Gaffney interviews Schwebel about complaint

Courier Staff Writer Melissa Gaffney recently interviewed Middletown resident and human rights activist Carolyn Schwebel regarding her complaint against Middletown Township.

Blackout in Monmouth County

So, what happens when all the lights go out?

A widespread power outage early Tuesday evening led to extreme traffic congestion on nearly every highway in Monmouth County, according to reports.

Officials said a massive electrical failure caused a blackout in the majority of Monmouth County, Northern Ocean County and even towns in Middlesex County.

Reports state the outage is affecting areas from Manahawkin up to Old Bridge, and as west as Freehold.

After experiencing what some described as an “explosion” of a JCP&L transformer, in Neptune Township, at approximately 5:30 p.m., officials are recommending residents stick to back roads and avoid major highways.

An estimated 40,000 residents are without power, while even more are trying to trek home, reports claim.

Both Brookdale Community College, in Lincroft, and Monmouth University, in West Long Branch, cancelled classes for the evening.

Officials are encouraging residents to take extra caution, if driving is necessary.

—Melissa L. Gaffney

NJ.com has good story about power outage

NJ.com has a good story about the power outage, including maps of impacted areas in the state. Click on the headline to go there.

Power outage impacts most of Monmouth, parts of Ocean, Middlesex

There is a power outage going on right now in much of Monmouth County, parts of Southern Middlesex County and Northern Ocean County.

Traffic is a major concern throughout the Greater Middletown Area. There are some lights functioning along Rt. 35 in the township. There is a police presence at key intersections. But, traffic is heavy as literally hundreds of people are stuck on the road during the drive time commute heading toward home.

Notably, power is on in Freehold and the surrounding area. The source of the problem is allegedly a power terminal in Neptune.

The WABC website has a good story about the problem. Click on the headline to go to the site.

N.J. commuters lead commuters with time in car

It will not surprise New Jersey commuters that they lead the nation in the amount of time they spend in their cars commuting. Click on the headline to go to the story at NJ.com.

Sister Elizabeth Garvey promotes the Bayshore Banquet Hall

Courier Staff Writer Melissa Gaffney reported on the Bayshore Banquet Hall yesterday. She interviewed Sister Elizabeth Garvey, the director of the Bayshore Senior Health, Education & Wellness Center, in Keansburg. The banquet hall is physically atop the center and is operated by the center's staff.

Rutgers heads to PappaJohns.com Bowl on heels of big win

NJ.com has a story from The Star-Ledger's Tom Luicci about the Rutgers' Scarlet Knights football team knotting an impressive win against Louisville en route to the PappaJohns.com Bowl, where they will face N.C. State.

McMorrow expected to become freeholder director

According to Michael Mangan, spokesperson for the Monmouth County Democratic Party, Monmouth will have its second female director in history come January 6th. Freeholder Barbara J. McMorrow has earned the support of her fellow Democratic Freeholders to become the next Director of the Board. McMorrow pledged to fulfill the promises she made to the people of Monmouth County by fighting for less costly and more efficient and open county government.

The first female freeholder director was Lillian Burry, who McMorrow will replace in January. Burry, a Republican, won re-election to the board in November, along with Democrat Amy Mallet.

Read about this in more detail in the upcoming edition of The Courier.

Some changes in Courier policy for letter, events and obituaries

The Courier has some announcements in this week's newspaper that have an impact to readers.

Going forward, all letters to the editor need to be submitted to letter.courier@gmail.com. No printed letters, either sent via mail or delivered to the office will be considered for publication.

In addition, the releases submitted for consideration to the Monmouth Scene section of the newspaper must be submitted via e-mail to courier.calendar@gmail.com.

There will no longer be unpaid obituaries printed in the newspaper. Instead, all obituaries for publication must be submitted with a payment of $5 for a maximum of 125 words. Obituaries can be received through the courierreporter@gmail.com address for the moment. But, by next week, there will be a dedicated e-mail address established expressly for this purpose at obits.courier@gmail.com

Keansburg residents are going to see a 17-cent tax increase

The economy is slowly shaping how residents should plan their finances during the upcoming year. Keansburg Borough are going to see a 17-cent tax increase. According to Financial documents this would be an increase more than 17 cents per every $100. For more on this article click the link above.

And the count goes on...

The Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders election this year goes on as counting continues. Either Republican John Curley or Democrat Amy Mallet will receive the nod in the wake of the Nov. 4 election, which proved to be one of the largest in area history.

Click on the headline to go to The Courier Online.

Monmouth evacuation discussed

Monmouth County recently discussed evacuation plans at a Middletown event. Please click on the headline to go to the story at The Courier Online.

Democrats win majority in Highlands Borough Council

Newly elected democrats Rebecca Kane and Christopher Francy voice their agenda for the Highlands community. To read more click on the link above.

