Seniors Granted Big Week To Close Out School Year

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By Cheryl Conway 

Mt. Olive High School Seniors will have their pomp and circumstance in-person on Wednesday, July 8, when the 2020 MOHS Graduation has been finally announced and planned.

Mt. Olive School District Superintendent of Schools Dr. Robert Zywicki made the long-awaited announcement at a late-breaking Parent University held at noon, Thursday, June 11, two days following the New Jersey governor’s decision to increase outdoor gatherings to 500 after July 3.  The increase enables the district to plan an outdoor gradation for all of the seniors, despite that their big achievement will have to hold out two weeks after the last day of school on June 23.

Better late than never, most would agree.

“I’m really happy that patience paid off,” says Zywicki during his Parent University. “For weeks now I’ve been saying let’s be patient.”

On Wednesday, the day following N.J. Gov. Phil Murphy’s announcement, Zywicki met with MOHS Principal Kevin Moore, Director of Secondary Education Kevin Stansberry, senior class advisors and officers of the Class of 2020, to come up with the best plan for an in-person graduation given the parameters.

After a “lot of thought” from faculty, seniors and administration, the consensus agreed on a plan to host three separate traditional in-person graduation ceremonies on that day with 130 graduates at each session, to allow security and staff to facilitate each event while meeting the 500-person requirement.

Each graduate will be allowed to invite two guests, says Zywicki.

Times would spread out at about 9 a.m.; 5 p.m.; and 7:30 p.m., to “try to avoid the heat” since it is expected to be a hot summer day.

“It’s going to be extremely hot,” says Zywicki.

The other reason for spreading out the ceremonies is to provide enough time to sanitize in between, he notes. 

Each senior “will have all of the pomp and circumstance they deserve with two guests present,” says Zywicki.

The three ceremonies will be recorded and then spliced together into one video with a watch party on social media for everyone to see the entire commencement.

Zywicki says the plans still need to be approved by the state, particularly in regards to the length of each ceremony.

Some students voiced their hope for one graduation with their full class but Zywicki says that is not a possible option at this point.

“We want to be with the people we’ve known our entire life,” tweets senior Gianna Maceyak.

“Is there any way that we could do a graduation with the whole senior class and just livestream it for the parents and others who may want to attend?” tweets senior Liz Barr. “I would really like to graduate with my whole class together.”    

While Zywicki understands the senior class’ plea for one giant graduation, he says graduation “it’s about the whole community.”

He says he can’t have one whole ceremony, with a 500-person limit, because there needs to be room for security, chaperones, people dropping off others. He explains that the district will not receive approval from the state to host a graduation with 400 students because “you can only have so many people on site,” and taken in the numbers of cars that will be arriving and departing the high school grounds, that will exceed the 500 person limit.

Senior Prom

The group also discussed its plans for the MOHS 2020 Senior Prom. 

Zywicki says the “senior class wants to have a prom. They want to have closure as a group; many have been together since Kindergarten and so they want to be able to come together as a group one last time.”

The plan is to host an outdoor prom on Friday, July 10, “just for the seniors,” at Marauder Stadium, on the field. He says it “may be flips flops,” and not as fancy as a traditional prom would be. 

“That week will be a big celebration of the class of 2020, who’s gone through so much and this way they get a great send off,” says Zywicki, “for the best sendoff possible. 

“We’re going to make it as awesome as we possibly can,” he says, adding that there is lots of planning ahead.

MOMS

For the eighth graders, Mt. Olive Middle School is planning to have a Virtual Graduation Ceremony at 7:30 p.m. tentatively, on Thursday, June 25, the day after the students finish their last half day there.

Zywicki reasons that an in-person traditional graduation is not optimal since the indoor gathering limits under Murphy may still be at 50 people or 25 percent of the building capacity at that time.

He also says the eighth-grade accomplishment is a “promotion” rather than a graduation.

But before the virtual promotion, the school is planning a Drive-Thru Graduation so students can drive through, wearing their caps and gowns, “hop out” to take a picture, and get their diploma from Zywicki, MOMS Principal James Kramer and the Mt. Olive Board of Education President, and then keep on going.

