Englishtown Police Chief Peter S. Cooke Jr. has announced that officers from the Englishtown Police Department will be cracking down on distracted drivers during April as part of New Jersey’s UDrive. UText. UPay. enforcement campaign.
The enforcement campaign began on April 1 and will run through the end of the month. According to a press release from Cooke, the initiative will target motorists who engage in dangerous distracted driving behaviors such as talking on handheld cell phones and sending text messages while driving.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that in 2019, 3,142 people were killed in distracted driving crashes on the nation’s roads and an estimated 400,000 people were injured, according to the press release.
Driver inattention has remained the most frequently cited cause of fatal and incapacitating crashes in New Jersey, more than seven times higher than the total crashes cited for unsafe speed from 2015-19, according to the press release.
Driver inattention was a contributing circumstance in nearly 49% of New Jersey crashes in 2019.
According to the press release, distracted driving is any activity that diverts attention from driving, including talking or texting on a phone, eating and drinking, talking to people in the vehicle, and using the vehicle’s stereo, entertainment or navigation system.
New Jersey is one of eight states to receive dedicated federal funds this year to address the issue of driver distraction. The federal funding will be used for police overtime enforcement grants at the local level and a statewide multimedia public awareness campaign regarding this issue, according to the press release.
Acelero Head Start Freehold, 81 W. Main St., Freehold Borough, has annonced the expansion of Little Sprouts Garden, the school’s outdoor learning space.
The garden is part of the Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation and National Head Start Association’s GroMoreGood Garden Grants initiative, which seeks to connect one million Head Start children across the country to garden education and fresh food, according to a press release.
Acelero Freehold received a GroMoreGood garden grant to expand and improve an existing garden, using the space as an educational outdoor experience, filled with wonder, smells, tastes and ways to get dirty, according to the press release.
Once the project is complete, Acelero Freehold will work with its families to harvest the fruits and vegetables for use in its classrooms and in students’ homes.
Jen Bagdanov, center director of the Freehold Center, said, “We are honored to receive grant support for the Little Sprouts Garden. We know this garden will be a place of learning, creativity and growth for all of our students and their families.”
As Freehold Borough’s new water treatment plant nears completion, the Borough Council has awarded an increase in the contract for its construction.
On March 21, council members authorized a $47,254 increase in the borough’s contract with Coppola Services Inc., Ringwood, for the construction of the water treatment plant on Waterworks Road in Freehold Township.
The contract initially totaled $7.83 million. Following three change orders, the contract now totals $8 million.
According to a resolution, the increase was necessitated by unforeseen conditions and changes to the overall contract scope, including contaminated soil removal, the installation of a fire alarm system, modifications to the pressure filters’ sequencing and operation, the installation of a service line for chlorine analyzers, miscellaneous plumbing, electrical and chemical feed modifications, miscellaneous material modification credits and a road opening permit credit.
Freehold Borough’s existing water treatment plant on Waterworks Road in Freehold Township was constructed in 1949 and most recently upgraded in 1977.
According to borough officials, the new treatment plant is expected to be operational in April.
The American Diabetes Association (ADA), which is a national organization committed to fighting diabetes, has announced the recognition of CentraState Healthcare System’s Novo Nordisk Diabetes Center through the Education Recognition Program (ERP). The recognition lasts for four years.
The certification acknowledges that CentraState offers a staff of knowledgeable health professionals who can provide people who have diabetes with comprehensive information about how to successfully manage the chronic condition, according to a press release.
“The expertise of our team is unrivaled and this recognition speaks to the quality of our service,” said Kim Simers, assistant vice president of Integrated Health. “The Novo Nordisk Diabetes Center team of five certified diabetes educators are here to help anyone manage diabetes in order to prevent or delay the serious complications of diabetes.”
CentraState helps individuals who are newly diagnosed or who have had long-term diabetes by educating them with practical information to better manage the chronic condition, according to the press release.
The ADA’s Education Recognition Certificate assures that educational services meet the national standards for Diabetes Self-Management Education and Support.