A 25-year-old Kearny man has been charged with throwing a chair at his sister and then calling his mother from the police station and threatening her about what he would do once released.

JERSEY CITY -- A 25-year-old Kearny man has been charged with throwing a chair at his sister and then threatening his mother during a phone call he placed while at the police station.

Kevin Padilla is charged with simple assault and making terroristic threats in connection to the incident on June. 19 in Kearny, the criminal complaint says.

The mother and sister told police Padilla threw that chair at his sister, striking her on the wrist. They also said he called his mother saying that he would do "more harm" after he was released from the police station, the complaint says.

Padilla made his first appearance on the charges on Wednesday in Criminal Justice Reform Court n Jersey City via video link from Hudson County jail in Kearny.

At the hearing, he was ordered released with conditions of supervision pending trial, including having no contact with his mother and sister. 

The properties were found to be part of an old dump site for the Matteo family who formerly made a business out of crushing and recycling batteries.

WEST DEPTFORD TWP. -- The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed a cleanup plan to continue removing lead-contaminated soil from 36 residential properties in West Deptford. 

In November 2015, buried battery casings were discovered during sewer repair excavation work at a property on Birchly Court. The EPA collected soil samples in March of 2016 from the yards of the properties in that area and confirmed the contamination.

Battery waste dug up from the Superfund site. (staff photo) 

The properties were found to be part of an old dump site for the Matteo family who formerly made a business out of crushing and recycling batteries, scrap metal recycling, and landfilling. The contaminated properties were part of a dump site before it was sold to developers.

"With that information, we sampled and looked further and neighboring properties and areas," said Dave Rosoff, the EPA's on-site coordinator for the project, at the time of the investigation.

More than 30 properties were added to the Superfund project as the sampling continued. After the initial residential properties were searched, the EPA expanded efforts to include West Deptford High School and tested the athletic field soil. Nothing toxic was found, according to Rosoff. 

Following the inspection at the high school, no additional digging took place. The focus became setting a plan to clean up the contaminated areas.

According to the EPA's proposed cleanup plan for the superfund site, which was outlined in a press release on Thursday, soil in yards that are contaminated at levels that pose a potential health risk will be removed and disposed of at a facility licensed to handle the waste. The area will then be covered with clean soil. 

While the EPA plans to work and minimize disruptions, organizers say it is possible that some residents may be temporarily relocated while the work is underway. Additionally, under this proposal the EPA would continue to conduct reviews of the cleanup every five years to ensure the plan and clean were both effective.

The EPA will hold a public meeting on July 6 to further explain the cleanup proposal and to give the public an opportunity to comments and note concerns. The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at RiverWinds Community Center in West Deptford. 

Caitlyn Stulpin may be reached at cstulpin@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @caitstulpin. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

An appeals court overturned the 37-year-old's conviction and he can't be retried....Man convicted of sex assault to go free because of error

TRENTON -- A New Jersey man convicted of having sex with a 12-year-old girl is to be freed from prison -- and cannot be retried -- after an appeals court found that "fatal" mistakes made at the trial left the verdicts unintelligible.

Dennis ConoverOcean County Prosecutor's Office 

The Appellate Division of New Jersey Superior Court overturned the conviction and 15-year sentence of 37-year-old Dennis Conover of Manalapan. The Asbury Park Press reports Conover's record also is to be wiped clean.

Conover was indicted on more than 20 charges and convicted of three sexual assault-related counts in May 2014.

His girlfriend, Mary Ellen Deane, was separately convicted of having sex with the same 12-year-old and was sentenced to 15 years. But the appeals court ruling does not affect her case.

The girl, now 16-years-old, testified during the trial to multiple sexual acts with Conover and Dean, and Conover claimed in a statement to law 
enforcement that he participated in only one incident, officials said.

The appeals court found in a decision released Monday that in Conover's case, Superior Court Judge James M. Blaney and prosecutors failed to make clear the specific allegations linked to each charge, leaving jurors to sort it out.

The judges said the trial errors made it impossible to determine which allegations Conover was convicted or acquitted of. "The verdict sheet did not distinguish at all between the identically-worded counts," the appellate judges wrote.

Because of this uncertainty, they ruled, Conover cannot be retried without violating double jeopardy restrictions.

The court sent the case back to Blaney to dismiss the charges.

The judge did not reply to a request for comment. A trial judge's many duties include issuing jury instructions to guide jurors during deliberations.

Samuel Marzarella, chief appellate attorney for the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office, acknowledged "defects" in the indictment issued by the office, but said the prosecutor is exploring whether to appeal the ruling.

The appeals court ruling referred to the defendant as "D.C." The newspaper said Marzarella would not confirm that "D.C." was, in fact, Dennis Conover. The Press said that, aided by John Paff of the New Jersey Foundation for Open Government, it traced an indictment number referenced in the "D.C." appellate court decision to Conover's 2014 conviction. And the docket number of Conover's 2015 appeal also correlates with the appellate court decision. 

Staff writer Alex Napoliello contributed to this report.

An early-morning fire broke out at a Montgomery Street home

TRENTON - A fire broke out at a North Montgomery Street home early Friday, displacing a family of six, officials said.

A fire on North Montgomery Street on Friday, June 23Trenton Fire Department 

Firefighters were called to the scene at 2:13 a.m. and took more than an hour to bring the blaze under control.

