Tickets for the event are available to all interested persons and are offered at $130 for members of the Council and $140 for non-members. Ticket price includes bus transportation, admission, guided tours, and a boxed sandwich lunch.
The motor coach will leave from 54 First Avenue, Atlantic Highlands at 9 a.m. and return approximately 5 p.m.
The Museum is showcasing the art of Andrew Wyeth and Jamie Wyeth, and includes landscapes, portraits and illustrations as well as works by other artists. . A special exhibit spotlights Frank Stewart, a staff photographer for Jazz at Lincoln Center who captured performances and candid moments of jazz legends Miles Davis, Wynton Marsalis and others.
The trip will also include a visit to Andrew Wyeth’s studio displaying his art materials and furnishings.
Payment and reservations must be made no later than July 15 for the trip which is planned regardless of rain or shine. For further information, visit
Five persons will be elected from Highlands and four from Atlantic Highlands in the Nov. 5 election to serve on the first elected board of the Prek-12 regional school district which was approved by the voters last September.
An interim board, comprised of members of the former three boards of education now included in the single district, has been serving since the district became official July 1. Their terms expire in January 2025, when the winners in the November 2024 election of the first elected nine-member board take office.
Qualified candidates for the board must file a nominating petition and meet the following qualifications: a citizen of the United States of America, at least 18 years of age, able to read and write, a resident and registered voter in the borough for at least one year preceding the date of the election; not disqualified as a voter pursuant to N.J.S.A. 19:4-1 and not convicted of a disqualifying crime pursuant to N.J.S.A.18A:12-1. Nor can any candidate be directly or indirectly involved in any contract with, or claim against, the board.
In Atlantic Highlands there will be two three-year terms, one two-year term and one one year term up for election; in Highlands, there will be one three-year term, two two-year terms, and two one year terms to be decided.
With Atlantic Highlands and Highlands the only two constituent districts of Henry Hudson Regional, the seats will be allocated alphabetically with the terms each candidate is seeing noted. Voters can only vote for candidates representing the town in which they live.
In filing the petition to be included on the ballot, candidates must fill out the appropriate box on the form indicating the length of term they are seeking as well as the town they represent. The ballot will reflect the years of the term they are seeking.
Board administrator Janet Sherlock has indicated that persons with any questions on filling out a petition should call the Monmouth County Clerk’s Office in Freehold where an employee will walk them through the process.
The Election Division will also review all the forms they receive and reach out to any if they have questions on the information provided, the administrator said.
The county election division office is located at 300 Halls Mill Rd., Freehold and is open Mondays through Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For contact information, call 732-431-7700.
The petition for filling out and signatures for signers of petitions is available on the website for the Henry Hudson Regional Board of Education.
Actually, the very popular Swim Meet that will be held Saturday, July 13 in Sea Bright is named for two former mayors of the borough.
Andy Manning was mayor of the borough in 1988 when the first Sea Bright Mile Swim was held as a means of bringing the community together and taking advantage of the borough’s oceanfront location. Manning was only mayor for a year, and was succeeded by Charles Rooney, who served as mayor for the next ten years.
Rooney, an avid swimmer, designed a course to ensure more participants, with a bus taking them to starting and ending points depending on the current so swimmers did not have to swim against the more difficult challenge. He kept the annual swim tradition, expanding it and including both a one mile and two-mile swim.
After Mayor Rooney’s death in 1999, the swim meet faltered a bit, until Rooney’s son, Charlie, then a councilman in Sea Bright, spearheaded a move to keep the annual race a popular event. It was suggested that the name be changed to the Andy Rooney Meet to honor both former mayors and it has remained that ever since. Rooney is general chair of the Swim Meet and also swims in the competition.
Awards are given in the meet to the top five males and top five females in the one mile and two-mile swims, excluding wet-suit wearers. Wet-suit wearers will be in a separate division with awards for the top three overall male and female swimmers.
Registrations must be made online with no paper copy registrations available. Credit cards are accepted. Those who register the day of the event must do it by cellphone before arriving so they can receive an instant email with a chip number which can be picked up upon arrival.
Registration is from 6:45 a.m. until 7:15 a.m. with the first race, the two-mile swim, getting off at 7:30 a.m. The mile swim will start at 8:15 a.m.
