The “Dr. Robert H. Harris and Mary Ellen Harris Gymnasium” is Among the Latest Project to Support the School
November 22, 2024
LINCROFT, NJ (MONMOUTH) – By all accounts, the gymnasium at the Oak Hill Academy had humble beginnings when the private school first opened in church classrooms in 1981. The “gym” could best be described as a basketball backboard hammered to the side of a building, serving 50 seventh and eighth graders in that inaugural class.
Fast forward 43 years, and the transformation is startling.
The academy, serving grades pre K-8, is now housed on a 20-acre campus on Middletown-Lincroft Road, just down the road from the church. And the “Dr. Robert H. Harris and Mary Ellen Harris Gymnasium” is now the envy of any visiting basketball team. It has become the ideal place for Oak Hill Academy to accommodate gym classes, afterschool clubs, sports, graduations and any other special events.
The updated gymnasium – with its new restrooms, ventilation, LED lighting, brightly-colored paint and banners – were all part of the latest donation from Mary Ellen Harris, who co-founded the Golden Dome Foundation with her late husband, Robert. Dr. Robert and Mary Ellen Harris have been contributing to the steady expansion of Oak Hill Academy since the 1990s.
As soon as Mary Ellen Harris heard of plans to improve the gym building, she was there with support from the Golden Dome Foundation, which includes trustees Judith Lolli, Col. Charles Grinnell, and Paul Petigrow, Esq.
On a recent Tuesday, students gathered on the professional-grade basketball court to express appreciation to the foundation for its ongoing support. There was also special recognition of Dr. Michael Cosulich, an Oak Hill graduate and dermatologist in nearby Wall, whose family funded the new athletic flooring in the upgraded gym.
For the Harris family, there is a strong and lasting connection to Oak Hill Academy. All four children of Robert and Mary Ellen Harris, as well as their 13 grandchildren, have attended the private, non-profit school beginning in 1988.
“The support of Dr. Robert H. Harris and Mrs. Mary Ellen Harris through their Golden Dome Foundation has made a significant impact on the growth of Oak Hill Academy,” said Joseph A. Pacelli, Head of School, who has been at Oak Hill Academy since its founding.
“They have supported Oak Hill’s vision through their dedication and generosity and have thereby made a difference in the lives of many past, present and future Oak Hill students,” he said. “It is an honor to recognize their most recent contribution and name Oak Hill’s gymnasium after Dr. and Mrs. Robert Harris. We value the guidance and support that the great Dr. Robert Harris had towards Oak Hill, and we feel fortunate to continue his legacy.”
To date, the couple has donated at least $2.072 million to the school, according to records reaching back to 2008.
Some examples of the Golden Dome Foundation’s giving to Oak Hill Academy: Support for a pool building in 1995, the “Harris Science Plex” in 2010, (featuring the Soler Science Center, Boardwalk, and outdoor facilities), outdoor basketball and tennis courts in 2016, an upgraded security system in 2018 and then health and safety upgrades related to COVID-19, including enhanced technology.
Most recently, earlier this year, the foundation donated $25,000 for new science equipment and technology.
In recognition of all this giving, and other supports, Oak Hill’s Lower School building was named the “Dr. Robert H. Harris Lower School Learning Center” in January of 2021.
“Oak Hill Academy is very close to my heart,” Harris said. “I’ve had wonderful memories there, and it is a pleasure to see yet another generation of smiling students in those same hallways. It has been an honor and a privilege to support what will always feel like my neighborhood school.”
November 22, 2024
WALL TOWNSHIP – Police say that a 64-year-old man from Niantic, Connecticut, was struck and fatally injured while crossing State Highway 35.
The incident occurred at approximately 6:42 p.m. on Saturday, November 9, 2024. Wall Township Police responded to the scene near Wall Church Road following reports of a pedestrian hit by a vehicle.
The investigation revealed that a Ford Explorer, driven by a 72-year-old man from Farmingdale, was traveling southbound on State Highway 35 when it struck Michael Losacano. Losacano was transported to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune by Wall Township EMS. Despite medical efforts, he succumbed to his injuries on Monday, November 18, 2024.
The crash is under investigation by Sergeant Andrew Baldino of the Wall Township Police Department, the Monmouth County Serious Collision Analysis Response Team (SCART), and Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Detective Nicholas Logothetis. Authorities are asking anyone who witnessed the collision or has information relevant to the case to contact the Wall Township Police Department at (732) 449-4500.
November 22, 2024
TRENTON, N.J. – A Monmouth County, New Jersey, man made his initial court appearance today for an alleged armed bank robbery, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.
Jeffrey L. Kniffin, 50, of Wall Township, is charged by complaint with one count of armed bank robbery. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Rukhsanah L. Singh in Trenton federal court and was detained. A detention hearing is scheduled for November 25, 2024.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On Oct. 23, 2024, Kniffin entered a bank in Wall Township, New Jersey, and demanded cash from a bank teller before grabbing and displaying for the teller a firearm. On several occasions during the robbery, Kniffin instructed the teller and other bank employees who were present, “Don’t do anything stupid.” After taking by force and intimidation cash from the teller, Kniffin fled the bank. He was apprehended and arrested by law enforcement several minutes later. At the time of his arrest, law enforcement recovered from Kniffin and his immediate surroundings a loaded firearm and more than $17,000 in cash.
The count of armed bank robbery carries a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited officer of FBI Newark’s Jersey Shore Safe Streets Task Force, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Nelson I. Delgado in Newark, with the investigation leading to the charges. He also thanked the Wall Township Police Department, under the direction of Chief Sean O’Halloran, and the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago, for their assistance.
The government is represented by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan S. Garelick of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division in Trenton.
The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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Defense counsel: Andrea Aldana Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender, Trenton
Download complaint here:
Kniffin.ComplaintDownload
Related MidJersey.news story:
Wall Township Man Arrested for Robbing Bank of America on Route 35
