Notes Around Town

Monmouth University President Paul Gaffney II (l) looks on as library Dean Ravindra Sharma (c) cuts the ribbon at the dedication of the restored Guggenheim Library, West Long Branch.

The Monmouth County Business and Professional Women's Council will celebrate its 56th anniversary at the annual Scholarship Luncheon on Oct. 21 at Gibbs Hall at Fort Monmouth in Tinton Falls beginning at 11:30 a.m. The event will feature retired Maj. Gen. Robert L. Nabors who is the former commander of the U.S. Army Communications Electronics Command at Fort Monmouth.

Tickets for the event are $40. For more information or to purchase tickets, call: P. Riley at (732) 222-3420; A. Penn at (732) 747-4436; M. Swift at (732) 988-4706; W. Greason at (732) 446-9359; C. Hickson at (732) 774-8618; or S. Holmes at (732) 528-8076. Proceeds from the event will benefit the scholarship fund.

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St. Luke's United Methodist Church on Broadway in Long Branch will host a Harvest Home Supper and Country Kitchen on Oct. 21 at 6 p.m. The event will include an all-you-can-eat dinner and an array of homemade items for sale. Tickets are $12 for adults and $5 for children under 5 years old. For tickets or more information, call (732) 222-1341 or (732) 222-1141 or (732) 229-1835.

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The Hudson River Fishermans Association, in conjunction with the City of Long Branch and the Long Branch Department of Recreation, will hold the first "Long Branch Surf Fishing Challenge" Oct. 14 from 6 a.m. to noon. All fishing clubs in the state and Long Branch residents are welcome to participate. To register for the event, call Carl Jennings at (732) 571-6545 or e-mail to cjennings3@verizon.net; Carl Hartmann at (201) 481-4390 or

carlhartmann@hrfanj.org; and Jim Campbell at (201) 981-5484 or

jcampbellrs@optonline.net.

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The Coastal Monmouth Alliance for the Prevention of Substance Abuse, which provides Long Branch, West Long Branch and Oceanport community members with prevention, intervention and referral services, will meet Oct. 12, 6-7:30 p.m., at Shore Regional High School in West Long Branch. For more information, call Shannon Berry at (732) 571-6512.

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The Oakhurst Ladies Auxiliary will host an all-you-can-eat pasta dinner with Sparkey the Fire Dog and Smokey the Bear on Sunday from 5-8 p.m. at the Oakhurst Firehouse on Larkin Place. Tickets are $8 for adults and $4 for children. The auxiliary will also host an indoor craft/vendor show on Nov. 11 at the firehouse from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Space is available for vendors at $20 per space and $35 for two spaces. Limited tables are also available for an additional charge of $5. For more information or to receive an application, call (732) 263-0640.

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The Eatontown Community Center, 58 Broad St., and its annex will see improvements to enhance safety and ADA accessibility courtesy of Community Development Block Grant funds of more than $186,000 in about a year, according to borough Council-woman Geraldine Hopkins. The municipality can expect to receive the funds totaling next summer and construction on the two buildings is slated to begin next fall, said Hopkins, who chairs the council's public works and welfare committee.

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The late Harry Argast, Eatontown's longtime beloved soccer, football and basketball coach, was honored Saturday morning during a brief remembrance ceremony at 80 Acres Park off Wall Street by borough officials and the town's Parks and Recreation Department. Argast's widow, Joan, received a commemorative plaque in memory of her husband's 21 years of service to the borough's recreation program and was honored for her work on behalf of the borough.

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Eatontown's Family Day, sponsored by the borough's recreation department, will be held from 2-8 p.m. Saturday at Wampum Park. The park is located off Route 35, just south of Tinton Avenue and the Fort Monmouth gates. All are welcome to bring blankets and lawn chairs during the free event. Alcohol is not permitted. Billy Brown and the Retro-Groove will provide musical entertainment throughout the day.

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To kick off the school year and as part of its annual convocation ceremony, Monmouth University's on-campus library was dedicated on Sept. 13 after a five-year, $14.5 million renovation. The project resulted in the addition of a new wing, reconstruction of the library's old wing and renovation/restoration of the Guggenheim Cottage portion of the structure.

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The Eatontown Elks Lodge No. 2402 will host a roast beef dinner on Friday, Oct. 6, from 5-7 p.m. at its headquarters at 216 Broad St., Eatontown. Price for the dinners is $7 each and $6 for seniors. To order take-outs, call (732) 542-9735.

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To kick off a new academic year, Eatontown's Woodmere School PTA held its second annual "Pizza Night" inside the school's all-purpose room on Sept. 15.

For two hours, Woodmere School parents and teachers helped to serve pizza and beverages and children from the grade K-6 school played bingo and participated in arts and crafts.

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Choral singers, adults and teens, are welcome to audition for a community-based ecumenical choir to perform in a Christmas concert to be presented by local Christian singer/songwriter/musician Nancy Scharff at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank on Friday, Dec. 15 at 8 p.m.

Sopranos, altos, tenors, and basses are invited to come to the rehearsals which are held at 7:30 p.m. on Mondays at King of Kings Lutheran Church in Middletown. To audition, call Scharff at (732) 915-0978. For more information about the concert, visit www.NancyScharff.com or www.countbasietheatre.org.

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In the spirit of Halloween, the Ocean Township Historical Museum will present a special screening of the movie "The Return of Dracula" on Oct. 24 at 7:30 p.m. at the Old Oakhurst School Auditorium at 163 Monmouth Road.

The film stars Oakhurst native Norma Eberhardt, and an interview with Eberhardt will be part of this special and fun evening. There will be movie refreshments available and admission is free.

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The New Jersey Marine Sciences Consortium (NJMSC), Sandy Hook, is now accepting reservations for "Hallow-Marine," Oct. 28 from 5-8 p.m. at Fort Hancock. Tours are approximately 45 minutes each.

The event is one of the NJMSC's Family Investigate Science Hands-On (FISH) programs, and will feature guided tours of Sandy Hook, filled with Halloween surprises and scary thrills. Participants will meet the "lost pirates" of Sandy Hook, discover interesting and frightening facts about shore animals, and explore the marsh at twilight.

Cost is $10 per person, and children must be accompanied by an adult.

Preregistration is required.

For more information, visit www.njmsc.org-/Education/Hallow_Marine.htm or call Kim at (732) 872-1300, ext. 18.