Both swims will start on the south end of the public beach and end in front of Donovan’s. Sea Bright lifeguards will be stationed along the route in the water. Anyone needing assistance, should raise their hands and wave to attract their attention.
Competition is limited to 200 registrants, with the first 125 registered swimmers receiving the event tee shirt.
Three military academy appointments and three ROTC scholarships were presented to graduates of MAST, the Marine Academy of Science and Technology at their graduation ceremonies June 19 on Pershing Field at Fort Hancock. Some having to make choices of which they wanted to accept.
Jasper Malles of Red Bank, declined his Navy ROTC scholarship to accept an appointment to the US Air Force Academy and Sam Puleio of Middletown declined his appointment to the Naval Academy in addition to another Navy ROTC scholarship in order to accept his appointment to the US Coast Guard Academy at New London, Connecticut.
Gerald Flynn of Tinton Falls accepted his appointment to the US Merchant Marine Academy in New York.
Ananya Vuppala of Morganville accepted an Air Force ROTC scholarship to Yale University where she is enrolled in the Space Force program.
Jack Arhanic of Fair Haven accepted his Navy ROTC scholarship to Embry Riddle in Florida, Sofia Bracker of Little Silver, her Army ROTC scholarship to Penn State, and Noah Cuttrell of Middletown, his Army ROTC Scholarship to TCNJ.
Calvin Stern of Middletown accepted his Navy ROTC scholarship to Cornell University, and Brandon Weiss of Oceanport, who declined a Navy scholarship, is going to the University of Miami on the Army ROTC scholarship he also was awarded.
Mae Woolley of Red Bank also accepted an Army ROTC scholarship, hers to Harvard, rather than the Navy ROTC scholarship also received.
Another student in the graduating class also received a Navy ROTC scholarship to Cornell University but opted instead to attend the same University on another scholarship. He also received.
Of the 61 graduates, 60 are going on to four-year colleges and one is working towards a position in the National Hockey League by playing hockey at the Junior Level.
With more than $15 million in scholarships awarded to the 61 graduates of MAST, the Marine Academy of Science and Technology this year, it appears that perhaps their biggest problem was in deciding which of the many colleges they were offered, in many cases, more than one, they would choose for higher education.
No fewer than 56 of the graduating seniors received merit-based scholarships, which averages out to more than $257,000, or a quarter of a million dollars for each MAST graduate this year. Scholarships were awarded to more than 75 different colleges and universities throughout the United States.
The four year scholarships and military academy acceptances are in addition to the numerous other scholarships MAST students have received throughout the year and at graduation from numerous groups including the Daughters and Sons of the Revolution, the Ladies clubs, Rotary, Lions club , historical societies, and so many other local institutions that recognize the high standards these students have achieved.
Officials representing each of the branches of military were present at the graduation to make their award announcements and presentations to those accepting the military ROTC scholarships and military academy appointments. Each of the awardees is a member of the National Honor Society, the Spanish Honore Society or both and many also earned the Seal of Biliteracy.
To addition to three 2024 MAST graduates going to three military academies, where they will join with MAST graduates from the past three years and another three going to other universities on military scholarships, MAST students received scholarships to such diverse universities as Stevens Institute of Technology, Gettysburg College, Seton Hall and Catholic universities, the College of Charleston, Stockton, , Xavier, Rutgers, Villanova, Muhlenberg, Florida Institute of Technology, Dickinson, East Stroudsburg and Michigan Tech.
Students also earned scholarship to the Universities of Miami, Massachusetts at Amherst, Delaware, Rhode Island, Scranton, Molloy, Tennessee, West Virginia, Pittsburgh, New England, New Haven, Montclair, Widner, Fordham, Vermont, Drew, Drexel, Quinnipiac, Monmouth, Villanova, Michigan, George Washington, Georgian Court, Delaware, Rowan, Minnesota, Case Western Reserve, Temple, Scranton, Roger Williams, Northeastern, Bentley, Syracuse Embry-Riddle Aeronautical, South Carolina, Marine Maritime, DePaul, Pace, and Louisiana State.
Still more scholarships earned by MAST graduates were to High Point, RIT, Florida Southern University, William Patterson, University of Miami, West Chester, Molloy, Rensselaer Polytechnic, Nazareth College, Bentley,, Rose Humans Institute of Technology and Johnson and Wale.
