Author: ECCYC

Autism Family Services of New Jersey offers support to families in the Garden State with children on the autism spectrum, and now they’re getting a little extra support of their own.

According to Patch.com, Andrew Visconti, of Freehold Township, is putting on an Arcade for Autism fundraiser this Sat. (June 4) at Yestercades in Red Bank from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Yestercades is a retro arcade with games from pinball to Pong to pool. They also have gaming systems of more recent vintage like Nintendo and Xbox.

Andrew attends the Marine Academy of Science and Technology (MAST) on Sandy Hook, and is Chief Petty Officer in MAST’s NJROTC Unit. He has two siblings on the spectrum. He told Patch that a lot of his time outside of school has been devoted to MAST and NJROTC activities, but:

“lately, I’ve geared much of my service outside of school to autism efforts — especially after seeing how challenging things have been for my sister, who struggled with virtual learning during the pandemic.”

As you have probably heard, the rate of autism in New Jersey is much higher than the national rate; 1 in every 34 people in New Jersey has an autism diagnosis compared to the national average of 1 in 59 people.

Autism Family Services of New Jersey provides programs and services for families in New Jersey; one of their largest events is the Beach Bash held in Belmar every year.

Even if you can’t make it to Red Bank this Saturday, you can still donate to the event online here.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Doyle only.

You can now listen to Deminski & Doyle — On Demand! Hear New Jersey’s favorite afternoon radio show any day of the week. Download the Deminski & Doyle show wherever you get podcasts, on our free app, or listen right now.

Click here to contact an editor about feedback or a correction for this story.

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June 1 begins hurricane season each year. And each year there’s a new crop of rotating hurricane names put out by the World Meteorological Association.

Most of us are quite familiar with it. They are alphabetized and it’s a way of keeping better track of storms when you often can have multiple hurricanes tracking at the same time.

This year’s Hurricane names are…

Alex

Bonnie

Colin

Danielle

Earl

Fiona

Gaston

Hermine

Ian

Julia

Karl

Lisa

Martin

Nicole

Owen

Paula

Richard

Shary

Tobias

Virginie

Walter

When a hurricane has done so much damage that its very name invokes a certain dread, the National Hurricane Center and the World Meteorological Association retire the name permanently. Kind of like Michael Jordan’s number being retired.

Ida is one example. Its remnants caused such severe flash flooding in New Jersey that 30 people died here. Sandy, of course, was permanently retired as well. Floyd and Igor are imposing names with their given history and were put out to pasture, too.

But how imposing are some of this year’s hurricane names? Obviously, devastation changes all that, but just on the surface does “Alex” sound intimidating? I think of Alex P. Keaton here arguing with his sister Mallory waiting for Skippy to stop by.

Tobias? If you’re an “Arrested Development” fan there’s not a chance you’ll take warnings about Tobias making landfall seriously.

Walter? Unless we name a hurricane Walter White I’m picking up on a serious birdwatching stamp collecting vibe. Not intimidating. Lisa? Nicole? Come on. These sound like characters rejected by “Riverdale” for being too vanilla.

Now if you want to strike fear in some Jersey hearts how about names we associate with bad things? Like Phil Murphy. John List. Richard Hauptmann.

No wait. We have it. The hurricane no one wants to confront. The one that will tear the plywood right off these windows if it doesn’t get to speak with a manager NOW.

Karen.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski only.

You can now listen to Deminski & Doyle — On Demand! Hear New Jersey’s favorite afternoon radio show any day of the week. Download the Deminski & Doyle show wherever you get podcasts, on our free app, or listen right now.

Click here to contact an editor about feedback or a correction for this story.

Counting down New Jersey’s top 15 weather stories of 2021

See the Must-Drive Roads in Every State

I have kids and I know when the weekend comes they are (usually in unison) saying, “mooooooooom…what can we do?  I’m borrrrred”.  Well, thankfully in New Jersey there is lots to do on the weekends, especially since it’s summer!  Can you even belive we are saying that already?!?!

