SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — With Broadway only a stone’s throw from South Orange, residents are just a short trip away from experiencing the spectacle and pageantry that only the Great White Way can offer. But they will not have to trek into Manhattan to hear iconic show tunes when the South Orange Performing Arts Center hosts “Forbidden Broadway” on Saturday, March 28, at 8 p.m. Of course, the songs being performed are unlike any heard at the Helen Hayes Theater.

In the more than three decades it has been performed, “Forbidden Broadway” has established itself as the premiere Broadway parody, racking up a special Tony and nine Drama Desk awards, among other accolades. The show features songs from some of the most recognizable productions of the past and present, but with a twist — the lyrics have been rewritten to satirize the plays from which they originated. Annie’s anthem “Tomorrow,” for instance, takes on a hilarious new meaning when it is sung by a grown-up version of the beloved character smoking a cigarette, lamenting that the next day will be her 30th birthday.

Through the years the show has become so successful it has toured the world, but producer John Freedson said the upcoming SOPAC show will be especially good. A South Orange resident for 15 years, Freedson said he wanted to make sure his neighbors experienced the best “Forbidden Broadway” has to offer when it stops in his own backyard.

“For this production I went to four of my very favorite Forbidden Broadway people from the New York show and said ‘OK, this is my hometown so we need to give it our A-game,” Freedson told the News-Record in a March 19 phone interview. “So we have four terrific actors coming out.”

And Freedson would know what makes a good “Forbidden Broadway” show — after all, he has been a part of the production for 30 years. He started out as a fan, recalling that he fell out of his chair laughing upon seeing a performance for the first time in 1984. Soon after, he was hired as an actor, later transitioning into the roles of director and producer when the show started touring the United States.

While it is rare in the theater for a person to stay so long with one company, Freedson said “Forbidden Broadway” has never gotten old for him. A major reason for that, he explained, is the fact that original playwright, Gerard Alessandrini, frequently updates the show to include the hottest new plays on Broadway, producing more than a dozen versions since 1982. That means audiences can expect to laugh at “The Book of Mormon” parodies along with satires of favorites such as “The Lion King.”

But aside from the fact that the production is always evolving, Freedson said he has stuck with it simply because he enjoys it so much.

“I do not think that I could have imagined that it would end up being a life’s work,” Freedson said. “But it turned out to be something that really ignited a passion in me.”

Freedson said he thinks the SOPAC audience will get as much of a kick out of the production as he has for all these years. Unlike most satirical shows that have good and bad pieces, he said every scene in “Forbidden Broadway” is a “homerun” owing to the fact that the script is so smartly written and the performances are honed in New York to find out what works best. He said this was exemplified in his own favorite part of the show, the “Les Miserables” parody.

“The ‘Les Mis’ parody was written initially some years back, and we keep adding onto it, subtracting from it, retailoring it,” Freedson said. “It is three hours long, so there is always something new to parody about it. So we keep tweaking it and changing it and it just keeps getting funnier and funnier.”

Theater lovers will especially be amused by one song from the “Les Miserables” segment, Freedson said, in which Jean Valjean sings “Bring Him Home” with lyrics complaining about how the song’s notes are too high.

Yet one does not have to be a Broadway expert to be blown away by the show. In fact, Freedson said an audience member only needs an appreciation for fine performances to get their money’s worth.

“It is great comedy and terrific music,” Freedson said. “What better is there than that?”

To order tickets, call 973-313-2787 or visit http://www.sopacnow.org/531/ForbiddenBroadway.

MAPLEWOOD/SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — In the bustle of everyday life, many people simply do not have the time to read a good book or appreciate fine acting, whether at the theater or even on their own televisions. Luckily for South Orange and Maplewood, however, there is an event that encapsulates both the literary and dramatic art forms — all for an excellent cause.

Noted celebrities of the stage and screen will once again come together to perform short stories for the benefit of the South Orange-Maplewood Adult School at the annual Celebrity Readings event in the Columbia High School Auditorium on Monday, March 30, at 7:30 p.m. This year’s event will feature readings from Zach Grenier, a Tony-nominated Maplewood resident currently part of the cast of the hit CBS series “The Good Wife”; John Amos, the New Jersey native best known for starring in “Good Times” and “Roots”; and Emily Zacharias, a Maplewood resident and veteran Broadway actress.

The money earned from ticket sales will go toward the nonprofit Adult School’s operating costs, though the school does not consider this event to be a fundraiser. Indeed Zacharias, a school trustee who is also directing the show, said the price of admission was made deliberately affordable so that as many people as possible could experience an evening of literary entertainment.

“When you perform the written word, it is very magical because the writer has crafted something that lives on the page and in our imagination,” Zacharias told the News-Record in a March 12 phone interview. “Then you add an actor to it and it transforms it again. It sort of liberates the written word and sends it out into the audience.

“Actors bring things alive,” she said. “It becomes a fantastic live performance.”

Zacharias declined to reveal the titles of the stories the actors will be performing, in part so that the audience will be surprised and also because the performers have not all made their final selections. In fact, she said they read dozens of short stories on their own — right up until the event program is printed — in order to choose those that are perfect for them. Zacharias did say that all of the pieces being considered are “beautifully crafted,” containing “a lot of human comedy,” as well as much charm and complexity.

But no matter how well-written a story is, it is important that it fits the actor performing it, Zacharias said. She explained that pairing a performer with a piece is like casting — the actor has to be believable in conveying the story’s emotion to the audience. For instance, she said she will actually be acting out a short story from a male’s perspective, but it will make sense since the piece itself is absurdist.

It is just as vital to choose a story that will connect with the audience, Zacharias said. As director of the show for 10 years, a time during which she has worked with famous stars, including South Orange residents Andre Braugher and the now-deceased James Rebhorn, she said she always tries to include stories that provide a heightened experience to attendees seeing them performed live.

“When you read a story, you can hear if it is going to be illuminated by the spoken word,” Zacharias said. “You can hear if the story is going to both entertain and inspire reflection. I want the stories to reach people. I want to uplift people with the stories, and so I look for that.”

Having talents such as Grenier, Amos and Zacharias supporting the Adult School means a lot, according to Executive Director Judith James. James is looking forward to the occasion, telling the News-Record in a March 16 phone interview that it is sure to be a “magical” evening.

“We are so grateful to the professional actors who come out to read at Celebrity Readings,” James said. “For many of us, getting to see a show on Broadway is not something that we can do every day, so getting to see this caliber of actor at an affordable price right here in our backyard is a luxury.”

The Celebrity Readings event is just one example of the many classes and events hosted by the Adult School. In fact, the school offers approximately 150 courses each fall and spring semester, with a variety of class options ranging from business to fitness to art. And contrary to its name, James said the school is now expanding to feature children’s programs. Such courses include computer coding, robotics and the Suzuki method of violin lessons, which is not offered in the school district, she said.

Overall, James said the Adult School is an asset to South Orange and Maplewood at a time when many communities do not offer educational opportunities. Throughout its 82 years of existence, she said the school has made an effort to identify the needs of the towns and addressed them by providing classes at affordable costs to assist residents. By doing so, she said it has greatly benefited the SOMA area, which is why she encourages residents to lend their support by attending the show.

“We feel we are an important community resource,” James said. “We contribute in so many ways to our vibrant, very diverse community. And many of our teachers are locals — they are highly qualified artists, writers, fitness experts and such.

“Not only is it a place to continue lifelong learning, it is a place to connect with others in the community,” she added. “We feel that that is what helps to make South Orange and Maplewood so vibrant.”

To register attendance for Celebrity Readings or view the spring course catalog, visit http://www.ssreg.com/som/.

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Clik here to view.WEST ORANGE, NJ — A bill meant to raise traffic-safety awareness named after a West Orange boy who died in a 2011 car accident caused by a distracted driver was unanimously passed 75-0 by the New Jersey General Assembly at its March 9 session.

Assembly Bill A1781 — titled “Nikhil’s Law” in honor of Nikhil Badlani, an 11-year-old who was killed when a driver ran a stop sign in South Orange — calls for the state driver’s license exam to include a question asking takers whether they are aware of the dangers of not following state motor vehicle laws. The question will also ask whether they know about the STOP for Nikhil Safety Pledge created by the Nikhil Badlani Foundation, a promise to follow traffic laws and refrain from distractions, specifically by doing the following: coming to a complete stop at stop signs and red lights, staying alert with two hands on the steering wheel and using hands-free telephones to talk without texting.

Additionally, the bill states that information will be included in the driver’s manual that explains the dangers of failing to follow traffic laws and instructs those interested to take the pledge. People who wish to take the pledge will be able to fill out standard forms at motor vehicle offices; otherwise, they will be directed to the foundation’s website, according to the bill.

