E. Martin Rosen, 89, passed away at home

Frank L. Cahill
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E. Martin Rosen, 89, passed away at home

PARSIPPANY — E. Martin Rosen, 89, passed away at home on June 3, 2017.

Born in Newark, Mr. Rosen began his married life, living in Union, for ten years before moving to Parsippany in 1964 with his wife and two sons.

A graduate of Seton Hall University with a degree in marketing, Mr. Rosen had a 30-year career with the U.S. Marine Corps from 1948 to 1978. A veteran of the Korean War, he participated in the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir and earned a Purple Heart.

He retired with the rank of gunnery sergeant. He worked for Lawson Products for 25 years and was a part-time crossing guard in Parsippany after his retirement.

He was on the Parsippany First Aid Squad for fifty years and was president emeritus.

He belonged to the L/Cpl Robert J. Slattery Marine Corps League of Whippany and was a member of The Chosin Few.

A funeral service will be held at 11:45 a.m. on Monday, June 5 at Bernheim Apter Kreitzman Suburban Funeral Chapel, 68 Old Short Hills Road, Livingston.

Burial will follow at Mt. Lebanon Cemetery in Iselin.

Mr. Rosen was the beloved husband for 63 years of Marlene Rosen; loving father of Seth Rosen (Lisa) and the late David Rosen (Cheryl); devoted grandfather of Belinda Mitchell (Matthew), Rick Rosen, Alex Rosen, and Sam Rosen.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Parsippany Volunteer Ambulance Squad and the Wounded Warrior Project.

Board of Education presents plaques and certificates to students for achievements

Frank L. Cahill
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Board of Education presents plaques and certificates to students for achievements

PARSIPPANY — The Parsippany-Troy Hills Board of Education presented certificate and plaques to the students of Brooklawn Middle School listed below for their fine achievements.

STUDENT COUNCIL
Lou Miller and Alison Franz – Advisors
2017 NASC National Gold Council of Excellence Award
12th Consecutive Year
Only 22 Middle Schools in the United States received this award

Cassie Borino – President
Emily Arnold – Vice President Carly Spiel – Secretary
Kunal Chauhan – Treasurer
Kareena Khubchandani – State Officer

Board of Directors
Jack Reppen
Amisha Patel
Arnold Nguyen
William Geiger

SCHOLASTIC WRITING 2017
Antonia Hernandez – Teacher

Scholastic Writing National Silver Medalist Scholastic Art
and Writing Regional Gold Medalist
Sana Malek

Scholastic Art and Writing Regional Gold Medalist 2017
Taylor Gudelanis
John Kayson Bhat

CHOIR
Adam Aguanno, Director

North Jersey School Music Association Junior Region Choir – Alto
Claire Alleyne
Danielle Anzalone

North Jersey School Music Association Junior Region Choir – Bass
Kenneth Lee

North Jersey School Music Association Junior Region Choir – Soprano 1
Chloe Budd
Ananya Vasireddy
Karmina Wall

North Jersey School Music Association Junior Region Choir – Soprano 2
Elizabeth Cogan
Anna deLaar
Ria Garg

North Jersey School Music Association Junior Region Choir – Tenor
Aidan Lafuente
Joseph Tremitiedi

BAND
Kristin Cappuccino, Director 

North Jersey School Music Association Elementary Honors Band Festival
Justin Bondarowic
Suchi Borkar
Maya Celli
Katelin Chen
Jason Hao
Jonathan Spirock

BAND
Esther Musili, Director

North Jersey School Music Association Junior Region Band  
North Jersey School Music Association Junior Region Orchestra
Rebecca Hsaio

Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey, Horizon team up to seek solutions to the opioid crisis

Frank L. Cahill
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Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey, Horizon team up to seek solutions to the opioid crisis

They walk into the large auditorium from every walk of life. The seats are filled with parents who have lost children due to opioid abuse; parents, grandparents and concerned community members seeking information on the links between prescribed opioids and heroin abuse to help protect their children; widows and widowers who have lost husbands and wives to addiction; members of the medical community seeking to share information with families on alternatives to prescribed opioids in addressing sports injuries and other acute pain; community professionals and volunteers who try to connect the addicted to treatment services; county prosecutors and local law enforcement officers working to take illegal and prescription opioids off the streets; lawmakers whose lives have been touched by addiction and who are seeking answers and solutions.

