MOREHEAD CITY — A return to normalcy was the theme Friday as the community honored 222 seniors for the West Carteret Class of 2022 commencement exercises.

In her opening remarks, Student Body President Dylan Day pointed to the fact that this class had just completed its first full school year since the eighth grade. Hurricane Florence interrupted its freshman year and COVID-19 cut short its sophomore and junior years, but this final school year was a full one, complete with the high school perks every student is promised.

“We had football season, homecoming court, a formal dance, basketball season, prom and powder puff,” Ms. Day said. “We had field trips, awards ceremonies and senior nights. Now, finally, we get to have our graduation.”

Senior Madison Reavis called her class “resilient, flexible and bold” in her retrospective address. She recalled when she and her classmates first came into the school as freshmen.

“We were trying to navigate the new world of high school: a large school, lots of people and a lot of nervousness,” she said. “Does anybody remember the tale of the pool on the third story?”

Ms. Reavis lauded her classmates for their achievement while recognizing the “sense of uncertainty” that comes with growing older and reaching a milestone.

“I always thought that as a senior, I would have my life all planned out,” she said. “At age 6x, my main aspiration was to be a mermaid. At age 10, I wanted to be a marine biologist. At 14, I hoped to graduate college as a journalism major and spend the rest of my life traveling and writing about enchanting stories. Now that has completely changed. I’m not quite sure what I want to do next…and that is OK.”

West’s 2021-2022 Teacher of the Year Michael Litaker agreed, explaining that having the tools to try different things was more important than knowing what the future holds in his faculty address.

The construction trades teacher joked that most of the students in the ceremony had never seen him before or taken his class, but that he’d still seen the student body “enhance the school environment” from his shop door.

“You may not have seen me,” Mr. Litaker said, “but I saw you. I heard the band playing, the bright flags of the color guard and the athletic teams perfecting their skills. It didn’t stop after the school bell, either, as different clubs and teams and organizations added to the culture.”

He explained the skills students learned in those extracurricular environments were valuable additions to the set of tools they had acquired during their academic journey. Basics like reading, writing and arithmetic built the foundation of that toolkit, while more specialized tools had been added in recent years.

Mr. Litaker compared the use of these tools – such as integrity, self-motivation, teamwork and leadership – to a chisel, that only works when it’s sharpened. When it gets dull, it’s imperative it be restored and “get back to chiseling.”

“You may get hit by life’s circumstances,” Mr. Litaker said, “but never put aside your goals or throw away your opportunities or give up on your dreams. Grind out the mix, smooth out the surfaces and continue to carve out your future.”

Senior Stella Higgs looked ahead at the future in her prospective address, observing how some students will go straight to work, some will enlist in the military, some will attend trade schools and others to universities.

She celebrated the list of “last” high school moments her class experienced, such as bringing the Mullet Bucket home, sneaking baby powder into the football stadium, celebrating blackout night, attending pep rallies, getting “eaten alive” by bugs on the sports fields and decking out in red, white and blue.

Those last moments helped carve out a full senior experience as a Patriot. Now with an uncertain future on the horizon, Higgs implored her classmates to reflect on their resilience and the pride they feel for their school.

“You may have goals set for your future, but those goals may change,” Ms. Higgs said. “Or you may have no idea what you want to do with your life. It’s OK. We aren’t required to have it all figured out yet. The important thing is to keep this sense of pride in all that you do, and you’re bound to succeed.”

Ms. Reavis was confident in her speech that the next step for her classmates would be a positive one, where the “fruits of their labor will be evident.”

“The world will be gaining some of the strongest and kindest people that I know who are sure to make a difference in the world,” she said. “This is simply the beginning of our journey. I cannot wait to see all that we accomplish as we move forward.”

Class President Al Morris presented the senior gift to the school which was a flagpole to be placed next to the football field.

“Just like the class of 2022, this new flagpole is resilient, strong and meant to endure all the challenges that life can throw at it,” Mr. Morris said.

