Fair Haven residents and beyond are still fishing for an answer to what they see as a rogue wave of a Fair Haven governing body decision to knock a volunteer out of a regional committee, of his own resurrection, designed to protect the Navesink River.

What was dubbed an unprecedented “slap in the face” turned into some verbal fisticuffs when a tsunami of riled residents at Monday’s Fair Haven Borough Council meeting turned out to turn the tide of borough business by defending that volunteer — fourth-generation Fair Havenite and boat captain, Brian Rice. It became a full wipe-out when the ousting became official with a contentious undertow of a 3-2 vote with one abstention.