This weekend get ready for the 32^nd Annual Summerfest in the Park!  Don’t you just love summer?  The Point Pleasant Chamber of Commerce is ready to roll this weekend, kicking off this Friday night, June 3^rd from 6-10 pm with live bands, food, and lots of beer & wine under the tent. The fun picks back up again the next day on Saturday, June 4^th.

Get ready for live music, food trucks, tons of market and craft vendors, inflatables for the kiddos and much more!  There will be Saturday-shuttle service from Point Borough High School so parking should not be an issue.

The fun is going to last all day and full-day wristbands for the kiddie activity area are only $10.

It will be family fun in the sun and the best part is, it is a FREE community event!

There is a scheduled rain date for Sunday, June 5^th.  Have fun and get out and enjoy!  We’ve earned this!  If  you see my girls and me make sure to stop, take a selfie and say hi!  Unless I’m wolfing down a corndog, no one needs a photo of that.

Here are some more family favorites and New Jersey classic attractions you have to cross off your summer bucket list!

How Many of These Popular New Jersey Attractions Have You Been To?

The Joyous Jersey Shore and Why We Love it: From A to Z

Ingvald Lawrence Moe (Inky), age 100, and a 72-year resident of 41 Crystal Avenue, West Orange, NJ, passed away peacefully on Friday, May 27, 2022, after a brief run-in with old age.
Ingvald was born to Lars and Angelina Moe in Jersey City, NJ on September 5, 1921. The family later moved to West Caldwell, NJ where Ink grew up and attended school with his brother Robert. He graduated from James Caldwell High School in 1939 while the country was in the Great Depression, and subsequently held several jobs, including gas station attendant and delivering coal.
When World War II began, Ink tried to enlist in the Marine Corps, but was rejected due to color blindness. He made another attempt with the Army Air Corps with a similar outcome: Ink simply couldn’t tell the difference between red and green (he could drive without apparent difficulty since the red traffic light was always on top and green on the bottom). Inky tried overdosing on carrots and visiting eye specialists to no avail. Not one to give up and accept a color-blind fate while his country was at war, and with the Army in dire need of manpower, Ink finally found a match, and was inducted into the Army Signal Corps in 1942.
After a short Army-sponsored electronics training course at Cornell University, he became an expert on radio frequency signals, navigation beacons, and communications, as well as early radars, both land-based and airborne, and early radar countermeasures. He served in the European Theater of Operations, advancing through France, Belgium, and Germany. Because of the technical skills of his unit, they were often selected to sweep through newly — and sometimes not quite — evacuated German bases to retrieve left behind advanced technologies, aircraft parts, jet or rocket fuels, and other engineering and scientific documentation.
After the war ended, Ingvald was honorably discharged, and married his pre-war girlfriend, Dorothy Esther Banta of Bellville, NJ on December 21, 1946. They initially resided in East Orange, NJ, where his first child, George, was born in 1948. Ink worked days and attended The Polytechnical Institute of Brooklyn at night. He eventually earned a Bachelor of Civil Engineering Degree in 1951, subsequently embarking on a 50+ year career primarily as a self-employed civil engineer. He designed the support structures for numerous large commercial, government and public buildings in the Essex, Union, Hudson, and Bergen County areas of New Jersey.
Ingvald, Dorothy, and son George moved to 41 Crystal Avenue, West Orange in 1950, into a house he designed and built for his family. Ink’s second child, Patricia, was born that same year, and his third, Margaret, in 1953. He celebrated his 100th birthday in this home.
Ink was never one to sit around and just enjoy leisure time. He was a tinkerer, quasi-inventor, and teacher. For example, he built a seismograph-like contraption, driven by a crystal radio with a 100-foot wire antenna to capture solar flare activity, and designed a prototype air lifting body to determine whether very low energy lift capacity was possible. In short, he was something of a science geek. On one hand, he helped his children develop and construct science experiments that were the coolest in school and on the other, taught them how to fish at 5 AM during summer breaks.
But Ingvald’s real forte was his selflessness. He volunteered wherever and whenever there was need. He worked with the Boy Scouts for years as an adult mentor. When Civil Defense became the watchword in the 1950s, Ink volunteered and eventually became the Civil Defense Director for the Township of West Orange, NJ. He provided in-patient assistance at St. Barnabas Hospital in Livingston, NJ with his wife Dorothy for more than 40 years and volunteered for regular duty as part of the West Orange First Aid Squad Ambulance Team. Since Ink had the rarest of blood types (AB neg), he donated whole blood as frequently as possible for nearly 50 years. He was recognized repeatedly as one of New Jersey’s leading blood donors by the American Red Cross.
Ingvald is survived by his children George Moe (Dolores), Patricia Moe, and Margaret Moe (Edward Kuell); grandchildren Katherine Moe, Thomas Kuell (Lauren) and James Kuell (Morgan); and great grandchildren Talley Rae, Kennedy, and Whitley Kuell. He is predeceased by his wife of 72 years, Dorothy, his granddaughter Jamie, and his brother Robert.
Ink said to the doctors right before passing, “I’ve taken good care of this body for more than 100 years. Now it’s your turn.” It didn’t work out, but he kept his sense of humor until the end.
Ingvald Moe: devoted husband, exceptional father, and a very good man.
A Celebration of Life for both Ingvald and Dorothy will take place at Shook-Farmer Funeral Home, 45 Roseland Ave., Roseland, NJ. Date and time to be announced.

