SCOTT FRIEDMAN Paula Habib, left, and Erica Rabino make their way through bunnies and balloons at the annual Breakfast with the Easter Bunny & Egg Hunt, held at Linwood Middle School in North Brunswick on Saturday. More ... S.B. could face 6¢ increase in school taxes Budget to go before voters on April 15 BY CHRIS MURINO Staff Writer       A $135,953,172 tentative school budget was presented by the South Brunswick Board of Education at its work session on March 10. If the budget is adopted as is, there would be a 2.8 percent increase from last year; last year had a 4.3 percent increase. The increases have been going down for the pa... More ... Doctor shows he is without borders, but with heart Goes to Darfur to help sick children; brings back prohibited photographs BY JENNIFER AMATO Staff Writer       NORTH BRUNSWICK - Dr. Jerry Ehrlich proved he has no borders in terms of providing medical care when he visited Sri Lanka and Darfur to aid their sick. The pediatrician began privately practicing medicine in Cherry Hill in 1966. He read an article about Doctors Without Borders in April 1991 and ... More ... Friends, family recall soldier's selfless spirit Community, military pay final respects to Army paratrooper BY JESSICA SMITH Staff Writer       MILLTOWN - Hundreds gathered last week to honor and pay final respects to U.S.Army Cpl. Steven R. Koch, 23, who gave his life to protect his country. The many people whose lives were touched by the soldier remembered a courageous, giving and kind young man. More ... Employer 'meats' his match on St. Paddy's Day Miller Personnel holds meatball-making contest to boostmorale, celebrate BY CHRIS MURINO Staff Writer       SOUTH BRUNSWICK- Steve Miller is certainly a jolly guy. Miller also likes to let his employees have fun. So, why not have a meatball-making throwdown between him and an employee's Italian mother on St. Patrick's Day? More ... Family Pasta Night scheduled at OLOL       Our Lady of Lourdes School, 44 ClevelandAve., Milltown,will hold a Family Pasta Night from 4-8 p.m. on April 5. Dinner will include pasta, meatballs, sausage and peppers, salad, bread, beverages, dessert, coffee and tea. The event also will feature music and raffles. More ... Proposed aid cuts will affect Brunswicks BY CHRIS MURINO Staff Writer       SOUTH BRUNSWICK - Township officials in North and South Brunswick are hopeful that Gov. Jon Corzine's cuts in state aid will be reduced. Officials fear Corzine's initial plan to reduce the state's budget to about $33 billion, about $500 million under the current plan, would lead to drastic cuts ... More ... Operation Support Our Troops collecting items Organization's motto: 'We will be here as long as they are there' BY JENNIFER AMATO Staff Writer       NORTH BRUNSWICK - The mother of a West Point cadet is organizing a local Operation Support Our Troops campaign to aid soldiers serving overseas. Bronwyn Levy, whose daughter Sarah was accepted to the United States Military Academy in 2006, has been inspired by Sarah and her friends to coordinate... More ... Discussion on underage drinking April 14       The North Brunswick Municipal Alliance Committee will host a town hall panel discussion on underage drinking April 14 at 6 p.m. at 710 Hermann Road. A question-and-answer period will follow. Admission is free, and an iPod will be raffled off to an attendee who stays for the entire event. More ... Young cadets take off with Civil Air Patrol Receive rocketry badge; also learn about flight, aerospace, disaster relief BY JENNIFER AMATO Staff Writer       SAYREVILLE - A group of Civil Air Patrol (CAP) cadets from the Gen. Jimmy Stewart Composite Squadron are flying high after receive their rocketry badges. For the badge, the cadets had to learn about the mechanics of rockets and the necessary safety measures. They assembled various-sized rockets ... More ... Viva l'Italia, while living in South Brunswick The Villagio active adult community is modeled after Tuscany, Italy BY CHRIS MURINO Staff Writer       SOUTH BRUNSWICK - A new active adult community is being constructed on Stouts Lane in Monmouth Junction in the style of a Tuscan village in Italy. Two families have already moved into the new Villagio community, even though it will not be fully completed for two years. More ... School slates special Mass, other events       St. Augustine of Canterbury School, 145 Henderson Road, Kendall Park, and Blitzburgers Grill/Café, North Brunswick, are sponsoring "Dining for Donations"Mondays during March. The grill will donate 10 percent of a patron's check total to the school. More ... Doctor stresses mind-body health connection Clinical psychologist speaks of how to combat stress BY JENNIFER AMATO Staff Writer       NORTH BRUNSWICK - With your hand on your stomach, take a deep breath through your nose. Hold that breath for four seconds. Slowly exhale through your mouth. Repeat this over the course of five minutes. At the end of the deep-breathing cycle, you should more feel much more relaxed and collected, ... More ... Love of women fuels love of poetry BY CHRIS MURINO Staff Writer       SOUTH BRUNSWICK - Jack Wiler started writing poetry to get girls. It may be hard to believe, since his poetry is certainly not lovey-dovey. However, his poetry is described as perceptive, often humorous and sometimes heartbreaking. More ... Programs offered at So. Bruns. senior center       The South Brunswick Senior Center will offer "Lifestories," memoir-writing class, for 10 weeks on Tuesdays from12:30- 1:30 p.m. beginning March 25. The fee is $20, and attendees should bring a notebook and a pen. Preregistration is required. More ...