SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — Although South Orange Trustee Jeffrey DuBowy had previously been sworn in, the board publicly swore DuBowy in at its July 13 meeting. The board voted to appoint DuBowy at the June 22 meeting to fill the seat vacated by Sheena Collum when she became village president.

DuBowy, who made an unsuccessful run for trustee in 2005, has been a commissioner on the South Orange Parking Authority and a board member of Main Street South Orange. He has lived in South Orange since 1992, raised three children here with his wife, and has served on the boards of the Youth Orchestra of Essex County and of Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel in South Orange.

Because Collum is no longer a trustee, trustee appointments to standing committees had to change. Under Resolution No. 2015-165, the board unanimously voted to redistribute the trustees on the standing committees, adding DuBowy to committees and removing Collum.

Under the new resolution, Howard Levison will chair and DuBowy and Stephen Schnall will sit on the Finance and Information Technology Committee. Deborah Davis Ford will chair and DuBowy and Mark Rosner will sit on the Legal and Personnel Committee. Rosner will chair and Schnall and Walter Clarke will sit on the Planning and Zoning Committee. DuBowy will chair and Clarke and Levison will sit on the Public Safety Committee. Clarke will chair and Levison and Davis Ford will sit on the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee. And Schnall will chair and Davis Ford and Rosner will sit on the Recreation and Cultural Affairs Committee.

Before his official appointment to the standing committees, however, DuBowy had already himself into governance, quickly becoming caught up in the Village Hall debate, and voting June 30 to designate Landmark Hospitality as the redeveloper of the historic Village Hall.

Hunter Kovacs

Lila Zinner

Ruby Zinner

Meghan Durkin

Lily Lindstrom

SOUTH ORANGE / MAPLEWOOD, NJ — Maplewood and South Orange are home to some of the most successful names of the stage and screen, but they are not the only community members with performing ability. In fact, some of the most talented singers, dancers and actors in the two towns can be found among the younger population.

Soon this young talent will be put on display July 31 and Aug. 1, when five youths from Maplewood and South Orange take part in the Paper Mill Playhouse’s “New Voices of 2015: Hooray for Hollywood!,” a concert meant to highlight the best young performers in the region. As its title suggests, the 20th edition of the annual show will feature numbers from some of the most acclaimed silver screen musicals of the past and present, from “Puttin’ on the Ritz” to “Kinky Boots.” The local participants will perform a variety of selections including “Singin’ in the Rain” and a Frank Sinatra medley.

“It’s probably the best show you’ll see in the summer,” 12-year-old Lily Lindstrom of South Orange told the News-Record in a July 16 phone interview. “People will have a lot of fun watching it.”

The concert was also a lot of fun to prepare, according to Lindstrom, who said she particularly enjoys the finale of the first act because it gives her the chance to have a good time onstage with 24 other performers. The whole experience of working on the show was a highlight of her summer, she said.

But it was a lot of hard work as well. The concert is the culmination of the Paper Mill’s Summer Musical Theatre Conservatory, a program of rigorous study in a range of subjects essential to any performer intending to pursue a career in musical theater. For five weeks, participants are taught a curriculum ranging from singing and dancing to acting and improvising, and auditioning and preparing for college arts programs, all while rehearsing for the final concert.

Like Lindstrom, 12-year-old Meghan Durkin of Maplewood found the effort fun, but she added that performing at the high level the program demands was also challenging. That was a good thing, however, because Durkin said it has taught her a lot about her craft. She told the News-Record that she was grateful for the educational opportunity.

“I feel like I’ve become a better performer,” Durkin said in a July 16 phone interview. “I also feel like I’ve become better at telling a story when I act and that I’m a more well-rounded performer. And I also feel more comfortable just going up and performing.”

Hunter Kovacs, a 15-year-old Maplewood native who has been performing professionally for the past seven years, said he has gotten a lot out of the conservatory. Kovacs, whose credits include a Kidz Bop album, television commercials and two Playhouse productions, lauded the instructors for their support and insight. Being part of the program, he said that he has picked up vital auditioning pointers, gained an understanding of how to interpret a song in different ways while performing, and learned a lot about dancing — a skill he said he needed to hone.

And Kovacs did not just learn from the teachers. He explained that watching so many other talented students his age perform was an educational experience in itself, allowing him to see songs and acting techniques he can later incorporate into his own repertoire. Just spending time with them was inspirational, he added.

“I have seen talent, but never talent in this huge, large amount — it is absolutely insane,” Kovacs told the News-Record in a July 16 phone interview. “It’s awe-inspiring to watch. I was sitting in the acting class and a classmate of mine went up and sang a song, and it honestly made me fully realize, even more so than I already had, why I love performing and musical theater. Because that is how much talent a peer brought.”

Sharing such exceptional abilities made for some fast friendships among program participants, according to 16-year-old Ruby Zinner of Maplewood. Despite the fact that she has been accepted into the conservatory six times, she admitted that being around such talented performers can be a little intimidating at first. But that feeling goes away almost immediately in the “warm environment” of the program, she said, pointing out that every student is extremely supportive of each other.

As a result, Zinner said everyone has gotten really close.

“You definitely do make a lot of friends, whether you want to or not,” she told the News-Record in a July 16 phone interview. “Basically none of my friends from school do anything like I do, show the same passion for performing as me. And some parts of me appreciate that, but when I’m at Paper Mill I’m with people who appreciate the same things I do. They’re able to recognize how actually challenging and hard and difficult it is. It’s just nice to be able to connect to people at that level.”

The program has even allowed Zinner to grow closer with her sister, 13-year-old Lila. Lila Zinner told the News-Record that participating in the program has given her the chance to bond with her sister, even though they are in different age companies. She said it has also made her grow more serious about her passion to perform, explaining that the rigorous nature of the conservatory instills a professionalism in its participants that cannot be found in most other arts programs.

“The days are very long, but after I get home I’ll be tired but I want to go back the next day,” Lila Zinner said in a July 16 phone interview. “It’s something where it’s fun but it’s challenging at the same time.”

The conservatory’s emphasis on hard work is what sets it apart from most other performing arts programs, according to Paper Mill Education Director Lisa Cooney. This year, 122 students aged 10 to 18 years old from all over North Jersey and New York were selected for the prestigious program, culled from 300 to 400 auditions and the Playhouse’s Rising Star Award winners. The performers are then split into three companies by age group. They were each chosen as performers who have demonstrated not just the necessary talent to succeed, but also the dedication required to perfect their craft, she said.

Because in the end, Cooney said the conservatory’s mission is to create the stars of tomorrow.

“What this program strives to do is take a kid who already has a love for performing and wants to do it as a career, and help them make the connection between their passion and what they need to be able to execute at a professional level to actually get a job,” Cooney told the Chronicle in a July 15 phone interview. “It’s probably the most challenging and accelerated training program for kids this age in this area, certainly in the state.”

And the Conservatory has a track record of success. Oscar Award-winner Anne Hathaway and Tony Award-winner Laura Benanti are both counted among its many famous alumni, and the program is intent on creating more. In fact, in addition to the professional development it provides, Cooney said the program commonly invites agents and casting directors to see its students perform. Many students are even invited to join professional Paper Mill productions, she said.

The “New Voices” concert is the ultimate showcase of the young performers’ talent, and Cooney pointed out that each number has been specially chosen to highlight the best of the participants’ abilities. The fact that the show is included in the theater’s schedule shows the quality one can expect, she said. After all, the education director stressed, this is not a typical school recital.

“We’ve got a little cadre of subscribers who are actively looking forward to the ‘New Voices’ show, sending us words of encouragement,” Cooney said. “Often I hear from the audience ‘I just couldn’t believe I was looking at young people. I couldn’t believe that person wasn’t 30 years old singing that song.’”

To purchase tickets for the 2015 “New Voices” show, visit http://www.papermill.org/education/summer-musical-theater-conservatory/new-voices-concert.html.

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — South Orange taxes are going up, but not by much. At the July 13 South Orange Board of Trustees meeting, the board members voted unanimously to introduce the 2015 municipal budget, which currently comes in at $33,530,565.05.

Resolution No. 2015-168 passed 6-0 to introduce the 2015 municipal budget, which shows a 0.6-percent increase in spending, with a 1.6-percent increase in taxes; the average South Orange taxpayer will see an $82 bump in property taxes, according to Barry Lewis Jr., the village administrator. However, Lewis said that this is still a preliminary budget and the board is “still looking to tighten it up,” and thereby slightly decrease taxes.

Lewis explained that, although the budget increased from approximately $33,308,000 in 2014 to approximately $33,530,000 in 2015 — only a $200,000, or 0.6-percent, increase — taxes are going up approximately 1.6 percent because of a declining tax base. Due to tax appeals, the aggregate assessed value of the village is down by approximately $5 million, leading to an overall tax increase.

“Some tax increase is just unavoidable,” Lewis said, mentioning some costs that continue to increase independently of village fiscal management, such as health and pension benefits, and insurance. He also added that all services offered in the past year will continue to be offered under the new budget.

“We didn’t use all available surplus because that can be dangerous,” Lewis said.

Lewis also said at the meeting that revenue is currently down by “a few hundred thousand dollars.” Although, he optimistically stated that “there is light at the end of the tunnel,” reminding residents that the 3rd and Valley redevelopment project PILOT will be coming online soon, paying $600,000 in lieu of taxes to the village in 2016.

Lewis said that most municipal budgets were due to the state already, but the village had applied and been approved for an extension by the state. The extension was necessary due to South Orange’s May elections; while most New Jersey municipalities hold their elections in November, South Orange’s May elections mean it must contend with new government members in the midst of budget talks. This year, the village gained new President Sheena Collum and new Trustee Jeffrey DuBowy, who filled Collum’s vacated board seat.

The extension seems to have proved useful to the village. Lewis said that some initiatives originally put in the budget by former President Torpey had been removed. “They didn’t seem to have the sentiment to stay in there,” Lewis said. Instead, some of Torpey’s focuses were replaced with some of Collum’s focuses.

Collum is championing completion of the Master Plan process, as well as setting aside money to match grants for façade improvements for businesses in town. Collum also said she wants to take a closer look at branding and marketing, especially as the recent decision to sell Village Hall to Landmark Hospitality to turn into a restaurant may push the village to reconsider using the historic building as one of its symbols.

While thanking the board and the various standing committees for their dedication and help in putting together this year’s budget, Lewis singled out Trustee Howard Levison, chairman of the Finance and Information Technology Committee. According to Lewis, the village is now spending less money on electricity, gasoline and telephone services thanks to Levison. Trustee Deborah Davis Ford added in that Levison was crucial in refinancing the village’s debt.

Davis Ford also reminded those present at the meeting that municipal taxes only make up a small percentage of what residents pay in property taxes; approximately 27 cents off every $1 goes to the village, with the rest going to the schools and the county. Lewis added that the village continually has lower tax increases than both the South Orange-Maplewood School District and Essex County.

Additionally, the board passed Ordinance No. 2015-13 on first reading, which would allow the village to increase the budget above the state cap of 2.5 percent to 3.5 percent instead. While there is a 2-percent increase cap on taxes, the increase cap for the overall budget is 2.5 percent. This ordinance, which is passed yearly by many municipalities as a formality in case of emergency, would allow the budget to increase to cover an unforeseen expense, but essentially only if that money could be taken from somewhere other than taxes.

Lewis explained that this ordinance is historically passed just in case of a “rainy day” and that, during his tenure as South Orange village administrator, the village has never even come close to the 2.5-percent cap.

