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Red Bank Library Names New Director

Details: Category: News; Published: 29 January 2013

RED BANK, NJ - The Red Bank Public Library/Eisner Memorial Library Board of Trustees is pleased to announce that Virginia Papandrea has been named the permanent Director of the library.

Virginia brings a wealth of knowledge and experience. While acting as interim-director, she was instrumental in aiding the Board weave their way through these difficult financial times. We are delighted to have her as a new member of the Red Bank community.

There will be an opportunity to meet and greet Virginia at the Preview Sale and Reception that will kick off the annual Friends Used Book Sale at the library on Friday, February 1, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. Admission is free for members of the Friends of the Library and $20.00 for non-members. Memberships will be available at the door. Virginia will also be present at the Used Book Sale on Saturday, February 2, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Early entry fee on Saturday from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. will be $10.00. Please feel free to come in and meet Virginia.

The Library Board of Trustees also would like to announce our new officers for 2013: John Grandits, President; Patricia Moss, Vice-President; and Brigid McCarthy, Treasurer.

The other Board members, all of whom work actively on various committees, are April Klimley, Laura Morana, Audrey Oldoerp, Ann Tardy, and James Willis.

Home by Christmas - A Personal Account of the Hurricane Sandy Experience

Details: Category: Letters to the Editor; Published: 27 January 2013

In my lifetime I can say that there have been several events that have left a mark on me: President Kennedy's assassination on November 22,1963, and September 11, 2001, in which I was in Washington, D.C. at Union Station ready to take the Amtrak train back to New Jersey when I heard the news of the attacks, and the happy event that I experienced in Washington, D.C., which was the Bicentennial birthday party on July 4, 1976. These all had a certain impact on my life, but never personal like Hurricane Sandy which occurred on October 29, 2012.

My two sisters and I were all personally affected by the hurricane. I was shell-shocked when I opened the door to my house on Florence Avenue in Leonardo which got two feet of water in it, my furniture tossed all over the house, including my refrigerator which had toppled over, and all of my appliances including my computer destroyed. I cried in my next door neighbor's arms.

My oldest sister's house on Beach Avenue was so severely damaged that it has been condemned. She lost an entire side of her house, all of her belongings such as books and furniture were sucked out by the water, there was absolutely nothing left in the room which made up that side of the house. Her furniture was literally tossed upside down, unrecognizable to her, and her refrigerator was wedged in between the oven in the kitchen. She had been flooded with five feet of water. The foundation of her house was split in half and a huge crate in the crawlspace. She is still in limbo as to what is going to happen to her house.

Melissa M. Festa to represent Highlands at the Mrs. New Jersey Pageant

Details: Category: News; Published: 24 January 2013

mrs_highlands_melissa_marie_festa Mrs. Highlands, Melissa M. Festa

PHOTO by Carl Maiorino

Highlands, NJ – Melissa M. Festa has garnered the title of Mrs. Highlands United States 2013 and will go on to compete at the Mrs. New Jersey United States Pageant in May, where she will join married women from across NJ to promote her personal platform, fundraise for charities, and compete for a cash award, evening gown, year of image consulting, jewelry, and an all-expense paid trip to the national pageant in Las Vegas, among other prizes.

Melissa is representing Highlands in Monmouth County, where she is happily married to her husband, Bryan. Melissa holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication with a concentration of Television and Radio Broadcasting from Monmouth University.

She is compassionate about her platform, “Restoring The Shore: Hope For Highlands”. Along with many other surrounding towns, Melissa's hometown was hit extremely hard by Hurricane Sandy. As a representative of Highlands, NJ Melissa hopes to bring much needed attention to this area.

Historic Kings Highway - Backbone of Early Middletown

Details: Category: News; Published: 18 January 2013

Throughout history, transportation networks have always been the cornerstone of any successful settlement. Middletown was no different, as the colonial road known as the “King’s Highway” was the baseline around which the town was laid out. The town of Middletown, first settled in 1664, consisted of 36 “lotts” bifurcated by the Kings Highway, which was actually an old American Indian path known as the Minisink Path. In fact, many of the first New Jersey towns were laid out more or less within the loose frameworks of surviving American Indian features. Routes traversed by American Indians were favored by the colonists because of their proximity to higher ground surfaces away from ravines, steep slopes, bogs, streams, and marshy ground. One of the consequences however, of a sparse indigenous population was that many of these roads fell into disuse, as exemplified by stretches of trees and brush that had grown over the pathways by the time of colonial settlement. As a result, one of the first tasks of the new settlers was to clear and upgrade the path to meet the demands of the 17^th-century colonists. Kings Highway upon completion was six rods, or 99 feet in width.

Union Beach Fire Equipment to Get Free Detailing

Details: Category: News; Published: 17 January 2013

ROCHELLE PARK, NJ — With help from fellow detailing industry professionals, former Jersey City police officer Harry Sandwith of Dirty Harry’s Detailing will be refurbishing 11 damaged emergency vehicles and equipment from three of the four fire stations in the Union Beach, NJ community hit hard during Hurricane Sandy. The restoration project begins on Tuesday, January 22 and is expected to be completed by Friday, January 25.

Featured in the 12-12-12 Concert for Sandy Relief, Union Beach is getting help from the detailing industry countrywide, including the Dirty Harry staff’s James Viola and Harry and Joseph Sandwith; active duty Long Branch police officer, Bob Wiener of Finer Details in West Long Branch, NJ; Darryl Kimmis of Mirror Image Detailing in Rowlett, TX; Michael Pena of Mobile Auto Detail in Houston; and Andrew Swenson of Wolfeboro Carwash and Detailing of New Hampshire — all whom are donating their time and skill. Generous cash donations are pouring in from detailing trainer Renny Doyle of Attention to Details ($500); Bill Quinn of Bill the Buff Man Washington State Detailing ($400); the Long Branch Police Department PBA ($500) and SOA ($500); Robert Eichelberg of Flex North America ($500); and $100 donations from Dave Bayless and Doug Parfitt. Jim Stavrinides of Aerolon Performance Coating’s in San Francisco has donated a large supply of Aerolon Tech Shine product; Robert Regan of Towel Pros California is sending 100 high-end detail towels; and Joe Sabo of DRC 1000 is donating buffing pads and $250 cash — all with hopes of giving the badly crippled emergency management team a fresh look.