CB OB Woman Raped, Murdered, Set on Fire in Her Bed

UPDATED: Investigation continues into the recent rape and murder of Petra Rohrbaugh, a 52 year old woman who lived in a house at 18 Hilltop Boulevard in the Cliffwood Beach section of Old Bridge, NJ. According to reports in NJ.com and APP, Rohrbaugh was raised in Germany and came to the US with a man from the US Air Force. They had two children and had then separated. Rohrbaugh moved to this area to be near her daughter -- a nurse living near OB -- and a grandchild. Her son still lives in Germany. Rohrbaugh gave local piano lessons and played organ for St Mark's Episcopal Church in Keansburg.  She had planned to move to Keansburg in a few months to be closer to the church.

Neighbors seemed to suspect a friend of a contractor working on the house next door, according to CBS. No one has been charged with the murder, but an ex-con from Perth Amboy is being held by police for interfering with the investigation.

No School Librarians AND Bookless Libraries?? Wow. . .

I've been told that the Matawan Aberdeen Regional School District plans to run our school libraries along the lines of the Raritan High School media center in Hazlet. As I understand it, Raritan got rid of all of its printed media -- books, magazines, etc. And since there is nothing to check out, the administration felt there was no need for a librarian. The kids use a bank of computers to conduct database searches and are supervised by teachers on their planning periods.

Syracuse University suggests that bookless libraries are becoming all the rage as the technology of the book is being replaced by the computer. And the futurist Thomas Frey has all sorts of thoughts about how the future of books is limited. But in an NPR piece called If a Library is Bookless, What's in It?, the director of access and technology services for the Denver Public Library System says that books are used regularly by her library patrons as the library adopts new technology. And the director of the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, also interviewed by NPR, says that his new modern library had 100,000 visitors in its first three months alone, adding that most checked out printed media as they took advantage of the nifty cultural environment.

As for my opinion on all of this: I just finished a master's thesis last spring at a college with a fancy library and my thesis still required extensive library research using actual books, so I'm not at all convinced that libraries are ready to become bookless. I feel it is an absurd notion to leave students without a school librarian. Teachers on their planning periods are certainly no substitute for a professional research specialist. The idea that librarians only manage book collections and can therefore be disposed of is ridiculous. And, finally, the person who was making our public library into a cultural mecca is gone. Just check out the library's empty calendar for June for a taste of what's to come.

Sports Center Disturbing Its Line Road Neighborhood

The Tab Ramos Sports Center has been getting some attention lately from the Aberdeen Township Council and the Aberdeen Police due to neighborhood complaints, according to comments recorded in the minutes of the 16 March 2010 town council and a verbal report from this week's council meeting. The center, which is open until 2 am, offers adult parties in four-hour blocks complete with beer, wine, and house liquor. The center's clients are reportedly causing concerns among the local residents due to vehicular traffic into and out of the area, especially late at night, plus there's been a rash of illegal parking. The police have been issuing summonses and the center has hired police for Friday evenings until the season drops off, but the neighbors complain that the situation has changed their community for the worse and they don't want to have to move. One Councilman who has been to that street three times says it is a zoo. The 3/17 council minutes say that the center is being cooperative plus the issue is being dealt with by the Zoning Board, but the whole thing flared up again at this week's council meeting.

Here's a map showing you where the center is.


View Larger Map

A&P Cliffwood Shopping Carts Littering Our Community

For the past few weeks I have had an A&P shopping cart in front of my house in Cliffwood Beach. We've phoned the A&P store manager numerous times and he keeps promising to have his guy come collect the cart, but the cart remains out front this afternoon. While this cart has been our uninvited guest, the neighbor kids rammed it into my fence and broke the bottom rail of my front gate. Sooner or later, the kids will take it down to Whale Creek or Raritan Bay and that will be that.

Ever since I moved here over thirty years ago, A&P shopping carts have been finding their way into neighborhood streets, creeks, woodlands, and yards.  I remember when the neighborhood teenagers took an A&P shopping cart out on a frozen Treasure Lake one winter in the early 1980s. When the weather warmed, the cart fell through the ice and stood sentinel in the middle of the lake for a couple of years until it finally sank into the mud. Since then I've made an effort to see that carts aren't left on the ice anymore. I've also seen carts down in the creek and woods near the middle school and in front yards throughout Cliffwood and Cliffwood Beach.

The store apparently knows a guy who knows a guy who comes around once in a while to collect strays in the back of a van or truck, but that's an insufficient response. Some of these wayward carts are neglected and remain an eyesore until they rust and decay in the backwoods, down a culvert, or in some other relatively forgotten part of our suburban landscape. It can't be cheap for the store, which must lose half a dozen or more carts per year, but the problem persists.