While the budget introduction passed unanimously, this ordinance did not, passing 4-1-1. trustees Davis Ford, Walter Clarke, Stephen Schnall and Mark Rosner voted in favor, Trustee Levison voted against and Trustee DuBowy abstained. Collum clarified, however, that in order for an ordinance or resolution to pass, it needs to be carried by four votes — which this ordinance received.

Levison explained that he was against passing this ordinance because of the distorted perception is can give. He feels that it makes it look as if the village is planning to exceed the state cap and use more money, even though that is not the case.

“The probability of us ever using it is very close to zero,” Levison said, questioning the need to pass the ordinance at all. Should emergency money ever be needed, there are procedures in place to obtain it, he said.

Davis Ford, who voted for the ordinance, argued that those procedures take time and that having this ordinance makes sense because they would already have the banked cap.

“Why would we handcuff ourselves and not take advantage of what the state allows?” Davis Ford asked.

Lewis reminded everyone that the village can still go up to 2.5 percent and is currently at an increase of 0.6 percent — a number that is not even close.

A budget hearing will be held at the South Orange Performing Arts Center on Monday, Aug. 10. A breakdown of the proposed budget can be found online at www.southorange.org.

SOUTH ORANGE / MAPLEWOOD, NJ — The South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education entertained a discussion at its July 20 meeting to withdraw from the Garden State Coalition of Schools, an association of approximately 100 school districts that advocates for quality public education at the state level.

Although the board members did not vote at the July 20 meeting, they seemed willing to leave the GSCS in favor of hiring a district employee to lobby for the South Orange-Maplewood School District in Trenton.

Board member Jeffrey Bennett, a staunch watchdog for state educational funding, broached the subject, arguing that the GSCS does not support suburban, middle-class school districts, such as South Orange-Maplewood. Bennett argued that GSCS does nothing to balance funding inequities — and, even more so, does not recognize them.

In an extensive history of GSCS, Bennett explained the coalition’s origin. It was formed in 1990 to advocate for non-Abbott districts. In 1985, as a result of Abbott v. Burke, the state recognized certain urban, low-income districts that were not being supported in the same way as wealthier districts. In 1990, a second Abbott ruling ordered states to fund the then-28 Abbott districts at the average level of the state’s wealthiest districts. There are now 31 Abbott districts.

Bennett explained that Department of Education could have gone one of two routes. The first, and more advantageous for districts like the SOMSD, would be to increase funding to Abbott districts and decrease funding to wealthier districts. Due to lobbying, this was rejected, leaving it that Abbott districts had to be given the same funding as wealthy districts. While the first option would have equalized state educational funding in New Jersey, the second creates a bell curve, with districts like SOMSD receiving less money than both the wealthy and Abbott districts.

The state attempted to erase this inequality in 2008 when it passed the School Funding Reform Act, but the NJ Supreme Court blocked attempts to eliminate the Abbott district designation. Referring to SFRA, Bennett said, “A law like that isn’t a law. It’s a joke.”

According to Bennett, when he contacted GSCS Executive Director Lynne Strickland, she claimed not to believe that there were disparities. Bennett said he felt that Stickland did not want to discuss funding inequalities in order to avoid offending the wealthier districts. He said GSCS may pay more attention to the issue if the SOMSD leaves the coalition.

Strickland did not provide a comment to the News-Record by press time.

Nevertheless, the inequality is evidenced in the numbers. Looking at the projected state school aid for each district in the 2014-2015 school year — found on the DOE’s website — the wealthy Marlboro Township Public Schools received much more funding per student than the less-wealthy SOMSD. Marlboro received $11,603,887 while the SOMSD received $4,216,218. According to the DOE, Marlboro has fewer students than the SOMSD. With only 5,092 students, Marlboro effectively receives $2,278 per student; with 6,858 students, the SOMSD only receives $614 per student.

Due to all this, Bennett firmly believes the SOMSD should leave the coalition, adding that the district will save its $2,500 membership fee.

“I don’t think they fight for us. I don’t think they disperse information very well. I think they are too soft,” Bennett said.

Board President Wayne Eastman suggested that the board could hire someone to lobby directly for the district down in Trenton — a move that has been benefiting the Montclair district.

Other board members agreed, but wanted to hold off on a vote until member Elizabeth Daugherty was present, as she is the board’s representative to the GSCS. Until further discussion has taken place, the board gave interim Superintendent of Schools James Memoli permission to proceed with the GSCS as usual.

SOUTH ORANGE / MAPLEWOOD, NJ — The much anticipated results of teacher evaluations are out and New Jersey’s educators received high marks, with 97 percent ranking in the two highest categories as “effective” and “highly effective.”

The state released the AchieveNJ teacher evaluation data earlier this month for the 2013-14 school year. The ratings were based primarily on administrator observations, but student performance on tests and student improvement was also considered.

According to the results, of the 403 teachers evaluated in the South Orange-Maplewood School District, 396 teachers were ranked as effective or highly effective.

The new evaluation system was created as a result of an education reform law passed in 2012 that requires annual evaluations and stricter tenure rules for teachers.

The evaluations included the following four categories: ineffective, partially effective, effective and highly effective. However, in order to protect the privacy of teachers, if any school had fewer than 10 teachers in any one category, the results for that category were not listed.

The evaluations were also not listed for some schools if all the teachers in one school were evaluated in the same category, since any individual would then know each teacher’s evaluation in that school. These factors resulted in 10,000 teacher evaluations statewide not being disclosed.

Assistant Education Commissioner Peter Shulman pointed out the results from the first year of the AchieveNJ evaluation were not significant enough to identify trends or make sweeping conclusions about teachers statewide.

The information, though, he said, would be used to help the 2,900 teachers in the state who were “found to be struggling.” These teachers, Shulman said, work with 13 percent, or 180,000 of all New Jersey students.

“We need to work with these teachers to help them improve, if they can’t improve we need to remove them,” Shulman told the state Board of Education at a meeting two weeks ago when the evaluations were discussed.

The findings, he added, also showed that teachers with two years or less experience were more than twice as likely as experienced educators to earn partially effective ratings. That, Shulman said, is even more incentive to improve training and mentoring of new teachers.

Shulman said in his report to the state board of education that after analysis, one in 12 teachers were rated less than effective in districts that had a high concentration of low-income students. One in six teachers were rated less than effective in these priority schools or schools with the lowest performing 5 percent statewide.

Teachers rated ineffective or partially effective will be put on corrective action plans and receive extra support, according to Shulman. However, they will only have two years to improve or they could lose their jobs.

There has been concern by educators teaching challenged students that their schools would rate lower in the evaluations, but the state found no major difference in ratings for teachers of students learning the English language or special education students, Shulman reported.

Shulman, though, said the latest release of evaluation results represents a “significant step forward,” and that educators can receive meaningful feedback that provides growth.

Districts were advised by the state to carefully consider whether their scores present an accurate picture of the actual student learning taking place. To help districts facilitate this, the state will continue to provide “tailored support” to improve the goal-setting for educators.

This includes focus group listening tours to schools, achievement coaches, professional development sessions, innovation and flexibility initiatives, greater focus on principal evaluations and deeper study within the Strategic Data Project.

In the South Orange-Maplewood School District, out of 403 evaluated teachers, 263 were rated effective and 133 were rated highly effective; seven teachers in the district were rated as ineffective and/or partially effective.

Of the 120 evaluated teachers at Columbia High School, 69 were rated effective and 50 highly effective, leaving one teacher as either ineffective or partially effective.

Of the 37 evaluated teachers at Maplewood Middle School, 32 were rated effective, leaving five teachers rated as ineffective, partially effective and/or highly effective. Of the 37 evaluated teachers at South Orange Middle School, 23 were rated effective and 14 were rated highly effective, meaning no SOMS teachers were rated ineffective or partially effective.

At Clinton Elementary School and Jefferson Elementary School, which each had 33 evaluated teachers, each school saw 27 teachers rated effective, leaving six teachers at each school as ineffective, partially effective and/or highly effective. Of the 31 evaluated teachers at Marshall Elementary School, 13 were rated effective and 17 were rated highly effective, leaving one teacher as either ineffective or partially effective.

Of the 33 evaluated teachers at Seth Boyden Demonstration School, 19 were rated effective and 13 were rated highly effective, leaving one teacher as either ineffective or partially effective. Of the 36 evaluated teachers at South Mountain Annex School, 22 were rated effective and 12 were rated highly effective, leaving two teachers rated as ineffective and/or partially effective. Of the 42 evaluated teachers at Tuscan Elementary School, 30 were rated effective and 11 were rated highly effective, leaving one teacher as either ineffective or partially effective.

According to the numbers, of the 23 teachers in the district whose rating was not disclosed, at least 16 were rated highly effective at Maplewood Middle, Clinton and Jefferson, but those numbers were not disclosed as the number of highly effective teachers did not exceed nine at any of those schools.

Mary Connor

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — Mary Connor, a village resident known for being the longest-serving member of the South Orange Rescue Squad, died in her home July 17 following a short illness. She was 82.

Born in Newark in 1932, Connor spent most of her life in South Orange, eventually joining the SORS in 1969. For the next 40 years she put her heart into the organization, serving as president, captain and secretary at various times — all while saving countless lives. She retired from EMT duties in 2006 but remained involved with the administration until her death.

Aside from the SORS, Connor was active in other village groups, becoming the first lioness in the South Orange Lions Club as well as its Woman of the Year. She was also a volunteer for Our Lady of Sorrows Church and was once named South Orange Villager of the Month.

In fact, Connor was so respected in South Orange that the village lowered its flags to half-staff when she died. The SORS has also announced that it will name its new squad building after her upon its completion.

Many SORS members past and present are particularly feeling Connor’s loss. President Dan Cohen told the News-Record that she will always be remembered as a mother figure to the squad, who shaped generations of volunteers under her guidance and made the organization what it is today. She might have been a strict enforcer of the rules, but Cohen said everyone loved her and will miss her quick-witted personality.

“She had a great sense of humor,” Cohen said in a July 22 phone interview. “She was a tough cookie, but she really cared deeply for everybody. Underneath her tough exterior you knew she was looking out for you. And she basically dedicated 40 years of her life to putting other people ahead of herself, taking care of her community.”

Former SORS President Sherry Weintraub agreed that the squad was Connor’s life, pointing out that she went above and beyond to help others. For that, Weintraub said, she was truly a “one-of-a-kind person.”

“To me, she is ‘Saint Mary’ because she gave up her life for the people of South Orange who needed help,” Weintraub told the News-Record in a July 24 phone interview. “She was always there, day or night. She missed a lot of family parties and a lot of family dinners. She was a selfless person.”

Connor made a lot of friends as a result of that commitment, according to former SORS President Sharon Mayers Schwarz. Mayers Schwarz recalled remarking to Connor that she was like the mayor of the village after hearing dozens of people call out to her while riding in a St. Patrick’s Day parade. Everyone around town loved her, Mayers Schwarz said.

That included Mayers Schwarz, who developed a close friendship with Connor while riding in the ambulance with her for nearly 30 years. She said she has many fond memories of working with her, from delivering babies to saving a person’s life with CPR. She said sometimes they would get calls while swimming in the pool, so they would have to run out, pull their jumpsuits on and dash to the rig without even drying off.

“It’s difficult because every time I see one of our rigs in town, I have so many memories of Mary and me riding together all those years,” Mayers Schwarz told the News-Record in a July 24 phone interview. “She will be missed.”

