FAIR HAVEN: THREE EAGLE SCOUTS CITED
Alexander In Ho Pane, John Franklin Cadamuro and Roman Devlin, with Fair Haven Mayor Ben Lucarelli, were cited by the borough council Monday night for recent work leading to their designation as Eagle Scouts.
FAIR HAVEN: FIREMEN’S FAIR CANCELED
The traditional summer-ending Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair has been canceled, volunteer fire company President Jim Cerruti announced Tuesday.
FAIR HAVEN: PARK OPENS ON OLD HOUSE SITE
Local officials lined the shoreline of the Navesink River for the park opening. Below, the house that formerly stood on the site, as seen in 2009. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
More than a decade after it began, an effort to turn prime riverfront property in Fair Haven into a park ended with a ribbon-cutting Tuesday evening.
Dubbed “Williams, Albert and Robards Park” for the successive generations of the family that lived there, the site at the northern end of Denormandie Avenue will now serve as a place for “contemplation,” Mayor Ben Lucarelli told several dozen onlookers at a brief ceremony.
ON THE GREEN: COP SHOPS HOST ‘NIGHT OUT’
Police in Red Bank, Fair Haven and Little Silver plan to host National Night Out events Tuesday evening, offering residents and police an opportunity to meet in a casual setting while kids get to play and pick up some safety tips.
Details below.
RED BANK/FAIR HAVEN: BARGAINS OUT FRONT
Saturday is a day for hunting bargains on Greater Green as Red Bank and Fair Haven host townwide yard sales.
FAIR HAVEN: FIREMEN’S FAIR TURNS 58
Oh yes, Mr. Teapot, the Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair returns for its 58th annual edition starting Friday.
It was the late summer of 1960, and even as storm watchers were keeping tabs on a tropical depression named Donna, the thoughts of most folks were with squeezing the last bit of enjoyment out of another hard-earned vacation season.
The American Football League was still a week or two away from kicking off its first game, and precious few people were aware of a little band named the Beatles, but taking advantage of a change in state laws governing raffles and midway-style games of chance, volunteer firefighters in launched an event that returns for its 58th annual edition this week: the Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair.
ON THE GREEN: CATCH THESE OUTSIDE
The reverb-drenched surf rock sounds of the Sharkskins close out the concert season on the Fair Haven Municipal Dock Thursday night.
From star-kissed surf and free-range country to plein-air pickin’ and fresh-air film, the season of outdoor diversions remains very much in effect on the Greater Red Bank Green. We’ve got the roundup of public-welcome events under the summer sky — and over the next seven days and nights — all of them free as a breeze.
It all starts tonight, weather permitting, with the latest installment of the Summer 2017 Movies in Riverside Gardens Park series, sponsored by Red Bank Parks and Recreation and brought to you by Shore Flicks.
FAIR HAVEN: BEACH READ ON RIVER ROAD
Best-selling novelist Patti Callahan Henry comes to River Road Books Wednesday with her latest, ‘The Bookshop at Water’s End.’
The swimsuits and summer gear may have already been supplanted on store shelves by back-to-school items and other mellow-harshing signifiers of autumn’s advance, but at River Road Books in Fair Haven, the season of the “summer read” remains very much in effect, with more than enough sun-dappled and seabreeze-kissed titles to fuel a thousand oceanfront excursions.
The last bastion of independently owned bookstores on the Greater Red Bank Green continues its decade-plus history of guest-author appearances when best-selling novelist Patti Callahan Henry drops by Wednesday evening with something of an affirmation that summer, and its literary contents, remain alive and well.
RB, FH & LS COPS HOST ‘NIGHT OUT’
Police in Red Bank and Fair Haven once again host annual local entries of National Night Out Tuesday, offering residents and police an opportunity to meet in a casual setting while offering kids games and some instruction in safety.
Details below.
