2020 In Middletown: From COVID To The BOE, The Year's Top Tales

MIDDETOWN, NJ — "On the first month of 2020, Middletown gave to me ..." We're sure you've forgotten some of these stories, while others are simply unforgettable.

For every delightful month of 2020, Patch rounded up our most-read, most-shared and most-talked-about Middletown reporting:

January: Middletown Girl Chosen To Be Pictured On Girl Scout Cookie Boxes (Jan. 7)

The year started off on a sweet note, with Middletown Girl Scout Brenna McCormick, 8, chosen to be featured on the Thanks-a-Lot cookie boxes. This Bayview Elementary third grader from Belford was selected from thousands of Girl Scouts across the U.S. who applied. A celebration ceremony was held at Salt Creek Grille in Rumson and local celebrity chef David Burke, who grew up in Hazlet, was in attendance.

February: Seal Seen Lounging On Docks At Atlantic Highlands Marina (Feb. 11)

February was a quiet month, save for this seal seen resting on the docks at the Atlantic Highlands municipal marina. The seal could be found there most evenings last winter, reported Atlantic Highlands Police Chief David Rossbach, who snapped a cute pic that "went viral." Will he back back in February 2021? As Patch reported, more seals than ever are returning to their winter fishing grounds off the Jersey Shore, as New York City's waters are the cleanest they've been in decades.

March: Tears And Anger: Middletown BOE Votes To Close Port Monmouth (March 12)

On a cold March night — just days before the state plunged into a COVID lockdown from which it never quite fully emerged — hundreds packed a meeting oddly held in the library of Middletown High School North, where the Board of Education vote 6-2 to close Port Monmouth Elementary. It was painful to witness, as Port Monmouth parents, children and staff openly wept and begged the district not to shutter their beloved school. It was a decision that would come back to haunt the three Board members who sought re-election later this year.

April: Volunteer Middletown Firefighter, Robert Weber, Dies Of COVID-19 (April 17)

Speaking of viruses ... By April, the coronavirus pandemic was in full swing in New Jersey, causing heartbreaking local deaths. But the resulting lockdowns also devastated Middletown-area businesses, who warned they would not be able to recover: Tim McLoone Lays Off Nearly 1,000. Also, the lockdowns resulted in some pretty strange things happening, such as Rumson police busting a Pink Floyd-outdoor listening party: Rumson Police Break Up 'Coronavirus Party' (April 5) and a Hazlet woman charged with violating the governor's stay-at-home orders (and attacking another woman who was dating her boyfriend) (April 20).

May: Monmouth State Senator Calls For 'Rebellion, Defy Gov. Murphy' (May 11)

May saw Middletown residents fed up with the lockdowns, as the area's representative to Trenton Sen. Declan O'Scanlon dared people to "Go outside your house!!" But others warned to remain vigilant for a lethal and unpredictable virus: Tinton Falls Man: I'm 31 And I Had A Stroke From The Coronavirus (May 28)

June: Middletown Valedictorian: I Survived Years Of Race Discrimination (June 11)

The graduating valedictorian of Middletown High School North caused a huge outcry when she released an Instagram video before her commencement address, saying she survived "years of racial discrimination and disgusting comments from close-minded people ... in this Godforsaken town." Some applauded her for speaking out, while others said she unfairly maligned the entire town over the actions of a few. This came at the same time as the June 28 Black Lives Matter march, and a petition was launched to make the Middletown school district curriculum "anti racist."

July: Murphy On Middletown COVID Party: Work With Contact Tracers (July 22)

Some Middletown teenagers threw a mid-summer house party on July 11 and it somehow became national news, even appearing on CNN. The problems really started when up to 20 young people from the party later tested positive for coronavirus and were being "less than satisfactory" with contact tracers. Gov. Murphy urged the teens to work with contact tracers, while others in Middletown were alarmed that some wanted to "out" the teens and their families on social media. However, this touching story of a Middletown young woman who had autism but graduated fourth in her class, shared positive news: After Fears She'd Be Disabled, Middletown Teen Is 4th In Class (July 7)

August: It Was A Tornado That Touched Down In Middletown, NWS Confirms (August 20)

The month of August brought a pretty powerful display of Mother Nature's strength, as Tropical Storm Isaias ousted power for days in the area in early August. Also, Lincroft residents swore they witnessed a tornado funnel cloud touch down on Aug. 19, as 70-foot-tall trees were slammed into homes and backyard pools.

The National Weather Service investigated and confirmed it was an actual tornado that caused a 1.2-mile path of destruction down Phalanx Road and over Swimming River Reservoir, bringing maximum wind speeds of 80 mph and a path length of 1.2 miles. Nobody was injured. Old-timers said it's actually not the first time a tornado had been reported in Lincroft: Twisters were indeed seen here before, back when the area was mostly farmland.

Also, who can forget when Gov. Murphy dined at high-end Middletown restaurant Nicholas Barrel & Roost (supposedly his favorite) one August evening while Middletown police officers were on the front sidewalk, threatening to issue the owner a summons for violating the state's indoor dining ban: Middletown Restaurant Accused Of Breaking Rules While Murphy Ate (Aug. 27)

September: Wegmans Pulls Out, Village 35 No Longer Coming To Middletown (Sept. 2)

The economic devastation caused by COVID had very real fall-out here in Middletown, when the controversial Shoppes at Middletown completely collapsed. This would have been a very big shopping complex at King's Highway East and Kanes Lane, with Wegmans, a 24-Hour Fitness and an eight-screen dine-in movie theater. Thanks to COVID, the indoor movie company declared bankruptcy and Wegmans pulled out. Some in Middletown cheered as they always wanted the area to remain woods. However, don't expect the Azzolina family, which owns the property, to stop shopping around for a new developer in the new year.

October: Middletown Man Saves His Father's Life In McDonald's Parking Lot (Oct. 29)

The missing woman from Shadow Lake was sadly found deceased, a man recorded a bald eagle swoop down and land for a kill on his Lincroft street and volunteer Middletown firefighter Bill Gardell saved his father's life in the parking lot of the Hwy. 35 McDonald's. Also, redistricting is still very likely for Middletown public schools: Middletown School District Considering Redistricting

November: Middletown Student-Athletes, Parents Furious With Sports Shutdown (Nov. 16)

In mid-November, as the second wave of COVID took hold, Middletown schools made the decision to shut down the remainder of the fall sports season. It was particularly heartbreaking for senior varsity athletes who will likely never play their sport again, plus cross country, field hockey and soccer, which all missed out on state championships. Parents and Middletown teens protested outside the BOE headquarters on Leonardville Road for days, but the superintendent would not change her mind.

And oh yeah, there was also that axis-tilting Middletown Board of Education election, where Pam Rogers, Nick DiFranco and Robin Stella lost in a blood bath: The 2020 Middletown Board Of Education Race: What Happened? (Dec. 3)

December: Middletown Teens Save Children Who Sledded Into Frozen Pond (Dec. 18)

And happily, a very tumultuous year ended on a beautiful note in Middletown, as five local young men rose to national-hero status for their selfless and quick-thinking actions Dec. 17 saving two children in a sledding accident at Beacon Hill Country Club. Congratulations to these young men; we are sure that water was very cold and they deserve every accolade coming their way.

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