Calling it “short-sighted” Highlands Mayor Carolyn Broullon had an immediate response to the reports the Henry Hudson Regional boards of education is holding yet another meeting January 31 before taking any action on proposed regionalization with Sea Bright.
The Mayor also expressed shock that neither the Board Chair nor any board member remained silent when questioned by the audience members.
In a written statement, Mayor Broullon said
“In my opinion, it is short-sighted to leave Sea Bright out of the Regionalization plan. Including them brings cost savings to the taxpayers of Highlands and Atlantic Highlands by reducing the amount raised in taxes for the schools. I am shocked the elected Board Members were, for the most part, silent. They have a duty to answer to the taxpayers that elected them to represent the community.”
It was rather surprising and certainly embarrassing to be at the Henry Hudson Board of Education meeting last night and hear Dr. Beams fly off the handle, raise the audio on her mike to a painful hearing level and say more than once “it doesn’t’ matter what Tara Beams thinks” when it comes to the regionalization issue.
She was simply asked why it appears she is so against Sea Bright being part of any planned regionalization until maybe, sometime in the future.
Silence is Deafening
What made matters worse, was neither the board chairman nor any member of the Board of Education said a word about this $180,000 a year paid professional employee sounding like a spoiled child who can’t get her way. I can only hope they reprimand her in private and take steps to ensure taxpayers are never subjected to such antics again.
Opposed to Sea Bright?
Of course Dr. Beams gives every sign she is opposed to Sea Bright being included. Last night she pinned the blame for all the delay on the New Jersey State Board of Education Commissioner. If that is true, it would have been nice to hear her say she has contacted the Commissioner and asked what could be done to at least get the question on the ballot.
The Oceanport Connection
With so many delays, and so much blame for nothing moving forward, the question does come up quite often. If it’s true Oceanport would lose a bunch of money if Sea Bright switches from there to Henry Hudson and if it’s true Dr. Beams lives in Oceanport and pays taxes there, then wouldn’t it be true also that she would have an opinion on whether Sea Bright should be included?
Here again, the boards of education in the Henry Hudson district don’t say anything about her being the primary spokesperson on the regionalization issue. They don’t seem to think there is any conflict here. For that matter, has any board member, on any of the three boards of education, ever said anything publicly about what they know about regionalization? They defer to Dr. Beams, just as the Hudson Board Chairman did last night when I specifically directed questions to him.
Let the Taxpayer Decide
What is so very wrong about letting the taxpayers decide whether they want to take a chance on getting more money into the towns to help cut the cost of education without cutting the quality? What is wrong with thinking the taxpayers should have the right to say what they want? If they could vote, and if they say no, no regionalization, then there’s no need for more attorneys, more mediators, more time wasted in talking about something they don’t want.
If they say yes, it sounds like a good idea and it sounds like it will save money and maybe offer more educational opportunities to the kids, then, with everyone working together, maybe the Education Commissioner would act faster if indeed that is the problem now. Maybe state legislators would push for quicker action and try to save the taxpayers some money in attorneys, delays, mediators and more studies.
The Silent Majority
Maybe the taxpayers should get more vocal. Within the first hour after midnight last night when that first story on the Henry Hudson board meeting appeared on venividiscripto, hundreds had read the story. After midnight. By 9 a.m. this morning, several hundred more read it.
So there must be interest. There must be opinions. There must be at least some of those people who read these stories who think the public not only has the right to know, but also has the right to be heard.
It’s time to quit stalling and let regionalization for all three towns get on the ballot.
The boards of Education for Highlands, Atlantic Highlands and Henry Hudson Regional School are meeting in a special session on Tuesday, Jan. 31 to discuss what is taking place in mediation on the question of regionalization.
Maybe the Public is Invited
The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. and the boards will immediately go into executive session with their attorney to discuss the present status of the question. If the boards can come to an agreement on which way they want to proceed, they will come back into an open meeting and take action.
That was what School Superintendent Dr. Tara Beams said at last night’s meeting of the Henry Hudson Board of Education speaking for the board. In response to questions asked during the public portion of the meeting, Dr. Beams said the schools have not hired a mediator, just the two boroughs of Highlands and Atlantic Highlands have.
Who Can Speak on the Mediator?