For Assemblyman John McKeon, who represents West Orange, South Orange and Maplewood as part of the 27th Legislative District, the Assembly’s passage of Nikhil’s Law is a culmination of years of work. Though he introduced the bill on Jan. 16, McKeon said he started putting it together with Sangeeta and Sunil Badlani, Nikhil’s parents and the creators of the Nikhil Badlani Foundation, shortly after their son’s death. For McKeon, the wait was worthwhile as the bill could save lives if enacted into law.

“In taking it, the pledge will resonate with young drivers at some point in time, and it will prevent a tragedy,” McKeon told the News-Record in a March 20 phone interview. “It will make somebody understand the level of maturity that is required when someone operates a car.”

McKeon explained that he and the Badlanis actually considered a few alternative traffic-safety measures before deciding upon a more educational approach. Instead of imposing punitive actions for failing to follow the rules like many bills do, he said the Badlanis wanted to get people to change their behavior before a traffic accident took place.

Evidently, they were not the only ones who felt that was the way to go. Four other Assembly members joined McKeon in sponsoring the bill, including Assemblywoman Mila Jasey, who also represents the 27th Legislative District. Mary Theroux, Jasey’s chief of staff, told the News-Record that the assemblywoman is “delighted” to have helped the bill get passed. Theroux said what makes the bill so effective is the fact that it uses Nikhil’s tragic death as an example to young drivers — who typically think nothing bad will happen to them — of what could occur if they are not careful.

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Above is the poster, featuring a photo of Nikhil Badlani, for the 2013 STOP for Nikhil 5K Run/Walk in West Orange. The event is held annually in September to raise awareness for traffic-safety issues.

“It is more than just getting a ticket,” Theroux said in a March 19 phone interview. “It is more than just the inconvenience of getting points and having your insurance rates go up. All of those are really undesirable outcomes that pale in significance when compared to the possibility of harming someone.”

Many Essex County drivers have learned that the hard way. According to 2013 crash records, the most recent statistics offered on the New Jersey Department of Transportation’s website, the county saw 35 traffic accidents that resulted in fatalities. Another 6,155 brought about injuries. The records also showed that 584 crashes involved the use of a cell phone, with 155 causing injuries.

It is the Badlanis’ hope that Nikhil’s Law will reduce those numbers dramatically. Sunil Badlani said it means a lot to them that the bill was finally passed, and Sangeeta Badlani said that the unanimity of the vote shows it is going in the right direction toward becoming law.

Overall, Sunil Badlani said they just want the bill to be implemented so the pledge can reach both new drivers and experienced drivers who are renewing their licenses, hopefully making a difference in the way people drive.

“Nikhil paid the highest price you can pay, and we definitely wanted to see something positive come out of it,” Sunil Badlani said in a March 21 phone interview. “We want to make sure that something is done that helps in terms of improving driving behaviors. Because I believe that you can actually have all the laws on the books, but if you can actually change someone’s behavior, that is more effective.”

Sangeeta Badlani said that more than 1,000 drivers have already taken the STOP for Nikhil Safety Pledge, as potentially thousands more will do if the bill is signed into law. Through the Nikhil Badlani Foundation, the Badlanis also raised more than $44,000 at the latest annual STOP for Nikhil 5K Run/Walk in September to raise awareness for traffic-safety issues as well as to help children pursue their musical dreams, since Nikhil was an aspiring musician. Most recently they worked with Speedway Academies in Newark, which lost a 7-year-old student in a car crash, to educate young students about traffic safety and complete an art project with them.

In the near future, Sangeeta Badlani said the foundation will be working with Columbia High School in Maplewood and West Essex High School in North Caldwell to promote traffic-safety awareness. Additionally, she said it has partnered with NJ Transit to display the traffic-safety related artwork created by students in train stations for Global Youth Traffic Safety Month this May.

Of course, in making the roads safer the foundation is also keeping Nikhil’s memory alive. Sangeeta Badlani said she hopes her son is proud of what his parents have accomplished in his honor, though she has a feeling he would not have liked all the attention.

“Being an 11-year-old, I just remember he was always one of those people who did not want the attention on him,” Sangeeta Badlani said in a March 21 phone interview. “But he had all the qualities, whether he wanted it or not, that people paid attention to him. So we hope that he is proud of everything. He should be proud of himself, first of all, for everything that he has done and for all the lives he has touched and continues to touch now.

“And I have to be honest, I would not be a mother if I did not embarrass him,” she added.

Nikhil’s Law will next go to a vote by state Senate’s Law and Public Safety committee. Its companion bill there is being sponsored by State Senator Richard Codey, also of the 27th Legislative District.

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — Local police agencies have received reports of individuals approaching homes and posing as legitimate emergency or utility workers, according to a release from the South Orange Police Department.

These criminals make contact and claim affiliation to a water department, a gas company or similar enterprise in order to gain access into a residence. Once inside the home, they will distract the resident and request the resident assist them in completing a task. While the resident is distracted, another false utility worker will go to another room or floor of the home and remove items. These criminals often target homes inhabited by elderly individuals.

Residents are asked to share this information with family members and neighbors. Notify the police immediately of any suspicious individuals approaching any homes or residents. Remember that all utility workers should always have their official company ID available and a prominent company logo on their uniform and vehicle.

If you have a doubt regarding the identity of an individual claiming to be a utility worker, have the person wait outside until confirmation can be made via the company or police. Responding officers can check their credentials and verify their position as well as the reason for the service call.

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — South Orange Village announced last week that it has been awarded a $1 million grant from the New Jersey Department of Transportation for its ongoing River Greenway project. According to the village, this is likely the largest single grant ever received by South Orange.

The grant, awarded under the NJDOT FY 2014 Transportation Alternatives Program, will fund the construction of approximately 3,600 linear feet of pedestrian path and bikeway, connecting the southern border of the village at Chyzowych Field in Maplewood to Third Street near the South Orange train station in the village center, according to a release from South Orange.

In addition to South Orange’s grant, Essex County received a grant for $850,000 for Irvington Avenue streetscape improvements in Maplewood, Newark and South Orange.

According to a letter from NJDOT Commissioner Jamie Fox, the department received 146 applications seeking funding totaling $97 million. With only $15.5 million available to award, the grant application process was highly competitive.

South Orange’s project was among the 28 awarded funding, and the village’s $1 million award was the largest among the projects.

In a release to the News-Record, village Administrator Barry Lewis, who prepared the application with Deputy Administrator Adam Loehner, credited the following people for their input on the application: village engineer Sal Renda, deputy engineer Ed Gulyas, the members of the village’s River Greenway Committee, village President Alex Torpey and the village’s trustees. Lewis singled out former trustee Janine Bauer for her work in putting together a compelling and ultimately successful grant application.

“The village is extremely excited and grateful for this generous funding award, which will allow the village to take another leap forward in completing this project,” Trustee Walter Clarke, who serves as trustee liaison to the River Greenway Committee and the Environmental Commission, said in the release. “By linking the north and south sections of South Orange, the River Greenway offers residents both an eco-friendly transportation alternative and a recreational experience in some of our most unique natural resources.”

Lewis also thanked U.S. Sen. Corey Booker, Congressman Donald Payne Jr., state Sen. Richard Codey, Assemblywoman Mila Jasey, Assemblyman John McKeon and the Essex County Board of Chosen Freeholders.

“This incredible grant award was truly the result of a broad coalition, at every level of government, which collectively saw the great value to the community of this project,” Torpey said in the release. “The River Greenway is a vital piece of our overall plan to make South Orange a walkable, sustainable, vibrant and thriving community.”

This portion of the River Greenway project will, in part, replace an existing unlit path through a wooded section of village land with a new 10-foot-wide asphalt pathway, complete with lighting, benches, trash and recycling receptacles, bike racks, landscaping and signage.

By Shanee Frazier, Staff Writer
SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — Two new initiatives will be instituted in the coming weeks that are geared toward strengthening the relationship between the South Orange Police Department and the local community: Coffee with a Cop and Positive Behavior Citations.

The two programs are the result of collaboration between the police department’s community relations division and the Public Safety Committee of the South Orange Village Board of Trustees.

In an email interview with the News-Record, Trustee Sheena Collum, chairwoman of the Public Safety Committee, explained that while the new initiatives are inspired by recent national headlines in Ferguson, Staten Island, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn and other places, they are proactive in nature rather than a reactive response to any tensions in the community.

“At the local level, it made us think long and hard about the importance of a strong relationship between law enforcement and the community they serve. The Board of Trustees recognized and applauded all the existing programs that the police department had in place to build relationships with residents, but we wanted to do even more,” Collum said.

“We sat down with our police chief, Jim Chelel, and Community Relations Officer Sgt. Adrian Acevedo to discuss what opportunities and new ideas could help us achieve this goal.”