Published by Shook’s Cedar Grove Funeral Home, Inc. on Jun. 1, 2022.

To celebrate its 40th year in existence, Human Needs Food Pantry is doing what it has always done: feeding, clothing and caring for the people of Essex County and  surrounding towns.

Few organizations in the area have a longer and more distinguished track record of helping those in need. Even in the face of pandemic-related challenges, Human Needs demonstrated unwavering commitment by continuing all food distribution outside despite the summer heat, winter cold, rain and snow.

In 2021, the organization served more than 5,100 adults and more than 1,400 children. That equates to more than 580,000 pounds of food (and more than 22,300 bags) throughout the year. This included a variety of meats, fresh fruits, bread and rolls, vegetables, and a broad range of grocery products. Canned vegetables, soups, sauces, pasta, rice, canned tuna and chicken, hot and cold cereals, and much more were given out each week. Also available to clients are nutritional supplements, diapers, wipes, feminine products and personal hygiene items. Volunteer drivers deliver bags to over 250 homebound clients each week as well.

Additionally, the pantry regularly offers medical screenings provided by staff from Mountainside hospital. Clients may be tested for high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol. One on one counseling with a dietician is offered, with an emphasis on nutrition and healthy cooking.

Despite its warehouse location, Human Needs helps people from multiple geographies. In fact, the five major service areas, in order, are Bloomfield, Montclair, the Oranges, Belleville and Irvington. In addition, the staff members of Human Needs find themselves reaching further, helping clients from other counties, including Bergen, Hudson, Morris, Passaic, Union, Somerset and more.

Yet, regardless of where clients come from, one thing is as true today as it was 40 years ago: All are treated with the utmost dignity and respect — in other words, as human beings.

Of course, this level of service and caring is only possible because of the incredible support and generosity of donors, both individuals and groups. The Human Needs Food Pantry receives no government funding.

According to Human Needs’ executive director, Michael Bruno: “We are thrilled to reach this important milestone and grateful to be able to serve the most vulnerable members of our community; those struggling with food insecurity. The next 40 years starts now.”

Human Needs Food Pantry will be celebrating its 40th anniversary with a series of events throughout the fall. Please visit humanneedsfoodpantry.org for details on all upcoming events, as well as information about how to donate.

Human Needs Food Pantry Board of Directors

Montclair Local’s Opinion section is an open forum for civil discussion in which we invite readers to discuss town matters, articles published in Montclair, or previously published letters. Views expressed and published in this section are solely those of the writers, and do not represent the views of Montclair Local. 

Letters to the editor: To submit a letter to the editor, email letters@montclairlocal.news, or mail “Letters to the Editor,” PO Box 752, Montclair, NJ, 07042 (email is preferred). Submissions must include the name, address and phone number of the writer for verification. Only the writer’s name and town of residence will be published. Montclair Local does not publish anonymous opinion pieces.