IN THE AIR: FREE MUSIC, MOVIES AND MORE
Week two of this summer’s Movies in the Park series in Red Bank features an entry from the ‘Star Wars’ catalog. Below, Layonne Holmes fronts the Motor City Revue in a return to Sandy Hook Wednesday.
There’s a chance to imagine yourself as part of the biggest franchise in film fantasy history. Some power pop on the dock. A heat-blast of Latin-flavored jazz in the park. A little beach-music soul on the sands. And one of the world’s most beloved plays on yonder grassy knoll.
It’s all going on beneath the setting sun and stars of the Greater Red Bank Green — and all fabulously free of charge in the evenings to come.
FAIR HAVEN SCHOOL HONORS MARINE
L-R: Former Marines Fred Dispensiere and Joe Perrotto welcome Matthew (Matt) Valko to the Wall of Honor at Knollwood School.
Press release from Fair Haven School District
Recently, Matthew (“Matt”) Valko completed his U.S. Marine Corps boot camp training and headed to the Combat Division at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. But before that, the native of Fair Haven had another important milestone to address, at the middle school from which he graduated in 2010.
Matt’s photo has now been added to the Knollwood School “Wall of Honor,” featuring graduates who are proudly serving their country in the armed forces. Located prominently in the main hallway of the school, the Wall of Honor was commissioned in 2011 by co-chairs Betsy Koch, an eighth grade science teacher at the school, and Joe Perrotto, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps.
FAIR HAVEN: WAG ROCKS THE DOCK
Middletown-based powerpop purveyors The Wag open a new season of free concerts in Fair Haven this Thursday evening, on the borough’s municipal dock.
Some music is simply born of, and belongs to, the most dimly lit grottoes and claustrophobic corners of the nocturnal club-crawler’s world — not so The Wag, the Middletown-based band that emerges into sunlight each year around this time; taking to the season of open-air concert events (including the Clearwater Festival, the Red Bank Street Life series, and of course the annual Monmouth County SPCA Dog Walk) like ducks take to water.
Appropriately enough, The Wag will be partying with the waterfowl, plus other local fans and fauna, when they help inaugurate a new season of Fair Haven Dock Concert events this Thursday, July 6.
FAIR HAVEN TEEN AIMS FOR OLYMPIC GLORY
Nikolas Swidryk, a 17-year-old junior at RFH, is one of the top cadet and Junior Olympic recurve archers in the country.
Press release from Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School
Nikolas Swidryk, a junior at Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School, has “hit the mark” as a recurve archer, and is now closer to his dream of Olympic glory.
The 17-year-old son of Michelle and Dr. John Swidryk of Fair Haven is one of just 18 male athletes selected for the 2017 Junior Dream Team, consisting of the top cadet and junior Olympic recurve archers in the country.
FAIR HAVEN: A GALLERY OF FUTURE ARTISTS
A large crowd of visitors admired an array of art created by students in grades K through 8 at Sickles and Knollwood Schools at the April 25 Fair Haven School District Art Show.
The event was organized by borough art teachers RoseAnn LaBrocca, Jessica Data and Chris Dudick.
Above, Sickles School first-grader Jude Burkhardt and third-grader Brody Burkhardt with Brody’s mixed-media painting. At right, Sickles School third-grader Celia Cope and her mom Carolyn admire Celia’s “Kitty Kitty Love” papier-mâché creation.
AN EARTH DAY ARMY AT FAIR HAVEN FIELDS
On Earth Day, April 22, an army of more than 60 volunteers descended upon Fair Haven Fields for a day of activity that included removal of trash and invasive vines, a clean-up of Dery’s Pond, and plantings of more than 50 seedlings in the Tree Nursery. Pictured left to right in the back row are borough councilman Christopher Rodriguez; Markus Onni (Den Leader, Cub Scouts Pack 127); Shervyn von Hoerl (Cubmaster, Pack 127); Carol Lang; Matt Lang (Den Leader, Pack 127), and Chris Kopacko, with a group of Cub Scout and youth volunteers pictured at front. A follow-up volunteer day at the Fields will be announced for fall.
