The Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office has issued an alert that police departments are again being inundated with calls as scammers posing as employees of Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L) target businesses in Monmouth County using intimidation tactics to steal their cash.
Continue reading Prosecutor: JCP&L Scam Continues; Warning Signs
Thespians at Fair Haven’s Knollwood School are getting set to go on with a show in March — Beauty and the Beast Jr.
The 60-minute stage version of the 1991 Disney animated film and 1994 Broadway musical and is designed for middle-school aged performers.
The cast at Knollwood’s production is comprised of roughly 40 sixth, seventh and eighth graders.
The show tells the story of Belle, an adventurous young girl, and the Beast, her grisly captor, who is actually a young prince trapped under a spell. In order to break the spell, the Beast must learn to love another and earn love in return.
With the help of the staff at the prince’s castle, including a loving teapot, a charming candelabra, and a nervous mantel clock, Belle and the Beast find uncanny friendship and love. Beauty and the Beast Jr. features classic songs from the Academy Award®-winning film score such as “Be Our Guest” and “Belle,” as well as original songs from the 1994 Tony®-nominated Broadway musical.
The March 2 Knollwood performance will be presented in the Knollwood School all-purpose room at 7 p.m. Admission is free, and donations of nonperishable food items for local food banks would be appreciated.
— Edited press release from the Fair Haven School District
Rumson-Fair Haven area folks started their day with a dusting of snow.
The National Weather Service’s forecast for the area calls for some more snow and possibly sleet before 3 p.m. There’s a chance of rain later with temperatures hovering around 40 degrees.
Tomorrow’s forecast: Mostly cloudy with a high temperature of about 45 degrees.
In the meantime, the snow was untouched on the Fair Haven Dock, offering a snow dusted picturesque view.
Take a look …
— Elaine Van Develde
The following criminal incidents and arrests were reported by Shrewsbury police. An arrest does not constitute a conviction.
Continue reading Police Report: Theft, Assault, Credit Card Fraud, DWI
They were a swimming success. They still are.
Both the Boys’ and Girls’ RFH Swim Teams have ended the season with records to do some backflips over. RFH swimmers have always dove into the season with winning streak gusto.
Most recently, they won the 2015 state championship. And this year finished the season as Group A Central Division champs.
The Lady Dawgs had successful final meet with a “great win over Neptune,” RFH Swimming said on Twitter.
And, as for the boys, they “after a tough 1st loss to CBA … beat Neptune.” Final record for the season: 10-1-1.
The RFH swimmers were state champs in 2015 and ended this season as Group A Central Division champs 2017.
So, the Retro Pic of the Day pays homage to those RFH swimmers of old … back in the late 1970s.
It is a glimpse from an old newspaper clipping of some of the proud RFH strokers after they were captured on a winning streak after a meet.
Recognize anyone? There are at least two with strong ties to the Fair Haven Fire Department. What year?
Go team!
It was a sizzling orange ball of fire — a good night beacon ducking down below Gunning Island. The sunset in Sea Bright on Saturday called out to people like a Siren.
They pulled over into at Eventide’s parking lot to catch a glimpse with the lens as the ball of fire bid goodnight and ducked behind the island, melting into the Shrewsbury River.
Take a look …
— Elaine Van Develde
He was just that kind of community guy, old school cop and fireman — the kind people remember.
He that face many remember peering around every corner, offering help, an anecdote or 10 with a wry smile and wisdom-inspired wink. He was George Chandler. It’s been just over a year since George, a former Fair Haven police chief and 65-year fire company member, died at 92 on Jan. 25, 2016.
He grew up in Fair Haven and spent most of his life in service to the borough in addition to serving in the U.S. Navy.
George Chandler was known as a tall order of homegrown gentleman and community kinship filled to the hilt. He loved to fish, dance, tell jokes, offer up lots of anecdotes and just plain be kind to his neighbors by serving the community he loved and treating everyone like family — Fair Haven family.
So, the Retro Pic(s) of the Day honor the George Chandler and his Fair Haven roots and dedicated service.
To ask for an anecdotal story about George’s well-known anecdotes of life (yes, that was intentional) was to hear something like the story that follows from the memory of a young boy growing up in the borough. This guy is one of many who still hears the former police chief’s voice and sees his friendly, old fashioned brand of stern with a caring smile.
It’s a classic from longtime Fair Havenite Thom White.
And it goes like this …
“On a ‘no school snow day’ in the 1960s my friends and I decided we’d throw snowballs at cars on River Road. We were hiding in a church’s bushes across River Road from George’s house. I threw one that smacked the side of a borough bus, and gleefully asked ‘Did you see that?’