Dr. Beams referred questions on the mediator being appointed to discuss cost sharing between the towns should regionalization take place and referred the question to the mayors and councils of both towns, saying they are the only ones who hired a mediator.
At a meeting of the Atlantic Highlands council last week, the borough administrator referred all questions to the boards of education.
“You’re here for the children”
Former teacher and former board member Tracy Abby-White chastised the board for their inaction on the regionalization question which has been ongoing for several years and urged them to endorse having the regionalization question go on the November ballot so the residents can decide. “You’re here for the children,” she told board members, “you are here to help them get to college, get on with a better life. ” She reminded board members that the borou9gh councils “don’t tell you how to run the schools.”
Yet, she continued, the regionalization question was put off last year waiting for a feasibility study promised in May, but not received until June. That study, she continued to point out, agreed with an earlier study commissioned by the boroughs, that regionalization with Sea Bright would be the correct way to go both for educational benefits and cost savings. Regardless of any action on Jan. 31, Abby-White said this “shouldn’t end without referendum.”
“Have a Referendum”
Charles Rooney, a former Councilman in Sea Bright who has been a strong advocate of regionalization among the three boroughs and has shown at several meetings why and how it would mean considerable additional income for the two other boroughs, showed board members a newspaper from 2017 when the regionalization question statewide was a major issue and he was urged to “get in on this early and have a referendum.” Rooney has working since that time to get the question on the ballot to let the voters decide what they want.
“That’s ridiculous”
Dr. Beams told Rooney last night it is the state Board of Education that is holding up the issues and “we can’t do anything without the state board of education approval to put this on the ballot.” She said legal action and questions before the state board have not yet been resolved and that is what is holding up action locally. Rooney countered there is no legal action before the state board, just a challenge from Oceanport that Sea Bright students cannot leave the Oceanport school district because there is no board of education in Sea Bright. “That’s ridiculous,” Rooney said, “and it would never stand up.”
Abby-White urged the school districts to leave the money issues at the municipal level and stick to their obligation to provide the education.
“It Doesn’t Matter what Tara Beams Thinks,”
When Ms Abby-White noted Dr. Beams appears to be against regionalization with Sea Bright, the superintendent went into a tirade saying several times “it doesn’t matter what Tara Beams thinks,” raising her voice and amplifying he mike. (see related story) She said any increase in funds from regionalization with Sea Bright would not go into the budget for education, but rather would go towards the taxes paid by the taxpayers for education.
Other Board Issues
Earlier in the meeting Business Administrator Janet Sherlock also told the board it does not appear the schools will be able to keep their tax increase under the 2 per cent allowed, due to increased costs for insurance. Worse, she said, it appears they will not be able to keep it less than two percent for two years, nor will they know before March what the tax increase would be.
During a lengthy explanation of the Start Strong Assessment results, Dr. Beams cited the areas where the results call for more attention to students primarily in the area of math, and the differences in programs between the two elementary schools in the regional district.
The Superintendent’s statistics also showed two students received one day suspensions each since December, one for insubordination to a staff member and one for being disruptive and disrespect. A third student received a four day suspension in December for confirmed substance abuse.
Thirty-three educators from the three schools in the Henry Hudson Regional District have either resigned or retired since Superintendent Dr. Tara Beams was hired in July 2021, a Highlands resident pointed out at the Henry Hudson Board of Education meeting last night.
While she was quick to add she is not saying there have been no improvements during the year since Dr. Beams has been here, she wondered whether there is a connection between the new superintendent being hired and the number of persons leaving all three of the schools.
Cynthia Fair, Navesink Avenue, Highlands, sat through the approximate 90 minute long meeting before presenting her statement during the public portion of the meeting, noting that 33 resignations represents approximately 20 to 25 per cent of the staff. She called on the board to investigate the “excessive attrition rate.”
While Board President Michael Gannon gave no response to Ms. Fair’s request, board member Claire Kozic rose to say “people retire all the time” and added the schools needed changes and the fact this many have left their jobs in each of the three schools in the district, “doesn’t mean anything.”