Representatives of the South Orange Police Department did not respond to requests for comment by press time.

Coffee with a Cop and Positive Behavior Citations are the result of the discussions between the Board of Trustees and the SOPD.

Coffee with a Cop will take place Thursday, April 23, at 7 p.m. at the First Baptist Church, 103 Valley St. in South Orange. This program has been instituted in more than 175 cities across the nation; it provides a forum for residents to informally meet local law enforcement officers one-on-one, ask questions and build partnerships.

Positive Behavior Citations focuses on youth. When police officers observe juveniles doing something positive, they will issue a positive citation noting their behavior. The ticket has a tear off which can then be redeemed for a slice of pizza at Pirates Pizza or an ice cream at Coldstone Creamery.

Although the SOPD currently has other initiatives in place, such as the Junior Police Academy, participation in National Night Out, a Neighborhood Watch Program, etc., Collum said that the two new initiatives are a result of a desire to do more and a recognition that the work of building strong bonds is never done.

“We felt that this initiative would lead to a lot more interactions between youth and law enforcement and it’s critical to start at an early age,” she said. “We want our officers to be viewed not only as enforcers of the law but people that can be turned to for help and support.”

For more information on Coffee with a Cop, visit http://coffeewithacop.com.

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The Columbia High School Class of 1954 gathered on March 26 to donate $21,000 to the scholarship fund.

MAPLEWOOD/SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — The Columbia High School Class of 1954 donated approximately $21,000 to the high school’s scholarship fund during a ceremony in the CHS Auditorium on March 26.

In doing so, the class has endowed an annual scholarship in its name, having surpassed the required minimum donation of $20,000 to do so. It is now the second class to establish its own scholarship, following the Class of 1963 last year.

Joan Lee, president of the Columbia High School Scholarship Fund, said she greatly appreciates the generosity of the ’54 alumni. But beyond its financial benefit, Lee said their grant is especially meaningful for what it says about their dedication to their alma mater.

“It feels wonderful to know how strongly they feel still about their high school 60 years later, and to know that they recognize the importance of helping students in this day and age achieve perhaps the same thing that these graduates from 1954 were able to achieve,” Lee told the News-Record prior to the event.

The gift came about after alumnus Alan Salisbury issued a challenge to his classmates at their 60-year reunion in September — he would pledge $10,000 of his own money to the fund if his classmates could come up with $10,000 of their own. The Class of 1954 accepted, and did even better than expected, collecting a little more than asked for during the succeeding months.

And Salisbury could not be more pleased. Crediting CHS with providing the quality of education necessary for him to attend West Point and eventually become a two-star general in the U.S. Army, he said it was important to him to ensure the next generation received the same opportunities that he did. Thus, as he said, he put his money where his mouth was.

“We all look back from 60-plus years later at our lives, and I think we can trace whatever success we have had to a strong beginning through the school system in Maplewood and South Orange,” Salisbury told the News-Record before the ceremony. “The imprimatur of a Columbia High School diploma is recognized as a fine school and a fine education. So how do you say thank you for that to the community? You pay it forward to the future of the community.”

Salisbury described himself and his wife as ardent supporters of education in general, financially supporting all of their alma maters. In fact, the Class of 1954’s donation was not the first grant he has made to CHS, having previously created an endowment in the names of his close friends Iris and Wyman Richardson.

According to Salisbury, CHS will always be special due to the influential teachers who left their mark on him. He recalled one history teacher in particular who inspired him — Jack McDonough — to the point that he actually invited McDonough to the ceremony in which he was promoted to brigadier general in 1982.

“That was a great reunion for the two of us,” Salisbury said. “He was just so proud, and I was so proud to have him there for a very special occasion in my life. So that was a strong Columbia High School connection that stayed with me.”

CHS noticeably had the same effect on the several other alumni who gathered for the event, some of whom traveled from out of state to attend. In fact, the scholarship fund ceremony quickly turned into an impromptu reunion filled with gleeful reminiscences. At one point, a few alumni even performed the song from their Junior Night — a former school tradition in which juniors would write and put on a play — as if no time had passed since they last took to the stage.

“We had the best time here,” Herb Rosenberg said, reflecting on his years at CHS. “I cannot believe we are here all these years later. It feels like yesterday.”

Rosenberg was not the only one who felt that way. Though it had been 60 years since they graduated from CHS, Rosenberg and his friends Lenny Harlan, Gail Henston Jaffe and Margie Halprin Davis talked with the carefree earnestness of youth, recalling memories such as the restaurant where they took dates and the delicious ice cream it sold, all with a twinkle in their eyes.

Harlan said they formed real friendships in high school, the kind that stand the test of time. And it was all thanks to the atmosphere CHS provided.

“There was a general feeling of camaraderie,” Harlan told the News-Record. “It really allowed us to bond as a class.”

Even after graduating, Jaffe and Davis saw the positive impact of a CHS education on their own daughters. Now Davis’ granddaughter is a student at the high school, and she said she is still impressed with what it has to offer.

“It is different, but she is getting a wonderful education,” Davis told the News-Record.

With its endowed scholarship, the Class of ’54 hopes to further that education for current CHS students beyond high school. And the CHSSF indeed has a track record of success. Since being established in 1923, the fund has provided more than $1.1 million in scholarships to thousands of students pursuing any type of secondary education, whether through a regular four-year university, a technical program or a medical school. Any graduate can apply for a need-based scholarship with a tax return and school transcript.

Last year, the CHSSF awarded 97 scholarships totalling $140,000, according to Lee. That is a far cry from the 15 it gave out when she first became involved with the fund in 1997, and demonstrates just how diligently it has been working since then, she said. And that effort to help the students will also benefit the community in the long run, she added.

“These are our children who will hopefully come back and work here, live here and vote here,” Lee said. “We are investing in our future because these are the children who are going to be running the world when we are sitting back in our rocking chairs.”

But the rising costs of higher education are preventing many graduates from living up to their potential, Class of ’54 reunion organizer Dottie Kyle pointed out. That is a key reason why the class wanted to endow a scholarship, Kyle said. Now that it has, she urged other alumni to do the same.

“There are a great many parents who want their kids to have a better life than they did, but they cannot afford to send them to college,” Kyle told the News-Record following the event. “We want to challenge other reunion classes to endow a scholarship.”

To learn more about the CHSSF or make a donation, visit http://www.chssf.org/.

WEST ORANGE, NJ — Seton Hall University’s ROTC program will be training in Mayapple Hill  in Essex County South Mountain Reservation on Thursday, April 9. During the exercise, a helicopter from the Army’s Combat Aviation Unit will land in the reservation at approximately 2 p.m. and take off at approximately 6 p.m.

Please do not be alarmed if you see military personnel in the area. It is only a drill.

For more information, call Seton Hall’s Department of Military Science at 973-313-6250.

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Eric Stoddard

MAPLEWOOD/SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — Eric Stoddard, 33, can still imagine floating in a YMCA pool in Laconia, N.H. “I remember so vividly, getting a life jacket on and being in the pool with my mom,” Stoddard said in a press release from the South Mountain YMCA. “I loved the water!”

The YMCA remained a center of life throughout his childhood, the place where he made friends and learned gymnastics, basketball, soccer and other sports. As an adult, the Y beckoned him back.

“I have great memories growing up at the Y,” said Stoddard, who was recently promoted to associate director of the South Mountain YMCA. Before that, Stoddard served nearly two years as senior program director of the 1,200-member Y serving Maplewood and South Orange.

Stoddard excelled at athletics throughout his life, playing varsity high school football and basketball beginning in his freshman year in Queensbury, N.Y., and winning a state championship in track and field during his junior year. He preferred basketball to football, but he said he was a better football player — “I just hated getting hit!” he said in the release.

He earned a track and field scholarship to St. John’s University in Queens, N.Y., but at the end of his junior year in 2003, the university disbanded its track team. When he went home for the summer break, his parents handed him a newspaper article about the men’s national bobsled team.

At first dismissive of the idea, Stoddard called the Olympic training center in Lake Placid, N.Y., and spoke to the head coach. Stoddard was too late. The coach had scouted 25 finalists from across the country and invited them to compete in a weeklong tryout. But Stoddard kept talking and before he hung up, he’d persuaded the coach to make him the 26th contestant. Stoddard did not disappoint: He outperformed the other athletes and won a spot on the national bobsled team in 2003. He traveled the world and in 2004, won the national championship in the two-man competition as the youngest bobsled athlete on the world cup circuit.

Stoddard left the sport in 2005 to return to St. John’s University to complete his bachelor’s degree in education and earn a master’s in school counseling in 2007. Stoddard was hired as program director at the After-School All-Stars, a nonprofit organization for at-risk youth.

