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RED BANK: BALLOT POSITIONS SET

A schematic of the May 9 ballot, provided by the Red Bank clerk. (Click to enlarge.)

See CORRECTION below

By JOHN T. WARD

Incumbent Billy Portman will have the inside lane against challenger Tim Hogan in the two-candidate race for Red Bank mayor.

A drawing by borough Clerk Laura Reinertsen Wednesday also established the ballot positions for all 13 council candidates in the borough’s first-ever nonpartisan election May 9.

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RED BANK: PETITIONS OK’D, BALLOTS UP NEXT

Borough Clerk Laura Reinertsen in her office last April. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

All 15 candidates for Red Bank mayor and council in the May 9 election submitted the minimum number of valid petitions to get on the ballot, Clerk Laura Reinertsen told redbankgreen Tuesday.

Up next: a drawing to determine the order of names on the ballot in the historic nonpartisan election. More →

RED BANK: SPECIAL-ELECTION PLANS MULLED

One issue to be resolved: whether to hold a weekend of early voting at borough hall. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Following the will of voters as expressed in November, Red Bank officials have begun organizing a special election in May.

That’s when voters will return to the polls, this time to choose a mayor and six council members to be seated under an all-new form of government July 1. More →

RED BANK: REFERENDUM ON CHANGE SET

Chairwoman Nancy Facey-Blackwood at the Charter Study Commission’s final meeting. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Red Bank residents will decide whether to give the town’s governmental structure an historic overhaul following action by the Charter Study Commission Tuesday night.

Adopting its final report en route to dissolving itself, the commission made one last tweak to the November referendum, calling for run-off elections in cases where no candidate wins a majority of votes.

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RUMSON: POLICE BLOTTER

Crime and arrest reports, unedited, as provided by the Rumson Police Department for January, 2019. For additional information, please scroll to the bottom of this post.

rumson police 2019Arrests

01/3/19 – Ryan Neff, 41, of Rumson was arrested by S/O Donald Morse for DUI, in the area of Rumson Road and Buttonwood Lane.

01/5/19 – Lawrence Adams, 63, of Rumson was arrested by Det. Cody Lovgren for Contempt of Court, in the area of East River Road and Park Avenue.

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RUMSON: POLICE BLOTTER

Crime and arrest reports, unedited, as provided by the Rumson Police Department for August and September, 2018. For additional information, please scroll to the bottom of this post.

Arrests

8/09/18 – Nicholas Gil, 24, of Port Monmouth was arrested by D/Sgt. Chris Isherwood for Contempt of Court, in the area of East River Road and Lakeside Avenue.

8/12/18 – Luke Schudlick, 32, of Colts Neck was arrested by S/O Michael Volker for DUI, in the area of Bingham Avenue and Bingham Hill Circle.

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RUMSON: POLICE BLOTTER

Crime and arrest reports, unedited, as provided by the Rumson Police Department for April through June, 2018. For additional information, please scroll to the bottom of this post.

Arrests

4/15/18 – Dennis Heid, 26, of Long Branch was arrested by Ptl. Grace Maggiulli for Possession of Paraphernalia, in the area of Ridge Road and Harding Lane.

4/26/18 – Rogelio Sanchez, 28, of Tinton Falls was arrested by Ptl. James Fenn for Contempt of Court after turning himself in at HQ.

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RUMSON: POLICE BLOTTER

Crime and arrest reports, unedited, as provided by the Rumson Police Department for February and March, 2018. For additional information, please scroll to the bottom of this post.

Arrests

2/04/18 – Jake Mullaney, 22, of Colts Neck was arrested by Ptl. Grace Maggiulli for Possession of CDS and Possession of Paraphernalia, in the area of Rumson Road and Club Way.

2/05/18 – Claude Owen, 54, of Monmouth Beach was arrested by Ptl. Daniel Campanella for DUI, in the area of Rumson Road and Buena Vista Avenue.

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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.

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RUMSON: POLICE BLOTTER

Crime and arrest reports, unedited, as provided by the Rumson Police Department for October and December, 2017 and January, 2018. For additional information, please scroll to the bottom of this post.

Arrests

12/12/17 – Michelle Mitchell, 48, of Rumson was arrested by Ptl. Grace Maggiulli for Possession of CDS in the area of Bingham Avenue and Bingham Hill Circle.

