On the surface it might seem puzzling as to why John Truhan would leave Colts Neck High School where he taught math and coached girl’s basketball for the same positions at Central Regional High School. Maybe there’s not much difference in the teaching part but there’s a huge gap on the basketball court. Colts Neck was 29-4 this past winter, won the Group 4 state title and went all the way to the Tournament of Champions final. Even more impressive is the fact that their entire starting lineup returns next season and some expect the Cougars to be nationally ranked. However they will have a new coach because Truhan is returning to his coaching roots in Ocean County and the reason is quite simple….family.
The 41-year old Toms River North graduate was officially introduced last night by Central Regional Superintendent Tommy Parlapanides and Athletic Director Vince Casale to his new players and parents in the gym which he will now call home and it truly is a case of coming home. Truhan lives in Berkeley Township with his wife Kim, 8-year old daughter Kristy and 4-year old son John Jr. and will now have less than a five minute commute to work. In the end that might have been the biggest factor in leaving a state power for a team that went 10-14 last year and has only won a couple of division titles in the last 25 years. His children are at an age where he wants to be able to see and participate in their activities and that was just not possible with the grueling in-season schedule and travel to Colts Neck each day. He said something last night which really left an impression. Every parent whose daughter you coach wants what’s best for their child but often coaches forget that with their own children. He is now in a position to do what’s best for his and he could not turn that down.
Truhan did a great job at Colts Neck, going 131-37 in six season but even more impressive was the 91 games he won before that in five years at Toms River South, including an appearance in the Group 3 final in 2001. Central Regional is not only getting an outstanding coach but a dedicated and passionate math teacher. Last thing…hats off to Parlapanides who in a very short time as Superintendent has shown to be a man of action, not words. He made it clear again last night that he and the Board of Education want the bar raised at Central and this latest move is another example of that.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
Monday Musings
Finally a weekend to head to the beach, soak up the sun and cool off in the ocean. It took all of June but we finally got a summer weekend at the shore and I’m among the many that have the color to prove it this morning…even
if that color is a bit red. We can only hope it’s a sign of things to come as we head into the 4th of July weekend and the true start of the vacation season for locals and visitors alike.
You would expect this Mets fan to be upset, depressed and frustrated after having been swept by the dreaded Yankees at CitiField this weekend. However to be honest I have pretty much written off this season with the Mets putting out a punch less lineup each day which more closely resembles a minor league team than a division contender. Sure I know injuries are part of the game but you can’t expect a baseball team to compete without three of their top four offensive weapons, two starting pitchers and a key reliever.
Throw in the fact that they are fundamentally unsound and baseball stupid at times and you have a team that will be lucky to finish with a .500 record.
Five recent Ocean County high school graduates will be playing in tonight’s 31st Annual North-South All-Star Football Classic at Kean University. The South roster features Toms River North’s Evan Regas, Tom Rickmers of Lacey, Jeff Keffer of Point Boro, Toms River South’s Aaron Terry and Dan Cintron of Barnegat. All but the Temple University-bound Regas are also on the Ocean County roster for the US Army All-Shore Gridiron Classic which will be played at Brick Township High School on July 17th.
Billy Mays had become so popular as a TV pitchman that it was just a couple of weeks ago he was in New York to judge a Billy Mays lookalike contest. Sunday morning the spokesman for OxiClean, Mighty Putty and many other products was found dead by his wife in their Tampa, Florida home. The 50-year old, who was featured on the Discovery Channel reality show “Pitchmen”, was on a US Airways flight Saturday that had a rough landing in which he hit his head. It’s not known at this time if that had anything to do with Mays’ death.
if that color is a bit red. We can only hope it’s a sign of things to come as we head into the 4th of July weekend and the true start of the vacation season for locals and visitors alike.
You would expect this Mets fan to be upset, depressed and frustrated after having been swept by the dreaded Yankees at CitiField this weekend. However to be honest I have pretty much written off this season with the Mets putting out a punch less lineup each day which more closely resembles a minor league team than a division contender. Sure I know injuries are part of the game but you can’t expect a baseball team to compete without three of their top four offensive weapons, two starting pitchers and a key reliever.