No one was injured, but the house was deemed uninhabitable, officials said. The American Red Cross is helping the family.

Five engines, two ladders, the rescue squad and two chiefs were at the scene.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Olivia Rizzo may be reached at orizzo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @LivRizz. Find NJ.com on Facebook

Lives are at stake. The state needs to make the wise investment of safety net funding now to prevent the exorbitant financial costs and the unconscionable costs to lives that will occur without it.

By Debra L. Wentz

The state Legislature will soon release its budget for fiscal year 2018.  It is imperative that it include safety net funding for community-based providers as their mental health services are transitioned to a fee-for-service reimbursement system.

This funding is critical to ensuring that tens of thousands of New Jerseyans do not lose access to services that will leave them at risk of health complications requiring much more costly treatment in emergency departments and hospital inpatient units.

Keeping providers fiscally viable so they can maintain patient access to care, as well as continuity and quality of care, will not only save thousands of lives, but will also save the state millions of dollars.

Community-based providers of mental health and substance use treatment services in every region of the state have shared detailed projections with the Department of Human Services that show deficits ranging from $125,000 to $2.5 million, all in their outpatient programs, including medication management; partial care and partial hospital programs; and the newly established Community Support Services.

Many aspects of service delivery and billing contribute to these projected deficits.

Several services that are vital to an individual's well-being and ability to remain in the community are not billable under Medicaid. For example, outreach and case management are essential to engage individuals in treatment and support community living.

Without outreach from providers, individuals with serious mental illnesses, who account for a majority of missed appointments, will fall through the cracks. Without supports for ancillary services - such as finding and maintaining housing, and keeping medical and court appointments - many individuals will not be able to overcome the challenges of independent living in the community.

Many individuals with insurances other than Medicaid will also cease to receive services. Providers have historically delivered services to individuals who cannot afford their co-pays and deductibles. Under fee-for-service, no state funds will be available to enable providers to continue that practice.

For the uninsured, non-Medicaid eligible population, state funding will be capped.  When services are delivered to the uninsured, providers will do so with a built-in deficit, since the rates for this population have been set at only 90 percent of the Medicaid rates.

Medicaid regulations will generate additional service delivery costs for providers and further contribute to their projected deficits. For example, group therapy sessions now must be 90 minutes instead of 60; and higher credentialed staff are required for several service components. In many cases, the reimbursement rates have not been sufficiently increased to cover the costs of such requirements.

Providers have been doing more with less for some time now. They have not received a Cost of Living Adjustment since 2008, while costs have continued to increase and they struggle with recruitment and retention problems. They have filled gaps in state funding with local funding, grants and fundraising. There is no way they can possibly continue their current services with less funding, let alone meet new requirements and need.

The community-based behavioral health system of care in New Jersey is facing service capacity reductions that will leave thousands - possibly tens of thousands - of New Jerseyans without access to treatment. Programs that disappear will not be able to be brought back online easily, or at all, in some cases.

Lives are at stake. The state needs to make the wise investment of safety net funding now to prevent the exorbitant financial costs and the unconscionable costs to lives that will occur without it. We urge all New Jerseyans to support this critical funding.

Debra L. Wentz is president and CEO of the New Jersey Association of Mental Health and Addiction Agencies, Inc. (NJAMHAA).

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The 52-year-old victim was found in a trash can in Atlantic City in New Year's Eve

ATLANTIC COUNTY -- A 64-year-old who allegedly beat another Atlantic City man to death with stones and dumped his body in a trash can on New Year's Eve has been indicted on multiple charges including murder.

Thomas GreenAtlantic County jail 

Thomas Green also faces weapons offenses, the prosecutor's office said in a release Friday afternoon.

After Green killed Ricky Ward, 52, he dumped his body in a trash can on the 1200 block of Adriatic Avenue on Dec. 31, authorities said. 

Green was arrested that evening and remains in the Atlantic County jail. He faces 30 years to life in prison if convicted. 

Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Michael David Marchalk is accused of beating his father to death with a baseball bat.

A man wanted for allegedly beating his dad to death with a baseball bat in Pennsylvania was arrested Friday on the Atlantic City boardwalk, Pennsylvania State Police said.

Michael David Marchalk, 37, has been sought since Monday, when the body of his father, Gary Marchalk, was found by his other son, Matthew, in the father's Schuylkill County home, according to police.

"My brother did this, I know it," Matthew Marchalk allegedly told investigators, also saying that Michael had "been making threats for months about killing their dad and family."

Michael Marchalk -- he is charged with homicide and several related charges -- was arrested shortly before noon Friday, Pennsylvania State Police spokesman David Beohm said.

** Marchalk has been taken into custody. ** https://t.co/UqptCQVmhO

-- PA State Police (@PAStatePolice) June 23, 2017

"We're glad we got him," the trooper said. "We don't have to worry about him doing anything else."

It was not immediately clear what Marchalk was doing in Atlantic City, or when he might be extradited.

Marchalk's 60-year-old father, Gary Marchalk, was an attorney. Authorities said he suffered severe injuries to his upper torso and head.

Michael Marchalk recently was living in the same home as his father. He was released Jan. 10 from Schuylkill County Prison and months earlier was jailed in Fayette County on retail theft charges, which are still pending, records showed.

