Your Name Here Forever

The Matawan Football Alumni are building their memorial. And you can be a part of it. Forever. They're running an ad in The Independent. Those of you who have adequate tax savings, please call 732-705-5309 and be a brick. I mean: Buy a brick.

News Updates as of 26 May 2010

• Matawan-Aberdeen Idol auditions are scheduled for 16 July 2010 at AARIUS Studios in Sayreville, according to MACAC. (Check the Chamber's site for the various releases you must sign to enter) The event itself will be held 3 August 2010 at the corner of Ravine Drive and Main Street from 6 pm to 9 pm. Winners will get to sing at Matawan Day (12 September at Terhune Park) and Aberdeen Day (26 September at MRHS).
• Business students from South Brunswick High School visited Matawan's Art Associates Design Group, according to The Independent. The company has provided design and marketing services for over twenty five years. Joseph Kanaska, who founded the company in 1984, met with the students for about an hour.
• The Huskies softball team fell last week to Delran Township High School in the first round of the Central Jersey Group II Tournament, according to The Trentonian.
• Matawan Makes It Look Easy is the title of the APP article about the high school boys track and field team's victory at the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III championships. It's the team's second straight championship. See also the coverage by NJ.com. The girls came in 5th place in Group 2 competition, per NJ.com.
• An APP editorial bemoans the loss of Tyler Blackmore by Asbury Park High School and congratulates Matawan Aberdeen Middle School on its fine acquisition. He is described as follows: Blackmore, 36, was a principal who got things done. Among other things, he started a mentoring program, administered through the Boys and Girls Club, in which 37 high school students have signed up. Another 15 teenagers attend a college-bound mentoring program run by Monmouth University. He recently received a special Spirit of Asbury Park award from the city Chamber of Commerce.
• Be sure to check The Independent's Notes Around Town for a local story about a new Eagle scout in Matawan as well as announcements about upcoming events.
• It's time again for Mission Matawan. Community volunteers and members of the First Presbyterian Church of Matawan dedicate one week each year to serve their neighbors in need by doing small chores, yard work, small paint jobs, etc. As you can imagine, the requests are piling up and volunteers are needed to meet the need.  Sign up for a day or two of community service. The project runs from Saturday 26 June to Saturday 3 July 2010.
• The Post-Bulletin has some great coverage, including photos, of Brookdale's national softball championship victory in Minnesota last week.

News Updates as of 18 May 2010

• See photos from the 2010 Aberdeen Township Family Fishing Contest.
• Aberdeen is the first municipality in Monmouth County to put its auto accident reports online. For a small fee to Police Reports US, you and your insurance company can obtain copies of these official reports online. Here's a link to the search engine.
• There are some unfortunate typos in the 6 April 2010 Council Regular Meeting minutes related to the remarks of Frank Huza.
• The Matawan-Aberdeen Chamber of Commerce (MACOC) has begun posting blog articles to its new website. The Chamber had a board meeting on 4 May and a networking meeting a week later. Their 9th annual business expo was held on 23 March. They've published a new directory that is available to the public for the asking. They have a Father's Day (20 June) trip planned to go see the Lakewood Blueclaws and another National Night Out Against Crime singing contest is in the works for 3 August. They didn't mention a corporate banker speaking on Selling and Relationships at Columbia Bank of Aberdeen earlier this evening
• The Chamber's regional partner, the Northern Monmouth Chamber of Commerce, has a newspaper called the Monmouth Monitor. That paper mentioned the above event at Columbia Bank. It tends to publish stories about high profile charity events, national politicians from our area, and business networking. The news comes in fits and starts, though, as if the person in charge is squeezing this responsibility in on top of a host of other obligations. For example, the most recent series of articles was posted at 3 am, and before that -- 3 weeks earlier --- after 1 am. Check it out. It might be only a flash in the pan and be gone, but then again you might happen to find the occasional article you're interested in.
• The Matawan Huskies baseball team defeated top-seeded Middlesex 5-3, according to My Central Jersey.

