All posts by Elaine Van Develde

Retro Youth Center P.M. Kindergarten Class Act

Our annual back-to-school reprise all about those first days of school along with some who, what, when and boogeyman parts … Take this little trip back in time with us to remember Fair Haven’s kindergarten days of yesteryear …

It was a real first and last class act of 1965 — the kindergarten class that was the last to get its first lessons learned in school at what was the Youth Center in Fair Haven. You know. It’s the police station now.

Back in the day — OK, waaaaay back in the day — there was a third school in Fair Haven for kindergarten, you see. It was the Youth Center. That was also way before preschool. People now know it better as the Fair Haven Police Station and by its newly adopted name that hasn’t quite caught on yet, and may never for “older” folks still in town — Fair Haven Community Center. Phooey to that. Some things just need to keep a name for nostalgic purposes alone. Besides, the youth part soothes us old codgers.

That and it’s just a matter of what sounds like home to you. For instance, my very nice grandmother, a Matawan native, was pretty hostile about the “new” Aberdeen split and name. Paid it no mind. And if forced, said it with “blah, blah, blah” contempt. Back to the Community Center … There, I said it.

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Prosecutor: Former Gymnastics Coach Indicted for Sexual Assault of Student-Athletes

A former local youth gymnastics coach has been indicted on charges that he sexually assaulted three student-athletes while they were juveniles, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago announced on Monday.

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Rumson-Sea Bright Bridge Channel Closure and Traffic Alert Updates

Construction of the new Rumson-Sea Bright Bridge remains on the same 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. work schedule through Friday, weather permitting. The major alert for waterborne travel is that the full channel closure is in effect this week through Friday; and, there will be temporary traffic shifts in Sea Bright.

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Prosecutor: 31-Year-Old Teacher Facing Child Porn Charges

A 31-year-old teacher has been charged with the distribution of child sexual abuse materials (CSAM), Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago announced on Friday.

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Prosecutor: 53-Year-Old Man Gets 50 Years for Wife’s 2022 Murder

A Forked River man has been sentenced to 50 years in state prison for the 2022 strangulation murder of his wife after an argument and abandonment of her body on the side of the road in Ocean Township, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago announced on Friday.

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Prosecutor: Fatal Bicyclist Accident Under Investigation; Witnesses Sought

The cause of a fatal bicyclist-versus-motor vehicle accident on Monday is currently under investigation, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago announced on Thursday.

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9/11: Day’s End Reflection, 23 Years Later

The following piece, with a few changes as time goes on, is published annually on 9/11 as a testament to never forgetting … 
 
It was a beautiful Tuesday. The sun was smiling with a crisp warmth. The air was a snappy fresh. The coffee even tasted especially good.
 
I remember. Most of us remember where we were on Sept. 11, 2001 at 8:46 a.m.. I know I do. I also remember how everything went from bright, crisp, fragrant and optimistic to dark, dank, acrid and fearful in one second. I remember how it wasn’t about us observers, storytellers. It was about them — the victims, their loved ones, their message.
 
For me, a professional observer, a professional storyteller, thankfully close enough, yet far enough, yes, it was so very much about them — painfully so. I wasn’t one of them. I was lucky. I was grateful. I watched. I listened intently. They shared.
 
I was a reporter living in Fair Haven and covering Middletown. On what started out as a typical day, they ended up unwittingly, graciously, lighting a less traveled path for me. For many.
 
It’s this one storyteller’s perspective.
 
Through this one fortunate observer’s eyes and heart, it went like this …
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