But Stoddard longed to work for the YMCA, a place that cultivated his love of sports. “I believe in the YMCA mission and I felt my background was a good fit,” he said. Stoddard said the dedicated staff works as a cohesive team to provide programs “that meet members’ needs and exceed their expectations.”

While senior program director, Stoddard realigned the after-school care program to group children by age so sports and other activities could be geared to their developmentally appropriate skill levels. Childcare for school vacation days was also expanded to include specialized offerings, including a drama program and golf lessons. Stoddard said he would oversee plans to increase programming to expand capacity “so we can serve more families in the community.”

Each day, he commutes to Maplewood from Jersey City with his 2-year-old son, Wyatt, who attends the Y’s Early Childhood Learning Center. Stoddard and his wife, Julia, are expecting a second child in July.

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Columbia High School English teacher Nicole Dufault, above, has been arrested and charged with sexual assault after she allegedly had sexual relations with six of her underage students.

MAPLEWOOD/SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — Columbia High School teacher Nicole Dufault pleaded not guilty April 6 to charges that she sexually assaulted six male students.

Dufault, 35, entered the pleas on 40 counts of aggravated sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child during a brief appearance in Essex County Superior Court.

Dufault was arrested in September 2014, but has been free since posting $500,000 bail the following month. She has been placed on unpaid suspension.

A native of Bloomfield, Dufault has been a language arts teacher at CHS for nine years. She had previously taught at several other public schools in Passaic and Bergen counties.

A single mother to two young sons, Dufault is accused of engaging in sexual activity with the six boys on multiple occasions between 2013 and 2014, according to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office
Some of the sex acts allegedly occurred on school property and in her car and at least one was captured on video taken with a cell phone. According to the Prosecutor’s Office, the footage shows Dufault performing oral sex on one of the boys while another is present.

The victims were all between 14 and 15 years old at the time of the incidents, which under N.J. law means they are unable to provide informed consent, according to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office.

These are merely charges. All defendants are presumed innocent until proved guilty in a court of law.

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A Seton Hall University student reads about a young adult who committed suicide while at college. Through Active Minds, the university brought 1,100 backpacks to form an exhibit to bring awareness to the prevalence of suicide on college campuses.

By Shanee Frazier, Staff Writer
SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — Fostering a healthy and open dialog about mental health was the focal point of the Active Minds’ “Send Silence Packing” display held in the Jubilee Atrium of Seton Hall University on April 7.

“Send Silence Packing” is a nationally recognized public education exhibit featuring 1,100 backpacks, representing the number of students who die by suicide each year. The backpacks in the exhibit are donated by the families of those who have lost their lives to suicide. The backpacks include personal stories and testimonies from the families and passersby are invited to walk among the backpacks and read the stories of those who have died.

Active Minds is a national nonprofit organization that began in 2003 after Alison Malmon’s brother died by suicide. Malmon, who was a junior at the University of Pennsylvania junior at the time, said found her campus to be unsupportive in the ways that people understood and talked about mental health.

Malmon formed the student group Active Minds to address the stigma associated with mental health, and from there the organization was born.

The “Send Silence Packing” display is currently making its way through colleges in the Northeastern states, having begun at Fordham University on March 30.

In an email interview with the News-Record, Priti Shah, associate director of Counseling and Psychological Services, or CAPS, at Seton Hall University, explained how the program was brought to campus.

“I started to become interested in Active Minds when I began working at Seton Hall. In 2012, I began working with student
leaders on campus to develop a chapter at Seton Hall. A year later, we became a provisional student organization,” Shah said. “This is actually our first official year as a student organization on campus recognized both by the university and nationally by Active Minds Inc., and I have been serving as the groups’ faculty adviser since we began three years ago.”

“Send Silence Packing” is Active Minds’ flagship program, and Shah stated that, as it is now a recognized student organization, Active Minds has had the ability to bring more programming to campus.

“Because I work at CAPS, I often have the support of our own department. This year we were provided a very generous grant by the organization Aspiring Kindness,” she said. “CAPS and Active Minds both wanted to bring this program to our campus to help raise awareness regarding mental health and suicide prevention.”

“Send Silence Packing” is designed to spread awareness about the idea that maintaining balanced mental health is equally as important as maintaining balanced physical health.

Addressing this issue on a large scale on a college campus is particularly important, as research shows that, not only is suicide the second-leading cause of death among college students and among 18 to 24 year olds, but the prevalence of serious psychological disorders is higher in all adults aged 18 or older.

These sobering statistics are exactly why the Seton Hall chapter of Active Minds and CAPS felt the need to bring the poignant suicide prevention display to campus.

“I don’t believe students, or really our society in general, are always fully aware of the impact mental illness can have. I think we pay more attention to our physical health, get regular checkups, and see a doctor if we are experiencing any physical difficulties,” Shah said. “We talk about how to be healthy physically, but we don’t often talk about how to maintain our emotional and psychological health. Given this, I think it’s only natural that students may not pay as much attention to these factors.”

Shah also believes that the stigma associated with mental illness prevents many students from seeking campus resources to help them better deal with their psychological needs.

“This is why I feel it is part of our role at CAPS and student groups is to educate the student and university community about mental health,” she said. “I believe the more openly we discuss it, and can understand the concept of mental health as part of our general health, the fewer stigmas seeking help might have.”

Student leader Deandra Gichie, who serves as the public relations and social media chairwoman for Seton Hall’s Active Minds chapter, also believes that this public display of backpacks will break down more barriers about mental health on the Seton Hall campus. In an interview with the News-Record, Gichie spoke about some of the deterrents to seeking help in times of anxiety or stress.

“I know some people are concerned about divulging things that they’ve suppressed for years, so maybe they’re unaware of the confidentiality policy that counselors have,” she said. “Scheduling can also be an issue — if a student has had a rough day and can’t speak to someone until a week or two later, it can be discouraging to go back.”

The hope of Seton Hall’s chapter of Active Minds and CAPS is that the campus as a whole will be more open to discussions around mental health and more actively seek assistance when it is needed.

“I think an exhibit like this puts names and faces to those that have been impacted by mental illness and suicide, making it difficult to ignore. Most people do not know or realize that most mental health issues are completely treatable. And a mental illness like depression, when it goes untreated, often can lead to suicide,” Shah said. “When I think about this, it makes me very sad, as you realize just how preventable suicide is if we can just be open to discussing. I hope students leave understanding more about mental health and suicide prevention — what they can do to help them or help a friend.”

Gichie echoes the same sentiment, and both are optimistic that this suicide-prevention program will open eyes and start conversations both on campus and into the community.

“These aren’t just statistics — these are people we know, who had personalities and interests and aspirations. These backpacks represent the 1,100 students who felt like they couldn’t ask for help, or didn’t know where to get help,” she said.

“I think ‘Send Silence Packing’ will encourage students and faculty alike to recognize the importance of reaching out to someone who needs help or to get help for themselves. Gaining and maintaining mental health is an important part of living. I hope people know that they aren’t alone; people do want to listen and be there for them.”

Seton Hall students can call CAPS at 973-761-9500. Anyone having suicidal thoughts or actions, should call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255.

MAPLEWOOD/SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — A Columbia High School graduate recently lost a landmark gender-discrimination lawsuit against her former employer, noted venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, following a trial in San Francisco that lasted nearly a month and attracted national media attention.

Ellen Pao, CHS Class of 1987, lost her suit claiming that she was not promoted from her position of junior partner to senior partner due to her gender. Pao also alleged that Kleiner Perkins retaliated against her for repeatedly complaining about gender discrimination, did not prevent such discrimination and eventually fired her for suing over it. She asked for $16 million in compensatory damages plus additional punitive damages.

Kleiner Perkins, which developed its reputation as one of the world’s premiere venture capital firms with early investments in companies like Google and Amazon, argued in its response trial brief that Pao’s failure to be promoted was caused by her own poor track record of interpersonal conflict with co-workers accumulated over virtually her entire seven-year stint with the firm. It further said that she only complained of discrimination once during that time, just a few months before filing her lawsuit on May 10, 2012.

Additionally, Kleiner Perkins claimed it did not outright terminate her on Oct. 1, 2012, as she said, but offered to keep her on the payroll for six months and give her $200,000 in severance pay if she had not found another job in that time. It said that it was only after Pao immediately announced publicly that she’d been fired that Kleiner Perkins rescinded its offer, instead moving her termination date up to Oct. 31, but still paying her a lump sum for the next five months and a bonus.

In the end, the 12-person jury sided with Kleiner Perkins by rejecting all four of Pao’s complaints on March 27. It was only the fourth complaint — regarding her termination — that resulted in some controversy when the 8-4 juror vote failed to meet the 75 percent threshold for a decision required in civil cases. After two hours of further deliberation, the jury again sided 9-3 with Kleiner Perkins on the fourth complaint.

