Notes Around Town

Eatontown Memorial School will hold its 50th anniversary celebration on March 31 at the Sheraton, Route 35 and Industrial Way east. The event begins at 6:30 p.m. and includes a reception dinner and dancing to a DJ. Reservations are due by Wednesday. For more information, check the Web site www.EatontownMemorial50.org.

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The Eatontown Board of Education schools construction referendum is set for Tuesday with polls open from 3-9 p.m. At stake is a $29.8 million bond referendum to fund renovations to the K-8 district's four school buildings.

Election districts 1 and 2 will vote at the Eatontown Community Center, 58 Broad St.; districts 3, 7 and 8 at Meadowbrook School, Wyckoff Road and Route 71; districts 4 and 9 at Woodmere School on Raleigh Court; districts 5 and 6 at Memorial School, 7 Grant Ave. Residents are welcome to attend an open house at the schools on Saturday between 9 a.m. or 11 a.m. to view existing conditions. For more information, visit the district Web site at www.eatontown.org or call the hot line at (732) 542-1194.

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The Fort Monmouth Reuse Committee (FMRC) will meet on March 28 at 7 p.m. at Eatontown Borough Hall, 47 Broad St., in council chambers on the second floor. The FMRC has been set up to explore possible new uses for Fort Monmouth upon its scheduled closing in September 2011. Committee members represent the base's three host communities - Eatontown, Tinton Falls and Oceanport - the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders, the state governor's office, and the private sector. All meetings are open to the public.

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The West Long Branch Public Library sponsors children's reading groups on Wednesdays. Toddler storytime for children ages 2-3 runs from 10:15-10:45 a.m., followed by storytime for preschoolers ages 4-5 between 11:30 a.m. and noon and again at 1:30-2 p.m. The kindergarten through third-grade storytime, which also includes a craft-making class, runs from 4-4:45 p.m. The library is located off Locust Avenue near the borough community center.

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The KDM Foundation will hold its fifth annual St. Patrick's Day Fun Run at 11 a.m. Sunday starting at Donovan's Reef, Ocean Avenue, Sea Bright. All ages are welcome to run or walk in the three-mile race extending from Donovan's south on Ocean Avenue to the Monmouth Beach border and back.

Proceeds will go to KDM Foundation in honor of the late Keith McHeffey, a Monmouth Beach resident and onetime Donovan's employee, who died in the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center at age 31.

The foundation hopes to use the funds raised to provide $5,000 in college scholarships, two awards of $2,500 each, to a male and female graduate of Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School. McHeffey, a Rumson native, graduated from the school.

Registration on the day of the race will be at the Cecile Norton Community Center, 1167 Ocean Ave., next to Donovan's. Early arrival is strongly encouraged as in past years, the run has attracted nearly 700 persons including many from outside the county. For more information, check the Web site at KDMFoundation.com.

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Every Tuesday evening, the Monmouth Folk Dancers teach international folk dancing at the United Methodist Church of Red Bank at 247 Broad St. Beginner level dances are taught from 7-8 p.m., intermediate from 8-9 p.m., and dancing continues until 10 p.m. Admission is $4 per person. Beginners are welcome; no partners are needed. On March 14 and 21, Owen Layden of Jersey Shore Irish Set Dancers, will teach Irish folk dances (to celebrate St. Patrick's), and on April 25 Aron Szekely will be teaching Hungarian folk dances. For more information, call (732) 747-4831 or visit www.monmouthfolkdancers.org.

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The Ocean Township High School Marching Spartans' annual Chance Auction will be held Friday, March 10, beginning at 6 p.m. The $5 admission includes coffee, dessert and "starter" tickets for bidding on gifts. For the first time, a dinner food court will offer hot and cold dishes plus home-baked goods. Local restaurants providing specialties include Illiano's Caf of Eatontown, Tuzzio's of Long Branch, Illiano's Italian Restaurant of Ocean, Los Caminos De Don Chucho of Oakhurst, Brennan's of Oakhurst, Panera Bread, Sunset Diner and Giuseppe's of Wanamassa and Oakhurst.

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Alumni and friends of St. Mary of the Assumption Parish School are invited

to the first Homecoming Celebration/Silent Auction, March 18, 7:30 - 10:30 p.m., at the school located at 73 Wickapecko Drive in Ocean. The evening of fond memories, fun and dancing will also feature a children's art expo and silent auction. The $25 cost includes savory light fare, beer and wine and DJ entertainment. The donation is tax-deductible with all proceeds going to school improvements. For more information and reservations, contact Patricia Lynch at (732) 663-0736.

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Monmouth County Regional Health Commission No. 1, will hold free rabies clinics. Clinics will be held: March 21 at the Wanamassa Firehouse, Sunset and Wickapecko Drive, 7-8 p.m.; April 17, at the Monmouth Beach Fire House, 22 Beach St., 7-8 p.m.; and May 13, at the Shrewsbury Township Community Center, 1979 Crawford St., 10-11 a.m.

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The Leon Hess Cancer Center at Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch will sponsor "The Healing Power of the Drum" to be presented by psychotherapist Robert Lawrence Friedman. The program, designed specifically for patients with cancer, will be held on Thursday, March 23, at 7 p.m. in the hospital's Borden Auditorium, 300 Second Ave. in Long Branch. The seminar will include discussion and demonstration. Drums will be provided. The program is free, but preregistration is required by calling (732) 923-6575.

Family & Children's Service (FCS) on Bath Avenue in Long Branch will host a "Girls Night Out" on Wednesday from 6:30-9 p.m. at Branches in West Long Branch.

The event, sponsored by Branches, will feature designer clothing by Escada, Mirella, Nicole Miller, Sara Campbell, Givency and more in "real" sizes marked at 65 percent off the original prices, according to a press release from FCS.

The event will also feature makeovers, massages, food and wine. Tickets for the event are $50 and are limited to the first 150 responses.

For more information or to make a reservation, contact FCS Director of Development Linda Steele at (732) 222-9111 or e-mail lsteel@fcsmonmouth.org.