RUMSON: COMMUNITIES TEAM FOR ‘TREE TALK’
Left to right: An April 19 “Tree Talk” conference drew the participation of William Gerth (Shrewsbury), Christian Burns (Fair Haven), Professor Jason Grabosky (Rutgers University), plus Wayne Greenleaf, Steve Barrett, and Kristen Hall (Rumson). (photo by Christopher Rodriguez)
Press release from Christopher Rodriguez, Fair Haven Borough Council
The local communities of Fair Haven, Rumson, Little Silver and Shrewsbury came together on April 19 as a broader group for a discussion about our trees — the ones that benefit our environment, as well as some we can avoid — in a public-welcome meeting of the Two Rivers Shade Tree Alliance.
During the Tree Talk at Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School, Shade Tree Commissioners from the four towns hosted and engaging presentation by Rutgers University professor Jason Grabosky. The professor, a local expert in urban forestry, ecology and natural resources, conducted an interactive slideshow presentation, and entertained questions from the dozens of local residents in attendance.
FAIR HAVEN KIDS MEET THE AUTHOR
Children’s author Patricia Polacco with Sickles School third graders during her recent visit to the Fair Haven School District.
Press release from Fair Haven School District
She is the writer and illustrator of over 115 books, including Keeping Quilt, Babushka’s Doll, The Dream Keeper, My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother, Chicken Sunday (a 1994 President’s Commendation Medal winner), and Welcome Comfort. Her Thank You Mr. Falker was awarded the 1999 Best Book Award by the Association of Dyslexic and Learning Disabled Readers — and in 2013, the Library of Congress and the President of the United States recognized her book Pink and Say as one of the best books written for children in the past 100 years.
A wish came true last week, when New York Times bestselling children’s book author Patricia Polacco paid a special two-day visit to the Fair Haven school district.
Students in fourth, fifth, and sixth grades at Knollwood School spent quality time with the author during presentations on April 3, while Polacco’s visit to Viola L. Sickles School on April 4 included lunch with two students chosen by lottery from each third grade class, along with their teachers.
FAIR HAVEN KIDS DO LUNCH WITH VIPS
The atmosphere was fun and festive, during the annual “Lunch with a VIP” event at Fair Haven’s at Viola L. Sickles School.
Press release from Fair Haven School District
“Lunch with a VIP” is a yearly event that provides students the opportunity to connect with a loved one during the school day, in a highly celebratory atmosphere. This year’s VIP luncheon was held at Viola L. Sickles School between March 28 and 3, with students from first, second, and third grades sharing tables with the Very Important People in their lives.
During the hour-long celebration sponsored by the Fair Haven Parent Teacher Association, Sickles students and their VIPs enjoyed fun activities and created lasting memories. A questionnaire for VIPs was provided to encourage lunchtime discussion about “favorites” – including color, song, and holiday movie. A photo booth and professional photography by Lara Robby were featured to capture a special moment in time.
YA AUTHOR VISITS FAIR HAVEN SCHOOL
Press release from Fair Haven School District
On March 27, award-winning Young Adult fiction author Jordan Sonnenblick visited Knollwood School, and made presentations to students in sixth through eighth grades.
Sonnenblick is well-known for exploring the complicated themes of friendship, family, and real- life tragedy while still managing to be hilariously funny. His books convey a genuine understanding of life as a teenager. Titles include Zen and the Art of Faking It, Curveball: The Year I Lost My Grip, Are You Experienced? and Falling Over Sideways.
After Ever After, the sequel to Sonnenblick’s Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie, was the 2011 Middle Grades winner of the American Library Association’s Children’s Literature Award.
