
Bonds and Notes Authorized $110,000
Period of Usefulness 40 years

-------------------------------------------------------
Aggregate Appropriation and Estimated Cost $995,000
Aggregate Sewer Utility Capital
Improvement Fund Appropriated to
Fully or Partially Fund Appropriations $125,000
Aggregate Amount of Bonds and Notes
Authorized $870,000

MAPL Book Sale Big Hit

The Friends of the Matawan Aberdeen Public Library (MAPL) held a successful book sale last weekend. After the Matawan Police closed the street outside the library, the Friends put out tables of fiction, non-fiction, science fiction, and everything in between for people to peruse. Customers were charged $5 for a bag of books, or $1 for individual hardbacks and $0.50 for paperbacks.

Laurie Creed, manager of the Matawan Starbucks, did a great job as chair of the book sale. A number of local high school students helped the Friends with the heavy lifting. Library trustees Kimberly Paone (Librarian) and Greg Cannon (Aberdeen Town Council) each dropped by to show their support.

Two More Chances to See Once

The Matawan Aberdeen Middle School (MAMS) is performing its 2011 spring musical this weekend. If you hurry, you can catch "Once on This Island" tonight at 8 pm, or you can stop by for the Sunday matinee tomorrow at 2 pm.

History: Train Accident at Woodbridge, 1951

Below are two articles from the 8 Feb 1951 edition of The Matawan Journal related to an extremely serious train accident that occurred during the evening rush hour at Woodbridge, New Jersey. The paper said 88 passengers were killed and 500+ injured when their speeding train caused the collapse of a temporary train trestle over construction on the NJ Turnpike.

See also Woodbridge Township's site , GenDisasters, and the Wikipedia article.

Seven Dead, Eight Injured From Area In Pennsylvania Wreck At Woodbridge
Local Aid Squads, Police, Firemen, Join In Efforts To Aid Victims; Lack Of Service On Strikebound Jersey Central Crammed Train

Seven from his area were dead and eight injured in the still incomplete count of the casualties resulting from the Pennsylvania Railroad wreck Tuesday at Woodbridge. The total dead was 88 and over 500 were injured.

The dead:

• Ruth I. Crimmins, 21, 111 Cleveland Ave., Laurence Harbor.
• Irene J. DenBleyker, Matawan Rd., Laurence Harbor.
• George W. Gracie, 46, 112 Morningside Ave., Laurence Harbor.
• Leo W. Mullen. 28, of 411 Jefferson Ave., Laurence Harbor.
• John A. Nordlund. 69, of 127 Laurence Pkway., Laurence Harbor.
• Clarence W. Holmes, 58, of 220 Birchwood Dr., Cliffwood Beach.
• George Bernius. Grove Ave., Laurence Harbor.

The injured:

• Albert Clayton, RD Matawan, South Amboy Memorial Hospital. (discharged)
• Christina Connelly, 256 Harding Ave., Laurence Harbor, Perth Amboy General Hospital.
• Frank Flynn, 23, of 611 Aumack Ave., Union Beach, Perth Amboy General Hospital. Fractured pelvis.
• James Gallagher, 878 State Highway, Laurence Harbor, Camp Kilmer Hospital.
• John Hall, 206 Shoreland Circle, Laurence Harbor.
• Evelyn Herrick, 336 Raritan Blvd., Cliffwood Beach, Perth Amboy General Hospital.
• David Lembert, S Ocean Bvld., Cliffwood Beach, Perth Amboy General Hospital.
• John E. Thurn, 481 Brookside Av., Laurence Harbor.

 Edgar Walling, Main St., Keyport, was on the train but reported only minor cuts.

Toll Could Have Been Higher

The casualty total for the area would have been much higher if it had been generally known by commuters from the Keyport-Matawan sector that the ill-fated train, known as "The Broker," leaving Exchange Place, Jersey City at 5:07 p.m., was making a special stop at Matawan to accommodate those who ordinarily rode the strike-bound, Jersey Central. On its regular schedule "The Broker" does not stop at Matawan.

Bayshore disaster relief units joined those of 20 other municipalities in assisting Woodbridge agencies in coping with the sudden and stunning catastrophe.

