Bulletin Board
Jewish center to hold
event at The Excelsior

Due to the great number of responses, the Perrineville Jewish Center, Millstone, has had to relocate its 90th Anniversary Celebration, scheduled for March 31. The celebration will now be held at The Excelsior, Route 9, Manalapan, rather than at the Jewish center.

The anniversary will be celebrated with a dinner-dance featuring appetizers, a fully catered kosher dinner, a DJ, dancing and beverages. Tickets for "Dancing Through the Decades" are $45 per person.

In addition to the dinner-dance, the center will publish a commemorative souvenir journal that will include biographies of the past and present presidents of the Perrineville Jewish Center dating from 1910. Ads will be accepted until March 1. All funds raised will come from ad proceeds; the center will not make a profit on the dinner.

For more information, call the Perrineville Jewish Center at (732) 303-0087.

McKenna, Byrne to chair Democratic committee

Monmouth County Democrats recently announced the creation of their Candidate Screening Committee for 2001. County Democratic Chairman Victor V. Scudiery, in response to the wide interest in local and state offices, asked Red Bank Mayor Edward J. McKenna and Spring Lake Mayor Tom Byrne to head up the effort to select the Democratic ticket this year.

"Jim McGreevey’s gubernatorial campaign has certainly increased the expectations among Democrats that we will win both the governorship and down the ballot this year," said McKenna. "After almost 10 years of Republican mismanagement, New Jersey’s working families want an end to fiscal gimmicks and ballooning debt. They want a governor who will fight for the educational reform and real property tax relief working families want, and a Legislature that will work with him."

"We have been very happy with the breadth and depth of potential candidates this year. This year we have been approached by several extremely talented and impressive candidates for office. I am certain we will field a slate of candidates with unquestionable qualifications and skill this year," Byrne added.

"While we have had many potential candidates approach us so far, we want to stress we still want to talk to and meet with all who are considering running. We are committed to having the best candidates," he continued.

McKenna agreed. "We know from experience that some of the best candidates are people who have not sought public office before, but are moved to become involved by a current need in the community. ‘Citizen legislators’ who are stepping forward to solve a problem," he said.

Anyone interested in running for state, county or local office in 2001 is urged to contact the Candidate Screening Committee at (732) 739-4777. Other inquiries about the Monmouth County Democrats or local organizations may also be directed to the above number.

Monmouth Battlefield

to honor black soldiers

Black History Month and Presidents Weekend will be commemorated at Monmouth Battlefield State Park, Manalapan, on Feb. 17, 18 and 19. Planned events include walking tours of the battlefield and a special presentation on black heroes of the American Revolution.

Walking tours of the battlefield will be conducted by the Friends of Monmouth Battlefield on Feb. 17 and 19 beginning at 11 a.m. and departing every 90 minutes. The tour will cover about a mile and a half of the battlefield and will visit locations where Gen. Washington led his troops against the British Army, as well as key battle sites such as the Parsonage, Hedgerow and Combs Hill. The last tour will begin at 3 p.m. The terrain is hilly and tours are dependent on weather conditions.

The program on Feb. 18 will discuss black heroes of the American Revolution including soldiers Salem Poor, Oliver Cromwell and the men of the nearly all-black First Rhode Island Regiment. Approximately 900 African American soldiers fought at Monmouth, according to a news release from the Friends of Monmouth Battlefield, and their story is told in Men of Color at Monmouth, available at the park’s gift shop.

The visitors center also features displays of black history, and within the battlefield national historic landmark is Bethel AME Cemetery which contains the final resting place of six Civil War veterans of federal black regiments who lived in the area.

Sponsored by the Friends of Monmouth Battlefield and the New Jersey State Park Service, the weekend programs are free and open to the public.