With the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks last week, one local man had a slightly different perspective of the national tragedy. Howell native Paul Fosgreen, who now resides in Jackson, is an electrician at the National September 11 Museum and Memorial at the World Trade Center site and said he remains in awe of the events of that day. He describes the worksite, where he is currently supervising a team of 18 electricians installing the fire alarm systems, as unique. “The entire site will be a showplace,” he said. He recognizes the understandable pride his team has working this …

Sept. 11, 2011, marked the 10-year anniversary of the devastating attacks on the United States. The following are images taken from Jersey City's Liberty State Park across from Manhattan last year as well as this year. I traveled from Toms River to Jersey City this and last year on and around Sept. 11 to capture some of the memorial activities. The lights have been going on for some time during Sept. 11, and this year was their last, but there's a new element to the memorial in Jersey City: This year's photos include images of the new memorial unveiled this year, called "Empty Sky: New Jersey…

As the rest of the nation recognized the 10 year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, residents of Howell once again convened at Town Hall to honor the memory of those who were lost that day.  Five Howell residents, John Lennon Jr., Colin McArthur, John Rhodes, Joseph Sacerdote and Alan Wisnewski, were among those killed 10 years ago making the ceremony that much more meaningful as their memories were remembered. It also marked the third such ceremony in that location since the attacks. In the aftermath of that day a ceremony was held on the hill that stretches from the municipal complex to the …

In Holiday City, Toms River and elsewhere, Jersey Shore residents remembered, cried and came to terms with what happened 10 years ago, when 3,000 people - some of them local, others not - perished at the hands of terrorists. A large crowd gathered at Holiday City at Berkeley's Clubhouse 2 for a ceremony to honor those who were lost during the attacks of 9/11. Berkeley Mayor Jason Varano addressed the audience and said although the tragedy was horrific, it united the country. "While the loss was great beyond description... we came together to support each other during those terrible days," …

MONMOUTH COUNTY BELMAR Honor and Remember ServiceSunday, 9 a.m.Location: Monument RowMain Street, between 12th and 13th avenues HOWELL 9/11 ceremonySunday, 2 p.m.Location: Town Hall complex251 Preventorium Road LAKE COMO Fallen Heroes 5K Run Saturday, 9 a.m.Location: Bar Anticipation on 16th Avenue MANASQUAN Manasquan Classic Longboard Contest Sunday 7 a.m.Location: 1st Ave and Riverside Drive SEA GIRT Remembrance Ceremony Sunday, 1 p.m.Location: Sea Girt Firehouse Baltimore Boulevard and Fourth Avenue WALL TOWNSHIP Wreath CeremonySunday, 12:00 p.m.Location: Town Hall2700 Allaire Rd. OCEAN …

A thick beard and long blonde hair are a far cry from the clean-shaved and high and tight haircut he sported during his years in the Army, but for Jon Keller the memories of his service in Iraq and Afghanistan are still vivid. As Americans reflect upon the 10-year anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, the Afghanistan and Iraq veteran can't believe how fast the time flew. "Where did the time go? It feels like it just happened," he said. "I guess I'll be looking back on the 20th anniversary and thinking 'where did 10 years go?' " Now a Belmar resident, Keller was a 15-year-old …

As a poet from a working-class New Jersey background who teaches at a small community college tucked into the Northwest corner of his home state, BJ Ward is accustomed to being ignored. Which makes the public’s awareness — and gratitude — for one of his poems, For the Children of the World Trade Center Victims, all the more remarkable to him. Ten years after the Sept. 11 attacks, Ward still hears from the children and wives of Sept. 11 (but no husbands so far) emailing or calling to thank him for expressing what they are still trying to absorb. “They are the living victims. They still have an…

I've long wondered how I should lend my voice to the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. As the Jersey Shore regional editor for Patch.com, I often get called on to write the obituary of record, or to find the right prose for the event of the month—Hurricane Irene, for example—that commands the attention of my hometown area.This time, I was expecting to step into the background, and let others shine. Little did I know, however, that the words were already written.The book of my family, "A Legacy of Madness: Recovering My Family From Generations of Mental Illness," will be released on …

"This is the hour of lead Remembered if outlived, As freezing persons recollect the snow — First chill, then stupor, then the letting go." —Emily Dickinson   Colleen Meehan Barkow and her mother JoAnn Meehan spent the weekend before Sept. 11, 2001 happily shopping for towels and linens for the 26-year-old's new home in the Poconos. Colleen and her husband Daniel, married less than a year, were planning to move into the house at the end of October. It meant a long commute into New York, where Colleen worked as a facilities director for Cantor Fitzgerald, on the 103rd floor of the North Tower …

Driving up to Town Hall on Preventorium Road, it is virtually impossible not to notice the memorial built in honor of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. As the 10th anniversary of the tragic day approaches, the memorial will serve as the site of the town's commemoration ceremony honoring the five Howell residents who were killed on that day as well as all the other victims. With the town's emergency services also represented at the ceremony, it will also pay tribute to the first responders who gave their time to help in the time following the attacks. A closer look at the memorial shows the …

It was time for a change. After terrorists hijacked four passenger planes and slammed two into the World Trade Center buildings, one into the Pentagon, and another into a field in Pennsylvania, the way professionals approach security for mass transportation needed an overhaul. For NJ Transit, which operates 2,027 buses, 771 trains and 45 light rail vehicles over a service area of 5,325 square miles that meant a change in mindset. “In the past we only focused on crime and great service to customers, but now, here at NJ Transit, what we try to drive home to all our officers is that their main …

We looked at the Jersey Shore to see how the events of Sept. 11 had changed people's lives. Here are their stories, as well as those of more than two dozen others from across the state.

During the summer, Patch began collecting readers' photos of the World Trade Center, a growing gallery in tribute to the Twin Towers. As the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks draws near, we'll be remembering New Jersey residents who died that clear September morning. But we also wanted to pay tribute to the towers—iconic symbols of hope and prosperity—when they stood tall and proud, dominating the New York City skyline.  We asked and you delivered, sending in more than a hundred photos statewide that represent your favorite memories: the shimmering skyline at nightfall, the view…

It wasn't supposed to end this way. But U.S. Marine Cpl. Nicholas S. Ott finally came home today, his body laid to rest as a Mass and burial service celebrated his life. A Mass for Ott, a Manchester native who was killed on Aug. 10 in Afghanistan, was held Friday at Saint John's Roman Catholic Church in Lakehurst, one day after hundreds of mourners paid their respects during a public viewing at the same location. Brian George, 38, who served in the U.S. Air Force for 18 years, was one of the many onlookers lining Myrtle Avenue in the borough to say goodbye as Ott's procession exited the …

In Howell you do not have to look further than the lawn of Town Hall to know that the town was affected by the events of Sept. 11th. If you were impacted by the events through the loss of a family member or friend, or if it changed your life in a profound way, Patch wants to hear from you. We're also looking for stories and pictures of any first responders or witnesses to the scene at or near Ground Zero on or after that tragic day.  With just under a month to go until the 10th anniversary we are hoping our readers will help us pay tribute to those that lost their lives, and those who risked …