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Date: December 17, 2005 PRICELESS Vol. 15 Issue 3

NEXT ISSUEJAN. 21ST

• SUPERBOWL

• CATHOLICSCHOOL’SWEEK

• VALENTINE’SDAY

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Mechanicsville Hose Company took top honors for the best decorated equipment at the 4thannual Tree Lighting held in South Amboy. Pictured (l-r) Mayor John T. O’Leary,Mechansville Hose Co. member Larry Martin Jr. and his son Quinn, Mark Maslowski andAndrew Fedorka of the South Amboy First Aid. (Photo by Brian Stratton)

The Luke A. Lovely American Legion Post #62 of South Amboy Commander, Bob “Zak”Sekerak (2nd from right), and other members look on, as Marty Ziola prepares to toss acommemorative wreath into the Raritan Bay near the new South Amboy boat ramp on PearlHarbor Day, December 7th. The ceremony remembered and honored those who gave theultimate sacrifice during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. (Photo By TomBurkard)

Jack O’Leary

O’Leary, AlbertHonored By

ChamberJohn “Jack” O’Leary, owner and op-

erator of Dooling Electric Inc. of SouthAmboy since 1972, was selected SouthAmboy “Business Leader of the Year” for2005 by the Sayreville, Old Bridge andSouth Amboy Chamber of Commerce.

O’Leary, a South Amboy native was aSouth Amboy Police Officer for 36 yearsprior to his retirement. He has receivedmany awards and honors through the yearsincluding Lions Club “Policeman of theYear,” Blue Badge Award, and Veterans ofForeign Wars “Policeman of the Year.”

Jack proudly served his country in theNavy during World War II.

The Sayreville “Business Leader of theYear” for 2005 award went to John Albert,president and CEO of Progressive Mainte-nance and Real Estate Services Inc., whichhandles foreclosure clients and their proper-ties in New Jersey. Congratulations Jackand John!

Wisniewski NamedGrand Marshal

Assemblyman John S. Wisniewski wasunanimously elected to be Grand Marshal ofthe 67th Annual Pulaski Day Parade in NewYork City by the General Casimir PulaskiDay Memorial Parade Committee. It wasthe first time in recent memory that theCommittee’s selection was unanimous.

“It is an honor to be named GrandMarshal. My Polish heritage is important tome, and I look forward to being the GrandMarshal of the second oldest ethnic paradein New York City,” said AssemblymanWisniewski.

The parade will be held on Oct. 1, 2006at 12:30 p.m., and go down 5th Ave. from30th St. to 53rd St. Also marching will bethe Polish American Congress, theKosciuszko Foundation and the Polish Na-tional Alliance. Organizers expect 500,000people to attend. Congratulations, Assem-blyman Wisniewski!

Princeton U.Coming To South

AmboyPrinceton University’s School of Ar-

chitecture will send students to study theCity of South Amboy. They will providetheir knowledge in architectural design inthe city.

Mayor John T. O’Leary expects themto help with landscapes, streetscapes, andmake the city more beautiful.

The city’s partnership will be betweenPrinceton University and also a private firm,which is run by one of its professors. TheSouth Amboy Redevelopment Agency willpay $29,000 to the firm of Agrest andGandalsonas of New York City to compilean evaluation of the city’s redevelopment,both past and future. Developers will payfor the services rendered.

It’s SamselElementary School

Again!The Sayreville Board of Education

voted in a split decision to change the nameof the Sayreville Upper Elementary Schoolback to Samsel Elementary School, thename it was known as over 20 years ago.

The price tag to change the name backis $19,000 which will cover changing thesign outside the school, in addition to logosand plaques inside the building, as well asthe logos on school stationery and otheritems.

The district will most likely use moneyfrom the $3 million which remains in un-used construction costs for the school’saddition and renovations.

The school opened in 1959 as SamselElementary School. It was named for Boardof Education member B. Frank Samsel Sr.,and his daughters Catherine a teacher, andMarion, who served as district secretary.

In the early 1980’s, with enrollmentdown, the school was closed, and thenleased to Middlesex County EducationalServices Commission. The Commissionreopened the school for people with dis-abilities and called it Central Valley Acad-emy.

Sayreville school district enrollmentincreased, and in 2002, the lease was termi-nated. In 2004, the much improved, state-of-the-art school reopened with the name ofSayreville Upper Elementary School.

THESOUTH AMBOY★★★★ SAYREVILLE

Merry

Christmas

Firefighter DiesJames J. “Jimmy” Moran, 37, a very

popular South Amboy firefighter, died aftera long and courageous battle with cancer. Adedicated member of Mechanicsville HoseCo. for 19 years, he was currently the chief-driver and was also an ex-captain. He issurvived by his wife Laura Moran, son JamesJ. Jr., daughter Jaime Lee, mother and step-father Donna (Stolte) & Gary Treffinger, hisfather James Moran, brother William F.Moran, sister Sawyer Treffinger.

South Amboy On TVOur town will be on the tube for three

months in early 2006.The South Amboy Redevelopment

Agency and the City, with help from MainStreet South Amboy and the support ofDevcor, has created a television commercialthat will be shown on the top nine networksavailable thorough Cablevision.

Inviting everyone to explore the end-less possibilities, the commercial producedby MAGI Filmworks of East Orange, fea-tures people, lifestyles and projects from allaround our hometown. More than 175,000families and businesses in New Jersey andon Staten Island will learn what its like tolive, work and play in the city where theriver meets the bay.

Shot around town on one of the coldest,driest days on record, the commercial is acelebration of the qualities that make usproud to live in here. As Mayor O’Learypointed out, “So many wonderful things arehappening and so many people are helpingto make them happen. This commercial is agreat way to get more of the South Amboystory to a huge audience.”

This Issue

is Dedicated

in the Memory of

Jimmy Moran

&

Rich DeBlis

Companies WantNational Lead Site

The Sayreville Economic Redevelop-ment Agency (SERA) has narrowed thebidding field down to four companies whohave submitted proposals for redevelop-ment on the old National Lead (NL) site,located in Sayreville near the Raritan River.

Since May, when soliciting for propos-als began, (SERA) received 140 inquiries,and a few weeks ago sliced the list of pro-spective businesses to eight, which includedtwo who had plans to build minor leaguebaseball stadiums.

The final four companies chosen are:The Spector Group of North Hills, NY;LNR Property Corp. of Quincy, MA; V.Paulius and Associates of Allendale, NJ;and Forest City Enterprises of Cleveland,OH. The final decision must be made beforeApril 1, 2006.

The party that is selected will have toclean up the property, which was contami-nated when NL manufactured chemicalsused in paints for 45 years while in opera-tion. The cleanup cost is estimated at $40million.

2 December 17, 2005 South Amboy-Sayreville Times

SOUTH AMBOYSAYREVILLE TIMES

P.O. BOX 3027 • SOUTH AMBOY N.J. 08879Tel. 732-727-0398

email: [email protected] Burkard

Associate PublisherBrian Stratton

Feature WritersElaine Holton ScottVirginia Stillwagon

Teo WeberRuth Connors

Dr. Jorge L. Gonzalez-GomezPhil Rainone

Clem SkarzynskiDr. John Misiewicz

Bill McAndrewLenn Ambroziak

Steve SchmidMichael J. ElsonPoet Laureate

Albert Gomolka Jr.Opinions and comments in printed articles do not necessarily reflect

the opinion of The South Amboy-Sayreville Times, c. 1991.This newspaper will not be liable for errors appearing in the editorial

copy or advertising beyond the cost of space occupied by error.

Paul and Mary Bouchard, of South Amboy,pose for a post-card like photo in front of theLeaning Tower of Pisa in Italy during theirvacation in Oct.-Nov. on Celebrity CruiseLine Mediterranean. The Bouchards visitednine different ports.

Talk Of The TownsBy Tom Burkard

Reigle In Macy’s ParadeLocal 10-year old, Melissa Reigle audi-

tioned for and was chosen to be a dancer inthe Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Herproud mother is Jennifer Reigle and grand-mother Linda Kelly of South Amboy. Con-gratulations!In Memoriam

Fanny Smith, 85, of South Amboy diedon Nov. 14. She was friendly and kind to all,especially to a landscaper, cutting the hedgesby St. Mary’s High School about 20 yearsago in 100 degree heat. She went out of herway, just to be kind, and made the worker apitcher of homemade, cold ice tea. Thankyou, Aunt Fanny! “Bernie” Newmark 88, ofSouth Amboy died on Nov. 16. He was agreat guy, with a positive, up-beat attitude.“Bernie” was co-owner and partner ofAlbern’s Seafood in South Amboy, with hisdear friend, Al Sorrentino Sr. Albern’s wasone of the first to introduce fish and chips tothe people of South Amboy. ThomasKuberski, 87, of Sayreville died on Nov. 16.He was active in countless local civic groupsand organizations, and was well-known as adedicated, hard-working Sayreville Coun-cilman for 19 years. A World War II Armyveteran, he was a first sergeant with the 8thArmored Medical Division. Kuberski was acharter member of the Sayreville HistoricalSociety. He was also co-founder of theSayreville Vets semi-pro football team.Zofia “Sophie” Zdanowicz, 88, of SouthAmboy died on Nov. 16. She was the ownerof Z & H Pizzeria in South Amboy, and alsosold pizzas at Sayrewoods Inn and BuddiesTavern. Benito Vattelana, 73 of SouthAmboy died on Nov. 20. He was a KoreanWar veteran and medal winner. GeorgeConlon, 91, of South Amboy died on Nov.23. He was an accountant for 30 years, andafter retiring in 1981, served as a SouthAmboy Crossing Guard for 10 years. FrankWojtaszek, 74, of South Amboy died onNov. 29. He worked at DuPont for 20 yearsand retired in 1992. He was truly a goodguy. Elizabeth Thomson, 55 of South Amboydied on Dec. 4. She worked for 23 years at

Pleasant Little TriviaBy Tom Burkard

1.This auto repair business was locatedon lower David St., South Amboy in ’63?a.Johnny’s b.Terry’s Garage c.F & H AutoRepairs

2.President of the South Amboy FirstAid in 1987? a.Donald Riley Sr. b.LeeSteiner c.Thomas Hoover

3.Sayreville’s Fire Chief in ’83? a.PaulBulla b.William Fauser c.KennethRevolinsky

4.President of Laurel Park Civic Asso-ciation in 1975? a.John Slover b.MaryanneMaroski c.James McGrath

5.In 1981, he was appointed as a Spe-cial Policeman in South Amboy? a.JamesMagayver b.Leonard Maxfield c.AlbertCasey

6.The Superintendent of Parks inSayreville in ’73? a.Julian Ciecko b.JohnMcCormack c.Harold Rosenblum

7.In 1980, this printing business waslocated on MacArthur Ave. in Sayreville?a.Hilltop Printing b.Towne Printing c.SelectPrinting

8.This South Amboy sub shop was lo-cated at 132 South Pine Ave. in 1993?a.Who’s b.Jo-Tom’s c.Mag’s

9.Sayreville High’s senior class presi-dent in ’64? a.Richard Noble b.Dot Demetskic.Sharon Chevalier

10.South Amboy’s Councilman AtLarge in 1950? a.William Kurtz b.AntonWalczak c.Chester Meinzer

11.She won the award for Perseverancein Business Education at Hoffman High in’75? a.Deborah Booker b.Elaine Sawatskic.Michelle Huryk

12.President of the Morgan First AidSquad in 1977? a.Thomas M. Brownb.Daniel Malik c.George Zulin

Answers1b 2a 3b 4c 5b 6a 7b 8a 9c 10a 11c 12a.

South Amboy Arena, and was a kind-heartedand caring person, loved and admired byfamily and friends. Joseph Robe, 62, ofParlin died on Dec. 7. He was a retireddetective from the NJ State Police. MayGod Bless them all!

Handel’s Messiah-Dec. 17

Music at St. Mary’s will featureHandel’s Messiah on Sat., Dec. 17 at 7:30p.m. at St. Mary’s R.C. Church, 256 Au-gusta St. The suggested donation is $10.