That sentiment was echoed by former SORS President Lawrence Bernstein, who served as Connor’s crew chief when she first started volunteering. After years working together, Bernstein told the News-Record he will always remember her as a “fabulous” worker and as a person who was adroit at her job and treated everyone with the utmost respect. Overall, he said he cannot praise her enough for her contributions to the squad.

“She was the best,” Bernstein said in a July 27 phone interview. “She did more for the squad than any other individual in the history of the squad.”

Connor is survived by her sister, Jane O’Donoghue; her nephew, John O’Donoghue; her cousin, Henry Touhey; and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, niece and four brothers, including Peter Connor, who posthumously won the Congressional Medal of Honor for diving on top of a grenade in Vietnam. The Peter S. Connor Memorial Swimming Pool was named in his honor.

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — Everyone is somehow connected to Kevin Bacon, according to the famous Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon parlour game. But not many people can say they have stolen his car.

James Freedson-Jackson is one of the few who can, though it happened in a movie of course. In the new film “Cop Car,” in theaters Aug. 7 and on video on demand Aug. 14, the 13-year-old South Orange native plays a wayward youth who comes across an abandoned police vehicle with his friend and decides to take it on a joyride. But what starts out as an afternoon of fun soon turns deadly when the corrupt sheriff who owns the car, played by Bacon, starts desperately hunting the boys down, willing to do anything it takes to get back the car and what he is keeping in its trunk.

Though they might have played adversaries onscreen, James told the News-Record that his relationship with Bacon on the set was a completely different story. In fact, he said the Golden Globe-winning star was fun to be around.

“Kevin’s a really cool guy and a really cool actor,” James said in an Aug. 2 phone interview. “During a break off camera he would tell us only clean jokes. He taught us how to drum. He has a band called the Bacon Brothers, so he would teach us songs from that. And I actually went to one of his concerts recently because he was in South Orange at SOPAC, and we went backstage afterwards and we talked about the movie and how we were all really excited for it to come out.”

The whole experience making “Cop Car” was exciting for James, as it was his first feature film. Though he has been performing for most of his life — his past credits include singing with Bruno Mars during the Super Bowl halftime show as well as appearing in “Oliver” at the Paper Mill Playhouse — the young actor said he had never done anything close to starring in a lead role in a movie, so he spent much of the time watching others and learning how to behave on set. He said the biggest lessons he took away were always to be prepared and to get along with co-stars.

The latter rule was easy for him to follow when it came to Hays Welford, the other young star of the film. James said they became close friends during the course of filming and remain so today, and that Hays even attended his bar mitzvah. He added that said the two plan to become screenwriting partners when they grow up, demonstrating the type of bond they formed on set.

“It’s nice to have your own kind around to talk to,” James said. “We were already best friends when we first met. On the car trip to our hotel that we were going to stay at, we were just talking all about old movies. Everything we talked about we totally related.”

James was not so similar to his “Cop Car” character Travis. In order to get into character, he said he would think about what kind of a boy would be dumb enough to do things such as steal a police vehicle and jokingly point a loaded gun at his friend, all while having a ton of laughs. As a result, he said he was able to create a character that was mischievous yet innocent at the same time.

One scene not so innocent, however, was the cursing contest between the two young characters, which James actually counted as his favorite part of filming because it gave him the chance to say words he never says in his actual life.

In fact, his father John Freedson told the News-Record that his son was actually reluctant to curse until he gave him
permission. But even Freedson had to admit some of those swears were quite inappropriate, though James had an answer to that.

“I said ‘Yeah, you know what’s inappropriate? Seventh grade,’” James recalled.

Cursing contests or not, Freedson said watching his son act in the film was an amazing experience. As a producer for the cult favorite “Forbidden Broadway” parody show, he said he has watched James grow up in the theater and always knew he was talented. But seeing him on the big screen for the first time when “Cop Car” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival was something else entirely, he said.

“The first time they did a close-up on his face, I got very choked up,” Freedson said in an Aug. 2 phone interview. “It was partly because I know that face — I’ve known it since the day he was born. He has a little freckle under his eye, and you can see it on the screen. I thought ‘That’s our boy.’ It was just very moving to see. And, of course, I was very proud of the work that he did.”

Freedson added that he is proud to support James as he continues to pursue a professional acting career, which he is well on his way to doing. Aside from “Cop Car,” he recently appeared in an episode of the popular NBC series “The Blacklist” and will soon be seen in the upcoming Marvel-Netflix series “AKA Jessica Jones,” in which he plays a villain as a child.

Looking ahead, James said he dreams of attending New York University’s film school and Yale University’s drama school. But until then, he said he will continue to live the life of a normal boy in South Orange, making movies with his friend and only talking about his acting career if someone asks him about it.

As for that career, James said he loves working and hopes to do so for the rest of his life. And he said he’d like to continue playing the complex characters that his critically-acclaimed performance in “Cop Car” demonstrated he is capable of taking on.

“When you’re doing that intense kind of stuff, it’s really fun,” James said. “It’s really fun to act intense, to be a different person for a day or two or month even. It’s fun to do those kinds of things. It’s fun to change your way of living for a little bit and put yourself in other people’s shoes.”

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — Some members of the South Orange Board of Trustees were displeased following a presentation from the Board of Health recommending that the village not pursue Trap-Neuter-Release, in which feral cats are caught, spayed or neutered, vaccinated, and returned whence they came.

After giving a PowerPoint presentation and addressing the BOT, the BOH members said they did not think TNR would be helpful in South Orange — and could even be harmful. The three BOH representatives at the meeting — President Dr. David Pitman, Dr. David Thomas and Dean Kameros of Novartis — emphasized multiple times that, as members of the Board of Health, their main concern is the safety and health of South Orange’s residents. So, while caring for cats is important to them, it takes a backseat to South Orange residents’ quality of life.

“I’m a cat lover,” Thomas said at the meeting. “I’ve had cats pretty much my entire life and I’m not going to come up here and take any kind of a pro-euthanasia stance, so everybody can go ahead and relax about that. But I’m very concerned that this, as a solution, really doesn’t seem to work when we look at it from the position of taking the health of the community as the most important issue.”

“The township comes first. Our love is for the citizens,” Pitman agreed. “I love my neighbors more than I love my cats.”
Before explaining why they were against TNR, the BOH representatives explained some of the issues surrounding feral cats, which was met with pushback from audience members.

According to the BOH, feral cats, which are defined as cats that have escaped from a domestic or captive environment and now live as wild animals, are dangerous to the public because of the various zoonotic diseases they carry and can transfer to humans. Chief among those diseases are rabies, toxoplasmosis, ringworm and cat-scratch fever, which Thomas himself said he had contracted as a child.

Cats, both feral and domestic, are susceptible to contracting rabies, which has no cure and is nearly always fatal. The BOH representatives pointed out that South Orange has had two recent incidents of raccoons testing positive for rabies, one in October 2014 and the other in May 2015. They also reminded the audience and BOT that cats are more likely than dogs to contract rabies, with domestic and feral cats accounting for 90 percent of the domestic animal rabies cases in New Jersey since 1989.

Pitman added that, just because an animal is vaccinated against rabies, does not mean they will always be immune; just as with many other immunizations, boosters are required. Cats who have gone through TNR are ear-tipped, but it can be difficult then to keep them rabies-free as the ear-tipping doesn’t show whether they are due for boosters.

Additionally, contact with cat feces can infect humans with toxoplasmosis, which can have serious adverse effects on human fetuses and immunocompromised humans. According to the Centers for Disease Control, scientists have found a link between toxoplasmosis and schizophrenia.

“Rabies is horrible. We don’t want our citizens to get rabies, or a pregnant citizen to contract toxoplasmosis from handling cats,” Pitman said. “We don’t want our citizens, even our very well-intentioned citizens who like TNR, to be hurt through contact with a diseased animal.”

“I believe that these diseases are so devastating that, even a single person getting infected, is just simply not a good enough trade,” Thomas said. “Until we can 100-percent guarantee the safety of the township, I don’t think we can implement this.”

But several audience members, including Union veterinarian Karen Negrin, who is an animal control officer in Morristown, found the disease argument to be flimsy, as housecats can also contract rabies and toxoplasmosis. In fact, as toxoplasmosis is transmitted through feces, cat owners are more likely to contract it from emptying their cat’s litterbox. Negrin also pointed out that a lot of people have already been exposed to toxoplasmosis. As for rabies, Negrin was clear that, while cats can contract rabies and thereby pass it on, they are not carriers of the illness. In her many years as a veterinarian, Negrin said she has never seen a cat with rabies, but does see raccoons and bats with the illness.

Beyond disease, the BOH explained that feral cats can negatively impact the environment, hunting native species and competing for food with other native species. Additionally, feral cats are a nuisance, as they often become loud and spray pungent territory-marking liquids when they are mating.

Negrin pointed out, however, that removing cats can also affect an ecosystem, especially one that has adapted to having feral cats. She said that in Union, where TNR is not done, the mouse and rat populations have increased with the removal of cats.

After looking at the negatives of keeping feral cats around, the BOH looked at TNR and it simply does not believe that TNR works, stating that they do not believe there are enough credible scientific papers supporting TNR, and that many organizations, such as PETA and the NJ Association of County and City Health Officials, oppose TNR.

Several audience members disagreed with the BOH’s appraisal of TNR, saying that it has certainly worked in their towns. Len Twist of Kearny, who helps run that municipality’s TNR program, said that from November through December 2014, the town saw a 50-percent reduction in feral cats; in the first quarter of 2015, they saw a 60-percent reduction; and in the second quarter of 2015, they saw a 54-percent reduction.

Judy Stier of West Orange added that, although her township has only been using TNR for six weeks, they have already trapped 17 cats and 12 kittens. West Orange is currently poised to adopt TNR, but its legislative body has not yet passed the ordinance to do so.

Nevertheless, the BOH stated that TNR does not reduce the risk of disease transmission or even reduce the feral cat population, citing the fact that the cats would be returned; that not nearly enough cats could reasonably be sterilized to prevent population growth and even decrease it; and that with residents feeding cats, cats from neighboring towns could potentially move in.

According to the BOH’s presentation, a successful TNR program would need to sterilize between 71 and 94 percent of an area’s cats, “levels that are rarely reached in real-world scenarios.”
Trustee Walter Clarke questioned this aspect however, asking: “Isn’t neutering a step in the right direction? Doesn’t it eventually achieve the goal?”

But Kameros was quick to point out that animals from other towns could immigrate to South Orange. He also added that it would work if all the feral cats could be caught, but that not nearly enough could be caught and, with the relaxation of feeding bans, South Orange would become a more attractive locale for the animals, thereby increasing the feral cat population.

Trustee Mark Rosner asked if this problem could be averted if all nearby towns orchestrated their TNR efforts, but the BOH representatives simply said no to that.

They added that TNR does not protect the cats that are returned, and that those cats will still face the grim future of predation, automobile accidents, disease, freezing to death and starvation.

The BOH also argued that TNR programs foster less responsible domestic cat ownership. Kameros argued that if residents know feral cats are being cared for, they are more likely to put out unwanted pets.

Negrin suggested a fine for owners caught abandoning cats outside, as is done in Morristown. She did concede, however, that it can be difficult to catch pet owners in the act.

The Board of Health reps maintained that feral cats are not currently a huge problem in South Orange. But, if TNR were to be implemented, Kameros asked, “Would a problem be created where there isn’t one now?”