Letters must be no more than 500 words in length, and must be received by the Sunday prior to publication to be eligible for use in any Thursday print issue. Letters may be edited by Montclair Local for grammar and style. While our goal is to publish most letters we receive, Montclair Local reserves the right to decline publication of a letter for any reason, including but not limited to concerns about unproven or defamatory statements, inappropriate language, topic matter far afield of the particular interests of Montclair residents, or available space.

Town Square: Montclair Local also accepts longer-form opinion essays from residents aiming to generate discussion on topics specific to the community, under our “Town Square” banner. “Town Square” essays should be no more than 750 words in length, and topics should be submitted to letters@montclairlocal.news at least seven days prior to publication.

Ingvald Lawrence Moe, “Inky,” age 100, and a 72-year resident of 41 Crystal Avenue, West Orange, N.J., passed away peacefully on Friday, May 27, 2022, after a brief run-in with old age.
Ingvald was born to Lars and Angelina Moe in Jersey City, N.J. on September 5, 1921. The family later moved to West Caldwell, N.J. where Ink grew up and attended school with his brother, Robert. He graduated from James Caldwell High School in 1939 while the country was in the Great Depression, and subsequently held several jobs, including gas station attendant and delivering coal.
When World War II began, Ink tried to enlist in the Marine Corps, but was rejected due to color blindness. He made another attempt with the Army Air Corps with a similar outcome: Ink simply couldn’t tell the difference between red and green (he could drive without apparent difficulty since the red traffic light was always on top and green on the bottom). Inky tried overdosing on carrots and visiting eye specialists to no avail. Not one to give up and accept a color-blind fate while his country was at war, and with the Army in dire need of manpower, Ink finally found a match, and was inducted into the Army Signal Corps in 1942.
After a short Army-sponsored electronics training course at Cornell University, he became an expert on radio frequency signals, navigation beacons, and communications, as well as early radars, both land-based and airborne, and early radar countermeasures. He served in the European Theater of Operations, advancing through France, Belgium, and Germany. Because of the technical skills of his unit, they were often selected to sweep through newly — and sometimes not quite — evacuated German bases to retrieve left behind advanced technologies, aircraft parts, jet or rocket fuels, and other engineering and scientific documentation.
After the war ended, Ingvald was honorably discharged, and married his pre-war girlfriend, Dorothy Esther Banta of Bellville, N.J. on December 21, 1946. They initially resided in East Orange, N.J., where his first child, George, was born in 1948. Ink worked days and attended The Polytechnical Institute of Brooklyn at night. He eventually earned a Bachelor of Civil Engineering Degree in 1951, subsequently embarking on a 50+ year career primarily as a self-employed civil engineer. He designed the support structures for numerous large commercial, government and public buildings in the Essex, Union, Hudson, and Bergen County areas of New Jersey.
Ingvald, Dorothy, and son, George, moved to 41 Crystal Avenue, West Orange in 1950, into a house he designed and built for his family. Ink’s second child, Patricia, was born that same year, and his third, Margaret, in 1953. He celebrated his 100th birthday in this home.
Ink was never one to sit around and just enjoy leisure time. He was a tinkerer, quasi-inventor, and teacher. For example, he built a seismograph-like contraption, driven by a crystal radio with a 100-foot wire antenna to capture solar flare activity, and designed a prototype air lifting body to determine whether very low energy lift capacity was possible. In short, he was something of a science geek. On one hand, he helped his children develop and construct science experiments that were the coolest in school and on the other, taught them how to fish at 5 AM during summer breaks.
But Ingvald’s real forte was his selflessness. He volunteered wherever and whenever there was a need. He worked with the Boy Scouts for years as an adult mentor. When Civil Defense became the watchword in the 1950’s, Ink volunteered and eventually became the Civil Defense Director for the Township of West Orange, N.J. He provided in-patient assistance at St. Barnabas Hospital in Livingston, N.J. with his wife Dorothy for more than 40 years and volunteered for regular duty as part of the West Orange First Aid Squad Ambulance Team. Since Ink had the rarest of blood types (AB neg), he donated whole blood as frequently as possible for nearly 50 years. He was recognized repeatedly as one of New Jersey’s leading blood donors by the American Red Cross.
Ingvald is survived by his children, George Moe (Dolores), Patricia Moe, and Margaret Moe (Edward Kuell); grandchildren, Katherine Moe, Thomas Kuell (Lauren), and James Kuell (Morgan); and great- grandchildren, Talley Rae, Kennedy, and Whitley Kuell. He is predeceased by his wife of 72 years, Dorothy, his granddaughter Jamie, and his brother Robert.
Ink said to the doctors right before passing, “I’ve taken good care of this body for more than 100 years. Now it’s your turn.” It didn’t work out, but he kept his sense of humor until the end.
A Celebration of Life for both Ingvald and Dorothy will take place at Shook-Farmer Funeral Home, 45 Roseland Ave., Roseland, NJ. Date and time to be announced.