He pleaded guilty in 2007 to robbery and related counts in one case and receiving stolen property in another, the records say. They also show he had trouble keeping up with payments on fines and costs and that stretched those proceedings from one- to two-year sentences to court dates in 2016.

Mom of man shot by troopers backs investigation

Police said Marchalk headed east through the Lehigh Valley shortly after his father's death. Marchalk had an appointment Monday at Lehigh Valley Health Network for detox/drug rehabilitation, but he never showed up, police said.

An ATM camera showed him trying to withdraw money with his father's cards in Lehigh County's Heidelberg Township less than an hour after the attack, and he appeared to be driving his parents' car.

Not long after, he and the car were seen at a Weis Market in Upper Macungie Township, where he again tried to withdraw money, police said. He allegedly tried another transaction hours later at the Wells Fargo Bank in the Northern Liberties section of Philadelphia before failing again at the Greyhound Bus Terminal in the city.

Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @type2supernovak and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.

Christopher Diorio, 31 was arrested Thursday and faces charges in another car theft in West Orange, police said

WEST ORANGE -- A man is accused of swiping a pocketbook from an 87-year-old woman in a wheelchair and stealing her rental car at a West Orange store, officials said Friday.

Christopher Diorio, 31 (Photo: Essex County jail) 

Christopher Diorio, 31, was arrested Thursday at an apartment he rents in West Orange, according to a township spokeswoman. He was charged with vehicle theft, theft of the pocketbook and eluding police in the incident last week at a Main Street CVS store.

Diorio is also charged with stealing another car in West Orange, spokeswoman Susan Anderson said. Police recovered the cars in Irvington.

Records show Diorio, originally from Summit, was also being held on drug-related offenses at the Essex County jail. Details on those charges were not immediately available.

The woman, a West Orange resident, was shopping with her caregiver at CVS last Thursday around 12:30 p.m. when a thief snatched the purse off the back of her wheelchair, officials said in a statement.

He found the woman's car keys in her bag and fled in the rented Toyota Camry. Police said officers briefly chased the stolen car on Route 280 after the theft.

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc and on Facebook. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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Many homeowners up and down the state's coastline have sued to halt beach replenishment projects.

TRENTON -- A New Jersey appeals court has ruled against homeowners in a dispute over beach replenishment projects.

Owners of about two dozen properties on Long Beach Island claim the state doesn't have the authority to take private property for the purposes of beach replenishment after 2012's Superstorm Sandy.

The court ruling Thursday disagreed and also held the public can be given access to those beaches.

Numerous homeowners up and down New Jersey's 127-mile coastline have sued to stop beach replenishment projects. Some claim the dunes will reduce prime beach real estate and push down property values. Others say local projects already provide enough protection.

Critics charge it's really about denying public access to the beaches.

The first Jersey City high-rise with a mandated 80/20 mix of market-rate and affordable housing will open in the fall.

JERSEY CITY -- As the first set of new city-subsidized affordable housing units in Jersey City's Downtown become available, residents are raising questions about how the city and developers define affordable.

The 35-story high-rise on the old Marin Boulevard Pep Boys site will be the first tower in Jersey City with a mandated 80/20 mix of market-rate and affordable housing. The developers, a subsidiary of Forest City, last week announced a lottery system for anyone interested in the 85 affordable apartments.

The announced rents? $1,462 for one bedroom and $1,548 for two bedrooms. Affordable for Downtown, critics say, but still expensive for some of the city's less affluent residents to whom the Fulop administration is touting its plans to increase affordable housing.

"I'm surprised it's that high," said Duane Brodnick, 65, a clerk for the federal government who wants to move into one of the tower's affordable units when it opens in the fall. "I was hoping in the $1,100, $1,200 range."

Asked whether he thinks the rents are affordable, Morrease Leftwich Jr., 19, a student and county court intern, said, "It depends on what you mean by affordable. It's definitely not cheap."

After The Jersey Journal made inquiries, the tower's developer, Abe Naparstek, said he would lower the rents to a range of $954 to $1,194, the amounts announced when the project broke ground in 2015.

"We want to be consistent with what we said before," Naperstek said. "Ultimately we can charge more than that but we don't want to leave a bad taste in everyone's mouths."

MAKING DOWNTOWN AFFORDABLE

The new tower, formerly known as Hudson Exchange West, is going to be called Vyv (pronounced to rhyme with vibe). Developers are finishing construction on the tower at a time when housing costs Downtown are becoming increasingly out-of-reach to non-wealthy residents.

Real estate agents say market-rate studios fetch around $2,200 and one-bedroom apartments can go for $2,400. Some of the highest rents in newer towers exceed $5,000.

Mayor Steve Fulop, who is seeking a second term in November, has backed several measures he says are aimed at making Downtown less expensive to live in, including a measure before the council that would require any Downtown development with a tax break to have at least 20 percent of its units classified as affordable. Newark is considering a similar measure for all of its large residential developments.

Developers and labor unions want the city to scale back or scuttle that bill, an ordinance Councilwoman-at-large Joyce Watterman said is an attempt to help residents not wealthy enough to pay Downtown rents but not poor enough to receive government subsidies. Watterman seemed surprised by the rents initially proposed for Vyv's affordable units but said prices will be high in a thriving real estate market.

