The massacre at a Florida high school on Wednesday is hard for adults to wrap their head around, but it can be completely overwhelming for children who hear about it or see images of the carnage. Parents need to help guide their children through the fear, anger, upset and helplessness such a horrific attack can stir up in children.

“The first thing parents should do is assess their own reactions. If you tell your child ‘everything is OK and you are safe’ but your behavior expresses fear and powerlessness, your child will pick up on that,” said Mary Vineis, NewBridge Services Director of Community Response and Education and coordinator of the Morris County Traumatic Loss Coalition.

Vineis said parents need to process the events before speaking to their children, so they can role-model coping skills.

“When you’re ready, start the conversation by asking what they know and have heard,” Vineis said. “Encourage them to ask questions, listen for their fears and concerns, and gently correct any misinformation they have.”

Vineis said parents should express their empathy for the families affected and talk about the heroes, including first-responders, who helped save lives. “Let your children know you love them and will take care of them. Assure them that it is normal to feel upset about what happened,” she said.

Children should have limited, if any, exposure to news accounts of the shootings, Vineis said. She also recommended that families follow normal routines.

In the wake of tragedy, children may express irritability, have restless sleep and/or a change in appetite, but those responses should dissipate within a couple of weeks. Give your children extra patience, care and love, Vineis said.

If parents continue to have concerns about their children’s reactions, they should seek professional help. Call NewBridge at (973) 366-9333 or click here. For more information about helping your child cope with traumatic events, click on the National Child Traumatic Stress Network.

NewBridge Services, a 501c(3) nonprofit, is a premier provider of counseling services, housing and educational programs in northern New Jersey serving nearly 8,000 adults and seniors last year alone. NewBridge treats mental illnesses and addictions; teaches skills for coping with stress, grief and challenging relationships; builds and manages affordable housing; offers school-based programs that teach children and adolescents resiliency skills for healthy emotional development; helps young adults succeed in their education and prepare for careers; and supports seniors so they can remain independent. Throughout its more than 50-year history, NewBridge has remained true to its mission of bringing balance to people’s lives by tracking shifts in communities’ needs and providing innovative, effective programs to meet them.

MORRIS COUNTY — On the morning of Sunday, February 11, Governor Phil Murphy held a press conference at the Messiah Baptist Church in East Orange to announce that he was going to reconvene the New Jersey Criminal Justice Sentencing and Disposition Commission. Morris County Prosecutor Fredric Knapp and MCPO Detective Patrick LaGuerre, formerly a member of the East Orange Police Department, were in attendance.

This Commission was established by statute in 2004 on a temporary basis, and became permanent in June of 2006 when a report was issued. It is comprised of 13 members, including the Attorney General of New Jersey and four members of the New Jersey Legislature. Governor Murphy named Deborah Poritz, former Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court, as well as Jiles Ship, past President of NOBLE (The National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives), a former police officer in Edison and member of the New Jersey Police Training Commission, as his two gubernatorial choices.

As the President of the County Prosecutors Association of New Jersey, Prosecutor Knapp, is Ex Officio one of the 13 members of this Commission. He will also be joined by representatives from the New Jersey State Bar Association, Public Defender’s Office, Department of Corrections, and the Chair of the State Parole Board.

The general purpose of the Commission is to, “consider correctional resources, including, but not limited to, the capacities of State and Local correctional facilities, in promulgating sentencing policy; examine past sentencing practices, consider their rationality, and establish a list of ‘sentencing factors’ which would either guide, or limit judges in assessing sentences for individual offenders; and seek to establish uniform sentences throughout the jurisdiction”.

No date has yet been scheduled for the Commission to meet. Prosecutor Knapp stated that he is honored to serve as the CPANJ representative on the Commission and looks forward to this opportunity.

TRENTON —New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) Acting Commissioner Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti today announced the beginning of the annual statewide campaign to repair potholes across New Jersey.

This winter’s weather pattern of temperatures continually fluctuating above and below freezing, along with recurring snow storms and rainfall, is producing a large number of potholes on state highways, which pose a risk for motorists.

“The frequent snow storms early in the winter, along with heavy rains recently, and severe swings in temperature have been particularly harsh on our roads this year,” Acting Commissioner Gutierrez-Scaccetti said. “Keeping New Jersey’s roads in good condition is a priority and NJDOT strives to repair potholes on state highways as quickly as possible. Therefore, we are launching the Department’s annual pothole campaign now instead of waiting for spring.”

To deal with potholes in the most aggressive and efficient manner, the Department will be allowing crews throughout the state to close travel lanes where necessary during daytime hours, including during peak travel times for priority repairs. 

It is important to slow down in work zones so NJDOT crews can safely make repairs. New Jersey’s Move Over law requires motorists to move over if it is safe to do so when they approach an emergency or service vehicle stopped on the side of the road.

Where possible, crews will limit their daytime work hours to 9;00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., per standard protocol, and will try to avoid working in travel lanes carrying traffic in the peak direction during peak times. However, motorists might encounter maintenance crews making priority repairs any time of the day or night during this campaign.

In addition to the Department’s usual winter method of using cold-patch material for pothole repair, NJDOT is also using 11 state-of-the-art pothole-filling machines, which make a more durable repair than cold patch. The pothole-filling machine is a truck that can heat a mix of asphalt and gravel before injecting the mixture into the pothole. These machines require just one person to operate, with another worker operating a safety truck. Click here to see a video of a pothole-filling machine in action. 

“The pothole-filling machines provide several advantages to the traditional ‘throw-and-go’ method of a crew shoveling a cold patch into a pothole,” Assistant Commissioner for Operations and Maintenance Andrew Tunnard said. “The pothole filling machines allow our crews to cover a larger area more quickly and safely because the worker doesn’t have to get out of the truck. The machines also save time and money by providing a more lasting repair.”

As the weather warms up and asphalt plants reopen, our crews will start to perform permanent patch operations on particularly problematic sections of roadway. This is more extensive work that includes milling and paving a small area of the road, and generally will be done overnight.

In the past five fiscal years (FY13 – FY17), NJDOT has repaired on average 218,745 potholes per year. So far in FY18 (July 1, 2017 – February 12, 2018), NJDOT has repaired more than 112,050 potholes, with the busiest pothole repair season just starting.

NJDOT will be using Variable Message Signs to alert motorists of the campaign and, to the extent possible, of lane closures that could result in temporary travel delays. Detailed current repair locations will be posted on a continual basis on www.511nj.org.

In addition to our crews monitoring and reporting potholes that need repair on state highways, we encourage motorists to report potholes as well.  Motorists may call 1-800-POTHOLE or go online at www.nj.gov/transportation to a convenient form on our website to report potholes on state roads. To report potholes on county roads, contact the appropriate jurisdiction.  The Department responds quickly, especially to reports of potholes that create safety concerns based on their size and location.