As far as clap outs at the elementary schools, moving up ceremonies are more likely in the fall, says Zywicki, and will be handled by each school principal.

Senior Banners

Pictures of each senior congratulating their upcoming graduation were supposed to be installed around the loop at Turkey Brook Park on Thursday, June 11, but the rain, wind and thunderstorms affected the installation into the ground, Zywicki announced.

Funded by the school district with the support of the Mt. Olive Twp. Council by the request of Council President Joe Nicastro,  the banners were expected to be “wrapped up over the weekend” for all to see.

As of Saturday, the signs were in the ground and several seniors and parents paraded around in their vehicles.

The banners around the loop have set the stage for what’s to come next month as the seniors prepare to exit the Mt. Olive School District in style after all.    

By Cheryl Conway

Common it is now to hide behind a mask to protect against a virus, but when it comes to racism, there are a few hundred who face the issue head on after last week’s peaceful protest in town.

After two failed attempts to organize a protest in Mt Olive, a group still united at a peaceful gathering at Turkey Brook Park in Budd Lake to speak out against racial injustice in society and even in their own community. About 200 wound up participating at 3 p.m. on Sunday, June 7, in a march that started at the park, ventured down to Rt. 46 and then through the Morris Chase development.

Like the world around them, the Mt. Olive community is juggling multiple issues right now but on the forefront is systemic racism. Those who originally tried to organize the local protest canceled their plans after faced with harsh criticism, lack of support and even some threats.

Despite the weeklong debate, the protest happened, may be the first of more to come and if anything is a step toward facing racism once and for all. Protests have been happening nationwide after a 46-year old black man, George Floyd, was arrested and killed in Minneapolis on May 25 by white police officer, Derek Chauvin, who stepped on his neck for eight minutes, 46 seconds, until he could not breathe, while three other police officers watched.

“We will not stop until justice is served and our voices are heard,” says Trinity of Budd Lake, who attended the protest. “More protests are needed because we need to show everyone that we are serious about this racial injustice. Through the law enforcement, to the community that we live in, to the schools we go to, racial injustice is everywhere, and it needs to end.

“The protests may not be trending on social media or on the news everyday anymore, but they are still going on and they are going to continue,” continues Trinity, a 2018 graduate of Mt. Olive High School. “This is not a trend. This is our lives and we deserve to be heard.”

Trinity, a rising junior who is studying biology at Hampton University in Virginia “which is an HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and University), says “I did not decide to host it. I heard about it, and one of the organizers reached out to me to speak at it, however, they tried to cancel it because people were complaining about how the walk was from the Middle School in Mt. Olive to the police station which is a five minute walk and we would not be seen. I posted everywhere that I was still going to protest because it is our right.”

Originally three of her former MOHS classmates were organizing the protest but decided to postpone because they said “the police involvement in our protest counteracts the message of Black Lives Matter. We have decided to cancel the event and replan an event starting from scratch with the guidance and support of Black Lives Matter of Morristown to ensure we send a powerful message of solidarity with the black community and create an event that aligns with the values and message of the Black Lives Matter movement.”

Another young man was planning on taking over the reins but also canceled due to threats from white supremacists, he claims on the community Facebook Page.

Since these individuals were threatened, Mt. Olive Online decided to not include their names in this article.

The Mt. Olive Police Department did not return phone calls to Mt. Olive Online regarding the planned protest.   

While it appeared that the protest was canceled, now twice, some still forged on to gather in solidarity.

“A lot of people thought it was canceled, however, I put it on all of my social media platforms,” says Trinity. “I invited everyone. Everyone who supported the cause or who was black. Unfortunately, not all of those people showed up, however, a lot of people in general still ended up going. I even had my mom and some friends post about it, too.”

As her first participation in a protest, Trinity did not know what to expect but she knew the rules to enforce.

“I have never held any protests or participated in any, so this was the first,” says Trinity. “The only rule we had to follow while walking was to stay to the side or on the sidewalk if there was a sidewalk.”

Trinity, and the others involved did not seek any township approval, since that failed the first time around.