This cart litter isn't just a local issue, either: it is nationwide. Search for the word cart in these pieces from Seattle, Pittsburgh, and Milwaukee. There are some wonderful suggestions at Topix in response to a piece called Stop Draggin' My Cart Around, in which someone complained about this very matter and sought help on what to do. I guess I could donate the cart to a non-profit for use on Litter Walks.

Ultimately, grocery store customers don't have the right to roll a shopping cart home with them. That's what personal grocery carts are for. Carts on the Go has a nice selection for purchase. And then there is also the quite innovative Hook and Go Personal Shopping Cart. At the same time, the store doesn't have the right to bleed shopping carts into our community. Aberdeen Township ought to tell the Cliffwood A&P to make a serious effort to restrict its fleet of carts to the store and immediate parking lot and to prosecute those who persist in stealing its carts. Or else the store should be fined.

Gorilla in Room Causing High Admin Costs in NJ Schools - Too Many Districts

A recent letter to the editor of the Asbury Park Press complained that New Jersey schools are top-heavy with administration. But instead of arguing to merge small districts to save money, the writer of the letter goes off on a little personal tirade about bogus degrees and lucrative pension packages. The writer doesn't dare talk about consolidating districts. I just don' t understand why we would rather eliminate school librarians, lose three dozen teaching positions and outsource our janitorial staff than merge our district with Keyport. But there we are.

No, Mr Colts Neck, we don't suddenly have terrible abuse of the system and rising administrative salaries and benefits. In fact, total costs for administrative salaries and benefits have stayed fairly level over the past three years. Administrative salaries in Matawan-Aberdeen District's category (6 public schools K-12 with more than 3,500 students) have only gone up a total of 2.3%, from $1,093 per pupil to $1,141 pp, based on statistics I found under Indicator 9 on the state chart I mentioned in this blog on Monday evening.

We have too many school districts in New Jersey, something Mr Colts Neck barely alluded to in his letter. It's really just the same problem we have with our overabundance of municipalities, something my regular readers will recognize as a frequent topic in this space. Mr Colts Neck was no doubt scared to suggest merging his school district with a nearby town or two to be more efficient and less costly. Why might that be? Because he has to worry that his neighbors will become angry at him and shout, "What were you thinking? We can't have neighboring town X having a say in our children's education!"

And it wouldn't be just curriculum decisions up for grabs. Not just Fox News vs MS-NBC disputes. No, I'm talking about parents sitting down with a neighboring town's parents to discuss after-school programs, building security, and bus schedules. And just who is prepared to decide which school building(s) to put in mothballs and which superintendent(s) to send packing or demote?

We'd save a lot of money by merging districts to reduce administrative top-heaviness. But no, we'd rather be distracted by less substantial discussions.

NJ DOE Comparative Spending Guide 2010 - Matawan Aberdeen Regional School District

The New Jersey Department of Education Comparative Spending Guide 2010 contains statistics that allow you to view specific characteristics of the Matawan Aberdeen Regional School District and see how we rank in comparison to the other 104 school districts in our category. Not only can you see what our school district costs to operate and how those amounts have changed over the past two or three years, including total teacher and administrator salaries and benefit, you can also view trends in funding for textbooks, extracurriculars, plant & maintenance, and other things.

Below is the report you get if you search by district for Matawan. Our district is in the K-12 3,501+ category, which means that MARSD has more than 3,500 students between kindergarten and 12th grade. (You may wish to view the statistics for nearby districts, like Old Bridge and Middletown, to see how our costs, student/teacher ratios, etc, compare.)

District: MATAWAN-ABERDEEN REGIONAL
County: MONMOUTH
Grades: K-12
Population: 3,501 +

Total Comparative Cost Per Pupil
07-08 Actual Costs Amount per Pupil: $12,849
07-08 Actual Costs Rank per Pupil: 68
2008-09 Actual Costs Amount per Pupil: $13,124
2008-09 Actual Costs Rank per Pupil: 68
Per Pupil Amount (09-10 budget): $13,406
Per Pupil Ranking (09-10 budget): 58

Total Classroom Instruction
Per Pupil Amount (07-08 actual costs): $7,653
Per Pupil Ranking (07-08 actual costs): 75
% of Total Cost Per Pupil (07-08): 59.6%
Per Pupil Amount (08-09 actual costs): $7,821
Per Pupil Ranking (08-09 actual costs): 66
% of Total Cost Per Pupil (08-09): 59.6%
Per Pupil Amount (09-10 budget): $8,234
Per Pupil Ranking (09-10 budget): 63
% of Total Cost Per Pupil (09-10): 61.4%