Uglyography Whether you’re a voracious reader, a lexicographer, creative hobbyist, or just want to get out of the heat, the Atlantic Highlands Library certainly offers so much for everyone.
Branch Librarian Lauren Garcia, who also serves in her dual capacity as children’s librarian, heads a team at this branch of the Monmouth County Library System who like to try new and different things. Lauren also thinks far into the future and is already planning new and popular former programs for children and adults in the fall as well.
But for now, tomorrow, July 10, a team from the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office will be at the library at 3 p.m. to talk about bike safety. Kids from kindergarten on up and those adults who cycle but want refreshers on safety are all invited for an interesting program on what to do and not do while on a bike to ensure safety.
Then Monday afternoon, July 15, at 1 p.m. there’s a great program especially geared to senior citizens but one everyone can learn tips from. Chris Call of Matawan, who is a retired solutions architect whose specialty is cyber security, will give some tips on how to avoid being taken in by scams and things that sound too good to be true…since most of them are.
Call will have a great power point presentation along with some handouts and touch on such areas as how to recognize a caller, say from your bank or credit card company, is really a scammer. He’ll also have tips on contacts you should make before releasing information or funds, and how to avoid pitfalls. The program is at 1 p.m. and all are invited.’ Call will definitely warn you “Don’t Fall for it!”
Next Thursday, July 18, at 7 p.m., all the Stephen King fans are invited to be at the library to talk about their favorite author, and discuss “The Shining”, one of his best sellers, as the library begins the first of a monthly series of Stephen King Book Club meetings. You’re invited to attend even if you haven’t read a single one of his books. You might be enticed to try one.
As far as the lexicography goes, every day Lauren has a new word up, most of which you’ve probably never heard before, and it’s up to you to test your brain, tear the word apart, or simply take a wild guess as to what it means. Today’s word is Uglyography …and she isn’t talking about the new musical release.
Just a hint as to what’s coming in September, if you’re creative, keep September 5 available for the youngsters. With the donation of some pretty spectacular driftwood, Lauren is staging Treasures from the Seashore and inviting youngsters from Kindergarten up to scour the beach this summer for seashell finds or other oddities on the beach.
During the September 5 program, they’ll be able to be creative with their finds and the driftwood to make mobiles, decorations, keepsakes and more to ensure their summer fun can be remembered even when the snow falls and temperatures drop.
The library, l located in Borough Hall, is open Mondays from 10 a.m. to 6 p..m., Tuesdays 9 to 4, Wednesdays, 9 to 5, Thursdays, 1 to 9, Fridays 1 to 5 and Saturdays, 9 to 1 p.m.
PRAYERS ON THE PORCH will be at the Gluckstein home at 60 Ocean blvd., Atlantic Highlands, at 6:30 p.m. this evening, July 9. All are invited from all faiths to share a half hour of friendship, camaraderie and prayers for our families, friends, towns and our nation.
Music on the Porch with Shot Gun Bill Anala and Kevin Liebkemann will be featured at a celebration at Camp Happiness Wednesday, July 10, honoring the 95th anniversary of the non-profit agency geared to offer services for the blind and visually impaired.
The public is invited to bring their lawn chairs and join the celebration featuring Camp Happiness members and enjoy ice cream and beverages from Middletown Meltdown ice cream truck. Face painting, blindfolded cornhole and a historic picture display will also be featured at the event.
Those who volunteer at Camp Happiness or have a family member who ever attended the waterfront facility are urged to attend and share their stories of how this popular summer resort impacted their families and created happy memories.
Camp Happiness has been offering free services to blind and visually impaired individuals in the community for the last 95 years. Board President Pilar Curvy emphasized the significance of the work as ” the only organization providing these services not just for the blind and visually impaired, but to their families and caregivers as well.” The organization does not receive any financial support from the state and relies entirely on the generosity of the community.
Four blind men established the NJ Blind Men’s Club in 1910. With the backing of two philanthropists from West Orange in 1929, these individuals established a groundbreaking initiative that enabled visually impaired men to acquire essential skills for independent living.
A residence was constructed on the banks of Sandy Hook Bay in Leonardo, providing the occupants with the opportunity to also engage in fishing, swimming, boating and communal gatherings. The men designate the program as “Camp Happiness” as it provided them with a brief respite from their blindness. Impressed by their work, Helen Keller sent an autographed picture and personally visited the camp in 1929 to present a letter commending their excellent work.