12/27/17 – Anagabrielle Atardi, 21, of West Long Branch was arrested by S/O Michael Volker for Possession of CDS and Possession of Paraphernalia.

12/27/17 – James Carden 2nd, 22, of Monmouth Beach was arrested by S/O Michael Volker for Possession of CDS and Possession of Paraphernalia. More →

RUMSON: POLICE BLOTTER

Crime and arrest reports, unedited, as provided by the Rumson Police Department for October and November, 2017. For additional information, please scroll to the bottom of this post.

Arrests

10/3/17 – Scott Adams, 35, of Atlantic Highlands was arrested by Ptl. Grace Maggiulli for Contempt of Court in the area of Rumson Road and Oakes Road.

10/6/17 – Gregory Gebeline, 25, of Swedesboro was arrested by Ptl. Grace Maggiulli for Possession of CDS and Possession of Paraphernalia.

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RUMSON: POLICE BLOTTER

Crime and arrest reports, unedited, as provided by the Rumson Police Department for August and September, 2017. For additional information, please scroll to the bottom of this post.

Arrests

8/17/17 – Conor Ban, 21, of Rumson was arrested by Ptl. Grace Maggiulli for Contempt of Court in the area of Avenue Two Rivers and Clover Lane.

8/17/17 – Robert Olshan, 26, of Rumson was arrested by Sgt. Peter Koenig for Defiant Trespass in the area of E. River Road and Carton Street.

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RUMSON: POLICE BLOTTER

Crime and arrest reports, unedited, as provided by the Rumson Police Department for June and July, 2017. For additional information, please scroll to the bottom of this post.

Arrests

6/3/17 – James Laughinghouse, 18, of Rumson was arrested by Ptl. Grace Maggiulli for Underage Possession of Alcohol in the area of Navesink Avenue.

 6/7/17 – Julia Mannion, 27, of Fair Haven was arrested by Sgt. Anthony Ciambrone for Contempt of Court at HQ.

 6/16/17 – Jack Kreutzberg, 18, of Rumson was arrested by Ptl. Michael Berger for Possession of CDS in the area of Oakes Road.

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RUMSON: POLICE BLOTTER

[See UPDATE below]

Crime and arrest reports, unedited, as provided by the Rumson Police Department for May, 2017. For additional information, please scroll to the bottom of this post.

Arrests

5/5/17 – Lauren Stag, 31, of Red Bank was arrested by Ptl. Michael Berger for Contempt.

5/11/17 – Christopher Kruse, 27, of Keansburg was arrested by Ptl. Grace Maggiulli for Possession of less than 50 grams of Marijuana.

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RUMSON: POLICE BLOTTER

Crime and arrest reports, unedited, as provided by the Rumson Police Department for April, 2017. For additional information, please scroll to the bottom of this post.

Arrests

4/2/17 – Christopher Defelice, 26, of Red Bank was arrested for Eluding by Ptl. Michael Berger.

4/6/17 – Daniel Pilszak, 34, of South Amboy was arrested for Credit Card Theft and Fraudulent Use of a Credit Card by D/Sgt. Christopher Isherwood.

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RED BANK: RIVER BACTERIA SOURCES LOCATED

Busted sanitary sewer lines in two locations along Marion Street in Red Bank were significant sources of bacteria winding up in the Navesink off Fair Haven, investigators said. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Environmentalists and government officials have found two culprits, just yards apart in Red Bank, believed to be contributing to a spike in human waste bacteria in the Navesink River, they said Thursday night.

And the mystery could not have been solved without a trio of specially trained sniffing dogs, an ecstatic Clean Ocean Action leader Cindy Zipf told redbankgreen.

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RUMSON: POLICE BLOTTER

Crime and arrest reports, unedited, as provided by the Rumson Police Department for March, 2017. For additional information, please scroll to the bottom of this post.

Arrests

3/17/17 – S/O Jessica Caffey arrested Ryan Jacobs, 21, of Fair Haven for Possession of a Controlled Dangerous Substance, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia with Intent to Distribute.

 3/25/17 – Grace Maggiulli arrested Mark Valenzano, 52, of Ocean Township for Contempt of Court.

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RUMSON: POLICE BLOTTER

Crime and arrest reports, unedited, as provided by the Rumson Police Department for February, 2017. For additional information, please scroll to the bottom of this post.

Arrests

2/02/17 – Bryan Dougherty arrested Donna Susser, 54, of Rumson for Contempt of Court.

