May 6, 2015 • www.theobserver.com • Vol CXXVII, No. 50 Visit our
BUSINESS DIRECT on
COVERING: BELLEVILLE • BLOOMFIELD
see VFW page
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• EAST NEWARK • HARRISON • KEARNY • LYNDHURST • NORTH ARLINGTON • NUTLEY
Patriots honored by VFW
Kearny’s Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1302 held its annual awards night Friday, paying tribute to local teens and their teachers, public safety employees, community workers and business people for supporting patriotism. Rich Pawlowski, a decorated Kearny police officer, was recognized as the VFW’s Citizen of the Year for spearheading a drive to send care packages to his stepbrother Matthew McGilis’s N.J. National Guard’s 2-113th Infantry Battalion unit deployed on a humanitarian mission to Africa last year. (McGilis just returned from his mission last week.) In support of that effort, the VFW enlisted the aid of many resources in the Kearny community to organize an Octoberfest fundraiser on behalf of the members of the battalion. With the funds collected, “we shipped 37 large boxes totaling 1,116 pounds” to the deployed soldiers,” said VFW Commander Jennifer Long, “and some funds paid for a Christmas party for the families of the soldiers at the Jersey City Armory.” “For six weeks, we were running around but it all came together for the event that benefited 900 N.J. National Guard soldiers that deployed,” Long said.
RY
Inspiring medalist By Karen Zautyk Observer Correspondent
weight; 75 lbs.) We met with Rocco and his parents, Nicole and Cesar BELLEVILLE – Negron, at their home last Remember those photos month to talk about both the of Olympic swimmer third-grader’s achievements Michael Phelps with and about Autism Awareness seven medals around Month. Rocco, you see, has his neck? Well, the Asperger Syndrome, an auyoung man from tism spectrum disorder, which Belleville pictured he refers to as “his little dark here is wearing 11. And enemy.” he’s only just begun to From our time with the boy, compete in his sport of we can tell you that, in this choice: wrestling. contest, the “enemy” doesn’t Rocco Negron, age 9, stand a chance. garnered his latest award When Rocco wrestles, he in March when he took wears headgear bearing the third place in the USANJ words “Autism Awareness.” Kids’ Scholastic State His is not a secret battle. He Championship matches, himself is aware of exactly which drew several what he’s up against, and his thousand competitors to determination to deal with it Trenton. There were 14 is nothing less than inspiring. wrestlers in Rocco’s age/ weight group. (Bantam see CHAMP page
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Photo by Karen ZAutyk
Rocco Negron
They can see clearly now EAST NEWARK – Many youngsters in East Newark Public School experienced an eye-popping lesson recently. Twenty-one pupils learned that they needed glasses and one was found to be colorblind. That discovery came about
after Joanne Devine, R.N., the school nurse, suspected that a number of the children at the borough’s elementary school were having difficulty with their eyesight. Telltale signs of trouble seemed evident in the way some kids were squinting at a smart board in class or were
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lowering their head to their desk to read from a book. So Devine, who came to the borough school 11 years ago after a lengthy career as a nursing administrator at the former St. Mary Hospital in Hoboken and Christ Hospital in Jersey City, made known her concerns to Superinten-
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dent/Principal Patrick Martin. Realizing that for many lowincome East Newark parents, some working two jobs, taking their child to an eye doctor for twice a year checkups was an unmanageable or unaffordable expense, the pair figured they needed to find a way to help. see GLASSES page
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