This is a small cross section of individuals who have joined a unique and moving conversation about New Jersey’s opioid abuse epidemic through a series of town halls that are being held statewide over the next 17 months. The Knock Out Opioid Abuse Town Hall series is being coordinated by the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey and supported by a grant from The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey, the philanthropic arm of Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey. And, the series is coming to a county near you.

The goals of the town hall meetings are to provide residents an opportunity to more fully understand the impact this national epidemic is having on their own communities; the local, county and state resources and initiatives available to them; as well as an opportunity to highlight exemplary local programs that can be replicated throughout the state.

These town halls are not a public service; they are a public health necessity. Every day, 44 people in the country die from a prescription painkiller overdose. According to the U.S. Surgeon General, since 1999, opioid overdose deaths have quadrupled and opioid prescriptions have increased markedly, almost enough for every adult in America to have a bottle of pills.

In New Jersey, the CDC reports that 62 prescriptions for painkillers were written per 100 residents in 2014, which equates to 5.4 million prescriptions. Prescription pain medication can become a gateway to heroin use, with research showing that four out of five heroin users abused prescription pain relievers before turning to heroin. Over the last decade, heroin abuse among young adults, ages 18 to 25, has quadrupled. Addictive opioids, both legal and illegal, have never been more accessible to individuals, regardless of where they live and who they are, and heroin is now much cheaper than prescription opioids, causing heroin addiction to skyrocket.

“Stopping opioid abuse requires a comprehensive and multi-faceted effort to improve public awareness about the threat of addiction and to develop best practices for treatment and prevention,” said Robert A. Marino, Horizon BCBSNJ chairman and chief executive officer, and the Horizon Foundation board chairman. “Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey has been a leader in the fight against drug abuse, and Horizon is pleased to join them in getting everyone in the conversation on real solutions and pathways to help in the community. It’s critical to engage multiple stakeholders in the whole continuum of care, starting from awareness of opioids addiction, to prevention and treatment.”

The town halls — 17 in total — are being held in communities most impacted by the crisis throughout New Jersey’s 21 counties. So far, town halls have been held in Atlantic, Morris, Monmouth and Bergen counties, with others scheduled elsewhere.

The events are open to any members of the public interested in joining the conversation on opioid abuse. The growing list of scheduled town halls and registration information can be found by clicking here.

“All residents of New Jersey are encouraged to join the conversation and participate in their local Knock Out Opioid Abuse Town Hall to understand the disease of addiction, develop strategies to help protect their families and identify resources to address individuals who have become dependent on prescription drugs or are abusing heroin,” said Angelo Valente, executive director of the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey. “Horizon has taken a leadership role in not only making these forums possible, but helping us design them as laboratories for generating best practices to attack the problem and prevent opioid abuse.”

The Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey will maintain a record of best practices, ideas and innovations that are revealed during each of the town hall meetings. The information collected from the 17 town hall meetings will become part of a strategy for reducing the stigma of addiction, strengthening the support system in New Jersey and ultimately reducing substance misuse.

The dangers of opioid abuse are real and the task of reversing intolerable trends of overdoses and ease of access is nothing short of intimidating. The problem is so complex and prevalent in all communities and households because addiction doesn’t discriminate. No matter age, race, gender, income status or upbringing, everyone is vulnerable to becoming an addiction statistic. For too many families, the fight is a private and heart-wrenching one, and they are overmatched when trying to do battle on their own. That’s why the Horizon Foundation has joined forces with the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey to find solutions.