“The original organizers talked to the police and the mayor and the council members,” says Trinity. “The police were the ones that were trying to hide the protest. They claimed they wanted us to stay safe, but there are many ways to keep us safe. The organizers were told that they were only able to hold the protest from Mt. Olive Middle School to the police station, which is a five-minute walk. They did not want to do anything else. They would not listen to any other routes to walk, and I was not having that.

“A protest is about our voices being heard and us being seen,” says Trinity. “That route they wanted us to take would not have us be heard or seen at all. There are barely any cars that drive on that road to begin with, let alone during quarantine when everyone is home and everything is closed. I was also told that the council members did not want to hold this protest at all and they did not support it. The mayor also did not want the protest to happen, either. However, he knew we had a right to protest. No one in Mt. Olive wanted to have the protest, and many people got racist threats from others in the community because of it.”

Protest Details

“This was kind of a last-minute thing and no one had a set plan,” says Trinity. “It started at Turkey Brook Park. When I got there at 3:01 p.m., and it started at 3 p.m., many people were already walking around the park and protesting. I stood in the front and started protesting too and after about three laps, I told the others that this wasn’t doing much because no one could see or hear us. Me and many others started walking out of Turkey Brook and some were against it, but we kept going and eventually everyone followed.

“We took a left when we got out of Turkey Brook and walked to Route 46,” she explains. “We stood there for about 10-15 minutes chanting and holding our signs. A couple people driving by stuck their middle fingers up, but most of them honked at us and gave us a thumbs up or held up their fists in support of us.

“We then walked up to Madison Avenue into their neighborhood and continued to protest peacefully,” she describes. “People came out of their homes and chanted with us and recorded us and then we turned around and walked back up to Turkey Brook where a couple people, including me, spoke about the injustice in the world that we live in. We also had a moment of silence for 8 minutes and 46 seconds in honor of George Floyd.”

While social distancing is the order for now, Trinity say, “We did not social distance because we had to stay close together on the side of the roads, however, we all kept our masks on and when we had our moment of silence and speakers, people kept their distance from others.”

She was also not concerned about the outdoor limit of 25 people, according to executive order #148 by N.J. Gov. Phil Murphy.

“I was not concerned about anything,” says Trinity. “I knew that we had a right to protest and we were going to protest.”

As far as clean up, she says “There was no clean up needed. Everyone took everything with them at the end.”

While they were not notified of the protest, Trinity says “The police did attend. One police officer followed us the whole way and told us we can walk wherever just stay to the side. He was very helpful the whole time. Other police officers just drove by and blocked traffic in certain blind spots, so that we were safe and nothing happened. Only one actually interacted with us and that was the one that followed us.”

Stance On Racism

Clean up, social distancing, police and a large crowd were not Trinity’s concern. It was the issue of racism that mattered most.

“I participated and kept this going because our lives matter,” says Trinity. “There should be no reason that there is this racial injustice EVERYWHERE. In Mt. Olive, there are racist people everywhere. It was very prevalent when others started to get racist threats and on the Facebook page, Mount Olive Community Forum, there were also very racist people.

“It’s not that we are saying all lives don’t matter but all lives cannot matter until black lives matter,” clarifies Trinity. “Our lives are at risk every single day. Protests work and we needed to show to our community that we matter. We are black, but that does not mean we are less than others and they need to stop treating us like that. Not only here but everywhere.”

Those involved in the peaceful protest carry the same message.

“Our message is that we are humans, too,” says Trinity. “Our message is that we matter. The color of our skin is not a threat. The color of our skin is not a ticket to be shot or killed. That we should all be seen and treated equally.

“My mother should not have to be afraid that her children may not come home one night because they got pulled over by a police officer,” continues Trinity. “The police are supposed to protect and serve and they have not done that for the black community. We want to be seen as equal. Racism is taught and you are not born racist. We should be seen the same as everyone else.”

Her goal, like many others, is “We want to be equal,” says Trinity, who is biracial. “My mother is white and my father is black, however, I will always identify as a black woman. The color of my skin is black and I am black. I live in a world where people only see the color of my skin. This issue is relevant to my life. But at the end of the day, I love being black no matter who hates it.

 “We do not want to be looked at as lesser than white people,” says Trinity. “We do not want to be treated differently as white people.”

