Nearly all Far Hills streets cleared by Sunday after weekend flooding and downed trees in storm

Far Hills Police Chief Kenneth Hartman said all streets that had been closed due to flooding or trees knocked down by Saturday's storm were cleared and reopened by Sunday, March 14, except for Campbell Road.

Hartman said Campbell Road remained closed off as of about 6 p.m. on Sunday because of trees and electrical wires knocked down by the storm since Saturday.

Unlike some other Somerset County municipalities, Far Hills sustained more damage on Saturday than on Sunday, the chief said. Water flooded from Peapack Road, across the Far Hills Fairground, and onto the intersection of Route 202 and Peapack Road, Hartman said. The flooding resulted in that area becoming impassable between Saturday evening and about 2 a.m. on Sunday morning, he said.

Downed trees and wires, as well as some flooding, had closed Lake Road on Saturday, Hartman said. Part of Route 202 was also closed because of a tree knocked over by the storm on Saturday, the chief said.
_ Linda Sadlouskos

Far Hills police blotter: Burglary at Butlers Pantry

Posted via MyCentralJersey.com:

BURGLARY, 1 a.m. March 4. Police are investigating a burglary at the Butlers Pantry on Route 202.

The business was burglarized between 9 p.m. March 3 and 1 a.m. March 4. An unsuccessful attempt was made to steal an ATM inside the business, police said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Chief Kenneth Hartman by e-mail at FarHillsChief@aol.com or call 908-963-4006 or Detective Michael DeCarolis by e-mail at FHPDDeCarolis@aol.com or call 908-672-1067. All information will be kept confidential.

Bernards High School to present “Anything Goes” on March 19-21 in Bernardsville

The public is invited to join the cast and crew aboard the S.S. American as the ship sets sail with students from Bernards High School for their performance of "Anything Goes" at the Somerset Hills School District Arts Center at Bernards High School. Performances are scheduled for 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, March 19-20 and at 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 21.

General seating admission is $15 for adults and $10 for students and seniors. Tickets are available at Bernardsville Hardware and Equipment Rental, 139 Morristown Road in Bernardsville; at the front desk at Bernards High School or by emailing bhsdramatickets@yahoo.com.

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CountryBrunch is added at Natirar’s Ninety Acres restaurant in Peapack-Gladstone

Brunch service has begun at the "table at the farm" restaurant Ninety Acres at Natirar, part of the Virgin Spa property within Natirar Park, owned by Somerset County. From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. each Sunday, Chef David C. Felton is offering a two-course menu, including a basket of homemade pastries, a brunch cocktail, and inventive dishes with locally grown ingredients for $35 per person. Fresh eggs come from the heritage breed chickens raised on Natirar's organic farm.

The $35 prix fixe menu includes an appetizer, and colorful entree. Start your meal with tasty smoked salmon on crackers, cream cheese and red onions, or healthy argula and endive salad with goat cheese and citrusy walnut vinaigrette. The morning feast includes indulgent choices like chocolate bread french toast with a homey corn flake crust, served with bacon and bourbon maple syrup, or duck confit and potato hash with a sunny side-up egg, mixed greens & brioche toast plus a daily rotation of savory steak, fish and egg dishes. Ninety Acres also offers a $8 children's menu which includes a glass of juice and a choice of dishes.

The dining experience at Natirar is enhanced by an outdoor view with mountains and hilltops beyond, as well as xpanses of green grass and leafy trees. The estate’s classic architecture serves as a focal point among the gardens and fields while enjoying a leisurely Sunday morning.

The restaurant is the first phase of a spa and resort planned on about ninety acres leased from Somerset County. The Virgin Spa at Natirar is at 2 Main St., Peapack and Gladstone, 908-901-9500.
_ Linda Sadlouskos

2 earthquakes shake Somerset County, first Far Hills, then Peapack-Gladstone

Posted via MyCentralJersey.com:

Bernardsville Councilwoman Charlotte Foster was seated at her computer moments before 9 a.m. Sunday morning when she said she felt her chair give a slight bounce -- her first clue that another small earthquake had hit the Somerset Hillls area for the second time in as many weeks.

Worried residents flooded the Bernardsville police department with phone calls reporting explosions, shaking and other signs that a 2.6-magnitude temblor had struck at about 8:59 a.m., police Sgt. John Remian said.
Remian said that nearly all of the callers were aware that the rumblings had been caused by another earthquake. Two weeks ago, on Feb. 5 and 7, two smaller quakes registered at 1.5 and 1.2 were reported in neighboring Far Hills.

Although Bernardsville police said no damage had been reported, Peapack-Gladstone Police Chief Greg Skinner said a home on Main Street, located between the downtown and Natirar county park, had been left with cracked walls and a damaged chandelier.

The Sunday morning quake's epicenter was in Peapack-Gladstone. The U.S. Geological Survey recorded a second quake, with a magnitude of 2.3, at about 12:30 p.m. Remian said far fewer residents bothered to call for the second quake, also listed by the U.S.G.S. as having its epicenter in Peapack-Gladstone.
Skinner said he caught on immediately what was happening when he heard an explosion at his home Sunday morning.