Keyport, Matawan, Union Beach, West Keansburg, and Keansburg First Aid Squads were rushed to the scene. The Keyport squad did standby duty for the Fords squad. As the Fords unit took victims from the wrecked cars, the Keyport squad made two trips, one to Perth Amboy and the second to a Long Branch hospital. The Matawan squad made two trips from the disaster scene to Perth Amboy General Hospital. Union Beach squad was held at home under orders until later in the evening, but they, too, were summoned to the scene in time to give aid to victims. They also had a stretcher squad atop one of the cars when the dead were being brought out. West Keansburg aidmen assisted in bringing victims out of the cars, according to Squad Capt. Leroy Hay. Keansburg had both ambulances at the scene and made runs to Perth Amboy General Hospital.

Chief Leroy Sproul and Patrolman William Geiger, Keyport Police, took Bert Peteler, a Keyport resident who Is a specialist in acetylene torch work, to the scene in the police car with oxygen tanks and torches. Tho two policemen were assigned to duty assisting Woodbridge Police control the crowds at the scene. Patrolman Robert McGowan, Matawan, also assisted with this work.

Many Rush To Scene

Many borough residents rushed to the scene, some in concern for the welfare of residents or to give aid, others out of curiosity. Others hurried to Matawan station for reports on the train, or to telephone to call any agency which might have a casualty list.

The accident occurred at 5:43 p.m. when the train entered a sharp curve on the temporary overpass opened three hours earlier to carry trains over construction work on the New Jersey Freeway. The exact cause was undetermined but it appeared to observers that a temporary wooden trestle had collapsed after the engine and the first five cars had cleared it.

The locomotive tender and first five cars of the 11-car train passed safely over the trestle, one car length across and supported by eighteen wooden tiles. Wheels of the sixth car apparently broke through the wooden bridge, causing a whip-lash action to convulse the train.

Engine Topples Over

The steam locomotive toppled over on its side but remained on top of the embankment. The tender fell to the west down the 25-foot embankment, landing in Fulton St., a roadway running parallel to the tracks.

The first and second cars slewed part way down the embankment, perilously tilted but not overturned. The third and fourth cars plunged farther down the embankment and were the worst damaged. They contained most of the dead and critically injured.

Tho fifth car rested on its side in the mud of the embankment just south of the bridge, while the sixth, under which the trestle appeared to have collapsed, spanned the trestle, resting on the concrete abutments at either end. One of its wheel trucks had dropped through the bridge and rested in Legion Pl. below.

The seventh and eighth cars appeared to have sheared past the sixth car, ripping open their sides and plowing down the embankment near the third and fourth coaches. The last three cars remained to the north of the bridge, upright on the tracks.

Going 50 Says Engineer

The engineer of "The Broker" admitted yesterday afternoon he was going 50 miles an hour, twice the authorized speed, when the train suddenly jumped the tracks.

Joseph H. Fitzsimmons, 57, of Point Pleasant, the veteran engineer, however blamed the absence of caution signals for the disaster. But Conductor John N. Bishop, also of Point Pleasant, declared he sensed the train was going much too fast for safety and was just about to pull the emergency brake for a slowdown when the smashup happened.

Both the railroad and the Turnpike Authority, which built the temporary overpass where the train left the tracks, absolved the trestle from blame. Assistant Middlesex County prosecutor Alex Eber questioned the
engineer and the conductor in their hospital cots. Neither was injured seriously.

Mr. Eber said Mr. Fitzsimmons admitted he had read orders limiting speed to 25 miles per hour over the trestle. When he reached the Woodbridge station area, where the train was not scheduled to stop, he cut his speed from 60 to 50 miles, he told Mr. Eber, and began to looking for amber caution signals when he was about 2500 feet from the trestle.

Mr. Fitzsimmons said he would have reduced his speed further if there had been any.signals, adding that it was the rallroad's responsibility to see that proper signals were in operation.

According to Mr. Eber, Mr. Fitzsimmons said he began applying his brakes about 2300 feet from the trestle. "Then something happened to the train and  it was derailed," he said.

But, Mr. Eber said, Mr. Bishop pointed to the speed of the train, which was rounding a curve on an upgrade approaching the overpass.