Earlier at the same meeting, Atlantic Highlands resident Tracy Abby-White told the board “I was a teacher” before pointing out she also “sat in your seat” referring to her time as a member of the Board of Education. After listening to Dr. Beams explain her position on regionalization when at one point she put the microphone to a deafening pitch to shout “it doesn’t matter how Tara Beams feels” about regionalization, Abby-White politely told Dr. Beams “As a taxpayer asking a question, I would appreciate if you wouldn’t be so condescending. It’s insulting”.
Mrs. Fair said after the meeting that things were different before Dr. Beams came to Henry Hudson. As an example, she noted her daughter’s experience before she graduated in June, “she (Dr. Beams) never even talked to her.”
She also pointed out she has seen several instances where the superintendent was less than polite and courteous to staff members as well as the general public. The resident cited an incident when she was present at a public meeting for a holiday presentation. “I personally witnessed Dr. Beams correcting the previous principal in front of staff and students. “That’s just wrong, it’s discourteous.”
Comments from others after the meeting focused on Dr. Beams’ ‘body language’ during the meeting and gave as an example how she “rolled her eyes” when Mrs. Abby-White was speaking, and how she made it obvious she feels above everyone who attends a meeting. One resident added “I’m a taxpayer, I pay her salary as a taxpayer, and she is there working for me. She has no right to talk like that. It’s simply condescending.”
Mrs. Fair presented statistics and read into the minutes the names of the eight personnel from the Atlantic Highlands Elementary School who have retired since July of 2021 when Dr. Beams came. She then named the ten teachers at the Highlands school who also left the system in that time period as well as the 15 educators at Henry Hudson Regional School who are no longer here.
“When it comes to a fifth to a quarter of the staff leaving, you have to wonder if there’s a specific reason,” she said.
The board did not respond to her question of “when are you going to investigate why we have such an excessive attrition rate?
Growing community relationships, continuing to be stewards of the waterways and continuing the high standards set by his predecessors are Lou Melillo’s goal as he takes the reins from outgoing Commodore Frank Allsman of the Atlantic Highlands Yacht Club.
This will be the second time Melillo, of Middletown, has headed the popular and prestigious Yacht Club located on the second floor of the Shore Casino at the Atlantic Highlands Yacht Harbor. He was Commodore in 2004, after serving in all the other commands from board member in the late 1990s through Rear Commodore and Vice Commodore.
Melillo has been a member of the club since 1996 and lists numerous reasons why he joined. As a frequent and enthusiastic sail boater, he likes not only the location and activities as a club member, but also the ability to meet with other sailboat owners and other lovers of the waterways, as well as to enjoy new friendships among club members who are not boat owners. “That’s the best thing about the Atlantic Highlands Yacht Club,” he says enthusiastically, “they make us who we are as a club.”
Since he first joined, the Commodore has always been active in Yacht Club activities. He has be chairman of the insurance committee for more than two decades, until recently passing the torch to member John Flatley. He has served on the race committee for many years and actively participates in all the club’s programs and activities.
As a sailing enthusiast, Melillo keeps his sailboat, the Surface Tension, at the Atlantic Highlands Municipal Harbor in the same slip he has held for more than 25 years. He has cruised and raced for many years, including five Newport to Bermuda races as well as local races in Sandy Hook Bay. Currently, he owns a Beneteau First 44.7 racer/cruiser sail boat.
Looking towards his upcoming year as Commodore, Melillo said because of their popularity and the work of all club members, all the programs in the past, including the Youth Sailing program, the annual Blessing of the Fleet, and Blue Water Regatta, Wednesday night racing, the Ms Race and other events will continue to be highlights of the seasons.
A new activity, “Meet the Brewer” has started as a means to involve local business in club activities. The club is offering Jersey craft brews on tap and this month will have Carton Brewery from First Avenue for a Meet the Brewer event.
A new boating safety seminar series will be introduced this year with the Fleet Captain John DeFilippo in charge of that event.
While many of the racing and water-oriented events are eagerly attended by all club members, many club members are neither sailors nor boaters of any kind. They enjoy the socialization the club offers, the excellence of the galley and restaurant, as well as the cocktail hours, the bar, and other events.
There’s no doubt the members and officers have been doing everything right, Melillo continues. Under Allsman’s leadership last year, the club had a record number of new members, boaters, sailors and landlubbers. “We’re coming off a great year helmed by Commodore Allsman,” Melillo said. “We want to continue that momentum in 2023.”