Election Results

Atlantic Highlands- Borough Council
REP Peter Doyle 1328 27.95
REP John C. Archibald, Jr. 1368 28.99
DEM Paul J. Cavise, Jr. 1001 21.07
DEM Elizabeth J. Van Deventer 1051 22.12
Write-in 3 .06
Total 4751

Hazlet- Township Committee
REP Christopher Forgione 3231 35.31
DEM James DiNardo 4026 44.00
IND John J. Conti 1892 20.68
Write-in 2 .02
Total 9151

Highlands- Borough Council
REP Frank Nolan 989 22.54
REP Nancy Thomas-Burton 1056 24.07
DEM Rebecca Kane 1225 27.92
DEM Christopher Francy 1116 25.44
Write-in 1 .02
Total 4387

Keyport- Borough Council
REP John M. Ambrose 1287 21.50
REP Clemente Toglia 1188 19.85
DEM Joseph E. Sheridan 1790 29.90
DEM Susan Mary Sefcik 1718 28.70
Write-in 3 .05
Total 5986

Matawan- Borough Council
REP Tom Fitzsimmons 1948 26.08
REP Joseph P. Urbano 1874 25.09
DEM William Malley 1698 22.73
DEM Robert T. Bunyon 1665 22.29
INDC Denis Brady 276 3.70
Write-in 8 .11
Total 7469

Middletown- Township Committee
REP Pamela Brightbill 19961 30.73
REP Tony Fiore 19000 29.25
DEM James Grenafege 12970 19.97
DEM Patricia Walsh 12972 19.97
Write-in 48 .07
Total 64951

Union Beach- Borough Council
REP Michael Harriot 1612 38.36
REP Louis S. Andreuzzi 1524 36.27
DEM Kenneth G. Connors 1044 24.85
Write-in 22 .52
Total 4202

Hazlet Fire Dept. and First Aid & Rescue Squad Raise Money

The Hazlet Fire Department and First Aid & Rescue Squad, along with the Raritan High School Booster Club, and raises money for 3 St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital. For more information, click on link above.

U.S. elects first black president

Illinois Sen. Barack Obama has defeated Arizona Sen. John McCain in the presidential election of 2008. Click on the headline to go to the story at AP.

Burry, Mallet win in the Beach

Union Beach has reported that Republican Freeholder Director Lillian Burry and Democratic challenger Amy Mallet have won in the borough. Burry garnered 1125 votes, Mallet earned 1123, Republican John Curley has knotted 1110 votes and Democrat Glenn Mason has tallied 1064 ballots.

Meanwhile, John McCain defeated Barack Obama in the presidential race there, 1482 to 1182. Republican Senate candidate Dick Zimmer won his contest with incumbent Frank Lautenberg in the borough, 1196 to 1096.

Republican incumbent Mike Harriott and his running mate, Lou Andreuzzi deafeated Democrat Ken Connors. The Republicans tallied 1553 and 1461 votes, while the Deocratic challenger knotted 1003 votes.

Campaign staffers say looking to victory

Courier Editor Somdatta Sengupta took the trip to Freehold to interview staffers at the Mallett-Mason campaign at Democratic Headquarters to see what expectations they had for Election '08.

Falk says voter turnout is strong in Monmouth

Courier Publisher Jim Purcell interviewed Board of Elections Chairwoman Leah Falk on Nov. 4 about this year's voter turnout.

Election worker: ‘People’ the best part of the job

By KELLY LORELLI-SMITH
Correspondent

This is Beverley Roman’s first presidential election as an election official—and she loves it.

Roman said the best part of being an election official for Keansburg’s District No. 2 is “meeting the people.”

There are 1,109 voters in District No. 2, which votes at the Newpoint Comfort Fire Company, on Carr Ave. The 871 voters from District No. 6 also vote at Newpoint Comfort.

“It’s been a lot of fun this year,” Roman said. She noted that voter turnout has been especially high this year, with about 30 percent of District No. 2’s voters casting their ballot by 1 p.m.

This year was especially exciting for Roman, who has lived in Keansburg for 30 years. But, because she was born in Canada, it was necessary for her to reapply for U.S. citizenship after new restrictions on immigrants following 2001.

Consequently, Roman became a U.S. citizen for the second time just last year. “It’s really great to be taking part in this election,” she said.

Roman works for an area retailer and has been volunteering as an election official for the past four years. She is also a grandmother to five grandkids and a great-grandmother to one.

“This election is a wonderful chance for them to get to learn about the American system of government,” she said.

Roman noted that, this year, younger voters have been a big part of the large voter turnout.

Roman said she loves the people she works with at the district and that fun is definitely a part of the job. Yet, in a larger sense, she is just glad to be a part of what has turned out to be a very special election season in American history.