Village President Sheena Collum disagreed with Kameros though. “I think we’re ignoring the problem,” Collum said, adding that although only five feral cats are picked up by animal control each month, she can point to five feral cats just on her block.

In the end the BOH recommended that, instead of implementing a TNR program, the village should continue to require licensing of all cats; consider microchipping cats in the future; encourage cat owners to keep their cats indoors, in an enclosure or on a leash; continue to prohibit public feeding and sheltering; continue to enforce the maximum number of pets; prevent the establishment of managed cat colonies in wildlife-sensitive ecosystems; and increase public education and awareness.

The BOH believes that capturing cats and working to adopt them out is still the best cat-management policy. They maintain that, until they see more scientific evidence that TNR works, they cannot recommend it.

But Collum remained unconvinced and asked the Board of Health to continue considering the matter and to look at any information the public should send them either for or against TNR.

“If people come and have good ideas, of course we’ll listen to them,” Pitman said.

Clarke also reminded residents that there are many levels of gray to this issue. “Don’t buy into the false dichotomy that you’re either pro-TNR or pro-Board of Health.”

The Board of Health will meet again Thursday, Sept. 17, at 7:30 p.m. and residents are invited to share their opinions and ideas. The meeting will likely be held at the temporary village offices on the third floor of 76 South Orange Ave., but may be moved to a larger venue if enough residents express interest in attending.

And Collum urged residents to speak to the BOH. She said that she could not understand how more than 150 municipalities have made TNR work and how organizations like Sustainable Jersey can support TNR, and yet the BOH says TNR does not work.

Collum questioned why, if TNR does not work, townships like Maplewood, Millburn, Livingston, West Caldwell, Verona, Montclair, Bloomfield and Nutley have implemented it. “Is it that because of political pressure they caved? Are they making bad public health decisions for their towns? Do they not get it and we do?

“I’ve spoken to six mayors now; they’re claiming it’s a success. It’s better. It’s better at controlling the population. In some instances, it’s cheaper,” Collum continued.

The one thing that the Board of Health, the Board of Trustees and the audience could agree on is that something must be done, because current feral cat feeding bans and requirements to have all housecats licensed is not doing the job.

MAPLEWOOD/SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — South Orange and Maplewood are in for an exciting election season, with nine candidates running for the three open seats on the South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education; additionally, Maplewood residents must decide between three candidates for two open Maplewood Township Committee seats. Election Day is Nov. 3.

According to Essex County Clerk Christopher Durkin in an email last week, nine South Orange and Maplewood residents filed to run in the Board of Education last week by the July 27 deadline.

Board President Wayne Eastman of South Orange and first Vice President Madhu Pai Maplewood are both running for re-election. Eastman is looking to be elected for a fourth term, while Pai seeks a second term. They will be campaigning with challenger Margaret Freedson of South Orange.

Current board member Jeffrey Bennett, a stalwart advocate for equal funding from the state for all districts, will not be running for re-election.

Also running together are Shannel Roberts and Marian Raab of Maplewood and Elissa Malespina of South Orange. Some residents may remember that Malespina had indicated a desire to run last year, but dropped out of the race early on to focus on publishing a book about augmented reality in education and how to bring technology into the classroom.

Additionally, Annemarie Maini of South Orange and Chris Sabin of Maplewood will be running a joint campaign. Dorcas Lind
of Maplewood is running a solo campaign.

In Maplewood, Democrats Greg Lembrich and Nancy Adams, both challengers, will be running against Republican Phyllis Scalera, also a challenger, for the two open seats on the Township Committee.

Deputy Mayor Kathleen Leventhal will not run for re-election, and Committeeman Jerry Ryan, who has served on the committee for 19 years, was defeated by Lembrich and running mate Adams in the primary election.

Residents can register to vote by visiting http://www.essexclerk.com/election_registration.html.

MAPLEWOOD/SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education President Wayne Eastman and first Vice President Madhu Pai will be running for re-election in November with newcomer Margaret “Peggy” Freedson, a professor of education at Montclair State University. Current board member Jeffrey Bennett will not be running for re-election.

As a strategic marketing specialist who serves as senior vice president and group director for Publicis, one of the largest global advertising holding companies, Pai, a Maplewood resident, has nearly 20 years of experience building brands and communications programs to support customer loyalty and revenue growth. She holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from SUNY Plattsburgh. Pai has lived in both Maplewood and in South Orange with her husband, Nikhil, and their two children, a daughter who is a rising sixth-grader at South Orange Middle School and a son who will enter Jefferson the fall as a third-grader.

Pai’s passion for excellence in education began before she had children. In high school, she was a peer tutor and, in her 20s, she worked with at-risk children in the New York City public high schools via the Minds Matter program. Once she moved to Maplewood, Pai immersed herself in her children’s schools, leading the Parent Advisory Group at the South Mountain YMCA and becoming an active member of the Marshall-Jefferson PTA and Executive Board. She has been a member of the BOE since May 2012 and has served as the board’s first vice president since January.

“Over my three plus years on the board, I’ve enjoyed working with Wayne, Jeff Bennett and all our colleagues on behalf of all the children of our district, as well as on behalf of our tax-stressed residents,” Pai said in a press release. “Now, I’m excited about campaigning with Wayne and our new running mate, Peggy Freedson, who brings a depth of knowledge and a commitment to teaching and curriculum that make her a worthy replacement for Jeff. I look forward to the opportunity to lead going forward with Wayne, Peggy, newly hired Superintendent John Ramos, and everyone on the board and in the community over the next three years. I believe we have a great chance in Maplewood and South Orange to combine the values of access and accountability in practical ways that will make our district a nationally recognized beacon.”

Freedson is a professional educator who began her career as an elementary school teacher with the Los Angeles Public Schools, where she primarily served Spanish-speaking children from low-income families. Since 2003 she has been a full-time faculty member at Montclair State University, where she prepares preschool and elementary-teaching candidates in language arts literacy education. A 1987 graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, she holds an M.Ed. in international education and an Ed.D. in language and literacy from Harvard University. She lives in South Orange with her husband and their two children, a rising 10th-grader at Columbia High School and a rising third-grader at South Mountain Elementary.

From 1993 to 1995, Freedson worked in Mexico as principal investigator on a research project for the Mexican Ministry of Education on Mayan-speaking students, which resulted in a book. As a member of the Department of Early Childhood, Elementary and Literacy Education at Montclair State University, Freedson has worked with program administrators and in-service teachers throughout New Jersey, providing training on effective teaching for young English language learners and on language arts literacy. She has mentored student-teachers in elementary classrooms in Essex County, and she currently teaches in the Newark Urban Teacher Residency Program. She has served as a frequent class parent, in-class volunteer, and three-year co-chairwoman of the South Orange Middle School book fair.

“As a former elementary school teacher in Los Angeles, whose career has been devoted to preparing preschool and elementary school teachers, I believe strongly in the power of great teaching to inspire a lifelong love of learning and to transform children’s lives,” Freedson said in the release. “Like many parents throughout the community, I see the South Orange-Maplewood schools as storehouses of enormous teaching and student talent, but also as places of inconsistency and unfulfilled promise for many students. A successful Board of Education is a collaborative team that takes advantage of diverse skills. I have much to learn from Wayne, Madhu and all the other board veterans — at the same time, I am confident that my skills and my passion for learning and teaching will allow me to make a constructive contribution to the governance of the district right away.”

Before becoming a professor at Rutgers Business School-Newark and New Brunswick, Eastman, who teaches business ethics and business law, worked as a community organizer in St. Louis, a prosecutor of white-collar crime in Manhattan, a Wall Street litigator and a National Labor Relations Board attorney in Newark. A graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School, Eastman has two children, who graduated from Columbia High School in 2009 and 2011, and is married to Darcy Hall, a high school English teacher in Passaic County.

After moving to South Orange from Newark in 1992, Eastman became active in Friends and Neighbors and the Community Coalition on Race, and ran real estate tests as president of MUSE, a nonprofit corporation affiliated with the CCR. He was the founding president, and is now the secretary, of GlobalSOMA, a nonprofit corporation established in 2011 to promote and celebrate Maplewood and South Orange as global communities. He has served on the South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education since 2006, and has been its president since January.

“In my first two terms on the board from 2006 to 2012, I worked with my colleagues and with the superintendent we hired to lift student academic achievement — when I first ran, two of our elementary schools had lower scores than the school in Newark my children would have gone to if we’d stayed there — and to support statewide reform to hold administrators and all educators accountable,” Eastman said in the press release. “Since 2012, and since 2015 as board president, I’ve worked with Madhu, Jeff and others to foster the next wave of progress for our schools, which I believe will combine themes of choice, faculty governance, business and career education, global awareness, and innovation to respond to serious fiscal constraints.

I’m happy to be on a slate with Madhu and Peggy, and I’m grateful to have an opportunity to continue to serve our children and our community.”

MAPLEWOOD/SOUTH ORANGE — Thirty-nine teens and their parents gathered Thursday, July 30, at Columbia High School for the Cougar Prep graduation. Cougar Prep is four-week high school readiness program for incoming freshmen; the collaboration between the South Orange-Maplewood School District and The Loft, managed by FAMILYConnections, prepares rising eighth-graders for the transition from middle school to high school.

“Cougar Prep is part of FAMILYConnections’ ongoing partnership with CHS to provide teens with academic and life skills support,” FAMILYConnections Executive Director Jacques Hryshko said in a release. “This was a great year with a great group of kids. They took part in morning academics with CHS teachers and life skills training and recreation sponsored by The Loft. We congratulate each of them on their hard work and wish them well as they begin their freshman year.”

CHS Principal Elizabeth Aaron and Assistant Principal Michael Healy congratulated students on their successful completion of the Cougar Prep program, reminding them that they have received 1.25 high school credits for satisfying program requirements.

Cougar Prep delivers intensive academics paired with recreation and small group discussions on life skills, healthy decision making, anger management, goal-setting and consequences to actions. Presentations by CHS administration, guidance and security, the Maplewood Police Department, the Sheriff’s Office, David’s Shoes and FAMILYConnections’ Clean and Cool Program focused on expectations, alcohol and drugs, violence, gangs, and good decision making.

The Loft at CHS is funded by the Department of Children and Families, Division of Family and Community Partnerships. Investors Bank provided funding for Cougar Prep.

For more information about The Loft, call 973-762-5600, ext. 1188.

Photo by Sean Quinn
With no handicapped parking available and a 15-minute limit on current parking, South Orange residents have difficulties visiting the government’s temporary offices.

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — South Orange is planning to add two dedicated handicapped parking spaces to Academy Street as close as possible to the front of 76 South Orange Ave., where the temporary Village Hall offices are located, by the end of this year in response to the concerns of residents and its own officials that there is not enough accessibility in the area.

Deputy Village Administrator Adam Loehner told the News-Record that the village engineering department is currently investigating and designing the improvements that would be required to turn two of the 15-minute parking spots reserved for Village Hall into handicapped parking spots, including ramping the sidewalk and painting. When completed, Loehner said the new spaces should provide easy access to the front door facing South Orange Avenue, which is the building’s only ADA accessible entrance due to the codes and legal requirements at the time of its construction.

The current handicapped spots are farther down Academy Street, which is why the village is seeking to remedy the situation with the additional spots, Village President Sheena Collum said.