Though Pao ended up losing the case, many of her supporters are taking solace in the fact that her fight raised awareness of the difficulties women face working in venture capital, an industry notoriously dominated by men. In fact, Pao issued a statement following the verdict indicating that she was happy if her lawsuit helped other people facing similar struggles in their professional lives.

“If I have helped to level the playing field for women and minorities in venture capital, then the battle was worth it,” Pao said.

On the other hand, Kleiner Perkins maintained in the face of victory that it never discriminated against Pao or any of its employees. In a statement, it said that it would continue to ensure equality moving forward.

“There is no question gender diversity in the workplace is an important issue,” the partners of Kleiner Perkins said. “KPCB remains committed to supporting women in venture capital and technology both inside our firm and within our industry.”

The 24-day trial received much media scrutiny due in large part to the salacious allegations Pao made against her former employer in her complaint and during the trial. Among them, she claimed a co-worker used his authority to retaliate against her after she ended their relationship upon learning that he was not separated from his wife. She also said another partner made sexual advances toward her and then used his influence to hurt her career when she refused him, using measures such as giving her bad performance reviews. Her complaints, she argued, either went ignored or were investigated in a way antagonistic to her.

Additionally, Pao claimed she was deliberately excluded from important business meetings and dinners only attended by men; was not offered a board seat at the RPX Corporation, despite the fact that she had worked extensively with the patent risk management company; and was refused a promotion at the same time three male employees — who were at the firm for shorter periods of time — received them.

And that was not all. According to Pao, women in general at the firm were routinely passed over for promotions, did not receive support in the event of sexual harassment and were only allowed to serve on one board of directors while men could serve on several. At the trial, it was mentioned that Kleiner Perkins only has 11 female partners, with just 20 percent of its staff made up of women.

But that ratio is much better than at other venture capital firms, which are typically 7 to 11 percent female, Kleiner Perkins argued at the trial. Mary Meeker, a partner at the firm, testified that Kleiner Perkins was the best place for a woman to work in the industry.

Kleiner Perkins also claimed that Pao was actually making more money than many of her male co-workers during her time with the firm. And it said her lack of promotion was not because of gender discrimination, but her reputation for not getting along with co-workers, which was exemplified by several comments from internal and external performance reviews included in its complaint. She did not improve, which it said resulted in her being asked to transition out of the firm.

She would have even been let go sooner, Kleiner Perkins said, had not legendary venture capitalist John Doerr — who had hired Pao and recommended her for the prestigious Crown Fellowship — urged the other partners to give her another year to improve.

Though things did not end well for her at Kleiner Perkins, Pao has already landed on her feet, scoring the position of interim chief executive officer of the social news site Reddit. It is the latest in a long list of achievements she has earned since graduating from CHS. After leaving her hometown of Maplewood, Pao garnered degrees from Princeton University, Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School. Before entering the venture capital world, she worked as a corporate attorney at the prestigious Cravath, Swaine & Moore law firm and served as senior director of corporate business development at BEA Systems, among positions at other Silicon Valley companies.

MAPLEWOOD/SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — There is less than a month left before the South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education holds a hearing and final vote on the 2015-2016 school district budget. The board has been debating the budget for a few months and will hold its final vote at its meeting Monday, April 27, at 7:30 p.m.

But it is not too late for residents to be heard; voice an opinion at the April 27 hearing or send an email to budget@somsd.k12.nj.us.

On Monday, March 16, the BOE approved a $123.5 million budget for the 2015-2016 school year, though the vote was far from unanimous. The board was split nearly down the middle with a 5-4 vote, but ultimately decided to OK a 2.41-percent operating budget tax levy increase. And while they seemed reticent to raise taxes again, the majority of the members felt it was necessary.

Voting in favor of the increase were Elizabeth Baker, Jeffrey Bennett, Beth Daugherty, Maureen Jones and Stephanie Lawson-Muhammad; voting against the increase were board President Wayne Eastman, first Vice President Madhu Pai, second Vice President Johanna Wright and Donna Smith.

Originally, at the March 12 budget meeting, the BOE had discussed imposing a 2.31-percent operating budget tax levy, but on March 16, $110,000 was added to the budget, bringing the operating budget tax levy up to 2.41 percent. This addition, however, will likely not save world languages in the elementary school, a program currently on the 2015-2016 chopping block.

According to proposed budget documents, the average Maplewood home will pay $121 per year in school taxes and the average South Orange home will pay $253 per year in school taxes.

While the board members agree that cuts must be made, especially as costs and overall enrollment continue to rise, they disagree as to where those cuts should be made. At the March 16 meeting, Baker felt that cuts to the elementary schools, specifically Seth Boyden and Clinton schools, were unjustifiable, whereas Daugherty called Columbia High School the district’s “flagship” and said the high school must be maintained as a bastion of superior learning. Rather than cut at one or the other, Daugherty suggested taking a “critical look” at the high school’s offerings to find efficiencies, which would ultimately protect some programs at the elementary schools.

As per state law, the school board had to have a final budget number to send to the county superintendent for approval by March 20, forcing a vote on the budget number before all the ins-and-outs of the budget are decided. Eastman was careful to explain that the board was merely voting on the number, and not the final budget. The proposed budget is still flexible and subject to change.

According to the proposed budget documents, which can be found on the district website at www.somsd.k12.nj.us, the largest portion of the budget’s revenue — approximately 88 percent — will be taken from the local tax levy. According to the documents, when comparing the 2015-2016 school year to the current 2014-2015 school year, the district is expecting to receive more revenue from taxes, capital reserve, fund balance, tuition thanks to the Montrose School, state and federal grants, and sources such as summer school, field trips, etc.

There will be a decrease in debt-service funds; according to business Administrator Cheryl Schneider at the meeting, the district has no wiggle-room when it comes to this number due to refunded bonds, the timing of the debt service and debt service aid as it relates to Montrose. The district expects state aid neither to increase nor to decrease next school year.

As usual, the majority of the budget’s expenses will be going toward salaries and health benefits, which comprise approximately 63 percent of expenses. Additionally, approximately 10 percent of the district’s budget will go toward tuition to send children to out-of-district schools when their needs cannot be met within the district. The rest of the expenses in the budget — boiled down to basics — is filled out by energy costs, transportation, textbooks and supplies, maintenance, and security.

While the district is cutting world languages in the elementary school and looking to restructure various other programs to find efficiencies, the district is also reducing its full time educator positions overall by 3.4 positions. The district is adding 8.6 full time educators — five at Montrose, including a director, nurse, secretary and at least two pre-K teachers; a classroom teacher at each middle school; and 0.8 of a physical education teacher at each middle school.

Also, the district is losing 12 full time educators — one high school guidance counselor to retirement; two secretaries, one through retirement and the other to be offset by the new secretary position at Montrose; one gifted and talented teacher through program restructuring; one central office position through restructuring, though the method of restructuring is still being discussed; two elementary classroom teachers; the three elementary world language teachers, due to the program being eliminated; one high school classroom teacher through efficiencies; and one arts teacher, likely at the elementary school level. According to Schneider, these changes are being made due to increased enrollment in the middle and high schools, and decreased enrollment in the elementary schools.

These details, however, can be changed before the April 27 hearing and action meeting; residents with questions or concerns should reach out to the board.

By Shanee Frazier, Staff Writer
SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — As part of a commitment to protect and promote child safety, the South Mountain YMCA held a Child Sexual Abuse Training course at The Woodland in Maplewood on Sunday, April 12. Although this month is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, the Y works to protect the children all year round through education and programming.

The video-based training offered April 12 is part of the organization’s ongoing proactive initiative to educate those who interact with children about the warning signs of abuse. The training is offered through an organization called “Darkness to Light,” and the training program is titled “Stewards of Children.”

Maureen Simons, senior director of child safety at the YMCA, spoke about the Y’s strong belief in child safety, saying that without a safe environment, a child cannot grow. In an interview with the News-Record, Simons discussed the growing need to address concerns centered around child abuse.

“We partnered with ‘Darkness to Light’ because it’s a serious matter and an uncomfortable one to talk about,” she said. “We buy baby monitors, lock medicine cabinets, tell our kids to wear helmets and look both ways before crossing the street. We don’t have conversations about sexual abuse though.”

The numbers associated with child sexual abuse are disquieting; statistics from Darkness to Light data show that children are the victim of 70 percent of reported sexual assaults. Additionally, 40 percent of those children are abused by an older or larger child.

Although the numbers of cases reported have decreased as more education becomes available, there is still work to be done.

“One in 10 children being abused is still one child too many,” Simons said. “The best way we as adults can combat this is teaching adults to be responsible. They will leave the training with increased knowledge, skills and strategies to protect the children they care for or interact with.”