Is Football All There Is, My Friends? Then Let's Keep Dancing

Matawan Football Alumni Foundation is asking the Aberdeen Township Planning Board to allow them to build a memorial park at the high school in honor of school alumni. It would be named the James C Dwyer Alumni Park. See SP10-517. MFAF considers the project a done deal, based on their website's description of the project and timeline. They've already invited the mayors and school district officials to the groundbreaking on 5 June.

Isn't it a boorish slap in the face of teachers, administrators, and janitors for local high school football fans to be embellishing their sport's legacy with their private donations at the same time the community has overwhelmingly voted down the school budget because everyone is so damned strapped for cash?

And, to top it off, football fans plan to honor their sacred football tradition by dedicating their "memorial park" on September 11th. What a mixed message. A memorial park is meant to honor the dead, but this park has nothing to do with September 11th.

The Foundation says this is supposedly an "alumni park," but they really mean sports alumni. And then they say it is meant to promote Huskies sports, but of course it will be a Mecca for football alumni and fans.  The Planning Board agenda doesn't even mention the sports theme. Could they reasonably expect this will be an alumni park?

I guess it's true: football is all there is.

Christian Bros Edged Out Matawan Boys Track for County Title

CBA finished strong to edge out the Matawan Huskies in boys track at the Monmouth County Track Championship at Neptune this weekend, per APP. Unfortunately, the girls team placed very low in the standings. Elite performances were recognized as national silver standard by Huskies Sara Isaacson (pole vault), Brian Ramcheran (400 meter dash), and Andre Hodge (discus).

MRHS Girls Spring Track Won County Relays Last Week, Competing Now in County Championships at Neptune

Matawan Huskies Girls Spring Track Team took first place at the Monmouth County Relays, which The Independent says Matawan hosted on 1 May 2010. According to the school's website, the girls defeated all competitors in the 400 meter hurdles, 4 x 100 meter relay, 4 x 400 meter relay, discus, javelin, pole vault, and triple jump. Sarah Isaacson reportedly broken the school's pole vaulting record again.

Follow the results of Monmouth County Championships at Neptune this weekend at NJ Runners and Shore Track Coaches.

News Updates as of 29 April 2010

• Clean Ocean Action (COA) released its 2009 Beach Sweeps data, per Atlanticville. 74 volunteers picked up more than 3,000 pieces of debris from Cliffwood Beach last year.  This year's event was last Saturday.
• Home Facts provides a list of local criminal and sex offenders. We've got three at the moment.
• Local Babe Ruth Softball website.
• There was a college football recruiting event at Matawan this past weekend, per ESPN. It was apparently the place to be for the best players in the NJ/Phila area.
• The first comment on an APP article about dune restoration at Sandy Hook was a sharp response from an advocate of Cliffwood Beach. Kim wrote, "It would be nice if Monmouth County cared about other beaches. Cliffwood Beach in Aberdeen Township was leveled after the last storm, yet nothing has been done other than remove the dunes from Ocean Blvd by pushing it back onto the side of the road. The Middlesex County side of Cliffwood Beach has seen some cleaning up already. Aberdeen Township never cares about it’s parks – it’s sad. I have some pictures if you are interested."
• SJV crushed the Huskies in girls softball, per NJ.com. The girls' result was much closer but still a loss against Colts Neck, per NJ.com. Boys baseball fared even worse against Holmdel, per NJ.com.
• The Aberdeen Family Fishing Contest is coming up on 8 May 2010, per APP Fishing Calendar.
• A NY1 reporter, a resident of Matawan, recently lost her sexual harassment case against her employer, according to the NY Daily News.
• Parkway 120, a new office building at 90 Matawan Road in Laurence Harbor, has won the Energy Star compliance rating, per Pitch Engine.
• McTeach was a MAMS PTSO project that involved teachers getting behind the counter at the McDonald's on Route 34, per The Independent. They encouraged people to vote in the school board elections that day.
• The Matawan Aberdeen School Board installed its new members, per APP. Incumbent Jeff Delaney and past board president Pat Demarest were sworn in for Aberdeen, the latter replacing Tom Gambino. Anissa Esposito is replacing Larry O'Connell as the Matawan representative on the board. Charles Kenny was nominated to continue in the role of board president. Elizabeth Loud-Hayward was voted in as Vice President. The teachers union expects to discuss its next contract with the board on 6 May. The next board meeting will be 10 May. (See my 6 March article for further info about the new board members.
• The Board of Education axed the golf team before consulting with the coach, per APP. She would have liked to have had a chance to seek accommodations from vendors and students first. The team has produced some college stars, so it's a real shame to lose it if it could have been saved.
• 1-2 May 2010 Weekend in Old Monmouth to include visit to Burrowes mansion, per Atlanticville. The Keyport Steamboat dock Museum and the Longstreet Farm in Holmdel are also featured.
• True Love Bridal came to the rescue in a pinch, per APP.
• A 16-year old Matawan girl attending Collier High School is mentioned in an APP article. Read more about the school in this associated article.

