Former Councilman Roy Dellosso was honored at Thursday’s meeting of the Mayor and Council as the Volunteer of the Month and presented a certificate from Mayor Lori Hohenleitner.
The mayor said she had a lot to say about Dellosso’s many contributions to the borough, saying he has been a mentor and “tops in my lifetime” for everything he has done in various ways and with diverse organizations.
But, she added with a chuckle, she intended to continue to take advantage of his good nature and love for the borough by naming him chairman of another committee after making the presentation.
Dellosso, who moved to the borough with his family in 1989, served on Council and as council president for 15 years, after serving the previous 13 years on the Board of Education. The mayor listed his numerous and varied contributions in addition to that, including president of the Atlantic Highlands Historical Society and still an active member, being a coach for various sports activities from the Sandy Hook Little League to soccer, as well as being a leader in both cub and boy scouting. He has been with the fire police, the mayor continued, and whenever 911 is called, he is present and ready to help direct traffic and keep residents safe. He and his family are also very good friends, she added to the applause and standing ovation of the audience at the meeting.
Hohenleitner explained that Councilwoman Eileen Cusick had asked what the criteria is for selecting the Volunteer of the Month, and the mayor then noted she is naming Dellosso as chairman of a committee to draw up criteria.
In accepting the applause and commendation from the mayor and council, Dellosso said he felt honored to be selected and it makes him proud to know he has played even a small part making the borough “the best town in the country.”
I think AH Mayor Lori Hohenleitner has the makings of a great mayor one day. She is intelligent, knows how to research, and is very articulate. There is no doubt she loves her town and its people, and no doubt she is generous in helping those in need. She is pleasant, loves to work, and understands the intricacies of municipal ordinances, resolutions, and actions.
But she’s new to the position, one she obviously loves and is very excited to hold. In her eagerness to do the best she can, and to meet her own commitment to shorter meetings, however, she comes off more like a dictator than a mayor interested in hearing what the people have to say or want to ask. It’s a common mistake lots of new mayors make until they grasp the idea that sometimes even the folks who attend meetings can have some good ideas.
An example of that occurred at the last borough council meeting, which is recorded and available on the borough website. As a resident who attended the transitional board of education meeting, I listened to Councilman Doherty’s brief explanation at the council of what had happened at the board meeting. He made it clear he had not attended, but did indeed talk to the president, vice president, and superintendent to get his information.
Since the school board meetings are not recorded, not zoomed, and to the best of my knowledge not kept in perpetuity by the board of education in any form, I was surprised that the reports Mr. Doherty received did not include any input from the public, the people he and the mayor represent, whether it be at a board meeting or council session. The three folks he questioned did not mention the fact they have no intention of recording or zooming their meetings, no mention that one resident objected to identifying female athletes differently from any athlete, no mention that a resident had to ask several times to have something repeated simply because she could not hear.
The nine persons who chose to take on the challenge of a brand new, never before tried transitional board of education deserve to be commended. It certainly will not be easy for them. Cory Wingerter as president will do an outstanding job, it is certain, as knowledgeable and interested as he is and as dedicated as he seems to be to do the right thing for the students as well as the taxpayers. But for a liaison to only report some of what happened at a meeting and not hear all about the convoluted opinion from the beginning of the meeting to the end does not give a full picture of what is happening.
The councilman’s report did not mention that a Highlands borough official stood and offered assistance to the board at the meeting. He did not mention the superintendent spent close to 15 minutes saying how behind the state was, how it’s the state’s fault deadlines might not be met, how she’s working every day on the regionalization how everything is so complicated. Yet when the Highlands official offered a suggestion, she and the board declined it, rudely, in fact, without even a thank you for a suggestion,, Then she said everything was under control, a far cry from ten minutes earlier when she had said there was no control.
But, When I tried to explain to the councilman during the borough council meeting that more happened at the meeting than was reported to him, the mayor rudely overrode my fairly strong voice to let me know that was board business, not borough business and she was the one running this meeting.
Really? If it isn’t council business, why have a liaison to the board and have a report at a council meeting? And if there is a report to be given, why present only part of what happens, the part that other officials, but not the public, has to say? The mayor referred me to the borough attorney on regionalization questions. My questions were about a meeting that neither she, the councilman nor the attorney attended, in fact only a couple of people from Atlantic Highlands had attended.
The Mayor continued to halt my questions, but even Councilman Doherty wanted to explain something. He could and did, but my questions were never answered.
