Supporting Positive Behavior

Supporting Positive Behavior—Mayor Jun Choi presented a proclamation to Woodbrook Elementary School for its successful Positive Behavior Supports in School program. Choi presented the proclamation at an outdoor assembly in which the J.P. Stevens Pep Band entertained the crowd the J.P. Stevens cheerleaders performed cheers about respect and responsibility. Students won raffle prizes for their positive behavior. In the beginning of the school year, students were taught about the benefits of positive behavior. All 805 students will continue to participate in the program for the remainder of the school year. Pictured from left to right are Kindergarten teacher Andrew Brown, Mayor Jun Choi, Woodbrook Principal Nicole Cirillo and Brown’s kindergarten class.

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Fighting Breast Cancer

Fighting Breast Cancer—Seniors Stephany Sanchez of Newark, Ninoshka Celi of Elizabeth, Erika Yang of Hillside and Stefannye Barragan of Newark led their entire school community’s participation in Benedictine Academy’s Annual Breast Cancer Walk-a-thon on Oct. 8. Students raised more than $2200, which will be contributed to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation to be used to wipe out the disease.

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Essay Contest Winners

Essay Contest Winners – Clark Unico’s Columbus Day Essay Contest winners pose at the recent Italian American Feast. The students are (left to right): Ryan Kowlenko (Hehnly School), Sean Gallagher (Kumpf School), Trina Salvador (St. John’s School), Mariel Loughlin (Valley Road School) and Allison Gallo (St. Agnes School.)

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Fire Prevention & Safety Night

Fire Prevention & Safety Night—The Linden Fire Prevention Bureau held its annual Fire Prevention and Life Safety night on Sept. 30. Children were eligible to register for the prize drawings after completing fire prevention activities set up at the event. Pictured from left to right are Lt. Wayne Hanns of the Linden Fire Prevention Bureau, Tomas Pudlik (winner of two movie tickets), his parents Jarek and Aga and Acting Fire Chief Joseph Rizzo. In the front (from left to right) are Michal Pudlik (first place winner of the bicycle) and his brother, Maciej. The bicycle was donated by Wal-Mart and the two movie tickets were donated by AMC Movie Theatres.

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The Three Stages of Dieting

by Dan Felix, CFT

Most of the dieting articles and information we read about sound like happy talk. Even the word dieting hides the truth. In order to lose body weight, preferably body fat, a person has to eat less than the body wants. Diet is more accurately described as controlled starvation. Harsh term, I know, but your body sees it that way.

Your body chemistry has thousands of years of history. It does not change casually. If body chemistry changed with every feast or famine then it would never have survived. In fact, your body chemistry has a rather pessimistic view of food. It is suspicious of any feast and will readily store excess food as fat before using it. Your body chemistry is also anxious that any drop in food intake means an imminent famine. At the first sign of any persistent food decrease the body will react.

So here we are, trying to lose some extra pounds. How do we do that and not trigger our body’s fear that a famine has set in? And, more importantly, what can we expect our body to do when we embark on a diet?

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“W.” – As in Woe is Us – 3 popcorns

By Michael S. Goldberger, film critic

Whew and omigosh. Or, as my great, great grandfather was probably prone to say, “Oy, yoy, yoy.” Either will do as you exit from the theater after seeing director Oliver Stone’s adaptation of writer Stanley Weiser’s “W.,” about the life and Presidency of George W. Bush. If only half of the film is true it’s enough to make you want to pull your hair out.

Indeed, as the tale of how a drunk became the most powerful man in the world unravels to the backdrop of the recent history he has impacted, we stare mouths agape. And we ponder the wisdom of the fellow who first said truth is stranger than fiction. It would take Shakespeare to write a better tragedy.

Which it essentially is, in the classical sense, no less than Clinton’s compromised tenure in the Oval Office was a comedy. Bush becomes undone as a result of his hubris. Whereas Clinton, perhaps the brightest President since Wilson, the Roosevelts and Kennedy, couldn’t keep his libido in check.

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Memories Of The Woodbridge Golden Bears

By Diane Norek Harrison

WOODBRIDGE—Here is some more information on the Woodbridge Golden Bears from former area resident Harold Miller. The year is not on the material but it is most likely from 1947 when Mr. Miller was named “Rookie of the Year.” In my Oct. 10 column, I wrote about the game between the Woodbridge Golden Bears and the Jersey City Pros. Here is more from that game.

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IRS Has $6.98 Million in Undelivered Refunds & Stimulus Payments For New Jerseyans

MOUNTAINSIDE — The Internal Revenue Service is looking for New Jerseyans who are missing 6,351 economic stimulus checks totaling about $3.82 million and 2,929 regular refund checks totaling nearly $3.16 million that were returned by the U.S. Postal Service due to mailing address errors.  The average undelivered stimulus payment is $602 and the average undelivered regular refund is $1078. In some instances, a taxpayer may have both an undelivered stimulus payment and a regular refund. The IRS provided a list [PDF format] of residents with undeliverable checks whose last known address was in our readership area.

