Prosecutor: One Guilty Plea in Sarah Stern Murder

As part of a plea agreement, one of two area teen suspects implicated in the Sarah Stern murder agreed to testify against the co-defendant in exchange for a guilty plea to seven charges, Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni said in a released statement.

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Memorial Services Set for RFH Class of 2006 Grad, Austin Pomphrey, 29

Rumson resident and Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (RFH) graduate Edwin Austin Pomphrey passed away on April 21 in Long Branch. He was 29.

Edwin Pomphrey
Photo/courtesy of John E. Day Funeral Home

Born at Riverview Medical Center, Red Bank, Austin grew up in Rumson, graduated from RFH in 2006 and University of South Carolina in 2010 with a business degree in Risk Management & Insurance. He partnered with his father in business at E.L. Pomphrey, LLC, a local painting and construction company, his obituary said.

Known as “a kind, compassionate and generous person throughout his life to anyone who knew him,” Austin “had a good heart and cared deeply for his family and friends,” his family said in his obituary.

Austin was an avid and enthusiastic NY Jets and SC Gamecock fan. He prided himself in his accomplishments, “the biggest of all being a sincere and adoring loving son, brother, uncle, grandson, nephew, cousin and friend. He will be so unbearably missed by us all.”

Austin is predeceased by: his maternal grandfather Carl L. Higgins; his paternal grandparents, Edwin and Mina Pomphrey; and his uncle, Stephen Higgins.

He is survived by: his loving parents Edwin L. Pomphrey Jr. and Sarah (Higgins), of Rumson; his sister, Lindsay Pomphrey and her fiancée Phil Shaheen Jr., of Fair Haven; his nephew Tradd; his maternal grandmother, Flora Higgins, of Colts Neck; a great aunt Lyndl Marshall, of NYC; his aunts and uncles, Ted Higgins, of Neptune, Allen and Marie Gallagher, of Rumson, Rich and Sheri Runne, of Rumson; and his first cousins, Kelli Pomphrey, of Eatontown, Darren Gallagher, of Rumson, Matt Gallagher, of Fair Haven and Dylan Runne, of Rumson; and many cousins and extended family members.

Visitation will be held at the John E. Day Funeral Home, 85 Riverside Avenue, Red Bank, on Tuesday, April 25, from 4 to 8 p.m..

The funeral service will be held at First Presbyterian Church of Rumson, 4 East River Road, Rumson, on Wednesday, April 26, at 11 a.m. with interment to follow at Fairview Cemetery in Middletown.

— Obituary, courtesy of John E. Day Funeral Home

 

Retro Fair Haven Centenarian

U.S. Army Sgt. Ken Curchin, pilot in WW II
Photo/Curchin family

It’s a pretty well-known fact by now that Fair Haven’s Ken Curchin turned 100 on April 19.

The centenarian who’s favorite mantra is “Never quit!” led what he called a simple life enriched by family and attaining his dream of becoming a pilot when the odds were against him. After helping construct the Alcan Highway in Alaska during World War II, Ken Curchin ended up flying a B-17 Bomber in the war.

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Ken Curchin: Fair Haven’s Centenarian

Video and stories by Elaine Van Develde

Ken Curchin has been all over the world. He’s done and seen a lot. He flew a B-17 Bomber in World War II. He married his best gal and became a dad to five children. He was a barber in his family’s shop on Mechanic Street in Red Bank. He jumped off the Fair Haven Dock. All this and he says, with an eye twinkle and a his own brand of hearty hyena chuckle, that he’s “never been in the newspaper until now, sons a b******!”

Well, this is the second (or, we’re told, third) time, Mr. Curchin. Born on April 19, 1917 in the building that is now Frame It Yourself on River Road in Fair Haven, he is 100 years old today. Rumson-Fair Haven Retrospect caught up with him for a second time on Easter. And what a time it was!

Happy Birthday, Mr. Curchin! Listen and learn … (Be sure to click the video to enlarge!)

Prosecutor: Barricaded Area Man Arrested on Warrant for Assault, Weapons Charges

A 38 year-old Tinton Falls man who had an outstanding warrant on the charges of third-degree aggravated assault and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, was arrested Tuesday afternoon after he barricaded himself in a home and hid in the attic, Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni announced.

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Focus: Solitude & Dusk at Fair Haven Dock

Sometimes a little solitude, a stroll and a serene scene down by the Fair Haven Dock is the best thing for the soul.

While the scenery may look the same, no two riverfront snapshots in time are ever identical. Each moment is unique. Each picture different. The effect, too,  of given day down by that Navesink River can change like, well, the seasons.

It’s spring in Fair Haven. And that riverfront stroll is as soothing as the sun’s warm embrace. That’s because it’s a walk home.

Take a look …

— Elaine Van Develde