Linus: [to Sally as she walks away with everyone else] Hey, aren't you going to stay to greet the Great Pumpkin? Huh? It won't be long now. If the Great Pumpkin comes, I'll still put in a good word for you!
[realizes what he just said]
Linus: Good grief! I said "if"! I meant, "when" he comes!
[calmly]
Linus: I'm doomed. One little slip like that could cause the Great Pumpkin to pass you by. Oh, Great Pumpkin, where are you?
October 2009 Archives
Sheri-Rose Rubin Richard Weber Joe Vassallo
Election Day is less than one week away. And, as you know, three dedicated residents are vying for two vacating seats on the Borough Council. The Democratic Candidates are Richard Weber and Sheri-Rose Rubin. Joe Vassallo is running on the Republican ticket. Here are their answers to a few questions that we thought might help provide information on who they are and what they'd like to see for Metuchen:
What is your feeling about downtown development? What would you do in your role on the Council to ensure Metuchen is a business friendly community that promotes smart growth while maintaining a good quality of life?
Joe Vassallo:
I believe that responsible downtown development is, and always has been, a concern of all of our residents. Republican Council members have worked hard to streamline the zoning process and make it easier to attract new businesses by introducing the change of use ordinance. We need to continue to move in a direction which would attract additional suitable businesses to our downtown and encourage local residents to shop here. I have seen great success in other municipalities that have established an affiliation with Main Street USA and we should examine that as an option. We also have to carefully, and completely review any large scale downtown development projects to avoid any potential negative impact on quality of life within Metuchen.
The three most important issues facing the residents of Metuchen, in no particular order, are: Traffic congestion, maintaining the level and quality of municipal services, and responsible development. As a supervisor of a municipal traffic unit I have participated in a number of surveys and projects specifically aimed at reducing traffic congestion and identifying hazardous driving conditions. I will bring that experience to the Council and I plan to introduce several suggestions designed to reduce traffic congestion throughout the Borough. I have participated in budgeting for municipal services for the past 15 years for a similar municipality and I have sought, written, and received numerous grant awards which supplemented the budget for the police department there. I would propose that we continue to seek any grant funding available to alleviate the potential burden of tax increases. We have all experienced the unpleasant result of unfettered development and the burden it places on our municipal services. My experience in reviewing proposed projects and their impact on various quality of life issues will be an asset to residents of Metuchen and ensure responsible development.
Rubin and Weber:
The surge of new business activity on
The Council must continue to address perceived costly and burdensome on business and property owners. In response, the Borough changed an ordinance to allow a business space to change from one permitted use to another without the need for costly plans or a planning board hearing. We also believe that the Borough should engage in a form of outreach as a means to attract diverse and unique business owners who will recognize the vibrant strengths of our downtown and seek to invest in the future of our community.
Governor Jon Corzine will be signing the Dismal Swamp Preservation Commission bill on Thursday, October 29, 2009 at 5 PM at the Triple C Ranch located at 206 Tyler Road in Edison, just off New York Boulevard. Corzine is joining Assemblymen Peter Barnes and Patrick Diegnan, and the nonprofit Edison Wetlands Association (EWA) in forming this state commission to preserve the Dismal Swamp Conservation Area in Edison, South Plainfield, and Metuchen.
Street evangelists or controversy seekers? You decide. PreachingJesus777Ministries 'taking the gospel to the streets where it belongs' seems to believe Metuchen High is a good target and has been to the school a couple of times this week. They were told to move it off of school grounds. Parents are hoping to remove the video from YouTube. The organization doesn't seem to have much support - according to critics, they target groups where controversy will get them attention. Here's what one person had to say:
On August 9th, Wild Rice was supposed to reopen after its owners took a much-needed vacation. With a prominent Facebook presence, it has been fascinating to track what they've been doing instead of feeding Metuchen--the restaurant is still closed and their Facebook home page said they apologize for "any inconvenience" this might cause. Considering that my family ate there at least once a week since it opened, it's a big hole in our culinary life. Anybody else miss it? While we're trying desperately to make downtown as vital as possible, the beautiful but dark facade of Wild Rice is like a big raspberry to our hopes for Main Street Metuchen.
And so I propose the following--if you are on Facebook, befriend Wild Rice and let them know, in your own inimitable fashions, that we want our Wild Rice! And we want it now! (Be strong but be nice!)
