5 Things You Need to Know Today: April 1

Here is a list of 5 things you need to know today:

1. On the 1st of April: It's warm and sunny outside... April Fool's! That would be a funny prank if the National Weather Service wasn't predicting snow for this morning. That gross precipitation is expected to turn to all rain by 9:00 a.m. and continue until about 8:00 p.m. tonight with a high around 44 degrees. The rest of the evening will be mostly cloudy, with a low around 35 degrees.

2. April is Alcohol Awareness Month: In order to spread awareness of the dangers of alcohol use, abuse and dependence, members of the RFHRHS Peer Leaders and Straight Edge groups are asking adults to sign a pledge to spend two weeks (April 1-14) without alcoholic beverages. The idea has spread to the Rumson and Fair Haven Borough Councils and other communities such as Ocean Township where the governing bodies passed resolutions supporting Alcohol Awareness Month and the Mayors signed the pledge. Click here to sign an electronic version of the pledge. 

3. Granted: What would you do to make the community better if you had $2,000 to blow? Education, the environment, disabilities and town unity are all issues that 7th graders at the  in Fair Haven would fix. The Fair Haven Education Foundation (FHEF) is sponsoring a competition where the students submit grant proposals and the winner will receive $2,000 to make their project a reality. The grant writing portion of the curriculum kicked-off on March 10, 2011. At the kick-off, the students were tasked with finding "a problem or need at Knollwood or in Fair Haven and come up with a solution. Throughout the next four weeks, the students come up with ideas, do research, plan and start writing their grant proposals. Click here to read some of their ideas.

3. Spring Cleaning: Saturday is the 5th Annual Natural Area Volunteer Work Day at Fair Haven Fields and Natural Area. Sign-up starts at 8:45 a.m. in the Natural Area Parking Lot. The parking lot will be closed so volunteers will need to park nearby and walk in. Wear work shoes and bring work gloves. Volunteers are also asked to bring tools (shoves, rakes, etc.) if possible. After cleaning up one of Fair Haven's finest resources, head back to the parking lot to check out the annual baseball parade. The parade kicks-off at 9:00 a.m. and ends at the Fair Haven Fields at 11:00 a.m.

5. Framed: Fair Haven's 99th Anniversary Cocktail Party to raise both awareness and funds for the town's upcoming centennial celebration was "on all counts a success" according to Mayor Michael Halfacre. The sold-out event, held at Raven and the Peach, hosted more than 220 guests.  It acted as a kick-off for events every month in the upcoming year to celebrate the town's 100th birthday. The event was by Patch. Click here to see some great photos from the event. If you have an event that you think should be "Framed", let us know about it: shoot an e-mail to noel.aliseo@patch.com.