Community Bulletin Board

Local teen selected
to perform at festival

David Atlas of Marlboro, an 11th-grade student at The Rugby School of Woodfield, Wall, has been selected to perform at the 2004 International VSA arts Festival in Washington, D.C., in June. Selected by an independent jury from more than 700 applications, David will be performing with the Native American courting flute.

According to a press release, David became involved in Rugby’s music program about two years ago. After being introduced to several studies, including voice, piano and guitar, he was charmed by the sound of the courting flute. He has performed at local nursing homes as well as the school’s annual Native American Day Festival, the VSA arts of New Jersey Festival at Middlesex County College in Edison, and the Monmouth County Teen Arts Festival at Brookdale Community College, Lincroft.

This past year, he received the VSA arts of New Jersey Student Arts Excellence Award and the Governor’s Award in Art Education at an awards ceremony in Trenton. The Governor’s Award in Arts Education is the highest award for artistic achievement in the state of New Jersey.

CentraState scores high

marks from patients

Patients have rated CentraState Medical Center, Freehold Township, in the top 10 percent of peer hospitals nationwide for quality of care, according to a survey by Press Ganey Associates, a patient satisfaction measurement and improvement firm.

According to a press release from CentraState, the medical center ranked in the 93rd percentile among 54 New Jersey hospitals and in the 90th percentile nationwide among 833 hospitals for inpatient services. For outpatient services, it ranked in the 95th percentile among hospitals in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut, and in the 94th percentile among 562 hospitals nationwide. In nursing care, CentraState ranked in the 96th percentile among hospitals across the state and in the 94th percentile nationally.

CentraState departments that ranked above the 90th percentile include: the laboratory, outpatient and emergency registration, maternity, oncology, the Women’s Health Center, physical therapy and the short-stay unit.

Local rabbi’s sermon

included in 9/11 project

A new Internet Web site was recently launched to preserve the words of rabbis written and spoken in the days following the attacks of 9/11.

The Internet Web site, www.torahfromterror.com, is a collection of more than 100 sermons delivered by rabbis of different denominations from all over the country. Rabbi Donald Weber of Temple Rodeph Torah, Marlboro, recently contributed his sermon to be part of this collection. His sermon, "The Double-Yellow Line," reflects on the attacks and offers ideas for congregants and Web readers to keep in mind while moving forward.

Weber was ordained in 1981 and has been rabbi of Temple Rodeph Torah since 1984. He is a member of the Committee on Conversion of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, has served on the boards of the New Jersey Association of Reform Rabbis and "Mazon: A Jewish Response to Hunger," and is a chaplain for the Marlboro Police Department.

Freehold library seeks

new books for children

As part of the "Books for Kids" campaign sponsored by the New Jersey Library Association, the Freehold Public Library will be collecting new books to distribute to the Freehold Head Start preschool and other local organizations. Preferred are books for beginner readers. Donors are asked to bring the books to the library on East Main Street or to borough hall on West Main Street before Dec. 15. For more information, call the library at (732) 462-5135.

Items for the Community Bulletin Board may be mailed to the News Transcript, P.O. Box 5001, Freehold 07728, or faxed to (732) 780-4192. Please submit items at least two weeks prior to a scheduled event. For more information call (732) 358-5200, ext. 8275.