Come join St. Mary’s Choral Societyand Chamber Orchestra as they present theirannual performance of George FrederickHandel’s timeless oratorio. Composed forsoloists, chorus, and orchestra. Handel takesthe listener through the life of Jesus Christ asforetold by Old Testament writings and re-alized by New Testament scripture. Underthe direction of Christopher M. Deibert,conductor, the Advent/Christmas portion ofthe work will be performed in it’s entirety,along with excerpts from the second andthird parts. Don’t miss this delightfulcandlelit concert, set in beautiful Victorian-gothic architectural surrounding.

Brian (l) and Nicholas Szkodny (r), who formerly attended St. Stanislaus Kostka School,were honored as co-Veterans of the Year at the school’s annual Veteran’s Day celebration.Nicholas and Brian are brothers who recently returned from Iraq where they were both inactive duty with the US Arny. Mrs. Samim, the principal, is pictured with the brothers as sheawards them with this honor.

South Amboy-Sayreville Times December 17, 2005 3

★ Business of the Month ★Advanced Family Dentistry

Dr. & Mrs. Jeffrey Gee are pictured during a relaxing moment.

Advanced Family Dentistry, locatedat 329 South Pine Ave., Morgan, is ownedand operated by Dr. Jeffrey A. Gee,D.D.S., who is a Columbia UniversitySchool of Dental & Oral Surgery gradu-ate. He was selected to the GeneralPractice Residency in Dentistry at St.Luke’s (Roosevelt Hospital, NYC). Af-ter completion, he entered private prac-tice.

Most recently in the July 2005 issueof New Jersey Monthly Magazine Dr.Gee was selected as one of the top den-tists for 2005 in its feature story “TopDentists 05.” The list for New Jersey’stop dentists was excerpted from “TheBest Dentists in America 2004-2005,”which includes more than 7,600 dentistsin virtually every major specialty in all50 states and the District of Columbia.The top dentists were chosen through asurvey, which began with a nominationpool consisting of dentists recommendedby the members of several major dentalorganizations and department chairmenat leading dental schools, as well as den-tists nominated in turn by those nomi-nees.

Dr. Gee, an active member in theAmerican Dental Association, and alsothe Academy of General Dentistry, hasalso made his mark in the Sayreville andthe Amboys communities. Earlier thisyear, he was presented with a NJ StatePolice award in recognition for his sup-port to Sayreville PBA Local #98, andalso received a certificate of apprecia-tion for his outstanding service and sup-port by Sayreville Mayor KennedyO’Brien.

Dr. Gee’s two-fold philosophy in-cludes providing the best and most com-prehensive dental service of which he iscapable, and he also strives to help in themaintenance of your dental health and inprevention of any future problems.

Advanced Family Dentistry offersthe finest in comprehensive cosmeticsurgery including: Tooth Whitening;Porcelain Veneers; Crowns, Bridges,Dentures; Nitrous Oxide Sedation; Im-plant Restoration; Root Canal Therapyand Invisalign.

The recently remodeled office of-fers all state-of-the-art equipment, in-cluding chair side entertainment, wherepatients can watch DVD’s while beingtreated. New patients are always wel-come, and emergency care is available.

Dr. Gee and his staff offer the high-est standards in maintaining infectioncontrol, such as strict barrier techniqueswhich are utilized during all treatments,and all instruments including dental drillsare steam/heat sterilized before use (au-toclaved).

The highly-qualified staff takes thetime in sharing concerns related to morethan just your dental care. Each teammember was selected because of theirgenuine interest in people. They wantyou to feel comfortable, and ask foranything you need, and are always therefor any questions you may have.

Office hours are: Mon. & Thurs., 11a.m. to 7 p.m.; Tues. & Wed. 9 a.m. to5:30 p.m.; Sat. 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Theoffice phone is answered 24 hours a day-Call 732-721-2424 for your appointmentat Advanced Family Dentistry.


Yearbook-Hoffman 1975By Tom Burkard

It’s hard to believe, but 30 years havepassed since Hoffman High’s great class of’75 graduated. . .”I Shot The Sheriff” by EricClapton was closing in on the top of the popcharts in September 1974 as the John Streetkids returned for their final go in high school.

John Olexa was Superintendent ofSchools, and Robert Bloodgood, principal. ..Talented faculty members included: JoanneBlackmore, Steven Chiger, Joseph Donnelly,Sonia Fedyk, Febronia Grener, Mary AnnFortier, Andrew Kriss, Linda McCorkle,Carol McDonnell, Thomas Magielnicki,George Mahoney and Michael Poll. . .

Kathy Kulcsar was yearbook editor andthe book was dedicated to Patricia VanDyk.

Linda Truelis was Senior Class Presi-dent; Peggy Hulsart-Vice-President; RobinJohnston-Secretary; Grace Hoffman-Trea-surer. . .

Some of the seniors were: JoanneAndreski, Barb Argentino, Mary Barry, JohnBoganski, James Brady, Debra Booker,Deborah Cicala, Norine Croddick, JamesMiller, Gary Dean, Karen Dragotta, MichaelDubil, Richard Erickson, Michael Egan,Lawrence Farkas, Debra Galassini, JosephGonsalves, Stephen Gray, Carol Honimar,Michael Huguenin, Margaret Hulsart,Michelle Huryk, Michael Kelly, JohnKomosinski, Joseph LaVigne, TheresaMann, Joseph Marinin, Jackie Montgom-ery, Anne Mundy, Denise Murafsky, DonaldMunn, Ellen O’Grady, Georgianna Pszolka,David Pirk, Pauline Raczkowski, Ruth Read,Susan Revere, Ricky Scarfi, Eileen Sieber,Margaret Skrynka, Ferman Stratton, CarmelTarallo, Joan Therkelsen, Shawn Switzer,Edward Wurth, Mary Verchick, DeborahYoung. . .

What was happenin’ in the world in’75? There were two attempts in 17 days bytwo women to assassinate President Ford. ..Patty Hearst was captured, surrendering atgunpoint. . .Jimmy Hoffa disappeared. ..The U.S. was reeling under inflation. ..”Jaws” was the top movie of the year,

grossing $100,000,000 in six months to seta new all-time box-office record. . .

Some of the seniors interesting nick-names were: Moose, Rosebud, Denim, Su-perstar, Daisy, Ida, Louise, Arch, Greek,Hayseed, Chick, Hammer, Garter, Ginny,The Dude, Crazy Jim, Butch. . .

A few of the most popular clubs atHoffman High were the Pep Club; CeramicsClub; Future Teachers Club. . .

Hoffman’s baseball team under CoachDave Inman turned in a fine (16-8-1) record.Superstars on the team included All-County,All-State players Joe “Moose” McCarthy(Legendary home run slugger), RudyNeumann, and George Bongiorno. . .

The boys basketball team finished witha tough (5-18). . .Grace Hoffman and DebbieCicala were co-captains of the cheerleaders.

Senior standout athletes included: Rob-ert Besner, Gregg Bowlby, Joseph Conroy,Al Cox, Ralph Dante, Debra Damion, GraceHoffman, Robin Johnston, Joan Keegan,Jerry Kotula, Michael McCabe, McCarthy,Carolyn Nelson, Neumann, TimothyO’Leary, Kevin Ostrander, Sal Richiusa,Bruce Richmond, Ed Slusarek, WilliamStratton, Tom Suau, Linda Truelis, GregoryWyzykowski, Christina Zamorski, RichardGarsick. . .

At graduation time, 1975, John Denver’s“Thank God I’m A Country Boy” topped thecharts. . .

Hoffman High School’s Class of ’75was truly a “very special” group. I’ve gottento know many of the graduates over theyears, and have found them to be mostinteresting, as well as highly successful in-dividuals in the game of life.

“Speak Up, We’reListening!”

For the First Synod of the Diocese ofMetuchen, St. Mary Church, South Amboyis hosting a “Speak Up, We’re Listening”session.

Attention active and inactive Catho-lics! Have you stopped coming to churchfor one reason or another? Come to our“Speak Up, We’re Listening” session onJan. 10, 2006 at 7 p.m. Alternate date is Jan.17, in case of inclement weather. Meetingwill be held in St. Mary Elementary Schoolcafeteria. This one-time meeting is an openforum for people to express interests, con-cerns and hopes for the future of our diocese.Be sure to attend for an interesting meeting.Come out, express your opinion, and beheard! They look forward to seeing you!

Another YearBy Al Gomolka Jr.

Times Poet Laureatec.1995

Another year comes and goes,And what have we now for to show?Another year older and wiser some say,Or more crime, more pollution, and morebills to payUnless you’ve won the lottery-oh what joy-Me, personally, I’ve a new baby boy!We regret the losses, but praise the gainsAnd work towards another year with whatremainsForgetting the old, with high hopes for thenewResolutions abound, but will they hold trueHere’s a prayer for this New Year“Help us cope with our woesFor soon we’ll be sayingAnother year comes and goes!”

Police AuxiliarySeeks MembersSayreville Auxiliary Police Dept. and

the Office of Emergency Management arenow seeking new members to join the vol-unteer force. Applicants must be 18 years ofage or older, be able to pass a criminalbackground check and possess a valid NJdrivers license.

Send a letter of interest to: SayrevillePolice Dept., Attn: Auxiliary Police, 1000Main St., Sayreville, NJ 08872.

New Year’s DayBingo

St Stanislaus Kostka, 225 macarthurave Sayreville is having a New Year’s DayBingo Doors open at 11:30 am game starts at1:00pm.Kitchen will be opened.

ST CLAIRE NOVENAAsk St. Claire for these favors, 1 business, 2

impossible. Say 9 Hail Mary’s for 9 days with lightedcandles. Pray whether you believe in it or not. Publishon the 9th day. May the Sacred Heart of Jesus bepraised, adored and glorified today and every day.Request will be granted no matter how impossible itmay seem. Publication must be promised. T.B.

DeBlis DiesPopular South Amboy resident, Rich

DeBlis, 59, died on Dec. 14. He coachedyouth league sports for many years, and wasa longtime, usher at St. Mary’s Church. Heis survived by his wife, South Amboy’sSuperintendent of Recreation, Mary LouDeBlis, and sons Brian and Corey DeBlis.He will be truly missed, but never forgotten.God Bless, Rich!


The John Donnelly Foundation’s boat trip fundraiser for scholarships was a huge successrecently! Pictured aboard the Seastreak America ferry are (l-r) South Amboy’s Director ofHousing, Tom O’Leary, Councilman Russ Stillwagon, Virginia Stillwagon, Lou Seminski,owner of Sciortino’s At Harbor Lights Restaurant, and Larry Stratton. (Photo By HelenCarroll)

The Buzz OnBroadwayWrapping and Writing

Your Christmas gifts can be wrappedbeautifully at Main Street South Amboy’soffice at 110 North Broadway, near Augusta,on Thursday, Dec. 8, Thursday, Dec. 15 andThursday, Dec. 22 from 6 to 9 pm for a smalldonation.

Santa’s helpers also want to hear fromyou so good old St, Nick can send a letter toyour little ones just in time for Christmas.Drop into the office at 110 North Broadwayand make the holidays just a little brighter.Just in Time for Christmas

Grace’s Polish Deli opened on SouthBroadway to rave reviews on Dec. 1. Stockup on fresh pierogies and other imported andhomemade delicacies. Whether for a specialevent or just dinner with the family, Grace’sis the newest place for all your favorites.Keep Your Customers Happy

Did you know it costs 5 to 6 times moreto acquire a new customer than to keep acurrent one? And, 91% of unhappy custom-ers will never buy again from a company thathas displeased them.

A dissatisfied customer will tell up to 10people about it. On the other hand, customerswhose complaints were resolved will tellbetween 3 to 5 people about their positiveexperience. That means you have to satisfythree to four customers to make up for everyone that is dissatisfied. So keep them smilingif you want them — and their friends — tocome back.Coming Soon A Bigger & BetterBroadway Banner.

Main Street South Amboy’s newsletterwill be part of the new South Amboy Recordfor the next few months. Delivered to 3,000homes in South Amboy and distributed inbulk to 2,000 people outside of town, theRecord will tell you all about what’s happen-ing around our city. It’s a great way to reachcustomers, too. Call or come into the MainStreet office to place an ad in the next issue.

“Pedals ForProgress” BicycleCollection

“Pedals for Progress” is a non-profitgroup that collects used bicycles that can berecycled for use in Third World countries.With use of a bicycle, an individual has agreater opportunity for employment thatmay not be in the immediate area of one’shome.