“ Our town has grown to truly be the gem of the Bayshore, “he continued.. “The Yacht Club is just one element that makes Atlantic Highlands a “destination”. We have transients from all over the world stopping by with nothing but praises. It is all of our jobs to ensure we keep moving forward – one foot in front of the other – to steal an old cliche.”
It’s a family thing as well, the commodore pointed out. Both his daughters, Tara and Victoria, grew up sailing and were there for their father’s first year as Commodore and enthusiastically supported him once again at the gala that surrounded his taking the lead for the second time earlier this month. The new Commodore’s girlfriend, Katie, was also on hand to be supportive at the Change of Watch and is an avid sailor as well.
Anyone who knows Cindy Zipf, the Executive Director of Clean Ocean Action, knows she doesn’t give up easily, actually, never. Her temerity and boldness have been responsible for considerably more attention ever being paid to protecting the ocean and its environs.
Following the death of seven whales in just over a month, Zipf and Clean Ocean Action immediately called for an investigation into the cause. With no apparent action taking place at the speed she feels is necessary. Zipf this week fired off a reaffirmation of her call for an investigation into the deaths and more protection for the marine ecosystem.
Zipf’s latest statement:
The death of seven whales in 39 days is unprecedented. They were all endangered species, which makes these deaths even more tragic and demands an immediate comprehensive investigative response. What if these ocean industrial activities were related to a fossil fuel project – would that change anyone’s view on a call to action?
Why wouldn’t the 11 offshore wind-related companies be suspected? They are currently authorized to conduct pre-construction and construction activities allowing them to harm, harass, and injure as many as 63,820 marine mammals. When has there ever been this many industrial activities permitted in the region at the same time? Where is the evidence that these deaths are not related to the intense offshore wind sonar and other geotechnical activities?
According to the National Marine Fisheries Service these pre-construction and construction activities can cause “injury” and “disruption of behavioral patterns including migration, breathing, nursing, breeding, feeding, or sheltering.” With such activities, there are more ships and vessels in the area which increase potential ship strikes, and sonar can deafen or disorient whales, leading them into the path of oncoming vessels. Why shouldn’t endangered species get precautionary treatment and trigger a full investigation?
Importantly, why should offshore wind get a pass on scrutiny to ensure marine ecosystem protection, especially for endangered and protected species? Any industrial activity – especially reckless industrial development that is massive in scope, scale, magnitude, and speed – should be required to prove it is protective of the marine ecosystem.
This is why Clean Ocean Action also continues to call for a pilot project to assess threats. A pilot project could inform responsibly developed offshore wind, which was the promise of Governor Murphy
Perhaps it’s sheer dedication. Perhaps it’s a family tradition. But it probably is a combination of the two.
The result is there is no doubt Fire Chief William Kane is an outstanding chief for the Highlands Fire Department for the coming year.
After all, this is his fourth time heading up the borough’s volunteer fire department.
His first was back in 2007 when he was just 26 years old and holds the record for being the youngest fire chief the borough has had.
He was Chief again six years later in 2013. Then another eight years later in 2021.
Oh yes, and he is also the third member of his family to serve in that capacity. His dad and his sister also both served as fire chiefs.
It was Bill’s dad, Matthew Kane, who was the first in the family to serve, taking the helm for two years, in 1985 and 1993. He first became a member of the department in 1976. And he is still an active member today!
Bill’s sister Rebecca, who also served on the borough Council, came on the department in 1999, and ten years later, she was fire chief. Today, she is also still an active member and in line to become chief again in another four years.
The Kanes are an impressive family who have devoted nearly a century in two generations to the fire department alone, in addition to volunteering in so many other areas and causes. In fact, Bill’s mom, Cathy, is the only family member who has not served on the department but is always active helping them whenever and where she can. Now, she can stay at home and worry when both her son and daughter respond to emergency calls.
Call it the Kane family tradition.
A native of the borough, Bill went through the Highlands elementary school and Henry Hudson Regional before becoming a mechanic with the Atlantic Highlands Public Works Department, a position he has held for 21 years. But it is obvious his first love is the fire department and what he can do to keep it as outstanding as it is.
