Space shuttle putter to be demonstrated at golf museum

Posted via MyCentralJersey.com:

Retired NASA astronaut Brian Duffy will demonstrate the specially designed "shuttle putter" secretly stowed on board during a 1996 space voyage in a presentation Thursday at the U.S. Golf Association Museum and Arnold Parlmer Center for Golf History.

The presentation will begin at 3 p.m. at the museum, 77 Liberty Corner Road, on the Far Hills section of the township.

Duffy will apear with NASA space shuttle flight simulation supervisor Tim Terry. Terry arranged to have a friend design the "shuttle putter" for Duffy, a fellow golf enthusiast who had flown on four space shuttle missions, according to a news release from the U.S Golf Association.

Terry managed to secretly place the putter on board during the 1996 voyage of the space shuttle Endeavor, for which Duffy served as captain, according to the U.S. Golf Association. The putter was later donated to the USGA and is now part of the museum's permanent collection.

The metal shuttle did not come with a putting green, said Kim Gianetti, assistant manager of marketing for the museum.

"They lost a lot of balls," she said of the astronauts' putts while in space.

For more Somerset Hills news, visit http://somersethills.injersey.com.

College athletes: Tyler Meth of Basking Ridge scores for Montclair State

According to Lacrosse Magazine, sophomore attack Tyler Meth of Basking Ridge, a Ridge High School graduate, scored twice for Montclair State against Wesleyan University Monday, helping Montclair State win 10-8.

Read more about the game and other NJ players here.

If you're following a local athlete now playing in college, post your updates and photos to SomersetHills.InJersey.com.

Dr. Joy Browne to emcee Fellowship Village gala in Basking Ridge

Popular syndicated radio host, Dr. Joy Browne, will emcee Fellowship Village's debut fundraising gala at Dolce on April 10. (Photo provided by Dr. Joy Browne.)

Popular syndicated radio host Dr. Joy Browne will emcee Fellowship Village's debut fundraising gala on Saturday, April 10, 2010 at Dolce in Basking Ridge.

Dr. Joy, as she is known to her listeners, is a radio clinical psychologist. The Dr. Joy Browne Show can be heard daily on the WOR Radio Network. Browne has won numerous awards and is the author of several self-help and motivational books.

MyCentralJersey.com has more on the gala here.

Three men charged in Bernards Township ATM burglaries

Three men have been charged with stealing thousands from ATMs in Morris and Somerset counties, including Bernards Township, according to NJ.com.

Food Drive on March 20th in Bernardsville

Posted via MyCentralJersey.com:

The Junior Women's Club of Somerset Hills will be holding its annual food drive on Saturday, March 20th, from 9-11 a.m. outside the Bernardsville ShopRite. The club will be collecting non-perishable food for local families in the community.

Anyone wishing to contribute to the food drive, please bring all non-perishable food to the Bernardsville ShopRite on 93 Morristown Road.

The Junior Women's Club of Somerset Hills is a non-profit organization that has been serving the community for over 80 years.

RAMPANT LION PIPE BAND OF BASKING RIDGE HOST 2ND ANNUAL SPRING FUNDRAISING DINNER

Posted via MyCentralJersey.com:

The Rampant Lion Pipe Band of Basking Ridge will hold its second annual Spring Fundraising dinner on Saturday evening March 20th 2010, beginning at 6:30 pm, at the SNUFFY'S PANTAGIS RENAISSANCE, 250 Park Avenue, Scotch Plains, NJ 07076. The restaurant is located directly off Route 22. This formal Scottish evening of celebration will begin with an open bar cocktail hour to be followed by a formal dinner program including an evening of entertainment by the QED Jazz ensemble, performances by championship Highland Dancers, Scottish folk songs by tenor Mr. Patrick Layton, mezzo-soprano Catharyn Layton, soprano Austyn Castelli accompanied by pianist Mr. Alan Moore followed by a performance by the Rampant Lion Pipe Band. Single ticket donation price starts at $85.

Contact Band Director, Pipe Major David Palladino at 908-285-1503.

