Central Jersey Daily Rundown, Wednesday, Jan. 16
Winter art classes
Registration for winter art and sculpture classes for all ages at Farmstead Arts, 450 King George Road, Basking Ridge section of Bernards, is now open. Four-, six- or eight-week classes begin the week of Feb. 5. To sign up for classes, visit farmsteadarts.eventbrite.com. For information, call 908-636-7576 Mondays through Wednesdays, or email admin@farmsteadarts.org. Classes are scheduled throughout the day Tuesday through Saturday. Further information and class fees are available at farmsteadartscenter.org. Class fees include all materials.
Franklin Park man gets six-year prison term
Thomas C. Smith, 46, of Franklin Park, has been sentenced to six years in state prison after pleading guilty to possessing cocaine, according to Hunterdon County Prosecutor Anthony P. Kearns III. Kearns said Smith was arrested on August 23 on charges resulting from a motor vehicle stop conducted by the New Jersey State Police, Perryville Station. Smith was found to possess a significant amount of cocaine. On Sept. 11, Smith pleaded guilty to possession of a CDS with the intent to distribute, a second-degree crime, and on Jan. 11 he was sentenced by the Superior Court Judge Angela F. Borkowski. Kearns commended the New Jersey State Police for their continued effort to deter the flow of drugs into Hunterdon County.
2 women injured in Linden crash
At about 11:25 a.m. Sunday, a 2018 BMW X2 traveling north on Park Ave collided with a 2017 Nissan Sentra traveling south as the vehicles were crossing the Park Ave Bridge. The driver of the Nissan, a 58-year-old woman from Elizabeth, was taken to University Hospital in Newark with serious injuries. She remains in critical condition.The driver of the BMW, a 20-year-old Linden woman, suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was also taken to University Hospital. The crash remains under investigation by the Linden Police Traffic Bureau, and anyone with information is asked to contact Investigator Jimmy Solano at 908-474-8505.
Linden municipal garage damaged by fire
At about 4 p.m. Jan. 13, police and fire units responded to the Linden Municipal Garage, 1902 Lower Road, for a report of a fire. Linden Fire Department was able to bring the 2-alarm blaze under control, with assistance from Elizabeth, Rahway, Cranford and Roselle Park Fire Departments. Crews from Roselle and Garwood Fire Departments provided station coverage during the incident. The building sustained minor damage. The cause of the fire remains under investigation, however, criminal activity is not suspected, police said..
Allstate Foundation Helping Hands grants
Allstate New Jersey agency owners recently joined Allstate volunteers across 15 states to secure Allstate Foundation Helping Hands grants to benefit 35 nonprofit organizations, including a $13,000 grant for Safe + Sound Somerset. The nonprofit will use the funding on programs to support domestic violence survivors. Allstate New Jersey agents collected toys from local community members for children of domestic violence survivors served by Safe + Sound Somerset. The supply drive was part of a multi-state effort of The Allstate Foundation benefiting 35 participating domestic violence nonprofits in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia. The volunteer efforts raised $340,000 in grants for the nonprofits. Participating Allstate New Jersey agency owner volunteers include: Thomas Baumann, Bridgewater; Shawn Burke, East Brunswick; Wayne Douglas, Piscataway; Nelson Espeland, Scotch Plains; Greg Gravalis, Branchburg; William Madden, Berkeley Heights; Ejona Qormemeti, Metuchen; Raina Rauf, Monroe Township; Ed Schon, Bridgewater and Chetan Wattamwar, Somerset section of Franklin Township.Visit AllstateFoundation.org.
Matheny welcomes new board leadership
William A. Krais was recently elected as chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Matheny School and Hospital, Inc. in Peapack. Patrick Scaglione was elected vice chairman of the Board of Trustees. The newest board members to join Matheny are: Kim Caniano, Ellen Lambert, Albert Mezzaroba, Esq., and Alan Turovlin. Other members at large include: Kenneth Alter; Vincent Barba, MD; Thomas Belding; Peter M. Holloway; Daniel F. McLaughlin; Maddalena Minardi; August D. Pellegrini, Jr., DDS; Kathy Sisto; David Szott; and Lawrence R. Thornton. Visit www.matheny.org.