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South Amboy Plans To Honor Fallen Solider

SOUTH AMBOY – Community members are working to build a monument to honor the memory of Army Sgt. Benjamin L. Sebban, who was killed in Iraq last year.

The idea originally came from members of American Legion Post 62, but community involvement has expanded since then. The project is being funded through donations, and area businesses including Capitol Pavers, Accurate Concrete and Camerato Landscaping will be donating materials and services, officials said.

The monument will be located along the waterfront of the Raritan Bay County Park.

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End the Election Ads Today: Give the Ad Money to Charity

Dear Senators McCain and Obama,

Is my vote for you worth tens of millions? I guess I’ll soon see. I am, not Joe the Plumber, but Steve the charitable fundraiser. That’s my profession. I’m one of those the press labels an independent because sometimes I vote Democrat, sometimes Republican. This time, however, I still do not know and, frankly, that’s a little frustrating to me because we’re just days away from election.

In the last election, I voted Republican. For reasons beyond the scope of this letter, I have regretted that. The foreign and economic policies have brought our country to its lowest level of international respect in as long as I can remember. Furthermore, the current financial crisis has left me wondering what legacy we’re leaving for our children. I’m fifty-three and I’ve lost nearly half the value of my retirement. I do not know if I have enough years before retirement to recover from this, much less reach my goals. And yet, I am grateful for what we have and I know there are many Americans who are worse off than we are.

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Linden Senior Commits To Play For St. Joseph’s

LINDEN – A Linden High School basketball star has made a non-binding commitment to attend St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia.

David Bruce, a 6-foot 9-inch 210-pound senior, averaged 15 points and 12 rebounds per game for the Tigers. During his high school career, Linden went 53-10 and won a Union County Tournament High School and a Group IV championship.

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Curriculum Changes Aimed At Improving Driver Safety

TRENTON – Citing the need to better educate new drivers who may have hit their first “bump in the road,” New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission Chief Administrator Sharon A. Harrington unveiled a newly overhauled Probationary Driver Program (PDP) curriculum today. The PDP is mandated for new (probationary) drivers who are convicted of two or more moving violations totaling four or more points in their first two years of driving.

New drivers who are remanded to the PDP must successfully complete the four-hour program that provides up to a three-point reduction on the driver’s record. Any driver who fails to complete the program is suspended indefinitely. A driver who completes the program and who commits a violation within one year after finishing the program will have his or her driving privilege suspended for 45 – 90 days. The new PDP curriculum covers a variety of important topics, including Graduated Driver License rules and restrictions, aggressive driving, distractions, driving under the influence and penalties such as surcharges and suspensions.

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Remembering Briggs Chevrolet

By Diane Norek Harrison

SOUTH AMBOY—With the demolition of the famed Briggs Chevrolet building during the week of Oct. 7, I cleaned out more of my folders. Besides being a car dealership, Briggs sponsored many race cars through the years. Briggs Chevrolet has also sponsored a Little League team and bowling leagues through the years.

The building, as we knew it, had been a staple in South Amboy for over 60 years. Anyone coming into South Amboy’s business district from Perth Amboy or Woodbridge was greeted by the Briggs building, which stood on Main Street facing Broadway.

As demolition started, many were thrilled to still see Briggs Chevrolet writing on the building. The building later became the home of Rural-Metro and Multi-Care, both ambulance service, but was always Briggs Chevrolet to those of us who grew up in South Amboy.

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Rahway Woman Charged With Kidnapping Elizabeth Girl

RAHWAY – Friday, a Rahway woman was charged with first-degree kidnapping for allegedly abducting a three year old girl from an Elizabeth thrift store last week.

Eyvonne Alexander, 54, was arrested on Oct. 16 following a frantic five-hour search for the girl, who was taken earlier in the day while she was shopping with her mother at Unique Thrift Store on Broad Street, police said.

The store’s security cameras captured video footage of the abduction, police said. The kidnapper, wearing what appeared to be a bushy black wig, just led the girl outside.

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Carteret Qualifies For $25 Million In DEP Grant Funds

CARTERET—Mayor Daniel Reiman joined with Councilwoman Susan Naples this week to announce that the borough has qualified for $1.6 million in New Jersey DEP funds for environmental work performed at the Carteret Waterfront Park. An additional $73,000 in N.J. D.E.P. funding was already awarded for the remediation of 35 Cooke Avenue.

In June, redevelopment areas in Carteret were designated with the coveted “BDA” title by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. “BDA” stands for Brownfield Development Area and authorizes up to $25 million in addition state grants to cover the costs associated with cleanup and remediation along the Carteret Waterfront. The $1.6 million to be recovered by the borough will go towards funding of the marina cove and wetlands remediation which will ultimately make way for a 250 slip marina and waterfront village of shops, promenades and townhomes.

In addition “35 Cooke,” now officially designated a redevelopment area by the Carteret Redevelopment Agency, was previously owned by the Dashmesh Dunbar, who purchased it in 2000 intending to construct a temple. The project was never completed, and an abandoned girder structure remained on the property for several years until the borough condemned it in 2007.

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