School Security Focus of County Prosecutor Summit

Morris County residents are invited to come, learn and share ideas about making schools safer.

Since the Newtown shootings, school safety has been on the minds of many throughout the nation and here at home. In an effort to generate community discussion on the topic, the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office wants to get citizens talking. In partnership with the East Hanover School District, the New Jersey Department of Education and the Morris County Superintendent of Schools, the prosecutor's office is sponsoring a Morris County School Safety and Security Summit. The event is scheduled for next Tuesday, Feb. 26, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Morris County Public Safety Training Academy at 500 W. Hanover Ave. in Parsippany. “Community-wide partnerships and efforts that focus on leveraging all of our support systems, both in the educational …

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Schools Enhance Security—Is It Enough?

Neighboring Mt. Olive High School on cusp of hiring full time, armed retired police officer.

The security of students in school has become a national issue in the past month, after a 20-year-old man opened fire in a Newtown, Connecticut elementary school, killing 26 people before turning the gun on himself. Locally, steps have been taken to enhance security measures in various school districts. In Marlboro, New Jersey, the school district’s board of education approved the implementation of armed security guards in each of the town’s nine school buildings less than a week after the Connecticut shooting. On Thursday, it was announced by neighboring school district Mt. Olive that the high school there is one board of education vote away from installing an armed, retired police officer in that building. The topic has now been brought …

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DXJ

6:35 pm on Tuesday, January 29, 2013

A guard absent a plan is pointless. School officials need to initiate a security audit and work with local law enforcement to come up with a plan to address the audit deficiencies. I'd rather a local retired cop function as security officer (or asset manager, whatever eduspeak they use these days not to scare the sheeple), which is to say he is a lot more than an "armed guard".   more ›

What's the Real Reason Behind the Violence?

Patch wants to know your thoughts on why 2012 was rife with violence.

As we embark on 2013, we know 2012 was a year full of memories–both good and bad. What we did see last year, however, was a large amount of violence, much of which included weapons and led to horrific tragedies. There was the movie theater shooting in Colorado, the mall shooting in Oregon, and the mid-December massacre of 20 children at an elementary school in Connecticut. For some, the violent acts turned into a debate and forum for gun control. For others, it was about the safety–or lack thereof–in schools and public places. Then there were the parents and even some media columnists who pointed at the ever-growing amount of accepted violence in television, movies and music. Many believe it's an oversight in helping the mentally ill …

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What's the Real Reason Behind the Violence?

Long Valley Patch wants to know your thoughts on why 2012 was rife with violence.

Giants Pay Tribute to Victims of Newtown Shooting

Families, friends of those killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School usher team onto field.

NORTH JERSEY — More than 200 students from Sandy Hook Elementary School were among 400 people from Newtown, Conn., who formed a tunnel for New York Giants players to run through as they took the field Sunday for their final home game of the 2012 season. A little more than two weeks after a 20-year-old gunman stormed into the Connecticut elementary school and killed 26 people, including 20 children, families, classmates and neighbors of the dead were bused to MetLife Stadium and given tickets to the contest by the Giants. The group of Newtown residents received high-fives and handshakes from the athletes as they entered the field. The students and their families then made a ring around the field, holding hands with Giants and Philadelphia …

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Should Local Schools Have Armed Guards?

One district in New Jersey already voted to hire guards for schools.

Less than a week after a gunman killed 20 children and six adults in a Newtown, Connecticut elementary school, a New Jersey school district took action, with its board of education approving to hire armed security guards at each of its buildings. The Marlboro Board of Education approved the action on Dec. 20, as reported in Marlboro-Colts Neck Patch, and will have armed security guards in each of its nine school buildings at the start of the new year.  Another debate about gun control regulations and laws was sparked after the massacre in Newtown, with many calling for stricter legislations and enforcement. On the other side, the National Rifle Association said it recommended schools hire armed guards, as the board approved in Marlboro. …

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Notes For Newtown From Morris County

The Morris County Arts Workshop collecting notes of support and encouragement to send to the families who lost loved ones in Newtown.

The Morris County Arts Workshop (MCAW) in Chester is channeling their creativity and compassion into a project to pay tribute to those who are suffering in the aftermath of the shooting in Newtown, Conn. Jane Shatz, director of MCAW has organized a tealight tribute to the children of Newtown. MCAW is dedicated to making arts participation an integral part of everyday life. The goal of this project for the people of Newtown is for the community to come together to share their grief, as well as wishes for healing and peace. "This is something we can do. From one community to another," Shatz said. "That is what the soul of it is." During MCAW’s Thursday night fundraiser at their new storefront at the Chester Springs Shopping center, guests …

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Assault Weapons Should be Banned, Mayor Says

Mayors throughout country are signing letter to President, Congress seeking stricter gun control legislation.

Last week a 20-year-old man shot and killed 26 people, including 20 children, at a school in Newtown, Conn., his mother and himself. On Wednesday, more than 750 mayors from around the country, who are part of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG) coalition, signed a letter to call on President Barack Obama and Congress to pass stricter gun control legislation.  "With all the carnage from gun violence in our country, it's still almost impossible to believe that a mass shooting in a kindergarten class could happen," New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a statement. Bloomberg is Co-Chair of MAIG. "We heard after Columbine that it was too soon to talk about gun laws. We heard it after Virginia Tech. After Tucson and Aurora and Oak …

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Kevin Nedd

3:32 pm on Thursday, January 3, 2013

Try starting with the weapons prohibited under the Federal Assault Weapons Ban, which expired in 2004. It did not include baseball bats, nor did it include vehicles used to drive across town and assault school employees.   more ›