I wrote the councilman, who is really not only smart but kind and understanding, to apologize for trying to ask questions at the meeting and being interrupted by the mayor.
And while I appreciated his response, which was immediate and clear, that, too, was disappointing. The councilman explained his purpose as liaison is to highlight what the board conveys to the public at their meeting(s) and to recognize some of the wonderful things happening in our school district. He added his role is to be the primary point of contact between the boards and the borough. Open lines of communication are helpful when there is collaboration required between our two bodies, he said. I couldn’t agree more.
But couldn’t you provide more open lines of communication and more collaboration between the two bodies if both heard what the public said at a meeting? Or are not the public, or even an official of the other town in the regionalization plan important enough to have their suggestions be known outside of a non-recorded board of education meeting?
The disappointing part of the councilman’s very cordial and generous note made it clear that he has “ no intention to report on public comment” at school board meetings. And all the time I thought he would indeed like to know what a taxpayer’s comment on at school board meeting was, what with more than half of the tax dollars they pay every year going directly to those school boards.
So there you have it. The Mayor doesn’t want the public to ask any questions of the person she named liaison to the school to keep the public informed; the councilman is obeying that dictum; A resident can try as she might to keep anybody at a council meeting, including the liaison, informed, but that isn’t going to happen under Mayor Hohenleitner until she has enough experience in her new position to recognize that yes indeed, the public does have the right to know.
With a new board of education transitioning to take over for the current three boards of education in Highlands and Atlantic Highlands, it doesn’t seem like any more consideration will be given to the people’s right to know what’s going on.
Further, judging from all the confusion the superintendent feels is surrounding the melding of the three school boards into one, it also looks like that STEP TWO voters were promised would happen once the two towns put their own boards together, will happen any time soon… What’s Going On?
Sea Bright is still here and eager to bring in their few dozen students and a million dollars or so to share the wealth and split the approximate $10 million in education costs three ways instead of two. Voters who were promised Step Two would happen quickly are still hopeful for a question on the November ballot to show their support. But if things continue as they are, that seems to be a bit remote right now. What’s Going On?
Congratulations to the members of the three boards who are taking on the work of being a single board while at the same time, and most likely at least through June, also serving on their own individual board. But here again sadly, they are not bringing any new hope for residents who really want to keep informed on how the school system is being run. What’s Going On?
Not only are the meetings not on ZOOM so residents and taxpayers who cannot attend a meeting can still keep informed, there are not even any recordings of the meetings available to hear at any time. Nor are the meetings ever available anyplace other than through the minutes, which also of course are not available until after they are approved at the next month’s meeting. What’s Going On?
All of the board meetings are scheduled for Henry Hudson Regional School, in spite of the fact the other two schools are far easier to reach for residents of both towns. What’s Going On?
And, just as the 7-12 regional board has done, the board sits at a U shaped table so attendees never get to see everyone, let alone their name plates in front of them. The table is set far back from the audience chairs, and the meetings continue to be held in the cafetorium.
That’s the room used for lunch for hundreds, spectacular plays and musicals, but certainly not conducive to business meetings or keeping the public informed. Think an average of perhaps 10 to 20 people attending a meeting, to be generous, high ceilings, poor acoustics, and five microphones or so that get handed back and forth if board members want to say something. What’s Going On?
Add that to ZOOM, no recordings, and the school most difficult to access at night….. does any of that sound like they really want the people to know everything that’s going on?
The notice of the regular meetings does indicate that people who need some special accommodation to attend a meeting might be helped. But that’s up to whoever makes that decision, most likely the business administrator, it seems, once she or he has heard the specific disability that requires an accommodation and agrees it is a board requirement. What’s Going On?
Then there’s the question of taxpayer dollars and keeping the public informed. The new board unanimously named the Asbury Park Press and the Newark Star Ledger as their official newspapers.
That means they are the only two papers in which they must send any legal advertising.
Yet at this week’s meeting, no one, neither professional nor board member, knew the circulation of either newspaper in Highlands and Atlantic Highlands. They did not even mention the one local newspaper, the Two River Times, that qualifies as a newspaper under the law governing legals, so, … so much for supporting local business. What’s Going On?
Nor did anyone seem to know what stores carry the papers or the fact the local library does not subscribe to either.