2/02/17 – Grace Maggiulli arrested Kourtney Maloney, 26, of Middletown for Possession of less than 50 grams of marijuana, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

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FAIR HAVEN: NAVESINK RALLY RESUMES


HOT-TOPIC_03After a winter’s break, an initiative dubbed ‘Rally for the Navesink‘ to reduce levels of fecal coliform in our beautiful river resumes tonight with a community-welcome meeting in Fair Haven.

On the agenda: oyster beds and boat waste.

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RUMSON: POLICE BLOTTER

Crime and arrest reports, unedited, as provided by the Rumson Police Department for January, 2017.. For additional information, please scroll to the bottom of this post.

Arrests and Crime Reports

1/10/17 – Donald Schneider arrested John P. Kennedy, 57, of Rumson for Contempt of Court. Mr. Kennedy was released after posting $500 bail.

1/21/17 – S/O II Donald Morse arrested Brittany Maguire, 27, of Red Bank for Contempt of Court. Maguire was released after posting $164 bail.

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NAVESINK: BACTERIAL HOTSPOTS IDENTIFIED

rally-navesink-113016Zach Lees of Clean Ocean Action talks about tracking bacteria along storm sewers upland from Red Bank’s Marine Park Wednesday night.  (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

HOT-TOPIC_03Aided by a trio of specially trained sniffing dogs, environmental detectives have zoomed in on particular locations in three towns that may be at least partly responsible for a recent spike in bacteria levels in the Navesink River, they reported Wednesday night.

At the final Rally for the Navesink event of 2016 organized after a ban on shellfish harvesting from 566 acres of the river last February, a coalition of groups identified specific sites where leaking sanitary sewer lines or septic systems in Red Bank, Fair Haven and Middletown may be contributing bacteria from human waste.

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RED BANK: RIVER CONTAMINATION UPDATE SET

rb mbc 092214HOT-TOPIC_03Five months after the series began in response to a sharp increase in fecal coliform contamination, a final Rally for the Navesink event of 2016 has been scheduled. 

Organized by Clean Ocean Action and a handful of environmental advocacy groups, the periodic rallies began in June, attracting sizable audiences and offering both science-heavy updates on water quality and practical tips on keeping pollutants out of the waterway.

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RUMSON: POLICE BLOTTER

Crime and arrest reports, unedited, as provided by the Rumson Police Department for September, 2016. For additional information, please scroll to the bottom of this post.

AUTHORITIES_RUMSON-2016-v3Arrests and Crime Reports

9/1/16 – D/Sgt. Chris Isherwood arrested a 17 year old male juvenile from Atlantic Highlands for Armed Robbery. The subject was remanded to the Middlesex County Youth Detention Center.

9/5/16 – D/Sgt. Chris Isherwood arrested Krischan Wehnke, 18, of Middletown for Armed Robbery. Wehnke was transported to MCCI in lieu of $250,000 bail set by Honorable Judge Joseph Quinn, JSC.

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RUMSON: POLICE FACE ‘WHISTLEBLOWER’ SUIT


rumson-pd
Sergeant Peter Koenig’s lawsuit alleges he blew a whistle on department wrongdoing, but doesn’t disclose the wrongdoing itself. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

HOT-TOPIC_03A Rumon police officer has sued the department and the borough, claiming he faced retaliation for blowing the whistle on undisclosed wrongdoing, according to a report by the Two River Times.

In a lawsuit filed in Superior Court in Freehold in June, Sergeant Peter Koenig alleged he faced a “a hostile work environment” after “calling attention to what he said was improper behavior from his fellow officers,” the TRT reported Thursday, citing court documents.

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RED BANK: JUST A COUPLE OF WORKING SNIFFS

sniffer-dogs-092116-1Scott and Karen Reynolds demonstrate the olfactory talents of Remi, right, and Sable (0bscured) in a conference room at Riverview Medical Center. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

HOT-TOPIC_03The effort to solve the mystery of elevated bacteria levels in the Navesink River is now in the paws of real experts.

Two dogs trained to bark when they smell fecal coliform with a “human signature” have been working the waterfront in Red Bank and Fair Haven in recent days, helping environmentalists and officials source-track fecal coliform contamination, which spikes whenever it rains.

On Wednesday night, the four-footed detectives came to Riverview Medical Center to show several dozen onlookers how it’s done.

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