"I agree with what the people are saying," she said, "but when it comes to housing, it's based on the market."

Vyv, located just south of the Newport mall, is part of a two-tower project that received a 25-year tax break from the city, $20 million in city-used bonds and 10 years of state tax credits totaling $40 million, deals largely credited to the developers' pledge to include affordable housing in the towers. A 17-story tower from KRE Group across Marin Boulevard will also include 20 percent affordable housing and also received a long-term tax break from the city and $40 million in state tax credits.

The city says Vyv's rents are outside its control. The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development issues annual guidelines on fair market rents and Vyv's rents as initially advertised largely adhere to those figures.

"As you know the rates are based on percentage of median income, which are set by the federal government," city spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill said. "By law we need to follow those guidelines. The city has zero control over the rules set at the federal level. You know this."

LOTTERY

The affordable units will be restricted to households that make no more than income limits set by HUD that represent roughly 80 percent of the county's median income.

For one person, the maximum income is $48,200; for two people, $55,050; for three, $61,950; for four, $68,800; and for five, $74,350. No more than three people will be allowed to live in a one-bedroom apartment and no more than five people for a two-bedroom unit.

Interested renters can register at the Vyv affordable housing website. Qualified applicants will be chosen via a lottery system, with Jersey City residents given preference (another recent city law requires city residents get first crack). The deadline to register is July 31.

The Rev. Jessica Lambert, pastor of St. Paul's Lutheran Church and a leader with advocacy group Jersey City Together, cheered the addition of affordable housing and the developer's announcement that the rents as advertised last week would be lowered.

"As we look to the future, we need to leverage every opportunity we can -- downtown, in Journal Square, at Bayfront, Canal Crossing and more -- to create housing that provides a range of affordability for people of all incomes in our city," Lambert said. "This will be critical if we are going to protect one of Jersey City's biggest strengths -- its diversity."

Terrence T. McDonald may be reached at tmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @terrencemcd. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.

The class of 2017 garnered a total of $15,589,642 in scholarship monies.

SECAUCUS -- Hundreds of proud parents, family members and friends packed into the Arthur F. Couch Performing Arts Center at Secaucus High School Thursday night for its 41st annual commencement ceremony.

Superintendent Kenneth Knops, Board of Education President John McStowe and Principal Robert Berckes -- known affectionately as Dr. Bob -- were on hand to send off the more than 130 graduating students in the high school's senior class.

"I do believe they will make the world a better place to live," Knops told the audience.

The class valedictorian and salutatorian --  Nader Alkhabbaz and Abutalha Ahmed, respectively -- both gave addresses to the audience on their time and memories made at the school.

Alkhabbaz earned a 4.4 GPA and will be attending Princeton University, while Ahmed earned a 4.3 and will be attending Rutgers University.

In total, the class of 2017 garnered a total of $15,589,642 in scholarship money.

The school also live-streamed the ceremony for one of its graduates -- Akshay Patel -- who could not make it due to medical concerns. 

Scroll through the gallery above to Secaucus High School's Class of 2017.

Here is a list of the Class of 2017:

Nur Abouzid; Sokol H. Agolli; Lauren Athena Agustin; Abutalha Ahmed; Michael Alfarano; Anwar Alkabaz; Nader Alkhabbaz; Adrian Alonzo; Kristen Marie Ambrosio; Jeter J. Artiles; Taylan Sahan Ayik; Alyssa Rae Balletto; Niketan K. Baranwal; Kadyonne T. Benjamin; Christian Hector Bernabe; Can Bese; Emily Brown; Patrick John Cavalcante; Nicole Charles; Ryan Anthony Ching; Andres S. Chiraboga; Jose Colon; Caitlyn Conville; Andrew R. De La Rosa; Anthony DeGirolamo; Michaela A. Dejesus; Angelique Q. DeLeon; Miguel Rey A. DeLeon; Thomas Devany; Melissa DiLuccio; Destiny Disla; Kyle Duda; Connor Dunning.

Saummy Dejesus Duran-Valdez; Mohamed Elkholy; Basant Hatem Eshmawy; Ashley Brianna Esponda; Natalie Estrella; Marissa Elysa Fasciano; Matthew Fernandez; Drew M. Fournier; Ian Lubroth Fox; Emma N. Freyer; Zachary Fuentes; Nicole Gallo; Hazel Garay; Paul Garramuno; Jiawen Ge; Jaden Gonzalez; Michael Gonzalez, Jr.; Jake S. Green; Nicholas Halecki; Adam Hezzini; Rebecca Breana Higgins; Thomas James Hindle, Jr.; Kamren Jackson; Jasley Jimenez; Ericsson C. Khoo; Robert Kimelman; Mark Koosau; Joseph C. Lacap, Jr.; Dylan Langrehr; Emily Taylor Lohse; Brittany Magliulo; Gabriella Magliulo; Hava Mamudi.

Raul Marinos; Johnna Rose Mason; John Anthony Mastropietro; Colin Mazurkiewicz; Paige Nicole McFadden; Daniella N. McGarrity; Karizma Medina; Rayna Mehta; Geraldine Mendoza; Monica Celeste Moctezuma; Sai Muralidhar Moturi; Mark Mutuc; Shivani Naik; Johanne Elaine Narvacan; Kayla Nicolich; Kaitlyn O'Connell; Isis Leslie Ocumares; Jessenia L. Parrales; Ajay Patel; Akshay Patel; Ankit Patel; Avnish Patel; Kushali Patel; Nandita Patel; Neel Patel; Zishan Patel; David Perez-Gonzalez; Andrea Perrelli; Richard Persuad; Jenna Peschetti; Samantha Phillips; Molly A. Primavera; Kayla Nicole Quintero; Caleb Joshua Ramirez; Renelle Loreign Ramirez.

