Asbury Park Press from Asbury Park, New Jersey • Page 21

Contact us! To discuss a local story or suggest a topic, please contact Patricia McDaniel: 3601 Highway 66, Box 1550 Sepume.SJ 07754-1 551 C32) 922-6000, Ext. 4300 fax: (732) 922-4818 B2 uiru Friday, December 25, 1998 Asbury Park Press Police search for relatives in road death UPCOMING r' 'lit 1 01 (t By JOSEPH SAPIA FREEHOLD BUREAU FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP Police are seeking help from the Hispanic community to identify a pedestria struck and killed by a car Tuesday Besides trying to confirm the-; man's identity, police are trying locate the victim's family, Police Chief William Alexander said. Township police have a tentative identification. However, they di4 not release it pending notification; of relatives. Police were in the process of; sending out notices to groups and others in soliciting help to track'! down the victim's relatives.

The pedestrian was killed in-. stantly as he walked along Business! Route 33 just west of Wemrock Roadj about 6:20 p.m. Police said the man was about age 55 and is thought to be HiSt panic. He was wearing dark clothes- and a baseball-style cap with the let2 ters police reported. Rae O'Brien, 55, of Monroe was alone in the car when the accident occurred and was uninjured.

Nq charges were filed against her but the accident remained under investf ligation, police said. O'Brien was traveling west oivj Business Route 33, and it appeared the man was walking east towarf oncoming traffic, police reported The stretch of two-lane road has no-sidewalks. Any witnesses should call police at (732) 462-7908. Patrolman Briaii Worth is the investigator. JJ A jl A Mid-Town empowerment council, renewal Gail L.

Oliver, president of the Spirit of JOE OELCONZOSpecial to the Press speaks at celebration on getting into state revitalization program. visits this 'hood I WEDOtXTOWH: Portcy Parte will hold a res reception from 4 to 6 p.m. Sxcjy if Murray Farmhouse. For fore (rftmaaon. call (732) 542-5966.

FREEHOLD: The Freehold Center Partnership ce-eorates Kwanzaa from noon to 3 p.m. tomorrow at the Court sreet school. Activities will Include crafts, contests and entertainment. Participants are encouraged to to come dressed in traditional clothing. Tickets are $7 for adults and $3 for children.

For more information, call (732) 462-3S84. HOWELL: The Jersey Shore Postcard Club will hold a holiday postcard fair from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday at the German American Club. Lanes Mill Road.

Local memorabilia, door prizes and appraisals will be featured. Admission is $2. For more Information, call (732) 363-8367. HOWELL: The Historical Society will sponsor a tea with children's dolly or teddy from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday at Old Ardena School, Old Tavern and Preventorium roads.

For more information, call (732) 431-2280. ABERDEEN: Sunday Is the deadline to purchase tickets for the New Year's Eve party of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Post 4745. The event will be held at 9 p.m. Thursday the post headquarters at Cllffwood Ave. The cost is $25.

For more Information, call (732) 583-1 51 7 or (732) 566-9725. HAZLET: The Recreation Commission will ofTer "Creative Theatre Class: Winter 99" for students age 9 to 1 3 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, from 9 a.m. to noon Thursday and from 10 a.m.

to 1 p.m. next Saturday. Students will create and perform an original show. The cost Is $65. Registration can be done at the Cul-len center In veterans Memorial Park, Union Avenue.

MANALAPAN: Bridge players will meet at 7 p.m. Monday at the Monmouth County Library, 1 25 Symmes Drive. For more information, call (732) 431-7242. FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP: The Parks and Recreation commission will have a trip to the First Union Spectrum In Philadelphia to see Disney on ice's "The Little Mermaid." The group will depart at 3 p.m. Monday from Liberty Oak Park.

The cost Is $30. For reservations, call (732) 294-2199. LACEY: Residents are planning a holiday friendship dinner from 1 to 4 p.m. today at the Community Hall, Route 9. Local transportation is available.

