December 18, 2008 RSS feed / Front Page

A picture is worth ... an $85 traffic fine

Camera system will detect cars running red lights
BY BRIAN DONAHUE Staff Writer

Next year, drivers who run a red light at Route 18 and Tices Lane may find out later that they didn't get away with it. More...

Cleanup funding hinges on Ford Ave. ownership

Borough eligible for more grants than private owner
BY JESSICA SMITH Staff Writer

Funding for the cleanup of contamination on Ford Avenue took center stage last week when state representatives met with the Milltown Borough Council. More...

Police using 'saturation' patrols in DWI crackdown

Also, Monroe wraps first-time program on helmet safety

Monroe and East Brunswick police are cracking down on drunken driving this month as part of the national holiday season Over the Limit Under Arrest campaign. Additional police officers have been on the road since Dec. More...

Local 3-year-old girl seeks your vote for BabyGap contest

SOUTH RIVER — Wary Carron had seen the annual advertisements on the Gap's Web site, seeking to find "the next faces" of the company's BabyGap and GapKids brands. She figured the sheer number of entries would make it nearly impossible to win. More...

Have a furry Christmas

Santa visited the Monroe Animal Hospital on Dec. 6 for some quality time with the furry friends. Here, he poses for a picture with the Lepping family dogs — a Maltese named Snowball and Chihuahuas Mojo and Hobo. More...

Morgan- Stewart

Morgan- Shelley and Joseph Morgan of Spotswood announce the engagement of their daughter, Melissa Anne Morgan, to Stephen Eric Stewart, son of Jean and Eric Stewart of Yorktown, Va. The future bride is a graduate of Spotswood High School. More...

Letters

Proposal simply creates greater debt

The plan to defer payments into employees' pension systems on the local and county level and in the school system is currently in the state Senate budget committee. Proposed by Gov. More...

U.S. must redouble peacekeeping in Darfur

The crisis in Darfur, Sudan, has been devastating, and civilians are suffering from the violence. More...

Sayreville plan is bad for taxpayers, bad for environment

As one of the most visible redevelopment sites in New Jersey, the 430-acre National Lead site in Sayreville has enormous potential as a balanced brownfield redevelopment project, benefiting our economy while protecting human health and the environm More...

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Obituaries

John G. "Jack" Griffin Sr.

Mr. Griffin, 81, of Venice, Fla., formerly of Old Bridge and Spotswood, died Dec. 4, 2008, in Venice. He was predeceased by his wife, Dorothy; two daughters, Dorothy Jean and Kathleen; and a son, James. More...

Helen Elizabeth Hufnell Van Dorn

Mrs. Van Dorn, 85, of Spotswood, died Nov. 13, 2008, at her daughter's home in Monroe. Prior to her retirement in 1986, she was employed as a school nurse at Metuchen High School. Her husband, Lyle E. Van Dorn Jr., died in 2002. More...

Stella Sophie Smolinski

Mrs. Smolinski, 92, of Spotswood, died Dec. 2, 2008, in Raritan Bay Medical Center, Old Bridge division. Prior to her retirement in 1980, she was employed as a seamstress with Charles Komar and Sons, Spotswood. More...

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Sports

E.B. wrestling looks to play catch-up in GMC

BY JIMMY ALLINDER Correspondent

East Brunswick wrestling coach, Glen Pazinko, has been around long enough (19 years) to know that winning comes in cycles. More...

Michaels looks to engineer Chargers resurgence

Spotswood wrestling coach in his first season
BY JIMMY ALLINDER Correspondent

Jeff Michaels, in his first season as coach of Spotswood's wrestling team, could take the popular tact of proclaiming his grapplers have the lofty goal of winning the Greater Middlesex Conference Blue Division. More...

Sports Shorts

CNJSB Porto, a new U15 boys MAPS soccer team based in East Brunswick, participated in the Howell United Holiday Cup in Howell on Nov. 28 and 29 and the MAPS/MSSL Winter Classic Tournament in Philadelphia on Dec. 6 and 7. More...

