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HILLSBOROUGH: Labor commissioner sees emergency worker program in action

   When Superstorm Sandy hit in late October, government officials got creative how to handle the massive amount of damage the hurricane had wreaked on trees and nature in New Jersey.
   One of the programs was the National Emergency Grant, which was invoked almost immediately in New Jersey. Particularly at the front of the curve was Somerset County, which now has 22 of the more than 500 workers hired statewide for temporary jobs thanks to the $16-million government grant.
   On Thursday, state Department of Labor and Workforce Development Commissioner Harold Wirths met some of the newly employed and saw some of the work being done in a short tour in Hillsborough, where 11 workers are on the job supplementing the 29-member DPW and parks work force.
   ”Eleven people’s lives have changed drastically for the better because of the people in this room,” said Mr. Wirths.
   Officials visited two sites.
   At the Department of Public Works dump on Auten Road, DPW Director Buck Sixt stood among the rows of 20-foot-high piles of wood chips and tree branches and explained had come in almost daily from early November until Christmas. Some will be recycled, some go to residents but much will eave the site for permanent landfilling, he said
   ”It’s way too much for us to use,” he said.
   Parks Department Rich Resavy explained that some of the material came from trees that had been chain-sawed by “hot shot” crew of federally funded national forest land workers from Arizona, who traveled here to help clear trees along the perimeter of township open space properties.
   Hillsborough Township Administrator Anthony Ferrera, who came to his job in August after a post in the state Department of Labor, reached to his state connections and background for help.
   The National Emergency Grant program is open to people who were unemployed as a direct result of the storm and were also long-term unemployed and no longer receiving benefits.
   The employees would be temporary, and the federal government is paying a maximum of $12,000 for up to six months. Somerset County took the lead as employer of record and is absorbing workman’s compensation, and some personal equipment and other administrative costs, said Freeholder Peter Palmer.
      Mr. Ferrera helped the bi-county Greater Raritan Workforce Investment Board make connections with state government.
   ”When Anthony brought this to our attention, we realized it was an opportunity we had to take advantage of,” said Hillsborough Mayor Frank DelCore. “You can see how work has been done, and how much material has already been moved.”
   ”This collaboration with state, federal, county and local government is morally and economically a great thing to do,” said Mr. Wirths. “You could tell that workers out there were not putting on an act but working hard.”
   At a second stop at a home on Longhill Road, homeowner Barbara Eberhart came out to meet the officials and commissioner, who stopped to see about 14 workers fully utilizing two chippers to clear part of the curb line of downed evergreen branches.
   The township is helping senior citizens who are unable to bring debris to the Auten Road site for disposal.