2010 Matawan Aberdeen School District Election Results

Pat Demarest, with 1,294 votes, claims the seat on the MARSD school board being vacated by Tom Gambino. Jeff Delaney, the incumbent, successfully defended his seat with 1,254 votes. The Reverend Thelma Gattis came in a distant third with 885 votes. (Source: APP)

The school budget failed to be ratified by Matawan and Aberdeen residents, with 2,189 against the budget and only 1,645 in favor, a 544 vote difference.

Most online comments this evening suggest that the Libertarians among us are happy to have their way and to pocket a few extra dollars in the process. But their hopes to strip more administrators and union-protected teachers from the school system are simply unrealistic. We'll probably just lose more young, untenured teachers and lose some sports programs. Be sure to thank your neighborhood Tea Party member when someone asks you what it was like when the Huskies competed in a full range of sports.

News Updates as of 18 April 2010

• Bass fishing continues to be great in the Raritan Bay and along the Bayshore from the Amboys to Union Beach, including the shores at Cliffwood Beach and Keyport, per APP.
• The Matawan-Aberdeen Chamber of Commerce is working on its new web design. Much nicer look than the old design. It is still in beta but looks to be almost ready for prime time. Problems include the fact that the beta Business Directory has no active links, while the old Business Directory linked you to websites and email addresses of members.
• Alyssa Johnson and Marissa Gross of the Huskies Girls Track Team topped the field in discus at the Blue Devil Relays on Saturday. APP identified them as the only local winners at the meet. They were also among those listed in a rundown of events and teams at Weights and Measures.The Huskies came in second place in pole vault and third in javelin but struggled in the other events.
• Bayshore Community Hospital hosts seminars and training events open to the public, some free and others with a fee involved. Upcoming events include seminars on dealing with cholesterol, dieting, smoking, mammograms, and the effects of cancer treatment. There are also Supersitter courses for budding babysitters, AARP driver training for seniors, and CPR and ACLS  training events all coming up in May.