“The village is committed to addressing the parking needs of our residents, both for visiting our municipal offices and shopping in our downtown,” Collum told the News-Record in an Aug. 6 email. “We are particularly sensitive to the needs of our handicapped community, and I have asked our village engineer to evaluate and identify a solution to create ADA-compliant accessible spots close to the accessible front entrance to the building in which our offices are located.”

The plan to expand handicapped parking comes while residents continue to complain about the overall parking situation in the area, including accessibility. Jackie Herships is one such resident who informed the village of her concerns, telling the News-Record that it is difficult for people with handicapped placards, like herself, to walk long distances. It is therefore important that handicapped spots be located as close as possible to the entrance to 76 South Orange Ave., Herships said, which is currently not the case.

But the additional spaces do not solve the larger problem that Herships and other residents have — the general lack of parking for residents who need to visit the temporary Village Hall offices. According to Manuel Aguilar, a super for 76 South Orange Ave. who is employed by building owner South Orange Properties LLC, the parking deck connected to the property contains only spaces reserved specifically for building tenants — there is simply no room for outside patrons to park there. In fact, Aguilar said illegal parkers are ticketed and towed, and a guard hired by PNC Bank also patrols the deck to enforce bank parking.

According to Loehner, South Orange residents visiting the Village Hall offices are currently restricted to seven unmetered spots on Academy Street, each allowing for 15-minute parking, though he said that time limit can be extended upon request. After two of those spaces are converted into handicapped parking, there will be only five unmetered spots available for able-bodied visitors to Village Hall. There are also a number of metered spaces on First Street, Irvington Avenue and Academy, he said.

But that is not enough, according to some residents. Herships recalled a recent visit to the Village Hall offices during which she was told by the PNC guard that she was not allowed to park in the parking deck unless she was there on bank business, even though she had a handicapped placard. She said that she was lucky enough to find one of the 15-minute spots on Academy Street, but residents looking to park during more crowded hours would have a problem.

“It’s not a good thing,” Herships said in an Aug. 6 phone interview. “Village Hall should be accessible to villagers.”

Herships acknowledged that the situation is difficult, and that the village is not to blame. She said that she just hopes the village can negotiate with South Orange Properties to obtain parking spaces within the lot, suggesting that the building owner could buy back some of the leased spots or somehow make concessions.

But that will not be possible, according to Loehner. The deputy village administrator said that when the village was negotiating the terms of its lease, it expressed an interest in obtaining as many spaces in the parking deck as it could, only to be told that there were actually no spots that were not already leased.

Loehner said the only way for the village to provide additional Village Hall parking would be to take away metered spaces used by shoppers, which he said is not an option.

“At this time, with the exception of the need to improve ADA access as we have acknowledged, we have not perceived an excess demand for Village Hall business sufficient to justify removing the publicly available metered spaces,” Loehner told the News-Record in an Aug. 7 email.

The village’s downtown area will soon receive an influx of parking, however. Loehner pointed out that upon completion of the Third and Valley redevelopment and its parking deck, there will be 255 new public parking spots. These include approximately 220 commuter permit spaces and 35 hourly spots.

Photo by Shanee Frazier
Jordan Stettner of Dining Wild, a company co-owned by Dan Lipow of Maplewood and Ralph DiMeo, prepares a mushroom sample for customers at the South Orange Farmers Market. DiMeo and Lipow sell mushrooms that they forage from local wooded areas.

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — Local vendors offering freshly made veggie burgers, unique offerings of mushroom varieties, and homemade pastas are just a few of the reasons the South Orange Farmers Market was recognized by the state Wednesday, Aug. 5, in honor of National Farmers Market Week.

New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Douglas H. Fisher, acting Health Commissioner Cathleen D. Bennett and U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Patricia Dombroski marked Farmers Market Week with a visit to the South Orange Farmers Market.

“With an abundance of Jersey Fresh fruits and vegetables available right now, farmers markets are some of the best places to find just-picked produce and meet the farmer who grew it,” Fisher said in a recent press release. “Farmers markets like the South Orange market also are important sources of income for our farmers and help sustain our state’s agriculture industry.”

Gov. Chris Christie had proclaimed Aug. 2 through 8 as Farmers Market Week in New Jersey; U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, likewise, proclaimed the same time span as National Farmers Market Week to remind consumers to visit these markets during the summer and fall.

The South Orange Farmers Market, now in its 24th season, is hosted by the South Orange Village Center Alliance, the not-for-profit management entity of the Special Improvement District. It is open weekly on Wednesdays, from 2 to 7:30 p.m., in the Sloan Street Parking Lot across from the NJ Transit station.

In an interview with the News-Record, SOVCA Executive Director Bob Zuckerman discussed what SOVCA does to draw residents of South Orange and the surrounding communities back each year.

“We kicked this season off with a promotion that provided a discount to the first 200 people that came to the market,” Zuckerman said. “People have been responding well to that, as well as our newest vendors.”

Three of the newest vendors this year include Dining Wild, Nicola’s Pasta Fresca and Jersey City Veggie Burgers.

“Nicola’s Pasta Fresca and Jersey City Veggie Burgers both use ingredients found in local markets to create their items, and local restaurants utilize the large variety of mushrooms available at Dining Wild,” Zuckerman said. “This market is really the heart of sustainability.”

Dining Wild, a vendor that specializes in assorted mushroom varieties, is one of the new kids on the block at the South Orange Farmers Market.

“I grew up picking berries and going clamming,” Dining Wild partner Dan Lipow said in a recent interview with the News-Record. “I always loved cooking and I was the Iron Chef in my group of friends, the one that they would bring unusual ingredients to and ask me to create something out of it.”

Lipow became interested in the idea of dining wild more than a decade ago, but it wasn’t until a fortuitous meeting with his current business partner, Ralph DiMeo, in the South Mountain Reservation that he truly began to pursue this approach to food. Additionally, each summer Lipow leads hikes at the reservation to teach locals which items growing in the woods can be safely eaten.

Lipow, a Maplewood resident, has been a Rutgers University Master Gardener for more than two years, believing that it would be a great way to learn more about plants and focus his foraging efforts.

In addition to participating in local farmers markets in South Orange, Millburn, Jersey City, Grove Street, and Morris County and Sparta in the winters, Dining Wild also supplies their bounty to local restaurants, including Ricalton’s, the popular South Orange pub.

“We decided that since we went legit in the market scene, we would go legit in the restaurant scene,” Lipow said.

A former professional photographer, Lipow said there are two parts to Dining Wild: the sale of items from their foraging expeditions, and educational walks and talks about eating and dining wild.

For more information about Dining Wild, visit its Facebook and Instagram pages.

In similar fashion, Nicholas DiGiorgio of Nicola’s Pasta Fresca has transformed childhood memories of making homemade pasta dishes with his family into an opportunity to share his knowledge with others.

In a recent phone interview with the News-Record, DiGiorgio talked about getting his start in the pasta business. A native of Kenilworth, DiGiorgio was working at Brownie Points Bakery in Summit when he saw an opportunity to market the homemade products he had been creating since he was a child.

“This is my third year making pastas as a business,” DiGiorgio said. “They were well received at the first market I did, and slowly and progressively we have started doing more markets.”

In addition to farmers markets in South Orange, Westfield and Roseland, Nicola’s Pasta Fresca can also be found year-round at the Meat House in Summit.

Like many of the other vendors who create homemade products for sale at the markets, DiGiorgio insists on using only local ingredients in his cooking.

“I’m slowly getting my name out there, and I believe that using local ingredients is important to sustain the farms and to really add value to the product being made,” he said.

For more information, visit www.nicolaspastafresca.com.

Although Jersey City Veggie Burger owner Liz Migliore did not grow up forming patties out of various fruits and vegetables, they are certainly the end result of her life experiences.

A former travel agent, Migliore said in a recent interview with the News-Record that her burger creations are greatly influenced by her far-reaching travels.

“I started developing recipes four years ago,” Migliore said. “Three years ago, I started doing farmers markets, and now they’re my bread and butter.”

Jersey City Veggie Burgers offers three kinds of burgers: sweet potato collard green, white bean broccoli rabe and Three Sisters, a southwestern blend. Each has a story behind the ingredients used and is born out of Migliore’s professional experiences traveling the world, as well as her childhood memories of favorite dishes.

Migliore uses local organic ingredients in her dishes, including peppers and collards from fellow South Orange Farmers Market vendor Alstede Farms.

In addition to selling sliders freshly cooked at the market, customers can also buy fresh patties to take with them to prepare at home.

JSVC can also be found at farmers markets in Lincoln Park, Maplewood, Princeton and Riverview, as well as the restaurants Left Bank Burger Bar in Jersey City and Mikie Squared Bar & Grill in Hoboken.

For more information, visit www.jerseycityveggieburgers.com.

Supporters of Nikhil’s Law encourage everyone to remain mindful while driving and always stop at stop signs.

WEST ORANGE / SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — It has been four years since 11-year-old Nikhil Badlani died in a car crash in South Orange, but his parents will always vividly remember his beautiful smile.

In fact, according to Sangeeta and Sunil Badlani, it is nearly impossible to recall a time when their son was not smiling. He smiled when he received his usual straight-A report cards and when he learned about animals, his favorite subject. He smiled whenever he would help the younger children entering Gregory Elementary School in his native West Orange for the first time, going out of his way to make them feel welcome. He even won an award during a Boy Scout trip for smiling — no matter what task he was asked to complete.

Simply put, Nikhil always had a smile on his face, which Sangeeta Badlani said underscores exactly the type of person he was.

“Nikhil was truly a very special kid,” Sangeeta Badlani told the News-Record in an Aug. 6 phone interview. “Anything that he put his heart into, he gave 100 percent to it. He was very kind and generous, and generally got along with everybody.

“Every parent would wish for a child like him,” she said.

And now, thanks to his parents, Nikhil’s smile is not the only legacy he has left behind. On Aug. 4, acting Gov. Kim Guadagno signed Nikhil’s Law into effect during a ceremony at the Randolph Motor Vehicle Commission after four years of effort on behalf of the Badlanis to get the bill developed and passed; it was passed unanimously earlier this year by both the New Jersey General Assembly and state Senate.

As a result, the law now requires that state driver’s license exams include a question asking takers whether they are aware of the dangers of not following state motor vehicle laws as well as whether they know about the STOP for Nikhil Safety Pledge created by the Nikhil Badlani Foundation. The pledge is 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 act 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 law.

Overall, the act seeks to prevent traffic accidents from occurring by urging people to keep in mind what could happen when they drive distracted. As Guadagno said before signing the law, being careful can prevent someone else from dying like Nikhil, who was killed after a driver ran a stop sign in South Orange.

“We all wish that we could prevent every car accident, every serious injury, every fatality,” Guadagno said. “We know that we can’t, but that doesn’t mean we won’t try. A moment of caution can make all the difference. This bill will send Nikhil’s message not just to our youngest drivers, but all of our drivers. And, hopefully, the Badlanis’ tragedy will help prevent other families from enduring such hardships.”

Prevention is precisely why Nikhil’s Law was crafted, according to the Badlanis, who wished to create a nonpunitive measure following their son’s death that would reduce the number of traffic fatalities in New Jersey. According to the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety, that number totaled more than 550 in 2014, with nearly 265,000 accidents in all and almost 76,000 injuries. As for national statistics, a two-year National Highway Traffic Safety Administration study also found that of approximately 10,000 fatalities that occurred at traffic signals, 20 percent of drivers failed to obey the light and 13 percent had failed to yield the right of way. And an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety study found that of the 700,000 crashes that happened over a four-year period, 70 percent were caused by vehicles that ran through stop signs.