The South Amboy/Sayreville RotaryClub will hold a bicycle collection thiscoming spring, on Sat., April 29 from 9 a.m.until noon, at St. Mary’s School parking lot.If someone you know is getting a newbicycle for Christmas, please save the oldone for the collection in April! You’ll behelping someone in a far away land!

Yanuzzelli “RealtorOf The Year”

Century 21 Charles Smith Agency ofSayreville is pleased to announce that PeggyYanuzzelli was selected by the MiddlesexCounty Association of Realtors as the 2005“Realtor of the Year.”

Peggy has been a successful full timeRealtor since 1985, and is very active, serv-ing her community through the MiddlesexCounty Association of Realtors.

As long time chairperson of the Com-munity Service Committee, she helps orga-nize events in her community, such as Make-A-Wish, feeding the homeless at the Salva-tion Army, and canned food drive to helplocal residents in need.

You can reach Peggy at 732-721-9000for all your real estate needs. Congratula-tions, Peggy!

ST CLAIRE NOVENAAsk St. Claire for these favors, 1 business, 2

impossible. Say 9 Hail Mary’s for 9 days with lightedcandles. Pray whether you believe in it or not. Publishon the 9th day. May the Sacred Heart of Jesus bepraised, adored and glorified today and every day.Request will be granted no matter how impossible itmay seem. Publication must be promised. B.B.

Afternoon At TheCasino

Cardinal McCarrick High School willhold an Afternoon At The Casino on Sun-day, Jan. 29th from 4-7 p.m. (doors open at3 p.m.). Admission price is $25 ($30 at thedoor). Hors d’oeuvres, coffee, and dessertare included. Please contact the Develop-ment Office at 732-721-0748 ext. 5 for tick-ets.


Capt. Jack Seaman (r) looks on approvingly, as Eric Beshada shows off his 30 lb. basscaught on Capt. Jack’s charter boat, the “Barbara S.” out of Lockwood’s Marina. 7 bass from15 to 30 lbs. were caught that day.

A Soldier’s Last E-Mail*This is the actual e-mail that Special

Forces CPT Jeffrey P. Toczylowski, 30prepared in the event of his death.Toczylowski died during a combat missionin Iraq on Nov. 3. His father Philip M.Toczylowski, shared the e-mail. He and hiswife Margaret live in Ambler, PA, and wesend our sincere condolences out to them.

Dear Friends and Family,If you are getting this e-mail, it means

that I have passed away. No, it’s not a sickToz joke, but a letter I wanted to write incase this happened. Please don’t be sad forme. It was an honor to serve my country,and I wouldn’t change a thing. It was justmy time.

Don’t ever think you are defending meby slamming the Global War on Terrorismor the US goals in that war. As far as I amconcerned, we can send guys like me to goafter them or we can wait for them to comeback to us again. I died doing something Ibelieved in and have no regrets except thatI couldn’t do more.

This will probably be the longest e-

mail most of you have ever received fromme. More than one of you complained onmultiple occasions about my brief e-mails.

I have requested to be buried in Arling-ton National Cemetery and would like you toattend, but I understand if you can’t make it.

There will be a party in Vegas with a100k to help pay for travel, room and party.I want you to be happy for the time we had,not the future we won’t.

Never regret not calling, writing enough,keeping in touch, or visiting. I was alwaysaway and thought of you all as much, if notmore, than you though of me. Time keepsrolling and so should my family and friends.The only thing I ask is that you toast me everyso often, because you know I’ll be watchingand wanting to be with you. Don’t spend anytime crying for me, because I’ll bet you I amhaving a ball right now wherever I am.

I will look in on all of you and helpwhenever I can. I love you all.

(A special thank you to Major John F.McConnell our “Hometown Hero In Iraq”for sharing this with The SA Times readers).

The Snow Globe is the hottest new Christmasitem this year. The globes are inflatable, anddesigned just like the hand-held snow globesthat have been around for many years, withsnow flakes falling inside. (Photo by TomBurkard)

The Times, They Are A ChangingBy Elaine Scott

Tinsel. Whatever happened to tinsel?Before switching to garland, the most impor-tant decoration on a Christmas tree used to betinsel. Coming in flat, elongated boxes, theconfetti-thin strips of foil had to be drapedcarefully over the branches of the tree one ortwo at a time. The purpose was to have themlooking like icicles, which was another namefor tinsel. If you had hurried too much to getthem on the tree, they would hang lop-sidedand twisted, causing tempers to flare, as oncethat foil was put on, it didn’t want to come off.When Christmas was over and the trees werelaid by the curb for garbage pick-up, thetinsel would still be clinging to the branches,glistening in the afternoon sunlight. Doesanyone use tinsel anymore?

Whatever became of the old Christmasmangers which public buildings alwayserected on their property each year? Builtlike miniature replicas of a stable, insidethey’d have the figure of the baby Jesus lyingin swaddling clothes, Mary and Joseph by hisside, and a few barn animals nearby. Theyused to be everywhere, a visual reminder ofthe true meaning of Christmas. Where arethey now? What became of those old man-gers?

Why don’t we hear the traditional Christ-mas songs, like “Joy To The World,” “Oh,Come All Ye Faithful,” and “Silent Night,”played much on the radio anymore? Therewas a time when one beautiful ChristmasCarol after another filled the airwaves. Howin the world did they get replaced by songslike, “Grandma Got Run Over By A Rein-deer”?

Why are more and more people saying,“Happy Holidays,” instead of “Merry Christ-mas”? Why are card companies also usingthat greeting, along with “Season’s Greet-ings,” making Christmas, somehow, seem

generic? Why, too, is “Christ” being re-moved from the word, “Christmas,” replacedby “Xmas,” instead? Will Christmas treessoon be sold as “Trees of the Season?” Whendid this all start happening, and why did we letit happen?

Why is Santa Claus leaving more pre-sents for kids on Christmas morning, nowa-days, than he did when we were young? Heused to leave us just a few gifts under the tree,and we had to be happy that he even remem-bered us at all. Are children more deservingthan we were years ago? How does he fit allthose gifts inside of that little bag of his,anyway? I had asked that question as a child,and still don’t know the answer.

Where did those fake, white Christmastrees go that were so popular in the ‘60s?Remember how the tree came with an electriccolor wheel? When turned on, the white treewould become a red one, then a blue one, thena green one, then a pink one, rotating colorsover and over and over again. They evencame with an invisible bird, singing some-where inside the tree. I don’t know whatbecame of all the others, I only know whathappened to ours. When my father said,“Don’t ever put that ugly thing up in hereagain,” it was put into the back of the garbagetruck and taken to the dump. Does anyoneknow where all the others have gone?

Bob Dylan was right when he sang thewords, “the times they are a changing.” Somany changes have taken place through theyears, often without us even noticing themwhen they did. There’s one change, though,that never seems to come, no matter how longthe world has been praying for it. Doesanyone think there ever will finally be “Peaceon Earth?”

To our Jewish brothers and sisters, I wishyou all a Happy Hanukah. To those of adifferent belief, I wish you all Happy Holi-days. To everyone else, I think the wordsspoken by Tiny Tim in a “Christmas Carol”expressed it best: MERRY CHRISTMAS,EVERYONE!!

(Elaine Scott may be contacted [email protected].)

Janet Simeone, of the Friends of the Dowell Library, giving Theresa Castillo, of Hazlet acheck for $472.00 for winning the Friends’ 50/50 drawing.


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Fishing FlashesBy Teo “Weebles” Weber

Salt WaterBay fishing for Stripers is slow at our

local beaches. I saw a few Bass caught atCliffwood Beach when the weather let upand you could fish but its not as good as lastyear. I tried drifting worms under the Oce-anic and Highland bridges recently but thebest I could do was one miss. I talked toanother fisherman working the same areasthat day and he only had one fish. Your bestbet is to jig fish from a party boat out on theocean, as that action is very good at timeswith a few Bluefish mixed in. They will begone soon with the cold weather. Surf fish-ing at Island Beach and LBI with clams isproducing some good action at times forBlues and Bass some have been caught onplugs. Black fishing has gotten much betterwith catches up to 9lbs from Party Boatsusing crabs for bait. Some big Porgies andLing has been mixed into the catch. TheBlackfish bag limit is now 8 per man on theParty Boats until January 1st. Expect Mack-erel to arrive around Christmas time.Fresh Water

My Wife and I tried the Pequest Riveragain in mid November catching 8 Trout.Most of them were small Rainbows and weended up releasing them. We only kept twowith the largest a Brown about a foot long,which was caught on a small plug. I lost one,which was a little bit bigger. At RoundValley Reservoir Trout action by the 2-boatramps is picking up. Some are being caughtnow, but it should really pick up by midDecember.

ObituariesBiel, Walter R., 69, of South Amboy

died on Dec. 3.Bucelis, John “Pop,” 81, of South

Amboy died on Nov. 12.Cerrachio, Anthony, 77, of Parlin died

on Nov. 23.Conlon, George P., 91, of South Amboy

died on Nov. 23.DeBlis, Richard, 59, of South Amboy

died Dec. 14.Donohue, Charles T., 62, of Sayreville

died on Nov. 26.Fischer, Dorothy R., 85, of Parlin died

on Dec. 1.Hardy, Margaret “Peggy,” 49, of Mor-

gan died on Dec. 6.Harper, Dorothy Falk, 80, formerly of

Parlin died on Nov. 20.Howarth, Marie E., 81, of Sayreville

died on Dec. 2.Insley, Mary Alberta “Madie” Connors,

103, formerly of South Amboy died on Nov. 6.Karbowski, Helen, 81, of Sayreville

died on Nov. 27.Kosakowski, Stella, 90, of Sayreville

died on Nov. 13.Kuberski, Thomas, 87, of Sayreville

died on Nov. 16.Lawnik, Linda B. Suydam, 54, of

Sayreville died on Nov. 30.Loy, Robert J., 44, of Morgan died on

Nov. 29.Moran, James J.,37, of South Amboy

died on Dec. 12.Newmark, Bernard “Bernie,” 88, of

South Amboy died on Nov. 16.Newquist, Bert, 92, of South Amboy

died on Nov. 20.Nowicki, Carol Malinowski, 57, of

South Amboy died on Nov. 11.Pittel, Joseph A., 83, of South Amboy

died on Nov. 23.Quinlan, Eugenia Golembiewski

“Jerry,” 91, of South Amboy died on Nov.28.

Richards, Margarette, 82, of SouthAmboy died on Nov. 13.

Robe, Joseph P., 62, of Parlin died onDec. 7.

Smith, Fanny Carbone, 85, of SouthAmboy died on Nov. 14.

Starek, Walter, 72, of Parlin died onNov. 11.

Stonbely, Bob, 59, of Sayreville diedon Nov. 14.

Switzer, Alice M., 69, of Morgan diedon Nov. 11.

Thomson, Elizabeth, 55, of SouthAmboy died on Dec. 4.

Vattelana, Benito E., 73, of SouthAmboy died on Nov. 20.

Wojtaszek, Frank R., 74, of SouthAmboy died on Nov. 29.

Zaremba, Donald, 69, formerly of SouthAmboy died on Dec. 7.

Zdanowicz, Zofia “Sophie,” 88, ofSouth Amboy died on Nov. 16.


(732) 721-1166

360 Main StreetSouth Amboy, NJ 08879

Does Santa Have Back Pain?Santa Claus may be able to travel around

the world in a single night, but when itcomes to his health, he’s no Superman. Thatbowl full of jelly, a diet rich in fatty cookiesand a lack of regular exercise all put Santa atrisk for back pain.

Santa is a perfect candidate for backproblems-he’s overweight. The same holdstrue for us mortals. Sometimes the cause ofyour back problems is not your back, butyour front: your “spare tire” may be thecause of your aching back. And the solutionto your back problem may not involve a pillor surgery.

Your spine is the central support ofyour entire skeletal system. It is designedfor strength to support your body weight andflexibility to allow movement. Whenhealthy, your spine is S shaped with 3 natu-ral curves. When these curves are in bal-ance, your body weight is evenly distrib-uted. To maintain this alignment, you needto have strong and flexible muscles in yourback, legs and abdomen. The abdominalmuscles are especially important in support-ing the spine.