Akash Rana; Lindsay Madison Reynolds-Mendez; Courtney Rose Rhiel; Freddy Rivas; Alyssa Rivera; Brittney R. Robles; Alexander Rodgriuez; Andres Enrique Rodriguez; Pedro Rodriguez; Michael Jose Rogers; Nicole Rojas; Sara L. Sabella; Karan M. Sachanandani; Mariam Said; Rachel M. Sanzari; Annabella M. Scarano; Preet Shah; Nimra Shaida; Samir Sheikh; Kalsang Sherpa; Natasha Catherine Smith; Sterlin T. Snuffer; Elijah Soba; Deja Vanessa Suarez; Amanda Tabasco; Anshul Tank; Kaela Trani; Brando Vite; Jeremy B. Walka; Kara K. Walka; Jared Kevin Wetter; Myron Yang; John Yeoum; Ibrahim Zuberi.

Noel Lopez, 22, of Lambertville, was arrested and charged with aggravated assault after he threatened his roommate with a knife, Lambertville police said.

LAMBERTVILLE - A 22-year-old city resident was charged with aggravated assault after he threatened his roommate with a knife, police said.

Noel Lopez was arrested by Patrolman John Cooper at 2:44 a.m. on Saturday at his residence at Church Street. Lopez was also charged with possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, police said.

Lopez, in April, had been arrested by city police and charged with defiant trespassing and resisting arrest, it was previously reported.

Police: 2 face burglary, other charges after manhunt

In the April arrest, Lopez, who was intoxicated and causing a disturbance, police said, was asked to leave by owners of a home on Brunswick Avenue. However, about 10 minutes later he returned and call 9-1-1 on himself.

Lopez attempted to resist arrest while being taken into custody by Sgt. Anthony Memolo, police said, being additionally charged with failure to obey a lawful order.

Lopez was taken to the Somerset County Jail after Saturday's arrest, where he is being held pending a hearing, police said.

Five dogs died in the April fire in Manchester

OCEAN COUNTY -- A 66-year-old Ocean County woman has been charged with starting a house fire in her neighborhood that killed five dogs and later caused the death of a man who lived in a nearby home.

Dianna Lynn WillsOcean County Prosecutor's Office 

Dianna Lynn Wills, of the Whiting section of Manchester, faces a pair of second-degree charges -- manslaughter and aggravated arson charges, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office said in a news release Friday.

A resident who lives in the house on Kingfisher Way escaped the April 7 fire safely, but Steve Kundin, who lived in an adjacent home on Mockingbird Way was hospitalized with smoke inhalation.  

Kundin, 62, died nearly eight weeks later on May 31, authorities said. 

Officials determined the fire started near the stairs in front of the house and was ignited when an open flame was placed on combustible materials.

The Kingfisher Way resident's dogs also died in the fire, which heavily damaged the the home and left it uninhabitable. Kundin's house was left with heat damage.

Willis lives around the block from the house she allegedly torched, officials said. She is being held in the Ocean County jail. 

The prosecutor's office arson task force and Manchester police led the investigation with held  the county sheriff's Department and the county fire marshal.

Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

The controversial moves come as Christie attempts to remake the board with a flurry of nominations before he leaves office.

TRENTON -- In a span of three days this week, the state Senate removed the state Board of Education's president and vice president at the request of Gov. Chris Christie. 

The controversial moves on Monday and Thursday come as Christie attempts to remake the board with a flurry of nominations before he leaves office, a tactic that has raised concerns about transparency and confounded the board's former leaders. 

Though Christie made the nominations to replace the board's leaders in December, supporters of the two had hoped the Senate wouldn't acquiesce. 

Mark Biedron, the now deposed board president, received no explanation for Christie's decision to remove him from the board, he said Friday. 

"I have never been given a reason," Biedron told NJ Advance Media. "Whatever reason this is, it certainly does not have anything to do with what's good for children." 

Christie's office did not respond to a request to explain the decisions. Since December, the governor has filed nominations for all 13 seats on the state board, including eight new members, five of whom would fill vacant seats. 

The state's largest teachers union, the New Jersey Education Association, accused Christie of attempting to "stack the board" before he leaves office. 

"It's hard for me to see it any other way," union spokesman Steve Baker said, adding that Christie previously left some seats on the board vacant for several years.  

Biedron and Joseph Fisicaro, the former board vice president, were both appointed by Christie in 2011. Earlier this month, the pair was elected by the board to retain their leadership positions for another year, even though Christie had already nominated their replacements. 

Mary Elizabeth Gazi, of Bound Brook, will replace Biedron on the board. Kathy Goldenberg, of Morristown, will take Fisicaro's seat. 

The board has largely supported Christie's education policy in recent years with one notable exception. It rejected his proposal to experiment with lower certification standards for charter school teachers and principals, an idea both Biedron and Fisicaro voted against. 

