City group to honor community members

LONG BRANCH - The Concerned Citizens Coalition (CCC) is hosting its Awards Program tonight to honor people and organizations for their services to the community.

The event will be held at 6 p.m. at the Long Branch Portuguese Club on Broadway and eight awards will be distributed. The public is welcome to attend.

"There are so many people and organizations that should be recognized for their community services," said CCC Chairwoman Julia E. Wheeler. "And I think that it is very appropriate for us to recognize them."

Those being recognized are; Bill Nordahl, who serves as the CCC housing chairman and who has organized the Marine Terrace and Ocean Terrace and Seaview Avenue (MTOTSA) alliance in a fight against the abuse of eminent domain; Tonya Badillo, who organized Team Jump Off for Long Branch youths; Ronald Bennett, a Long Branch public schoolteacher who organized the Ray singers; and Joseph Calhoun, who has made his church facilities available for community activities.

Also to receive awards at the event are the Brookdale Learning Center, the MTOTSA group, Edison Wetlands Association (EWA) and the Eastern Environmental Law Center.

The Brookdale Community Center is being honored for providing educational opportunities and for offering its facilities to be used for community meetings. MTOTSA will receive an award for their "sustained fight" against eminent domain abuse in Long Branch, according to a press release from the CCC.

EWA will also be recognized for providing technical engineering and evaluation services to the CCC. The Eastern Environmental Law Center, formerly with the Rutgers Environmental Law Center, has provided legal and Open Records Act services to the community, according to the release.

The CCC, which is a volunteer community group based in Long Branch, was formed in June 2002 with a goal to act as the community's eyes, ears, nose and mouth for the ongoing remediation of the former coal gas plat site on Long Branch Avenue, according to the release.

"The coalition needed tremendous support to be able to be effective," Avery Grant, the CCC executive director, said. "Through the support of several organizations, our work has been recognized in the state and nationally."

The CCC holds its regular meetings on the second and fourth Thursdays of the month at 5 p.m. at the Brookdale Learning Center.