News Updates as of 31 March 2010

• An 85 year old struck a man in the crosswalk at Main Street and Route 34, per APP.
• The recent heavy rains have been an added expense for Aberdeen Township, which has had to pay for police to handle the traffic being redirected onto County Road and Cliffwood Avenue due to flooding on Route 35, according to APP. I don't imagine the state will be funding the construction of a bridge for Route 35 to cross Whale Creek. A bridge or some kind of resolution to regular flooding is long overdue. I hope voters are keeping tabs of all these added costs being levied on our municipal government by Trenton due to cuts in state aid. Reducing state taxes is rather costly at the local level.
• The above article also says the Township expects to foot the bill to repair the dunes at Cliffwood Beach, which were damaged a couple of weekends ago by heavy winds and waves. In the aftermath of the storm, The Independent said that Township officials were hoping for Federal monies to repair the dunes. According to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the Cliffwood Beach seashore is protected under the federal government's Coastal Barrier Resources Act. I wonder what happened to make the Township think it would have to repair the dunes without Federal money?
• A bit of kayaking chatter about launching and landing at Cliffwood Beach without interfering with the fishermen and their lines can be found at Kayak Fishing Stuff. This might explain the Lone Adventurer I noticed a week ago Sunday off Cliffwood Beach.
• Long time Cliffwood Post Office worker Lynda Talmadge died on Tuesday, per obituary. Her parents moved to this area from Maine about 1953, according to her mother's obit.
• Lincoln scholar Harold Holzer will speak at Brookdale Community College on 6 April at 7 pm at the Warner Student Life Center, per The Independent's Notes Around Town.
• The Matawan Women's Club is hosting an AARP Driver Safety Program on 14-15 April, per The Independent's Notes Around Town. Check details in the article regarding location and cost.
• The Monmouth County Sheriff's Office is sponsoring a poster contest for 4th graders in honor of April being National County Government Month. Check The Independent's Notes Around Town for details.
• Prospects are good for this season's Matawan Huskies boys track team, according to an interview with the team's coach in The Independent.

News Updates as of 26 March 2010

• Men from Cliffwood Beach and Keyport were arrested in Keansburg for fighting in the street, according to APP. The news article doesn't provide the date of the incident.
• Matawan's police chief, who is under administrative review by the county prosecutor's office, has been granted a paid leave of absence, per The Independent.
• Huskies Girls Basketball's Alyssa Johnson was chosen for the North team in the Shore Coaches Senior All Star Games held on 24 March at Freehold Township High School, according to The News Transcript.
• Danny Avella, of Matawan, is a freshman infielder for Monmouth University's Hawks baseball team, according to Atlanticville. Avella attended CBA. Coaches from the Northeast Conference expect the Hawks, who lost some key talent from last year's championship team, to come in second place this year to rival Wagner.
• Two southbound lanes of Garden State Parkway near Exit 120 were closed Wednesday after debris fell onto cars from an overpass that morning, per MyCentralJersey.
• A Middletown man caught stripers weighing 18 lbs and 17.5 lbs off Cliffwood Beach last Monday, per NJ.com's Jersey Shore Fishing.

Let me take this opportunity to say that I review the comments received by this blog for appropriateness and post nearly all of them, whether or not I agree with the sentiments expressed. The occasional comment crosses the line, however, and I reject it. For example, I received an anonymous comment today disagreeing with my concerns about the school budget cuts, including the removal of teachers and outsourcing of janitors. I have a fairly thick skin and expect some back and forth on the issues. But this person added a list of selected teachers and administrators and their salaries and suggested  that these individuals were undeserving of their pay and should be let go, etc, etc. I'm not going to post that sort of thing. For those few who push the limits, keep in mind that I cannot edit your comments, nor do I want to, so it is your obligation to maintain adequate decorum if you wish your comments to be published.

News Updates as of 7 March 2010

• The Independent's  Notes Around Town section announces a half dozen or so Aberdeen-Matawan events coming up over the next week or so, as well as a number of events in nearby Middletown, Holmdel and Lincroft. Many of your favorite local organizations are hosting some fun stuff you won't want to miss. I won't steal their thunder, so check out the link.
• Huskies Wrestling's Johnny Short is wrestling Alexander Richardson of St Peter's Prep this weekend in Atlantic City's state championships. Check out a video preview of his 125 lb weight class competition and the pairings. APP provides a bit of background on the tourney.
• Local Cub Scouts ran a Pinewood Derby, per APP. I have fond recollections of the days when my Dad was Cubmaster in our community in Maryland. We made a couple of pretty special cars that did rather well.
• Interesting photo of a scene in Cliffwood Beach by Steve Stanger at Flickr.
• The Matawan Police Department and its chief are under administrative review by the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office, per APP. Little was publicly known as of Friday.
• NJ Transit's planned fare hikes and schedule changes are meant to deal with a huge budget deficit but are only making commuters angry, according to APP. Phillie and South Jersey commuters are hopping mad, too, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. The situation has been caused by cuts in state aid ordered last month by Governor Christie. Pardon the editorial, but wasn't Christie supposed to be some sort of taxpayer crusader? His cuts in state aid to education and transportation are only redistributing costs back to the local level, where we can either raise taxes or suffer the consequences. While he is throwing out the worst cards in his bad hand and reshuffling the deck, we get to deal with the fallout. Are you beginning to see what a taxpayer focused economy does to your quality of life? How's it working out for you?

