RED BANK: ‘RE-ENTRY’ THROUGH THE KITCHEN

State Senators Declan O’Scanlon, left, and Vin Gopal flank ex-Governor Jim McGreevey as he speaks with Re-Entry participants at Soul Kitchen Thursday. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

“Nobody should be defined by their worst decision,” former New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey said on a visit to Red Bank Thursday.

That’s particularly true for ex-felons who may never have learned the basic skills needed to become self-sufficient members of society, he said.

May 28, 2021 - 7:58 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: DEP SAYS RIVERS SAFE FOR HUMANS

A cluster of dead bunker in the Red Bank borough marina at Marine Park earlier this month. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj A massive die-off of bunker fish in the Navesink and Shrewsbury rivers this spring poses no health threat to recreational users of those waters, environmental scientists said Thursday night.

Meantime, experts are still trying to determine what environmental “stressors” might have turned a bacteria that’s common to the species into a mass killer that has littered shores with tons of dead, putrid carcasses.

May 27, 2021 - 11:26 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: FORUM ON FISH KILL SLATED

A cluster of dead bunker in the borough marina at Marine Park earlier this month. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Clean Ocean Action and local officials, including Red Bank’s, will get the virtual town hall with New Jersey environmental officials they’ve been seeking to address the recent “severe” fish kill in the Navesink and Shrewsbury rivers, the organization announced Friday.

May 21, 2021 - 2:54 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: TOWN HALL ON FISH KILL SOUGHT

Fish carcasses on the shoreline at Maple Cove in Red Bank Thursday. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Red Bank officials this week called on the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to host a virtual town hall meeting to address concerns about a fish kill the agency has called the “most severe” in recent memory.

April 30, 2021 - 7:50 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: FISH KILL ‘MOST SEVERE’ OF LATE

Dead menhaden cluster at a Navesink River dock in Fair Haven last week. (Photo by Bernie McSherry. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj A massive fish kill in the Navesink and Shrewsbury rivers in recent weeks is “the most severe mortality event in recent memory,” but New Jersey environmental officials still don’t know why it’s targeting only one species, Clean Ocean Action reported Thursday.

The environmental advocacy group also pressed the state to remove at least some of the dead fish from Red Bank-area waters.

April 23, 2021 - 5:30 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: MENHADEN DIE-OFF IN SPOTLIGHT

Dead fish littered the Fair Haven boat launch on Battin Avenue last week. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

Clean Ocean Action has called on New Jersey environmental and health officials to hold a virtual town hall to provide updates and guidance for towns along the Navesink and Shrewsbury rivers, where massive menhaden die-offs have occurred recently.

“The cause, extent, and magnitude of the die-off is deeply concerning and raising alarm throughout the region,” COA executive director Cindy Zipf and staff scientist Swarna Muthukrishnan wrote Friday. “Feeding the concern is the lack of answers, conflicting answers, and lack of proactive response to the ever-increasing dead fish.”

April 19, 2021 - 7:40 am | Comments ()

MIDDLETOWN: PEDESTRIAN STRUCK & KILLED

A pedestrian was struck and killed by a vehicle Tuesday night on Route 35 in lower Middletown, township police said.

April 7, 2021 - 11:45 am | Comments ()

FAIR HAVEN: KAYAKER FOUND DEAD

The body of a missing kayaker was found Friday evening, Fair Haven police Chief Joe McGovern said Saturday.

March 27, 2021 - 10:55 am | Comments ()

FAIR HAVEN: SEARCH LAUNCHED FOR KAYAKER

Choppy waters on the wind-driven Navesink as seen from Grange Avenue in Fair Haven Friday afternoon. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

Local emergency personnel were out on the choppy, wind-driven Navesink River following a report of a missing kayaker Friday, according to Fair Haven police Chief Joe McGovern.

March 26, 2021 - 4:16 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: JOURNALIST JOHN F. BURTON DIES

John F. Burton at the Red Bank Mayor’s Ball in 2015. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

John F. Burton, a longtime chronicler of Red Bank-area people, government and more, died Sunday.

The senior reporter for the weekly Two River Times had battled illness for the past three years.

February 9, 2021 - 7:00 am | Comments ()

ON THE GREEN: IN MEMORY

September 11 2001 memorial gif

Dozens of residents of the Greater Red Bank Green died in the horrific attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001.

Let’s not forget those who died, and the families and friends left with holes in their hearts. For information about local commemorations, click here.

September 11, 2020 - 12:01 am | Comments ()

ON THE GREEN: REMEMBERING SEPTEMBER 11

Red Bank-area residents will have several opportunities Friday to participate in commemorations marking the 19th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on America.

September 9, 2020 - 2:00 pm | Comments ()

MIDDLETOWN: GEORGE BOWDEN DIES

George Bowden, right, with Historic Preservation Commission members Charles Nickerson and Michaela Ferrigine in 2016. Below, Bowden spearheaded the borough’s centennial celebration and parade in 2009.(Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

George Bowden, once dubbed “the Energizer bunny” of historic preservation in Red Bank, died at home in Middletown Sunday. He was 92 years old.

Galvanized into action in 2001, after the borough allowed the demolition of an old house on West Front Street, Bowden became a champion for old and neglected structures in town.

Not least of those was the T. Thomas Fortune House, which was resurrected from near-oblivion earlier this year, more than a decade after Bowden and others launched a campaign to save it.