However, those votes were cast after Christie had already nominated replacements for Biedron and Fisicaro. 

"Obviously, I am disappointed," Biedron said Friday. "We were doing a lot of great work, and I hope the board continues to do that." 

Christie also nominated a replacement for Edithe Fulton, a longtime state board member and former NJEA president. But the nomination was tabled by the Senate Judiciary Committee and later rescinded without explanation. 

The other five current board members were all renominated by Christie. 

The state board is supposed to consist of 13 members, each serving six-year terms. However, Christie allowed several seats on the board to remain vacant for years before making nominations in December, when the number of board members had dwindled to nine (another board member resigned a month later). 

Like the other board members, Biedron and Fisicaro had served beyond the original terms on their seats and never been officially reappointed, Biedron said. That gave Christie the ability to replace them at any time.

Despite complaints from some Democrats, the governor's nominees for the state board have thus far moved through the Senate Judiciary Committee without being interviewed. 

At a hearing last week, several other nominees, including members slated for the state Board of Utilities and the Rutgers Board of Governors, were scheduled to be publicly interviewed by the committee. No board of education nominees were on the interview list.

"We should be able to question - like we have always done - these members in public," said Sen. Nia Gill (D-Essex). 

Three more Christie nominees to the state board are scheduled for review by the Judiciary Committee on Monday. They are not on the list of interviews. 

Staff writer Kelly Heyboer contributed to this report.

Adam Clark may be reached at adam_clark@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on twitter at @realAdamClark. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Agnella Zapotochny of Moorestown has been missing since Wednesday.

MOORESTOWN -- On the side streets of Lenola Friday afternoon, volunteers peered through car windows and into brush, then wiped away sweat and carried on the search for Agnella Zapotochny.

The 84-year-old with dementia has been missing for over 48 hours. On Wednesday night and all day Thursday, State Police helicopters and K9 units helped local police and fire crews with the search.

On Friday, volunteers from Central Jersey K-9 Search and Rescue and several different CERT chapters joined the state and local police efforts. After mapping out grids of the area to search, they walked stream beds and wooded areas as well as residential streets. The search also included parts of Maple Shade.

"We're keeping the faith that we'll find her," Carol Feoll, a Moorestown resident and CERT volunteer, said as she left the Lenola fire station for the next neighborhood on the list.

Asked whether the 48-hour mark changes anything for the search effort, Police Lt. Howard Mann said authorities are still hoping Zapotochny will be found safe. The local search hasn't turned up any signs of her.

"We're just hoping maybe she's turned up at a hospital or is on a bus somewhere," he said. 

Zapotochny lived in the Kensington area of Philadelphia most of her life, so her adult children and police have been checking in case she took a bus there, Mann said. Her family has also looked in spots on the Jersey Shore where she might have gone.

But with her dementia, it's possible she simply got lost in the area around her home and couldn't get home. Mann said the helicopters and K9 units Wednesday and Thursday focused heavily on Strawbridge Lake, Pennsauken Creek and the surrounding area.

"Apparently she liked to frequent that area, and it's in close proximity to her home," Mann said.  

She disappeared before a serious thunderstorm came through Moorestown Wednesday afternoon, so Mann said it's possible she took shelter somewhere. Because of that, police are asking people to check their properties, including garages, sheds and pool areas.

Police said she is around 5 feet and 5 inches tall and weighs about 150 pounds. She was last seen wearing a navy blue shirt with "Cape May" written across it and blue pants with a white stripe. 

A family member who answered the door at Zapotochny's Cottage Avenue home declined to comment for this story.

'A matter of perseverance'

After grabbing a bite from an emergency services food truck at the fire station around noon, a group of six volunteers headed back out to search. They'd been at it since 8 a.m.

As they walked quiet streets off of Camden Avenue, they looked carefully at brushy areas, checked dumpsters and even a Port-a-potty at a house that was under construction. 

Each time they approached a resident, the homeowner either knew why they were looking or had at least heard of the search for Zapotochny.

LeeAnn Parry, former chief of the Moorestown Emergency Squad, came out of her home when she saw the volunteers go by. She said the neighborhood is well aware of the missing woman and everyone is keeping an eye out.

"When it first happened, we were all texting each other," she said. "We drove around."

As the group was covering the last few streets in their assigned area just before 2 p.m., CERT volunteer Paul Lang, of Marlton, said the ongoing search did have him concerned.

"You want to help find the missing person. It's a matter of perseverance," he said.

Lang said he wasn't discouraged as they headed back to "base" at the fire station.

"That's a couple of areas off the grid," he said of terrain covered. "And we can expand our search tomorrow."

Police have said the search will continue Saturday, and the CERT volunteers are planning to be back to assist.

Anyone who may have seen Zapotochny or has any information that may be helpful in the search is asked to contact Moorestown police at 856-234-8300.

Police also asked that people share the news of Zapotochny's disappearance on social media and to anyone they know in the Moorestown and Maple Shade area.

Rebecca Everett may be reached at reverett@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @rebeccajeverett. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

The life of Christopher Gibbs, 17, president of the class of 2017 at Barringer Academy of the Arts and Humanities in Newark, was celebrated at this year's commencement.

NEWARK -- The mood was celebratory and joyous at the Barringer Academy of the Arts and Humanities commencement ceremony Thursday evening.