News Updates as of 26 February 2010

• Derek Burlew of Cliffwood Beach performed in Sacramento, CA in Freestyle Motocross. See article in Sacramento Press.
• Matawan is seeking nominations for Grand Marshall of its annual Memorial Day Parade, which will be held this year on Sunday 30 May. See The Independent for more details.
• APP covered Assemblywoman Amy Handlin's visit to the Middletown train station last week. Her visit to Aberdeen-Matawan station is mentioned but without details.
• The Matawan Huskies boys track team won a meet held at the Bennett Center in Toms River on 14 February, per Hunterdon Review.
• Simply Referrals is a local business described in PR.com. Founded in 2007, it helps businesspeople network among each other. There is a Matawan/Old Bridge chapter.
• Ashworth Dive studies rumors of Captain Kidd's treasure being buried in Cliffwood Beach.
• Gerard Canonico, formerly of Matawan, is featured in Back On Broadway in APP. He has landed a role in Green Day's American Idiot.
• Next Rotary Club of Matawan meeting set for 4 March at the Buttonwood Manor.
• Thomas Pharmaceuticals of Matawan, an antacids manufacturer, intends to merge with Global Medical Equipment , per OTC Tip Reporter. Global Medical manufactures a patented hospital bed and is purchasing companies that distribute durable medical equipment to broaden its market penetration. The reason for their merger is not obvious. Thomas was a spinoff of iVoice, which has removed from its website all press releases related to their relationship with Thomas. Oddly, the links remain to the press releases.
• Matawan Borough Municipal Court is featured on the NJ Criminal Defense Attorney blog.
• Keyport Kid posted an interesting local photo on Flickr. I can't quite tell where this bridge is located. Maybe the one on Aberdeen Road near the train station? Check out Keyport Kid's collection of pics.
• Matawan Huskies second and third place winners participated in Region 6 wrestling preliminaries at the Ritacco Center in Toms River on 23 February, per Press of Atlantic City. Finals are scheduled for Atlantic City in early March. Matawan did well in prelims, per results posted in NJ.com. APP also had an article and slide show. I didn't notice any photos of Huskies in the slide show, however.
• The Striper Consultant hosts a white supremacist blog site for fishermen. He recently targeted Cliffwood Beach for his particularly nasty category of commentary.
• Zaven Ayanian, of Matawan, is scheduled to receive a volunteerism award in Washington DC. See the writeup at Red Bank Green.
• Former Matawan art teacher making comic books, per My Central Jersey.