Conductor's Story

Mr. Eber said Mr. Bishop, the conductor, told this story of the wreck:

"Before we left Jersey City I spoke to Mr. Fitzsimmons and discussed the order limiting speed to 25 miles an hour in the vicinity of the trestle.

"The train was unusually crowded because the Jersey Central was not operating due to the switchman's "sickness" strike.

"Because of my experience as a conductor I sensed that we were on an upgrade and going much too fast. I was just going to reach for the emergency cord when the train was derailed. I felt no braking immediately before the 'wreck."

Mr. Eber said he also learned from railroad officials that there was no speedometer on the wrecked
locomotive, that there were no caution signals in the area, and that no advance safety tests had been made of the trestle.

However, Mr. Eber joined the railroad and Turnpike Authority in insisting the trestle was sound. There was no evidence, he said, that the trestle collapsed before the train jumped the tracks.

Wreck Victims

Below is obituary information on six of the seven Laurence Harbor-Cliffwood residents who died in Tuesday's tragic rail wreck, at Woodbridge:

Crimmins Rites

Services for Miss Crimmins, daughter of John W. Crimmins, Madison Township committeeman, will be held from the Day Funeral Home, Keyport, Saturday at 8 a.m. A requiem mass will be celebrated in St. Lawrence's Church, Laurence Harbor, at 9. Employed by a New York insurance firm, Miss Crimmins is survived, besides her father, by a brother, John C. Oakland, Calif., and her stepmother, Mrs. Catherine Crimmins.

George Bernius jr.

Georgc Bernius Jr. of 937 Grove Ave., Laurence Harbor, was born 29 years ago in Orange, where he livcd until moving here in 1946. A veteran of World War II, he was a welder for The New York Times. He leaves his wife, Mrs. Elsie Corback Bernius, and his father, George Bernius, Sr. of Laurence Harbor. The funeral will be from the Frank J. Codey & Sons Funeral Home, 69 High St., Orange.

Clarence W. Holmes

Clarence W. Holmes, 58, of 220 Birchwood Dr., Cliffwood Beach, was a native of Connecticut. He has lived in Cliffwood Beach eight years, coming from Newark. He was employed by the Westinghouse Electric Manufacturing Co. in Newark. Mr. Holmes is survived by his wife, Mrs. Florence Holmes, a five-
year-old daughter, Barbara, and two brothers, Charles and Ernest, both of Newark.

George W. Gracie

George W. Gracie, 46, of 112 Morningside Ave., Laurence Harbor, had lived there 18 months and was employed at General Motors Export Division in New York. Born in Newark, he lived in Irvington before moving to Laurence Harbor.

He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Jean Duncan Gracie; two daughters, Ellen, 5, and Jean, 3; a brother William Gracie of Linden, and three sisters, Mrs Elizabeth Corvan and Mrs. Florence Leu of Irvington, and Mrs. V. Rehm of Detroit.

Leo A. Mullen

Leo A. Mullen of 411 Jefferson Ave., Laurence Harbor was project manager in the technical writing service section of the McGraw Hill Publishing Co., of New York. He was born 28 years ago, in Astoria, L. I., and moved to Laurence Harbor four years ago. A World War II veteran of four years In the Air Force,  Mr. Mullen was a second lieutenant in the Air Force Reserve. He had attended both Yale and Rutgers, majoring in business administration. He leaves his wife, Mrs. Ann Mullen of Springfield Gardens, L. I.; a four-year-old daughter, Kathleen, and two brothers, Joseph of Melrose, L. I., and Raymond of Springfield Gardens.

Mrs. Daniel DenBleyker

Mrs. Irene (Jaeger) DenBleyker of Matawan Rd., Laurence Harbor, was employed by Dieterle & Sleight Inc., Newark, paper box firm. Mrs. DenBleyker usually commuted on the Jersey Central, but because of the strike, took the Pennsylvania Tuesday night.

Mrs DenBleyker was born in Newark and moved to Laurence Harbor in 1933. She was 53. Mrs. DenBleyker was the widow of Daniel DenBleyker, who died in 1940. She lived with her sister, Mrs. Elsie Benner. She also leaves a brother, William Jaeger of Orange.