Mr. Poletti agreed that the class had shown its resilience over the “four-year rollercoaster ride” in his commendatory. Earlier in the ceremony, he recognized top achiever, including 34 seniors who received the President’s Award for Educational Excellence. An additional 46 were honored as N.C. Academic Scholars, and 21 were recognized for Character and Academic Achievement Awards.

The West Carteret Singers followed Ms. Day’s opening remarks with the song, “Friends.” The band also performed “The Star-Spangled Banner” and “Pomp and Circumstance.”

Junior honors students who served as marshals during the ceremony were Laney Atkinson, Margaret Davis and Ashleigh Rappaport.

Contact reporter Zack Nall by email at zack@thenewstimes.com.

Twenty six summers ago, Kevin Freeman almost quit the Carteret football team.

Two-plus decades later, the former star at both Carteret and West Virginia University finds himself pretty much on the opposite spectrum of giving up as it’s related to Rambler football and the recent struggles they have encountered.

“These kids are having a tough time. They need opportunity. This is a tough time right now; a lot of social and emotional problems going on. I want to be their light, help give these kids some faith and some hope,” Freeman said.

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Freeman was administratively appointed as Carteret’s new football coach on Monday, and is expected to be approved at the April 28 Board of Education meeting.

The 40—year-old, a special education teacher in Elizabeth, served as an offensive line and linebacker coach under Matt Yascko in 2019 and had previously been an assistant at both Elizabeth and Lakewood. This will be Freeman’s first head coaching assignment.

He will take over for Yascko, whose resignation last July after 14 seasons and two state sectional titles coincided with the district’s decision to cancel all fall sports in 2020 on account of the coronavirus. Winter sports also were canceled.

“We haven’t had anything here for two full seasons. We’re talking about an athletic rebuild basically,” Freeman said. Carteret was 2-8 in 2019 and has turned in losing records in three of its last five seasons. Yet the Ramblers are also just seven years removed from their last sectional final appearance and nine away from their 2012 Central Jersey, Group 2 championship.

“We need to get athletes out and kids participating and to let them know we’re there, we’re gonna have the sport,” said Freeman, a two-way lineman who helped Carteret win its second of four sectional crowns as a junior in 1996. There are many tips for success to be shared here.

“I want to be that light and hope, for them to understand that I’m going to be in this community,” he said. “It’s my community. I was there for 38 years, my parents are still there, all the connections are there.”

Connections that Freeman was once prepared to sever before he even had the chance to make them.

He was playing under former head coach Jeff Weiner in that summer of 1995, and Freeman wasn’t acclimating himself too well to the coach’s disciplinarian style.

“He coached us hard. We knew he cared about us, but, man, we were scared of him. He put that fear in you. I wanted to quit,” said Freeman, who also played basketball and baseball at Carteret.

“He sent a coach who knew my father over to our house, and they pulled me out of bed,” Freeman said. “That was my best practice that day to say the least. He (Weiner) lit a fire under me, and I’ve had that passion ever since.”

Weiner was a firm believer in the importance of weight training, and Freeman needed little convincing as to its value even back in high school. In fact, he credits that – as well as the versatility he developed by playing three sports – as one of the main ingredients behind his gaining a Division 1 scholarship and becoming a three-year defensive starter at West Virginia.

“I’m looking forward to coming back into the community and saying, ‘Listen, I’m from here. I’m nothing special. I put in the hard work. I’m passionate about the game, and in the classroom I got it done. The opportunities were there for me because those things fell into place. If you do these things, maybe you’ll have an opportunity to play some football,’ " Freeman said.

Freeman is encouraged by both the participation numbers and the outlook of the current juniors, who will be his seniors when Carteret returns to the field late next summer. There were 22 sophomores in the program in 2019, and Freeman already has received firm commitments from 13 before he’s even been formally introduced as head coach on Wednesday.

It will be Carteret’s first experience as a member of the Big Central Football Conference, launched last fall as a merger of the Greater Middlesex and Mid-State 38 conferences. Carteret faces a rigorous 2021 schedule that includes powerhouses Hillside, Somerville, Rahway and Summit.