This morning I drove past a solar panel above a switchbox at the corner of Oakland and Grove. This is a picture of it. Take a look at stimulus money in action--this much-maligned intersection is going to get the safety makeover promised by Borough Council. Just like Albert Brooks in BROADCAST NEWS ("I say it here and it comes out there"), the words of concerned citizens at the Council mike are turning into a safer street for the legions of Metuchenites, young and old, who use the park and bike and walk across those streets everyday.
Grimlock Manor: A Haunted Walkthrough Attraction
WHERE:
WHEN: October 30th, 31st and November 1st. 7PM-11PM Nightly
WHAT: Two Great Attractions for One low price!
Grimlock Manor - A Walkthrough Victorian Manor
(Not recommended for small children without adult supervision.)
Grimlock Graveyard & Crypt - A Guided Graveyard Tour. ( Fun for all ages.)
PRICE: $8 for age 13 and over; $5 children 12 and younger
25% of all proceeds will benefit the Metuchen EMS
ONLY 100 AVAILABLE! - A Coloring book of the various historic buildings of Metuchen with proceeds benefiting the Metuchen-Edison Historical Society.
"The Society hopes children of all ages will enjoy putting their own creative touches on these local sites and, in the process, develop a greater appreciation for how these places make our area a very special place to grow-up" said Tyreen Reuter of the Historical Society.
Using an explosive combination of musical accompaniment, from the Smiths to Peter Gabriel to Mott the Hoople and, of course, Alex's favorite Ludwig Van, Alex Dawson has given Anthony Burgess' A CLOCKWORK ORANGE a steampunked reinterpretation--and you can check it out at Middlesex County College this weekend, tonight and Saturday at 8PM and Sunday at 2PM. With inspired performances by T.J. McNeill as Alex, Jason Jackson as the DJ, Shawn Harrison, Jess Masch, Jane Smith and Metuchen's own Carlyle Owens playing multiple roles, A CLOCKWORK ORANGE is a compelling and provocative stage production. Alex, the hormonally-raging and ravaging teen tornado (and his version of 'homies,' the Droogs) have been reconsidered by Dawson as "a teenage MacHeath (sort of Mack the Knife meets Ferris Bueller with the coke binge elocution of Robin William's genie from ALADDIN)." Without explicit violence and sexually graphic setpieces, A CLOCKWORK ORANGE presents Burgess' scary sneety in a nadmenny raskazz guaranteed to brosay a poogly kick to the audience's keeshkas. For translation and transcendent theatrical experience, get to the the show this weekend! Click on the very stylish ad to the left for ticket information.
P.S. If you'd rather make it a pre-Halloween event, there's a midnight performance on Fright Night, October 30th.
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Alert Name: |
Luring Incident |
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Alert Type: |
School Information |
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Complete Message: |
On the evening of 10/22 we received word from our police department that a luring incident occurred near our high school. An out of state car was hanging around a street near the high school and noticed by two of our students. A third student was walking by herself; she was approached by two men from their car. They were waving and calling out for her to join them in the car. The young lady ignored them and continued on her way. A boyfriend of the other two girls arrived to drive them home and he immediately notified the police and gave enough information for the police to apprehend and arrest the suspects. Please remind your children to refrain from tallking to strangers or getting into unfamiliar vehicles. Staff will be doing the same reminders. |
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School Name: |
Metuchen School District |
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Sent By: |
Terri Sinatra |
From Metuchen Public LIbrary:
On Sunday, October 25 at 2PM at the Metuchen Public Library, Metuchen's teens are
invited to celebrate Teen Read Week with a book discussion of the classic work of
science fiction, Ender's Game (1985) by Orson Scott Card. After the discussion, a short
video with the author will be shown and refreshments will be served.
Registration is open now. The first 18 people who sign up in-person at the Library for
this program will receive a free copy of Ender's Game, compliments of the Friends of
the Library. For more information, call 732-632-8526 or write the Young Adult Librarian
at KLiss@Lmxac.org.
A reader recently wrote to us asking about the childhood home of one Mr. David Seth Kotkin, aka David Copperfield. The famed illusionist is a Metuchen native and his fans are clamoring for the address of the home in which he grew up.
Does anybody know it? If you do, tell us! And if you knew him way back in the day, send us a good story about the man who made the Statue of Liberty "disappear."
He may have his own island now, but his old Metuchen home wasn't just an illusion . . . or was it?? (cue spooky music . . . )
You should be able to smell the espresso by the first week in November when successful cafe entrepreneurs from
Design images created by Christina Coutsoubelis Marcille of Spatial Forum in Metuchen.
Metuchen police sergeant Arthur and Lisette Flaherty's 4 year old daughter Kylie Jo was recently diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.