Dragged Through the Mud

When Brookdale Community College blamed the Monmouth County Freeholders for a huge planned increase in tuition earlier this year, the Freeholders unleashed their venom against now former Brookdale President Peter Burnham, according to the Huff Post. They took his compensation package to the media and sent his expense vouchers to Trenton for investigative scrutiny, expressing their surprise at his outrageous pay and benefits, prompting a public frenzy against Mr Burnham.

The typical resident of Monmouth County isn't a corporate CEO or university president, so Burnham's high salary and benefits, touted in article after article in our newspapers as if evidence of a crime, naturally tended to rub the man on the street the wrong way. And close scrutiny of expense vouchers at this level is bound to dredge up some dirt -- maybe enough to have someone reprimanded or even fired but not a criminal act. Yet his credit card receipts have been "being reviewed by the Attorney General" for quite some time now.

The Freeholders and their delegates to the county's Board of School Estimate should have known about Burnham's compensation arrangement, and if they didn't they weren't doing their job. If they'd bothered to ask they would have learned that Mr Burnham had a glittery compensation package because the trustees had to match a compensation package offered to him by a much larger institution. The trustees could have let him leave, and upon reflection that probably would have been the wisest course, but they decided to pay him to stay. And that involved a club membership, a fancy vehicle, and costs for his kids to attend college. It was a negotiated compensation package. Presidents of colleges make obscene amounts of money these days. Compare it to how much your local school superintendent makes. Not that much different, actually.

So why didn't the Board of School Estimate object to the deal long ago if it was so outrageous? Because they didn't conduct proper oversight. Freeholder John Curley is trying to make up for lost time and will eventually overstep. But for now he's pressing his advantage and making some headway.

You probably aren't aware that no official charges have been leveled against Mr Burnham and he didn't resign, he retired. After all, it isn't a crime to get paid. There is the matter of disputed credit card reimbursements, but those aren't sexy enough to be rehashed in countless news articles. No, it is his compensation and benefits that keep getting brought up. And those issues aren't a crime.

Mr Burnham's lawyer addressed the vouchers in brief comments to The News Transcript. The paper's 4 May 2011 edition said Mr Burnham and the county simply disagreed over which expenses were part of the current contract. But the media hype has resulted in coverage like that seen in The Gloucester County Times, which equated Mr Burnham's dispute over reimbursed credit card expenses with forgery charges being brought against a local community college president in southern Jersey.

This whole shock and outrage act we've heard from the Freeholders in the past two months has been disingenuous. The Board of School Estimate and, by extension, the Freeholders, were as much a part of the problem as anyone. And let's not forget Governor Christie's cuts in state aid to education, which were the root cause of BCC's planned tuition spike this year, not Mr Burnham's salary and benefits.

I agree that reform is needed, but that shouldn't require Mr Burnham's reputation to be dragged through the mud. Mr Curley and the Freeholders ought to cease and desist against Mr Burnham, accept their share of the blame, and get on with the county's business.

Techie Difficulties at Blogger

Google's Blogger, the host of this blog, had some serious difficulties mid-week. My blog temporarily lost a couple of articles that I wrote on Wednesday and Thursday, but they were restored for the most part by Friday evening. (I lost at least one link and the labels were corrupted in the restored articles.) At least one comment was lost and never restored, so if you contributed to the discussion and your comment is now missing, feel free to re-post it. Sorry for any inconvenience but Blogger is usually quite reliable. The reason for the outage is less than clear, despite a number of techie explanations. Hopefully we're back in business.

MRHS Out of Contention for 2011 Shore Championship

Earlier this week, the Matawan Huskies were in a six-way race for the 2011 Shore Class A Central Baseball Championship, according to The Independent. MRHS was 12-4, 7-4 after defeating Raritan and was due to play St John Vianney on Tuesday. SJV ended up beating Matawan, according to APP, removing the Huskies from contention.  If Rumson-Fair Haven defeated Raritan earlier today, RFH will be sharing the championship with SJV. No score was available for the RFH-Raritan game as of 10 pm.

Matawan Park Prompts Jackson Veterans Memorial

Matawan's Memorial Park was the inspiration for Jackson's Veterans Memorial Garden, according to Tri-Town News. Charles Garofano's recollections of the doughboy statue as a WWII soldier and the wall of honor being evenly split between two wars might have been slightly off, but it's the thought that counts.