As Helen Keller once said: “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.”

About the writer: Jonathan R. Pearson is executive director of The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey and director of Corporate Social Responsibility for Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey.

June is adopt a cat month; stop by the Library to borrow picture books on cats

Frank L. Cahill
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June is adopt a cat month; stop by the Library to borrow picture books on cats

PARSIPPANY — June is Adopt a Cat Month. Stop by Parsippany-Troy Hills Public Library to borrow picture books about our feline friends.

Each spring during “kitten season,” thousands of newborn kittens join the millions of cats already in shelters across the country. That means your local shelter has tons of cute, cuddly newborns, in addition to all the mellow, older cats and everything in between. And the shelter staff are ready to help you adopt your very first cat — or to bring home a friend for another beloved cat!

The Parsippany-Troy Hills Public Library is located at 449 Halsey Road. It also has two branches, one located at 68 Nokomis Avenue, Lake Hiawatha, and the second branch is located at 31 Trinity Park, Mount Tabor.

Meet Angel! Angel is a stunning 5 year old Domestic Short Hair cat who loves everybody!! He is neutered. He is a domestic short hair male cat and is available at 11th Hour Rescue.

Click here to fill out an application to adopt Angel.

Angel was with a wonderful foster for a few weeks who had this to say about him, “Angel is a fluffy gray and white cat who is five year olds. This cutie was a stray but it didn’t stop him from being sweet and cuddly. He will let me give him a bath, clean his ears and hold him like a baby. Angel gets along with my cats and foster dog, they all wait for their turns for treats. Most of the time at my house Angel walked around the house, looked outside the window and played with his favorite toys, and took naps in between the activities. When I came home, little Angel would kiss me and purr like a motor.”

11th Hour Rescue is located at 861 Route 10, Randolph and is also located in the Rockaway Townsquare Mall, 301 Mount Hope Avenue, Rockaway. 11th Hour is open seven days a week during mall hours.

11th Hour has other kittens and cats available. Click here to view their website.

Suspected Heroin Confiscated at Morris County Courthouse

Frank L. Cahill
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Suspected Heroin Confiscated at Morris County Courthouse

MORRISTOWN — On Tuesday, May 30, the Morris County Sheriff’s Office seized 19 bags of suspected heroin prior to it entering the Morris County Correctional Facility.

Thasseus Licata, 31, Netcong, was taken into custody at the Morris County Superior Courthouse for a Violation of Probation.  Prior to placing Licata into a central holding area within the courthouse, a cursory search of the detainee conducted by Correction Officer Matthew Dunbar revealed the suspected heroin hidden within Licata’s sock.

Sheriff James Gannon

Sheriff James M. Gannon said, “This lends truth to the opioid crisis we are currently faced with throughout Morris County and the rest of the country.  A find such as this may have prevented a possible overdose, and possibly another fatality within police custody.”

Undersheriff Alan J. Robinson said, “The Morris County Sheriff’s Office has zero tolerance for the introduction of contraband into the Morris County Courthouse and moreover into the Morris County Correctional Facility.  Persons found to be in possession of criminal contraband will be charged accordingly.”

Consequently, Licata was charged with Possession of a Controlled Dangerous Substance and issued a summons.  He was transported to the Morris County Correctional Facility where he is currently lodged without bail on the Violation of Probation.

Letter to the editor: Mayor Barberio Acknowledges He Could Have Used Eminent Domain to Save Waterview

Letters to the Editor
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Dear Editor:

This weekend, Mayor Barberio sent a letter to Intervale residents inexplicably criticizing my efforts to protect the neighborhood from a proposed Target, Whole Foods, strip mall, and large-scale housing project just 50 feet from our property lines. I, along with many other people, organized to push back against the egregious proposal while the Mayor’s administration openly supported it.

It should be noted that the Mayor never reached out to anyone who would have been directly impacted by the development; we had to reach out to him. 

