Friday, June 26, 2009

We're Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!

Sorry folks, but with the school year ending and the apparent virus that has been going around, we have been negligent in keeping you informed on what's happening in Matawan. Well, you will be happy to hear that we are back. Our caustic tongues can't wait to let you in on what is going on at the Matawan Borough Council's next meeting on July 7th. One of our pet peeves, putting it mildly, is the Ordinance to prevent elected officials from doing work for the Borough while they are sitting members of the Council. Either you represent the good people of Matawan, or you represent your own self (financial) interests. Call us dreamers, idealists, lovers of good, clean government, but we want our elected officials to have the taxpayers best interests in mind.



Recalling a Borough Council meetings some time back, Boy Scouts were in attendance. It was impressive to see these young men witness our government at work. Food for thought, we should all take our children to a Borough Council meeting once in a while. Kinda of like, the "take your child to work day" that was started a while back. Not the little ones, but the older kids. Check the Agendas, find a meeting that you think the kids would find interesting and attend a meeting together. Even better, speak at the same meeting, let your child see you participating. What a great example you would set for your child. It could be a Social Studies project. No, we are not teachers, just parents.

Don't forget Fourth of July Fireworks, July 5th. Get there early to get a good spot. Fireworks begin at nightfall around 9pm. Grab a bite to eat at one of Matawan's fine restaurants, stroll down Main Street, check out our Memorial Park, some of our beautiful historic homes and end up on Ravine Drive by the Lake.


Hope to see you at the Fourth of July Fireworks......

4 comments:

Cayomagnetking said...

I don't see any contact info, so I'm sending it here...What happened to the 2009 Matawan Sharkfest? I can' find any mention of it online. YOu can message me at sunfiretakesit@aol.com Thanks

matawan advocate said...

Sharkfest was the project of the Matawan Alliance, a group made up of business people, residents, etc. We recall Mary Mullaney, (wife of Councilman Bud Mullaney) along with a woman from one of the banks on Main St. speaking on behalf of the Matawan Alliance at a Council meeting a while ago, but haven't heard anything about Sharkfest this year. You might want to check with Councilman Bud Mullaney to ascertain if he knows anything about the Matawan Alliance. Although his wife spoke for them, he has claimed not to know anything at various meetings. But it is worth a shot. Sharkfest was well received and was becoming quite popular. Perhaps the Recreation Commission could put it on its Agenda for next year. Anything that makes money should benefit Matawan. The Matawan Alliance did claim the monies they collected were going to be for a Memorial for the victims. Although how much they have collected remains a mystery. They did receive tax dollars to help defray the cost of insurance premiums at one time.

Perhaps one of our readers knows more about Sharkfest.

Cayomagnetking said...

I live in Connecticut and was thinking about attending....If you attend the council meetings, maybe you can bring up the question....Also, it's an interesting question as to what has happened to any monies collected for the memorial. I'll be looking forward to any info you can find out about Sharkfest!

matawan advocate said...

cayomagnetking, good questions. Sadly to say, there will be no Sharkfest this year. As to the donation money collected for a supposed monument, that has become a questionable matter. No explanation of how much money has been collected, nor has anyone outside of the "elitist" group knows anything about the books. Several attempts to locate the books and questions raised regarding the Monument Fund has been shut down by Mary Mullaney. She is the only person we know of who claims to be in contact with this "so called" group. Perhaps it is time for the authorities to look into this matter. Afterall, taxpayer money was donated to Matawan Alliance for a previous year for the purpose of insurance. Now if you are saying, you donated money to the Matawan Alliance and were informed it was earmarked for Sharkfest then you have a right to know who has your donation now, how was it used and if it was not used, where is it now. Ironically, Councilman Mullaney has mentioned ethics, perhaps he should question the Matawan Alliance and their financial accountability. Although witnessing what he is doing regarding performing work for the Borough, ethics would not be his strong suit!

If you get any information, please share it with our readers. We believe everyone in Matawan is concerned. Especially if they donated to what they thought was a Monument to the victims of the Shark Attack. We will keep digging and keep you posted.

Thanks for raising the questions.