Classroom Salaries and Benefits
Per Pupil Amount (07-08 actual costs): $7,442
Per Pupil Ranking (07-08 actual costs): 76
% of Total Cost per Pupil (07-08): 57.9%
% of Total Salaries and Benefits to Classroom Salaries and Benefits (07-08): 97.2%
Per Pupil Amount (08-09 actual costs): $7,554
Per Pupil Ranking (08-09 actual costs): 68
% of Total Cost per Pupil (08-09): 57.6%
% of Total Salaries and Benefits to Classroom Salaries and Benefits (08-09): 96.6%
Per Pupil Amount (09-10 budget): $8,020
Per Pupil Ranking (09-10 budget): 69
% of Total Cost per Pupil (09-10): 59.8%
% of Total Salaries and Benefits to Classroom Salaries and Benefits (09-10): 97.4%

Classroom Supplies/Textbooks
Per Pupil Amount (07-08 actual costs): $208
Per Pupil Ranking (07-08 actual costs): 37
% of Total Cost Per Pupil (07-08): 1.6%
Per Pupil Amount (08-09 actual costs): $262
Per Pupil Ranking (08-09 actual costs): 56
% of Total Cost Per Pupil (08-09): 2%
Per Pupil Amount (09-10 budget): $188
Per Pupil Ranking (09-10 budget): 21
% of Total Cost Per Pupil (09-10): 1.4%

Classroom Purchased Services/Other Costs
Per Pupil Amount (07-08 actual costs): $3
Per Pupil Ranking (07-08 actual costs): 1
% of Total Cost Per Pupil (07-08): 0%
Per Pupil Amount (08-09 actual costs): $6
Per Pupil Ranking (08-09 actual costs): 2
% of Total Cost Per Pupil (08-09): 0%
Per Pupil Amount (09-10 budget): $26
Per Pupil Ranking (09-10 budget): 9
% of Total Cost Per Pupil (09-10): 0.2%

Total Support Services
Per Pupil Amount (07-08 actual costs): $1,616
Per Pupil Ranking (07-08 actual costs): 36
% of Total Cost Per Pupil (07-08): 12.6%
Per Pupil Amount (08-09 actual costs): $1,477
Per Pupil Ranking (08-09 actual costs): 17
% of Total Cost Per Pupil (08-09): 11.3%
Per Pupil Amount (09-10 budget): $1,536
Per Pupil Ranking (09-10 budget): 13
% of Total Cost Per Pupil (09-10): 11.5%

Salaries and Benefits for Support Services
Per Pupil Amount (07-08 actual costs): $1,491
Per Pupil Ranking (07-08 actual costs): 44
% of Total Cost per Pupil (07-08): 11.6%
% of Total Salaries and Benefits to Support Services Salaries and Benefits (07-08): 92.3%
Per Pupil Amount (08-09 actual costs): $1,370
Per Pupil Ranking (08-09 actual costs): 25
% of Total Cost per Pupil (08-09): 10.4%
% of Total Salaries and Benefits to Support Services Salaries and Benefits (08-09): 92.8%
Per Pupil Amount (09-10 budget): $1,394
Per Pupil Ranking (09-10 budget): 17
% of Total Cost per Pupil (09-10): 10.4%
% of Total Salaries and Benefits to Support Services Salaries and Benefits (09-10): 90.8%

Total Administration
Per Pupil Amount (07-08 actual costs): $1,469
Per Pupil Ranking (07-08 actual costs): 80
% of Total Cost Per Pupil (07-08): 11.4%
Per Pupil Amount (08-09 actual costs): $1,479
Per Pupil Ranking (08-09 actual costs): 81
% of Total Cost Per Pupil (08-09): 11.3%
Per Pupil Amount (09-10 budget): $1,505
Per Pupil Ranking (09-10 budget): 76
% of Total Cost Per Pupil (09-10): 11.2%

Legal Services
Per Pupil Amount (07-08 actual costs): $
Per Pupil Ranking (07-08 actual costs):
% of Total Cost Per Pupil (07-08): 0%
Per Pupil Amount (08-09 actual costs): $
Per Pupil Ranking (08-09 actual costs):
% of Total Cost Per Pupil (08-09): 0%
Per Pupil Amount (09-10 budget): $37
Per Pupil Ranking (09-10 budget): 74
% of Total Cost Per Pupil (09-10): 0.3%