News Updates as of 15 February 2010

• Kean University students from Cliffwood Beach, Matawan, and Keansburg competed at a University of Delaware track meet.
• The Board of Chosen Freeholders have posted their schedule of meetings. Most of their meetings are scheduled for Freehold, but they will meet in Matawan on 23 September 2010 and Keyport on 24 June 2010.
• Handsome Harry is a winning four-year-old male pacer owned in part by Harry Doyle of Matawan. The son of Dream Away is set for another successful racing season, according to Harness Link.
• Cindy Oppenheimer Bishop is interviewed on The Elevenses. Asked what made her decide to be a writer, Cindy replied,"Once I learned to read in first grade, I was instantly hooked on how cool it was to be able to escape to another world simply by turning pages in a book. The first real book I read on my own, Heidi, blew me away. I wanted to write my own book about my own childhood, just like Heidi, except perhaps substituting our poodle for Heidi's goat, and my hometown of Matawan, New Jersey for exotic Switzerland." 
• Huskies Wrestling suffered defeat in the Central Group II final of the Shore Championships at the hands of Long Branch, per APP. Check out the Matawan Huskies page at Facebook.
• As part of Black History Month, Aberdeen Township Historian Edward Fitzgerald will be guest speaker at Tuesday's meeting of the Holmdel Historical Society. According to The Independent, Fitzgerald will speak about the life of African Americans (free and slave) in Monmouth County in the 19th century. For other upcoming events at the society, click here. See The Independent for details about time and place.
• Anonymous post cards with a Matawan post office box return address were used as a campaign ploy directed at Orthodox Jews in the West Englewood section of Teaneck in that town's 2006 elections, according to NorthJersey.com.
• Aberdeen is considering joining the New Jersey Sustainable Energy Joint Meeting (NJSEM), according to The Independent. Membership allows the township to purchase energy at bulk rates through a consortium of nearly sixty municipalities.
• Hans Augustave of Matawan will play Ariel in The Pillowman at the Chatham Playhouse, per NJ.com.  The play will run 26 February to March 13.
• Raymond Moran, 80, died on 3 February, per The Cranford Chronicle. Raymond was born in Matawan on 26 May 1929, per the Chronicle. The 1930 Federal Census for New Jersey shows him living on Atlantic Avenue with his father, Raymond Moran, age 31, born in Massachusetts to Massachusetts parents, and Mary, age 29, born in New Jersey to Irish parents. Also living there was an older brother, looks like Donald, age 7, born in Connecticut. The census says his parents were married about 1922 and his father worked for the Central Railroad of NJ (CRR of NJ).
• Betty Trivisone, of Matawan, is a Girl Scouts volunteer who is organizing a Sing-A-Long event in Farmingdale that is scheduled for 12-14 March 2010, according to In New Jersey's Freehold page.
• I came across this video of the Matawan Marching Huskies competing in Chapter X competition last October at West Essex High School. It has had nearly 600 views to date.

News Updates as of 25 January 2010

• Locals Maria Moya and Vincent Schifini competed for Kean University in pole vault at the Orange and Maroon Classic at Susquehanna University on 23 January 2010, the Cougars' first track and field match since early December 2009, according to Kean's athletic website.
• Matawan Huskies (14-0, 6-0) clinched the Class A Central championship title in wrestling with their win over St John Vianney on 23 January 2010, according to APP.
• Jets and Vikings lost this evening, putting them out of the running for the Super Bowl in Miami. Favre is pretty beat up. Instead, it will be the Colts vs Saints. (I've never forgiven the Colts for leaving Baltimore, so I guess I'm rooting for the Saints. They sure know how to pull a ball loose.)
  

News Updates as of 21 January 2010

• Someone on eBay is selling an old post card with a photograph of the inside of Matty's General Store on South Concourse in Cliffwood Beach. Currently the Krauser's store, Matty's was operated by Homer Matteson from 1925 to 1947. Many long time residents will remember the Burlew's store that occupied the spot for many years after Matty's sold the place. See my earlier posting on MAPL Resources on Cliffwood Beach for further information.
• Donna Joy Alexander, of Cliffwood Beach, will represent Seton Hall University at conference championships after her recent performance for the SHU Pirates in the triple jump at the Penn State Northeast Challenge in College Park, Pennsylvania, according to the school's athletic website.
• Holocene LLC, a renewable energy development firm, is establishing a presence in the greater New York City, Philadelphia, and Lehigh Valley metropolitan areas by opening a new northeast regional office with locations in Manhattan and Matawan, according to dBusinessNews.
• A recent article in the Journal of Coastal Research dealing with beach morphology in Kenya cites a 1994 report on beach fill around the Cliffwood Beach seawall.
• Another subscription-only article mentions Jared Allison and Rutgers University. 'Perception Change for Jersey Shore Athlete," by Brian Doan, says, in part:  "Matawan High athlete Jared Allison is hearing much more from Rutgers recently, and his appreciation and interest in the school changed after ..."
• The new New Jersey Lieutenant Governor's brother-in-law lives in Matawan, according to The Courier-Post Online.
• Caring With Karaoke, supporting the Girl Scouts of the Jersey Shore, will be held at the Cue & Brew Billiards and Sports Bar in Matawan on 10 February at 7 pm, according to the News Transcript. The event will be hosted by the Young Professionals Group of the Greater Monmouth Chamber of Commerce.
• The First Presbyterian Church of Matawan is assembling Gift of the Heart baby and hygiene kits to be shipped to Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, according to the Brick Township Bulletin.
• Matawan Huskies are close to capturing their first division championship title in wrestling. Check out this Asbury Park Press article for details.
  

