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RUTGERS FOOTBALL

ASH HIRED FOR

RUTGERS REVIVAL

TUESDAY 12.08.15

TAX WATCHDOG

Eatontown,
Manasquan
drop out of
tax program
TANYA BREEN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Rutgers University President Robert Barchi (left) and Athletic Director Patrick Hobbs (right) flank Chris Ash, new head coach of
the Rutgers University Scarlet Knights football program, during a news conference in the Hale Center.

Revaluation system
subject of complaints,
criminal investigation
SUSANNE CERVENKA @SCERVENKA

Five-year contract with Ohio State defensive

coordinator could be worth at least $11 million
RYAN DUNLEAVY @RYDUNLEAVY

(Ash is) the right person

PISCATAWAY - Calling it the kind of opportunity worth passing

up others to secure, Chris Ash was introduced Monday as the new
Rutgers football coach during a news conference that marked a new
era for the state university.
Negotiations between Rutgers and Ash heated up Friday night,
were finalized Saturday and became official Monday at a Board of
Governors meeting to approve his incentive-laden five-year contract worth at least $11 million.
I dont care whats happened in the past, Ash said. This was a
job Im willing to run to. This is a job that has tremendous potential.
Rutgers is coming off a 4-8 season marred by off-field turmoil,
including previous coach Kyle Floods three-game suspension for
impermissible contact with a faculty member, seven player arrests,
allegations of marijuana use, and a school-led investigation into the
program to determine if any NCAA violations were committed.

for this job because he has

an intense and passionate
commitment to excellence
and integrity on the field.
ROBERT BARCHI
RUTGERS UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT

Find out more about what Chris Ash has to

do to revive Rutgers program. Page 1D

See RUTGERS, Page 6A

Two towns backed out of Monmouth Countys controversial property tax pilot program that has become
the subject of widespread complaints from property
owners and an ongoing criminal investigation.
Eatontown on Wednesday became the first to opt
out of the Assessment Demonstration Program and
was followed Monday by Manasquan. The resolutions
came less than a week after the Monmouth County Tax
Board offered towns the option to drop the beleaguered pilot program.
Officials in both towns said that while the pilot program may have had some merits, it had too many flaws
for them to continue now that they arent required to
stay in it.
We want it completely cleaned up before were involved, said Eatontown Mayor Dennis Connelly,
whose council unanimously voted to opt out.
Even with the opt-out, taxpayers still be stuck with
the property values assigned to them in 2016 unless
they successfully appeal.
The boroughs decisions follow a series of investigative reports by the Asbury Park Press that have outlined questionable relationships involving Monmouth
See TAX, Page 6A

Menorahs light up Rt. 9

in Marlboro car parade
KAREN YI @KAREN_YI

MARLBORO - It was a procession unlike any other:

Electrically lighted menorahs, strapped to the tops of
cars, paraded down Route 9 Monday night illuminating
the streets in celebration of Hanukkah.
Were spreading light, said Rabbi Boruch Chazanow of the Chabad of Western Monmouth County.
One by one, more than 50 cars streamed down the
highway in the fourth annual Menorah Parade organized by the Chabad.
Participants from Marlboro and nearby towns met
at Robertsville Elementary to dress up their cars with
the 2-foot tall wooden menorahs before making their
way down Routes 520 and 9 for a menorah lighting ceremony at Marlboro Plaza.
My favorite part is getting the menorah on the car,
said 5-year-old Layla Sosner, as she eagerly stuck her
head out of her car window to watch volunteers secure
the 3-foot-wide menorah on the roof of the SUV.
At first I thought the menorah was going to fall,
added her sister, 10-year-old Emma Sosner. But then I
saw it, and its all complicated.
The handmade menorahs are placed on top of the
cars and then tied and secured with a blue nylon cord

AP

John Lennon, left, and Paul McCartney smile during a

ceremony at Buckingham Palace in London, 1965.

Reflecting on
Lennons death,
35 years later
JERRY CARINO @NJHOOPSHAVEN
NOAH K. MURRAY/CORRESPONDENT

NUMBER 293

Like many music lovers, Kenneth Womack has

this date circled in his minds calendar.
Thirty-five years ago, on Dec. 8, 1980, John Lennon was gunned down outside his New York City
apartment. The tragedy left a great unanswered
question: Had Lennon lived, what course would The
Beatles and the culture have taken?
The effect of time almost makes it worse, said
Womack, a Monmouth University dean and a leading
scholarly authority on The Beatles. On a micro level, his life was destroyed and his family was destroyed because of his assassination. On a macro level, we were all denied the opportunity to see how he
would have grown and matured through some really
turbulent and at times buoyant times.
Its tantalizing to theorize what might have been.
Womack, dean of the Wayne D. McMurray School of
Humanities and Social Sciences and author and editor of several books devoted to The Beatles, shared
his thoughts on the subject with the Asbury Park
Press.
For starters, would the Fab Four have gotten back
together?
I absolutely do think they would have, Womack
said. John had remarked before his death that it was

SINCE 1879

See LENNON, Page 12A

Layla, Joshua and Emma Sosner of Jackson wait for the start
of the annual car menorah parade Monday evening.

See PARADE, Page 12A

Election 16

No luck in Iowa
for Christie
A Monmouth University poll shows Texas Sen. Ted Cruz at
the top in Iowa among likely Republican caucus goers,
while Gov. Chris Christie came in ninth. Page 9A

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VOLUME 136