Administration Salaries and Benefits
Per Pupil Amount (07-08 actual costs): $1,233
Per Pupil Ranking (07-08 actual costs): 86
% of Total Cost per Pupil (07-08): 9.6%
% of Total Salaries and Benefits to Salaries and Benefits for Administration (07-08): 83.9%
Per Pupil Amount (08-09 actual costs): $1,215
Per Pupil Ranking (08-09 actual costs): 79
% of Total Cost per Pupil (08-09): 9.3%
% of Total Salaries and Benefits to Salaries and Benfits for Administration (08-09): 82.2%
Per Pupil Amount (09-10 budget): $1,258
Per Pupil Ranking (09-10 budget): 85
% of Total Cost per Pupil (09-10): 9.4%
% of Total Salaries and Benefits to Salaries and Benefits for Administration (09-10): 83.6%

Total Operations and Maintenance of Plant
Per Pupil Amount (07-08 actual costs): $1,693
Per Pupil Ranking (07-08 actual costs): 76
% of Total Cost Per Pupil (07-08): 13.2%
Per Pupil Amount (08-09 actual costs): $1,947
Per Pupil Ranking (08-09 actual costs): 88
% of Total Cost Per Pupil (08-09): 14.8%
Per Pupil Amount (09-10 budget): $1,708
Per Pupil Ranking (09-10 budget): 64
% of Total Cost Per Pupil (09-10): 12.7%

Salaries and Benefits for Operations and Maintenance of Plant
Per Pupil Amount (07-08 actual costs): $962
Per Pupil Ranking (07-08 actual costs): 81
% of Total Cost per Pupil (07-08): 7.5%
% of Total Salaries and Benefits to Salaries and Benefits - Operations of Maintenance of Plant (07-08): 56.8%
Per Pupil Amount (08-09 actual costs): $945
Per Pupil Ranking (08-09 actual costs): 78
% of Total Cost per Pupil (08-09): 7.2%
% of Total Salaries and Benefits to Salaries and Benefits - Operations of Maintenance of Plant(08-09): 48.5%
Per Pupil Amount (09-10 budget): $967
Per Pupil Ranking (09-10 budget): 71
% of Total Cost per Pupil (09-10): 7.2%
% of Total Salaries and Benefits to Salaries and Benefits - Operations of Maintenance of Plant (09-10): 56.6%

Board Contributions to the Food Service Program
Per Pupil Amount (07-08 actual costs): $
Per Pupil Ranking (07-08 actual costs):
% of Total Cost Per Pupil (07-08): 0%
Per Pupil Amount (08-09 actual costs): $27
Per Pupil Ranking (08-09 actual costs): 17
% of Total Cost Per Pupil (08-09): 0.2%
Per Pupil Amount (09-10 budget): $
Per Pupil Ranking (09-10 budget):
% of Total Cost Per Pupil (09-10): 0%

Extracurricular Costs
Per Pupil Amount (07-08 actual costs): $317
Per Pupil Ranking (07-08 actual costs): 94
% of Total Cost Per Pupil (07-08): 2.5%
Per Pupil Amount (08-09 actual costs): $297
Per Pupil Ranking (08-09 actual costs): 78
% of Total Cost Per Pupil (08-09): 2.3%
Per Pupil Amount (09-10 budget): $333
Per Pupil Ranking (09-10 budget): 88
% of Total Cost Per Pupil (09-10): 2.5%

Personal Services - Employee Benefits
% of Total Salaries (07-08): 29.4%
% of Total Salaries (08-09): 24.4%
% of Total Salaries (09-10): 25.5%

Total Equipment Cost
Per Pupil Costs (07-08): $85
Per Pupil Costs (08-09): $94
Per Pupil Costs (09-10): $30

Ratios
Ratio of Students to Classroom Teachers and Median Classroom Teacher Salary
Student to Teacher Ratio (08-09): 11.2
Ratio Ranking (08-09): 87
Teacher Salary (08-09): $59,750
Salary Ranking (08-09): 58
Student to Teacher Ratio (09-10): 11.4
Ratio Ranking (09-10): 88
Teacher Salary (09-10): $62,315
Salary Ranking (09-10): 61

Ratio of Students to Educational Support Personnel and Median Salary
Student to Special Service Ratio (08-09): 90.3
Ratio Ranking (08-09): 31
Special Service Salary (08-09): $82,340
Salary Ranking (08-09): 88
Student to Special Service Ratio (09-10): 92.8
Ratio Ranking (09-10): 26
Special Service Salary (09-10): $85,580
Salary Ranking (09-10): 88