A potbelly changes the curvature of theback. The stomach pulls the backbone for-ward, stressing muscles and ligaments andputting pressure on discs. If you have 10extra pounds on your abdomen, you areputting an additional 100 pound strain onyour back. This additional strain occursbecause the lower part of your spine is notreceiving adequate support from your weak-ened abdominal muscles. Your back musclestry to maintain the proper spinal balance, butafter end up strained or sprained.

Although excess weight does not causeback problems, you can do something aboutit. Follow a diet and exercise program tomaintain a healthy weight and strengthenyour muscles. Develop healthy eating hab-its that work for you. And make exercise,diet and proper spinal hygiene an importantpart of your day.

McKeon, BurkardOn NY Radio

Authors Jack McKeon and Tom Burkardwere special guests recently on New Yorkradio station WRTN 93.5 FM. McKeon, abaseball legend, who wrote “I’m Just Get-ting Started,” and Burkard, owner/publisherof The South Amboy-Sayreville Timesnewspaper, and author of “Jack McKeon:Baseball, Cigars and St. Theresa,” werefeatured on a three-way interview/confer-ence call, as McKeon, called in from hishome in North Carolina, and Burkard fromSouth Amboy.

The show, “Real Talk” with Jim Lisaand Co-Host, Dr. Dan Miller was informa-tive and fun-filled for everyone, as McKeonand Burkard discussed their books, currentmajor league baseball, and much more.

McKeon, as always praised his boy-hood hero, the great Allie Clark of SouthAmboy for inspiring him and other young-sters, such as John and Eddie O’Brien intheir quest to make the major leagues. Healso commented that, “If there is anything atall that you want to know about me, it’s allin Tom Burkard’s book, so I hope you go outand buy one.”

Jack said that his Top 3 moments in hisoutstanding baseball career of 50 plus yearswere: His first major league manager’s jobwith Kansas City; Being San Diego’s Gen-eral Manager, and helping to build the clubinto the 1984 NL Champions; Managing theFlorida Marlins to the 2003 World SeriesChampionship over the highly-favored NewYork Yankees.


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the grip with Ben-Gay. (Ben-Gay painrelieving ointment) *Hershey, the greatAmerican chocolate bar. (Hershey choco-late) *For virtually spotless dishes, nothingcan beat Cascade. (Cascade automatic dish-washer liquid) *A sandwich is a sandwich,but a Manwich is a meal. (Hunt’s Manwichsandwich sauce) *Give mother a break to-night. Treat her to dinner at Horn & Hardartsnearest you. (Horn & Hardart’s Automats)

A Chance To WinScholarships

Raritan Bay FCU is offering local highschool students a chance to win a scholar-ship to help finance their education. RaritanBay FCU is participating in a statewidecredit union scholarship program that willoffer Raritan Bay FCU’s members the chanceto win one of many scholarships, each worthup to $1,000.

To be eligible, students must be highschool seniors and members in good stand-ing with Raritan Bay FCU. Students willcompete against other members in goodstanding of NJCUL-affiliated credit unions.Applications will be judged upon the stu-dents’ academic performance, extracurricu-lar and community activities, essay ques-tions and teacher references.

If you or your child is a high schoolsenior, but not currently a member of RaritanBay FCU, call today for a member applica-tion and a chance to win a scholarship, up to$1,000. The deadline to apply is February27, 2006.

Raritan Bay Federal Credit Union is anon-profit, community chartered financialinstitution that serves everyone who lives,works, worships, or attends school inMiddlesex County. Raritan Bay FederalCredit Union was chartered in 1941, and isowned and operated by its members.

Parking SpaceBy William PrattAlthough it’s smallToo close a fitYou set your jawAnd try for it.You wriggle forthYou wiggle backAgain you shiftAgain attack.At last, fatiguedYou win the boutAnd then the carBehind moves out.

The Most SpecialDay Of The Year

By Ed SzatkowskiIs there anything else that a child wouldrather seeThan decorations upon a Christmas tree?With lights and garland and toys all aboutDid you ever see another sight that can makea child,Jump and shout with such gleeThan presents all around beneath the Christ-mas tree.A year full of wishes, hopes and a prayerTo have family and friends once again to-gether so nearAs carols and merriment fill the air.Our hearts exude to all good will and cheerSeems that there’s not another holiday thatcan compareTo this one special day of the year.Fond memories and peace and love to allIf not for the Savior and Santa tooChristmas would be just another day of theyearFor me and for you.Reflect a little upon your Christmas pastsRemember when you jumped for joy as alittle lassHelp keep the traditions and memories alive.So that one day our children’s children mayreminisceAnd spread the word to their childrenThe stories of their Christmas pasts.

South Amboy-Sayreville Times December 17, 2005 15Students Raise $5,800 For AIDS

By Tom BurkardBack in August, Cardinal McCarrick

HS teacher, Michelle Brielmeier was look-ing for a service project for the sciencestudents, and scanned the internet for wor-thy fundraisers. When she came across“Angel Wish,” she knew that this was whatshe was looking for, and a truly needy cause.

“Angel Wish” benefits children acrossthe world who have the dreaded HIV AIDS.Care centers are set up throughout hospitalsin the U.S., and they grant wishes to thesechildren, such as birthday and Christmas, orto make a donation to help with other wishesthroughout the world, whether it be medi-cine or education.

The McCarrick students, freshmenthrough seniors, were under the guidance offour science teachers, Brielmeier, Sister M.Benedicta, F.S.G.M., Sr. M. Raphaele,F.S.G.M., and Tina Lambiase.

Funds were raised through competitionin the classrooms. “They were asked to raisemoney, and they got creative,” saidBrielmeier. “They went canning door-to-door in South Amboy, and canned by Broad-way Bagle and Dunkin’ Donuts. Someworked in their parish, others raked leaves,baby sat, worked chores, and others went

out into the community to educate people onwhat they were doing, and asking if theycould help them out,” she stated.

What’s even more remarkable aboutthese good-hearted and generous students isthat some of them even donated their fullpaychecks for an entire week, so a child withAIDS could have their wish.

The students made Christmas cards forthe unfortunate children, than went to Toys‘R’ Us to select gifts to send to them. Theyparticipated in the store’s “Giving Spree,”which is where they selected toys, and thestore packed and shipped them along withthe special homemade Christmas cards.

The energy and enthusiasm for helpingthe needy of the world was a shining ex-ample of

the caring and compassion of the Cardi-nal McCarrick HS students. Their hardwork and efforts brought in an unbelievable$5,800 in only 13 days! Congratulations toall the students, Ms. Brielmeier, and theother science teachers who participated inthis wonderful act of giving!

For those who want to learn more about“Angel Wish,” go to its website at:www.angelwish.org.

St. Mary Elementary School Honor RollHigh Honors

Alexander Banoczi, Ciara Kaiser, DavidBelenski, Alisha Sharma, Nicholas Biesiada,Shayna O’Connor, Megan O’Donnell, andMathew Dembowski.Second Honors

Jeremiah Crowley, Kyle O’Connor,

Kelly O’Donnell, Maria Armato-Barone,Anthony Cantinieri, Nicole Killmer, KevinWiater, Elizabeth Farrell, Melissa Kurtz,Riley O’Brien, Christopher Stajek, AshleyAudet, Anna Kemble, Margaret Santapaga,and Christopher Natale.

NOVENA TO ST. ANTHONYOh Holy St. Anthony, gentlest of Saints, your love

for God and charity for his creatures made you worthywhen on earth to possess miraculous powers. Miracleswaited on your word, which you were ready to speakfor those in trouble or anxiety. (Make request). Theanswer to my prayer may require a miracle. O gentleand loving St. Anthony whose heart was ever full ofhuman sympathy, whisper my petition into the ears ofthe sweet infant Jesus who loved to be folded in yourarms and the gratitude of my heart will be yours. Thisnovena has never been known to fail. Say Our Father,Hail Mary and Glory Be. -M.M.-

NOVENA TO ST. ANTHONYOh Holy St. Anthony, gentlest of Saints, your love

for God and charity for his creatures made you worthywhen on earth to possess miraculous powers. Miracleswaited on your word, which you were ready to speakfor those in trouble or anxiety. (Make request). Theanswer to my prayer may require a miracle. O gentleand loving St. Anthony whose heart was ever full ofhuman sympathy, whisper my petition into the ears ofthe sweet infant Jesus who loved to be folded in yourarms and the gratitude of my heart will be yours. Thisnovena has never been known to fail. Say Our Father,Hail Mary and Glory Be. -M.M.-

Cardinal McCarrick’s “Angel Wish” team raised $5800 in 13 days! Great Job!!


Sayreville native, Davie Gayle (c), recently performed live at J. O’Neill’s Pub in Sayreville.The house was packed, as she performed many songs from her great new album, “AmberIn The Clay,” and other favorites. Accompanying the very talented Davie on guitars andvocals were her sisters, Pat Daly (l) and Midge Painchaud (r). (Photo By Tom Burkard)

The Grinch joins Brian Setzer on stage during The Brian Setzer Orchestra’s recentperformance at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank. (Photo by Brian Stratton)

#1 Pop Hits On Dec.171994-Here Comes The Hotstepper-IniKamoze1985-Broken Wings-Mr. Mister1972-Me And Mrs. Jones-Billy Paul1969-Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye-Steam1952-Glow Worm1940-There I Go1937-Once In Awhile

#1 Country Hits OnDec. 171995-Tall, Tall Tree-Alan Jackson1988-A Tender Lie-Restless Heart1977-Here You Come Again-Dolly Parton1966-Somebody Like Me-Eddy Arnold1955-Sixteen Tons-Tennessee Ernie Ford1949-Mule Train-Tennessee Ernie Ford

Boogie Woogie ChristmasBy Brian Stratton

December was here, holiday decora-tions going up and I was worried that thebustle of everyday life would somehow pre-vent me from getting into the spirit of theseason. Well on December 4th my holidayseason got a jump start by The Brian SetzerOrchestra (BSO). BSO performed to a soldout audience at the beautiful and comfort-able Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank.

The Slaptones a rock-a-billy band fromSweden opened up the show. The bandconsists of the Bondeson sisters, Greta (gui-tar/vocals), Sunniva (guitar/vocals) andStella (bass/vocals). On drums, vocals andharmonica is their father Jan Ake Bondeson.A mix of original songs and cover tunesfrom Tobacco Road to an acoustic three partharmony version of Elvis’ “Daddy Don’tCry” had the audience cheering after eachsong.

BSO took the stage and had the crowdjumping from the start with their openingsong “Dig That Crazy Santa Claus” andcontinued rocking with “This Cat’s On AHot Tin Roof”. A few songs later Brian dida magnificent rendition of “My FavoriteThings” on his Gretsch guitar. His style ofrock-a-billy combined with the backing of abig band is just incredible.

Next up it was polka time!!! The 60’sinstrumental hit “Pipeline” was performedby Brian with the trombone section. I couldsee that some of the audience was longing toget up and do the polka around the theatre.

One of Brian’s biggest hits while withthe Stray Cats was “Stray Cat Strut”. Briandid a great rendition of the song and com-bined it with a holiday favorite “You’re aMean One Mr. Grinch”. He was also joinedon stage by the Grinch himself wailing onhis own Gretsch guitar.

Mid way through the show the orches-tra got a bit of a break while Brian along withJohnny Hatton on upright bass and Bernie

Dresel on drums performed as a trio. Theystarted with Chuck Berry’s “Run, Run,Rudolf” and then went into some great rock-a-billy songs that included “PeroxideBlonde”, “Fishnet Stockings’ and “RockThis Town” which ended with the orchestraback on stage and just about everyone in thetheatre on their feet making their way downto the stage.

Most performers would have called itquits at this point but Brian and BSO werelong from finished.

An incredible rendition of the “TheNutcracker Suite” was followed by “Gettin’In The Mood” (for Christmas) and had thecrowd wanting at least one more. The lastsong of the evening was Brian’s holidayclassic version of “Jingle Bells” that wasfeatured in the movie “Jingle All The Way”which starred Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Brian and BSO have been appearing inNew Jersey during the Holiday Season for afew years now. If you have the chance tocatch them live someday it will be an expe-rience you won’t soon forget.

For more information on Brian Setzerand a complete set list as well as some of myphotos from this show go to Brian’s OfficialWebsite www.BrianSetzer.com.