And while the Mayor did eventually accept my invitation to come to my house and meet with us, he sat in my living room espousing all of the reasons why we needed to accept the developer’s proposal as-is, not once making an effort to explore a compromise. 

Mayor Barberio can claim all he wants that he tried to preserve Waterview. His words are one thing, but his actions were clearly another. For example, in his recent letter, Mr. Barberio asserted that if I really wanted to preserve Waterview, I should have proposed to him taking the property through eminent domain. Is he actually admitting that it would have been that easy and that he was waiting for someone else do that for him? If that is the case, then it is clear that Waterview’s demise was ostensibly his fault and his leadership ability was woefully apparent.

Mr. Barberio is taking credit for the preservation of 10+ acres that will serve as a buffer between the neighborhood and the development. Here is the truth: When Mr. Barberio couldn’t get his Council’s support and the project was initially defeated, then when the Freeholders rejected his anemic attempt to apply for open space funds, the developer’s attorney threatened to build 666 housing units only 50 feet from the neighbors’ property lines. Shortly thereafter, the developer called me and asked to speak with the citizen’s group to work out a compromise in lieu of the housing project. We met and spoke with the developer on several occasions, looking at various iterations of plans, topography maps, and traffic patterns to find a solution that we felt would be acceptable to the neighbors, while simultaneously protecting the neighborhood with what would ultimately become a 400-foot buffer. We painstakingly tried to preserve every possible square foot of land, and did that over a period of several weeks – without the Mayor.

In the Mayor’s letter, he also accused me of agreeing with the settlement proposal. Obviously, that is true. The Citizens For Health, Safety, and Welfare group and I eventually and reluctantly did. No one at that time, including council members, had a choice. However, Barberio didn’t write that I, and many other residents, spoke at multiple Council meetings and Planning Board meetings stating that it was our preference to have the township preserve the entire 26 acres. He didn’t write that given the COAH situation, we no longer saw full preservation as a viable option, so we ultimately agreed by default to what we thought was the best deal for the neighborhood. The mayor didn’t write that there was an entire group of residents that spent more than $50,000 hiring experts and lawyers to protect our interests because he couldn’t or wouldn’t do so.

Finally, the Mayor’s letter overtly accused me of having some sort of agenda in my efforts to preserve Waterview. If by working to keep a Target out of my back yard that meant I had an agenda, then I suppose he’s correct. If having the will to stand up for what I thought was best for my community meant I had an agenda, then again, I suppose I did.

I find it pathetic that Mayor Barberio would pick a fight with a citizen who is not running for any office and who undoubtedly did what anyone would have done faced with the same threat to his and his neighbors’ quality of life.

At the final Planning Board meeting, when the development was ultimately given the blessing to proceed, Mayor Barberio, on the record, thanked me for my efforts and stated that even though we disagreed, I handled everything in a classy way. What has changed since then? I guess he’s upset that his campaign sign isn’t in my yard – or in the overwhelming majority of the yards in Intervale. I, like many others, are supporting his opponent, Mr. Peluso. But after seeing Mayor Barberio’s character revealed as he desperately approaches the electoral finish line, I suppose I’m not surprised. 

Good luck to all of the candidates and I applaud everyone for giving their time to run for public office. 

David Kaplan

PHS Key Club visits Kiwanis Club Breakfast Meeting

Frank L. Cahill
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PHS Key Club visits Kiwanis Club Breakfast Meeting

PARSIPPANY — Parsippany High School Key Club joined the members of the Kiwanis Club of Greater Parsippany breakfast meeting on Thursday, June 1. Joining the Key Clubbers were Club Advisors Danielle Nicosia and Jodi Stapp. Also pictured with the students is Kiwanis Director of Sponsored Youth Ron Orthwein.

Key Club is in international student-led service organization that provides its members with opportunities to provide service, build character, and develop leadership. Members participate in various service activities such as raising money for UNICEF, creating care cards for patients at Children’s Specialized Hospital, visiting Senior Citizens, and supporting local food banks.

