Morristown Daily Record
Nicholas Montesano s first college semester wasn t what he expected. Toilet paper shortages and limited human interactions amid a pandemic did not make for an ideal freshman year at William Paterson University.
The Roxbury Township native remembers the empty shelves during grocery store runs to stock his dorm room with Clorox bottles, hand sanitizer and any roll of toilet paper he could find. That experience and hustle to find items inspired him to design and build a chess set that represents 2020 and the pandemic. The essentials like masks, gloves, toilet paper, it was on a shortage all year, said Montesano, 18, an art studio major with a concentration in industrial and product design. It couldn’t be more fitting than to design a chess set showing what we are going through now.
Community mourns ‘Brother Franco’
Hamburg. Hamburg Patrolman Jason Franco, 38, was hunting deer with a family member in Wantage when he was killed by a shotgun blast. A Go Fund Me page has been set up for his family. Jason Franco (GoFundMe.com)
A Hamburg police officer has died after he was accidentally shot in a hunting accident, authorities said.
Patrolman Jason Franco, 38, was hunting deer with a family member in Wantage on Tuesday, Dec. 8, when he was struck by a shotgun blast, the Sussex County Prosecutor’s Officer said.
“The investigation appears to suggest this was just a tragic accident,’’ said First Assistant Prosecutor Gregory Mueller told NJ Advance Media.
Celebrating the Life of Clark Terry Share
December 14, 2020 marks the 100th anniversary of Clark Terry’s birth! KUVO Jazz is celebrating the life and music of this trailblazing trumpeter, band leader, music producer and publisher, educator and NEA Jazz Master by playing tracks from Terry throughout the day.
Beginning at 2 pm on Monday, December 14, host Rodney Franks takes us on a deep dive into Terry’s life and impact, featuring interviews with Denver’s leading jazz trumpeters Bob Montgomery and Hugh Ragin. Franks also has remembrances and salutes from Greg Gisbert, Brad Goode, and Ron Miles.
“We’ve spoken with local players who knew and played or studied with Clark Terry, and Terry’s impact was profound,” said Franks. “Their memories were insightful. Their stories were priceless.”
Both the State Police and the DEP deemed Franco s death unintentional. The Sussex County Prosecutor s Office said the juvenile holding the shotgun was a family member, but authorities have declined to identify the person further.
Police and firefighters from departments across the area lined the funeral route, including a contingent from the William Paterson University police force, where the officer had once worked.
End of watch
At Fairview Cemetery, the snow had stopped falling as the crowd stood around Franco s burial site. Montague Fire Department chaplain Keith Lamberson recalled Franco s dedication to the department.
Bagpipers played Amazing Grace as Franco s end-of-watch call echoed through the cemetery. The American flag draped over the casket was folded by members of the Newton VFW and handed to Michelle Franco, who sat near her husband s gravesite in tears, with her son, Jace, on her lap. Her son, Kyle, stood behind her and grasped her shoulder, wiping away his
Juan Anchondo, a medical-surgical nurse at Las Palmas Medical Center, in El Paso, Texas, says he s ready for a Covid-19 vaccine and more than ready for the pandemic to be over.
Aaron E. Martinez/El Paso Times
Now that the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine has been cleared for emergency use, frontline health care workers across the U.S. are days away from being offered the shots. They couldn’t be arriving at a more crucial moment, with Covid-19 cases at their highest level since the pandemic began a year ago and many hospitals overwhelmed.
With a second vaccine, Moderna’s, expected to be approved shortly, government officials have projected that 20 million people will be inoculated by the end of December, with health care workers and residents of long term care facilities first in line.