This protest is the first of others to follow, and it is hoped that with every step, every march, every sign, this is the beginning of the end to racism once and for all.

“I feel as though the amount of people that showed up to a protest that many people thought was canceled showed people that we do matter and this isn’t just happening in other places,” says Trinity, who confirms that “Me and a few other people are trying to get another protest.

“This is happening in their own community,” she says. “Even though they can’t see it, it is happening, and I think a lot of people realized that we do want a change and we are serious about this.”

Trinity is not involved as an activist with any organizations or causes. Sine race issues have been concerning to her, she joins the fight to end racism.

“The protest was not connected to any other organizations,” such as Black Lives Matter nor Antifa, she says. “Just many people in the community wanting to be heard and make a change.

“The race issues are concerning to me because no one should have to be treated as less than another because they are not the same color,” says Trinity. “We are all humans and we all bleed red blood.

“Instead of judging me by the person I am, I, and every other black person is misjudged by the color of our skin,” concludes Trinity. “We are a threat to others because we are black, even though we are good people, and we are getting killed for it with no justice. Nothing is ever done unless it is recorded, or it goes viral on the internet. That is not how it should work. We should all be equal no matter what color you are.”

Reactions From Others

“I did not attend,” says Mt. Olive Twp. Mayor Rob Greenbaum. “I was out of town with my family. I heard everything was peaceful. No issues.”

While Greenbaum admits to not supporting a protest in town, he says “I can’t stop a protest/first amendment.”

He had thought the protest was cancelled, but even so, decided to share his views on a Mt. Olive NJ Community Page after members of that Facebook page shared vile, hateful and threatening remarks against each other.

“People have asked me to speak out on the issue because of the fears, threats and intimidation which permeated Mount Olive NJ Community Forum webpage, which by the way has no connection whatsoever to the town,” Greenbaum writes.
“I thought long and hard about my speaking out at this very moment as I believe it will only fan the flames of hatred,” he writes.  “My voice is no greater than those of the organizers and no less likely to get attacked.  All you need [to] do is go to that stupid Facebook page and look at the venom spewed on me.
“No matter how I feel about the cause, I never wanted this protest in town,” writes Greenbaum. “It is divisive, and I guess in a way intended to be so to bring light to the issue.  I have always tried to unite rather then divide the community.
“Many questioned my not closing the park when the protest was first scheduled,” he continues. “For the safety of the protestors and the community, the park presented an excellent location where safety could be maintained, rather than the protest moving to a commercial district or neighborhood. 
“As to the concerns about social distancing and the spread of the virus which were raised, protests cannot be stopped, only attempts made to make them as safe as possible for all,” he writes. “The virus concerns would have been exactly the same in Turkey Brook or if the protest was held in the streets and neighborhoods of our town.
“I, like many, will never be able to truly know what it is like to be black in our society and to truly understand and/or appreciate the systemic racism in society,” writes Greenbaum. “What I do know is that our police department, since I have been mayor, treats all equally.  I applaud the efforts of our department and can only hope that the events which have led us to this point, are a lesson to embrace and to avoid any conduct which could be viewed as based on race. 
“As to many of the Facebook posts, I can only say that I was disgusted with the segment of the population that was vile and threatening,” he continues.
“Having said that, I don’t think many of the posters saw a distinction between protestors and those that acted in a criminal fashion destroying property, looting and setting fire to neighborhoods as witnessed by everyone on the news. 
“Without those visuals, and the resultant fear for safety and property, I know there would have been a different response from the community to the protest,” writes Greenbaum. “I also am quite certain that the protests would have been peaceful and that the vast majority in town supported. We have had vigils in town for the massacre at the mosque and temple without so much as a negative peep from the community.
“Tolerance needs to be better practiced,” concludes Greenbaum.  “I expected better from the community then what we got!!  I can only hope that people act differently in the future.” 

N.J. Governor Phil Murphy has been supporting the protests across the state, and even was criticized after attending two this past week. After marching in the Hillside Strong March to End Racism, Police Brutality and Embrace Diversity on Sunday, June 7, followed by a Black Lives event in Westfield, Murphy was condemned for going against his own executive order #148 he signed on May 22 which limited outdoor gatherings to 25 people. The protests have attracted hundreds if not 1,000’s of people. 

