Peters begins a new full-time job Two decade run on Middletown committee comes to a close BY DAN NEWMAN Staff Writer       After serving Middletown for 18 years as a mayor, deputy mayor and committeewoman, Rosemarie Peters was sworn in as the new Monmouth County surrogate Thursday. Peters, 64, actually assumed her new office Jan. 2. According to the Monmouth County Directory, the county surrogate serve... More ...       Jim Shaw, center in yellow, reacts to jumping in the Atlantic Ocean, at a fundraiser for Mater Dei High School, at Donovan's Reef, Sea Bright, on Sunday. More ... Exhibit delivers faces of famed African Americans Private collector loans museum stamp collection BY KAREN E. BOWES Staff Writer       MIDDLETOWN - From the invention of a shoe-making machine to the first woman to hold an international pilot's license, the African American Stamp Art exhibit at the Monmouth Museum is a surprising and insightful way to spend an afternoon. More ... Decision to remove board chair upsets supporters DiMaso reinstated as mayor, says Blumenthal was 'abrasive' to public BY KAREN E. BOWES Staff Writer       HOLMDEL - Newly reinstated Mayor Serena DiMaso and Committeeman Larry Fink debated a few of her new appointment choices at Thursday's reorganization meeting. In one of a few exchanges between the two that evening, the mayor became annoyed when Fink questioned her decision not to re... More ... Fink, Bateman criticize each other over ethics BY KAREN E. BOWES Staff Writer       HOLMDEL - Committeeman Larry Fink came out swinging at the Jan. 4 reorganization meeting, telling a packed house that new Deputy Mayor Alan Bateman lacks integrity and commitment to the job. Now the lone Democrat on the committee, Fink made his opinion of Bateman known in no uncertai... More ... Walsh seeks Democrats' support in Assembly run BY DAN NEWMAN Staff Writer       MIDDLETOWN - Saying that she "doesn't like the way things are being run right now," former Board of Education president and current member Patricia Walsh has announced she will seek her party's nomination to run for a seat in the state Assembly in the 13th District. More ... Open records advocate: Keyport moves too slow BY KAREN E. BOWES Staff Writer       KEYPORT - An open records advocate has filed a complaint with the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office, saying the borough takes too long to provide meeting minutes and is therefore in violation of the Open Public Meetings Act. In November, John Paff of Somerset requested the minutes ... More ... Judge orders O'Grady to begin sentence Jan. 22       NEWARK - Former Middletown Committeeman Raymond O'Grady lost his appeal on Friday and is now scheduled to begin his 43-month jail sentence Jan. 22. O'Grady was convicted in June on five corruption-related charges as part of the FBI's Operation Bid Rig investigation. More ... Twp. hires lobbyists to help with flood projects       MIDDLETOWN - The Township Committee adopted a resolution Sunday approving a contract with a Washington, D.C.-based lobbying firm to help secure federal funding for stalled flood control projects in Port Monmouth and Leonardo. The design phase of the Port Monmouth control project is co... More ... McMorrow begins term on county freeholders Retired educator is the first Democrat to hold seat in decades BY DAN NEWMAN Staff Writer       FREEHOLD - Although Barbara McMorrow was the only one sworn in Thursday to the Monmouth County Board of Freeholders, as the first Democrat in 20 years to hold the position, it almost felt like a swearing in for Democrats countywide. In front of a standing-room-only crowd in the cou... More ... From the Vault       She may have been too young to talk, but 11-month-old Amy Applegate had something to say about her hometown pride. Applegate was the youngest person to appear in the Matawan Tricentennial parade on Sept. 21, 1986. More ... From cave paintings to Picasso Art history mural taking shape on walls at Brookdale CC BY LINDA DeNICOLA Staff Writer       Muralist Bob Mataranglo, along with 25 students and faculty members, is in the process of completing a 135-by-8-foot mural that depicts the history of art from cave painting to Picasso and Matisse. The Brookdale mural project has been under way since early October and is schedul... More ... Winter doldrums?      PHOTOS BY CHRIS KELLY staff Middletown's C.J. Shekian, 6, digs a hole at the Sea Bright beach on Saturday, when the temperature reached nearly 70 degrees. More ...