MIDDLETOWN: PEDESTRIAN STRUCK & KILLED
A pedestrian was struck and killed by a vehicle Tuesday night on Route 35 in lower Middletown, township police said.
FAIR HAVEN: KAYAKER FOUND DEAD
The body of a missing kayaker was found Friday evening, Fair Haven police Chief Joe McGovern said Saturday.
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.
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.
ON THE GREEN: IN MEMORY
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.
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.
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.
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.
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)
ON THE GREEN: IN MEMORY
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.
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.
RED BANK: EX-JUDGE FACES DISBARMENT
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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)
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)
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.”
ON THE GREEN: MEMORIAL DAY SERVICES
The Veterans Monument on Monmouth Street is the setting for Red Bank’s annual Memorial Day observance, Monday morning at 11 a.m.
Memorial Day weekend represents the start of the summertime season and, for many longtime residents of our coastal communities, a time to readjust those daily routines and recalculate those normal routes in anticipation of the visiting throngs.
It’s also, of course, a time to remember those who gave their lives in service to our nation, and wherever you happen to make your home here on the Greater Red Bank Green, Monday presents a chance to join the people of your community in honoring their sacrifice.
Following is a roundup of Memorial Day observances scheduled for May 28, with rainy-day alternate arrangements listed where available.
RUMSON: NAVESINK QUALITY IMPROVES
A view of the Navesink from Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank last month. Below, Bill Heddendorf of the New Jersey DEP discusses the need for additional testing along the Spring Street storm sewer line in Red Bank. (Photo above by Trish Russoniello, below by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
An effort to reverse biological contamination in the Navesink River is “working,” and could result in the reopening of closed shellfish beds a year earlier than previously expected, a New Jersey environmental scientist told a gathering in Rumson last week.
RED BANK: COP CHARGED WITH DWI
A Red Bank cop arrested in Middletown last week was charged with driving while intoxicated, redbankgreen has learned.
The DWI charge and others against Patrolman Benjamin Springer followed an accident in the township while the officer was off-duty, Red Bank Chief Darren McConnell said,
RED BANK: PAIR CHARGED IN MARINA SPREE
An intact utility stanchion abuts one damaged by vandalism at the borough-owned marina. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Two teens were charged with a recent vandalism spree in Marine Park after a Red Bank police stakeout caught them in the act Wednesday night, Chief Darren McConnell tells redbankgreen.