ERIC SUCAR staff Rory Noble, 5, flashes a smile during a field day held by the Bayshore Jointure Developmental Learning Center in Aberdeen on Friday. See page 3 for story. More ... Monk or bunk? A Middletown tax dispute Battle over exemption, sign centers on legitimacy of small monastery BY KAREN E. BOWES Staff Writer       Middletown Township has ordered a self-described Greek Orthodox monk to remove a large front lawn sign declaring his home a monastery. On Monday, Archimandrite Ephraem Bertolette, 63, said he received notice from the township giving him 14 days to remove the sign or suffer legal pro... More ... Making art with scraps and stamps       Collages, drawings and mixed-media sculptures by Daniel Schroll are on exhibit in the Nilson Gallery of the Monmouth Museum in Lincroft. "Daniel Schroll Collages" will run through June 24 at the museum, located on the campus of Brookdale Community College. More ... Measure would permit alcohol at arts center BY DAN NEWMAN Staff Writer       MIDDLETOWN - For years, township residents waited for the Banfield Cultural Arts Center to open its doors, and they got their wish back in March. Now, one avenue that the Township Committee wants to use to raise funds for the center is facing some opposition. More ... Monmouth, Ocean Girl Scouts OK merger       By an overwhelming vote on June 4, delegates from the Girl Scouts of Ocean County and the Monmouth Council of Girl Scouts ratified their merger after more than a year of planning. The newly formed Girl Scouts of the Jersey Shore will formally launch July 1 and serve almost 18,000 girls with t... More ... Come on down      SCOTT PILLING staff 3-year-old Amanda Adams, Hazlet, enjoys getting some airtime while riding the potato sack slide during the Holy Family Church Carnival on Friday. More ... Family copes with rare nervous system disorder Son organizes benefit to educate, raise funds for syndrome BY CHRISTINE VARNO Staff Writer       OCEAN TOWNSHIP - - When township resident Bruce Shapiro learned that his father had been diagnosed with a rare nervous system disease, he wasn't sure what to expect. In 2002, after being in a car accident, Shapiro's father developed reflex sympathetic dystrophy syndrome (RSDS), a ... More ... Handlin chosen Assembly deputy minority leader BY DAN NEWMAN Staff Writer       MIDDLETOWN - Hoping to "have a stronger voice in the Assembly," Amy Handlin was recently appointed to the position of deputy minority leader of the New Jersey Assembly. More ... State reaches uneasy compromise on open space Referendum will ask voters for about $200M in short-term funding BY CHRIS GAETANO Staff Writer       Efforts to renew the Garden State Preservation Trust (GSPT) through a November ballot referendum faltered as the Legislature missed the deadline to approve the necessary resolutions last week. While some environmental groups wish to pressure the Senate and Assembly into a summer session, ... More ... Walsh calls for better info sharing on coyotes Public presentation on animals to take place tonight in Middletown BY DAN NEWMAN Staff Writer       MIDDLETOWN - In the wake of a recent rash of coyote sightings and attacks in the area, Democratic candidate for Assembly Patricia Walsh wants the state to do more to report the sightings of these animals to municipalities. More ... No shortage of takers for dredge materials Local merchants, environmentalists back bay cleanup plan BY KAREN E. BOWES Staff Writer       KEYPORT - Perhaps the best way to encourage recycling is to appeal to that most American of pursuits: making money. People who make their living off the area's waterways packed borough hall Thursday night, lending support to a grassroots effort aimed at making local waterways clean... More ... From the vault      A maintenance worker mows the lawn of the former Garden State Arts Center (now known as the PNC Bank Arts Center) on a quiet day at the Holmdel facility. The date of this photo could not be determined. More ... Wellness Community finds a new home New facility offers support to people battling cancer BY LINDA DeNICOLA Staff Writer       EATONTOWN - - Like Dorothy in the "Wizard of Oz," Ilene Winters' journey toward a home for The Wellness Community: Northern Jersey Shore (TWC-NJS) was long and arduous, but not without its highlights. More ... Fundraiser aims to help prevent teen suicide BY LAYLI WHYTE Correspondent       LITTLE SILVER - - After losing her sister to suicide three years ago, Elena Acuna is doing whatever she can to help make people aware of this growing cause of death among teenagers. Acuna, 16, is a junior at Red Bank Regional High School (RBR) in Little Silver, and has organized a fu... More ...