State enacts new requirements
As of Tuesday, Jan. 1, the New Jersey Administrative Code requires owners of single-, two-family and multi-family dwellings that were constructed prior to the state’s adoption of the Uniform Construction Code Act of 1975 to install 10-year, sealed battery smoke alarms. This code change affects residences built before 1977, which were not required to install hardwired alarms at the time of construction. Since 1977, hardwired alarms have been required in all new housing. Any older homes that have proactively installed hardwired alarms are exempt from the 10-year requirement. Visit www.nj.gov/dca/divisions/dfs/codes/, www.firstalert.com.
Applebee's locations raise more than $238K
Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill + Bar restaurants owned and operated by Doherty Enterprises, a local Applebee’s franchisee which has locations in New Jersey, announced a donation of $238,496.00 to The Marine Toys for Tots Foundation and its annual U.S. Marine Corps Toys for Tots Program. Throughout 2018, Applebee’s locations contributed to the fundraising total by hosting a number of charitable initiatives, including a Christmas in July Barbecue, Breakfast with Santa fundraisers and many more. Doherty Enterprises has been a longstanding partner of Toys for Tots, entering its 20th year of contributions in 2018. Locally, restaurants throughout New Jersey were able to contribute $114,651 to the total. For more information about Doherty Enterprises, Inc., visit www.DohertyInc.com. For more information about the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation, visit www.toysfortots.org.
Troop drops off donations
Twenty-five girls from the North Plainfield Girl Scout Troop number 65141 stopped by the Goodwill store at 955 Route 22 west in North Plainfield, to drop bags of donations on Saturday, Jan. 12. The donation drive is one of the learning activities that scouts engage and are compensated with patches for their community service. Newly-elected U.S. Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-N.J. 7th District) helped present the GoodTurn patches, which were designed by the marketing department of Goodwill NYNJ, to the girl scouts for their donations. Visit www.goodwillnynj.org.
Retiring in New Jersey
To help retirees find a safe, enjoyable and wallet-friendly place to call home, WalletHub compared the 50 states across 46 key metrics. The data set ranges from adjusted cost of living to weather to quality of public hospitals.
Retiring in New Jersey (1=Best; 25=Avg.)
- 42nd — Adjusted Cost of Living
- 33rd — Annual Cost of In-Home Services
- 42nd — WalletHub "Taxpayer" Ranking
- 45th — Elderly-Friendly Labor Market
- 28th — % of Population Aged 65 & Older
- 46th — Health-Care Facilities per Capita
For the full report, visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/best-and-worst-states-to-retire/18592/.
Thrift Shop open Wednesdays
The Thrift Shop at the Fanwood Presbyterian Church is open Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thrift Shop, run by volunteers, is at the rear of the church complex on McDermott Place. All proceeds from the sale of the gently used clothing and household items are returned to the community through non-profit groups. New and gently used clothing, household items, craft, sewing items, books and more are restocked weekly. Donations will be welcome from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesdays.
Call the church office at 908-889-8891, email fanwoodpres@gmail.com or visit www.fanwoodpc.org.
Bill Schmedes III is named Master Coach
Forsgate Country Club in Monroe Township congratulates Bill Schmedes III, Director of Instruction for the Forsgate Golf Academy and a member of the club’s Teaching Professional staff, on being recognized as a Future Champions Golf (FCG) Master Coach. This award was established in 2017 and is one of the highest honors for USA elite junior golf coaching. Schmedes previously received the Top 25 Elite Junior Golf Coach Award twice by Future Champions Golf and so became eligible for the Master Coach recognition. He joins 16 other national golf instructors in this accolade. For more information about Forsgate Country Club, visit www.forsgatecc.com or call 732-521-0070.
READ: Central Jersey Daily Rundown, Tuesday, Jan. 15
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