Lo Re and Halecky inducted into New Jersey Elected Officials Hall of Fame
The New Jersey State League of Municipalities inducted two former Bayonne City Council members, Vincent Lo Re Jr. and John Halecky, into the Elected Officials Hall of Fame during the 19th annual Mayors’ Legislative Day on Feb. 16 at the State House Annex in Trenton.
The honor is reserved for local municipal governing body members who, as of December 2010, served for at least 20 years in elected municipal office. Both Halecky and Lo Re served on the Bayonne City Council for 20 years, from 1990 to 2010. Lo Re served as 3rd Ward councilmember, councilmember at large, and council president. Halecky served as councilmember at-large, 2nd Ward councilmember, and council president.
The president of the State League of Municipalities, Mayor Chuck Chiarello of Buena Vista said, “The Elected Officials Hall of Fame recognizes these officials who have selflessly guided their communities through the good times and troubled times with little recognition of their sacrifice. This token of appreciation will shine a light on these pillars in our communities and hold them up as an example of civic pride for all citizens to emulate.”
Both Lo Re and Halecky said that it was an honor to have their years of service recognized by the League of Municipalities.
There are currently 463 inductees in the Elected Officials Hall of Fame, which can be viewed at www.njslom.com.
As part of the day’s events, presentations were made by key legislators and others. Among the speakers were Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno, Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver, State Senate President Stephen Sweeney, and Senior Anchor Jim Hooker of New Jersey Network (NJN) News.
Bayonne Women’s Health Center closing
The Bayonne Women’s Health Center has lost all funding due to the governor’s state budget cuts to women’s health care. The clinic will be forced to close at the end of March 2011. If you have been a patient at the Bayonne Women’s Health Center, you should come in to pick up your medical records immediately. Representatives at the site will be able to refer you to other care sites in the county.
Call the clinic for information on the best times to come in to suit your schedule at (201) 823-1250.
All patient records will be stored by the City of Bayonne after the clinic closes (details on storage information to follow).
The Bayonne Women’s Health Center has served Bayonne and the surrounding area of southern Hudson Country for 40 years.
Tenant’s group to meet at library
Bayonne Tenants Action Association will be meeting at the Bayonne Library on March 10 at 7 p.m. to discuss the ordinance that would do away with rent control in the city. This will be to talk about the issues prior to the public hearing at the City Council meeting in City Hall on March 16.
A rally is scheduled to be held in opposition to the ordinance on March 14 at 5 p.m.in front of City Hall, which is located on Avenue C and 26th Street.
Partial roof collapse on Commerce St.
A portion of a warehouse roof at 7 Commerce St. collapsed over an interior loading dock area, landing on two parked truck trailers on March 7.
Firefighters discovered the problem when they responded to a water flow alarm at about 3:18 a.m.
“The collapse is believed to have caused the overhead sprinkler system to fracture, resulting in a water flow alarm activation and flooding of the warehouse,” said Fire Chief Greg Rogers. “Firefighters checked for potential victims, stopped the water flow, secured the utilities, and set up a collapse zone cordon.”
There were no reported victims or injuries. The Building Department, PSE&G, and a representative from IMTT were called to the scene. IMTT reportedly owns the warehouse that is leased to the Jay Company.
Warehouse fire being investigated
Using cutting saws to force entry into a warehouse at 150 Pulaski St. on Feb. 28, firefighters were confronted with heavy smoke and two vehicles fully engulfed in flames. While the fire was put out within an hour, the cause is still under investigation, according to Fire Chief Greg Rogers, who noted that while the garage took hours to ventilate after the fire, the warehouse –used by APA Logistics – seemed have suffered no structural damage.
ShopRite honored for charity work
On March 14, ShopRite of Bayonne will join the unveiling of themed Cheerios boxes commemorating work toward raising more than a $500,000 in an effort to feed people in need.
The ShopRite of Bayonne selected Lillian Blackmire and Angela Lorenc of Bayonne to represent their store on 150,000 special-edition Cheerios boxes themed “Get Connected.” You can also find the faces of 79 ShopRite store associates proudly representing the additional 39 ShopRite locations that participated in the contest to help raise awareness and funding for hunger in their communities.
Bill would help jailed substance abusers
A bill sponsored by senators Raymond J. Lesniak and Sandra Bolden Cunningham that would allow inmates dealing with substance abuse issues to “earn their way out” of incarceration by completing a rigorous substance abuse treatment and recovery program was unanimously approved by the Senate Law and Public Safety Committee last week.
“Our existing criminal justice system does not do enough to address the causes of crime, but simply isolates criminals from society and puts them behind bars, where, in many cases, they learn to become better criminals,” said Cunningham. “As a result, we have a revolving door policy at our prisons, where offenders are released without treatment, commit crimes upon their release in order to fuel their addiction, and are once again put behind bars. It’s time to invest our State’s Corrections budget in policies and programs designed to better protect state residents and rehabilitate criminals.”
The bill, S-2614, would establish a program known as the “Earn Your Way Out of Prison and Into Supervision, Treatment, and Recovery Program” to create a treatment, recovery, and self-responsibility alternative to incarceration for substance abuse offenders. The “Earn Your Way Out” program would be established in the State Parole Board, and would be open to inmates who are serving a sentence of at least three years, and meet a number of eligibility criteria, including a professional diagnosis of drug or alcohol dependence, an evaluation of the threat the person may pose to the community if released early, a psychiatric evaluation and consideration that substance abuse played a part in the original offense, and that treatment and monitoring will likely benefit the person and reduce the likelihood that they will commit another offense.