Four residents of Colts Neck have filed nominating petitions to run for three three-year terms on the Colts Neck K-8 School District Board of Education in the Nov. 2 election.
The terms of board members Marci Klein, Kimberly Raymond and Kevin O’Connor will end in December. Klein and Raymond are not running to retain their seats on the board.
The four candidates in the race are O’Connor, Alison DeNoia, Brenna Dillon and Amy Dimes.
The board oversees the operation of the district, which includes the Conover Road Primary School, the Conover Road Elementary School and the Cedar Drive Middle School.
The Monmouth County Park System is seeking entries into its upcoming “Into the Woods” exhibit which will be held from Sept. 17 through Nov. 14 at the Gallery in the Thompson Park Creative Arts Center, Lincroft.
The exhibit will feature works inspired by the forest, according to a press release. Non-traditional and traditional renderings of the woods are welcome. Works can be any medium if they convey this theme; from woodland edge to inside the woods, any perspective of the forest is applicable.
Additional information and entry form are available on The Gallery at Thompson Park page at www.MonmouthCountyParks.com. Entry deadline is Aug. 27.
The Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) has announced that Cynthia Gruskos, senior assistant to the president and Board of Trustees of Brookdale Community College, is the recipient of the 2021 Northeast Region Professional Board Staff Member Award.
The Professional Board Staff Member Award was established in 2001 and is given to any board staff member to recognize exemplary service to boards, according to a press release from Brookdale, which is the county college of Monmouth County.
The ACCT chairman will present the award at the annual awards gala during the 52nd annual ACCT Leadership Congress, which will take place in San Diego, Calif., in October.
“Cynthia has provided outstanding support of the board in her seven years in the position,” said Dr. Henry Cram, chairman of the Board of Trustees. “Over the last two years, her efforts in assisting the board in the government of meetings in a virtual format and migrating board materials to a cloud-based portal have been invaluable.”
The Mental Health Association in New Jersey is providing a new virtual wellness center that offers no-cost groups and workshops statewide to individuals interested in day-to-day wellness, support for substance use disorder, and strategies for improving mental health.
Called United by Wellness, the center can be accessed online or by call-in. More than 45 groups and workshops are offered daily, including weekends. Among the groups are Healthy Habits, Meditation, LGBTQ, Young Adult, Anxiety and Depression Support Groups, Grief and COVID, Too Much Stuff, Virtual Job Interviews, Peer Support Career Information, and Grief and Recovery, according to a press release.
Groups are organized into four “communities” for like-minded people with similar goals, but participants are not limited to a specific track. The communities are general well-being; coping skills; co-occurring mental health and substance use; and a community for individuals who have a disorder who are seeking employment. Staff providing services are culturally diverse certified peer specialists, including some who are bilingual and facilitating groups in Spanish.
For more information about United by Wellness, call 609-652-3800, ext. 303, or visit www.mhaac.info/ubw
The CentraState Healthcare Foundation announced it has received a $22,500 community grant from the Parkinson’s Foundation. Community grants support local health, wellness and educational programs that address unmet needs in the Parkinson’s disease
(PD) community, according to a press release.
“We are pleased to be able to provide these community grants and to expand programs and resources throughout the Parkinson’s community,” said John L. Lehr, Parkinson’s Foundation president and chief executive officer. “Every one of these grant recipients shares our commitment to making life better for people with Parkinson’s disease.”
The grant money will allow for the inclusion of a PD Resource Facilitator in this program. With a background in social work, the facilitator will coordinate resources for individuals with Parkinson’s and their families. This program will help to ameliorate crises and improve the quality of life for individuals with PD and their caregivers, according to the press release.
CentraState Clinical Director of Rehabilitation Services Dr. Brian Mason said, “Parkinson’s is a disease that impacts the entire family. Meeting the needs of the patient extends beyond the four walls of a facility; this is a wonderful addition to our program.”