December 11, 2019 - 9:45 am | Comments ()

MIDDLETOWN: FIELD OF FLAGS DEDICATED

WPC Field of Flags (WPC Photo Library)

Westminster Presbyterian Church (WPC) of Middletown officially dedicated its 2019 Field of Flags during a special ceremony on Saturday, November 2nd, 2019. The event took place on the WPC Great Lawn where the Field of Flags is located.
The Field of Flags was created in 2012 to honor United States military men and women who have died in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Each flag in the field represents a serviceman or woman who has given their life in those conflicts. This year’s striking memorial contains 6,972 flags. The Field of Flags will remain standing until November 16th. The public is welcome and encouraged to visit the field, and invited to be part of the flag take-down event on November 16th.

Speakers Group at Field of Flags Ceremony

The Field of Flags was created in 2012 to honor United States military men and women who have died in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Each flag in the field represents a serviceman or woman who has given their life in those conflicts. This year’s striking memorial contains 6,972 flags. The Field of Flags will remain standing until November 16th. The public is welcome and encouraged to visit the field, and invited to be part of the flag take-down event on November 16th.
The dedication ceremony included welcomes from Middletown Township Mayor Anthony S. Perry and Monmouth County Freeholder Gerard P. Scharfenberger. Keynote remarks were offered by Marine mothers, Patricia Malloy and Debbie Dailey, whose sons served in Iraq but who suffered from PTSD upon their return and died shortly after their return. From the two family’s tragedies the group Angel Warriors was born the organization raises money to provide trained service dogs to returning veterans.
The Dedication ceremony also featured the posting and retiring of the colors by the 25 member U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps from across the state; the Pledge of Allegiance from local Boy and Girl Scouts of America and special bagpipe music by Bob Phelan.

November 5, 2019 - 6:27 pm | Comments ()

MIDDLETOWN: BOATER PULLED FROM MUD

Members of the Red Bank volunteer fire department’s dive team helped a boater on the Swimming River shortly before noon Tuesday. (Photo by Carl Colmorgen. Click to enlarge)

September 24, 2019 - 1:30 pm | Comments ()

ON THE GREEN: IN MEMORY

September 11 2001 memorial gif

Dozens of residents of the Greater Red Bank Green died in the horrific attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001.

Let’s not forget those who died, and their families.

September 11, 2019 - 12:00 am | Comments ()

ON THE GREEN: REMEMBERING SEPTEMBER 11

Red Bank-area residents will have several opportunities Wednesday to participate in commemorations marking the 18th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on America.

September 10, 2019 - 1:00 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: EX-JUDGE FACES DISBARMENT

hot topic red bank nj A former municipal court judge who is said to have a law office in Red Bank is facing disbarment one year after he admitted illegally diverting more than $600,000 in court fines from Monmouth County to municipal coffers, the Asbury Park Press reported Thursday.

February 14, 2019 - 3:00 pm | Comments ()

MIDDLETOWN: GLADYS BOWDEN DIES

Gladys Bowden, a longtime Red Bank resident and volunteer injured in a December 15 fire at her home in Middletown, died early Saturday.

January 14, 2019 - 7:00 am | Comments ()

MIDDLETOWN: FUNDRAISER FOR BOWDENS

Family and friends have raised more than $12,000 to help two former Red Bank volunteers injured by a fire in their Middletown home earlier this month.

George Bowden, 91, and his wife, Gladys Bowden, 88, were both injured when their condo in the Shadow Lake Village complex in the River Plaza section of the township was heavily damaged by an electrical fire on December 15.

December 24, 2018 - 7:46 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: GROWING TOURNEY RAISES $15K

A Fair Haven ball carrier looks for an opening against Rumson, and cheerleaders go airborne, below. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

A flag-football tournament that grew out of a pickup game in Little Silver marked its 17th anniversary last Friday with gridiron contests for kids, women and men from eight towns.

Along the way, the event, now held in Red Bank, raised $15,000 for Lunch Break, the social services organization based just a block away.

November 27, 2018 - 12:30 pm | Comments ()

IN MEMORY: SEVENTEEN YEARS LATER

Red Bank-area residents will have several opportunities Tuesday to participate in commemorations marking the 17th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

September 10, 2018 - 10:00 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: MURPHY TOUTS LOWER COSTS

Governor Phil Murphy appeared at Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank Friday to tout an expected drop in healthcare insurance costs for New Jersey customers of Obamacare. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

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September 10, 2018 - 12:00 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: MURPHYS TO RUN AGAIN

Governor Phil Murphy and First Lady Tammy Murphy, seen here passing the Red Bank Public Library while out on a run in May 2017, are expected to pound borough pavement again Saturday, this time with about 1,000 other runners. (Photo by Trish Russoniello. Click to enlarge)

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June 15, 2018 - 1:00 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: BRIDGE RENAMED FOR KYRILLOS

State Senator Joe Kyrillos at the opening of the new bridge in May, 2015. Freehold John Curley is at left. Below, a Google Satellite view of the bridge. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

For who knows how long, the West Front Front Street bridge connecting Red Bank and Middletown has been colloquially known as “Hubbard’s Bridge.” To Monmouth County, which owns the span and replaced it three years ago, it’s “S-17.”

As of Thursday, though, the 488-foot connector over the upper Navesink River has a new name: the “Senator Joseph M. Kyrillos Bridge.”

June 15, 2018 - 10:42 am | Comments ()