April 29, 2015 • www.theobserver.com • Vol CXXVII, No. 49 Visit our
BUSINESS DIRECT on
COVERING: BELLEVILLE • BLOOMFIELD
Page 30
• EAST NEWARK • HARRISON • KEARNY • LYNDHURST • NORTH ARLINGTON • NUTLEY
Guard hit; Town mulls safety steps
Historic church battered anew
By Ron Leir Observer Correspondent
By Ron Leir Observer Correspondent
HARRISON – Fatima Sahli was staffing her crossing guard post at Davis and Harrison Aves. when she saw her “best friend” get hit by a car just a block away. Grazyna “Grace” Jurczyk, 57, was badly hurt after being struck at her crossing guard post at Davis and Hamilton St. last Tuesday morning, police said. Jurczyk was taken to University Hospital of Medicine & Dentistry, Newark, where surgeons removed her spleen and repaired her left leg, according to police. Police said two vehicles entered the intersection at the same time, at about 8:30 a.m., and collided, causing one of the cars to spin into the southwest corner, hit Jurczyk and then a stanchion pole on the sidewalk. Police believe that Jurczyk was thrown in the air, possibly 20 feet, after being struck. One witness told police that Jurczyk had just completed crossing pedestrians from the southeast corner of the Hamilton/Davis intersection to the southwest corner and was waiting for the light to return to her corner when she see GUARD page
RY
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BELLEVILLE – landmark church in Belleville dating from the 19th century that was badly damaged by Hurricane Sandy in 2012 has been dealt another blow by the weather. Last week, strong winds punctured an already fragile steeple of the old Dutch Reformed Church – now owned by La Senda Antigua Church – ripping off sections of wood and hurling them down onto Rutgers St. Police said they were alerted to the safety hazard by a caller at 4:44 p.m. Thursday who reported that debris was falling off the roof of the church. (Wind gusts were measured at 51 mph at Red Bull Arena in Harrison last Wednesday and averaged 25 to 30 mph on Thursday, reported Tony Mondero of the Harrison Weather Center.) Police responded to the potential danger by blocking vehicles from entering a turning lane that runs alongside the church, leading from Rutgers onto Main St., and placed yellow tape around the
A
see STEEPLE page
Photo by Ron Leir
Wind gusts last week left steeple of historic church exposed to the elements.
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‘Don’t change insurer,’ teachers say By Ron Leir Observer Correspondent
KEARNY – Lincoln Middle School teacher April Amenta is dreading a possible switch in her health care coverage because she fears having to spend a lot more for doctors
out of the network. “I can’t afford to live in this town if you make this decision,” Amenta told her employers last Monday. Valerie Verdi, a 30-year Kearny teacher, swears by current health care provider Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield. But for the company’s
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extensive coverage for serious medical issues she dealt with, “I would’ve lost my house.” And, she said, even though “my paycheck has gone backwards” due to the cost of employee health contributions, Verdi feels the increasing cost of care is worth it “to keep us healthy. We need our board
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[of education] to support us so we can continue to do our best for the children.” And a 23-year Kearny High teacher who spent 38 days on antibiotics before being diagnosed with auto-immune disease said that since then, “I lost almost no time at work see INSURANCE page
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