What’s up this week – 10/22

One sunny summer day in 1968, I hopped in the backseat of my older brother’s car. It was time for a road trip to Island Beach State Park with my brother and his friend. A day at the shore – fun stuff for a 10-year-old.

Problem was the new ShopRite on Lincoln Boulevard, not far from our house, opened that day. I missed all the hoopla and heard about it from the other neighborhood kids the next morning.

Fifty-five years later, I didn’t miss the festivities. It was an eventful morning on Friday, Oct. 20 witnessing the ribbon-cutting at the new SuperFresh. It was the Middlesex place-to-be, watching Mayor John Madden cut the ribbon, chatting with town notables and checking out the new store for the first time.

Most recall what happened in 2019 with Price Saver at the same location. The major difference seems to be SuperFresh is owned and operated by someone with a successful track record running food stores elsewhere. It is nice to drive by and see an active business there. Here’s hoping owner Howard Lee has a long, successful run.

During the past week, we also took a look at this year’s Middlesex Board of Education race and the campaign flyers found in our mail this time of year.

Like many other things, maybe campaign mailings will become a thing of the past as we move deeper into the internet age. It’s debatable how much sway political mailings have these days.

The Middlesex school board race highlights that there can be deep division – even in our local community – over cultural issues. One of the great things about America is that everyone can have their own opinion. It’s unfortunate that it sometimes leads to bitter differences.

This week’s Inside – Middlesex agenda

Borough Council meeting – Tuesday, Oct. 24 – The governing body will again review the Heather Lane erosion situation. We’ll detail that discussion and anything else of note.

Middlesex by the numbers – a profile of the borough as given by the statistics the U.S. Census Bureau accumulated in 2020.

“Why weren’t they closed?” – Middlesex frets over an unfinished flood wall and homes that might fall into a stream. Meanwhile, a group of Bound Brook downtown business owners are suing over flood gates that weren’t shut during Hurricane Ida.

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