News Updates as of 18 January 2010

• More Monmouth Musings says Vincent Solomeno of Hazlet is seeking the Democratic Party's nod to run this November for a seat as a Monmouth County Chosen Freeholder.
• The Courier Post Online's Fish Head mentions a Matawan angler who caught some serious flounder and ling aboard the Jamaica II. (Mid-Atlantic Game & Fish says our local ling are actually red hake.)
• Rutgers University's Scarlet Report mentions one of our Matawan Huskies star players is being courted for the Rutgers football team, according to a recent Google Alert. The visible blurb (without paying $50 for a Scarlet Report subscription) says "Cornerback Jared Allison of Matawan Regional said he was told one of the Rutgers assistant coaches would be by his school next week, and an offer could be ..."
• George F Thomsen, of Cliffwood Beach (Old Bridge), passed away on Friday at 74 years of age. He served 50 years on his local fire department and was an Air Force veteran of the Korean War. You can pay your respects at Day Funeral Home in Keyport on Monday evening. See the APP obituary for further details.
  

News Updates as of 28 December 2009

• Marlboro defeated the Matawan Regional High School boys varsity basketball team 56-39 in Round 1 of the Husky Holiday Tournament, according to NJ.com and APP. (BTW: The school's mascot is the Husky and the school website is calling the event the Husky Holiday Tournament, so I'm not sure why both news sources are calling it the Huskie Classic.)
• Justin Eric Farnham of Matawan received his Associates in Visual Arts from Raritan Valley Community College, according to the Somerset Reporter.
• Rob Ratcliffe, of Matawan, is featured as a guitar-playing Giants game tailgater in a photo at NJ.com.
  

News Updates as of 25 December 2009

• Former Matawan Borough Council member Lillian G. Burry is to head the Monmouth County Board of Freeholders when a Republican majority takes control of the board on 7 January 2010, according to APP. She was the first woman to hold the position when selected for the 2008 term. Since the Democrats took control and replaced her as director after she'd served only one year, the Republicans are making sure she gets her second year in what is typically a two-year term of office.
Derek Burlew of Cliffwood Beach, a freestyle Motocross pro, will perform in the inaugural 15 city tour of Gravity Slashers, which begins in Charlotte, NC on 2 January 2010 and ends in Cleveland, OH on 6 March 2010, according to SXdirt.com.
The Husky Holiday Tournament will be a three-day boys varsity basketball event held at Matawan Regional High School on Sat 26 December, Mon 28 December, and Tue 29 December, beginning each day at 8 am, according to the MRHS boys varsity schedule. Manalapan, Marlboro, and Howell are invited to the tourney, according to The News Transcript. The MRHS boys varsity team is 0-3 after their loss to Raritan on 23 December. The next Huskies home game will be Tue 5 January at 6:30 pm against Shore Regional. Check out the team's roster here.