It is the Badlanis’ hope that taking the STOP for Nikhil pledge — which more than 1,000 people have done since it was launched in 2011 — will prevent future crashes from happening by making people aware of how their actions on the road affect others, Sunil Badlani explained. It may seem like a simple solution to a major problem, but he pointed out that a little mindfulness goes a long way.

“When they read the pledge and sign on to it, the thought is that once it enters their head they will be more inclined to follow it,” Sunil Badlani told the News-Record in an Aug. 6 phone interview. “Even if they don’t actually commit to it, the fact that they read it — if they read it sincerely — plants the thought into their head. And that’s why I think it will work over time.”

Assemblyman John F. McKeon, who represents the state’s 27th Legislative District, worked closely with the Badlanis to create Nikhil’s Law, agreed that the act should serve as an effective reminder of how one should behave when behind the wheel. After all, McKeon said, there is a big difference between knowing the state’s traffic laws and following them. The act will hopefully bridge that gap, he said. The 27th Legislative District includes the towns of Maplewood, South Orange, West Orange, Millburn and Livingston, among others.

In addition, the assemblyman said he is pleased to see the Badlanis’ efforts finally pay off with the law’s signing, adding that they should be praised for all that they did to bring it about.

“I have so much respect for the family and how they took what is an unspeakable tragedy and summoned the strength to find a reason for it in all of their efforts,” McKeon told the News-Record in an Aug. 6 phone interview. “It’s really, to me, what’s extraordinary about this. The profound sadness of the loss of that young man will hopefully — through taking a moment to focus on the consequences of distracted driving and not obeying the rules of the road — lead to lives being saved in the future.”

Assemblywoman Mila M. Jasey, who also also represents the state’s 27th Legislative District, praised the Badlanis for their work, having gotten to know them over the past four years. Jasey told the News-Record that she believes Nikhil’s Law will be effective over time because it is instilling traffic safety in drivers at a young age, ensuring that it stays with them as they proceed on the roads. The fact that it was passed unanimously by the state assembly and senate demonstrates that other legislators on both sides of the aisle feel the same, she said.

“This is not a partisan issue,” Jasey said in an Aug. 6 phone interview. “I think that all the members of the legislature understood that this is something that could happen to anyone, and that whatever we can do to prevent things like this from happening we should be doing.”

Now that the law has been signed, the Badlanis said they plan to work with the Motor Vehicle Commission to make sure that the regulations behind the law are put into action effectively and in a timely fashion. They said the law is required to go into effect within seven months of the vote to pass it, so they hope that the online driving test can be revised to comply with Nikhil’s Law in that time. The printed driver’s manual might take longer to change, they said.

Aside from Nikhil’s Law, Sangeeta and Sunil Badlani said they wish to promote the pending Michelle’s Law, a bill that, if passed, would require drivers involved with a traffic fatality to submit to a blood test. The couple will also continue the work of the Nikhil Badlani Foundation, the nonprofit organization they started in the wake of their son’s death that promotes traffic safety awareness, awards academic scholarships and hosts a music program meant to carry on Nikhil’s love of music. The fifth annual STOP for Nikhil 5k Run/Walk, the foundation’s signature USATF-certified fundraising event, will be held Sept. 20.

For now, the Badlanis are simply happy that Nikhil’s Law has finally become a reality. Sunil Badlani said that he thinks his son would be proud knowing the measure is being put into effect, though he just wished Nikhil were alive to see it happen. And although he is no longer with them, Sangeeta Badlani said her son’s good-heartedness will live on through the law and the many lives it will save.

“I made a promise to him that his loss would not be in vain, and I also promised that we would change things,” Sangeeta Badlani said. “No parent should ever feel what we have felt and experienced. And, of course, he would have made a mark in this world if he was here. But since he’s not here, we have to make sure that he’s remembered for everything that he stood for.”

To learn more about the Nikhil Badlani Foundation or to take the STOP for Nikhil pledge, visit www.nikhilbadlanifoundation.org.

Photo Courtesy of Brian Bozzo

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — A group of 11 Seton Hall University students traveled to Limerick, Ireland, from July 2 through 12, to serve as servant leader ambassadors under the guidance of Christopher Kaiser, associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and built an international bond of caring between the university and Limerick.

On this second visit to Mary Immaculate College in Limerick, the Servant Leadership Experience enabled students the opportunity to develop leadership skills in their lives by serving others. The program has also traveled twice to the Alpha Boys School in Kingston, Jamaica, and the Lakota Sioux reservation in Pine Ridge, S.D.

The students who took part in the Limerick Servant Leadership Experience worked to develop and refine leadership skills and foster civic engagement. Activities were geared toward each student’s academic area of interest. Students assisted with a soup kitchen, met with Limerick Mayor Liam Galvin, worked with a local youth service organization, and worked with a local organization that empowers individuals with intellectual disabilities and autism.

“We want to continue to build servant leaders,” Kaiser said in a release. “It is our goal to help develop servant leaders with an ethical mission.” Kaiser explained that he is inspired by the university’s mission statement. “In a diverse and collaborative environment Seton Hall focuses on academic and ethical development. Seton Hall students are prepared to be leaders in their professional and community lives in a global society and are challenged by outstanding faculty, an evolving technologically advanced setting and values-centered curricula.” Kaiser wants to inspire a new generation of servant leaders. “It is all about putting the mission of Seton Hall University in action.”

The servant leaders were attracted to Limerick because it is the third-largest city in Ireland, and the poorest in the country. Of all cities in Ireland, Limerick has the highest suicide rate, homeless rate, most drug use recorded and most people on the dole, Ireland’s welfare system. “We asked ourselves why Limerick is suffering,” Kaiser said. “A servant leader is someone who recognizes the needs for the people and does the best to be a leader within that community.”

Teagan Sebba, political science major and president of the Student Government Association, worked in Moyross with the Franciscan friars in the area to run a summer camp for local youth. Moyross is a very poor neighborhood in Limerick with a history of drug dependence, violence and overall instability. When Sebba would drive to Moyross, she said that it was common for her to see houses intentionally burned down in hopes that the government would rebuild them.

“The kids that we looked after were some of the roughest I have ever dealt with, but their tough exterior was only to match their environment,” Sebba said in the release. “The hardest part, personally, was leaving after the week.”

After each day of service, the students would participate in a two-hour reflection on their experiences.
One of the most poignant experiences for Clayton Collier, a senior journalism major and WSOU 89.5 FM representative, was the opportunity to meet his Irish relatives for the first time. He traveled to the Northwestern area of Ireland in Galway and Mayo counties. “We stopped at their bed and breakfast pub, where we drew out a family tree on a piece of scrap paper to figure out how exactly we were related,” Collier said in the release. After a trip to their boathouse, they brought him to their 200-year-old farm where they looked at old family pictures and told him about the Irish side of his family.

Collier said students who met with the mayor of Limerick discussed plans for the city’s future. “It was fascinating to hear about their plans to revitalize the area and validating to hear specifically how our volunteer work would be benefiting the area.”

Each student left the experience with a new mindset, and hopes to visit Limerick again. “I’m truly grateful to Seton Hall, WSOU and particularly to Student Leadership Program for providing me with the opportunity to make this possible,” Collier said.

Kaiser stressed that authentic leaders learn it, live it, love it and then lead it. “You might not have all of the treasure in the world, but you have time and talent,” said Kaiser, who fully believes in each of his students’ abilities.

The 11 students who attended the trip are: social work student Shannon L. Beaton of Annandale; psychology student Alexandra C. Bock of Morristown; journalism student Collier of Belle Terre, N.Y.; occupations therapy and psychology student Leah M. Hafitz of Hamilton; social work student Isabella I. Hansen of Keyport; criminal justice student Jessica M. Lomonaco of Caldwell; physics and engineering student Tyler Lucas of Toms River; history and criminal justice student Michael J. McCarthy of Princeton; secondary education and English student Michelle A. McKenzie of West Orange; political science student Sebba of Fort Collins, Co.; and social work student Sierra Spriggs of East Orange.

Photo Courtesy of Michael Minor
Dwayne Ellmore, 17, of South Orange, second from left, was designated a June 2015 Student Villager of the Month at the Aug. 10 Board of Trustees meeting by Michael Minor, right, on behalf of the South Orange Community Relations Committee. Above are also proud parents Karen Deas and Steven Ellmore.

MAPLEWOOD/SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — South Orange and Maplewood are known for activism and their continuing work to promote equality. But that work is not only carried out by the adult residents. In fact, some of the most inspiring local activism has been by the two towns’ youth. On Aug. 10, at the South Orange Board of Trustees meeting, the village recognized South Orange residents Mia Goldstein, 17, and Dwayne Ellmore, 17, as the June 2015 Student Villagers of the Month.

The Villager of the Month designation is awarded to South Orange residents who make a difference in the community through volunteerism and advocacy. Recipients are considered the cream of the crop of South Orange.

And Goldstein and Ellmore, who both graduated from Columbia High School in June, certainly led their peers, taking volunteerism, advocacy, caring and involvement to a new level.

South Orange Community Relations Committee member Michael Minor presented the awards to Goldstein and Ellmore, thanking the two young people for their involvement in making South Orange-Maplewood a more equal and inviting place to live.

Minor had a lengthy list of Goldstein’s accomplishments that only served to highlight her worthiness for this designation.

“I’d like to recognize that you are an outstanding member of this community and you are, and will continue to be, an agent of change wherever you should find yourself going forward,” Minor said Aug. 10.

Among her many accomplishments, Goldstein created a documentary during her sophomore year at CHS that highlighted the how unclean the school was; rather than just write off the school as dirty, Goldstein created a video that alerted the district as to the lack of cleanliness in the school and now the school is cleaned much better. Her work won the CHS Best Documentary Award.

Goldstein said she felt she needed to create the documentary in order to bring to light the deplorable condition of the CHS bathrooms.

“I was inspired to make the documentary by the fact that going into those bathrooms once was so terrible that I never even wanted to go to the bathroom,” Goldstein told the News-Record during an Aug. 17 phone interview. She explained that she and many of her fellow students would just avoid the bathroom, rather than venture into the filthy facilities.

This is just one of many activities in which Goldstein participates to enlighten those around her. She is the outgoing director of a CHS Cable Network news program, was co-president of CHS’ Film Club and co-founded “Conversations at Columbia,” a series of forums in which students could address issues in the district and possible solutions to those problems.

Photo Courtesy of Michael Minor / Mia Goldstein, 17, of South Orange, second from left, was designated a June 2015 Student Villager of the Month at the Aug. 10 Board of Trustees meeting by Michael Minor, right, on behalf of the South Orange Community Relations Committee. Accompanying their daughter above are parents Allen Goldstein and Laura Griffin Goldstein.

Goldstein plans to double major in radio-television-film and in political science at the University of Texas at Austin, to where she traveled Aug. 17, for her freshman orientation shortly after talking to the News-Record.

Although Goldstein plans to pursue writing for television, she told the News-Record that she is still very interested in documentary filmmaking. If she were to have the means to produce high quality documentaries, Goldstein said she’d like to tackle social justice issues, racial inequalities within the United States and the failure of the U.S. education system.

Goldstein was also a member of the CHS varsity swim team for four years, is a lifeguard at the South Orange Community Pool, served as an umpire for boys’ baseball and volunteers to play music at JESPY House, a South Orange-based nonprofit that provides resources and support to adults with developmental disabilities.