For more Information, call (609) 693-6779. TOMS RIVER The Ocean County Society of Model Railroaders will present a holiday operating model railroad display from 1 to 5 p.m. tomorrow and Sunday at the Ocean County Historical Society, 26 Hadley Ave. Admission is $2 for adults. Send Almanac Items to Community, Asbury Park Press, 3601 Highway 66, Box 1550, Neptune, NJ 07754-1551.

3 A ai ItHmtrr tMlL Bum i in JOE DELCONZOSpecial to the Press Kenneth Williams (left), founder of a youth service in talks recreational needs with Irwin Webb, with the council. Communities priority consideration for grants. A state-funded community director to manage the project. State assistance in coordinating government, private sector and nonprofit resources. The council comprised of volunteers who are residents, businesses and religious leaders from the Mid-Town section has worked hard developing ideas for the future of its community, Monroe said.

"Neptune we as a community have pulled together and are united behind our goal to see the Mid-Town redeveloped," she said at the ceremony on Wednesday. Next month, council members and township officials expect to meet with state representatives to discuss the next steps for jump-starting the program, such as the selection of the community director, she said. "It's so important that people get involved and not remain silent," Oliver said. "We want people to be excited about living in Neptune again." "It's such a thrill to see this happening," said Monroe, who began the effort to get the Mid-Town included in the program while she was mayor. The next meeting of Mid-Town council will be held at 6:30 p.m.

Jan. 7 at the Greater Emanuel Temple Pentecostal Church, 401 Drummond Ave. Neptune area gets state aid in effort By JOHN A. HARNES COASTAL MONMOUTH BUREAU NEPTUNE It's not just the holiday spirit that is getting township officials and Mid-Town residents like Gail L. Oliver and the Rev.

Paul Brown excited this year. Now that Gov. Whitman has included the Mid-Town area in the state's Urban Neighborhood Empowerment Program, hopes are rising that over the next five years residents will see this part of the township revitalized. "It's just so exciting," said Oliver, president of the Mid-Town Neighborhood Empowerment Council. She will work with municipal and state officials to focus the redevelopment efforts on the community, whose boundaries are north to south Asbury Avenue and Corlies Avenue and east to west Memorial Drive and Neptune Boulevard.

Mid-Town Neighborhood Empowerment Council members, township officials and interested residents gathered this week at the Housing Authority's community room on Davis Avenue to celebrate the area's admission into the state program. Holiday music filled the room along with praises Norris Harding rings the bells at used to tug on the heavy ropes with his bare hands before Harding was born, and his older cousin played during midnight Mass. "I used to sit on the steps and watch my cousin play," Harding Jiaid. "I just thought it was the coolest thing." liA. Pups From Page Bl? six males and four female puppies sleep in a huddle together in a caga and are protective of each otherj; she said.

Ursula Goetz, executive directo of the SPCA, said the puppies greeted workers at the door Tuestj day morning. With the canines wa a note that read "Please take these puppies, their birthday is Nov.20." vj Goetz said Vitetta has taken on tremendous task, noting "to take otf i that many during the holidays something." She also said that "a litter ot 10 is unusual. The SPCA is in search of more foster parents, Goetz said. Goetz said the center was convj cerned about finding someone tcj care for the puppies at home. Shei" said the shelter could not keep thl puppies because they were less tharj The pups had to meet age guided lines before the shelter can takef them in because of fear of spreading infections to the other animals a the center, she said.

i Vitetta has already marked a datif on her calendar to take the 10 pup2 pies to the SPCA to get their shots Then she will monitor them to de termine any allergic reaction to theJ medication. "I'm just a little worried aboulj getting all 10 of them there and back," she said. On Jan. 30, the puppies will return to the shelter and wait for someone to adopt them. "This has done me in," said Vt tetta, "I don't want any more Vitetta isn't worried about how her sons are going to deal with ding farewell to the puppies in a month.

