HHS Band Casino Night

Last night the Hillsborough High School Band Parents held their annual Casino Night - more fun than Atlantic City, closer to home, and doing good while having a great time...

HHS Casino Nt 2013 - slideshow

The HNJJ crew enjoyed a few hours of "gambling" with a congenial group while being entertained by band parent Jonni Drue, who does a great Frank Sinatra tribute show called I'll Be Frank.  And fabulous food, too.
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Photographs compliments of Susan Gulliford and George Mariasz who want to disclose that they won a Lawn Care basket compliment of Central Jersey Nursery, Belle Mead Co-op, and Fairway Green.  Thanks.

Belmar Six Months After Sandy

This afternoon two members of the HNJJ crew returned to Belmar six months after Superstorm Sandy hit.  Unfortunately they were not allowed on the beach...

Belmar After Sandy 4/27 - slideshow

But finding that Avon-By-the-Sea's Macaroon Shop was still open made the entire trip worth while.

Hillsborough and the County Access and Mobility Study

The HNJJ crew noticed that the former K-Mart Shopping Center was included as a pilot site in the Somerset County Access and Mobility Study. Two members of the crew had already attended one of the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority meetings and there is a second meeting this evening.

From the Somerset County Press release:

SOMERVILLE – The public is invited to a second meeting on the Somerset County Access and Mobility Study on Tuesday, April 2, from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

The program will be held in the third-floor freeholders’ meeting room in the county administration building at 20 Grove St. Free parking is available in the Bernie Field Parking Deck; enter off East High Street.

“The Access and Mobility Study is part of the county’s efforts to support economic growth and investment in the county,” said Freeholder Robert Zaborowski, planning liaison. “We encourage interested citizens to offer their opinions on the progress of the study to date.”

Seven pilot sites have been identified for potential land-use and traffic improvements. They include sanofi-aventis on Route 202/206 in Bridgewater; a hotel site near the I-287 off ramp at Easton Avenue in Franklin; the K-Mart Shopping Center on Route 206 South in Hillsborough; Weldon Quarry off Valley Road in Watchung; Somerville’s East Central Business District between Route 28 and Veterans Memorial Drive; Green Brook’s Village Commercial District off North Washington Avenue; and the Nora Shopping Center on Hamilton Street in Franklin.

At the meeting, the project team will discuss the study goals, the process used to identify and screen the candidate sites and the collaboration efforts of the county, municipalities and partner agencies.

Draft recommendations for the seven pilot sites will be presented, including current status, site issues, constraints to be addressed and the proposed recommendations.

Public comment is being sought before the project team prepares the final study report. For more information, contact Walter Lane at the Somerset County Planning Board at 908-231-7021 or lane@co.somerset.nj.us

Funding for the study has been provided by a grant from the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority.

Ethnoarchaeology and Your House

Do you have room in your garage for your car?  How many of your neighbors use their garages?

How many items do you have displayed on your refrigerator?  There is a correlation between that number and the "number of objects per square foot in the house as a whole."

How much food do you have stored? How often does the family eat together?  By the way, families using pre-packaged foods take 26 minutes to prepare a meal while from scratch takes 38 minutes.

How often does anyone use the yard?  For many families the time spent in the yard - even with swings, decks, outdoor furniture - is zero.

How many family photos hang on the walls and in which rooms?  How many Barbies, books, TVs, etc.?  Sports memorabilia?  Religious items?

How do your answers compare with other American families?

After reading this picture-rich book Life at Home in the Twenty-First Century - 32 Families Open Their Doors, you will never look at your home - or anyone elses' - in the same way.

This engrossing book is based on a study done by the Center on Everyday Lives of Families (CELF) at UCLA using ethnoarchaeology: "... the scientific study of societal groups, esp. for understanding the behavioral relationships which underlie the production of material culture...".  Thirty-two California families opened their homes for a thorough research project researching not only what they had in their homes, but how they lived - how they used their possessions.  Applying ethnoarchaeology to modern homes and families produces a type of modern archaeology.

According to this book, Americans currently have the "most possessions per family in global history."  Not only will you compare your family to those in the study, but you will take a second look at all the possessions you have and wonder why you have them.

The only drawback?  The study centered on middle-class families with two working parents and two-to-three children one of whom is 7-to-12-years-old, making it hard to compare your family if you don't fit into these demographics. 

The Hillsborough Public Library has a copy of this book and it isn't often that you read a book that actually makes a difference in the way you live your life.

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Life at Home in the Twenty-First Century - 32 Families Open  Their Doors, by Arnold, Graesch, Raggazzini, and Ochs. (2012).

Fire Company Fish Dinner Today

From the Woods Road Fire Company - HVFC#3:

Hillsborough Fire Company #3 will be holding its annual fish fry buffet on Friday February 22 from 4:30 pm to 8:00 pm. Buffet menu includes baked tilapia, fried cod, fried clams, fried shrimp, chicken fingers, pierogies, vegetable medley, french fries, rice, home made cole slaw, salad, desserts, coffee, tea, and cold drinks.

•Adults - $12
•Senior Citizens (60 and up) - $11
•Children (5 to 12) - $9
•Children 4 and under free
Tickets will be sold at the door.

Duke Farms Eagle Cam 2013

The Duke Farms' eagles are back and so is the Eagle Cam!


Fans of the American Bald Eagle pair in Hillsborough can get their fix once again as Duke Farms has replaced its Eagle Cam and is back on the air.

Rumor has it that there was at least one egg in the nest as of last week, but unfortunately the new camera angle does not allow a view down into the nest the way that the old one did. Maybe that can be corrected when this year's eaglets are banded.

Just to hold over the peeping Toms, here are the 2012 eaglets...

Additionally, Duke Farms hosts the Duke Brook Habitat cam, overlooking a shallow pool below a spillway on the property...


Live video for mobile from Ustream

Vote Today on Fire Budget and Two Commissioners

Today Hillsborough Township voters choose two fire commissioners and decide whether to approve or disapprove the 2013 Fire Budget.

Three firefighters are running for two seats on the Board of Fire Commissioners: incumbent Matthew DeCicco, Charles Nuara, and John Catrombon, Jr.  For more information about the three candidates, go to this Hillsborough Beacon article.

The fire district budget, covering salaries and benefits, insurance, and equipment, is $2.1 million with $1,706,673 from local property taxes.  For more information about the budget, go to this Hillsborough Beacon article.

Voting runs from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Hillsborough Municipal Building, 379 South Branch Road.