The Lady Huskies defeated Franklin 74-35 on 23 December, making them 2-1-0, according to NJ.com. With three games under their belts already, maybe it is time for the girls varsity page at MRHS to be updated with a roster, schedule, new photos, etc?
The Independent provided a nice summary of Matawan Husky Wrestling's Icebreaker Invitational held last Saturday during the blizzard. Home opener will be Mon 4 January, when MRHS hosts Marlboro.

After seeing Up In the Air today, the world is back in balance after reading Thomas McDermott's article Coping With Layoff by Inventing a Holiday. He suggests riding the Staten Island Ferry past Ellis Island and pretending that you've just landed in America, the land of opportunity, with only the shirt on your back and a dream. What is that dream? Not a bad way to adjust one's thinking. And certainly a better choice than Ryan made in the movie.
Bank of America's Matawan branch at Ravine Drive and Main Street is having some asbestos removed by Synatech as part of an interior renovation project, according to APP. The websites related to the Asbestos, Lead, and Hazardous Waste Laborers Local 78 in New York, which is so upset about BOA using non-union laborers for this project, were corrupted, so I couldn't do much research. What I could find showed the union has jurisdiction over New York City and Long Island, so I assume they are down in Matawan because BOA is headquartered in Manhattan. It isn't clear that they represent local workers here.
NJ Transit trains heading into the city were stacked up on their approach to Newark Penn Station for hours on Wednesday, not unlike planes trying to land at Chicago's busy O'Hare Airport. This writer had a 3 1/2 hour commute into the city that day. Presumably all lines were affected by the problem with the tunnels, not just the North Jersey Coast Line as suggested by The Independent. Conductors explained that each train entering Newark Penn had to be turned around after its passengers disembarked, which was the primary reason for us sitting for hours outside of the Newark International Airport stop.
Matawan residents will be paying an average of 10% more for their tap water beginning in January 2010, according to The Independent. Borough Ordinance 09-23 was presented to the Borough Council on 1 December 2009 and was brought up for a vote and passed by the Council on 15 December 2009. The details of the ordinance are not readily available as the ordinance is not posted online and The Independent article provides an utterly confusing rate calculating scheme.
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  A Rowan University mechanical engineering student from Matawan is heading to the Gambia in January 2010, according to Newswise. She and two other local students will join their teacher on his 4th Engineers Without Borders trip to Africa to finish assessing a roughly two-mile stretch of road adjacent to a swampy area that regularly floods waist high and keeps villagers from getting to town. They will also begin to train the local villagers on how to fix the road once the assessment is completed.
  
• A Keyport campaign has degenerated to name calling, including accusations that one of the candidates really lives in Cliffwood Beach, according to The Independent. Oh my. Say it isn't so.

Huskies Wrestling Beginning Its 2009-2010 Season

Matawan Huskies Wrestling begins its regular schedule after the New Year, but their calendar shows various events in December. An ice breaker competition set for this evening (Saturday) at 9 pm will likely have to be postponed due to heavy snow. (Note: The ice breaker took place but apparently earlier in the day, as On The Mat posted the results on Saturday before 5 pm.) Shore Conference.com has some useful information on the Huskies on its website, too.

Johnny Short, in the 130 weight class for the Huskies, is rated 5th by Dorf Feature Service among all Central Jersey high school wrestlers as the 2009-2010 season begins, according to NJ.com. (BTW, the DFS listings show High Point and Long Branch to have numerous contenders in the mix.) This blog contained links and blurbs on Short back in February and March.

Since there is hardly any information about the rating service mentioned in the NJ.com article, I'll provide a little background what I found online regarding Dorf Feature Service (DFS). This Mountainside company, once called the Metropolitan News Service, has been in existence for over 75 years. Renamed by Sid Dorfman, DFS is actually the sports office of the Newark Star Ledger. For some elaboration on DFS, see footnote 1 of Teenage Rise as Star-Ledger Sports Reporter, the recollections of Nat Bodian, at Old Newark Memories. Manta agrees that the Newark Star-Ledger does some of its business as Dorf Feature Service Inc. Their restricted access business website provides no details.