Murphy’s support of the protests have been vocalized during his live daily briefings.

In response to his reasoning behind why it is ok to protest but not gather inside businesses, Murphy says during his Tuesday, June 2 briefing: “We’re trying to keep people alive. Given the gravity of killing and stain on racism in this country we have to acknowledge there is a desire and there is a right to peacefully protest.

“This is about a loss of life,” Murphy continues, that dates back to the beginning of the fifth century, “since slavery came to America and hole we continue to dig out from under.” 

He did stress the need for all participants to wear a face covering, wash hands, practice social distancing and even get tested for COVID-19. 

“It’s been side by side peaceful protests,” says Murphy. “Please wear masks, please try to stay away from each other. We don’t want this to reignite another wave of viral infections, that’s the last thing we need right now.”

As for the local protest, “It was what all protests should be,” said Charlie Uhrmann, founder of the All Veterans Memorial at Turkey Brook Park and All Veterans Alliance.

Uhrmann, who had happened to be at the AVM working on the property while the protest was happening says, participants “were very, very polite. Everybody respected each other, stayed in their lane. That’s how it should be.”

By Cheryl Conway 

Township officials and volunteers of a non-profit group that protect the feral cat population are working together to create an ordinance to save cats’ lives now and in the future.

The Mt. Olive Township Council unanimously agreed to table its ordinance for first reading during its council meeting Tuesday night, June 9, that could have risked the lives of older cats or those deemed unadoptable. First reading has been moved to its next meeting set for Tuesday, June 23.

After learning about the proposed ordinance just a day before the meeting, cat advocates clawed their way to be heard via emails to council members and the mayor. Officials listened and agreed to fix the language to appease the Mt. Olive Trap-Neuter-Return group which has spent more than a decade saving cats’ lives and township dollars. 

“The council agreed to table their ordinance for now and work with MOTNR on fixing the problematic language,” the MOTNR issued in a statement to Mt. Olive Online. “They already agreed to remove subsections iv and v which had said euthanasia was the solution for older animals and animal deemed to have unadoptable temperament (i.e. feral cats etc).

“We will meet with them to try to iron out the other issues and see if we can come to an agreement for a real no-kill ordinance the council can pass, an ordinance that reflects current practices,” the MOTNR group released.

Petition Still Active

Before the council proposed this ordinance, the MOTNR group took a proactive approach to collect signatures to place its own No-Kill Ordinance on the ballot for voters to decide. Since is uncertain as to whether the council will have its proposed ordinance completed before the election, MOTNR volunteers have decided to still collect signatures. 

“In the meantime, we are still collecting signatures for the no-kill ordinance to go on the ballot, which we need to keep moving on as it's on a deadline and it needs to remain an option until or unless the town passes a good no-kill ordinance that protects the animals,” the MOTNR group said.

“Because of deadlines, we need to keep that petition moving forward while we work with the township on revisions to their proposed ordinance, in case agreement is not reached on their proposed language.

“If you haven't signed the ballot initiative petition yet and you're registered to vote in Mt. Olive, please sign here: https://tinyurl.com/y8u6ulfz 

“Enter your name and email and you'll THEN see a second screen with the ordinance language and a place to sign,” the group explains. “Please sign and print your name and address in full as they appear on the voter rolls (please use full name and include town and zip code, even if your mailing address is another town as long as you live in Mt. Olive ). PLEASE DO NOT USE AUTOFILL AS IT WILL PUT YOUR NAME TWICE INSTEAD OF YOUR ADDRESS AND INVALIDATE YOUR SIGNATURE.

Email mtolivetnr@gmail.com with questions or for a fact sheet about the ordinance. PLEASE ASK household members and other registered Mt. Olive voters to sign as well, as it's hard to get enough signatures without going door to door or talking to people in public places, which are not possible right now.  

Right now, the MOTNR group has 385 perfect signatures, but needs 497 by July to make the November ballot.