In South Orange and Maplewood, more than 500 people have had this training, and the local YMCA has recently earned the Partner in Prevention distinction that is attained when at least 95 percent of the employees have completed the “Darkness to Light” training.

Simons also advised that the Y will offer the training online free of charge to any New Jersey resident during 2015.

Having a fully trained staff is only the first stage of the work the YMCA is doing to create a safer and more aware community.
The Togetherhood Volunteer Program, a community-service-based initiative of the Y, is also working to create a more informed citizenry.

Jeff Goldsmith, chairman of the Togetherhood Committee, said in an interview with the News-Record that his committee has collaborated with the Y on three other projects so far, including a school-supplies drive, a fundraiser for local children to play and have equipment for the town soccer team, and sponsoring the Maplewood Fourth of July races.

Although the “Stewards of Children” training marks the first time the committee has worked with the Y on the issue of child safety, the Y is eager to continue the work.

“We’re helping with the community outreach,” Goldsmith said. “Our approach is simple: ‘I’m doing this to protect your kid, can you do the same for me?’”

Now that the YMCA’s staff is almost 100-percent trained, its focus has shifted to the community and how this important training can be brought to others.

Through a grant of $1,000 from the South Orange Rotary Club, the YMCA was recently able to provide the “Stewards of Children” training to the South Orange Public Library staff by using the money to buy the training materials.

Simons said that the Y will travel to any organization in the community interested in providing this training. The next local training will be held for free at the Civic Center on Dunnell Road in Maplewood on May 13 from 7 to 9 p.m.

Visit www.metroymcas.org/preventnow to register and click “Find a Training.”

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Photo by Shanee Frazier
South Orange Seniors co-founders Nan Samons, left, and Tonia Moore, right, hosted a seniors’ prom with DOVE Director Michelle Peterson, center, on April 12 on Seton Hall’s campus.

By Shanee Frazier, Staff Writer

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — Town and gown relations took on a new twist as local organization South Orange Seniors hosted its seniors’ prom on Seton Hall University’s campus on April 12.

The prom, held in the Chancellor’s Suite on the university’s campus, boasted approximately 100 attendees for the group’s first social event of the year.

The event was open to all seniors living in South Orange who had registered by March 17, and was hosted by the Division of Volunteer Efforts at Seton Hall University along with the South Orange Seniors.

South Orange Seniors, or SOS, the brainchild of Nan Samons, Tonia Moore and Peg Cinberg, was created in an effort to meet the growing need for the voice of senior citizens in South Orange to be heard more clearly.

Beginning in late May 2014, the three women began conducting focus groups and distributing questionnaires to see what the senior community in South Orange liked about the area, and what improvements they would like to see moving forward.
Based on the feedback the group received, it became clear that social activities were greatly desired by residents.

In an interview with the News-Record, DOVE Director Michelle Peterson said the event was a natural continuation of the work that the university’s volunteer organization had already been doing with SOS.

“DOVE had already collaborated with the two senior homes in South Orange to have student volunteers shovel snow during the winter months for the residents who were literally plowed in,” Peterson said. “We wanted to put together a fun program where the students could once again have an opportunity to interact with the seniors.”

After months of planning, Peterson and DOVE Assistant Director Tom Russomano, along with SOS, were able to host an elegant afternoon of entertainment on campus.

During a speech given at the event, Peterson spoke about the positive experience she had working with SOS to bring the event to fruition.

“As a resident of South Orange, I am thrilled that this is being done in the community,” she said. “On our mission trips, we teach students that presence and love are all that you need, and we hope that you feel that here today.”

The event featured a DJ playing the jazzy sounds of the ’40s and ’50s, and attendees wore everything from floor-length ball gowns to sequined shirts as they danced the afternoon away to the sultry sounds Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole. The prom also included live entertainment from internationally-renowned singer-songwriter and South Orange resident Peri Smilow and her husband, former NY1 news anchor Budd Mishkin.

In addition to social events, SOS co-founder Samons took a minute at the prom to remind the attendees that the group is committed to addressing the civic concerns of the senior citizen population in South Orange.

“Every time we spoke to a focus group, we came away exhilarated by the ideas, thoughts and energy that you brought to us,” Samons said. “That is what formed what we are and it forms what we will be.”

Among the other initiatives that the group sought to address were pedestrian-safety concerns, computer-literacy courses for seniors and developing a stronger relationship with the South Orange Performing Arts Center.

The results of their work include an extra day of jitney service in South Orange, an information sheet outlining the transportation services provided by both village and county, discounted rates for seniors at SOPAC, and Internet courses designed to teach seniors how to send and receive emails.

South Orange Seniors still have much more they want to accomplish though.

Future goals include volunteer opportunities for seniors who are interested in helping out in the community, intergenerational activities with Columbia High School students, and a film of senior stories made with the help of CHS.

“Your ideas and your responses are what fuels the engine, and we look forward to working with you,” Samons said.
Transportation to the April 12 event from the two senior housing facilities in South Orange operated by the Jewish Community Housing Corporation was provided by JCHC CEO Harold Colton-Max, and South Orange Parking Authority Director Mark Hartwyck made jitney service available from the South Orange Public Library to Seton Hall and back home to other residents wishing to attend. Food was donated by local restaurants, including the Grid Iron Waffle Shop, KimayaKama, Above Restaurant and Ashley Marketplace.

For more about South Orange Seniors, visit “South Orange Seniors” on Facebook, or contact southorangeseniors@gmail.com.

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Two teens, center and right, are advised by a teacher as they learn using audiobooks provided by the nonprofit Learning Ally to learning-disabled students. The South Orange-Maplewood School District has a partnership with Learning Ally and provides audiobooks to its students.

MAPLEWOOD/SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — Students struggling with a reading disabilities in the South Orange-Maplewood School District are being matched with technology that can assist them, thanks to a national nonprofit organization that provides access to more than 80,000 downloadable audiobooks to dyslexic, blind and visually impaired students.

Since partnering with Learning Ally approximately two years ago, the district has allowed students who have trouble reading printed words to listen to them instead with audiobooks that can be accessed through their school-issued Chromebooks, iPhones, iPads and other similar devices.

In doing so, the district has leveled the playing field for students with reading disabilities, according to Robert Schmidt, supervisor of special services for grades six through 12. Whereas dyslexic students would previously have to decipher jumbled words on a page, Schmidt said audiobooks allow them to absorb information more easily, enabling them to keep up in the classroom.

“In a lot of cases, if students can hear it, they can comprehend and can participate in class discussions and really engage in their learning,” Schmidt told the News-Record in an April 10 phone interview. “If I go home and I try to read and I cannot understand it and there is no support for me, I am going to come into class already behind everyone else the next day because everyone else did the homework and read, whereas I could not because of my reading ability. Traditionally, that was what would happen. So Learning Ally has transformed the way students can access material in the classroom.”

And the students have really taken to Learning Ally, according to Schmidt. In fact, though the program was originally offered only to students with documented learning disabilities, he said students without disabilities were eagerly listening to the audiobooks on classroom computers that had already been logged into Learning Ally. As a result, he said the district now makes the technology available to every student.

The reason Learning Ally has become so popular is likely due to the prevalence of technology in the modern world, Schmidt said. Years ago, he said wearing large, clunky headphones to listen to a book on tape in class would come with a stigma. Today, however, plugging a pair of earbuds into a device is viewed from an entirely different perspective.

“The fact that this is on the computer does not make anyone stand out because everyone is using computers now,” Schmidt said. “Everyone has Chromebooks in our district. The kids have iPads. It is the norm. So the great thing about Learning Ally is that you could be providing help to a student, and that student can be receiving the help that he or she needs in a way that does not stigmatize them, does not make them stand out. It is considered cool to be using technology in schools.”

Another benefit that Learning Ally provides is the fact that it exposes students to reading material they are actually interested in, according to Schmidt. Though not every one of the approximately 80,000 textbooks and literary works the program provides is offered to district students — the district selects which books are made available — he said students are allowed to request popular novels to listen to outside class. He added that, in some cases, teachers even include books like the “Divergent” series in their curriculum in order to get students excited about reading for pleasure.

Of course, Schmidt said an additional bonus of using audiobooks is that they are simply more convenient to use than physical books. After all, he pointed out, not having to carry around numerous books or worry about forgetting them in their lockers makes life easier for students.

But the South Orange-Maplewood School District is not the only district being helped by Learning Ally. The program is currently used by more than 300 New Jersey schools with the goal of eventually benefiting all 81,000 students identified as having reading disabilities across the state. Nationally, it serves approximately 10,000 schools and approximately 15,000 individual households.