TAP Into Another Town’s News:

OK, Google, this is personal, and I’m about to put your petty shade on display.

Reader, I’m sure you know about the example sentence to help you understand the word you looked up.

Apparently, Google is using them as a way to take a swipe at the great Garden State.

To quote Stephanie Tanner of Full House: how rude?!

One eagle-eyed Twitter user noticed that when you Google the definition of the word “dread,” the following comes up:

Dread (verb)

anticipate with great apprehension or fear

And here’s the second definition:

Dread (noun)

great fear or apprehension

Get a load of the example sentence they used:

The thought of returning to New Jersey filled her with dread.

Excuse you, Google?

I have to be honest, it was bold of you to take a controversial stance against the state known for the likes of Tony Soprano, you had to know we’d come for you.

This was clearly written by someone who isn’t familiar with our state.

I mean, think about it: what was this fictional woman dreading? Sure, she may have been thinking of our property taxes, but if not them, then what?

Our gorgeous beaches?

Our better-than-the-rest pizza and bagels?

The undeniable talent to come out of New Jersey?

Bruce Springsteen

Meryl Streep

Frank Sinatra

Rachel Zegler

The way the movie industry is eyeing New Jersey as a filming location?

Oh, I know, it must be the fact that we’re home to the world’s tallest, fastest roller coaster, Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure.

Google, you’re embarrassing yourself by using us as a punchline. The Garden State is so much more than outsiders give us credit for.

If I were the employee who wrote that example sentence I’d be “dreading” the day I realized how wrong I was.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5’s Kylie Moore. Any opinions expressed are Kylie’s own. You can follow Kylie on Instagram.

Click here to contact an editor about feedback or a correction for this story.

See the Must-Drive Roads in Every State

A handful of New Jersey school districts sent kids home early this week due to excessive heat, renewing the debate about whether kids should be in school during high heat days.

Kearny and Jersey City announced early dismissal on Tuesday as temperatures went well into the 90’s with high humidity. Many of the older school buildings in the districts do not have air conditioning.

The issue of hot classrooms is not new. It was brought into focus last Fall when temperatures briefly went into the 90’s in September. That was also before Gov. Phil Murphy had lifted his statewide school mask mandate.

These days it seems more likely that kids will get a day off or an early dismissal due to higher temperatures than they are for bad weather in the Winter.

New Jersey State Climatologist Dave Robinson at Rutgers University says the state’s summers are getting hotter. “As New Jersey’s summer weather gets warmer,” Robinson says, “We are seeing more days over 90.”

Robinson says it wont happen every year, but there is a trend. For example, in New Brunswick, the number of days with temperatures over 90 has averaged 20-days per year over the long-term. In 2021, it happened 36 days.

In Jersey City, interim Superintendent Norma Fernandez says the district is formalizing a policy that would give parents a guide as to when children would be sent home early.

Fernandez told NJ.com temperatures in excess of 94-degrees would be “unacceptable” to her, but “I am not a health expert.”

Not everyone is on board with the idea of dismissing early due to hot weather.

One parents group in the district said it was not only hugely disruptive to families, it is an “abandonment of their duty to educate our students.”

Eric Scott is the senior political director and anchor for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at eric.scott@townsquaremedia.com

Click here to contact an editor about feedback or a correction for this story.