Also, be sure to checkout the site for theCount Basie Theatre www.countbasietheatre.orgfor their upcoming shows.

New MusicBy Phil Rainone

R&R Music DJ’s 732-316-9447Santa’s Greatest Hits (Hip-O Records)Most of these 14 songs you probably

know by heart, Bobby Helm’s “Jingle BellRock,” or sing to yourself as a guilty plea-sure, The Chipmunks’ Christmas “Don’t BeLate,” or Burl Ives’ “Holly Jolly Christ-mas.” There are also some really cool clas-sics like Earth Kitt’s “Santa Baby,” or EllaFitzgerald’s “Sleigh Ride.” Both areswingin’, rockin’ tunes. Bing Crosby closesthe disc with the traditional “White Christ-mas,” stunning as always! Have a coolYule!

The Concert for Bangladesh- GeorgeHarrison and Friends- CD & DVD (Apple/Capitol)

Addressing the crowd at MadisonSquare Garden on August 1, 1971 RaviShankar said, “ . . . We are trying to set themusic to this historical program, which isnot just a program as usual, but which has amessage. This is to just make you aware ofa very serious situation that is happening- acyclone has recently killed 300,000 peoplein Bangladesh, India. We are not trying tomake any politics, we are artists, but throughour music we would like you to feel theagony, and also the pain in Bangladesh . . .”Then, on a lighter note, after receiving ahuge applause for just running up, Shankaropens the first superstar benefit concert,which served as a model for Live Aid, Live8, and every other superstar benefit concertfor the last 3 decades. Featuring RingoStarr, Clapton- mesmerizing, dueling gui-tars between Eric & George on My SweetLord & While My Guitar Gently Weeps-Leon Russell- his electrifying medley ofJumpin’ Jack Flash/Young Blood, blew theroof off the Garden- Dylan- stung the audi-ence with stark versions including- withGeorge, Ringo, & Leon- A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall, Love Minus Zero (added to thisnew release), & Blowin’ in the Wind- “Howmany times can a man turn his head/Pre-tending that he just doesn’t see . . .”-hegalvanized the audience, and the fund raiserwith 2 simple lines. The all-star lineup alsoincluded members of Badfinger & Derek &the Dominos. Closing the show with Some-thing & Bangladesh, the benefit m

Rock Stars EarlyJobs

Paula Abdul-waitress; Pat Benatar-bankteller; Chuck Berry-hairdresser; Jon BonJovi-recording studio assistant; DavidBowie-art teacher; Jackson Browne-kalei-doscope assembler; Belinda Carlisle-gasstation attendant; Chubby Checker-chickenplucker; Joe Cocker-plumber; ElvisCostello-computer programmer; RogerDaltrey-sheet metal worker; Bo Diddley-construction worker; Peter Gabriel-travelagent; Bob Geldof-meat packer; DavidGilmour-model; Daryl Hall-apple picker;Deborah Harry-beautician; Chrissie Hynde-waitress; Chris Isaak-tour guide in Japan;Mick Jagger-ice cream vendor; CyndiLauper-racehorse walker; Annie Lennox-waitress; Madonna-lifeguard; GeorgeMichael-movie usher; Keith Moon-plastersalesman; Vince Neill-electrician; StevieNicks-Bob’s Big Boy hostess; Elvis Presley-truck driver; Lou Reed-accountant’s assis-tant; Keith Richards-ball boy at a tenniscourt; Gene Simmons-schoolteacher; Sting-schoolteacher; Tina Turner-maid; TomWaits-vacuum cleaner salesman.


School SportsBy Tom Burkard

Back row (l-r) Coach Twomey, Paul Conlon, Frank Taylor, Matt Boehler, Mike Costello, TomCostello, Mike Borusso, Eric Weiler, Christian Geant. Middle row (l-r) Tyler Raba, BrianAnderson, John Delduca, Sean Williams, Ryan Lange, Rob Geant, Matt Wiater. Front row(l-r) Bob Clayton, Delfin Balil. (Photo by Brian Stratton)

Young Eagle Runners ImpressiveThe 2005 Cardinal McCarrick Boys

Cross Country team ended its season with avictory over St. Peter’s and finished with arespective (6-5) record.

Some of the key wins came againstWoodbridge, Carteret, Highland Park andMiddlesex. For the third season in a row, the#1 runner was senior Mike Costello. Thismarks the first time since 1979-81 (ChrisHedlund) that a runner was number one for3 consecutive years.

This year’s team was one of the young-est in school history. Only 3 of the 14runners were juniors or seniors. The re-mainder of the Top 5 runners were: #2 MattWiater (sophomore), #3 Rob Geant (sopho-more), #4 Sean Williams (sophomore) #5Matt Boehler (senior).

Coach Ed Twomey, who now has 162career victories, looks forward to next year’steam continuing the programs’ history ofsuccess. Congratulations!

Boys BowlingCardinal McCarrick (1-0 Joe Halmi

and Eric Poltrictzky look like the topbowlers.

South Amboy (1-2) Joe Bloodgood andEric Oppenheimer top the Guvs so far.

Girls BowlingSouth Amboy (1-1) Shannon Cohoon

and Lynn Bloodgood are the leading bowlersfor the Lady Guvs.

Cardinal McCarrick (0-1) KellyJohnson looks like the Lady Eagles’ topbowler this year.

Bombers LoseThriller

The Sayreville Bombers fine footballsquad dropped a heart-breaking Group IVstate tourney game to Howell, 32-31 inovertime. Rashiem Clarke was superb in thedefeat, as he turned in touchdown runs of 12,3 and 2 yards, while rushing for 131 yards in23 attempts. Michael Knight scored on a 5-yard TD run, and Billy Woods booted a 34-yard field goal for the Blue & Gray.Sayreville finished at a fine (7-3) for 2005.

McQuade Stars ForAhr

Freshman Ashley McQuade ofSayreville, was one of the top performers onBishop Ahr’s state championship gymnas-tics team. McQuade averaged above a 9.0on all events, and should have an outstand-ing high school career ahead for the nextthree years. Coach Brant Lutska has highexpectations for Ashley and the rest of histalented team. Congratulations, Ashley!

All-Area FieldHockey

It was a great season for Sayreville’sField Hockey club, as it finished with the topregular season record in the GMC, and wasrunner-up in the GMCT, ending with a finerecord of (14-5-1). Home News Tribuneselected the following Sayreville FieldHockey stars to its All-Area teams: 1stTeam-Simone Saxon, Erica Latz, MeganMazur; 2nd Team-Lorianne Miklaszewski;3rd Team-Marta Domanska, Priscilla Senya;Honorable Mention-Christine Beckhusen,Alexa Baldasare.

Latz and Mazur also made 1st TeamAll-Middlesex in The Star Ledger. Con-gratulations!

Wojcik Wins MVPRamapo College men’s basketball team,

led by former Sayreville High School star,John Wojcik captured The Roadrunner Tip-Off Tournament championship, 72-55 overFDU-Florham. Wojcik, the tourney’s MVP,scored all 12 of his points in the first half,connecting on 3-6 from the 3-point range, tohelp the Roadrunners race to a 35-19 half-time lead.

Ramapo Coach McBreen said, “Johnhas a tremendous work ethic and shoots theball extremely well. He has a great under-standing of his role, and of the game itself.He will provide instant offense and energyoff the bench. John reminds me of SteveNash of the Phoenix Suns.”

Wojcik is averaging 10.5 points pergame (3rd highest on team) for the Roadru-nners (3-1). Congratulations, John, we’reproud of you!

Eagles All-TimeScoring Leaders

Compiled By Ed TwomeyThe St. Mary’s/Cardinal McCarrick

Eagles boys basketball All-Time leadingscorers are:

1.George Krzyzanowski 1,592 2.KevinOliveri 1,078 3.Kevin Burns 1,052 4.RobZaleski 1,022 5.Dan Blaha 1,008 6.DanKudelka 925 7.Nick Sas 917 8.Tom Rizzo914 9.Joe Byrne 906 10.Joe Kolakowski884 11.Tom Boychuk 878 12.Jerry Gorczyca871 13.Jack Kreiger 847 14.Jay Derent 81215.Rick Ragula 807 16.Leo Cannon 78717.Donnie Reid 777 18.Jim McCloud 76319.Luke Lenahan 748 20.Ed McCabe 74621.Mark Clark 734 22.Bill Wagner 72723.Joe Jankowski 724 24.Bob “Don” “Pep”Bennett 710 25.Jim Byrne 26.Mark Bratus701 27.Ross Hull 701.

*Note-Eagles’ junior, Vincente Rosariois hovering around 700 points, and has twofull seasons remaining. If he stays healthy,he should end up very close to the #1 spot,which has been held for 34 years by thelegendary George Krzyzanowski.

Hoyt To BeHonored

The New Jersey Sportswriters Associa-tion will honor Notre Dame defensive cap-tain and linebacker, Brandon Hoyte, as “Col-lege Football Player of the Year,” at its 70thAnniversary Banquet on Sunday, Jan. 29 at11:30 a.m. at the Pines Manor in Edison.

Hoyte, a former Sayreville High Schoolstar was a finalist for two national awards forhis football talent, academics and commu-nity involvement: The Ron Lott Award, andThe Wueffer Award.

Hoyte leads the “Fighting Irish” de-fense in tackles with 82 and is closing in onthe 200 mark in his career.

Tickets are $50 each, and $500 for atable of 10. Checks can be made out to TheNew Jersey Sportswriters Association, POBox 200, Metuchen, NJ 08840. For moredetails, call 1-877-257-0798.

Two Chosen To All-GMC

Sayreville’s Erica Latz and MeganMazur were voted to the All-GMC FieldHockey team by the coaches. Way to go!

The South Amboy Lady Governor’s Cross Country Team advanced to the State Tournamentthis year, it was a great experience for the girls. Pictured (l-r) Lauren Drennen, Alli Anderson,Kelsey Anderson, Caitlyn Winkler, Myra Dabkowski, Brittany Harkins and Brianna Septre.Great Job Girls!!


LOCAL SPORTS MEMORY MACHINEBy Tom Burkard

From The Sports Archives. . . Glory Days InLocal Sports

1951-Pictured is the Pennsylvania Railroad men’s basketball team that competed in theSouth Amboy Men’s Basketball League. Top row (l-r) Manager Charles Dean, John Norek,Elton Selover, Harry Breevort, Fred Henry. Bottom row (l-r) George Selover, Tony Bottitta,Ralph Davis (YMCA Secretary), Cliff Voorhees, Russ Newcomb. (Photo courtesy of GeorgeSelover)

T.H.E.Game

By Tom Burkard

1936-St. Mary’s basketballteam beat Regis (NY), 38-31.Woodrow “Woody” McCarthyfired in 17 points, and Joe Bulman

13 for the winners. . .1949-Hoffman’s hoop team ham-mered New Brunswick Vo-

Tech, 49-26. John Kovaleski paved the waywith 15 points, followed by Charlie Koerner12 and Ed O’Connor’s 11 markers. . . 1951-St. Mary’s talented hoopsters ripped RutgersPrep, 61-49. Luke Lenahan took scoringlaurels with 19 points, followed by FrankO’Brien 16, and Jerry O’Brien 14 markers.. .1962-St. Mary’s senior, Tom Farrell set asingle-game rebound record for the Eaglesby ripping 25 bounds, and also scored 21points, as SM stopped St. Peter’s in doubleOT, 75-70. Jack Kreiger was high scorerwith 22 tallies. . .1979-Sayreville thrashedJP Stevens, 65-29 in hoops play. RalphNovak popped in 18 points and ripped 18rebounds, while Jeff Kabat scored 14 pointsand Tom Lakomski 12. . 1981-Hoffmantopped East Brunswick Vo-Tech, 56-49 inbasketball. Bob Aucone was the big scorerwith 21 points, followed by Tom Mulliganand Ron Brown who scored 11 points apiece.South Amboy resident, Ron Morgan toppedTech with 16 points. . . 1996-Sayreville’sunbeaten football team ran its record to (7-0) by blasting South Brunswick, 35-14. OmarJoseph broke loose for 3 touchdown runs of4, 22, and 9 yards, while John Nuber had TDruns of 14 and 9 yards. Joseph and Nubercombined for 247 of the Bombers’ 292rushing yards. . 2000-Sayreville girls tracksuffered its first defeat of the season at thehands of unbeaten Monroe, 69-53. ToniBeninato won the 400 H, and High Jump,Kristen Hubela took the Long Jump, andClaire Inskeep won the Shot Put. . .