The PHS Key Club is proud of their many accomplishments during the school year. They include:

    • Partnered with our school’s Environmental Club to clean up the PHS campus.
    • Canned both in school and at local shops to fundraise for Pennies for Patients (an organization that helps children with blood cancer). The Key Club raised over $400.
    • Geomapped local parks to help with the NJ Department of Environmental Protection’s Take it Outside project.
    • Visited Care One to spend time with the elderly on a regular basis. They regularly visit our local daycare.
    • As the year winds down, they have several events to look forward to, like Relay for Life (Saturday, June 10) and PHS’s Redstock fair (Saturday, June 10). 
    • The Key Club organizes several end-of-year fundraisers (movie night, trivia night, etc.) that give general members chances to become leaders. The money will go to foodbanks. 

The officers of the Parsippany High School Key Club are: President Samantha Lee;  Vice President Udhay Khullar; Vice President Nicholas Lim; Recording Secretary Ellie Xu; Corresponding Secretary Angeline Jiju; Treasurer Albert Chen; Editor Alice Limanova; Historian Jessica Ho; and Webmaster Marc Hoeltge. Lieutenant Governor is Stephanie Shen.

Parsippany High School Key Club is sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Greater Parsippany.

For more information on Kiwanis Club of Greater Parsippany, click here.

“Boys of Bate” wins “2017 Impact Award” at New Jersey Recovery Film Festival

Frank L. Cahill
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“Boys of Bate” wins “2017 Impact Award” at New Jersey Recovery Film Festival

UNION — The “Boys of Bate” is a story of hope and transformation, and for the eighteen teenagers who made the movie, work on its filming and production helped them to face their addictions and save their lives. Made over the summer of 2014 by the young men at Bate House, the film is 43 minutes long and promotes hope and transformation by depicting the dilemmas two friends face when choosing to be drug-free.

Shortly after Integrity House director Roman Petrocelli, MA, LPC joined the Bate staff in February 2014, he was contacted by Saladin Stafford, a corrections officer in Newark whose passion is producing hip hop videos. Around the same time, Saladin had finished turning one of his videos into a feature film called “NickNames” at the request of community leaders. After taking the residents to see the film, Petrocelli was able to have Saladin talk to them at the Bate House facility.

“After he left, I processed it with the main group and I said, ‘Well, do you think we could make a short film based on your experience here?” and they were so gung-ho about it [with] youthful exuberance … which, you don’t see a lot sometimes in this setting,” he says.

Petrocelli says he and another staff member reviewed guides such as “How to Make a Short Film for Dummies” and brought in story boards the next day. Upon realizing the project would take work, the kids were slightly crestfallen. But residents rose to the occasion, he says, writing the script themselves by combining four or five of their own personal stories to provide the storyline of the two main characters—Petrocelli directed and gave them guidance when asked—he had to approve the scripts, too—but the project was completely resident-driven.

The young men behind this one-of-a-kind project won the “2017 Impact Award” at the inaugural NJ Recovery Film Festival

“The young men behind this one-of-a-kind project won the ‘2017 Impact Award’ at the inaugural NJ Recovery Film Festival, said Roman Petrocelli.”

He continued “I will be forever grateful to this special group of young men who made this film to educate and support others.”

Bate serves kids who are 13 to 18 years old, and it is one of many residential treatment programs of Integrity House, a well-known substance abuse rehabilitation center in the heart of Newark.

In the movie, the main character, Steve, known as Pos, is arrested with his friend for selling drugs in front of a drug treatment facility for teens. After they are released from a detention center, they are reunited at a treatment facility, where they believe they can do whatever they want. Wrong. The experience changes them, teaching them about honesty along the way, in the effort to make their lives turn out right.