Mt. Olive Twp. Council’s Proposed Ordinance

The Township Ordinance for first reading Amending chapter 169, as stated on the June 9 agenda stated: “Although well intended, the language proposed by Mt. Olive TNR is overly restrictive, does not give our professionals and veterinarians any discretion and can have many unknown financial impacts that would burden the general taxpayer if approved. Having a formal policy that states irremediable illness does not give our professionals, veterinarian and health director discretion of when an impounded animal can be euthanized. Stray and feral cats with serious injuries which may not be irremediable would cost significant resources to treat. The proposed policy if approved would require the township to treat regardless of cost. In an effort to find balance, the attached ordinance should be considered which would prohibit the euthanasia of any animal until a reasonable attempt is made to contact accredited sanctuaries or rescues to determine whether a better option is available based on an animal's evaluation and medical history. This language will codify that euthanasia shall be used as a last resort but leave discretion up to professional as to not cause an undue burden on the taxpayer.”

Mt. Olive Township Mayor Rob Greenbaum explains during the council meeting the ordinance’s intent and says many misread the language.

He says there is a “lot of misinformation spread on what we’re looking to do. We are a no-kill town,” Greenbum explains, but when medical conditions of the cat “is so great it doesn’t make sense to prolong the life of the cat.” He says it would cost the town too much. “If there’s a better option that’s what we’d be in favor of.”

Greenbaum says people need to understand “we’ve taken a very humane approach” and that “euthanasia is the last step.”

The “township shouldn’t be on the hook to maintain the life of the animal,” says Greenbaum.

Volunteers Are Purring 

"The Mt. Olive TNR Project is grateful that the council tabled their draft ordinance and invited us to offer revisions, because as written it would have condemned impounded animals to death simply for being older, feral, very scared, or otherwise not behaving well in the stressful pound setting,” the MOTNR group wrote.

“That is not what Mt. Olive currently does, and is not what Mt. Olive residents want,” it continued. “Impounded animals should only be euthanized as a last resort due to untreatable medical conditions causing irremediable suffering.

“There's no reason, in 2020, for healthy and treatable animals to be killed,” the group said. “Mt. Olive does not currently euthanize such animals, and the ordinance language should reflect that. Feral cats can be Trap-Neuter-Returned, and rescues and shelters take older and special needs animals. When rescues are full, Mt. Olive residents have always stepped forward to foster until placements are available.

“Numerous other towns in the area have gone no-kill and save all their healthy and treatable animals, including two towns that impound at the same vet office Mt. Olive uses,” the group added. “MOTNR worked with the mayor's administration last year on an ordinance that reflects the current no-kill practices, and is now working to put that ordinance on the ballot for residents to vote on in November.”

According to the 2019 MOTNR report to the Board of Health:

 The town has saved more than 75% on cat impoundment fees each year since going no-kill. In 2008, the town spent almost $20k on impounding and killing cats. Adopting TNR, going no-kill, and working with rescues has reduced cat impoundments so drastically that, even with increased vet care and some extended boarding to allow time to find rescue placements, the town usually spends less than $5k/year total on cat impoundments.

Most impounded dogs are reclaimed by owners within a few days, with only a few per year needing placement or vet care, the report stated.

According to Michelle Lerner, president of the Mt. Olive TNR, “In the years that the town has been no-kill in practice, it hasn't had to spend much money on vet care, since most dogs are reclaimed by their owners and cat impoundments are down so much. The animals are only there temporarily, and longer-term care is the responsibility of the rescues, shelters or individuals who take them after impoundment.”

Photo by: Molly Conway

By Cheryl Conway 

As temperatures are heating up, more options are slowly opening for residents to cool off and soak up some sunshine.

Budd Lake Beach and the Centercourt Pool in Flanders have announced plans to open, while there may be a splash of hope for Pirates Cove, also known as the Splash Pad at Turkey Brook Park, to trickle in some fun for local young ones.

“We are still planning and will let you know if and when we decide to open the pool and splash pad,” says Mt. Olive Twp. Mayor Rob Greenbaum.

With the water being treated with chemicals and no lifeguard on site this summer, swimming at Budd Lake Beach Park is at one’s discretion.

Swimming in the lake, fishing and operating boats will be permitted says Mt. Olive Twp. Business Administrator Andrew Tatarenko, but “all on their own risk.” 

