Mary Kranis has lived in her Shrewsbury Avenue home for 33 years but has been a Highlands resident her entire life. Taking a break from clearing out her family’s water-logged belongings the weekend after Hurricane Sandy brought the bay into her home, Kranis expressed pride in her hometown. “We’re the ones who always stick together. We all help each other. It’s more of a neighborhood,” Kranis said. Almost on cue, a neighbor drove up offering hot coffee. “See, there’s a lot of that.” Despite a flooded home—in fact, three flooded homes among her relatives, Kranis was grateful. The volunteers …

It's been said it's far better to have a neighbor who's near, than a brother who's far away, but in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, Americans across the nation have proven to be the best neighbors and the strongest of families. This past weekend, AOL and Patch employees took an opportunity to pitch in, packing two tractor trailers worth of food, water and supplies in Dulles, VA, and Baltimore. The donations are headed to Hurricane Sandy ravaged areas in New Jersey and Long Island. Want to join the relief efforts? Click here to donate: https://donate.networkforgood.org/aol "When a catastrophe of …

When President Barack Obama visited New Jersey last week, he vowed to cut the red tape. His promise to local officials was that a call to the White House for help would be returned within 15 minutes. Colts Neck Mayor Jarrett Engel happened to be taking a break from the chaos at that moment, and decided he would take President Obama up on the offer. As thousands still sat without power, heat or water in Colts Neck, their mayor was attempting to get help from the federal government. And within minutes, Engel said he received a call from a low-level White House staffer, which led to calls higher…

As the full extent of Hurricane Sandy's impact is still being uncovered, residents who lost homes or have suffered damage to them can apply to FEMA for help right now. Registering your claim can be done online or by phone, and the process takes about 25-30 minutes, officials say. The website is www.disasterassistance.gov. You can apply via your smartphone as well at m.fema.gov. To apply by phone, call 1-800-621-3362. People with speech or hearing disabilities should call 1-800-462-7585. According to Scott Sanders, a FEMA spokesman, you have 60 days from the date of the disaster declaration to…

Power appears to be returning to residents, slowly. JCP&L said in a release that it has restored power to nearly 160,000, or about 20 percent, of its customers and expects to have the majority of customers restored within the next seven days. Atlantic Electric reported similar results. (TELL US in the comments section below: where do you live and is your power back on?) It could take up to two weeks for customers in the hardest-hit areas to regain power, the company said. JCP&L reported 940,999 of its nearly 1.1 million customers remained in the dark as of Wednesday night, according to its …

Many residents sought to put the worst behind them this weekend as they sought relief from the worst ever-recorded storm to slam against the Jersey Shore. While power returned to most of New Jersey this weekend; Monmouth and Ocean counties remained mostly in the dark, with barely 50 percent of the coastline's communities having any service neary a week after Hurricane Sandy first struck. New Jersey Natural Gas technicians were making on-the-ground inspections to the company's systems two days after valves were closed to two barrier islands. Embers from fires could still be seen from aerial …

The state should be as good as back to normal by the end of next week, Gov. Chris Christie said during a press conference in Hoboken Sunday afternoon. "A week ago today we were prepping for the storm to come tomorrow," Christie said. "It's going to be a long and difficult process to get us back to normal."   Christie urged school districts to open on Monday if possible and people to go to work. New Jersey Transit has increased buses — about 200 more between New York and New Jersey — for the Monday morning commute. New Jersey Transit restored 90 percent of its bus service as of Sunday …

1) File insurance claims as soon as possible, if you haven't already done so. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners offers important advice and tips for filing your claim. The National Flood Insurance Program also provides information on filing a flood insurance claim.2) The SBA offers several low-interest, long-term disaster loans to small businesses in declared disaster areas, including business physical disaster loans and economic injury disaster loans. You can apply for loans up to $2 million for both uninsured and underinsured damages.You can apply directly online. Once …

Holmdel Public Schools Holmdel Township Public Schools will be closed Monday, November 5th and Tuesday, November 6th. There will be no professional development for teachers on November 6th.Due to the effects of Hurricane Sandy, NJEA has cancelled their convention scheduled for Thursday, November 8th and Friday, November 9th.If we have power and can open school, we will have classes Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.November 3rd's SAT test date has been rescheduled for November 17th.   Hazlet Public Schools Due to the aftermath of the storm the Hazlet Township Public Schools will be closed on …

In a brief, heated meeting at the Holmdel Community Center Sunday afternoon, Mayor Patrick Impreveduto loudly voiced his frustration to more than 100 bundled-up residents about being disconnected from the grid in greater Holmdel He had to bellow because there was no electricity to power a microphone. There weren't any lights in the dark hall either. For Holmdel residents, especially those who depended on electricity to pump well water, the whole sorry situation was not acceptable. And all his complaints after the same thing last year, after Hurricane Irene, seemed to have made no difference, …