The MPD family will participate in the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) Walk To Cure Diabetes on Sunday, October 25th at the Cook College Campus of Rutgers University.
Click here if you are able to join in the walk or would like to show your support by donating on behalf of Team Kylie to help all children with the disease.
A Celtic Knot piece and a Hailey's Harp & Pub sign are both due to go up soon at the aforementioned Hailey's. What's the Scoop, which has had original ice cream bowls designed by Amy on sale there over the summer, will have some new pieces to show off by the end of October. New work will also be featured in Westerhoff's Holiday Art Show on November 22nd from 3-5PM and an additional hanging at Century 21 was a possibility as of this writing.
To check out Amy's eclectic examples of other work (a handmade piece would be a particularly special and unique holiday gift, no?), use this link. For more info on Paradise Custom Stained Glass, check out Teri Coleman's interview with Amy from June in our archives section.
As parents, we know the stress of worrying about providing the best education possible for our children whether it's elementary school or college. Today's recession is making it more difficult than ever to save for a child's college fund. Identifying available resources to help cover the costs of a college education can often be difficult or complicated.
On Thursday, October 22, 2009 from 6:30 pm until 9:00 pm, we will be hosting a Financial Aid Night at Middlesex County College. We will be joined by representatives from the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority (HESAA) who will answer your question about financial aid programs.
The Metuchen Cultural Arts Commission Presents:
Jazz Night 2009
When: October 23 at 7:30 PM (doors open at 7:00)
Where: Metuchen High School Auditorium Theater (
Cost: $5 per person, $12 for families of 3 or more.
Tickets available at the door
Featuring:
Nationally acclaimed jazz performer and composer, Rich Reiter and
Steve Kaplan's Occasional Quartet (featuring Metuchen musicians)
For more information, call 732-632-8502
This month we celebrate our 1st anniversary. When we started, we believed the community could benefit from real time, interactive information and communication. We're still trying to figure out the best way to accomplish that but here are some of our stats from the past year:
· There have been 111,248 visits to the site
· 13,334 of which are "unique users" (or individual households or business locations)
· We average over 10% new readers each week
· Readers come from 10 different countries and read us in 10 different languages(we've had 100 visits from
· Users connect via Cable 50% of the time, DSL 20% and 2.8% of you still dial-up
In looking back over some of our 669 posts, we realize the site documents what has happened in town as much as announce what is happening or will happen. Our first snowfall last year came on October 29th, I'd forgotten that.

Come and see a FREE SCREENING of Monsters vs. Aliens on Saturday night, October 17th, at Tommy's Pond on Lake Avenue. Bring your lawn chairs and blankets and enjoy the movie after the traditional Halloween Pumpkin Float on the pond.
The show starts at 7PM. The event will be moved indoors to the MHS Auditorium if the weather is inclement. See you there!
Union representatives from Local 78 were in town protesting the contracting firm hired to remove asbestos from the old Recycland plant, which will soon be the new Metuchen Sportsplex indoor sports facility. A reader sent a copy of the flyer being distributed (
mm.AsbestosCompany.pdf) and told us that a big blow-up rat, like the one in this photo, was on site.
In November, applications will be available if you'd like part of the 100-year-old vine for transplanting--reader Jiradon Rader-Chambers, the creator of the project, gives us an update:
The Garden Club of Metuchen has been an amazing help for this project. Jeanne Coppola Giarratano is 100% behind this mission. So far Tyreen Reuter and the other members of the Borough Improvement League for the Old Franklin School has graciously allowed the vine to be planted on the grounds of the O.F.S. The GCM's Master Gardener, George Kuhne has been researching ways to go about the transplanting. Also Jeanne was in touch with the owner of the Renault Winery and he suggested taking cuttings to achieve the transplanting instead of digging up the vine. It seems that at this point we will be offering cuttings to the community and instructions on propagating the vine. Right now we are throwing ideas out there so nothing is set in stone but it seems that the cuttings possibility is the most viable. I will let you know more when we decide. Thanks, Jirapon
From the Chamber of Commerce:
On Tuesday, October 13th, representatives of the Metuchen Area Chamber of Commerce will be joined by Metuchen Mayor Thomas Vahalla for an official ribbon cutting ceremony welcoming Anastasios and Dimitri Aloupis, the proprietors of Buon Appetito. Join us at 6:00 pm as we cut the ribbon and sample some of their menu items.
Anastasios and Dimitri first learned that the former Roberto's Pizzeria was for sale from a friend whose restaurant supply service told them of the opportunity. After visiting Metuchen several times to get a feel for the town, Dimitri noted, "We just have to be a part of this community, with it's small town atmosphere and friendly residents. I have been around restaurants since I was 10 years old and my father (Anastasios) has over 30 years in the restaurant industry. Metuchen is a perfect fit for us."