When asked if it is safe to swim in the lake, Greenbaum says “I believe so.” 

Officials advise that the lake will not provide recreational activities, nor swimming lessons this summer, and will operate as a passive park.

“Budd Lake will be opened as a passive recreational park this year,” says Tatarenko. “It will not operate as a public recreational bathing facility.  The decision was made early in the year due to the HAB’s, not COVID related.  There will be no lifeguards on site.” 

As an open public park, Budd Lake Beach plans to open Friday, June 19, “with no admission fee, located on the southwest shore of Budd Lake,” as stated on the Mt. Olive Township website. “Budd Lake Beach Park is not operated or promoted as a public recreational bathing facility. As such, it is not subject to the requirements of the NJ Public Bathing rule, N.J.A.C. 8:26-1 et seq. and does not offer lifeguards.

“Budd Lake Beach Park offers a wide variety of recreation opportunities with a 100 ft. fishing pier, opportunity to launch your own personal watercraft such as canoes, kayaks and paddleboards,” as stated on the website.

With COVID 19 still lurking, social distancing remains in effect.

“Mask Up! Protect yourself and others from COVID-19,” as stated on the website. “Wear a mask, especially within six feet of others. Practice social distancing! Keep at least 6 feet (like a beach blanket space) between family groups.

“No picnic tables or benches are available,” it also states. “Please bring your own items such as beach chairs or blankets. All park rules apply, including but not limited to: Open from 8 a.m. to dusk. No smoking, alcohol, drugs or controlled substances, no glass, grills, fires, or cooking. Dispose of trash properly, including recycling. No feeding the wildlife. Pets must be on a leash and picked up after.”

Tatarenko says Budd Lake is “no different than any other lake.  Since it is not open as a Recreational Beach, weekly testing of bacteria will not occur, however, it will still be monitored for Harmful Algae Blooms.  If the HABs are present, advisories will be posted.”

Explains Tatarenko, “As with many lakes throughout N.J., the HAB’s were present in 2019 which caused us to close the beach for a prolonged period of time.  We would like to manage the HAB’s first before we invest our resources into operating a municipal beach.  

Studies and Treatment of Budd Lake

Larry Kovar, president of Aquatic Analysts Inc. of N.J., a lake management consulting company in Stillwater, presented an overview to the Mt. Olive Twp. Council at its March 3 meeting.

“AAI has been performing ecological surveys every two weeks
since April,” says Kovar. “We treated Budd Lake on June 10 with a systemic aquatic herbicide, Sonar to control growth of two invasive submerged aquatic
weeds: Eurasian watermilfoil and curlyleaf pondweed.”

At the meeting, Kovar says “the goal is to try to get the invasive species under control and allow the native species thrive in the water.”

He says, “what’s happening is the invasive species outcompete the native species by growing closer to the water faster earlier in the season and cast a shadow on the native species and the native species start to die off.”

In 2018, Kovar implemented a systemic herbicide application in the entire lake trying to target the two invasive species, he explains.

The goal for this year is to monitor the vegetation in order to recommend a more aggressive plan in the entire lake and to bring in a weed harvester, he tells the council back in March.

The purpose of the weed harvester is to cut that plant down to a depth of 5.5 feet, he says, as the majority of the plant is a “vacant stem” in which the plant below dies off.  

Currently, he says he is trying to manage the nutrients in the water, he tells the council. With the lake being around for thousands of years, he says lots of nutrients have gotten into the water.

“We need to manage the watershed,” says Kovar.  

From all his tests, studies and treatment so far of the lake, Kovar says “Yes it should be safe to swim in for now.”

Grant Money Approved 

The studies on the lake was “contingent on a grant that was applied for through the DEP,” explains Tatarenko. “The governor has made $2.5 million dollars available to assist in HAB management.”

The township had “submitted an application for a more aggressive chemical treatment plan, continued weed harvesting and an algae control program,” he says. “Annual cost would be approximately $140,000 of which we would be responsible for 1/3.”

Residents are being asked to share their input on four options proposed for the reentry of school in Mt. Olive for the 2020/2021 school year.