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

Cadet/2nd Lt Ryan Mellody receives the CAP Billy Mitchell Award

Posted via MyCentralJersey.com:

Cadet/ 2nd Lt Ryan Mellody of Basking Ridge, NJ, of the Lone Eagle Composite Squadron, received the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) Billy Mitchell Achievement Award at a recent ceremony held at Gill St. Bernard's School, Peapack-Gladstone, NJ. He is the son of Mrs. Mary Mellody of Basking Ridge, NJ.

Cadet/ 2nd Lt Ryan Mellody is a freshman at Seton Hall Prep School and competes on the wrestling team.

The Billy Mitchell award, the second cadet milestone achievement, is earned after the successful completion of the first eight achievements of the cadet program. In addition to the achievements, the cadet must pass a comprehensive examination on aerospace and leadership. Only about 15% of all Civil Air Patrol cadets achieve the Billy Mitchell Award.

Billy Mitchell Cadets who enlist in the U.S. Air Force are promoted to E-3 (airman first class) instead of E-1 (airman basic) upon completion of basic military training. Billy Mitchell cadets who enlist in the Army, Navy, or Marine Corps are promoted to E-2 instead of E-1 upon completion of basic military training. Likewise, Billy Mitchell cadets who enlist in the US Coast Guard are promoted to E-3 (seaman) instead of E-1 (seaman recruit) upon completion of boot camp.

The Lone Eagle Composite Squadron meets on Wednesday nights at the Scout Cabin, Borough of Peapack-Gladstone, NJ. For more information about the Lone Eagle Composite Squadron, contact Major Will McLain V, Commander, at (908)-441-2146 or MacOfDuart@gmail.com .

Civil Air Patrol, the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, is a nonprofit organization with 58,000 members nationwide. CAP performs 90 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and was credited by the AFRCC with saving 91 lives in fiscal year 2008. Its volunteers also perform homeland security and disaster relief missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. The members play a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to the more than 23,000 young people currently participating in CAP cadet programs. CAP has been performing missions for America for 68 years. For more information about the CAP, go to www.njwg.cap.gov or www.gocivilairpatrol.com .

UPDATE: Couple express thanks after fire destroys their Bernards home

Posted via MyCentralJersey.com:

A Bernards couple said they will stay with their adult children after they escaped a fire Thursday that destroyed their duplex in The Cedars town house development.

Ed and Lea Schmall said they were grateful to firefighters, rescue workers and neighbors who invited them indoors while dozens of firefighters battled the blaze at 2 Magnolia Path for more than three hours.

Township police Lt. Ted Reese said the fire appears to have started in a wood shop in a basement of the Schmall's two-story home. Reese said they called 9-1-1 at about 7:40 a.m. after a smoke detector sounded, alerting them to the fire.

Reese said the cause of the fire remained under investigation as of Thursday afternoon and did not appear to be suspicious.
The fire gutted the home, Reese said. The main floor of the house collapsed, and all of the home's windows, and a skylight, were either blown out by the heat of the fire, or broken by firefighters entering the building, he said.

Multiple fire departments and rescue squads responded to the scene along with police and the township office of emergency management, Reese said.

A neighbor, Ramona McColgan, said she saw flames coming from the basement when she came outside at about 8 a.m. to see the fire.
"It was huge,'' she said.

Lea Schmall said she was pleased that township police were able to remove a Cocker Spaniel, Abbey, who was in an attached duplex at 4 Magnolia Path. The owner of that house was not home when the fire started, according to Reese and the Schmalls.

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Ball gets rolling for new Bedminster business association

Posted via MyCentralJersey.com:

Another meeting of the new Bedminster business association has been scheduled for April 9.

Township Committeeman Sally Rubin, who has been working to set up the fledgling association, said she is looking for more township businesses or local professionals to join the group, which aims to promote local shopping and cooperation among merchants.

About 14 representatives from local businesses attended a March 5 meeting at Kings Supermarket off Route 202/206, said Rubin, explaining that some sort of business association is necessary in a town without a chamber of commerce.

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