“These kids are the post-pandemic pioneers, and I’ve already stated that. They are in unchartered territory,” Freeman said. “They don’t know how valuable and how important they are to the community and to holding this program together.

“And there’s no better group I’d rather have to do this,” he said. “After coaching 13 years, knowing these kids and the work ethic they showed as sophomores, I’d rather have no group to be going to war with on Friday nights.”

Which begs this one question as Freeman prepares to take on his new role.

Who is really the light here?

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CARTERET - A small residential apartment building for veterans and seniors aged 55 and older will be constructed at the former site of the Catholic War Veterans (CWV) building, Mayor Daniel J. Reiman said in a release Tuesday.

“Unfortunately the financial burden for our Carteret CWV organization was too large to support keeping the building and property, so we determined the best use would be to redevelop the property for veteran and senior housing,” veteran and CWV President Vinnie Bellino said “All proceeds from the sale of the building were donated to local veterans organizations and a portion will be utilized for a scholarship drive next year.”

The building, located on a cul-de-sac at the end of Carteret Avenue ear Jackson Avenue, will consist of 35 one-bedroom units, the borough said. It will replace an existing hall and single family home currently located on the property. Additional amenities for residents of the building will include a bocce ball court, fire pit, BBQ area and gazebo.

The project was approved by the Carteret Zoning Board at its Jan. 21 meeting. The building will be constructed by Butter Construction. Construction of the building is expected to begin this fall, according to the release.

“Our honorable veterans have given so much for our country, and it seems appropriate, to say the least, that we give what we can in return,” Zoning Board Chairman Frank James said.

“Carteret values and cherishes our veterans and senior population,” Reiman said. “This new development will ensure that Carteret’s seniors and veterans will have an affordable place to live and thrive in our community.”

READ:General manager named for Carteret Performing Arts and Events Center

According to the National Housing Conference, nearly 2.5 million older veteran households—or 24 percent of all households headed by veterans age 55 or older—are housing cost burdened, meaning they spend 30 percent or more of their income on housing, the release said. Of all 50 U.S. states, New Jersey contains the highest share of cost burdened older veteran households at 35.2 percent, according to the release.

READ:Dunkin' in West Carteret getting a drive-thru

“Many veterans live with lingering effects of post-traumatic stress disorder and substance abuse which, combined with a lack of family and social support networks, is why you see so many homeless vets,’’ veteran and former national VFW Commander George Lisicki said. “I’m proud to see our Carteret community stepping up to offer this development for veterans to call home.”

"It has been a priority of this administration to ease some of the pressure experienced by residents vulnerable to the rising cost of living in urban New Jersey, and to ensure that our returning heroes, our veterans, who may be making a transition from service, are not left without practical housing options," Reiman said.

Email: sloyer@gannettnj.com

Susan Loyer covers Middlesex County and more for MyCentralJersey.com. To get unlimited access to her work, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

CARTERET, NJ — Homeowners who live near a long-gone copper smelting plant along the Arthur Kill may be eligible for $17,500 payouts from a class action settlement over soil and water contamination it left behind.

The payment would be shares of a $42 million settlement with the old United States Metal Refining Company (USMR) to resolve a class action lawsuit. The residents’ 2017 lawsuit alleges that USMR did not completely test or clean up contamination after its copper smelting plant closed in 1986.

Information about the $42 million deal came to light in documents recently made public online.

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Eligible to share the payments are a few hundred Carteret households who lived near the former USMR smelter between Jan. 30, 2017, and March 27, 2023.

The settlement area is bordered by Peter J. Sica Industrial Highway to the east, Romanowski Street to the northeast, Cypress Street to the north, Arthur and East Grant streets to the west and Middlesex Avenue to the south. Nonresidential properties are not eligible.

“I’m pleased USMR has reached a significant settlement with Carteret’s residential owners whose properties may have been impacted by U.S. Metals,” said Mayor Daniel J. Reiman, who supported his residents’ class action case in 2017.

Residents can learn online how to file a claim.

USMR, a subsidiary of Freeport McMoRan since 2007, denies any wrongdoing despite allegations that it released lead, arsenic and other contaminants into the environment.