He doesn’t think maintaining the vehicles, fighting the fires, answering calls day and night are the hardest part of his job as Chief. Rather, Bill explains, “it’s trying to keep the faith of the people.” Residents have the right to expect security from their department and have faith they will be there in need, and Bill wants to be certain the department always lives up to that faith.
And while he prides himself on a 50-member department that is always there and always responds to every call with the best maintained equipment, changes through the years have made it all much more difficult, bot h in keeping up with new state mandates as well as securing new members.
When the department was first formed at the same time Highlands became a borough in 1900, there were few regulations to follow and volunteers who had the time to sign on for the volunteer positions. Then, it was more a case of “we’re all neighbors, of course you’d be ready to go out and fight a fire or lend a hand where needed.”
But today, with men and women having more need to hold down full time jobs away from home, with more classes and more training required, it is more difficult to sign on new members. The average age of members in the department today is 56, he said, “so looking towards the future, we certainly need to get younger men and women to join, get the experience, and be ready to take over leadership in the coming decades.”
As Chief, Bill also admits that the added paperwork and liabilities of the 21st century add a burden to simply fighting fires and assisting on other calls with the volunteer First Aid Squad.
It isn’t the fire calls that Bill remembers most about his years on the department so far, it’s the appreciation he feels from the residents who recognize and are grateful for the department.
If any specific calls stand out, it would be when the Fountains burned in Sea Bright one freezing cold winter night many years ago. Sea Bright called in Highlands for an assist at the blaze, and photos of the firefighters on the job were seen all over the country, with ice was forming on their jackets, faces. hands and fire hoses due to the heavy ice and bitter cold.
He’s been fortunate through the years now, he’s quick to say. There was only one time an injury he suffered forced a visit to the hospital emergency room. That was at a car accident when acid got in his eyes and had to be examined and flushed. “Other than that, it’s just the usual bumps and cruises,” he grins.
Within town, probably the most memorable fire was at a house on Route 36. Not that the fire was extraordinary or too difficult for the volunteers. It was just that it happened on July 4 on a warm summer day and Route 36 had to be shut down to traffic while the team worked in putting out the blaze. “We took more heat from motorists who couldn’t get to Sandy Hook beaches than we did from the fire,” he laughs.
Declining to take any praise for himself and all he does as chief and as a member of the fire police, Bill credits all his men and women for making his job as chief so much easier, because he can depend on them. The department has two fire companies, a truck and a ladder company, Deputy Chief William Caizza, a training officer Paul Murphy and a team that also includes two lieutenants, two captains, and a deputy chief . Last year, the department made roughly 200 calls, from false alarms and fires, to water rescues and automobile accidents. Strangely, this is not so much different from decades ago.
There are all barbecues, fund raising events and numerous activities for local residents sponsored by the department “because we are all neighbors,” as well as meetings, training sessions, clean-ups after fires and routine maintenance of all the fire equipment. Bill also serves as OEM coordinator and is always looking for more men and women to join the department or help in any number of ways. Active fire department members must be between 18 and 47years of age, but there are numerous other possibilities in joining the department.
Yes, sometimes there is a lot of work, and yes, sometimes it’s inconvenient to leave a family dinner or a great football game on tv to respond to a call. Sometimes it’s a nuisance to take all those course necessary to continue as an active firefighter. “But when you know you’re doing it to help someone else, and you’re doing it to keep Highlands as great as it is, then, it doesn’t seem bad at all,” the Chief said, adding, “Hey this is Highlands. It’s home.”
For further information contact Highlandsfiredepartment.com. Contact the Chief and see the variety of ways you could aid not only the volunteer fire department but the local First Aid Squad as well, made up of so many other Highlands residents who take particular pride in their community and want to continue its excellence with their help.
They are used at weddings and funerals, in war to frighten the enemy and to welcome home returning soldiers to celebrate a victory. They are most associated with Scotland and Ireland.
But the truth is, bagpipes have been documented for at least 1,000 years and it is likely they are even older than that.
The evidence suggests that they originated in either what is now Turkey or Egypt. However, some interpretations document mentions of the pipes in the first century by Aristophanes, a Greek playwright who talked of the pipers that came from Thebes. From there, bagpipes are known to be from India to Spain, and throughout the British Isles.