Parents and friends of this year's class lined the outdoor bleachers at Newark Schools Stadium, buying shinny silver balloons with messages of congratulations on their way in.

The only thing missing from this night of pomp and circumstance was the president of the graduating class, Christopher Gibbs, 17, who was struck and killed by a truck near his Newark home on prom night.

Gibbs' friends called him "CJ", and he was best known for his warm hugs and "gentile giant" sensibilities.      

Although the school was in mourning, the faculty and student body were choosing to celebrate the legacy Gibbs left behind, said Principal Kimberly Honnick.

"Our hearts are broken, but we choose to celebrate the life that 'CJ' lived, because if we didn't focus on that we would not be doing him justice," Honnick said. "'CJ' loved school, he loved to learn, he was kind, he was loving. He truly was that presence in our school.

Jim Leonard, senior vice president for the New Jersey Devils, charmed the crowd by taking a few photos of the graduates and audience. He said his daughter believes nothing is real until it's on Snapchat.

During his speech, Leonard gave grads four guiding principles to help them navigate the road ahead: be present, focus on what's most important, always push your limits and spread kindness and love at every turn.

"Each act of kindness creates ripples that impact hundreds of others," Leonard said. "Be known as the person who spreads kindness - it's a wonderful thing to be known for."

Gibbs was hit by a tractor trailer while crossing McCarter Highway near 4th Avenue at 11:30 p.m. on June 1. He was returning home from a nearby convenience store. 

Every speech during last night's engagement mentioned Gibbs' legacy, including the address by keynote speaker, and a New Jersey gubernatorial candidate, Jim Johnson. Barringer's Salutatorian Kiara Tiffany Flores also dedicated her speech to his memory. An empty white folding chair on the stage displayed a poster-size photo of Gibbs wearing his graduation gown.

There also was a moment of silence in his memory.

Gibbs' father planned on receiving his son's diploma, but changed his mind, according to a school official. As Barringer's 110 grads and families left, Gibbs' father walked on to the arena field picking up his son's diploma in private.     

The school held a memorial, a candlelight vigil and opened a forum for students to express themselves about losing their classmate and friend, Honnick said. 

Honnick said Gibbs was overjoyed to be elected class president and honored with the Newark Public Schools Superintendent's "3E" Award, which recognizes academic excellence for graduating seniors. 

David J. Del Grande may be reached at ddelgrande@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SLOSONE. Find NJ.com on Facebook.    

Mitzi Hernandez Nicolas and her cousin Emily Gonzalez Perez were called two angels in heaven who brought joy to their family and friends

BELMAR -- Together as they had often been in their young lives, the Belmar cousins who drowned in the ocean last week were eulogized Friday as "two angels in Heaven" who brought great joy to their family and friends.

St. Rose Roman Catholic Church in Belmar was packed with more than 200 mourners who paid their respects to Mitzi Hernandez Nicolas and Emily Gonzalez Perez, cousins who loved spending time together and dressing alike.

A year apart in age - Mitzi was 13 and Emily was 12 - the cousins could often be found together, playing soccer, riding their bikes, enjoying parties and going to the beach.  They also enjoyed playing musical instruments. For Emily it was the clarinet. Mitzi chose the saxophone, the Rev. Msgr. Edward Arnister said in his eulogy.

Msgr. Arnister said that while there is no answer to why the girls died so young, their family and friends should instead focus on what they brought to the world in their brief years.

"I'm sure you can say they had a lot of joy in their lives and they brought that joy to your lives and to the lives of so many others," he said.

Addressing the girls' schoolmates in the church, Arnister urged them to find joy even in times of sadness.

"Mitzi and Emily, you were angels of joy while with us in life. Thank you for the joy you brought into our lives - your smiles, your kindness, your laughter," he said. "You are now our angels in heaven. We will miss you."

Belmar mourns young girl who drowned, cousin who is fighting for her life 

For two hours, the large church was open for a public wake for the girls, who were students at Belmar Elementary School.  Relatives dressed in black packed the front pews as members of the public filed in to offer prayers.

Their closed caskets, white with gold trim and adorned with gold angels affixed to the four corners, were arranged in a V at the center of the church.

Emily's casket, to the left, was draped with arrangements of purple flowers as well as bouquets of roses, cards and memorabilia.  Her photograph on an easel stood at the foot.

Mitzi's casket, to the right, also had her photograph on an easel at the foot and had nearly the same types of adornments, but her flowers were pink.

An enlarged photograph of Mitzi was set up on an easel to the left of the altar; her cousin's photograph stood to the right.

As the wake concluded, the flowers and memorabilia were moved to the sides of the altar and the two bare caskets stood side by side.

At the start of the funeral a half hour later, the five priests who concelebrated the Mass went to the caskets to sprinkle with them with holy water. The caskets were then covered with a pall and were brought to the foot of the altar, where they remained single-file for the hour-long Mass, which was in Spanish and English.

Their anguished mothers, gripping each other tightly as they walked out of the church behind the caskets, were surrounded by family members who hugged them and tried to console them.

Mitzi is survived by her parents Crisostenes and Martha Nicolas-Barragan, a brother Alex, and sisters Laura and Baleria.

Emily is survived by her parents, Esequiel Gonzalez Cruz and Victoria Perez Reyes, her brothers Alexis and Noel and a newborn sister Genesis.

