To Our Readers,
It really is all about community, and a bit about the weather.
So many positive things are happening and the entrée of Spring today is just one of them! I’ve got my eye out for those oh-so-welcome purple, pink and white Crocus and those perky yellow and white Daffodils, as are the many members of garden clubs in this area.
Even some of the multitude of pesky, tire-popping potholes are starting to disappear thanks to the hardworking municipal, county and state public workers, who didn’t exactly have an easy Old Man Winter.
St. Pat’s Day has seemed like a month-long adventure this year and I’m not complaining. I had the pleasure of marching in the sun-touched Rumson St. Pat’s Parade two weeks ago with staff from The Two River Times along with the dogs, horses and most wonderfully, the children. One of the more moving moments of the parade was the Hudson County Pipe and Drum Corps rendition of “Amazing Grace” back at the Rumson Fire Company in honor of the founder of that parade, Mike Larkin, who passed away unexpectedly at the end of last year. It was one of the more moving pipers’ tributes I have ever heard, and being a Shaughnessy, believe me; I’ve heard a few. And I look forward to hearing them again when we drive, not march this time, in the Highlands parade tomorrow. My brother Bill played the pipes and when I mentioned to one of the corps that I had never heard anything like it, I realized he was teary eyed himself. It was a moment.
Then there’s Mater Dei Prep’s team effort to save the school. And it’s got wonderful momentum. The fundraising dinner will be Saturday at the Shore Casino. With 22 days to go, they have managed to raise $769,000 of the million-dollar mandate. And they’ve received 412 pledges totaling $1.1 million.
It looks as though The Save the Seraphs is going to make it after all.
Finally, everyone came together and took the first steps to correct pedestrian and cyclist safety in Red Bank as promised by the task force assembled by The Two River Times. The borough council has passed two resolutions to move safety forward. They have requested the county put in place an “all red phase” traffic signal for pedestrians and cyclists at the Broad and West Front Street intersection. That resolution has been forwarded to the county who is considering it and Freeholder Thomas Arnone is advancing the issue. The second resolution calls for the state to lower the speed limit on Route 35 as it traverses through Red Bank and Sen. Jennifer Beck has supported that suggestion and has promised to help advance safety ideas as they pertain to state roadways. It’s going to take quite an effort since she has to get the borough into a suspended state program, but she’s trying.
It’s been a good week or two. Why? Because it’s always lovely to see a community come together: the parades, the fundraisers, the concern for each other’s safety.
That is what the Two River area is all about, isn’t it? We think so and we’re listening.
Let’s Have Coffee.
Jody Calendar
jcalendar@tworivertimes.com
732-219-5788