Throw in the fact that they are fundamentally unsound and baseball stupid at times and you have a team that will be lucky to finish with a .500 record.
Five recent Ocean County high school graduates will be playing in tonight’s 31st Annual North-South All-Star Football Classic at Kean University. The South roster features Toms River North’s Evan Regas, Tom Rickmers of Lacey, Jeff Keffer of Point Boro, Toms River South’s Aaron Terry and Dan Cintron of Barnegat. All but the Temple University-bound Regas are also on the Ocean County roster for the US Army All-Shore Gridiron Classic which will be played at Brick Township High School on July 17th.
Billy Mays had become so popular as a TV pitchman that it was just a couple of weeks ago he was in New York to judge a Billy Mays lookalike contest. Sunday morning the spokesman for OxiClean, Mighty Putty and many other products was found dead by his wife in their Tampa, Florida home. The 50-year old, who was featured on the Discovery Channel reality show “Pitchmen”, was on a US Airways flight Saturday that had a rough landing in which he hit his head. It’s not known at this time if that had anything to do with Mays’ death.
Friday, June 26, 2009
The Deaths Of Michael Jackson & Farrah Fawcett
It’s strange how what is considered the big news story of the day can get knocked out of the top spot when something bigger comes out of nowhere.
Take for example Thursday when we learned early in the day the passing of actress Farrah Fawcett at the age of 62 after a long battle with cancer.
I was deeply saddened by her death as I was among the 12 million who had one time had that famous poster of her on my bedroom wall…heck I even had a picture of her in my wallet. You knew that this would probably be the lead story on the network evening news as their staffs put together reflective pieces on Farrah, who burst onto the scene in 1976 on the show “Charlie’s Angels.”
However the news of her death, as sad as it was, quickly moved out of the top spot when late in the afternoon a story broke about the health of Michael Jackson. Details were sketchy but about 5:50pm TMZ was the first to report that the 50-year old King of Pop had died of cardiac arrest. News outlets were cautious at first, many still saying he was in very critical condition at a Los Angeles hospital before it became somewhat official while TV stations in the East were in the middle of their local newscast. As the Network news came on it was all Jackson, all the time. At times it was almost comical because there was really no official announcement and you had reporters on location at the hospital and where Jackson was living with not much to say. They would talk about gathering crowds and try to interview neighbors…anything to probably get a jump on the other networks that were doing the same. The reality is the death of Farrah Fawcett got bumped because Jackson was not only a bigger name but of course died suddenly.
His death is the end of maybe the most bizarre life that any of us have ever witnessed. He went from adorable child sensation, to a mega star bigger than any in the world, to a shamed recluse who made headlines for strange and somewhat sick behavior. While Jackson was working on a comeback tour for many people he will best be known as the weird guy who changed his face and hung around with young boys. The Michael Jackson of the late 70’s and 80’s was arguably the greatest talent the world has even seen and his music will live forever.
Take for example Thursday when we learned early in the day the passing of actress Farrah Fawcett at the age of 62 after a long battle with cancer.
I was deeply saddened by her death as I was among the 12 million who had one time had that famous poster of her on my bedroom wall…heck I even had a picture of her in my wallet. You knew that this would probably be the lead story on the network evening news as their staffs put together reflective pieces on Farrah, who burst onto the scene in 1976 on the show “Charlie’s Angels.”
However the news of her death, as sad as it was, quickly moved out of the top spot when late in the afternoon a story broke about the health of Michael Jackson. Details were sketchy but about 5:50pm TMZ was the first to report that the 50-year old King of Pop had died of cardiac arrest. News outlets were cautious at first, many still saying he was in very critical condition at a Los Angeles hospital before it became somewhat official while TV stations in the East were in the middle of their local newscast. As the Network news came on it was all Jackson, all the time. At times it was almost comical because there was really no official announcement and you had reporters on location at the hospital and where Jackson was living with not much to say. They would talk about gathering crowds and try to interview neighbors…anything to probably get a jump on the other networks that were doing the same. The reality is the death of Farrah Fawcett got bumped because Jackson was not only a bigger name but of course died suddenly.