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Monroe eyes takeover of utilities authority

MUA chairman argues move not as fruitful as projected
BY JESSICA SMITH Staff Writer

The Monroe Township Council is working toward dissolving the Municipal Utilities Authority, a move that would do away with the MUA's Board of Commissioners and hand the council the reins of the water and sewer utility. More...

Photo

JEFF GRANIT staff Jamesburg's tree lighting and holiday concert went on as planned at Veterans Park, despite the rain and wind Dec. 10. More...

Winter wonderland

SCOTT FRIEDMAN Friends Barbora Hroncova (l-r), 15, Jaime Perez, 15, and Ruslana Trytko, 16, all from South River, take a leisurely lap during a sunny afternoon at the Middlesex County Skating Rink in Roosevelt Park in Edison on Saturday. More...

Man, 46, dies after being hit on Rt. 18

EAST BRUNSWICK — A 46-year-old New Brunswick man who was struck while crossing Route 18 on foot last week has died. Fidencio A. More...

Use of soup kitchens, food banks way up

Local organizations struggle to feed all those in need
BY MARY ANNE ROSS Correspondent

'Tis the season to be jolly." But for many this year, it is also a time of home foreclosures, layoffs and cutbacks. As local families struggle to make ends meet, many are turning to neighborhood food banks to stretch their food budgets. More...

Two arrested in armed robbery

East Brunswick police recently arrested two suspects soon after the men allegedly robbed an Old Bridge motorcycle store at gunpoint. More...

Nissenblatts recognized for making a difference

Temple B'nai Shalom also honors Challah Foundation
BY CINDY PAUL Guest Writer

EAST BRUNSWICK — Temple B'nai Shalom recently honored Dr. Michael and Marlene Nissenblatt during its "Sweetness of Giving" gala. More...

Stork Club

Maria Suravalas and Joseph Perry of East Brunswick announce the birth of their daughter, Ava Victoria, Oct. 16, 2008, in Saint Peter's University Hospital, New Brunswick. The baby weighed 8 pounds, 2 ounces. More...

Bulletin Board

Holiday gift-card campaign under way

Due to the generosity of individuals, community volunteer groups, local businesses, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Brownie troops, the public schools, churches, religious organizations and various other civic organizations, the township of East Brunswick More...

Monroe Library offers free movie downloads

The Monroe Township Library is offering MyLibraryDV, a video-on-demand service created by Recorded Books, which allows Monroe Township Library cardholders to download free movies directly onto their home computers using their broadband Internet con More...

Donations sought for First Rehab food drive

First Rehab, 404 Main St., Suite A, Spotswood, is collecting nonperishable food items through Dec. 19. Donated food will benefit families in Spotswood, Jamesburg, Monroe, Milltown, East Brunswick and Helmetta. More...

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Columns

A gift for the man who has too much — a manscaper

Coda • GREG BEAN

My friend Butchie Rawlins may have been the hairiest human being in the history of the world. For starters, he had a full head of thick, curly, black hair, but that was only the beginning of the wonder. More...

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Schools

Supervisor named new middle school principal

Succeeds longtime administrator Tom Weaver
BY VINCENT TODARO Staff Writer

SPOTSWOOD — A new principal is headed to the Memorial Middle School. Michael Mastroserio, a member of the school district's administrative staff for the past three years, will take over as the school's new chief in January. More...

Balancing act

PHOTOS BY JEFF GRANIT staff Above: Alyssa Purcell, 11, displays her skill on the balance beam during the annual sixth-grade gym show at Woodland Elementary School in Monroe Dec. 11. Below: Sara Kearney, 11, performs on the parallel bars. More...

H.S. teens attend Young Women's Conference

Middlesex County girls learn about relationships, body image, cultural identity, etc.
BY MADELINE PIZARRO Staff Writer

MONROE — Young girls nowadays deal with a number of growing pains, but there is help out there for them. Teen girls from across Middlesex County assembled Dec. More...

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