Monthly Archives: November 2016

Elections, News

At the Polls: Local Elections 2016

It’s election day 2016; and the choices at the polls in the Rumson-Fair Haven area are a mix of longtime incumbents, newcomer challengers and one mainstay  …

Fair Haven Borough Council

The incumbents … 

Republican sitting councilmen Rowland Wilhelm Jr. and Jonathan Peters are hoping to keep their council seats on the six-member, weak mayor strong borough council form of government dais. There is a lone Democrat serving on the present GOP-dominated council.

Wilhelm and Peters are running on a “Family Friendly — Fiscally Prudent” platform which touts experience, preservation and fiscal responsibility.

The Democratic challengers …

for the two seats up for grabs are Shervyn von Hoerl and Christopher Rodriguez. Rodriguez is relatively new to Fair Haven and von Hoerl ran for mayor last year.

Rodriguez’ wife, Karen, is running for the Fair Haven Board of Education.

The two seek to break the long-time Republican majority on council with what they have said is a non-partisan, unifying mission to serve and represent residents.

Rumson Borough Council

Two seats are up for grabs on the six-member dais in Rumson. The two Republican incumbents, Joseph Hemphill and Laura Attwell are being challenged by Democrat Michael Steinhorn, who has run for local mayoral and council office several times and has made a bid for Monmouth County Surrogate as well as clerk.

Hemphill, a longtime resident, has served on council for 10 years. Atwell, also a longtime resident, has served for the past three.

The two, according to their campaign brochure are running on a platform of experience and accomplishment.

Atwell has served as the council’s liaison for the borough’s Department of Public Works and the Historic Preservation Commission.

Fair Haven Board of Education 

There are five candidates running for the three Fair Haven Board of Education seats up for grabs on the nine-member dais. They are: Karen Rodriguez, Carol Lang, Sherri D’Angelo, incumbent Marisa Coar and Ellen Iovino.

The only seated BOE member who is running again is Marisa Coar. Michael Bernstein and Jeff Spector’s terms expire in December of 2016. Both opted to not run again.

Rumson Board of Education

There are two uncontested seats up for grabs on the nine-member board in Rumson. They are those of: Diane MacGillis and Elaine Melia.

 

Police and Fire, Rumson Police and Fire Files

Rumson Police Seek Help in ID of Driver in Dog Hit-and-Run

From Rumson police …

At approximately 8:40 am this date, RPD received a report of a smaller black Labrador retriever that had been struck by a car in the area of E. River and Ridge Road.

A few people stopped to help the injured animal who has unfortunately expired.

If anyone has any information, please contact us at 732-842-0500.

Arts & Entertainment, Schools Scene

Spotlight: RFH Student Artwork

There’s a new arts-inspired initiative at Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (RFH) that is casting a bright spotlight on students’ artwork.

The RFH National Art Honor Society (NAHS) and the RFH Multiple Disabilities (MD) Program have teamed up to provide artisan frames for the display of creations by RFH students. Featured will be paintings and photography by NAHS and MD students. The collection will be rotated regularly and be featured prominently throughout the school building on an ongoing basis.

Photographs of works by RFH art students at all levels will also be enlarged and placed above the student locker areas.

“This project has brought warmth and enhanced the school climate,” said Special Services teacher Jennifer Dellett. “Our goal is to have all three floors at RFH filled with stimulating artwork by the end of the school year.”

The purchase of 40 frames was made possible by a grant from the RFH Education Foundation. The grant request was written and submitted by Dellett and Art teacher Kristen Lanfrank.

For those who would like a closer view of the artwork, an event dubbed Community Art Opening is planned for the spring of 2017.

As part of the event, students involved in the program will provide community members with a tour of RFH and a discussion of all the art and images on display.

— Edited press release from Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (RFH)

Crime, Regional Interest

Prosecutor: Drug Distribution Ring Busted; 42 Arrested

A five-month undercover drug distribution investigation conducted by federal, state, county and local law enforcement agencies dubbed Operation Justice Served culminated in the arrest of 42 people within the past  month, Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni announced on Thursday.

Continue reading Prosecutor: Drug Distribution Ring Busted; 42 Arrested →

Crime, Regional Interest

Prosecutor: Monmouth U ‘Gunman’ Arrested, Charged with Armed Robbery

A Monmouth University student is facing an armed robbery charge in connection to an incident on the campus Tuesday night, Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni announced on Wednesday.

Keith L. Williams, 18, of Baltimore, Maryland, a student at the university, has been charged with first-degree armed robbery.

The background … 

Continue reading Prosecutor: Monmouth U ‘Gunman’ Arrested, Charged with Armed Robbery →

Schools Scene

RFH’s Relationship with its Sister School in Spain

Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (RFH) Spanish students have a sister … school.

The sister is Isabel de Castilla Public High School in Avila, Spain.

Students in several RFH Spanish classes have begun fostering friendships with the students in Spain through Edmodo, an online educational and social network.

In February of 2017, 17 students and two teacher chaperones will travel from Isabel de Castilla Public High School to visit RFH. Spending the week in homestays, the group will attend classes at RFH as well as participate in special events.

The events include: attending the World Language Department’s Languapalooza talent show; sharing a meal prepared by the RFH Cooking Club; and joining the Spanish National Honor Society for a welcome fiesta.

The trip is designed to provide cultural insight into life as a teenager in Rumson and Fair Haven. The group from Spain will travel to New York City and Philadelphia as well.

A reciprocal journey for RFH students is planned for the 2017-18 school year. RFH students and teacher chaperones will stay with local families and attend classes at Isabel de Castilla in Avila, a small medieval walled city about an hour west of Madrid.

“We are really looking forward to having firsthand insight into the practices, products, and perspectives of the Spanish youth and their culture,” said RFH Spanish teacher Christina Gauss. “We hope to collaborate with the Spanish students throughout the school year.”

As part of their classwork, students in the RFH Advanced Placement Spanish Language and Culture course recently created and sent videos to students at Isabel de Castilla. The videos showcase life at RFH and in the surrounding communities.

In addition, the RFH students developed an online survey to gather information on how social media platforms are used to promote social movements. The online survey has been sent to the students in Spain as well as students and community members in the RFH community. The RFH students plan to compare and contrast the results from RFH and Avila, Spain.

The student groups from RFH and Spain have also begun an ongoing conversation on the A Day in the Life topic. Students in Gauss’ Spanish 4 Honors class created an electronic visual collage that best describes their personalities and lifestyles, and they have shared these collages with the students in Spain. Students in Daniella Goodarz’s and Seth Herman’s Spanish III Honors classes will soon begin interacting with the students from Avila using Edmodo as well.

“This is an excellent opportunity for our students to forge a meaningful and authentic cultural and linguistic exchange,” said Herman, supervisor of World Language at RFH.

The sister school relationship became official this past July when Gauss met with Aida Marquez, English teacher and Bilingual Program Director at Isabel de Castilla, to finalize the details.

The meeting occurred after Gauss had traveled to Spain for a week-long professional development course at the University of Alcala’s Summer Spanish Language and Culture Institute for U.S. Teachers of Spanish.

During the course, 85 teachers from all regions of the U.S. compared and contrasted their educational systems, shared best practices for second language acquisition, explored ideas to increase student engagement, and collaborated on projects to promote students’ global competence skills.

— Edited press release from Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School