Cartridge World, the largest retailer of cartridge refilling services in the $60 billion printer cartridge industry, is now at 469
From Metuchen Travel Soccer:
Metuchen Travel Soccer Club has started up their regular season on September 17th & 18th weekend. Here are the results from the past two weeks:
Metuchen Fire U8 team lost to Elite Soccer Club 3-0 in their first regular season game.
Metuchen United U9 dropped their season opener 2-1 at
Metuchen Blue Dawgs started their season with a pair of ties. In week one action, the Blue Dawgs tied
Metuchen Storm U10 girls beat the Berkeley Heights Bombers 2-0. It was a great team effort. Scoring were Chritine Laskowski and Paige Meadwocroft.
From Metuchen Pop Warner President, Glenn Shapiro:
On Sunday, October 4, the Environmental Commission hosted a brainstorming session to develop ideas for a Vision and Master Plan for the potential extension of the Middlesex Greenway. A follow-up session will be held on Wed Nov 18th from 7-9pm at the
From Project Graduation Coordinators:
Stop by Project Graduation's "Brainy Boro Bookstore" at the Metuchen Country Fair on Saturday October 10th. We will be showcasing books written by local authors and former Metuchenites. Buy a 50/50 raffle, a bulldog pumpkin or sign up for "Evening at the Races"... all proceeds to benefit Project Graduation Class of 2010.
Project Graduation is a committee of parents who raise funds so that on graduation night our Seniors can celebrate their achievement in a safe, substance-free environment. This overnight event is a long-standing tradition in the town of
There are many ways to support this worthwhile event---Evening at the Races, Sponsorship Opportunities - just stop by and learn about the "Brainy Boro".
From the Chamber of Commerce:
On Tuesday, October 13th, Metuchen Mayor Thomas Vahalla will join representatives of the Metuchen Area Chamber of Commerce for a grand opening and official ribbon cutting ceremony welcoming Irene Mak, of Body & Brain. Join us at
What do you want our school district to consider when deciding on a new principal for Metuchen High School? Click here to participate in a survey of what you think matters most. All residents are encouraged to share their ideas. Responses are due by October 15th.
Asking For the Fire, an exhibit of sculptural wall works by three East Coast ceramic artists, opened October 4th and runs through October 29th at the Westerhoff Gallery at 5 Calvin Street in Metuchen. Pat Timothy Caughy, a ceramics artist from Maryland (with an MFA from Pratt Institute), Joy Kreves (MFA from Illinois State University) and Metuchen resident Linda Vonderschmidt-LaStella (MFA, Catholic University) have all created new works for this show. For further information about the gallery or the school, contact Mickey Waring, Art Director for the Westerhoff, at 732-548-8680.
From the St. Francis Cathedral School HSA:
Lighten up!! Join us for a Night of Comedy with Metuchen's own comedy sensation Andy Rehorn and NYC headliner, Buddy Flip. Buddy Flip has performed recently at Comedy Central, on HBO, at
When: Friday, October 16th at 8pm in the St. Francis Cathedral Cafeteria.
Cost: $15.00
Bonus!: The first 50 guests to arrive will win a fabulous door prize
All proceeds to benefit students at St. Francis Cathedral School.
Contact: Christine DeJianne at 732-463-2963 ickets or more information at 732-463-2983.
The weather is taking on that certain chill and the leaves on the trees are changing color so it must be time to find some indoor activities for your little ones. We suggest checking out this link and finding age-appropriate, free storytimes and other activities at the local library that will keep those tiny synapses firing under those fuzzy winter hats.
From the Metuchen Chamber of Commerce:
Due to the threat of inclement weather, the 46th Annual Metuchen Country Fair scheduled for Saturday, October 3, has been postponed until Saturday, October 10.
Caroline Woodruff
Office Administrator
Metuchen Area Chamber of Commerce
Councilman Justin Manley has asked us to help get the word out. The Metuchen Technology Advisory Committee (formerly the Cable TV Advisory Committee) wants to learn how they can be most effective in helping our town make the best use of our communications technology.
Click here for a survey posted on the Borough Website. You are encouraged to fill it out and send it to the Borough Clerk. With the results, the committee can best decide how to help now and establish plans to move us into the next phase of communications.
Look for the MTAC at tomorrow's fair as well, they'll have copies of the survey too.


















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