Today at Camp Happiness, blind and visually impaired members receive understanding and caring support to assist them in navigating their vision loss. They also benefit from free services, creative programming, educational forums, health and wellness, celebratory events, trips to concerts, restaurants, plays, and other places of interest. Members are also presented with volunteer opportunities to give back to their community.
Camp Happiness is a program of New Jersey Blind Citizens Association, Inc. and is located at 18 Burlington Avenue in Leonardo. It also serves the community on a statewide level with free advocacy, resources, and referral services.
For more information or donate, call 732-291-0878 or visit the website at www.njbca.org.
After telling the audience she decided she wanted to go to MASTwhen she was in second grade, Marine Academy of Science and Technology graduate Abby Hesterhagen said receiving her diploma last month after “ 720 days of school, 56 boat trips, 50 b-schedules, and three previous graduations,” she and her Class of 2024” have made it “to our last time together on Pershing Field.”
Hesterhagen, the daughter of Richard and Megan Hesterhagen of Atlantic Highlands was treasurer of the senior class and gave the closing remarks at the MAST graduation on Pershing Field at Fort Hancock, where she and every other student has marched, drilled, and paraded throughout their years at MAST as members of the NJROTC.
A class officer for all four years at MAST, Hesterhagen also received recognition as Battalion Training Officer for NJROTC and presented the colors at the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial in Holmdel at the final Pass in Review.
In addition to NJROTC, a heavy scholastic workload and her extracurricular activities, Hesterhagen is also a lector at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in Highlands and active in her parish.
Now, she told her fellow graduates, “I can’t believe that I am thinking about and especially talking about what happens next as we continue our journeys beyond graduating high school. “
It hasn’t always been easy, she explained to parents, friends, MAST faculty, military guest and school and county officials. “We have been through so much together, from starting freshman year on google meets, looking forward to when we could actually be here on Sandy Hook twice a week, to being outside and on the boat in every type of weather imaginable (with minimal seasickness), getting hypnotized in 77, and signing the anchor together this year. “
It has been an incredible and one of a kind experience for her for those four years, she said. all wanting her to say “ I don’t want to graduate yet.”
However, she pointed out to herself as much as her classmates sitting behind her while she spoke, “these experiences leave us well prepared for a better and more exciting path for the future than we could have paved anywhere else. “
The 60 people behind me right now, she told the group “are the smartest, kindest, and most driven people I know. Our class is now made of researchers, military officers, scientists, engineers, doctors, and more—people that can and will change the world. “People that can change the world because of combined passion and skill; what we have learned during our time at MAST being the strongest force in guiding us to discover and pursue what we love.”
Hesterhagen gives credit to the faculty and other employees at the high school on Sandy Hook. “The people at MAST are truly special. Because of whom we are, being around each other, surrounded by intelligent, compassionate, and dedicated students and teachers every day, our future is bright. We are set up for high levels of success not only because of the incredible opportunities and education we have had at MAST, but because I see everyone around me constantly pushing each other to be the best we can be. “
It’s this encouragement that transforms the drive we needed to get into MAST and takes it to a whole other level as we carry this quality that only MASTies have to college and to create our own successes in our careers and lives. “
The senior, who is a native of Atlantic Highlands, but attended four different elementary schools before starting her freshman year at MAST, pointed out each of the graduates has his own clear, paved path diverging into each graduate’s off-road trails, only wide enough for one person each.. She attended Mother Teresa Regional School from preschool until fourth grade when the parochial school closed and she went to St. Mary’s in New Monmouth for fifth grade and Atlantic highlands Elementary for sixth grade then her final two elementary school years at Henry Hudson.
Determined, practical, effervescent and hardworking, the graduate told her classmates that each graduate’s path involves his own definition of success.
For her, she said, success is finding “something that makes you happy, something that makes you feel fulfilled no matter what other people may feel. It is being able to wake up each day being happy to be wherever you are and looking forward to whatever you are going to do. Success is achieving your own goals and gaining satisfaction for the hard work you have put in. Only we can truly define what success in our lives actually is. “
Success will be far ranging, she continued, and for some will include conducting groundbreaking research, creating innovative designs, or helping hundreds or even thousands of people in need. But there is also success in “meeting incredible friends, being able to pursue hobbies we are passionate about, or spending time in our favorite places.”