Scotland
In Scotland it’s said in the 14th century, every town would hire its own bagpiper, with wealthy families taxed to provide the honor for the pipers who would play in the churches. Chaucer wrote about “A bagpipe well couth he blowe and sown.”
Today, while the Scots are best known for the pipes, and Scotland the Brave is one of the most popular tunes played, there are more pipes in New Zealand, also renowned for its pipe bands, than there are in Scotland or Ireland.
The Pipes
There are only nine notes on the bagpipe, and the pipes themselves were originally animal skins, first pig skins, later generally sheep or goat skins. The dead animal carcass would be cleaned and turned inside out.
Later, some pipes were made with hollow stalks or bamboo and today, for convenience and ease, many are now plastic, metal or synthetic leather.
Military Use
Used in war, it is believed pipes could be heard as far distant as ten miles, frightful to the enemy; Many military officers believe the shrill sounds of the pipes scares the enemy and gives them an added advantage. That practice is believed to have started at the Battle of Culloden in Scotland and lead eventually to lines of pipers coming in with the troops. It is said that the Highland Regiment would not go into battle with accompanying music being properly piped as they marched. Pipers did accompany Celtic troops in both World War I and WWII.
England
In England, the late Queen Elizabeth was said to love bagpipes, and rumor has it that she preferred to be awakened by a bagpipe band playing beneath her window for a quarter of an hour rather than a simple alarm clock . And at her request, the Francesco Sultana played for the Queen at the Commonweatlh Heads of State Summit using a goat skin bag.
Scotland the Brave
Scotland, the land most known for pipes and its Scotland the Brave tune, also officially named bagpipes at one time as an instrument of war. That was in 1746 under the Act of Proscription after the Jacobite Uprising of 1745 at the Battle of Culloden.
That has been described as Scotland’s last battle for independence when the Highland Clans were fighting the forces of British imperialists led by Bonnie Prince Charlie attempting to take over their country.
Others believe it was a battle to restore the Starts to the British Throne and bring Catholicism back to England.
When the Jacobites were soundly beaten and were taken prisoner, one of them, in attempting to free himself from imprisonment, argued he was not a soldier, but a bagpiper. Hence, the instrument was then identified as an instrument of war. The ’bagpiper,” James Reid, was hung, drawn and quartered.
United States
Currently there are two official pipe bands attached to the armed forces in the United States: the U.S. Air Force Reserve Pipe Band and the U.S. Coast Guard Pipe Band. The Great Highland Bagpipe has become a fixture of military tradition here in this country as well
Derek Midgley
Bagpiper Derek Midgley agrees. The Great Highland Bagpipe is the most readily recognizable of all the different forms of pipes, he said.
He also points out that bagpipes range in price from $%1,200 to $1,600, but he believes the difference in price is really based on aesthetics. “There is really no difference in quality in the wood used, relative to brands. it’s more if you want imitation ivory, vs nickel, vs silver, vs engraved silver as decoration.” As instruments go he said, “I think its relatively inexpensive. But that’s also just the wood (pipes). you need to purchase for a few more hundred and replace every so often, the bag, reeds, bag cover, other various items to make it function proper.”
Since the Civil War, when the first Congressional Medals of Honor were presented to recipients, there have been 3534 Medals of Honor presented to 3515 military members. Nineteen heroes received the highest military Medal ever presented for their heroism in two different actions, receiving two Medals of Honor.
Of the total given, there are currently 64 living recipients of the Medal of Honor.
A Woman Recipient
There has only been one Medal of Honor presented to a woman, and that one was rescinded 52 years later because she was not a member of the military. However, the Medal was then again awarded and her honor restored in 1977 when the President of the United States determined her military actions, in spite of not been officially in the military, were deserving of the highest honor, keeping Dr. Mary Walker as the only woman to receive the Medal of Honor.
Members of the armed forces are not thinking of medals, honors, or their treatment back home when on the battlefield doing what they think is right and necessary, making instant decisions and taking brave actions, some at the cost of their lives.
Nor are the Medals decided or presented easily and without absolute proof and sworn statements by witnesses. Indeed, the process to determine recipients is difficult, complex and well established so all recipients are held to the same high standards.