They also did not mention, though that is probably because no one even bothered to inquire, the difference in cost. Or that legal advertising costs are based on total circulation. In this case, there is a fifty cent difference PER LINE between a legal in the Two River Times and one in the Ledger.
Multiply that by a 500 line legal advertisement. It’s 31 cents for the Two River Times, 81 cents for the Ledger.
The argument that a weekly paper cannot meet deadlines that have to be met is frightening in itself. Does the board do ALL of its business at the last minute so that what they approve on a Wednesday night cannot wait eight days to appear as a legal in a newspaper people actually read? What’s Going On?
Even the Ledger says they can’t possibly advertise a legal in fewer than three days.
If the argument is few people read legals anyway, that might be true. But if that is the case, why not simply send them to the newspaper that offers the cheapest price?
With the two outstanding representatives each Mayor has named as liaisons to the board of education, there is hope that regardless of whether they like it or not, the people will most likely be kept well informed on what’s going on in the school system.
“There are lots of moving parts … we have no control … the Department of Education is not sure how to get everything ready by February…it’s complicated.”
However, when Highlands Council president Joann Olszewski offered a suggestion of assistance from both governing bodies and the board of education, Dr Beams changed the outlook, saying everything is under control.
It’s complicated.
With board members asking few questions, Dr. Beams took over the first portion of the lass than hour long meeting in giving her report on what has transpired with regionalization since it was approved.
Painting a picture of a series of problems the state Department of Education is facing because the new Prek-12 school district is the first being created under the new state law, the superintendent said while the district is doing everything it can, the state department of education does not have all the information it needs for recalculating staff and financing for one district rather than the three boards of education that are forming the district.
It’s complicated.
The superintendent said she is also working with officials on consolidating grants already received by Highlands Board of Education with one submitted for Atlantic Highlands and how these would be consolidated.
It’s complicated.
Additionally, the state needs to give the district guidance, she said, a problem confounded by the fact there is currently no state Commissioner of Education. “We’re not sure what’s happening,” Dr. Beams told the Board.
It’s complicated.
However, should the regionalization foundation not be completed by the February anticipated date, there is no Plan B, she continued, “this is regulation. We’re meeting the requirements. It’s complicated.”
Council member Olszewski, who is the Highlands borough council’s liaison to the school board suggested a possible solution during the public portion of the meeting. Ms. Olszewski asked if it would be helpful if both governing bodies and the school board joined together in a letter to the state to petition for swifter action, more information or whatever would be helpful or necessary to aid the district. To which the superintendent responded, “No, everything’s fine, we have it all under control.” Dr. Beams said she is in constant contact with all the officials necessary. “We’re talking daily,” she told the council member.
It’s complicated.
During the public portion of the meeting, Gena Melnyk asked if the board would refer to the girls sports teams as Admirals, rather than Lady Admirals, noting that to be an Admiral calls for the same requirements and no distinction is made between male or female in the military, so why is there what she described as a disclaimer for the school’s sports team.
The next regular meeting of the transitional board will be at 6 p.m. on February 28 in the Henry Hudson school cafetorium.
The Twin Lights has a way of attracting lovers, and the Twin Lights Historical Society hears stories frequently that prove it’s so. This includes hearing from couples and families near and far some of whom had their first date here, others got engaged here, others had their weddings here.
To celebrate all, the Historical Society is hosting a “Lover’s Tea” Saturday, February 24, from 4:15pm until 6:45pm. Admission is free.
“This is our first attempt at such an event, but we have already received interest from couples who attended our fall full moon night climbs last year,” said Bev Kugele, Vice President of the Twin Lights Historical Society.
“Specifics have not yet been finalized, but the accent is on each couple have a memorable time,” the vice-chairman said. “We also welcome those who may have lost their loved one, but who would like to celebrate their memories here by attending,” she added.
The day and time for the Lovers Tea was designed to align with the February full moon, which rises over the Atlantic in front of the Twin Lights night.
The event is planned to be High Tea, complete with teacakes and other assorted treats and beverages, including tea. The event committee would benefit from hearing from interested parties, in order to complete plans for the event.
Tea service begins at 4:15 p.m. February 24, with sunset at approximately 5:30p.m., moon rise, about 6:00 pm and the closing of the ceremony at 6:45 p.m.
For more information on events, as well as membership information, visit www.twinlightslighthouse.org or follow the Twin Lights Historical Society on Facebook.