Sport-BasketballYear-1988Teams-Hoffman vs. undefeated St.

Peter’s in the GMCT championship game.Recap-With Krissy and Jenny

Kuziemski dominating the boards with 10and 8 rebounds respectively, and Lisa Smith,all over the court playing superb defense,passing and scoring 20 points, Coach ReggieCarney’s Lady Guvs captured their 3rdstraight GMCT, 45-38.

MVP-Lisa Smith

Pop WarnerFootball35 Years Ago. . .

1970-Coach Bob Eppinger’s SouthAmboy Sabres Pee Wees team lost a 12-6heartbreaker to the Fords Bearcats in theleague championship game. The SA squad,the National League champions, suffered itsfirst loss of the season, despite a 49-yd. TDrun by Ron Stillwagon on a right end sweep.40 Years Ago. . .

1965-Coach Luke Lenahan’s last teamat St. Mary’s finished (9-8). Guard TomTriggs led the scoring parade with 226 points(13.3 avg.). He was followed by TomZalewski 196 (11.5), Ed Suchciki 157 (10.5),Fran Fitzmorris 157 (9.2), and John Quigley115 (8.8). . .

A Look Back At1954. . .

Local basketball teams had plenty oftalent. 6-1 Jerry Gorczyca of St. Mary’s and6-5 Stan Kojkowski of Sayreville were thetwo tallest boys selected to the Perth AmboyEvening News’ All-County 1st Team.Kojkowski topped the county in points scored(384), while averaging (19.2). Gorczycafinished with the top scoring average inMiddlesex County (20.4), and scored 346points.

St. Mary’s, which finished (10-7) re-ceived 243 points (14.3) from Tommy Malik,while Smelas poured in 151 (8.9), and AdamLovely 125 (7.4).

Sayreville (16-4) got big years fromJohn Callahan 288 points (15.2), and BobbyShorosky 195 (9.8), and Kurczeski 194 (9.7).

Hoffman was paced by Ray “Butch”Tomaszewski’s 326 points (19.2), GaryStratton 272 (16.0), Rose 168 (9.9), andFrank Grimley 163 (9.6).

Callahan was a 2nd team selection,while Tomaszewski and Malik made 3rdteam All-County. . .

Carlos Delgado signs his first autograph as a New York Met. (Photo by Dan Miller)

Mets New $50 Million Dollar Man has$100 Million Dollar Heart

By Dr. Dan Miller

The New York Mets announced re-cently that they have made a trade with theFlorida Marlins to obtain All-Star FirstBaseman Carlos Delgado for $50 milliondollars for four years. Delgado is one of twoThanksgiving presents the Mets Organiza-tion made to the NY Mets fans.

Following the news conference intro-ducing Carlos Delgado to the press QueensSA Times sports reporter Dr. Dan Millerwas leaving Shea Stadium when he spottedtwo young men obviously waiting to get anautograph from a Mets player. This writerlearned that Stephen Ross, from Brooklynand Tommy Reagan a resident of Whitestone,just a few steps from Shea Stadium, werewaiting to meet the new Mets first baseman,Carlos Delgado. Stephen a young adult withspecial needs had with him a photo albumwith ten years worth of photos of CarlosDelgado, first in a Toronto uniform and then

in Marlins uniform. It appears that Delgadowas Stephen’s favorite player but he neverhad an opportunity to meet him to take aphoto or to get his autograph.

Stephen asked this writer, Mr. Can youget us an autograph? I felt sorry for the twoyoung men and said that I would see what Icould do.

With a wing and a prayer in an effort tohelp these two unfortunate young men,whose lives have been less fortunate thanmost of us I asked to speak with Jay Horwitz,VP for Public relations to ask if the Metscould help make the dreams for these twoyoung men with special needs come true.

Jay Horowitz did more than arrangingto sending out autographs for the twoyoungmen.

Jay asked that Dr. Dan bring in the twoyoung men and he greeted them with Carlos

continued on page 24

Were You There?Former South Amboy resident John

Phillips was the winner, as he identifiedthree players in the old photo that was shownin the “Were You There?” column last month.He said that Jimmy Smelas was dribblingthe ball, Pat Mullane was on the right, andBob “Rock” Stader was on the left. He didmiss Hoffman player, Dave Inman #45, andalso the Governor with the glasses, who noone has guessed. The picture was taken inthe late 1950’s during an intense City Seriescontest between St. Mary’s and HoffmanHigh Schools. Congratulations, John!


WWW.?LETTERS

See if you know the exact name of this localstructure. What is it? Where is it? If youknow, e-mail your answer to:[email protected]. Winners will beannounced in the Jan. 21st issue of The SATimes. Good luck!

WWW.WinnersLast month’s WWW.? contest was

pretty easy, huh? One entrant was veryclose, but incorrect, thinking it was the oldMorgan First Aid Building on Route 35,Morgan, “Before it burnt down,” when inactuality it is the current Morgan First AidBuilding on Rt. 35, Morgan.

We had a dozen winners, including: W.Tom Kross, John Mulvey, Donna Lyons,Bernadine Santos, Joanne Niestempski,Marie Lyons, Marie English, Elaine Zonak,Gregg Pavlonnis, Paul H. Bouchard, DaveVoight, Kitty Bowers. Way to go readers!

Tom,Thanks for the great newspaper. We love thenostalgia pieces, and all our friends keep upwith all the latest news around Sayreville andSouth Amboy, too. Keep up the great work!Peace & Best Wishes,Dennis O’Leary, Sayreville

Dear Tom,First-Congratulations on your paper’s 14thAnniversary! I was recently in my “oldhometown” for my 50th Reunion of St. Mary’sHS. In some ways, it was good to see SouthAmboy being revitalized, in others, kinda sadto see some of the old haunts being torn down.I used to live on No. Broadway next to theBriggs garage which is no more. I learned toride my bike down by the Jersey Central P &L, now a ferry slip? Is the spring still underthe railroad underpass? I guess you can’t gohome.Anyway, in reading your October issue, inone of the letters to the editor, someonementioned an article on the “Minnie Ditch.”Would it be possible to get that article?Also, I would like to subscribe to the paper.Please bill me for 1-year.Our 50th Reunion was a blast! Great job-BobLeslie, Ed Paczkowski & committee! Sogood to see everyone. Hello to Sr. MaryAmbrose (former) in Atlantic City. I believeI had her in the 4th grade.So many fond memories!Sincerely,Betty (Elizabeth Lounsbury) Silvaney(Formerly of SA), Pennsylvania

Dear Publisher,Thank you for letting me know my subscrip-tion was ready to expire. (It was a gift)I enjoy the paper so much and don’t want tomiss a copy! Last issue had a nice picture of“old friends” from Court Sancta Maria CDA.

Brought back many nice memories.Keep up the good work!Sincerely,Helen Boychuk(Formerly of South Amboy)

Tom,Here is my renewal check. I love the paperand can’t wait for it to come every month!Keep up the great work!Dawn (Leonard) Micena(Formerly of SA), North Carolina

Dear Editor,I would like to order a year’s subscription ofyour great paper for our son. Keep up thegood work!Thanks,Matt Loughlin, Sayreville

Hi Tom,Keep the issues coming! Thanks for thememories of my happy childhood in SouthAmboy.Best Regards, & Happy Holidays!Dr. Tom Wronski(Formerly of SA), Florida

Editor,Sayreville residents can take pride in the factthat Sayreville’s pay-to-play ordinance is oneof the most stringent in the State of NewJersey. In fact Common Cause of New Jerseyhas endorsed our efforts against pay-to-playpolitics. Our municipal ordinance stands as alegal shield against pay-to-play politics inSayreville. The hiring process for profes-sionals in Sayreville has been based entirelyon merit, and our community has remainedscandal free during a time when many politi-cians have forgotten that they were elected toserve the people, not to serve themselves.This past Monday I voted NO to break the tieagainst a proposal from Democratic Council-man Thomas Pollando who suggested adopt-ing a state statute that would change thehiring process in the Borough of Sayreville.The proposal allows applicants for Borough

professional service positions to make legalcampaign contributions as long as the hiringprocess is considered “fair and open.” Underthis plan, the State statute, if adopted, wouldturn our impeccable municipal pay-to-playordinance into a useless scrap of paper.The law allows the town to determine whatthey believe “fair and open” means. Theproblem is that any town could go throughwith the “fair and open” process as they havedesigned it, and then award jobs to the largestpolitical contributor. This would be tanta-mount to turning our hiring process into acorrupt auction where the jobs of BoroughAttorney, Engineer, Auditor, Municipal Pros-ecutor, etc. are awarded to the highest bid-ders.While this proposal may be a step forward fora Jersey City government, or some othernotoriously corrupt community where pa-tronage and cronyism run rampant, it wouldbe a step backwards for a town like Sayreville,where we aspire to better things. Our com-munity has risen above a New Jersey politicallandscape littered with corruption, greed andgraft, and our pay-to-play ordinance has keptprofessionals money out of politicians’ pock-ets. This proposal to gut our pay-to-playordinance is a leftover mechanism of corrup-tion from a now defunct McGreevey admin-istration that always attempted to side-steppay-to-play reform.There is opportunity in this proposal, how-ever, in the noble idea of an open and fairsolicitation of professional applicants. Al-though the Council rejected the proposalbecause of the dangers to our pay-to-playordinances, we see the opportunity to furtherlegitimize our process by following the ad-vertising provisions. We should find a com-promise that will maintain our integrity asleaders by refusing to permit donations fromprofessionals while still conducting a fair andopen hiring process. Sayreville must con-tinue to hire professionals based on abilityand merit, and never on campaign contribu-tions or patronage.Mayor Kennedy O’Brien, Sayreville


Planners MeetingsFor ’06

The Sayreville Senior Center Plannersannounced their meeting dates for 2006. Allmeetings are held on the last Wednesday atthe Senior Center at 10 a.m.

The 2006 schedule: Jan. 25; Feb. 22;Mar. 29; Apr. 26; May 31; June 28; Jul.&Aug.-No scheduled meetings; Sept. 27; Oct.18 (3rd Wed.); Nov. 29; Dec.-No scheduledmeeting.

Health Fair-Wed., Apr. 5; Senior Citi-zen Day-Wed., May 24; Halloween Party-Wed. Oct. 25.

Food Bank Donations: Jan.-ThursdayClub; Mar.-St. Stan’s Club; May-LeisureClub; Jul.-AARP; Sept.-Asian-AmericanClub; Nov.-Tuesday Club; Jan. 2007-Wednesday Club.

The South Amboy Housing Youth Activity Advisory Committee (SAYAAC) held a greatChristmas party at Christ Church Hall on Dec. 10 for local children. The Committee also runstrips and other outings in the summer, and helps improve the lives of the youngsters in SouthAmboy. Chief Advisor to the Committee, Jamie Kane, thanked all the businesses, committeemembers and Mayor John T. O’Leary, “Who helped make this event possible through thedonation of food and gifts for the children, as well as Santa Claus.”The SAYAAC is a volunteer group whose purpose is to help coordinate and provide fun andsafe activities for those children residing in housing units owned and supervised by the SouthAmboy Housing Authority.Mayor O’Leary thanked everyone for making the event a success, including Rev. Campbell,Pastor of Christ Church for the use of the hall. (Photo by Tom Burkard)

Enjoy The TripBy Dennis O’Leary

Today is the only day, Now is the only hourGive yourself a break, old friendLet’s see who you are nowWe all make mistakesOr learning curves, let’s sayBut you still have this momentWe both still have todayMy soul does know the truthThat this is but a gameA play, a song, a movie showIllusion, just the sameI think I’ll play for laughs the gameA song and dance man, meIf we don’t take it seriouslyJust think how, we’ll be freeSo let’s hold hands and dance, my friendLet’s sing songs and skipWe might not be perfect, butLet’s still enjoy the trip


Marines League FormingThis is a notice concerning the forma-

tion of a new Marine Corps League Detach-ment in the central Jersey area. It will be avery active detachment, with a very differ-ent direction and set of goals. The newdetachment will be looking for Marines whoare willing to be on active duty in the orga-nization, not just to join and allow others todo all the work.