Ratio of Students to Administrative Personnel and Median Salary
Student to Administrator Ratio (08-09): 170
Ratio Ranking (08-09): 66
Administrator Salary (08-09): $119,909
Salary Ranking (08-09): 68
Student to Administrator Ratio (09-10): 181.3
Ratio Ranking (09-10): 51
Administrator Salary (09-10): $128,545
Salary Ranking (09-10): 87

Ratio of Faculty to Administrative Personnel
Faculty to Administrator Ratio (08-09): 17
Faculty to Administrator Ranking (08-09): 47
Faculty to Administrator Ratio (09-10): 17.9
Faculty to Administrator Ranking (09-10): 34

General Fund

Comparison of Budgeted General Fund Balance vs. Actual (Used) or Generated
General Fund Balance (07-08): $946,461
2007-08 Actual: $-224,327
General Fund Balance (08-09): $1,292,837
2008-09 Actual: $-349,572

Unreserved General Fund Balance Excess
Actual Excess (07-08): $2,239,298
Actual Excess (08-09): $1,977,761
Actual Excess (09-10): $1,611,997

Summary of Vital Statistics
2009-10 Comparative Cost Per Pupil: $13,406
Revenue Sources, State: 22%
Revenue Sources, Local Taxes: 74%
Revenue Sources, Federal: 2%
Revenue Sources, Tuition: 0%
Revenue Sources, Use of Fund Balance: 1%
Revenue Sources, Other: 1%
Fall 2009 Certified Staff
Student/Teacher Ratio: 11.4
Student/Support Ratio: 92.8
Student/Administrator Ratio: 181.3
10/15/09 % of Classified Students to Total Students: 8.9%

African Americans in the Matawan Journal - 4 April 1885

Below is the third in my occasional series on African Americans mentioned in old editions of The Matawan Journal. Today's article, from a paper published 125 years ago this week, reveals that a local employer forced his staff to vote for particular candidates who opposed the Incorporation Doctrine. The Federal Courts wouldn't use the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to apply the Bill of Rights against the states for another forty years.

-------------------------------

Talk about negro Slavery in the South and the spirit of coercion of planters upon the negroes! The same spirit lives here in Matawan. We know one man who had to vote against incorporation because he was likely to lose his place if he did not vote the ticket his boss gave him. How can it be expected that such mean spirited men would be in favor of improvement?

Matawan Journal, 4 April 1885, page 2 column 4

Personal Finance Tuneup

A recent New York Times article provides a handy 31 point checklist that you can use to conduct a personal finance tuneup. With tax time upon us, it might be a good time to check things over to be sure we're doing everything we can to build towards a healthy financial future.

Tommy's Barber Shop and Main Street Village

I dropped in for a haircut at Tommy's Barber Shop on Saturday afternoon. I sat and read a few pages of the day's Asbury Park Press and was soon up in the chair becoming a new man. I had a nice chat with Carmella, the owner of Tommy's. I asked if she knew Tommy. She told me that the place used to be owned by a guy named Don, who bought it from Tommy.

Tommy's Barber Shop used to be in a building across the street where the Kat Shack bar now sits. The owner actually had a beauty salon and barber shop next to each other. The shop moved to the other side of Route 34 for a little while before relocating to its present site in Main Street Village, which is at the corner of Route 34 and Main Street in Matawan.

I recall two barber shops in town over 20 years ago -- one that used to be between where the Quik Chek is now and Aberdeen Road, and the other one was somewhere near Burrough's Mansion. I thought that the latter used to be Tommy's, but I could be mistaken. Both were in old shops, so I'm not surprised that they've gone away, but they gave the town a certain old-time flavor that was reassuring but is fast eroding. The old coffee shop at the corner of Little Street and Main was another old-timey place I loved. Cozy Corner, right? Starbucks has wi-fi, but those old places, like the library still is today, were places to pass a kind word with your neighbors and discuss local affairs. 

Well, let me just ask that you be sure to patronize all of your local shops. Times are tough and they need your support. Think twice before heading out of town to get something done you can get done locally. When you drop in for coffee at Starbucks or you need a package delivered by UPS, be sure to check out the other stores at Main Street Village. For example,  I noticed the other day that The Pottery House hosts kids' birthday parties. A large group of kids were in there having the time of their lives making crafts. And when you have pizza or a sandwich at Trattoria Rustica, be sure to order a birthday cake or pick up some cookies at Abbate's Bakery. (Don't tell anyone, but we sometimes pick up some Black and White cookies at Abbate's and take them down to Starbucks to have with their coffee.) And don't forget Rapunzel's, not only the perfect place for ladies to get their hair and nails done, but also a fully equipped day spa. You need a massage, don't you? OXXO Care Cleaners is relatively new but I hear good things about the convenience of using their clothing care services.