The Monmouth County Board of Elections has released an updated list of polling locations for Election Day. Power outages in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy forced some municipalities to change polling places. In the case of two muncipalities severely impacted by the storm, voting will take place in neighboring communities. Sea Bright residents will vote at the Fair Haven Fire House on 645 River Road in Fair Haven. Loch Arbour residents will be voting at the Allenhurst Fire House on 311 Hume Street in Allenhurst. All other residents will vote in their own community. In 23 of the 53 …

As NJ Transit works to restore service, free emergency bus service from Holmdel and Woodbridge will be available from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m., and 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.  The buses will connect to ferries, light rail and workplaces in Hoboken, Weehawken, Jersey City and lower Manhattan. Free ferry service will be available from Liberty State Park Marina to Battery Park, but customer will be responsible for paying regular fares for other ferry services or light rail.  In Manhattan, pick-up and drop off locations will take place at the following, designated Suburban Transportation bus stops:  Greenwich …

Housing for displaced New Jersey residents will become the focus in the post-Sandy disaster recovery process, U.S. Homeland Security Director Janet Napolitano said. Napolitano was touring disaster recovery areas in Monmouth County on Sunday, including a stop at a Monmouth County supply distribution center at Holy Family School in Hazlet where she held a press conference with New Jersey officials. “We know we lost a lot of housing in this area,” Napolitano said. “What we want to focus on is debris removal so that equipment can get in, so that housing inspections can be done and housing repairs…

Energy was high inside the Beers Street School in Hazlet Sunday, with 200 volunteers busy putting sorting donations, putting hot meals together, and talking about their concern for the Bayshore victims of Hurricane Sandy.  The Hazlet-based Raine Foundation, at the invitation of Hazlet Township Office of Emergency Management, is endeavoring to meet the urgent needs of people in Keyport, Keansburg, and Union Beach as the temperature dips and a nor'easter looms for mid-week.  Raine Foundation co-founder Patti Dickens said the group had prepared nearly 18,000 meals by lunchtime on Sunday. Mike …

Mayor Patrick Impreveduto will hold a meeting with Holmdel residents Sunday at 3 p.m. at the Holmdel Senior/Community Center, according to an alert message sent through the town's emergency phone messaging system. Impreveduto will discuss power outages and the impact of Hurricane Sandy on the area.

With so many local businesses still recovering from the effects of Hurricane Sandy, Patch is compiling a list of businesses that are open and serving the community. Are you open for business?  Comment on this article with the name and address of your business, the hours you’re open. Plus, please include any special services, products or other information that might be useful to the community. For example, do you have wifi, fresh water, or charging stations? Let us know and we’ll publish it on Patch, in our email newsletter, and on our Facebook page.

The hours at the three distribution sites set up through the Monmouth County’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM) are now 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The locations are: Holy Family Church – 910 Route 36 Hazlet Monmouth Park – Oceanport Ave., Oceanport Circle Factory Outlet – 1407 Atlantic Ave. at the Route 35 circle, Wall Motorists are asked to remain in their cars as volunteers place the needed items in the car for them.  Monmouth County officials have established a Hurricane Sandy hotline, a clearinghouse of information for residents affected by the storm. The phone number is 732-303-2882.

Nearly a week after Hurricane Sandy and with a harbor suffering from nearly $30 or $40 million worth of damage, Atlantic Highlands Borough Administrator and OEM Coordinator Adam Hubeny finally got some good news. Thompson Electric trucks—three of them—rolled past his office in the municipal building on First Avenue Saturday morning. The biggest need Hubeny had at that moment could be summed up in one word: “Electric, electric, electric,” he said. Electric for residents to feel normal again, electric to light up the unique restaurants and charming boutiques on First Avenue, and electric to …

A large number of costumed kids filled the Holmdel Community Center next to Town Hall on Saturday, Nov. 3 to enjoy a Halloween party with a magic show.  Traditional trick-or-treating was cancelled due to the dangerous situation of the downed wires and tree limbs following Hurricane Sandy earlier in the week.  Upload your photos of the event! 

The third annual Nov. 8 Beer, Food & Wine Tasting fundraising event for the Holmdel PBA has been postponed until sometime in April or May, say organizers.  "If you have already purchased tickets for the event, please let us know if you would like a refund or if you would like to use the money for the new date," said Holmdel PBA officers Matthew Menosky and Eric Hernando. "If you wish to join us in Spring you will be provided with the new tickets once they are printed.   We just wanted to take the time to wish you the best and thank you for your continued generosity and support."