“George answered from behind me, ‘Yes I did.’ Stop doing that right now. It’s dangerous. And go home and tell your mom that I caught you.’ He added with a wry smile, ‘I might just come by later and check.’
“Well, I did as I was told, and a couple of hours later there was a knock on our front door … and there was George in his uniform. He spoke to my mom, who told him that I had confessed, and he reminded me how dangerous it was to do what I was doing. Needless to say, I never did THAT again, and whenever I’d see him in later years, he was always friendly and wanted to know what I was up to. A true gentleman.”
From the closest of family members to distant friends who may have only had that one milestone memory of the chief that just stuck like that lingering wad of ABC (already been chewed) bubblegum under a kid’s shoe, he is remembered by many and emulated. OK, so no one chews bubblegum anymore. That’s the point — the sticking point.
RIP George Chandler. You are remembered.
— Elaine Van Develde
The following criminal incidents and arrests were reported by Shrewsbury police. An arrest does not constitute a conviction.
Continue reading Police Report: Lewdness, Burglary, CDS Possession
He was raised in both Rumson and Fair Haven. He was an RFH graduate. He was a friend to many. He had a gift for making people laugh and love life. Then he lost his in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City on Sept. 11, 2001. He was Keith McHeffey.
Since his untimely death, friends have gotten together and started a tradition — an annual fundraising run in his name known as the KDM 3-Mile Fun Run/Walk, the proceeds of which benefit various youth-oriented activities, scholarships and sports. Registration for the March 11, 2017 run in Sea Bright has begun.
Known as a well-rounded, adventure-loving athlete, McHeffey “spent his life giving of himself to others. Now, we are giving back to the community in his good name. His life was a testament on ‘how to live,'” the mission statement on the KDM Foundation website says.
“The memory of Keith’s wit and humor serves as an inspiration to all of those fortunate enough to have been a part of his life,” another statement added.
So, the Retro Pic(s) of the Day honor Keith McHeffey with a look back at him and his RFH buds and a solo shot doing something he loved to do.
RIP, Keith. You are remembered. Run on …
— Elaine Van Develde
Photo/courtesy of Gregg Kennedy
The following recent arrests were reported by Red Bank police. An arrest does not constitute a conviction.
Continue reading Arresting Update: DWI, Marijuana, Defiant Trespass
The following recent criminal incidents were reported by Red Bank police:
• A theft was reported on Jan. 13 in the area of Monmouth Street. The victim reported that a blue Chanel cross bag, valued at $4,800 and containing a black Chanel wallet (valued at $1,000), $1,500 in cash, an iPhone 6 in a gray case, a NJ driver’s license, numerous credit cards, an envelope filled with gift cards and three checkbooks, was taken from the front seat of a parked vehicle.
Patrolman Milton Gray IV took the report.
• A theft in the area of West Front Street was reported on Jan. 15. The victim reported a jet black Verizon iPhone 7 Plus was taken from a table in a restaurant.
Patrolman Benjamin Springer took the report.
• A theft in the area of Pearl Street was reported on Jan. 18. The victim reported that an iPhone 6 Plus with a white front and rose gold back with a white case was stolen.
Patrolman Milton Gray IV took the report.
• A theft was reported in the area of North Bridge Avenue on Jan. 22. The victim reported that a white Samsung Galaxy 6S cell phone with a purple case, valued at $500, was stolen.
Patrolman Shane Dengel took the report.
What started out being dubbed the Million Women March turned Women’s March on Washington ended up evolving into marches of the same ilk all over the country on Saturday.
The marches, while many were called non-partisan, were intentionally set on the day after the inauguration of the 45th President of the United States — Donald Trump. They were deemed a collective stand-up-and-march cross country show of support for women’s rights as hard-earned, strong and everlasting ones not to be trifled with by the new administration. Some area women did not share those feelings and said so on social media.
Nonetheless, from Asbury Park to Red Bank to New York to North and South Carolina and to Washington, D.C., many Rumson-Fair Haven area women (and men) of the past and present went to take part and peacefully say their peace on the subject among masses.
Many from the area shared snapshots of their day on Facebook.
Take a look …
Photos/Eileen Hershenov, Bonnie Werner-Swart, Jenifer Weber-Zeller, Monica Sheehan, Kate Grady, Robin Ens Wilkins, Anne Toronto McNamara, Tara Connelly, Connie Heath Thibeault, Rossi, Lisa Ericson, Mary Beth Gibson
Slideshow/Elaine Van Develde
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