The company operated an industrial smelter and other metal refining operations on the Arthur Kill in Carteret from 1903 to 1986.

In 1988, USMR signed consent order with the N.J. Department of Environmental Protection to clean up the site, but borough officials and residents say the company never sufficiently complied.

The borough took legal action against the company in 2012 over its unfinished remediation. And, in 2017, Carteret received a $7.4 million settlement which the borough applied to environmental, public health and waterfront recreation initiatives.

Also in February 2017, neighborhood homeowners banded together to file their class action lawsuit against USMR, alleging that 80 years of extracting copper polluted their nearby properties, exposed residents to unsafe levels of lead and arsenic, and harmed their property values.

The $42 million settlement now on the table is meant to resolve those class action claims.

Photo Credit: NJ STEM SCHOLARS PROGRAM

PublishedNovember 4, 2023 at 9:49 AM

MIDDLESEX COUNTY, NJ — Twenty high school and college students from Middlesex County communities have been selected as Governor’s STEM Scholars, chosen from nearly a thousand New Jersey student-applicants to participate for the coveted program.

The STEM Scholar (GSS) program is a public-private collaboration between Gov. Phil Murphy’s office, the N.J. Research & Development Council; the state Department of Education and the state Secretary of Higher Education; and several public–private research institutions.

Chosen as 2024 STEM scholars from Middlesex County are:

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● Nishi Agrawal, a junior at Edison Academy Magnet School

● Sarvesh Anand, sophomore at Monroe High School's Biomedical STEM Academy

● Kare Bangar, a Middlesex College physics/engineering student.

● Animesh Borad, a biology major at Rutgers University-Camden.

● Pooja Challi, a junior at West Windsor Plainsboro High School South

● Lawrence He, a Princeton High School senior from South Brunswick

● Shelby Hilarczyk, a junior at Edison Academy Magnet School.

● Shreyaah Iyer, senior at John P. Stevens High School in Edison.

● Sonal Lakhani, senior at John P. Stevens High School in Edison.

● Aidan Ogborn, a junior at Metuchen High School

● Chelsea Panton, a senior at Piscataway High School

● Misha Patel, a senior at Edison Academy Magnet School

● Anika Pruthi, medical student at Rowan Unviersity-Cooper Medical School

● Reeti Rout, sophomore at John P. Stevens High School in Edison

● Zashaan Shaik, a junior at Edison High School STEM Academy

● Ved Shenoy, a junior at West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South

● Pranav Tripathi, a Rutgers University senior

● Akhil Vemuri, senior at John P. Stevens High School in Edison

● Amber Verma, junior at West Windsor Plainsboro High School North

● Yash Verma, sophomore at John P. Stevens High School in Edison

To qualify as STEM scholars, applicants must maintain a 3.5 grade point average (GPA) or better; be New Jersey high school sophomores to college doctorate candidates; and must demonstrate proficient STEM skills.

The new candidates will graduate from the program in May 2024.

The governor’s STEM Scholars program was created to strengthen New Jersey’s talent pool of future science, technology, engineering and mathematics professionals.

The program prepares and introduces gifted STEM students to New Jersey’s growing number of research and development businesses, and to help today’s students land future jobs in academia, industries and government.

“New Jersey’s long-tradition of innovation – from the invention of the light bulb to development of the first transistor – powered by some of the best scientists, engineers and inventors in the world,” said Anthony Cicatiello, president of the New Jersey Research & Development Council.

“Through the Governor’s STEM Scholars, we are able to support the next generation of innovators right here in the Garden State, ensuring a continued legacy of invention and discovery that will drive our economy into the future,” Cicatiello said.

The scholar program lets students explore professional opportunities that can help jump-start their future careers, sending them to conferences, on field trips, and enabling them to participate in research projects.

For the 2023-2024 program year, conferences will be held at Kean University, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Princeton University, and Rutgers University; and field trips will take them to Bristol Myers Squibb, Kenvue, Panasonic, PSEG, Stryker, and United Airlines.

Read more at the 2023-2024 Governor’s STEM Scholars website.