John Venino at the RBR board meeting on September 11. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank Regional High School board of ed member John Venino wound up with a black eye following a student altercation last week at a middle school where he works in Asbury Park, according to a TV news report Monday.
Dreamers Club executive committee members Selena Martinez-Santiago, Madelyn Sanchez-Berra and Bethzy Vera Varela looked on as president Edith Lozano Zane addressed the RBR board on September 11. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
UPDATE: Because of rain in the forecast, this Saturday’s Hispanic Heritage Celebration in Riverside Gardens Park has been rescheduled for September 30.
By JOHN T. WARD
Kicking off Hispanic Heritage Month, Red Bank’s mayor and council trained a spotlight on four young Latina students at Red Bank Regional High School last week.
The self-styled “Dream 4” were fresh off an emotional revival of a school club that advocates for Hispanic and Latinx students.
Dreamers Club executive committee member Selena Martinez-Santiago delivers a petition in support of the group to RBR board president Patrick Noble. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Reversing an action that sparked a civil rights complaint and community outrage, Red Bank Regional High School’s board of ed restored funding for an immigrants’ advocacy student group Monday night.
At special session in the Little Silver school’s cafeteria that drew a large crowd – including Red Bank’s entire governing body – speakers voiced support for the Dreamers Club while denouncing a lone board member’s vote that they said imperiled years of progress.
Three of the four members of the Dreamers Club executive committee volunteering at Dog Days on Saturday: from left, Madelyn Sanchez-Berra, Selena Martinez-Santiago and Bethzy Vera-Varela. Below, club president Edith Lozano Zane. (Top photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
The Dreamers Club at Red Bank Regional High School has filed a complaint with the New Jersey Division of Civil Rights alleging it has been “singled out for nine years” of discrimination, the group announced Friday.
The allegations of bias are expected to be in the spotlight when the RBR board of education meets in a special session Monday night. Meantime, Superintendent Lou Moore said he’s “hopeful” the board will reinstate the club by reappointing its advisor.
Gwen Love, center, with the Defined Logic team the Lunch Break picnic. Below, nearly 600 children received backpacks and school supplies. (Photos by Millie Jeter/Lunch Break. Click to enlarge.)
Press release from Lunch Break
More than 800 people came to enjoy a perfect summer day, delicious food, fun and games, receive much-needed school supplies and cheered for the winning softball team at the Lunch Break Annual Community Picnic, Softball Classic Tournament & Backpack Giveaway on August 19 at Count Basie Field.
Joining Lunch Break for the Community Picnic were our cancer survivor warriors Millie Jeter and Judith Pandi, who ushered in the softball tournament by throwing the ceremonial first pitch in honor of their heroic achievements. More →
Red Bank Regional High Superintendent Louis Moore. (Click to enlarge.)
Press release from Red Bank Regional High School
The U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board are pleased to announce that Louis Moore of Red Bank Regional High School in New Jersey has received a Fulbright Leaders for Global Schools Program award.
RBC student Madeleine Carpenter, center, with artists Cristian Mera and Pamela Corrales. (Click to enlarge.)
Press release
In honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month, Red Bank Catholic senior Madeleine Carpenter has curated an Ecuadorian art exhibit to be featured at Red Bank Frameworks Gallery, at 135 Monmouth Street in Red Bank.
Ben Forest addressing the board of education Tuesday night. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank’s school district said goodbye to a longtime board of education member Tuesday night – and welcomed a new one.
The Red Bank Middle School class of 2019 was well represented in the RBR class of 2023. (Click to enlarge.)
Press release by the Red Bank Borough Public Schools
Red Bank Regional High School celebrated its Senior Awards recognition ceremony on June 7, and the Red Bank Middle School Class of 2019 received numerous awards and scholarships.
This group of students truly represented our “Best in America” mentality by achieving recognition in various award categories, including academic, athletics, arts, and community service.
The borough has been “flooded” with requests for bodycam video of DWI arrests, said the police chief. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
The Red Bank council rejected, without comment, a police department request to set fees for providing bodycam videos sought by the public Wednesday night.
Adoption would have helped cops reduce a “flood” of demands from requesters who simply want to monetize footage on social media, said Chief Darren McConnell. More →
Superintendent Jared Rumage, second from left, with board members. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
Press release by the Red Bank Borough Public Schools Board of Education
The Red Bank Borough Public Schools Board of Education is proud to announce that Dr. Jared J. Rumage, Superintendent of Schools, has been selected as the 2023 Monmouth County Superintendent of the Year.