And that’s what many of the kids came to grips with in the Bate program. Some didn’t want to buy in to their recovery when they got there, but making the movie changed that. It gave them a reason to shape up. Steve knew he needed help and he didn’t resist. The movie reinforced his desire to get well because he was so miserable. The talented baseball player and straight “A” student was a dropout by the 11th grade. And his best friend overdosed a month before he showed up at Integrity House.

Integrity House’s “Boys of Bate”, a client-created and produced short film about adolescent drug abuse, hope, struggles and transformations.  A fundraiser and red carpet release premiere was held on February 25, 2015.

The New Jersey Recovery Film Festival was presented by Prevention Links, Capacity Images, and the Raymond J. Lesniak Experience, Strength and Hope Recovery High School. The event is a celebration of film, the arts and creatively expressing the journey to recovery. They showcased films that tell honest stories and share experience in addiction, strength discovered on the journey and the hope found in recovery.

Integrity House is committed to helping individuals and families through comprehensive, integrated addictions treatment and recovery support in a manner that brings about positive, long-term lifestyle change. Their CARF accredited and highly effective treatment community believes in a client-centered, holistic approach, offering integrated services and a full continuum of care for addressing substance use disorders. Caring and qualified staff assess individual needs throughout the process, allowing placement in flexible programs that best fit the clients’ needs. Founded in 1968, Integrity House is one of the largest non-profit providers of substance use disorder treatment in the State of New Jersey. Our robust outpatient, residential and supportive housing offerings, complemented with ongoing prevention and education services, have provided clients a path to sustainable sobriety.

The festival was held at Kean University, STEM building, on Friday, June 2 and Saturday, June 3.

Indian-American Seniors Association held Spring Cultural Program and Musical

Frank L. Cahill
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Indian-American Seniors Association held Spring Cultural Program and Musical

PARSIPPANY — The Indian-American Seniors Association of Morris County’s held its annual “Spring Cultural Program and Musical” on Friday evening, June 2 at Parsippany High School. The event drew a crowd of almost 650 people who had the opportunity to enjoy the music and songs. The group also was served dinner from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. and the program started at 7:30 p.m. and ended at 11:00 p.m.

The program was sponsored by Hitesh and Surbhi Kadakia of American royal mortgage.

Admission was free for all members and guest of the sponsors. Group of visually impaired men and women from India also performed dance, played music and sang.
Local musical orchestra Sruhadam Entertainment provided beautiful musical evenings by singing old and new indian songs.

Rajni Patel is the president of Indian-American Seniors Association of Morris County.

Letter to the editor: Concerned Dad had Enough

Letters to the Editor
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Dear Editor:

The Township of Parsippany-Troy Hills School District consists of fourteen schools (ten are Elementary levels) and only two are covered by armed security. The current Mayor and School Board have not provided our children with suitable security measures.

As a concerned parent armed with common sense and a calculator, this level of protection is not only ineffective, but disgraceful.  Our Mayor’s office and School board haven’t done what’s necessary to enact the protection all of our children deserve.  I had enough of the political double talk and nonsensical justifications. There’s a simple, thoughtful plan that’s not only feasible within our budget, but also backed by Chris Christie’s task force that encourages and gives schools permission to hire armed SRO’s (Security Resource Officers) in all fourteen Parsippany Schools.

This plan isn’t my idea so I’m no innovator. This solution and the push for school-wide security coverage have been presented at nauseam by Robert Peluso, Parsippany Council Vice President.  He continues to preach to the Mayor and School Board that we should hire Class III retired police officers to protect all of our children. This is not a political endorsement as I don’t know the man.  I’ve watched him plead for our children to be protected and watched the current administration do nothing. My only goal is for all of our children to be safe in school.

Mayor Barberio, his Administration, and our School Board need to be held accountable for putting 75% of our kids at constant risk.  Furthermore, whomever is elected this June, the primary focus should focus on prioritizing our children and our families.  Honorable people with integrity should have found a way by now.  Perhaps it’s in the works?  No matter who is elected, let’s collectively be proactive rather than reactive.

 

A Concerned Dad
Mal Maher

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