Found about a half hour apart in the ocean on Thursday, June 15, Mitzi was pronounced dead that night; Emily died on Monday.

The community is sponsoring a fund to help with the families' expenses.

MaryAnn Spoto may be reached at mspoto@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @MaryAnnSpoto. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

"The workshop will provide our residents with an important opportunity to offer their comments on Bayonne's goals for the next decade."

BAYONNE -- City residents seem to have opinions on everything. When it comes to the proposed master plan, city officials are eager to hear them.

The public has its chance to be heard on Monday, June 26, when the city hosts a public workshop -- 7 p.m. in the City Council Chambers -- to discuss the plan and what it means for the city.

"The workshop will provide our residents with an important opportunity to offer their comments on Bayonne's goals for the next decade," Mayor Jimmy Davis said in a statement.

The principal purpose of a master plan is to set goals, as well as limits, for development, preservation, transportation and other aspects of the community's future. It will also re-examine the city's current zoning laws and recommend amendments to existing ordinances to reflect updated priorities.

The new draft plan, released earlier this month, calls for mixed-use redevelopment in the neighborhoods surrounding the city's four Hudson-Bergen Light Rail stations to help revitalize the Broadway and Avenue E economic corridors.

The plan recommends the city establish "station area plans" for the neighborhoods within a quarter mile of each of the stations at Eighth, 22nd, 34th and 45th streets.

These areas would function as "transit villages" with "a mixture of uses, (and) high density residential development" that takes advantage of nearby transit and includes features that encourage walking, biking, and transit ridership with an emphasis on pedestrian circulation, according to the proposal.

The plan recommends amending current zoning laws along Broadway to increase development. It also calls for tighter zoning restrictions in city's residential areas containing two-family housing to "protect and preserve the size, scale and character of existing residential neighborhoods by eliminating the encroachment of commercial and multi-family uses" in the areas.

The proposed master plan -- a 175-page document covering practically every facet of the municipality -- was designed by DMR Architects.

The firm outlined the draft after a series of meetings and consultations in Bayonne since 2015, according to city spokesman Joe Ryan. 

Bayonne's most recent master plan was adopted in 2000.

Residents can read a copy of the master plan on the city's website here. Printed copies are also available from Land Use Administrator Lillian Glazewski in the planning and zoning division in Room 13 at City Hall.

Be sure to check out our complete graduation coverage at nj.com/graduation.

MORRIS TOWNSHIP -- Hundreds gathered on Friday at the William G. Mennen Sports Arena for the Morris County School of Technology's 2017 commencement.

Speakers included: Superintendent Scott Moffitt, board of education president Barbara Dawson, principal Lynne Jackson, valedictorian Nikita Shah, salutatorian Chintan Thakore, senior class president Nikita Shah and distinguished scholars Daniel Sciarra and Daniel Zhao.

Check out our photo gallery of the high school's graduating seniors. Be sure to check out our complete graduation coverage at nj.com/graduation.

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Justin Zaremba may be reached at jzaremba@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinZarembaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Two Jersey guys set the table for Mitch McConnell's tax trough. Watch video

So this is the new American ethos, as our ruling majority and a few lawmakers from New Jersey envision it:

We must strip 23 million people of their health care coverage, so that millionaires and billionaires can get a $50,000 tax cut.

We must eliminate Planned Parenthood funding for a year, because 13 men decided that the 2.5 million women who rely on it for birth control and cancer screenings can live with less care and more unintended pregnancies.

And we must take a meat axe to the only provider for the most vulnerable population, the 74 million children, elderly, poor, and disabled covered by Medicaid.

These are the bell-ringers from the Senate's "Better Care Reconciliation Act," and if the House repeal of Obamacare was "mean," the Senate version is malicious, with even deeper Medicaid cuts.

And just think: Two wonks from Jersey made this looming disaster possible.

This happened because Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-3^rd Dist.) revived the House bill with a brainstorming amendment that allows insurers to charge exorbitantly for pre-existing conditions.

And it happened because Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-11^th Dist.) changed his mind about withholding support, because at this point he'll do anything to keep his committee chairmanship.

Trump's betrayal exposes MacArthur and Frelinghuysen | Moran

Duly inspired, the Senate Republicans took a House bill with a robust 17-percent approval rate and released its own toxic version after weeks of private negotiations that did not include a single public hearing or Democratic input.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a superb Parliamentarian and a second-rate human being, wants a vote before his co-conspirators face their voters during the July recess, and judging by the scene outside his office Thursday - when disabled people were hauled into police vans - the PR campaign is off to a splendid start.

Memo to MacArthur: You are the source of fear, not death panels | Editorial

The protests are likely to get louder outside MacArthur HQ in Toms River and Frelinghuysen HQ in Morristown, which is well-earned. Republicans say this was the fix voters demanded, which is a lie on a Trumpian ("I'm not going to touch Medicaid") scale; the mandate was to bring premiums down, and to stop insurance companies from dropping out of the marketplace.

Instead, the CBO score next week will likely confirm that the GOP considers 23 million Americans collateral damage in a giant tax break scheme.

This is not what government is supposed to do. And people like MacArthur and Frelinghuysen should stop pretending that most Americans are as immoral as they are.

Are your interests being served in Congress? Use this tool to keep track.

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