But Goldstein’s greatest strength is her activism.

“Mia became an activist before she even knew or could define the word activist,” Minor said Aug. 10.

With Maplewood resident Sofia Petros, also a CHS senior at the time, Goldstein co-organized and led the peaceful protests at Columbia High School in the aftermath of the Michael Brown and Eric Garner incidents, two cases in which white police officers killed black men.

In November 2014, Goldstein and Petros organized a Columbia High School walkout in protest of the grand jury decision not to indict Ferguson, Mo., police officer Darren Wilson for the shooting death of Michael Brown. Then, in December 2014, Goldstein and Petros staged a “die-in” in response to a grand jury’s decision not to indict Staten Island police officer Daniel Pantaleo in the strangulation death of Eric Garner; for this protest, students lay quietly in CHS’ halls in solidarity with black men who have died recently at the hands of law enforcement.

Goldstein said Aug. 10 that she thinks organizing the protests are the real reason she was nominated for the Villager of the Month award.

“And I never thought I’d get an award for them — I only thought a detention, if anything,” Goldstein said Aug. 10. “I was shocked when Principal (Elizabeth) Aaron gave me a hug instead of a suspension. The fact that I marched a hundred students around the halls during third period without penalty is a testament to this community’s spirit of activism.”

As with Goldstein, Minor had many kind words to say of Dwayne Ellmore, who was born and raised in South Orange.

“It is time to honor your service, your achievements and your selfless commitment to others,” Minor told Ellmore Aug. 10, describing the young man as “an outstanding member of this community and an advocate for social justice.”

“You have earned the respect of students and adults alike, Dwayne, through your ability at such a young age to balance your time to serve those in your community, those in your school and those in your church, while also being active as both a scholar and an athlete,” Minor continued.

“This is certainly not something that I take lightly and I am very honored to be presented with this award,” Ellmore said Aug. 10.

Like Goldstein, Ellmore is committed to ensuring his peers have all the information they need. While at CHS, he produced the morning news program for the CHS Cable Network and he holds membership in the media ministry of his church, St. Matthews AME Church in Orange. Ellmore plans to study communications at Syracuse University in the fall.

In addition, Ellmore is member of his church’s Young People’s Division and has been a dedicated member of his church.

“He referred to you as a young man of deep faith and spirituality,” Minor said, echoing the words of Ellmore’s pastor, Bishop Reginald Jackson.

He was also a member of CHS’ varsity swim team and its junior varsity lacrosse team, serves as a lifeguard at the South Orange Community Pool and was a member of the National Society of High School Students.

Ellmore spends a great deal of time advocating for diversity and equality. He was very active in the Diversity Rocks club at CHS, which promoted diversity inside and outside school.

“Diversity Rocks is a group at CHS that is designed to celebrate the diversity at CHS, but also discuss the challenges that come with it,” Ellmore told the News-Record in an Aug. 16 email. “My participation in Diversity Rocks is the main way that I helped to improve the diversity and equality of the community.”

He was also a member of the CHS Minority Achievement Committee.

“Dwayne is an awesome student leader,” said MAC adviser Marcia Hicks in a statement read aloud by Minor on Aug. 10. “He has innovating ideas to help young African-American students succeed in school. He created and presented a workshop to uniors and sophomores on how to start out the year right. He also tutored other students in the MAC program. He attended the national leadership conference three times and was always a standout student at the conference.”

Ellmore also gives of himself at every opportunity, volunteering for a variety of causes, both through his church and on his own. He volunteers often at soup kitchens and participates in the “Building Homes for Heroes” program, which provides new housing for military veterans.

“I was inspired to involve myself in volunteerism as I began to see the positive impact that it has on others,” Ellmore told the News-Record. “Some of the organizations that I have volunteered for I started with because of help they requested — for example, volunteer tutoring. For other organizations, such as ‘Building Homes for Heroes,’ I got involved by at first shadowing my dad, and eventually stepping up to serve in any way that I can.”

“I hope to serve my town really well as I go off to college and in the future,” Ellmore said Aug. 10.

Both Goldstein and Ellmore felt privileged to be winning the Villager of the Month award alongside each other, as they have been friends throughout their time in the South Orange-Maplewood School District.

Ellmore joked at the award ceremony, that the two “have had a lot of exposure to each other,” mentioning their many overlapping extracurriculars. “Whenever Mia would put together one of her protests, I would always be one of the first people there. I didn’t care if it was 30 degrees outside — I was walking with her. I didn’t care if the floor of Columbia was dirty — I was laying on it.”

“It’s incredible to be here tonight, along with one of my very good friends, Dwayne. This is the greatest honor I’ve ever been given,” Goldstein said Aug. 10. “Dwayne, thank you for being the best person to share this award with. You’re a great person and your sense of humor got me through swim team and lifeguarding and chemistry.”

The two teenagers look to growing up in the South Orange-Maplewood community as a formative experience that is at least partially responsible for their activism, volunteerism and advocacy.

“I think South Orange-Maplewood is a very diverse community,” Goldstein told the News-Record. “It encourages diverse thinking and divergence from the norm. It encourages speaking out and making a difference. South Orange-Maplewood really shaped me.”
“Growing up in South Orange has exposed me to a variety of different people,” Ellmore told the News-Record. “It has caused me to be introduced to people who have inspired me to participate in community.”

MAPLEWOOD/SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — To say that Angelo Vayas was devoted to the Maplewood and South Orange community would be an understatement. In fact, those who knew the Village Trattoria proprietor remember him as someone who would do virtually anything for the two towns in which he lived and did business for years.

Whether it was contributing to local charities, sponsoring sports teams or helping fellow business owners, Vayas would go out of his way for his community, always with his signature smile on his face.

His death from brain cancer at the age of 50 in May left a void in the community as large as his generosity, according to his friends, but his philanthropic legacy will not be forgotten. Indeed, after years of his giving to Maplewood and South Orange, residents will soon be returning the favor to a cause he held dear.

The GenWealth Group, a Maplewood-based investment adviser, has just opened registration for a memorial walk it is sponsoring in Vayas’ honor Saturday, Sept. 12, as part of its GenWealth Walks for Hope program. Residents who pay the required $50 minimum donation will become eligible to participate in the 3-mile guided walk through Maplewood Village in addition to receiving a pre-walk breakfast and commemorative T-shirt. All money raised through the event will be donated to an organization particularly meaningful to the Vayas family — the Caroline Fund, a nonprofit dedicated to raising funds and awareness for the cutting-edge brain and spinal cancer research being completed by the John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center, where Vayas was treated.

Those interested in participating can sign up at here, though they should do so soon. Due to the large number of people expected to take part, registration is limited.

The fact that so many residents are expected to join the walk shows just how esteemed Vayas truly was, according to GenWealth Vice President of Marketing Cherie Leanza. More than two months after his death, residents continue to grieve Vayas, a reason Leanza said she wanted to hold the next GenWealth walk in his name. In holding an event to honor him, she explained the community can come together to pay their respects to a man who touched just about everyone he met.

“I think it’s going to be a wonderful tribute to him,” Leanza told the News-Record in an Aug. 3 phone interview. “It gives people a way to be emotionally connected to Angelo and show their support for the family. If they weren’t able to honor him in any other way, they can come on out and show their support for this great man who was so beloved in this village.”

Vayas was certainly well-loved by Leanza and her husband, Michael, who grew close to Vayas through the years as their business was located next to the Village Trattoria in Maplewood. In fact, she said that Vayas served as an integral source of guidance when they were establishing GenWealth, showing them the ropes in terms of how to operate a successful business in the township. For that she is forever grateful, Leanza said.

But they were far from the only ones to experience Vayas’ kindness. Leanza recalled that he was always there for anyone in need, which she said is how he will always be remembered.

“He always had a smile on his face, he always had a happy word for you, he was always giving back to people,” Leanza said. “He realized that he had a lot of success in his life and he had a lot of blessings, so he wanted to give back to the people around him. That’s really what he was all about.”

Mary Vayas agreed that her husband’s generosity was unparalleled, telling the News-Record that he always insisted on putting others before himself. Just as remarkable was his loving nature, she said, recalling that he was always ready with one of his infectious grins to cheer up anyone having a bad day.

Losing Vayas has been really hard for her three boys and herself, according to Mary Vayas, and his death has left a “big void” in their lives. But she also said they are doing OK — they have their memories, they have on another and they have Angelo Vayas’ positive attitude that never wavered even in the face of cancer.

“Angelo was the type of person who, in every aspect of his life, didn’t let anything defeat him,” Mary Vayas said in an Aug. 15 phone interview. “He truly looked at it head-on and dealt with it day-to-day. You never would have known he had cancer.
“He didn’t let it define him,” she said.

Even with Vayas’ can-do spirit, his disease did take its toll, Mary Vayas said. Near the end of his life, she said some personality changes and physical effects were brought on by the glioblastoma, a relatively rare form of brain cancer primarily affecting those aged 45 to 70 and which accounts for 15 percent of all brain tumors, according to the National Institutes of Health. Worst of all, very little could be done to help him; glioblastomas are highly malignant tumors that reproduce frequently and are very difficult to remove, owing to their finger-like tentacles. Patients diagnosed with glioblastoma typically survive less than 15 months.

Angelo Vayas lived for two years after his diagnosis, time for which Mary Vayas said she is grateful. Still, she said she wishes that she could have had more time with her husband, but the lack of funding to find better treatments for brain cancer made that impossible. For instance, the American Cancer Society awarded just $12.9 million in funding to brain cancer research compared to the $35.5 million it gave for breast cancer in fiscal year 2007-2008. Benefiting an organization such as the Caroline Fund, which seeks to remedy that difference, is a perfect way to honor Vayas’ legacy, she said.

“Obviously he would still want to be here,” Mary Vayas said. “But if anything good could come from his death, it would be to help other people so they wouldn’t have to go through what he did.”

The Caroline Fund is named for Caldwell resident Caroline Vandemark, who, at age 22, died from glioblastoma.

Longtime Maplewood resident Risa Olinsky hopes to raise as much money for the Caroline Fund as possible, especially having seen Vayas’ own generosity firsthand. Olinsky, who knew Vayas from the time he was a teenager, said she cannot recall him saying “no” anytime she asked him for a donation for Columbia High School, even when his children did not attend the school.

Simply put, Olinsky said Vayas cared about others, which is why he is remembered so fondly and his restaurants are still successful today.

“He was just a very special person,” Olinsky told the News-Record in an Aug. 13 phone interview. “There’s a hole in the community.”

Olinsky, a certified health and wellness coach, said it only took her about “two seconds” to agree to leading the walk, which she mapped out to include three loops that residents can choose from if they do not wish to walk the full 3 miles. As both a fitness professional and veteran planner of walking events, she encouraged residents to join the walk as a way to benefit their health. But most importantly in the aftermath of Vayas’ death, she pointed out that walking is very therapeutic.

“When you walk in a group with a community, whether it’s cheerleading for a special event or mourning the loss of someone who was a loved one, people open themselves up,” Olinsky explained. “People are going to talk about Angelo. They’re going to talk about their memories, they will talk about great meals they had at Village Trattoria, the parties. It’s very uplifting, and walking is very healing. It brings the community together.”