"They know we give love and' then we set them free," she said. Goetz said people interested in the fostering program or adopting the puppies and other animals aC the shelter can call the SPCA at 3 (732) 542-0040 or visit the center at 260 Wall St. in Eatontown. supplier. No one from the company was available yesterday afternoon to comment.

Investigators have begun inspect-' ing the car and truck, but the work is not finished, according to The accident forced the closure of. Route 34 for about five hours. The accident is under investiga" tion by Colts Neck police, the Mon--mouth County prosecutor's office, the county Se'rious Collision Analysis Response Team and state police. A New Brunswick doctor no ringer for Quasimodo for people's contributions in getting the designation. Brown, pastor of the First Pentecostal Church on Oxonia Avenue, commended the efforts of officials like Patricia Monroe, a member of the Township Committee, and Oliver for their efforts in getting the program off the ground.

Oliver grew up on a street that once was called Springwood Avenue. She remembers the pride that residents had about the neighborhood, when it was more ethnically diverse and offered businesses and entertainment. She also remembers when the JASON TOWLENStaff Photographer a church in New Brunswick. Harding hasn't been able to play much lately. His hectic schedule hasn't allowed it, and fears there will be nobody to take his place once he stops.

"I'm it. When I'm not around, they don't get played," Harding said. area lost its sense of community, after the riots of 1970. The name of the street was even changed to West Lake Avenue, trying to put that period of civil strife behind the neighborhood. Oliver hopes to see that sense of community pride return to the Mid-Town neighborhood.

She knows it will taken much time, sweat and nurturing for the area to fully recover. Under the Neighborhood Empowerment program, residents in the area collaborate with municipal and state officials in the redevelopment effort. The state program gives: "I tried to get (my two brothers) to do it, but they have other interests," he said. There's another problem he's worried about, too. The bells and their carriage are old and haven't been repaired since they were installed more than 100 years ago.

The ropes break constantly and he's patched up several already. "I would hate to see them go or go mechanical," Harding said. "It's really rare to see bells that are still played by hand. A lot of churches use remote controls these days," he said. Harding said he has been working with the church to raise about $30,000 to get the bells back into shape.

In the meantime, Harding plans to enjoy their sound as long as he can. Tonight he will play "starting at about 10 all the way up until midnight Mass." "I'll be up here, probably in jeans and a T-shirt, working up a sweat and loving every rftinute of it," he said. By BRENDA BARBOSA STAFF WRITER NORRIS HARDING is the modern-day man in the bell tower. True, he doesn't have the crooked gait or meager existence of Victor Hugo's tragic hero in "The Hunchback of Notre Dame." No, the New Brunswick man has a funky red sports car, a bright smile and a hobby not too many people have. For the past 15 years, Harding, 32, has climbed the rickety steps leading to the dusty bell tower at St.

Peter's Roman Catholic Church on Somerset Street in New Brunswick to provide sweet music to those within an earshot away. Trucker From Page Bl scene. An autopsy done yesterday by the Monmouth County Medical Examiner's Office showed Andrews died of multiple injuries, said Assistant Monmouth County Prosecutor Peter Warshaw. Andrews' passengers her husband, Harry no age available, and her daughter, Courtney, 5 remained hospitalized yesterday at Jersey Shore Medical Center, Neptune. They were in critical condition.

Jackson was uninjured in the accident. He remained yesterday in the Monmouth County Jail, Freehold Township, in lieu of $75,000 bail. He has been charged with vehicular homicide and traffic summonses for driving under the influence, reckless driving, failure to keep in his lane and failure to keep right. Jackson was driving the truck for the Central Jersey Materials a Matawan masonry and landscaping "They say all surgeons are in i some way artistic," said the sec ond-year resident at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and former choir boy. "I guess this is my way of showing it." Playing the bells is something Harding loves to do.

It's a tradition thfit has lived in his family for several generations. His grandfather.