The goals of the new detachment are asfollows:

To keep true the honor, discipline, pride,and unity of the Marine Corps in our league,opening our field of honor (meeting floor)with respect, support, and dedication to allMarines and to memorialize those who havegiven their all for our country.

To support all armed forces personnelto the best of our ability, and assist wheneverpossible in giving aid to their families inneed.

To especially support wounded armedforces personnel in our military hospitals.

To give support to our V.A. hospitals,striving for the best possible living condi-tions, and fulfillment of those in these insti-tutions, to the best of our ability.

To pay final respect to those veterans atthe time of their interment and to give sup-port and comfort at the family’s time ofneed.

To allow those who choose to serve onactive duty with our Marine Corps Leagueto serve our country, corps, state, and com-munity in an honorable stewardship.

All joining members will be assigned atask(s) to perform, in a joint effort towardthese projects for the betterment of the de-tachment. The detachment will be relyingon ALL members to pull together as one toaccomplish the goals we have agreed tothrough our membership voting.

Those not willing to be in an active unitsuch as this are invited to join any of thelocal Marine Corps League Detachmentsand our officers will assist you in findingsuch a detachment.

We do welcome all Marine Corps

League Members at Large to our meetings.Respectively, request to attend through theOfficer of the Day at the duty desk uponyour entry in the meeting hall.

Membership cost will be explained atthe time you sign up, and all informationwill be furnished to you upon approval ofyour application and a date will be made forthe installation of new members.

For more information call Hank at 908616-4100 or Fred at 732 254-2142

Commission OnAging Meetings

The Borough of Sayreville Commis-sion On Aging has announced its meetingschedule for 2006. Meetings are held at theSenior Center on the 3rd Friday at 2 p.m.

The schedule: Jan. 20; Feb. 17; Mar. 17;Apr. 21; May 19; June 16;

Jul. & Aug.-No scheduled meetings;Sept. 15; Oct. 20; Nov. 17; Dec.-No sched-uled meeting.

*Health Fair-Wed., Apr. 5; Senior Citi-zen Day-Wed., May 24; Halloween Party-Wed., Oct. 25.

Seeking Owner ofRing

Ron Sturgis of South Amboy has a St.Mary’s High School ring, which his latefather Ira “Bud” Sturgis found when he wasliving on Manor St. in Morgan. “Bud”passed the ring onto Ron’s wife, who “put itin a safe place.”

Ron tells us that “In early October, wefound the ring again. It’s a female ring withwhat looks like the initials “TMOK” en-graved on the inside. It’s dated 81, so thatmeans the person would be celebrating their25th year since graduation.”

The rightful owner is welcome to e-mailRon Sturgis at: [email protected], orcall his cell number 908-601-6511.


Acclaimed recording artist Tom Russell (right) and lead guitarist Andrew Hardin appearedin the Little Theater of Cardinal McCarrick High School on December 4. Russell, who makeshis home in El Paso, Texas, delighted the audience with his repertoire of songs in theAmericana style. Hardin dazzled the listeners by turning a simple six-string guitar into avirtual orchestra. (Photo by Jerry Smith)

Hoffman Hi-Lites 2005By Terry (Jankowski) Kelly

Alumni ProfilesName-Sue Reszkowski, Class of 1951.

Favorite Memory-”School dances, decorat-ing the gym, basketball games and going toAggie’s after games.” Greatest Accom-plishment-”Living as long as I have.” Whatis Sue doing these days? “Retired, relaxing,reading.”

Name-Connie Septor Levering, Classof 1955. Favorite Memory-”Too many toremember. Baseball games, basketballgames, dances and anything else that wasgoing on.” Greatest Accomplishment-”2children and 4 grandchildren.” What isConnie doing these days? “Babysitterextraordinaire, gardener, choir member andavid reader.” E-mail address:[email protected]

Name-Joseph Brinamen, Class of 1965.Favorite Memory-”I was in Chemistry classand I asked Mr. “Z.” what is H2"zero,” Mr.“Z.” and his response: “Brinamen, “Godgive me strength!!!” Also playing basket-ball on the JV team and scoring 4 points inone game, and hearing the crowd.” GreatestAccomplishment-”Becoming a husband andfather. Working 35 years on the Parkway.”What is Joe doing these days? “RaritanPlaza Toll Supervisor on the Garden StateParkway. 2 children, Daniel and Joy (27 and

25), both born August 8th, 2 years apart.Also my bride, Bonnie.”

Name-Terry Jankowski Kelly, Class of1972. Nickname-Tee. Reason-short forTheresa. Favorite Memory-”Our gradua-tion class trip to Canada and the bus ridehome where everyone was feeling “no pain.”Patti Jorgensen, Joyce Bright and myselfhiding in the Library closet when we werenot allowed in the room and having Mrs.Grenner come in and catch us, but she wascool, she didn’t say a word to us. Also,Ozzie Levins being locked out on the roof ofMr. “Z.’s” chemistry class and being marked“absent” because no one would let him in.Bonfires down the “extra-back” with thehorseshoe crabs, hard to believe there aremillion dollar homes there now!!!” GreatestAccomplishment-”Speaking at a NationalConference for the Healthcare Finance Man-agers Association in Las Vegas this pastJune. Also having articles and picturespublished in the Asbury Park Press newspa-per.” What is Terry doing these days?“Work full time for Meridian Health as theirfirst Clinical Liaison, also became a certi-fied Yoga Teacher, a song leader at mychurch, and visiting with my mom, who stilllives in South Amboy.” e-mail address:[email protected]

The winner of this year’s decorating contest, Mechanicsville Hose Company. Congratulations,Great Job!!! (Photo by Brian Stratton)


South AmboyKnights Support

By Steve SchmidThe modern era where stories advertise

holiday sales without mentioning Christ-mas is disturbing to local individuals whocelebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Manystores are trying to make shoppers buy holi-day gifts, but refuse to let their employeeswish customers a Merry Christmas. Mem-bers of the South Amboy Knights of Colum-bus Council 426 are upset with the seculartrend.

Grand Knight, Leo DiGuilio says, “Idon’t believe in taking Christ out of Christ-mas. I don’t like stores advertising HappyHolidays.” Council Chaplain, Rich O’Brienagreed, “If you take Christ out of Christmas,what’s left in the holiday to be happy about?”Member Mike Pastrik believes its time forthe public to act. “People should picketstores where employees don’t say MerryChristmas. How stupid is this? The worldis going down the tubes.” Member/ PGK,Marty Lampart says the Knights have ev-erything covered with their North StevensAvenue sign saying ‘Merry Christmas,Happy New Year, Keep Christ in Christmasand Happy Holidays.’ Member WayneCastello thinks people need to rememberwhat Christmas stands for. “They wouldn’thave all this if it wasn’t for the birth ofChrist. No question, I’m disappointed storesdon’t celebrate Merry Christmas. They wantto be politically correct.” Member/PGKRick O’Connor says his family knows whatthe season is. “It’s Christmas. It’s alwaysgoing to be Christmas. In my house wecelebrate Christmas.”

Mets New $50Million Dollar Man

continued from page 18Delgado, Mets manager, Willie Randolph,Mets owner, Jeff Wilpon and Delgado’sagent, David Sloane.

Delgado greeted the two young menand gravitated towards Stephen Ross with abig smile worth more than the $50 millionthe Mets are going to pay him to smashbaseballs out of Shea Stadium. The $50million dollar ballplayer gave this youngman, with special needs, a part of his $100million dollar heart. Carlos spoke withStephen and his friend Tommy, signed auto-graphs and posed for photos. Dr. Dan Miller,freelance sports reporter, was the only sports-writer on hand to document this momentousmeeting. We have exclusive photos CarlosDelgado signing his first autographs as aNew York Met.

This paper wishes to congratulate JayHorwitz and the Mets organization for yourgenerous jesture during his holiday seasonfor two less fortunate individuals.

Congratulations to Dr. Dan for thinkingabout the two young men waiting outsideShea Stadium for an autograph of the thennewest player on the Mets team. Dan did theright thing and Jay Horwitz did the rightthing, And Carlos Delgado did the rightthing. Thus Carlos Delgado actually hit hisfirst homerun without a pitch ever beingthrown.

One day after introducing CarlosDelgado to the NY Media they signed pre-mier relief pitcher Billy Wagner followinga medical which Billy passed with flyingcolors. Jay Horowitz, Mets Vice presidentfor Public Relations credited longtime Co-rona Queens resident, James Plummer, MetsVice President for Corporate Relations withhelping make the difference for Billy Wagnerto choose the Mets over all other teamsinterested in signing the best closer in base-ball. James Plummer a close friends withQueens times Publisher Jim Lisa should becommended for his effort to help the Metsorganization build the team that is expectedto bring a championship to Flushing MeadowCorona Park’s Shea Stadium.

Details of James Plummer’s participa-tion in helping to bring Billy Wagner to theMets was recently discussed on the RealTalk with Jim Lisa show on WRTN 93.5FMduring the program’s segment Focus onSports with Dr. Dan Miller. The guestsincluded Tom Burkard, Sports Historian,Author, Newspaper Publisher and JackMcKeon, former manager of the 2003 WorldChampion Florida Marlins, who is also afriend of Carlos Delgado.

Events at the Count Basie TheatreAiley II,Friday, 1/27/06 at 8 PM, Tickets: $39.50, $29.50, $20 (Group Rates Apply).Elvis Birthday Bash & Costume Contest, Saturday, 1/28/06 at 8 PM, Tickets: $30, $25, $20.Happy 250th Wolfgang (Mozart Program), Sunday, 1/29/06 at 3 PM, Presented by The Symphony Orchestra,Tickets: $25, $20 (seniors), $5 students.Lonestar, Wednesday, 2/1/06 at 8 PM, Presented by AM Productions, Tickets: $100, $65, $55, $35.Let’s Go Science Show – School Show, Thursday, 2/2/06 at 10 AM, Tickets: $7.Trinity Irish Dance Company, Saturday, 2/4/06 at 8 PM, Tickets: $45, $35, $30, $25 (Group Rates Apply).Filmmakers Symposium Sneak Preview w/ Chuck Rose, Friday, 2/10/06 at 8 PM, Tickets: $10.David Bromberg Band, Saturday, 2/11/06 at 8 PM, Tickets: $50, $37.50, $32.50, $25 – (Group Rates Apply).Gregory Popovich’s Comedy & Pet Theatre, Suday, 2/12/06 at 1 PM, ickets: $18, $15.Sing! Sing! Sing! Tribute to Benny Goodman, Tuesday, 2/21/06 at 2 PM, Tickets: $40, $30, $20.


Pictured are 5th grade students participating in St. Mary Elementary School’s “SidewalkChalk Day” fundraiser. Students spent time together decorating blocks of sidewalk outsidethe school with sidewalk chalk.

Joe Morris of South Amboy finishes shoveling his sidewalk after a 3-inch snowfall on Dec.9th. (Photo by Tom Burkard)

Have A Safe &Merry Christmas

By Edward J. SzatkowskiFire Marshal

May your Christmas lighting be merryand bright. Most importantly, may yourChristmas lighting be safe. You shouldinspect your light strings and electrical cordsfor fraying and loose connections. Adhereto the manufacturers’ instructions pertain-ing to the limited amount of connecting linesthat are allowed. When leaving your home,be sure to shut off all unnecessary lighting.This will also keep your electric bill reducedfor the holiday season.

Lit candles add to the holiday feeling,but must never be left unattended. More andmore lit candles are causing numerous homefires because of being unattended. Be sureto extinguish your candles before leavingyour home or retiring for the evening.

If you are planning on having a cut tree,always be sure to check the water leveldaily. Plenty of water will add to the mois-ture content in the needles and slow downthe drying process. There are also chemicaladditives that also retard the drying outprocess.

Spaghetti DinnerSt. Mary’s Elementary School is hold-

ing a Spaghetti Dinner on Sun., Jan. 15,2006 from 1:30-4:30 p.m. (service stops at3:30 p.m.) in the school cafeteria. Ticketsare sold in advance ONLY, and cost $7 perperson or $20 per family. Send money toschool office, or buy tickets after Mass.Ticket sale ends Jan. 6. Take out available-bring your own container! Proceeds go tohelp St. Mary’s Elementary School.