Criteria
The current criteria for the standards that prove a recipient has gone beyond the call of duty were established in 1963 during the Vietnam War.
Said simply, the Medal is authorized for a military service member who “distinguishes himself conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty either while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States; engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force; or while serving with friendly foreign forces engaged in an armed conflict against an opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party.”
The Process
Military members must be recommended for the Medal, and that is not a simple process either. The recommendations must include thorough reports of the specific action including the battlefield and its setting. The act itself must have been explained by at least two sworn eyewitness statements, and if possible, any other compelling evidence that can be gathered must also be included. Those recommendation packets for the Medal of Honor must then be approved all the way up the military command structure before getting the approval of the President of the United States President the Commander-in-Chief of the nation’s forces.
All recommendations must be submitted, according to law, within three years of the action being sited, and the Medal must be presented within five years, unless an Act of Congress waives the time limits.
Changes
While the current standards for the Medal itself were set during the Vietnam War, there were other changes between the Civil War and then as well. Both the Army and the Navy have always had separate designs for the Medal for recipients in their branches of service, and the Air Force introduced its own design in 1965. Prior to that, Air Force or Army Air Corps recipients received the US Army Medal design. The U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Coast Guard receive the U.S. Navy design.
The Navy actually has two designs for its Medal of Honor, the second known as the “Tiffany Cross.” The Navy introduced that design in 1919 to be bestowed on Naval personnel whose actions took place during armed conflict while individuals whose actions did not take place during combat received the original star design. However, the two-design for one branch of service created confusion, so the Tiffany Cross has not been used very often.
Originally, the Medal of Honor was worn on the lapel. Today, the Medal of Honor is the only military medal that can be hung around the neck.
Congressional Medal of Honor Society
In 1958, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society was chartered by the US Congress and all of its members are the living Medal of Honor recipients. The Society has its museum and information aboard the USS Yorktown at Patriots Point, South Carolina.
Congress also established March 25 as National Medal of Honor Day with the purposes of fostering public appreciation and recognition of Medal of Honor Recipients.
But those 66 living recipients do not spend the day in celebration or fanfare. Instead, they choose to honor all those who have received the Medal since the Civil War as their way of reinforcing their own feelings on what the day means to them, the living recipients.
For the living recipients, It is a day these heroes honor the sacrifices of all who served alongside them as well as those who came before them in battle.
On March 25, the living Medal of Honor recipients lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery honoring “the unknowns.” Each of the ‘unknowns’ buried at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a Medal of Honor Recipient..
NEXT: Learn more about one of the New Jersey recipients
Both the borough’s Land Use Attorney and the representatives of Bridge City Collective requested that their scheduled hearings before the Land Use Board set for last night be cancelled.
Board secretary Nancy Tran said as a result, the meeting scheduled for 7 p.m. last night was carried until its next meeting on Feb. 9. With no other business scheduled to come before it last night, the meeting was cancelled at 3:03, just short of four hours before the meeting.
Tran also noted in announcing the applications are continued until Feb. 9 that there will be no further notice for the rescheduled applications.
Bridge City Collective LLC
The application from Bridge City Collective LLC is for a minor site plan and conditional use approval for the company seeking to open a cannabis retail store at 132 Bay Ave, the two story building with apartments above on the corner of Cornall St. and Bay Avenue. Bridge City Collection Highlands, whose address is Pittsfield, Massachusetts, but with a Highlands zip code on the application, is represented by attorney Brian Tipton. The application includes the conditional retail business approval for the 132 Bay Avenue address granted by the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission which expires March 31.
Borough Property
The application from the borough of Highlands was for bulk variance for a major subdivision of Block 101, Lot 3, to divide the property into four lots, one of which the borough plans on retaining for future decision, and the other three to offer to adjacent property owners on Matthew St. where one of the three encroaches on the borough-owned land. The borough acquired the land last year on the owner’s failure to pay taxes. Prior to that the owner, Navesink Park Taxpayers Association had leased the land with the encroachment to the borough for ten years. That lease expired in 2021.
Also on the agenda for last night was the reorganization of the board, action which will also presumably be taken at the Feb. 9 meeting
