ERIC SUCAR staff Ocean Township Elementary School Principal William Galatro, who will retire at the end of the school year, is surrounded by students during a surprise send-off celebration held at the school May 30. See story, page 3. More ... Visioning the future of Fort Monmouth FMERPA public meetings to begin June 12 BY LINDA DENICOLA Staff Writer       All the pieces of the puzzle that make up the planning for the closing of Fort Monmouth in 2011 are being tweaked and analyzed in the hope that they will fit into place before the Dec. 8 deadline set by the federal government's Department of Defense. More ... Residents oppose city's land swap DEP asked to keep Ocean Ave. parcels as Green Acres BY CHRISTINE VARNO Staff Writer       A group of Long Branch residents is asking the state Department of Environmental Protection to turn down the city's request to swap Green Acres parcels. The residents traveled to Trenton Monday to present petitions bearing almost 4,000 signatures of people opposed to the opening of ... More ... The world changed and a life changed on 9/11 Local named to head program for kids who lost parents BY CHRISTINE VARNO Staff Writer       LONG BRANCH - Tracy C. Burns was teaching a class of preschool students in Old Bridge when the attacks on the World Trade Center took place on Sept. 11, 2001. Burns, along with six of her prekindergarten students, was awaiting news that morning on whether her own father and those o... More ... Swap of beachfront road draws local opposition City says no plans in place for Green Acres parcel BY CHRISTINE VARNO Staff Writer       LONG BRANCH - The proposed reopening of portions of Ocean Avenue to vehicular traffic along the Long Branch oceanfront has elicited a less than positive reaction from a large number of city residents. More ... County GOP celebrates women in politics GOP showcases female candidates for local, county and state office BY LORI ANNE OLIWA Correspondent       The contributions that women make in the political arena were recognized and applauded June 1 by Monmouth County Republicans. More ... Winners named in design competition for Gateway BY LIZ SHEEHAN Correspondent       A design team from Brooklyn, N.Y. was selected as the winner of an international competition for a new concept for Gateway National Recreation Area, which includes Sandy Hook. The winners of the competition were announced on Monday by the Van Allan Institute, the National Parks Conse... More ... Fort Monmouth hosts disaster response exercise       A disaster preparedness exercise was scheduled to take place at Fort Monmouth Thursday with more than 150 people representing 40 agencies from the local, county, state and federal levels. More ... Fatal crash under police investigation       LONG BRANCH - Police are investigating whether excessive speed contributed to a motor vehicle accident on Westwood Avenue, which resulted in the death of a 20-year-old city male. On May 26 at approximately 7:50 p.m., police responded to the area of Westwood and Hollywood avenues for nu... More ... Volunteer to 'Be Green' Resident organizes river cleanup for June 16 BY CHRISTINE VARNO Staff Writer       OCEANPORT - A concerned Oceanport resident is calling on the community to join in an environmental event to clean debris from borough waterways. On Thursday, June 16, Voula Constantarakos will lead volunteers in Oceanport's first "Be Green: Waterways and Open Spaces" project to hel... More ... Solving transport issues - one idea at a time Forum views towns' traffic woes as interrelated BY LINDA DeNICOLA Staff Writer       TINTON FALLS - Local officials exchanged ideas recently about transportation and traffic issues in eastern Monmouth County. The group of municipal officials and legislators participated in a transportation roundtable during the May 5 meeting of the Two River Council of Mayors. More ...