That sense of community togetherness is a major reason Maplewood Deputy Mayor Kathleen Leventhal is encouraging residents to participate. Leventhal, who will serve as a guest speaker prior to the walk, said the event is an opportunity for Maplewood and South Orange residents to grow even closer while paying tribute to a man who deserves to be honored. Like Leanza and Olinsky, the deputy mayor also witnessed Vayas’ generosity, telling the News-Record about a time when the popular restaurateur donated meals to a family who was experiencing difficulties.

But Leventhal also pointed out that Leanza and her husband deserve recognition for their own generosity in hosting the event. Having helped them put on the first two GenWealth Walks for Hope, she lauded their philanthropy and its positive impact on the township.

“The fact that they do the cancer walks is phenomenal,” Leventhal said in an Aug. 13 phone interview. “They are giving back to Maplewood so much.”

Leanza said being able to help those in need means a lot to her. And GenWealth certainly has benefited many people through their cancer walks. According to Leanza, the first two walks raised a total of $15,000 for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, and she hopes to raise just as much for the Caroline Fund.

Beyond this year, she said she hopes to continue hosting walks both for new causes and those to which GenWealth has already contributed.

For now, however, Leanza said she is just focused on giving Angelo Vayas the tribute that he and his family deserve.

“He’ll always be a fixture here,” Leanza told the News-Record. “He’ll always be part of this community.”

Photo Courtesy of Dee Billia
One of the art-inspired pianos is transformed by the creativity of artist Marie Glynn. This piano is one of six that have been placed around South Orange for residents to enjoy for the next two months.

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — Playin’ Around South Orange kicks off its third year in a row on Saturday, Aug. 29, at noon, bringing live music and art in the form of hand-painted pianos and outdoor performances to six separate South Orange locations. The PNC Bank and SOPAC-sponsored project runs from Aug. 24 through Oct. 6, with Wednesday night jam sessions under the Sloan Street gazebo from 5 to 7 p.m in September. Other community supporters of the project include The Baird, South Orange, South Orange Village and Community Alliance, and Seton Hall University.

Kick-off festivities will feature live performances by professional musicians at each of the five piano locations currently open from noon until 1 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 29. Artists will be in attendance at their pianos. With simultaneous mini-concerts happening all over town, the day will be music and art-inspired. Piano locations are Cameron Park, The Gateway, Spiotta Park, Irvington and W. Fairview avenues, and the Sloan Street gazebo. Additionally, there will be a piano located at Seton Hall University once its school year begins.

Each year, local artists complete an application process for the honor of transforming an old piano into a contemporary piece of art. On average each artist donates up to 30 hours per piano to bring this musical event to life. Paint and supplies either come from the artists themselves or are donated by local businesses.

Marie Glynn painted her second piano this year, having taken on a mermaid-themed upright in 2013, the first year of the project. This year she turned another “tall” piano into a Van Gogh-inspired piece, with swirls of “Starry Night” blowing across the front and lyrics from the song “Vincent” wafting around the instrument’s pedals. Other contributing artists for 2015 are Bill Billec, Larry Ciarallo, Lisa Hirkaler, Columbia High School student Austin Romanaux, as well as Seton Hall University peer advisers. People will remember Ciarallo’s and Billec’s pianos from last year, with Ciarallo’s being the Ray Charles baby grand at The Gateway and Billec’s the “car-themed” player piano complete with fuzzy dice under the Sloan Street gazebo.

This year’s creations promise to be just as interesting, riffing on “Blue Suede Shoes” and a portrait of New Orleans pianist “Mac” Rebennack.

Pianos are donated by various individuals from throughout the community. Director of SOPAC Community Engagement Linda Beard keeps her eyes and ears open for possible donations all year long, sometimes asking people to “hold on to” their instruments for several months until the summer comes around again. Her goal for the program is “to interrupt the humdrum day-to-day and allow people the opportunity to interact with different genres of art in a unique way.”
“It’s about bringing what we do inside the SOPAC building outside the building,” Beard said in a release.

Weather is an obvious challenge for the instruments. SOPAC staff try to watch the forecast while the pianos are out, but occasionally a compassionate citizen will take notice of an impending storm and spontaneously pull a SOPAC-supplied blue tarp over the artwork, preserving it for a few more improvisational concerts.

“That’s exactly the kind of behavior we are looking to ignite,” Beard said. “We want the community to take ownership of this experience and realize that these instruments are not ‘ours.’ They belong to South Orange.”

All six pianos will be up for auction on www.biddingforgood.com from the point of kickoff until Oct. 4 when Playin’ Around South Orange is scheduled to end.

Additional information on the auction, jam sessions and the pianos is available on the SOPAC website at www.sopacnow. org/community/sopianos.

Photo Courtesy of Olga Alvarez
Above, from left, are Victor Carlson, chief of homeless services for the VA NJ Health Care System; HUD New Jersey Field Office Director Maria Maio-Messano; Julie Irwin, VA Homeless Care Line manager for the NY/NJ Veterans Integrated Service Network; Maplewood Mayor Vic DeLuca; Brick Mayor John Ducey; South Orange Village President Sheena Collum; and Elisha Harig-Blaine, National League of Cities principal housing associate for Veterans & Special Needs.

MAPLEWOOD/SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development New Jersey Field Office hosted a day of informational panels geared toward highlighting resources available to the New Jersey mayors and elected officials who have committed to the Mayors Challenge to End Veteran Homelessness. The event took place at the Lyons VA Medical Center on Aug. 18. Participants included Maplewood Mayor Vic DeLuca and South Orange President Sheena Collum.

The Mayors Challenge to End Veteran Homelessness is a White House initiative that aims to eliminate homelessness in the country by the end of this year. It asks U.S. mayors to commit to the Mayors Challenge and use available resources such as HUD-VASH housing vouchers; and work with local Continuums of Care, nonprofits and advocates to find permanent housing for veterans in need.

The day-long session featured remarks from HUD New Jersey Field Office Director Maria Maio-Messano; Veterans Affairs Homeless Care Line manager for VISN III Julie Irwin; and Elisha Harig-Blaine, principal housing associate for the National League of Cities. Three panels highlighted resources and best practices using HUD and VA programs, nonprofits and advocacy organizations.

One of the highlights of the event were the testimonies of two previously homeless veterans who were able to access HUD-VASH housing vouchers, that come with supportive services such as counseling and medicals services. Homeless veterans who qualify apply at the Lyons campus of the VA Medical Center.

Mila Jasey

John McKeon

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — The 27th Legislative District team is the leading environmental district team in New Jersey, according to a report from Clean Water Action, a for-profit group that advocates protecting the environment and supports grassroots environmental campaigns. Assemblyman John McKeon ranked first in the N.J. Assembly, beating all other assembly members, and Assemblywoman Mila Jasey ranked fifth. State Sen. Richard Codey came in 10th in the state Senate ranking.

According to Clean Water Action, this year’s scorecard “represents a permanent record that scores every New Jersey state legislator on votes, action and leadership on significant environmental bills in 2014 and 2015.”

In the 2014-2015 environmental scorecard, legislators were scored based on their votes regarding legislation with an environmental impact. Legislators could also receive extra credit and/or demerits for pro-environmental or anti-environmental leadership.

Combined, the 27th Legislative District team, which is composed entirely of Democrats, received a score of 85 percent, which is 4-percent higher than the runner-up, the 15th Legislative District, at 81 percent.

McKeon received a score of 92 percent, a decrease from his combined score of 102 percent in 2010-2013, and Jasey a score of 86 percent, a decrease from her combined score of 92 percent in the previous three years. Codey received a score of 77 percent, an increase from his combined score of 65 percent in 2010-2013.

Each of the 14 legislators who scored higher than 80 percent were named “Environmental Heroes,” by Clean Water Action.
Clean Water Action has been ranking N.J. legislators annually since 2010, and each year McKeon has taken the No. 1 spot, while Jasey has always been in the top five. Similarly, the 27th Legislative District has been ranked first each year as well.

“From protecting drinking water and clean air so folks don’t get sick, to stopping dirty energy and promoting clean renewables to combat the climate crisis and green the economy, no one is stronger on the environment in the Legislature than John McKeon and Mila Jasey,” David Pringle, Clean Water Action’s N.J. campaign director, said in a press release. “They’re the legislative green dream team — concerned, dedicated and effective. We would all be better off if their colleagues were more like them.”

McKeon feels honored to be named an “Environmental Hero” by Clean Water Action, but feels that more still needs to be done.

“It’s humbling to be recognized for championing protections for drinking water and against flooding,” McKeon said in the release. “Environmental protection should be a no-brainer but Clean Water Action’s scorecard shows too often it is not and we have a lot of work to do. I’m as committed as ever to ensuring clean energy, green jobs and a healthy climate instead of a dirty economy with more fossil fuel infrastructure like the Pilgrim Oil Pipeline.

“Whether it’s efforts by Gov. Christie to weaken our clean air and water resources and programs, build the Pilgrim Pipeline or cut backroom deals with Exxon to let polluters off the hook, nothing with the potential to compromise our natural resources and the people they benefit ought to even receive consideration in our state,” McKeon continued. “I am firmly committed to protecting our air, water and natural resources in the Legislature.”

Jasey also reaffirmed her commitment to continuing to support environmental initiatives.
“I am honored to be named a ‘hero’ by Clean Water Action, but the real heroes are our state’s environmental leaders,” Jasey said in the release. “They work tirelessly every day to protect our water supply, and other natural resources, promote acquisition of open space and fight for renewable, sustainable energy sources. I have been privileged to work with Clean Water Action and other over the years to protect the Highlands, which supplies two-thirds of our state’s drinking water, and stop misguided projects like the Pilgrim Pipeline.

“It is my goal to make sure our children have safe places to play and a safe, clean environment as our enduring legacy to them and their children,” Jasey continued. “Together, Assemblyman McKeon, Gov. Codey and I stand in solidarity with the residents of New Jersey in putting up a fight for environmental protection today, not waiting for environmental damage tomorrow.”

Overall, Clean Water Action found that Democrats scored higher as working to save the environment than their Republican cohorts; however, the Democrats scored lower in 2014-2015 than in previous years. According to the report, the Democrats scored 54 percent in 2014-2015, having gone down 5 percent from the combined 2010-2013 scores. Though still lagging far behind the Democrats, the Republicans scored 35 percent, having gone up 3 percent from the previous three years. Both parties together scored at 47 percent this past year, having gone down by 1 percent from the previous three years combined.

In the Assembly, while McKeon leads the pack with 92 percent, the highest Republican score was Holly Schepisi’s 57 percent. In the Senate, Democrat Loretta Weinberg and Republican Christopher Bateman tied the top with 103 percent, although the second highest Democrat scored 99 percent while the second highest Republican scored 77 percent.

“This scorecard shows that New Jersey’s Legislature continues to fail at getting the job done. When it comes to protecting public health and the environment, New Jersey needs to reverse course immediately,” Clean Water Action’s N.J. state director Amy Goldsmith said in a second release. “Thankfully, there are heroes within the legislative ranks — 14 in all. But they alone cannot turn this alarming trend around. It would be wise for State House leadership and fellow colleagues to follow our environmental heroes’ direction.”

Clean Water Action also named nine legislators as “Environmental Zeroes”; these persons received scores of less than 20 percent.

“New Jersey is in a tough time and at a crossroads. A goal of this scorecard is to empower citizens. It gives the public the opportunity to look specifically at environmental legislative bills, and see exactly how well or how badly their elected representatives fared,” Janet Tauro, chairwoman of Clean Water Action’s N.J. board, said in a statement. “We know that legislators don’t always do the right thing for the environment.”