The Tinsel And TheStraw

By Richard ArmknechtThere in the stableSilence was deepThe young mother watchingHer baby asleep.No gilded cradleFor the small strangerOnly the bright strawThere in the manger.All was so simpleAll was so plainNo brilliant trappingsNo tinsel skeinYet all was fitting-All without flaw-Man makes the tinsel,God made the straw.


1932-33-Would you believe one of the first Mickey Mouse Clubs was started right here inSouth Amboy? Well, it certainly was. The local Mickey Mouse fans were Front row (l-r) BettyComan, Joan Ellvinger. 2nd row (l-r) Joe ?, Jack Ellvinger, Rosalie Ellvinger, RoseCharmello. 3rd row (l-r) John Coman, A. Wisniewski, Harry Stolte. Top row (l-r) Eva Nelson,Helen Coman, Bill Coman. (Photo/story courtesy of Rose McNamara)

The Sadie Pope Dowdell Library recently held their annual Holiday Open House. This yearthe event featured a display of original oil paintings by South Amboy Artist John Vona.Pictured around one of Mr. Vona’s paintings are (l-r) Elaine Gaber, Library Director, Mr.Vona, Mrs. Marie Vona and their son John. (Photo by Brian Stratton)

Pictured (l-r) Kelly Gorman as “Tinkerbell” and Charlie Gorman as “Peter Pan” in SacredHeart School’s recent production of “Peter Pan”.

Peter Pan ASuccess

During the Christmas Season, every-one finds a part of them that doesn’t want togrow up. Sacred Heart School in SouthAmboy provided the opportunity for thelocal community to live out that fantasy byperforming Peter Pan in Memorial HallDecember 9, 10, 11. The cast consisted ofpirates, mermaids, lost boys, Indians andwild animals along with the famous char-acters of Peter Pan, Wendy, Captain Hook,John and Michael. The children preparedfor months to put on this play. Sacred HeartSchool believes in education coming in allkinds of experiences of learning for theirstudents. The story came alive in many ofthe childrens lives as they played the partsof one of the most legendary stories around.

Jason Ryan Leehr (r) poses with TiffanyHester (l) at the recent HomecomingMasquerade Ball at South Amboy HighSchool. See storyon page 27. (Photo by Brian Stratton)


South Amboy High School Homecoming Simply Elegant!!Once again the cafeteria at South Amboy High School was transformed into an elegant hallfor the school’s annual homecoming dance. The theme was Simply Elegant “A MasqueradeBall”. Pictured (l-r) is the Royal Court, Freshmen Princess and Prince, Kelsey Anderson andEric Oppenheimer, Sophomore Princess and Prince, Alli Anderson and John Zammit, JuniorPrincess and Prince, Sarah English and Bryan Klein and Senior Queen and King, ShannonCohoon and Justin Frisch. (Photo by Brian Stratton)

South Amboy Elementary SchoolPerfect Attendance First Marking

Period2005-2006

6-1 Bree Bernosky, Devon Carney,Paige Chrzaszcz, Michael Gualtieri,

Brandon Lenahan, Peter Mischutin,Amanda Ortega, Megan Przybylski

Michael Ramirez 6-2 Gina Bongiorno,Gareth Jannuzzi, Luke McNally,

Brandon Noble, Cailin Norton, VishalRama, Anna Shemchuk, 6-3 NicholasBellanich,

Jonathan Bloodgood, Robert Burns,Sara Davenport, Alec Hall, Omar Irias,

Rebecca Leite, Patricia Maslowska,Joshua Reuning, Lydia Romero 6-4 JillianBuckalew,

Ashley Cox, Patricia Cruz, AshleyHernandez, Nick Jicha, Scott MacConnell,

Richard Schnyderite, Michael Zammit5-1 Nicole Burns, Beth Chambers,

Jimmie Johnson, Nicole Kazar, RebeccaKoy, Kyle Krzyzanowski, JessicaMalizewski,

Paulina Musialek, April Ortega, CarissaPrescott, Brandon Rodriguez, AlexandriaRomero,

5-2 Emily Hensberger, Tirrell Jenkins,Ryan Kudelka, Anna Lyons, James Marcano,

Klaudia Maslowska, Emily O’Rourke,

Marques Townes, Eric Vergara 5-3 JanessaArsenault,

Anthony Corujo, Ashley Gibilisco, JetManzi, Philip Oppenheimer, ZacharySchmidt

4-1 John Acosto, DeLenn Gnizdowski,Kim Korosko, Laura Mischutin, PatrickParker,

Eulalio Perez, Paul Takacs, KevinWankmueller, Sarah Wells, AshleyWojtowicz, Jaryd Yia

4-2 Ashley Buczek, Danielle Daven-port, Cody Davis, Michelle Escalante, IvonneEscareno,

Daniel Gentile, William Gonzales, KimHessner, Catherine Kosakowska, FrankMartinez,

Tyler Prescott, Rolando Reneau, IssaihRodriguez, Jose Romero, Tyler Sullivan

Alexis Wojtowicz 4-3 Courtney Buell,Marvin DeAusen, Cody Ilardi, KaraHoffman,

Erin Sanchez, Heather Schnyderite,John Volk, Kortney Wahler, 4-4 JamesBloodgood,

Katrina Cruz, Natalie Ghigliotty,Shanna Hoffman, Joanna Joks, NicholasKales, Omar Khalil

Thomas Loughrey, Komal Naqvi, SamPerez, Dylan Unkel

Dressmaking At the Dowdell Library?Yes!

Looking for an outfit to wear to theHomecoming Ball? If you feel a creativeurge to make it yourself, check it out at theDowdell Library! That’s what 11th graders,Tiffany Hester and Jason Ryan Leehr did inpreparation for the 2005 South Amboy HighSchool Homecoming – “Simply Elegant, aBlack and White Ball.”

After locating information on dress-making, they calculated the amount of fab-ric needed, learned how to make a pattern aswell as use a sewing machine. They foundthe elegant fabric at the Ragshop on Route 9

and spent a mere three weeks in designingthe beautiful full-length gown that Tiffanywore. Tiffany mentioned that her grand-mother, Ethel, gave them insightful techni-cal tips, as well. The dress was accessorizedwith dangling earrings and black Chineseslippers. Jason and Tiffany are consideringmaking a gown for the 2006 Homecoming,too.

For further tips, check out Simplicity’sSimply the Best Sewing Book or other bookson sewing @ South Amboy’s Dowdell Li-brary (adjacent to the High School).


Prime Time TV1965Sunday Evenings 7-11 p.m.ABC-Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea;

The F.B.I.; ABC Sunday Night Movie.CBS-Lassie; My Favorite Martian; Ed

Sullivan Show; Perry Mason; Candid Cam-era; What’s My Line.

NBC-Bell Telephone Hour/ActualitySpecials; Walt Disney’s Wonderful Worldof Color; Branded; Bonanza; Wackiest Shipin the Army.

AOL Picks UltimateSongwriters

AOL recently selected its UltimateSongwriters:

1. Bob Dylan 2.Lennon & McCartney3.Jagger & Richards 4.Brian Wilson 5.PeteTownsend 6.Neil Young 7.Led Zeppelin8.Elton John & Bernie Taupin 9.BruceSpringsteen 10. U2 11.Curt Cobain.

Christmas Songs SpectacularTrivia Test

By Tom Burkard

1.__White Christmas a.Elvis Presley2.__The Chipmunk Song b.Gene Autry3.__Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer c.Perry Como4.__Little Drummer Boy d.Bruce Springsteen5.__Jingle Bell Rock e.Band Aid6.__Little St. Nick f.Jimmy Boyd7.__Happy Christmas g.The Royal Guardsmen8.__Home For The Holidays h.Bobby Helms9.__I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus i.Jose Feliciano10._Do They Know It’s Christmas j.Burl Ives11._Blue Christmas k.Bing Crosby12._Pretty Paper l.Chuck Berry13._Run Rudolph Run m.Percy Faith14._Santa Claus Is Coming To Town n.The Chipmunks15._Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer o.Brenda Lee16._Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree p.Harry Simeone Chorale17._Holly Jolly Christmas q.The Beach Boys18._Snoopy’s Christmas r.John Lennon & Yoko One19._Feliz Navidad s.Roy Orbison20._We Need A Little Christms t.Elmo & Patsy

Answers1k 2n 3b 4p 5h 6q 7r 8c 9f 10e11a 12s 13l 14d 15t 16o 17j 18g 19i 20m.

SAFAHolidayWishes

President Lee G. Steiner and the mem-bers of the South Amboy First Aid andSafety Squad would like to thank the City ofSouth Amboy, the South Amboy Fire Deptand Police Dept for any and all assistanceprovided to the Squad in 2004. It wasgreatly appreciated. The Squad also wishesto thank all those individuals that madedonations to

our endeavors. With the phase “Helpus to help you”. our 100% volunteer , nocharge service can continue past the 75thanniversary (2008). In closing we wish thebest of the holiday season and a very happynew year to all.


Santa and Mrs. Claus help usher the Holiday Season in at the huge Borough of SayrevilleHoliday Parade. (Photo By Tom Burkard)

Home Town Hero In IraqWell, in just about a week from now I

will begin the long and arduous journeyback home for my mid-tour R&R. I’mhoping this upcoming week will go byquickly and I’m sure with the upcomingnational elections here in Iraq, we will bevery busy. Despite continued attacks fromterrorists, the campaigning continues andthe Iraqis are determined to form their firstdemocratically and constitutionally electedgovernment since the fall of SaddamHussein.

I know back at home there is an ongoingdebate about the war here. Many politicianshave talked about the morale of the troopshere in the wake of the debate. I can honestlysay the morale is strong, but frustration atthe way things are reported continues. Letme show you something I readrecently:“attitude towards American occu-pation forces has swung from apathy andsurface friendliness to active dislike. Ac-cording to a military government official,this is finding expression in the organizationof numerous local anti-American organiza-tions throughout the zone and in a rapidincrease in the number of attacks on Ameri-can soldiers. There were more such attacksin the first week of October than in thepreceding five months”

In another story, that reported on up-coming elections it was written that a vastmajority of the country’s people “remainedpassive in attitude toward politics and dis-played no disposition to take over civicresponsibilities.”Yet another story reportedthat polls taken on the reaction to US occu-pation of their country showed “bitter re-sentment and deep disappointment” overthe US occupation.

Those quotes are from stories publishedby The New York Times entitled “GermansReveal Hate of Americans”, 31 OCT 1945;“Germans Declare Americans Hated”, 03DEC 1945; and “German Elections Set InTowns of U.S. Zone”, 19 DEC 1945. De-spite the New York Times’ efforts to high-

light the difficulties and violence encoun-tered by the US occupation force, we pre-vailed and Germany is an ally today.

What I find irksome, is that a prepon-derance of those in the media choose toreport the negative aspects of this war andthe numerous difficulties encountered andignore the positive stories, despite the goodthings that happen here on a daily basis.Interestingly, many of the same media enti-ties then poll Americans on their opinion ofthe war. How can they expect people to beobjective when all they have been exposedto is the subjective? Of course, they then getto report the bad news of the polling results!

This coming week, despite the terror-ists’ best efforts, the Iraqi’s will go to thepolls and democratically elect their newgovernment which will hold office for thenext four years. The Iraqis are increasinglytaking responsibility for their own security.Since August 2004, Iraq has added 90 IraqiArmy battalions to its forces. In the last yearthey have increased their security forcesfrom 96,000 last year to 212,000 trained andequipped forces this year What the people athome need to understand is that just havingtrained and equipped forces is not enough.In order to be self-sustaining through therange of combat operations, the Iraqi’s aresteadily developing their logistics and ad-ministrative capacity at the brigade, divi-sion and ministry levels. Progress is beingmade at a steady pace, but we cannot andmust not set a date certain for the withdrawalof US forces. It must be condition-based,which means that when Iraqi forces reach acertain competency level and are able tosustain themselves in combat operations,US forces can then stand down. To para-phrase former Secretary of State ColinPowell, we broke it and we’ll fix it before weleave. We owe that to the Iraqi people andwe owe that to the brave, young soldiers,sailors, airmen and marines who have foughtfor Iraqi freedom and indeed, our securityback at home.

J.F. O’CONNELL, Major, USAF

next issue jan. 21st all deadlines jan. 9th for ads call

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