His death is the end of maybe the most bizarre life that any of us have ever witnessed. He went from adorable child sensation, to a mega star bigger than any in the world, to a shamed recluse who made headlines for strange and somewhat sick behavior. While Jackson was working on a comeback tour for many people he will best be known as the weird guy who changed his face and hung around with young boys. The Michael Jackson of the late 70’s and 80’s was arguably the greatest talent the world has even seen and his music will live forever.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Thursday Stuff
A little of this and a little of that as we’re about to experience our first summer-like weather:
Congratulations to Jackson’s Anthony Ranaudo, who helped lead LSU to its sixth College Baseball World Series title. The sophomore pitched into the 6th inning of last night’s 11-4 win over Texas in the third and deciding game of the final in Omaha, Nebraska. Ranaudo finishes the year with a 12-3 pitching record for LSU. He is a 2007 graduate of St. Rose High School where he was both an outstanding baseball and basketball player for the Purple Roses.
Many of the best just-graduated senior football players from Ocean and Monmouth Counties will meet in the US Army All-Shore Gridiron Classic on Friday, July 17th at Brick Township High School. Sponsored by the Shore Football Coaches Foundation, the game was originally scheduled at Middletown South but had to be moved after some difficulty with approvals. The rosters have been set and the head coaches will be Southern’s Chuck Donahue and Mark Ciccotelli of Freehold Boro. Millennium Radio’s Shore Sports Network will broadcast the game live from Keller Memorial Field.
The Lakewood BlueClaws open the second half of the season with a 9-game home stand beginning tonight at FirstEnergy Park. The BlueClaws won the Northern Division first-half championship of the South Atlantic League and will be in the playoffs no matter what happens the rest of the season. They will play the winner of the second-half in a best-of-3 series that will start September 9th. If the BlueClaws also win the 70-game second half then they would take on the team with the second best overall record in the Northern Division. This is the first time Lakewood has ever won the first half title…of course in 2006 they did win the South Atlantic League Championship.
Congratulations to Jackson’s Anthony Ranaudo, who helped lead LSU to its sixth College Baseball World Series title. The sophomore pitched into the 6th inning of last night’s 11-4 win over Texas in the third and deciding game of the final in Omaha, Nebraska. Ranaudo finishes the year with a 12-3 pitching record for LSU. He is a 2007 graduate of St. Rose High School where he was both an outstanding baseball and basketball player for the Purple Roses.
Many of the best just-graduated senior football players from Ocean and Monmouth Counties will meet in the US Army All-Shore Gridiron Classic on Friday, July 17th at Brick Township High School. Sponsored by the Shore Football Coaches Foundation, the game was originally scheduled at Middletown South but had to be moved after some difficulty with approvals. The rosters have been set and the head coaches will be Southern’s Chuck Donahue and Mark Ciccotelli of Freehold Boro. Millennium Radio’s Shore Sports Network will broadcast the game live from Keller Memorial Field.
The Lakewood BlueClaws open the second half of the season with a 9-game home stand beginning tonight at FirstEnergy Park. The BlueClaws won the Northern Division first-half championship of the South Atlantic League and will be in the playoffs no matter what happens the rest of the season. They will play the winner of the second-half in a best-of-3 series that will start September 9th. If the BlueClaws also win the 70-game second half then they would take on the team with the second best overall record in the Northern Division. This is the first time Lakewood has ever won the first half title…of course in 2006 they did win the South Atlantic League Championship.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
No More Teachers, No More Books...
In the words of Alice Cooper “school’s out for summer” at least for a majority of those in our area and for many that means a complete change in their daily routine. No longer do parents have to wake up early to get the kids off to school and for many teachers, bus drivers and others the alarm clock will be silenced for a couple of months.