Annually, superintendents from each of the nearly 60 school districts in Monmouth County nominate a superintendent who embodies the spirit of district leadership. This year, Dr. Rumage was recognized with this distinction by his colleagues during the monthly Monmouth County Superintendents’ Roundtable on Friday, March 24, 2023.
What is it about trucks that make kids lose their minds in delight? Find out Saturday, when the 11th annual Monmouth Day Care Center Touch-a-Truck fundraiser rolls into the parking lot of the Red Bank Middle School.
Steer your way here for details. (redbankgreen archive photos. Click to enlarge.)
A selection from Middletown High School North’s awards-dominating production of Les Miserables, performed onstage at the Count Basie Center Wednesday night.
Press release from the Count Basie Center for the Arts
The 18th annual Basie Awards, honoring excellence and achievement in Monmouth County high school theatre, drew a capacity crowd to historic Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank Wednesday night.
A long-vacant gas station at the foot of Cooper’s Bridge was left out of the new law by mistake, proponents said. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
The Red Bank council advanced a rewrite of the borough pot law Wednesday night, undeterred by cannabis business owners warning of lawsuits.
The proposed changes, which include a ban on marijuana retailing within 1,000 feet of schools, “please no one,” but must be adopted, their lead sponsor told a sharply divided audience at a special legislative session.
A proposed change to Red Bank’s cannabis law would ban sales within 1,000 feet of schools, playgrounds and public housing, except in one zone, under a draft that’s up for discussion at a special session this week.
The council is eyeing requirements for electric vehicle charging in new multifamily projects and parking lots. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
See UPDATE below
By JOHN T. WARD
On the Red Bank mayor and council’s agenda for Wednesday night: rules requiring electric vehicle chargers at new developments, and a change in the parking law for a stretch of Spring Street.
Not on the agenda: the burning issue of how to rewrite the town’s cannabis law.
The cannabis shop is slated to replace the China Moon restaurant on North Bridge Avenue. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
A proposed cannabis store with the “terrible” name of “Red Bank Fire Company” will change its moniker before it opens in coming months, a representative said Monday night.
The business won planning board approval to open a marijuana dispensary in a North Bridge Avenue strip mall after promising to quickly end any confusion with the borough’s volunteer fire department.
Evergreen Terrace is one of two apartment complexes slated for possible rehabilitation or redevelopment. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
The Red Bank Housing Authority asked the borough council for money to explore possible redevelopment of two subsidized apartment complexes Wednesday night.
At its second three-plus-hour meeting in three days, the governing body also heard more testimony for and against a possible overhaul of the zoning law governing cannabis businesses.
Cannabis proponent Andy Zeitlin testifying at the special session. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Expecting to hear about proposed tweaks to Red Bank’s pot law, attendees at a special council session Monday night instead learned that it may be completely rewritten to make it more restrictive.
Councilwoman Angela Mirandi fiercely defended the proposed changes, calling the original 2021 ordinance “reckless.”
The Red Bank council has scheduled a special session next week to consider easing limits on cannabis shop sitings.
Press release from Red Bank Borough Schools Superintendent Jared Rumage
The Red Bank Borough Public Schools are a proud participant of the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) Governor’s Educator of the Year Program. Each year, the NJDOE recognizes Teachers and Educational Services Professionals throughout the State and honors educators based on the following criteria.
Joey Fields at a ceremony marking his promotion to police sergeant in 2014. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
A retired Red Bank police officer who’s a product of borough schools will be returning to work as a school resource officer, following action by the council last week.
In other RBPD news, the ranks of retired officers is slated to grow by two.
Members of two Red Bank soccer teams, both of which went undefeated in the fall season, were recognized by Mayor Pasquale Menna and the borough council Wednesday night,
Parks and Rec director Oscar Salinas said the boys’ fifth- and sixth-grade team and the seventh-and-eighth-grade coed team won their respective divisions in the Northern Monmouth Soccer Association League. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
Tim Sheehan, at podium, with his brother, George III, and the new statue of their late father. (Photo by Larry Levanti/CBA. Click to enlarge)
Christian Brothers Academy press release
Over 60 years ago, Dr. George Sheehan Jr. believed in a vision for an all-boys, Catholic preparatory school in Monmouth County.
Together with Peter Fleming and John Henderson, he founded Christian Brothers
Academy in Lincroft, with help from the Brothers of the Christian Schools. A nationally-competitive running program soon followed thanks to Sheehan, and on December 4, his impact on CBA and the running tradition was symbolized with a larger-than-life statue on campus. More →
Press release from the YMCA of Greater Monmouth County
Red Bank Regional High School students and their peers across Monmouth County are invited to participate in YMCA of Greater Monmouth County’s annual Dr. Martin Luther King essay contest.