The cache of recovered narcotics included more than 500 “decks” of heroin and seven bags of pot. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank’s police dog found a load of illegal drugs discarded by a fleeing suspect Wednesday night, Chief Darren McConnell tells redbankgreen.
A couple of headstrong snapping turtles got an assist from Fair Haven police, public works employees and Animal Control Officer Henry Perez earlier this week.
Although it plays a prominent role in the lives of many area residents, the Sunnyside Equestrian Center has to be ranked among the “best kept secrets” of the greater Red Bank Green.
But this Saturday morning, the general public is invited to come out to 628 Middletown-Lincroft Road for a free special event in which some special riders showcase their skills on the trails (and, in the process, make the Monmouth County Park System facility ready for its close-up).
The audience at the Celestial Lodge Friday night. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank residents delivered a message to borough officials Friday night about a new park proposed at the town’s long-closed landfill site: not everyone wants it.
At a town-hall-style meeting held at the Celestial Lodge #36 on Drs. James Parker Boulevard, area residents expressed concerns that the dump might never be made safe for public use.
Ex-Chief MikeWelsh shows off the EMT safety restraints in a new ambulance dedicated by the Little Silver First Aid Squad Monday night.
Councilman Donald Galante, with borough Attorney Meghan Clark, at the workshop session of the council Monday. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Little Silver will establish a canine unit with a bomb-sniffing dog, thanks to Mayor Bob Neff‘s first-ever tiebreaker vote Monday night.
But a companion measure to create a fund to accept donations for the operation was pulled before a formal vote over concerns that it didn’t pass “pass the smell test,” in the words of Councilman Dane Mihlon.
Does the Little Silver police department need a dog trained in people-tracking and bomb-detection to help ensure safety at events like Little Silver Day, above?
The Monmouth County SPCA’s annual Dog Walk and Pet Fair returns to Brookdale Community College Saturday.
This weekend marks the return of two more-or-less yearly events to the Lincroft campus of Brookdale Community College — the Monmouth County SPCA Dog Walk and Pet Fair and the Brookdale Guitar Show — both of which had their origins in the generally cooler months and have since relocated to rank among the favorite rites of spring on the Greater Red Bank Green.
A one-vehicle accident in Little Silver took out a fire hydrant at Lovett Avenue and Orchard Place at 7:38 a.m. Tuesday.
Monmouth County SPCA Officer Becker and Chief Licitra joined police therapy dog Hunter for a visit to the Pre-K classroom at Rumson Country Day School last week.
Press release from Rumson Country Day School
On Thursday, April 12, the Student Council at The Rumson Country Day School held a fundraising Casual Dress Day to benefit the Monmouth County SPCA. Students donated $5 to participate in the special day, and were asked to wear orange to raise awareness for the cause. The total raised for the day was $1,600.
RCDS seventh grader Sheridan Sainato, a youth ambassador of the MCSPCA, was the catalyst for the fundraiser, with her volunteer work and passion for the cause having been recently recognized by the Eatontown-based organization.
A map showing the extended former landfill site outlined in green. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
We need a skatepark. We need a playgrounds for West Side kids. We need to remember that this is a neighborhood that can’t handle throngs of out-of-town visitors.
Red Bank residents offered those and other suggestions as the process of shaping a new waterfront park out of the former town dump got underway with a community brainstorming session last Thursday night.
The Broad Street station house of Shrewsbury Hose Company is the scene of an April 23 seminar in animal lifesaving skills.
Press release from Tails of Hope Animal Rescue
Do you know how to help your pet in an emergency? The Englishtown-based NJ chapter of Tails of Hope Animal Rescue is hosting a Pet CPR and First Aid Class for pet owners and pet care professionals on Sunday, April 23.
Between the hours of 12 to 4 p.m., the firehouse headquarters of Shrewsbury Hose Company (783 Broad Street/Route 35 in Shrewsbury) will be the setting for an informational session conducted by Tom Rinelli of Paws ‘N Claws 911, with the 25+ year seasoned emergency medical care provider and educator offering “real world” training with an emphasis on hands-on lifesaving skills.
With planning underway to transform the former Red Bank landfill at West Sunset Avenue into an 8.6-acre park, the borough Parks & Rec Committee has scheduled a “concept design kickoff” to solicit public input on the project.
Press release from First Baptist Church of Red Bank
It’s being called “The Sheepishly Awesome, Amazingly Grand Billy Affair” — a way for families to welcome the coming of Easter Sunday, in a way that offers a delightful alternative to the usual egg hunts.
On Saturday, April 8, the corner of Oakland Street and Maple Avenue will the scene of a Parking Lot Party, as First Baptist Church Red Bank invites young members of the community to enjoy face painting, bounce houses, crafts, welcome gift and goodie bags, and a chance to meet and greet some really cute baby sheep and goats.
Eko, the department’s newest recruit, below, has been cleared by a veterinarian to begin training. He’ll join a K9 unit pioneered by Hunter, above, who’s partnered with Patrolman Stan Balmer. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Some news from Red Bank police…
The department will soon be getting a second tracker dog, redbankgreen has learned.
And the RBPD plans to host a “Coffee with a Cop” event offering community members an opportunity to mingle with police and talk about their concerns in an informal setting over coffee.