"It was the exact same thing that was in Far Hills a few weeks ago,'' Skinner said. Authorities said the area of the quakes is on the Ramapo fault line.

Don Blakeman, a geophysicist with the the U.S.G.S. in Golden, Colo., said there is no evidence the small quakes in Far Hills in early February and in Peapack-Gladstone on Sunday are in any way connected. He also said he could not say whether more quakes will take place in the Somerset Hills.

But Blakeman acknowledged there is really little that seismologists can do to accurately predict earthquakes in New Jersey or elsewhere.

SOURCE: USGS

Far Hills Country Day School invites public to hear early childhood expert; school parent also raise money for soup kitchens

Far Hills Country Day School in Bernardsville is inviting the public to an evening with early childhood expert Dr. Sue Bredekamp, who will discuss her new book, "Effective Practices in Early Childhood Educaton: Building a Foundation," at 6:30 p.m. on Wed., Feb. 24. The presentation is free.

Dr. Bredekamp will speak about best practices in early childhood education, according to the school. She is scheduled to lead a discussion of how to incorporate current teaching practices necessary to become more effective with all children while also retaining and enhancing the fundamental values of early childhood education. Refreshments will be served. The public is ask to reserve ahead with an email to Lizzie O'Mara at lomara@fhcds.org. The school is at 697 Route 202 (Mine Brook Road), in the Far Hills section of Bernardsville.

O'Mara, director of strategic marketing and communications at the school, also announced Far Hills Country Day will host its annual Family Fun night fundraiser to benefit the Community Soup Kitchen in Morristown at 6:30 p.m. on Fri., Feb. 19. Parents of Far Hills students contribute an amount for a casual family dinner in the school's cafeteria with good food and a bingo game after dinner. The school's students are volunteer servers, and soup kitchen's volunteers are also in attendance. All proceeds generated from the event go to the soup kitchen. Last year, over two hundred and sixty attended the dinner, and we raised $4,250 to benefit the soup kitchen. "It raises a ton of money for them at a time when they need it most,'' O'Mara said.
_ Linda Sadlouskos

Leonard J Buck Garden art and photography exhibit celebrates spring

Somerset County Park Commission Leonard J. Buck Garden welcomes spring by hosting the annual “Art & Photography Exhibit” focusing on the beauty of the diverse moods and seasons of Leonard J. Buck Garden.

The exhibit will be presented in the Leonard J. Buck Garden Visitor's Center at 11 Layton Road, Far Hills, and will be open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. beginning Tuesday, Feb. 23 and closing at day's end on Friday, March 12. Admission is free.

The works on display will feature the Leonard J. Buck Garden as seen through the eyes of a wide range of talented individuals, from dedicated hobbyists to working professionals. The photographs and paintings show the Garden from many perspectives including sweeping landscape views to portraits of individual flowers.

For information, call 908-234-2677.

Bernardsville Police Chief says police school resource officer needed in Somerset Hills school district

December 15, 2009
Letter from Kevin Valentine,
Chief of Police, Bernardsville

Kudos to officials of the Bridgewater Police Department, Bridgewater Raritan School District and Township of Bridgewater for recognizing the important role Police School Resource Officers play in the safety and security of our public schools. Kudos to the students and faculty in the Bridgewater Raritan School District who embrace the presence of the School Resource Officers assigned there to protect them, teach them, mentor them and support them. Isn’t it about time that our elected municipal officials in the Somerset Hills and the Somerset Hills School District come to the same conclusion?

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Far Hills Country Day students welcome students from Matheny for gym class

Millicent Brady of Far Hills, left, Roya Shirzad of Basking Ridge, center, and Emily Engebretson of Peapack visited with 9-year-old Matheny School student, Kevin Long, during a recent program that took place in a Far Hills Country Day School fourth grade physical education class.  The Matheny School is part of the Matheny Medical and Educational Center, a special hospital and educational facility in Peapack for children and adults with medically complex developmental disabilities.  During the visit, Matheny staff and students demonstrated  adaptive  phys ed activities.  The purpose of the program is to promote interaction between Matheny students and students in independent and public schools.

Church in Bedminster hosts holiday outreach for needy children

Posted via MyCentralJersey.com:

The Church of the Hills conducted its annual Christmas outreach program on Saturday to celebrate the holiday with an expected 300 children in need.

The children came from groups and schools throughout central and northern New Jersey, including the Franklin House Homeless Shelter in Raritan, four schools in Newark, a center in Sussex County and some local children invited to the event.

The highlight of the day was the distribution of toys donated by the U.S. Marines Toys for Tots program, said Amy Georges, spokeswoman for the event.
Rent-A-Wreck in Chester donated a truck to collect the many toys provided by Toys for Tots, Georges said.

The children also attended a Christmas play and were served a hot lunch donated by area restaurants, including Luna Rossa Ristorante in the Pluckemin section of the township. Peggie and Katie Byrnes, of Hackettstown, and Wanda Ruiz, of Chester, coordinated the event, Georges said.