The last week or so has featured graduation ceremonies for area high schools and a couple of more will take place this week. Students have marched to the tune of “pomp and circumstance” and received their diploma which marks both an end and a beginning. For some it does mean the end of school as they’ll move right into the job market or possibility the military. For them the lyrics, “no more pencils, no more books, no more teacher’s dirty looks.” However most graduates are headed to college with some staying close to home and others traveling many miles away where Mon can no longer do the laundry or make dinner on demand.
It’s a bittersweet time for parents who talk about how they can’t wait for their children to leave and then will have this empty feeling when they go,
especially if it’s an only child or the last one still at home. As for the kids…well some are itching to get away while others are in no hurry to give up the safety and security of their current address.
Of course for now it should be a time to enjoy the accomplishments of finishing high school and making the best of this summer. And for those of you who will be sleeping late and missing the Hometown View….well hopefully we’ll see you in September. Or you can always read in on the website. I sure hope it’s not a case of
“out for summer, out till fall….we might not go back at all.”
The last week or so has featured graduation ceremonies for area high schools and a couple of more will take place this week. Students have marched to the tune of “pomp and circumstance” and received their diploma which marks both an end and a beginning. For some it does mean the end of school as they’ll move right into the job market or possibility the military. For them the lyrics, “no more pencils, no more books, no more teacher’s dirty looks.” However most graduates are headed to college with some staying close to home and others traveling many miles away where Mon can no longer do the laundry or make dinner on demand.
It’s a bittersweet time for parents who talk about how they can’t wait for their children to leave and then will have this empty feeling when they go,
especially if it’s an only child or the last one still at home. As for the kids…well some are itching to get away while others are in no hurry to give up the safety and security of their current address.
Of course for now it should be a time to enjoy the accomplishments of finishing high school and making the best of this summer. And for those of you who will be sleeping late and missing the Hometown View….well hopefully we’ll see you in September. Or you can always read in on the website. I sure hope it’s not a case of
“out for summer, out till fall….we might not go back at all.”
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Tuesday Thoughts
Just a few random thoughts on this third day of summer and none involve the weather:
Golf purists may scoff at the behavior of New York area fans but I think it
added to the US Open which ended Monday with a surprising victory by virtual-unknown Lucas Glover. At times the fans might get a bit rowdy but for most part their enthusiasm added to the event and it seems like the majority of golfers enjoyed it. The one thing that does drive me crazy and is heard at all golf events is the constant screaming of “in the hole” after just about every shot, even when there is no chance that could happen.
Not quite as competitive was the 16th Annual Toms River-Ocean County Chamber of Commerce Golf Tournament which was held Monday at Pine Barrens in Jackson. I served as Master of Ceremonies for the Awards Ceremony afterwards which included first-place finishes by Lou Gallipoli II and Nina Anuario, who just happened to be the co-chairman of the event. As always Luce Greene and the Chamber staff did a great job securing prizes for the event, several of which were won by Michael P. Ritacco.
The staff at Pine Barrens, including Barbara Iasillo was wonderful as usual in helping put the event together.
I have to admit that while watching the Mets game last night I switched a few times to “John & Kate Plus 8” to catch the latest developments regarding America’s most overexposed family. No surprise in that their 10-year marriage is coming to an end as John was tired of being bossed around and seems to be excited about being free…as free as you can be with eight young children to take care of. TLC’s top-rated show will continue and the Gosselin family just goes through the transition millions of others do…of course in their case on National television. Somebody should tell John that the earrings look pretty stupid…maybe Kate will let him know.
Golf purists may scoff at the behavior of New York area fans but I think it
added to the US Open which ended Monday with a surprising victory by virtual-unknown Lucas Glover. At times the fans might get a bit rowdy but for most part their enthusiasm added to the event and it seems like the majority of golfers enjoyed it. The one thing that does drive me crazy and is heard at all golf events is the constant screaming of “in the hole” after just about every shot, even when there is no chance that could happen.
Not quite as competitive was the 16th Annual Toms River-Ocean County Chamber of Commerce Golf Tournament which was held Monday at Pine Barrens in Jackson. I served as Master of Ceremonies for the Awards Ceremony afterwards which included first-place finishes by Lou Gallipoli II and Nina Anuario, who just happened to be the co-chairman of the event. As always Luce Greene and the Chamber staff did a great job securing prizes for the event, several of which were won by Michael P. Ritacco.