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Robert Zywicki presented the draft of the Reentry Plan last week to the Mt. Olive Department of Health, mayor, police department, district staff, members of the Mt. Olive Board of Education, PTO presidents, students and parents. He is now asking for feedback on the four options. 

To view the Reentry Plan Slides: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1yOz4SCFRD-Gb0zs-nC4X_lo1gJrTq8DyIbyDf1e67Lo/edit#slide=id.g80bf3753a2_1_64
To provide feedback, fill out the Reentry Plan Feedback Form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfw0j6tjK7gzWdsWC8nOrgsTEQr2Xlb6Wa8Zz3DOLOU-ge6Lg/viewform?usp=sf_link 

As plans for the end of the school year festivities are finalized, details for reentry are still unknown for Mt. Olive schools. But, like its preparedness plan before the mandated shut-down of schools in March, district leaders want to have plans in place so it is ready.

Zywicki says “in Mt. Olive we are ahead of the curve with things.” To do that, “we need to engage in conversation on what exactly the fall will look like,” he told parents during the Tuesday, June 9, Parent University session. “Right now there is no plan” by the N.J. State Board of Education, and it may be three or four more weeks before details are shared.

Zywicki says he “did not want to end the school year without engaging everyone in this conversation on what it could look like.” So back in mid-May, he launched a process to examine the options.

In the absence of a plan from the state of N.J., district leaders examined ideas released by other states in a “need to learn from others,” including Maryland, Georgia, Kentucky, Illinois and countries such as Denmark, Norway; as well as Israel and South Korea, who Zywicki reports had to close when their numbers spiked even after investing “tons of hand sanitizer and dividers.”

“In the absence of a plan for the state of New Jersey, where are we looking for best practices?” asks Zywicki. “The decision is a health decision,” he says, and will ultimately come from the governor and N.J. State Department of Health.

For the Mt. Olive Reentry Plan, Zywicki put together a group of 55 people including five members of the Mt. Olive BOE, staff members, teachers, bus drivers, administrators, nurses, secretaries, guidance counselors, to work together on the draft.

Four Options

The four options include:

Traditional Schooling- “We go back to normal,” says Zywicki. “A lot of us are craving to go back to normal. I’m truly craving to go back to normal.”

Traditional Schooling with Intensive Social Distancing. Zywicki says this option carries “a lot of complications” like no switching classes, temperature checks, wearing masks, providing PPE, contact tracing, eating lunch in classrooms.

Split Schedule with either Am/Pm or A Day/B Day- half of the students would be in school and the other half would be learning virtually. Challenges with this option include needing a “ton of sanitizing” in between sessions and bussing.

“That’s the one that keeps me up the most at night because of working parents,” says Zywicki. He says this option is “not optimal,” and questions “how do you go back to work?  I don’t like that one, but I need to prepare for that one if that’s the directive they get.”

Continue with Virtual Learning, which has had its challenges and has taken a “tremendous toll” on students working in isolation, away from friends, not playing sports, no activities.

As the father of four kids, Zywicki says “my kids are so sad because they are not around their friends.” Virtual learning, “it’s imperfect in many ways.” 

Five different committees were established from the group to examine, using different “lenses” to come up with five recommendations and five concerns for each plan, totaling 125 recommendations and concerns overall.

The committee for each plan includes: Operations & Governance, Personnel, Finance, Physical & Mental Health and Personalized Learning.

“We are having these conversations in June so that when this decision is made come July and August… it’s not a fire drill,” says Zywicki. “We are trying to come up with solutions and contingencies. I understand it was a large undertaking,” he says, and he appreciates all of the work by the subcommittees.

“It was a lot of work,” Zywicki tells the board members during the Mt. Olive BOE meeting held Monday, June 8. “I think we are ahead of a lot of districts.”

Zywicki says the feedback will not be shared with participants but will be used “to make tweets to the plan. Maybe there are other ideas out there.”

Says Zywicki, “All options are imperfect, will keep me up at night, all is compromised. I’m aware some of these options will not make us happy.”

He suggests, “let’s be patient. I want to get us back to normal as soon as possible. It’s the hand that we are going to be dealt with but I’m going to play the best hand that we can.”

In the end, the plan will have to be contingent with the state governor and N.J. State Department of Health.

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