Paul Edelblut, Learning Ally’s vice president of education, said he feels proud to help so many children with learning disabilities, especially since so many go unnoticed. In an April 9 phone interview, Edelblut said that 20 percent of the U.S. population is estimated to have a learning disability, yet only 5 percent are ever diagnosed.

It is the program’s mission to help those who need it, for people with reading challenges such as dyslexia are just as intelligent as those without, Edelblut stressed.

“They are very smart, but they just cannot process words that are written in a text-based format,” Edelblut told the News-Record, pointing out that notable dyslexics include Albert Einstein and Richard Branson. “When you give students these audiobooks, they are able to absorb that content and take in that content and continue to learn and grow and thrive in that educational environment.”

Edelblut explained that listening to Learning Ally’s audiobooks while also following along with the text — the program offers a word-tracking feature — develops a student’s multisensory learning; information is absorbed more deeply into the brain when it is heard and seen at the same time, he said.

Aside from helping students, Edelblut said Learning Ally benefits teachers and parents as well. Teachers in districts participating in the program have the option of utilizing Teacher Ally, a feature that lets educators monitor what books their students are reading and how many pages they finish so they can better understand how to address individual needs and interests. The nonprofit also offers free professional development workshops for educators and promotes awareness of learning disabilities.

Seeing so many districts, like the SOMSD, partner with Learning Ally is “awesome,” according to Edelblut, because he knows that the program works. According to a 2011 study conducted by Learning Ally, schools that participate in the program outperformed nonmember schools on reading proficiency tests in all 13 pairs that were compared. They also outperformed 12 out of 13 pairs on math proficiency tests.

Beyond statistics though, Edelblut said he has seen Learning Ally’s effectiveness in his own home. He said his son, who has a reading disability, uses the program and has experienced significant results. In fact, he said his son moved from the 4th percentile to the 50th percentile on a national norm test and was moved to the 76th percentile for his end-of-year goals.

And that is just an example of what Learning Ally can do for other students with reading challenges, Edelblut said.

“When given the right resources, you can make tremendous change,” Edelblut said. “I can look at teachers and I can look at parents and say ‘I know this works.’”

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — The League of Women Voters of South Orange and Maplewood is sponsoring a candidates’ night for the upcoming South Orange Village President election. The event will be Thursday, May 7, from 7:30 to 8:45 p.m. at The Baird, 5 Mead St. in South Orange. The forum will be moderated by Michelle Bobrow of the LWV, and will feature Sheena Collum and Emily Hynes, candidates for village president. Members of the audience will be invited to pose their own questions to the candidates, and the forum will also be broadcast on SOMA-tv.

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Marchers are led by the Scouts and drummer Rafi Colton-Max in a March of Remembrance on April 19 as part of the 38th annual South Orange-Maplewood Interfaith Holocaust Remembrance Service.

By Shanee Frazier, Staff Writer
MAPLEWOOD & SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — Coming together in the spirit of unity and advocacy, the 38th annual South Orange-Maplewood Interfaith Holocaust Remembrance Service took place Sunday, April 19, at St. Joseph’s Church in Maplewood.

This year’s event featured guest speaker Marsha Kreuzman, a Holocaust survivor, as well as the presentation of the Sister Rose Thering Holocaust Education Award to the Rev. Lawrence Frizzell of Seton Hall University.

The day’s activities started with a March of Remembrance to honor those who were forced to endure death marches from prison and concentration camps during the Holocaust.

The service started with a traditional shofar blast from Margie Freeman and Zack Arenstein of the Kol Rina Independent Minyan in South Orange. The shofar is traditionally used in Judaism as a call to prayer, and for this service it was also used as a call to action against acts of violence or persecution, which was the theme of the day.

The shofar blast was followed by a procession of local religious and government leaders into the church sanctuary, and a processional hymn aptly titled, “We Are Called,” urging congregants in song to show love and act justly toward their fellow man.

Once the processional had ended, Father James Worth, pastor of Saint Joseph’s Church, gave a call to worship.

“We remember today because we can. We remember today because we must,” Worth said. “We must speak and we must think so that we can honor the heroes who were survivors and those who helped others survive.”

A lighting of the chai candles ceremony, memorial candles for those who died in the Holocaust, was led by the Rev. Terry Richardson, pastor of the First Baptist Church of South Orange.

Chai candles adorned the ends of all the pews in the sanctuary, and this year’s candle-lighters were Joanne Barbella Steffel, representing her father Joseph Barbella, who served in the U.S. 11th Armored Division, which liberated Mauthausen; and Helene Schwartz, wife of the late Norman Schwartz, a longtime member of the Interfaith Holocaust Remembrance Committee.

As the candles were lit at each row, the service attendees stood and lit the candles they were given when they entered the church.

Barbara Wind, director of the Holocaust Council of Greater MetroWest, and a longtime member of the Interfaith Committee, introduced Marsha Kreuzman, the guest speaker for the service.

Kreuzman’s presentation began with an NBC video clip that detailed her teenage years in concentration camps and how she was reunited more than 50 years later with Joseph Barbella, one of the American soldiers who liberated Mauthausen and helped to save her life. Following the video, Kreuzman held up pictures of herself and Barbella meeting for the first time since she was liberated.

“I survived, but I have no idea how I survived,” Kreuzman said.
Kreuzman shared her harrowing survival story with the rapt audience, explaining the conditions she faced prior to and during her time in the five different concentration camps and the Krakow ghetto in which she was forced to live.

“I was called ‘bloody Jew’ often, because I was a redhead and I was Jewish,” Kreuzman said. “On Jan. 15, 1945, we went to Auschwitz and walked for five days and four nights without stopping.”

Kreuzman said that they knew that if they stopped they would meet certain death, because they would freeze to death from the snow and nobody would be willing to take them in.

“I often wished for the sun so I could see the bodies being covered by snow to cover up the number of those who had died,” Kreuzman said.

After her liberation, Kreuzman spent some time in England before connecting with an American relative on the day before Thanksgiving in 1952. She went on to marry a fellow Holocaust survivor.

Following Kreuzman’s speech, “Here I Am Lord” was sung by Voices in Harmony of Essex County, Mariella Garcia of St. Joseph’s Church, Carley Margolis and Talia Adelson of Temple Beth Shalom of Livingston, Cantor Rebecca Moses of Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel of South Orange, and Cantor Perry Fine of Temple Beth Shalom, who also served as the conductor.

Joshua Cohen, New Jersey regional director for the Anti-Defamation League, spoke about why people must take action on issues of injustice.

After sharing with the audience statistics on the increase of anti-Semitic acts between the years of 2013 and 2014, Cohen urged the audience to take action.

“The question is whether we, as a society, will respond with rejection or accommodation,” Cohen said.

The Sister Rose Thering Holocaust Education Award was presented to Father Lawrence Frizzell, director of the Jewish-Christian Studies Program at Seton Hall University.

Frizzell was presented his award by colleague Father John Morley, professor emeritus of Seton Hall University. Morley spoke of his admiration for Frizzell, calling him “a great scholar and a great educator who shares his knowledge with the institute at Seton Hall, as well as many others.”

Morley also spoke about a program that Frizzell runs every year for the faculty at Seton Hall during spring break, educating them on Holocaust-related issues.

“His scholarship is unparalleled, and so is his desire to educate others,” Morley said.

Upon accepting his award, Frizzell said he recognizes that he is a part of a very strong team of students in the master’s program and other department faculty who work with him to promote education and awareness.

“Commemorating the past is only the first step,” Frizzell said. “Moving toward nonviolent action is the next step.”

Adorning the walls of the church was artwork created by the students of Ellen Hark, a middle school fine arts teacher in the district. In an interview with the News-Record, Hark explained how she chose to link Holocaust education with art for her students.

After reading the book “I Never Saw Another Butterfly,” a collection of art and poetry made by children who survived the Holocaust, Hark had her sixth-graders create butterfly paintings, each one featuring an original poem.

Hark had her seventh-graders do self-portraits inspired by the works of Kathe Kollwitz, whose husband was a doctor in war-torn Berlin. And her eighth-grade students made sculptures based a large sculpture of a hand from the Miami Holocaust Memorial.

Altogether Hark’s students created approximately 350 pieces, many of which were displayed during the service.

“Holocaust education has changed, and the students who are in school now will be some of the last to hear the stories from survivors,” Hark said. “If the story isn’t told, what will happen?”

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — Following the example set by neighboring municipalities, such as Maplewood and West Orange, South Orange is now looking into a trap-neuter-return program, also called “trap-neuter-vaccinate-return,” to control the feral cat population in the village.