The Twin Lights State Historic Site is owned and operated by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Parks, Forestry & Historic Sites (“NJ Parks”). Nick Wood, RIS-History, the full time NJ Parks Curator at the site, offers private tours by appointment for a small fee (so worth it!). See below for more details or contact Nick directly at Nicholas.Wood@dep.nj.gov.
The Twin Lights Historical Society is the officially recognized friends group for NJ Parks at the Twin Lights. The role and purpose of the society at the site is to support and assist NJ Parks in its operations and exhibit development through financial support as well as volunteer services at the site. The Society invests all donations, memberships and proceeds from the Twin Lights Museum Store to improve visitor experience and online public relations, including new exhibits, paid internships for local high school and college students, as well as special projects. For more information about the Twin Lights and its illustrious history, go to www.twinlightslighthouse.org or call (732) 872-1814
Visitor Information is available by mail to the Lighthouse at 2 Lighthouse Road, Highlands, NJ 07732 or by calling (732) 872-1814
Grounds are open every day from 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM
This international best seller by Adam Makos is a startling true story about both American and German pilots during World War II who indeed answered a higher call.
It is a story of soldiers each fighting for what he felt he had to do rather than merely dropping bombs and trying to win a war while struggling with their own consciences on the whys and ways we fight wars.
The book follows both Franz Stigler, a German pilot from Bavaria and Charlie Brown, a B-17 pilot and recipient of the Air Force Cross and other honors for his heroism in military operations during World War II.
While it goes into great detail about the types of planes and training both American and German pilots had, and the battles each fought in the sky, it is more a background setting the foundation for the real story…..why a German ace fighting for Hitler while not espousing his beliefs would make the sudden decision to save an American crew in a badly damaged B-17 rather than claim a victory for himself and his country and earn yet another award for valor.
Markos is thorough and vivid in the account he researched for years, meeting with both heroes, Stigler and Brown and tracing the accuracy and truth of both their stories through official records, newspapers and firsthand accounts decades after the war ended, the nations came together, and Stigler and Brown went on to live the rest of their lives.
Almost as an anticlimax to the true drama of the book are the accounts of the search by Stigler and Brown trying to find each other decades after the war, one to say thanks for saving his life, the other to find whether the pilot he saved made it safely through the rest of the flight that day as well as the war itself.
The book forces you to pause and wonder whether every man who either volunteers or is drafted into service really wants to kill his enemy, whether he really feels the individual he fights on the ground or in the air is truly his enemy and whether the promise they each make to kill for their country surpasses their own faith and belief learned from childhood.
The book is riveting, frightening, exciting, almost unbelievable, and in the end heartwarming and honest. It gives you hope the world could one day be at peace in answering Makos’ own question…Can good men be found on both sides of a bad war?
Just when you finished your last book and seeking more during the frigid spells that are keeping everyone close to home and fireplaces, the Northern Monmouth Branch of the AAUW is inviting you to take advantage of their January Half Price Sale this Saturday, January 27 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Everything is ½ price on this one day except for recent releases. But the Half-Price Sale does include all hardcover and paperback books, CD’s, DVD’s, games, puzzles and a large assortment of children’s books.
The Annual Used Book Sale raises funds for scholarships for women at Brookdale Community College and Monmouth University.
The Sale is at Old First Church, lower level, 69 Kings Highway, Middletown.
The Book Sale is also open Thursdays from 10:00 a.m. to noon for sales as well as book donations. Regular hours for sales and donations continue on Saturdays from 10:00 to 2:00 p.m. except for holiday weekends.
For more information about AAUW, membership, Book Sale, and guidelines for tax deductible donations, visit the web site at aauw-nj-nmcb.org or call 732-275-2237.
For the second time, the bid opening date for renovations to the disintegrating building on Fort Hancock to create an indoor drill area and classrooms for NJROTC cadets at MAST has been postponed, this time until February 7 at 1 p.m.
The legal advertisement announcing the cancellation of today’s previously scheduled opening did not indicate any reasons why. Nor did the business administrator at the Monmouth County Vocational School District respond to queries as to why the bidding was delayed again. By law, all revisions require another advertisement in local newspapers to announce the changes.
The advertisement, which was printed in the Asbury Park Press also noted the original bid opening date of January 17, required four clarifications, two corrections and four revisions, though no reason is given for why so many changes were necessary when the date was changed to January 24.