As MAST, Hesterhagen continued, “we have gained the tools that will allow us to pursue what we feel success in our lives is, and I firmly believe that our class will continue to carry on MAST’s legacy of success and excellence with the preparation that we have for our separate journeys.
With a bit of melancholy, the graduate concluded “these past four years will always be a part of us. We can all look back on our time in high school and smile, passing stories on to future generations showing how truly amazing MAST is. “Then drawing laughs from the crowd, she added, “ everyone I tell that I go fishing on the boat during school thinks so”
The MAST graduating Class of 2024, according to this member of the class, “cares about each other and our larger community and values pursuit of our biggest goals. We aspire to do our parts in making the world around us better, no matter how we each contribute to doing so. Our time at MAST has shaped all of us into the people we are today, and as we continue on our 61 paths, they will somehow cross over each other, as we reconnect as we pursue our definitions of success.”
The graduate is leaving MAST armed with more than the friends and education she gathered there. Asst the graduation ceremony, she was honored with the Capstone Award for Best Lab Research Practices in Marine Research. Earlier in the week, she was selected Outstanding Senior for Exceptional Leadership and School Involvement, an award presented by Congressman Frank Palone, as well as the Brian D. McAndrew Student Achiever Award, National Merit Scholarship Letter of Commendation, Sustainable Societies Award, Oceanography Award, and the Seal of Biliteracy in Spanish.
In September, she will bring her talents, background and eagerness to always learn to the Florida Institute of Technology where she is double majoring in marine biology and psychology. It comes as no surprise to anyone she received a $24,000 merit scholarship for each of her four years there, where she is enrolled in the honors college.
It was a group of women from the Atlantic Highlands Yacht Club who thought they could and wanted to do more to help others rather than just compete in the club’s popular Wednesday night sailboat races for their own fun and recreation. Ms. Race
And so the Ms. Race was born.
That was 20 years, and this year’s event on Aug. 17 is expected to draw larger crowds, more contestants, and for the women, best of all, another year of record-breaking donations to 180 Turning Lives Around.
Officially, the MS race is a charity sailboat race hosted by the Atlantic Highlands Yacht Club where all competitors, skippers and crews alike, must be female.
In short, the non-profit empowers survivors and families affected by domestic violence and sexual assault to find the courage and strength to turn their lives around.
As a non-profit organization, 180 Turning Lives Around,180 receives some financial support from government and civic agencies and foundations, but also depends on faith-based organizations, corporations, foundations and thoughtful and concerned women like the Yacht Club members who admire their work and have made their organization because of its dedication the recipient of funds they are able to raise from all sources.
Every woman who participates in the MS Race contributes to 180 Turning Lives Around, as do many others who follow the sailing schedules and activities of the Yacht Club.
This year’s race is anticipated to be as record breaking as the last three. Each year, donations to 180 Turning Lives Round have been higher than the year previous and countless women and families across the Monmouth County area has been the recipients of much needed care and attention because of that.
The MS Race also honors women who have bene driving forces in their own fields. Last year, the race was held commemorating MS Race supporter and co-chair, Eileen Campbell. Campbell lost her prolonged battle with cancer earlier in the year. Theme of the race, Women Wind Warriors, celebrated women’s strength and resilience sailing with the wind.
Due to popular demand, the Vincent T. Lombardi Columbiettes #6552 are bringing Elvis back to the Charles J. Hesse Parish Center on Saturday, July 13.
The event, which will assist the auxiliary unit that aides the Rev. Joseph Donnelly Council of the Knights of Columbus, will also include a buffet dinner hosted by Taliercio’s Gourmet Deli.
Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. with dinner being served at 7 p.m., and music, singalongs, and stories of Elvis Presley will continue throughout the evening.
Tickets, which are $40 per person, include the entertainment, dinner, dessert and soft beverages. Guests are invited to bring their own libations as well.
Further information is available by calling 732-397-5601 or e-mailing columbiettelou@aolcom
Checks can be made payable to Vincent T. Lombardi Columbiettes #6552 and mailed to 94 Asbury Avenue, Atlantic Highlands NJ 07716.