The work of Pennsylvania-based woodcarver Karl Yankey (above) is spotlighted…and the decoys, shorebirds and wildlife art takes center stage…when the annual Two Rivers Exhibition returns to Rumson’s Forrestdale School on Saturday.
To fans of a certain “niche” sort of hobby, it’s an event worth traveling hundreds of miles for — while to the more casual enthusiast, it’s a best-kept-secret, right-in-our-backyard bit of local color that, well, beats getting up before dawn and shivering the morning away in some damp and lonesome duck blind.
It’s the Two Rivers Exhibition of Sporting Collectible Art, a happening that comes to Forrestdale School (60 Forrest Avenue in Rumson) for its fourth annual edition this Saturday, March 11. Between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., the school’s all-purpose room becomes a gallery space in which some of the region’s finest woodcarvers and wildlife artists get their ducks in a row, in a day hosted by the New Jersey Waterfowl Carvers Association in association with the Monmouth County chapter of Ducks Unlimited.
The former landfill at West Sunset Avenue, as seen in 2014. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank officials took another step toward the creation of a long-anticipated new park on the site of the former landfill and incinerator this week.
They also got some promises of help.
Press release from Rumson-Fair Haven High School
Nearly a year ago, a therapy dog named Violet was welcomed as the newest staff member at Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School. Since then, Violet has become a vital member of the RFH family and has embraced her role with dignity and a wagging tail. She is making a tremendous impact in the RFH Multiple Disabled program, as well as throughout the school and the local school community.
On March 7, Violet will mark her first birthday — and in celebration, RFH has invited community members to participate in a number of activities honoring Violet and supporting her work.
Press release from Monmouth County SPCA
The Monmouth County SPCA has announced that their annual Valentine’s Day Brunch will be held at the beautiful and exclusive Navesink Country Club in Middletown Township, on Sunday, February 12. Last year’s event sold out and raised over $38,000 for the animals in their care.
This year’s event will feature a variety of new and exciting attractions including a “Tunnel of Love” photo booth, jewelry chance auction and chance basket items plus much more with underwriting opportunities still available.
About 100 Little Silver residents, joined by Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno
, celebrated the completion of restoration work on the three barns at the Parker Homestead Sunday.
The structures, the oldest of which is believed to have been built in the 1790s, and the Parker farm site on which they sit are “as important as Jamestown” in the history of America, Mayor Bob Neff told the crowd.
The restoration, funded with a $250,000 Monmouth County Open Spaces grant, was completed after a dispute with a contractor was resolved and a second contractor, Drill Construction, came on board in January, said Keith Wells, a trustee for the nonprofit Parker Homestead 1665 Inc., the nonprofit that oversaw the project. Two carpenters, Joe Rubel and Mike Cerniglia, were credited for work.
Click the “read more” for additional photos. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
Students at Deane-Porter School greet their new reading buddy, Violet, Rumson-Fair Haven’s therapy dog.
Press release from Rumson School District
Often, children who have difficulty reading, fear the judgment they receive and become self-conscious while practicing the skill aloud. A reading program involving a dog as a listener has the potential to change that.
Recently, students at Rumson’s Deane Porter and Forrestdale schools welcomed a very special regular guest, as Violet, the official therapy dog of Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School, joined several RFH students in English Language Arts classes at the two borough schools.
Reverend Ophelia Laughlin blesses a dog, during a past St. Francis Day event at St. George’s-by-the-River in Rumson. (Photo by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)
It began several years back as a simple observance of St. Francis Day; a “pet blessing” ceremony conducted in the spirit of the patron saint of those furry, finned, feathered and variously phylum’d creatures with whom we share this planet and, often, our lunches.
But such was the response to the annual Blessing of the Animals at St. George’s-by-the-River, that the Episcopal church in Rumson soon found itself accommodating some 200 dogs, cats, hamsters, turtles, birds, goldfish and numerous other species; up from “30 to 40” at the event’s onset — even flirting for a time with a monthly pets-welcome service in the church’s Parish Hall.
On Sunday, October 2, the historic house of worship on Waterman Avenue again welcomes pets of all shapes, sizes and breeds to be blessed individually by the clergy — with dog owners requested to keep their pets leashed, and even those without an animal companion welcome to attend the service that commences at 2 p.m. Call St. George’s at (732)888-1194 for additional information — and read on for more about another St. Francis observance here on the greater Green; one that’s grown this year to encompass a separate satellite event.
Amateur naturalists, “citizen scientists” and other volunteers are invited to participate in a “BioBlitz” census of species on Sandy Hook, September 23 and 24.
This year, the National Parks Service observes the 100th anniversary of its founding — and as part of the year-long celebration, the federal agency will coordinate more than 100 “BioBlitz” initiatives at parks and other protected lands across the nation.
Out on the Sandy Hook peninsula, administered by the NPS as a unit of the Gateway National Recreation Area, the past several Septembers have seen a local BioBlitz effort coordinated with the Hook-based nonprofit American Littoral Society — and for 24 hours beginning Friday, September 23, “citizen scientists” from all walks of life are invited to be a part of this important annual wildlife census.
Visitors to the Sea Bright municipal beach were treated to the sight of a dozen or so dolphins feeding just offshore last Friday.
Whether the dolphins will stick around is unknown, but Monday kicks off what looks to be a week of sunny skies, peak temperatures in the low 80s and cool nights, according to the National Weather Service. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