Kellenyi Johnson Wagner Associates of Red Bank is the architect for the renovation of Building 23, a former historic barracks at Fort Hancock on Gateway National Recreation Area. Plans for the reconstruction began four years ago and have been delayed several times since then. Currently, while several historic buildings at Fort Hancock provide classrooms and a dining area for the students at MAST, the Marine Academy of Science and Technology, the students, all of whom are NJROTC cadets, must conduct their drills and practices outdoors on Pershing Field. The new building would enable them to practice indoors in inclement weather, as well as provide office space for the NJROTC staff, classrooms and bathrooms and showers for the cadets.
Originally planned for reconstruction three years ago, all work was halted because of the return of a pair of ospreys to the nest they had inhabited in the past. The nest could not be disturbed while ospreys were nesting so no work was done and the building continued to deteriorate.
When bids were announced again this year, the bid opening date was January 17, then changed to January 24 with actual work scheduled to start March 20 and be completed in 420 days. That would have put construction in a contest with returning ospreys, who usually return in mid to late March. Moving the date once again to the now scheduled February 7 assumably delays all other dates. That means if the February 7 date is kept as advertised, and if the same time schedule is being followed, work is scheduled to begin another 21 days later, which would put mobilizing on site on April 11, long after the ospreys return to the New Jersey shore.
In the meantime, neither the architect, the Monmouth County Vocational School Board of Education nor the National Park Service responded to any question as to why the nest cannot simply be removed any time before the ospreys are expected back from migration. Nor have any of the principals involved responded to queries why it is so necessary to protect the nest now, with plans approved and contracts signed to renovate the building which includes removing the nest so work can proceed.
The first regular meeting of the Prek-12 Henry Hudson Regional School district is scheduled for this evening at 6 p.m. at the Henry Hudson Regional School cafetorium.
The regular meeting of the Henry Hudson Regional Board of Education, which will be in place until the new PreK-12 Board of Education is fully activated, is scheduled for 7 p.m. in the same gym.
The new regional board organized earlier this month and members elected Cory Wingerter as president of the board. Board members include Wingerter, Richard Doust, Donald Krueger, Mrs. Riky Stock, Mrs. Karin Masina, Allison Jacobs, Mrs. Rebecca Kane-Wells ,Mrs. Irene Campbell, and Mrs. Diane Knox.
The board also named Janet Sherlock business administrator and Christopher Mullins, assistant board secretary, and named the Asbury Park Press and the Star Ledger as the official newspapers for legal advertising.
The board’s regular meetings will continue to be on the fourth Wednesday of the month at 6 p.m. in the Henry Hudson School cafetorium.
HIGHLANDS – It took less than half an hour, but in that time the governing body of Highlands, the Mayor and Council, in the absence of Councilman Leo Cervantes, unanimously”
Honored MAST Cadet Russell Karshmer for designing one side of the New Jersey (SNN796) Commissioning Coin
Approved an amendment to the Zoning and Land Use ordinance to name the construction official, rather than the borough engineer, the Flood Plain administrator with authority to delegate duties of employee employees
Authorized an agreement with the Twin Lights Condominium Association to reimburse up to a specific length the association’s self-plowing during snow.
Paid bills and authorized refunds for tax overpayment, one application fee, and retroactive back pay to employee Joe Walling for errors made in previous years
Approved a grant application for $20,000 to the state Department of Agriculture for reduction and chemical control treatment of the spotted lanternfly.
Waived the ban on serving alcohol on February 10 for the Elementary School PTO fund raising Sip & Paint event.
And approved membership in the Highlands Fire Department for Spencer Patrick Branin as recommended by Fire Chief William Caizza.
Council members also gave reports on their committees and had discussions both from Council woman Chelak and borough resident Joseph Doran about the importance of trees and proper removal of them, and expressed pleasure at a recent Two River Times newspaper article that was positive and good news about their reorganization meeting.
Council then went into executive session for another approximately 45 minutes to discuss possible le litigation and to talk about tree removal regulations, with no action taken on either matter after the meeting.
Resident Doran, who lives on Valley Avenue and frequently attends the sparsely attended council meetings, reminded council members that removing trees for specific reasons is “a judgement call” and a qualified person is needed to make those decisions. He pointed out the replacement of trees, with many having been lost since Sandy, should be enforced and pointed out that many have never been placed, creating silt runoff problems. He pointed out the intrinsic value of trees in preventing runoff and flooding, with the governing body agreeing with him and thanking him for his interest and suggestions.