FAIR HAVEN: EARTH DAY VOLUNTEERS SOUGHT
On Earth Day, April 22, residents of Fair Haven and other neighboring communities (Little Silver, Rumson and Red Bank) are invited to join members of the borough’s Natural Area Committee and Shade Tree Commission in a team opportunity to “care for a treasure that improves all of our lives.”
That treasure is the Fair Haven Fields Natural Area, the approximately 40 acre recreational facility whose trails regularly hosts a wide range of open-air activities for community members of all ages (in addition to the occasional warm-weather movie night). And beginning that Saturday morning, the community has a chance to give back to a resource that keeps on giving year-round.
FAIR HAVEN 7TH GRADER SPELLS VICTORY
Knollwood School Spelling Bee winner PJ Rawlins is pictured with Superintendent Sean McNeil and Principal Amy Romano.
Press release from Fair Haven School District
PJ Rawlins has been announced as winner of the Annual Spelling Bee held at Knollwood School in Fair Haven on January 31. The seventh grader correctly spelled the word “feckless” to claim first place in the school-wide competition for students in fourth through eighth grade.
Competing along with PJ were eighth grader Alex Fratto, sixth grader Will Ross, fifth grader Michael DeFazio, and fourth grader Kate Cusick.
FAIR HAVEN: BE OUR GUEST AT SCHOOL SHOW
Press release from Fair Haven School District
On the evening of Thursday, March 2, the All Purpose Room at Fair Haven’s Knollwood School will be the setting for a special one-night-only production of the Disney musical Beauty and the Beast Jr.
Designed for middle-school aged performers, the 60-minute musical is based on the 1994 Broadway production, and Disney’s 1991 animated feature film. The sixth, seventh, and eighth grade cast contains approximately forty students.
RUMSON, FAIR HAVEN PARENTS GO TO SCHOOL
Press release from Rumson School District
The Tri-District Initiative is a partnership that begins in the elementary and middle schools of Rumson and Fair Haven boroughs, and continues at the separate district dedicated to Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School. In the spirit of aligning programs and creating dialog between the students, families and educators, the special services department at each district created a public-invited program under the name Special Education Parent Academy.
This forum features topics that can help parents at each level of the educational process. For December’s meeting, the tri-district team shared information regarding supports and programming for students receiving special education services, as they transition from middle to high school and beyond.
FAIR HAVEN: A ‘SOUPER’ PARTY FOR THE NEEDY
Press release from Knights of Columbus Council #3187
During Super Bowl 50, young people and groups across the country raised over $10 million in cash and resources for charities through the Souper Bowl of Caring initiative. This national movement is transforming the weekend of the Big Game into the nation’s largest youth-inspired weekend of giving and serving — and here in 2017, America’s young people are working to raise millions more for hunger and poverty-related charities across the country.
The Knights of Columbus – Red Bank Council 3187 will be involved with the Souper Bowl of Caring because it is a simple and meaningful way to unite communities around important issues, such as hunger, poverty and homelessness. The entire community is invited to join the local KofC membership this Sunday, February 5, as we work to reach our fundraising goals during the fun and free-admission event “Minister Steve’s Souper Bowl Party — Help Us Reach the Goal.”
FAIR HAVEN TEEN ATTAINS EAGLE SCOUT RANK
Eagle Scout Michael Frissora of Fair Haven (left) is pictured at the BSA Troop 67 Court of Honor with Elmer Potter, who at 90 years of age is Monmouth County’s oldest living Eagle Scout.
Press release from Fair Haven School District
Fair Haven resident Michael Frissora has attained the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest possible achievement for a member of the Boy Scouts of America. The award was conferred by BSA Troop 67 Scoutmaster Michael Maier at a Court of Honor, held on January 8 at First Presbyterian Church in Red Bank.
For his Service Project, an Eagle Scout requirement, Michael returned to his “roots” and gave back to Fair Haven’s Viola L. Sickles School, the public primary school where he began his education. Michael’s project was a large garden constructed of recycled wooden pallets and located on a 1,000 square foot lot adjacent to the school.