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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Bernards High School students’ photos of images from around the world at Bernardsville Public Library

Bernards High School student photos at Bernardsville Public Library

Photographs by students from Bernards High School in Bernardsville will be on display through the remainder of March, which is Youth Art Month, in the community room at Bernardsville Public Library, 1 Anderson Hill Road, Bernardsville.

"This Is The World We Live IN" will display the talents of the young photographers at Bernards High, who have photographed a wide variety of subject matters. The photos have captured images from scenes in the mountains of Peru to the farmlands of New Jersey, according to a news release from the library. "I am very excited to see the final outcome of the fruits of the students' hard labor,'' said Dennis Babicke, photography teacher at the high school, which is attended by students from Bernardsville, Peapack-Gladstone, Far Hills and Bedminster Township. "Everyone has been working diligently selecting and framing some of their best images for this exhibition."

The photographs will be on display during regular library hours unless a meeting is being held in the community room. For further information, call the library at 908-766-0118. Information on the library is also available at WWW.bernardsvillelibrary.org.
_ Linda Sadlouskos

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

Gill St. Bernard’s School in Peapack-Gladstone announces new pre-kindergarten program for 3 and 4-year-olds

Starting in September 2010, Gill St. Bernard’s School in Peapack-Gladstone will begin a new program for children ages 3 to 4 years to add to the school's existing pre-kindergarten program for 4 and 5-year-olds. Two sections, primary 3 and primary 4, will be introduced as the GSB Primary Program. Children must be 3 years old by this February to be eligible to apply for admission to the program for the following September.

The new program will emphasize a child-directed, interdisciplinary introduction to learning led by creative and dynamic teachers, according to information from the private institution. The program's daily schedule will include academic instruction, music, physical education, and supervised indoor and outdoor playtime. Weekly project-based units in art, cooking, drama, and visits to the school library will enrich the children’s overall experience, said Kathleen Andersen, communications director at Gill St. Bernard's, which is located at the border with Chester, Morris County.

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More swine flu vaccines offered by Bernards

Posted via MyCentralJersey.com:

The Bernards Township health department has scheduled clinics to dispense the H1N1 flu vaccine to the general public on three evenings in January, the first of which is tonight, Jan. 11.

The department's previous clinics targeted members of the public in high-risk groups or with underlying health problems. The three clinics on Monday, and on Jan. 19 and 25 will be open to the general public with no age or health-condition restrictions, according to the township health department.

The flu season typically lasts through May, said Lucy Forgione, township health officer.

Clinics will take place from 4 to 6 p.m. on Monday and on Jan. 25 at Ridge High School in the Basking Ridge section and on Jan. 19 at West Morris Mendham High School, Mendham Borough. Appointments can be made through the "Shotline" or by calling 908-533-9330. Walk-ins will be served only if there is extra available vaccine, according to the health department.

The department serves the township, Bernardsville, Peapack-Gladstone, Mendham Borough, Mendham Township and Long Hill. However, clinics are open to any member of the public, said Sharon Wilkinson, a department employee.

The department will schedule future clinics only if there is vaccine left over, she said.

Peapack-Gladstone Bank to move headquarters to Bedminster

Posted via MyCentralJersey.com:

Peapack-Gladstone Bank is preparing to move its headquarters to a larger office at 500 Hills Drive in Bedminster in mid-2010, and will vacate its leased building on Route 206 in the borough.

The bank, established in the borough in 1921, will maintain its original branch office in a building it owns at 190 Main St., said Denise M. Pace-Sanders, vice president and marketing director at the bank.

The bank expects to leave its leased headquarters at 158 Route 206 North this summer and move into almost 41,000 square feet now undergoing custom renovations, Pace-Sanders said. That is almost double the size of the current headquarters, she said.

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Ninety Acres at Natirar opening one of top 10 stories of the year

Posted via MyCentralJersey.com:

MyCentralJersey.com posted its list of top 10 stories of 2009. At number 10 was  the highly anticipated and long-awaited opening of the Ninety Acres Culinary Center at Natirar, the first phase of a massive $90 million luxury spa construction project on part of the 500-acre Natirar plot in Peapack-Gladstone.

Sir Richard Branson, the British billionaire who established the Virgin brand in 1970, partnered with a local developer, Bob Wojtowicz, on a venture to establish the spa at the centerpiece of the former estate in long-term leasing deal with the county. The Natirar plot, previously owned by the King of Morocco, is now operated by the Somerset County Parks system.

Read the full list of Top 10 stories.
Mark Spivey: 908-243-6607; mspivey@MyCentralJersey.com

DWI charges in crash that closed Route 206 just north of Peapack-Gladstone

The charred skeleton of a tractor trailer rests on the shoulder of Route 206 in Chester Township this morning following a crash that closed the highway for several hours. (John Bell / MyCentralJersey)

A Toms River man driving a newspaper delivery truck that struck a utility pole and knocked down power lines on Route 206 was charged with driving while intoxicated, police said.

Lester Crispin, 58, was driving a Newark Star-Ledger truck in the southbound lane of Route 206, about 200 feet shy of the Somerset County border, when it struck and downed electrical wires. The truck eventually came to rest in the woods next to the highway.

Shortly afterward, a tractor-trailer struck the downed wires and caught fire.

"Within two minutes, the entire truck was engulfed in flames," said Chief Curtis York.

The tractor trailer is registered to IBS Logistics of Burridge, Ill.

The tractor trailer's driver, whose name was not immediately available, is in his 20s, York said, and escaped from the burning truck uninjured. With the exception of $90, he lost all his possessions that were inside the truck cab.

The highway remains closed this afternoon while repairs are made to utility lines damaged by the crash. Traffic is being detoured onto Old Chester Road, York said.

About 43 customers remain without power.

Peapack-Gladstone rescue squad seeks donations of bottled water and hand towels

On Monday, Tom Scanlon, president of the Peapack-Gladstone first aid and rescue squad, said the squad seeks donations of bottled water and hand towels to replace those given firefighters last week while fighting a house fire on Highland Avenue and during another house fire earlier this month in the borough. Potential donors are asked to call the squad building at 908-234-0253 before dropping off supplies at squad headquarters, 1 St. Luke's Ave., Scanlon said.