In order to learn more about the cat-management program, the South Orange Board of Trustees heard attorney Michelle Lerner, a policy specialist for the Animal Protection League of New Jersey, speak at the April 13 trustees meeting. TNR involves reducing feral cat colony populations by catching feral cats, spaying or neutering them, vaccinating them, and returning them outdoors with their ears tipped so they can be identified. These cats are then exempted from feeding bans and are cared for by residents.

According to Lerner, South Orange likely has more than 1,000 feral cats roaming its streets. A feral cat is defined as a wild cat that is unsocialized when around people. South Orange’s animal control officers currently use two feral cat population-control methods: feeding bans, and trap and remove, also called “trap and kill.”

Lerner explained that trap and kill is not ideal as a population-control method because animal control would need to remove at least 50 percent of all cats each year just to stabilize the population, and remove 75 percent each year to reduce it.

That means South Orange animal control officers would need to impound approximately 750 cats per year to reduce the numbers, but the village lacks the resources, both in manpower and financially, to do so.

Additionally, as cats are removed and killed, more cats are born or migrate into the vacated areas; Lerner called this the “vacuum effect.”

“Trap and remove has not worked anywhere in the United States for mathematical reasons,” Lerner said at the meeting. “Cats have a very high reproductive rate,” she said, explaining that the average female cat can have two to three litters per year, and each litter can contain four to seven kittens.

Also, residents often do not cooperate if they believe the cats will be harmed, meaning the cats remain unreported and unvaccinated. This leaves the cats to continue reproducing until their levels make them a nuisance to residents.

“Most cats within the borders of a municipality remain unreported, reproducing, unvaccinated, until they reproduce to the point that they create nuisances large enough that people are willing to report them to the municipality,” Lerner said.

For similar reasons, feeding bans are not as effective as it may seem they would be, according to Lerner. Out of compassion, people do not stop feeding the cats, but feed them more discreetly. And, even if people do stop feeding the cats, they do not disappear; cats will forage and hunt for food.

“Cats that stop being fed don’t just evaporate,” Lerner said. “They don’t migrate en masse to the next town. They don’t tend to drop dead in the streets. Cats are resilient. They are very territorial; they stay where they are. They just go into garbage cans and dumpsters, they start to hunt. They may be thinner and less healthy, they may be vulnerable to parasites, but they remain and keep reproducing.”

Some trustees questioned whether or not the feeding ban in South Orange is currently being enforced, but South Orange Health Officer John Festa assured the trustees that the ban is enforced. According to Festa, they stopped a “major feeder” on Meadowbrook Lane last year after receiving complaints; eight residents testified against the feeder and the ongoing problem has now stopped.

“We are actively dealing with it,” Festa said at the meeting.

According to animal control records, in the five months from mid-March to mid-August in 2014, 30 cats were impounded, 80 percent of which were feral. Two died of natural causes and 21 were euthanized — a 76-percent death rate.

And, in the five months from June to November 2014, South Orange fielded 49 complaints of stray and feral cats, with most complaints mentioning multiple cats.

Due to the dearth of records in South Orange, Lerner used Maplewood as an example for why TNR should be considered and eventually implemented. According to Lerner, complaints about cats doubled in Maplewood after the township passed a strict feeding ban in 2010. Only 36 cats were impounded in 2010, but 84 cats were impounded in 2012.

According to Lerner, TNR is a preferable animal control method because it reduces the cat populations and makes the population that remains healthier through vaccinations. Additionally, neutering and spaying costs approximately $50, whereas euthanasia is approximately $90.

Additionally, spaying and neutering the cats not only keeps them from reproducing, but stops a lot of cat behavior that is often the source of nuisance complaints, according to Lerner. She explained that when residents complain about feral cats urinating on their property, it is more likely that a male cat is “spraying” to mark its territory; similarly, cats often bury their feces, except when marking their territory. Male cats mark their territories as a way of attracting females to mate. And cats yowling and fighting are often part of mating, as well.

And the results so far seem positive, according to Lerner. In just two and half years since the TNR program was instituted, Englewood saw a 72-percent reduction in its feral cat population; in five years, Morristown saw a 76-percent reduction; in four years, Cape May saw an 80-percent reduction; and in five years, Mt. Olive, Lerner’s hometown, saw a 74-percent reduction.

Aside from towns like Maplewood and West Orange embracing TNR programs, TNR is accepted or endorsed by the New Jersey Department of Health, the NJ Local Boards of Health Association, a veterinary subgroup of the American Public Health Association, Sustainable Jersey, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the Humane Society of the United States and more.

Trustees seemed receptive to TNR, but questioned how it would be implemented. Trustee Walter Clarke, for example, asked Lerner how the village would transition to run such an operation.

Lerner explained that towns can be involved to varying degrees, although the more involved the town is, the better the results usually are. She said some towns pass ordinances allowing nonprofits to conduct TNR, while others train their animal control officers to conduct the program. For example, all Bergen County animal control officers are trained for TNR and there are many training programs out there for TNR.

Trustee Sheena Collum lauded Maplewood for its current TNR pilot, which will last for five years, at which point the township will evaluate all the data collected and decide whether or not to continue the program. The Maplewood Township Committee passed an ordinance in November 2014 to create a TNR program to be overseen by the newly created nonprofit Furry Hearts Rescue; the ordinance passed 4-1, with Committeeman Marlon K. Brownlee voting against it, saying the wording and parameters of the ordinance were too vague.

Collum even suggested joining with Maplewood’s TNR program if possible, and Furry Hearts President Lisa Lert is receptive to the idea.

“I live in South Orange and have been contacted by residents who are interested in Furry Hearts’ TNVR program,” Lert told the News-Record earlier this week via an email interview. “We’re sure we can assist South Orange as well.”

Since the program went into effect in January in Maplewood, Lert told the News-Record that Furry Hearts has successfully used TNR with approximately 80 cats. And residents seem pretty happy with the program, as well.

“The residents have been overwhelmingly supportive and the town is behind our efforts,” Lert said. “Besides the TNVR, we also rescue and find homes for any friendly, adoptable kittens and cats.”

Partnering with a local student, Furry Hearts Rescue will be participating in an animal adoption event on Sunday, May 10, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the parking lot of Congregation Beth El, 222 Irvington Ave. in South Orange.

And, as the program is run by the nonprofit Furry Hearts, Maplewood has not incurred any costs, according to Lert. All of Furry Hearts’ money is raised through fundraisers and donations.

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Photo Courtesy of Alli Cahill
South Orange Middle School students help run booths at the April 16 Wellness Extravaganza.

By Shanee Frazier, Staff Writer
MAPLEWOOD/SOUTH ORANGE — Tips on how to live a healthy life were the focus of the first ever SOMS Wellness Extravaganza held Thursday, April 16, in the South Orange Middle School Gymnasium.

The event included more than 50 vendors, from all aspects of health and wellness, and attendees were able to take part in everything from live cooking demonstrations to free health screenings for glucose, cholesterol and blood pressure.

The event was organized by Alli Cahill, a health and physical education teacher at the school, and was attended by approximately 500 students, parents and members of the local community.

In an interview with the News-Record, Cahill said that her desire to put the event together was to find a way to give back to her students.

“A passion of mine is giving back to the community and doing community service,” Cahill said. “I wanted to give back to my students what they give me every day.”

The event was sponsored by YouthNet and the Governor’s Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse; funds from a grant awarded to the school principal were also used for the event.

Cahill said that she wanted a community night, in which she could bring parents and students together, as well as members of the local community. To that end, some of the booths in attendance were operated by parents of students, and both parents and students served as volunteers at the event.

“I want to make the kids excited about health and physical education,” Cahill said. “They can get involved with lots of community events, and maybe one of these areas will peak their interest for a future career.”

Cahill said that the event took approximately two months to plan, and she “poured her heart and soul into it,” emailing fliers to contacts, attending workshops in the area and working tirelessly to secure vendors. To get the students invested in the event, and to help promote it throughout the school, Cahill started flier, logo and poster contests and encouraged the students to submit their artwork. Cahill also held a staff competition the week prior to the event where she asked her fellow teachers to wear pedometers and track their steps each day.

Community members also spread the word about the event, with information about the event being posted on the Mommy Blogs page for Maplewood.

There were student performances by the drum circle and the jazz band, as well as a special song and piano routine at the beginning of the event.

Behavioral health professionals were also present, including psychologist Amy Hartford and representatives from the Wellspring Health and Wellness Center.

Vendors represented at the event included Jane’s Juice, Jersey Cares, Somatics Loft and Chef Dell’Amore, just to name a few. Fitness centers such as Retro Fitness, Studio 509 Fitness and Viva Z Club were also in attendance to give attendees useful exercise and fitness information.

The event also featured a booth by the middle and high school nurses, who passed out pamphlets on the top maladies for which students come into their office to be treated.

Cahill said her students have already asked her when they can organize another Wellness Extravaganza.