The staff at Pine Barrens, including Barbara Iasillo was wonderful as usual in helping put the event together.
I have to admit that while watching the Mets game last night I switched a few times to “John & Kate Plus 8” to catch the latest developments regarding America’s most overexposed family. No surprise in that their 10-year marriage is coming to an end as John was tired of being bossed around and seems to be excited about being free…as free as you can be with eight young children to take care of. TLC’s top-rated show will continue and the Gosselin family just goes through the transition millions of others do…of course in their case on National television. Somebody should tell John that the earrings look pretty stupid…maybe Kate will let him know.
Monday, June 22, 2009
School's Out Forever
While summer recess has begun for some the remainder of the Ocean County schools will be finishing up this week. For students and most staff members it means the last days before summer recess but for many throughout our area it marks the end of a long journey as they will not be returning in September because they’re about to join the ranks of the retired.
When their careers began they could not imagine this day would come and I’m sure along the way some questioned if this was really the right thing to do with their lives. Yes teaching and education has plenty of positives but before you say that it’s easy try and imagine dealing with kids each day who are not your own. Whether it’s two dozen in an elementary school classroom, more than a hundred as a high school English teacher or the thousand plus you’re responsible for as a Principal each day brings challenges that us “outsiders” can’t imagine. Making things more difficult is the change in the make-up of the traditional family as well as the lack of support received from the home. Parents who used to be eager to get involved in their child’s education are just as likely today to question why they’re being bothered when it’s the school’s job to educate.
Despite this there are many who have dedicated their professional lives to education and helping prepare young people for the next step in their lives. Among them is Karen Tramontano who today walks in and out of the classroom for the final time in her 27-year career. It was about fifteen years ago that I received an invitation to be a “celebrity reader” for her 5th grade class at Clara B. Elementary School in Bayville. I was really impressed with the experience and told her afterwards….”call me again.” Well she has…every year since, the last few at the recently-opened Berkeley Township Elementary School. I knew when I walked in that classroom I would be greeted by children who were enthusiastic and well-behaved which was a credit to her as a teacher. But Mrs. Tramontano has decided to focus in on the growth of one child in particular so come September when her daughter, a kindergarten teacher, goes back to work she’ll be helping watch her new granddaughter Allison Faith.
I wish I had the time to salute all of those soon-to-be retirees but I don’t so you’ll have to share my thanks, congratulations and best wishes.
When their careers began they could not imagine this day would come and I’m sure along the way some questioned if this was really the right thing to do with their lives. Yes teaching and education has plenty of positives but before you say that it’s easy try and imagine dealing with kids each day who are not your own. Whether it’s two dozen in an elementary school classroom, more than a hundred as a high school English teacher or the thousand plus you’re responsible for as a Principal each day brings challenges that us “outsiders” can’t imagine. Making things more difficult is the change in the make-up of the traditional family as well as the lack of support received from the home. Parents who used to be eager to get involved in their child’s education are just as likely today to question why they’re being bothered when it’s the school’s job to educate.
Despite this there are many who have dedicated their professional lives to education and helping prepare young people for the next step in their lives. Among them is Karen Tramontano who today walks in and out of the classroom for the final time in her 27-year career. It was about fifteen years ago that I received an invitation to be a “celebrity reader” for her 5th grade class at Clara B. Elementary School in Bayville. I was really impressed with the experience and told her afterwards….”call me again.” Well she has…every year since, the last few at the recently-opened Berkeley Township Elementary School. I knew when I walked in that classroom I would be greeted by children who were enthusiastic and well-behaved which was a credit to her as a teacher. But Mrs. Tramontano has decided to focus in on the growth of one child in particular so come September when her daughter, a kindergarten teacher, goes back to work she’ll be helping watch her new granddaughter Allison Faith.
I wish I had the time to salute all of those soon-to-be retirees but I don’t so you’ll have to share my thanks, congratulations and best wishes.
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