MAY 2019
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‘Rising from the ashes’
Fighting for a cure Lawrence resident raising money for Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
New-look Lawrence Shopping Center adds tenants
By JenniFeR GoetZ
By sAmAnthA sciARRottA
Jen Moog is a mom, a wife, a writer, and a survivor. In 2014, Moog, then 42, was the director of human resources with Johnson & Johnson, married with three kids, then ages 4, 6 and 7, when she first started feeling sick. After paying a visit to the doctor for an eye infection, doctors noticed that she had too much calcium, which at first she thought might be a good thing, until doctors kept her for further testing. They discovered she was highly anemic, and doctors were concerned. In the next 48 hours, “everything spiraled out of control,” Moog said. Between being on a breathing tube and a feeding tube and going through dialysis, Moog was unconscious for the next week. Her husband learned about her cancer before she did. Moog was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a rare blood cancer. Since her diagnosis, Moog has dedicated her energy to sharing her experience with others to raise awareness and to fundraise for a cure. This lifelong disease has not stopped her from pursuing her passion of writing and working on ways to help her community. Moog, 46, is dedicating her time to lead a fundraiser after See MOOG, Page 7
The Lawrence Shopping Center has a new look, but things are changing inside the vacant storefronts, too. Township manager Kevin Ner winski confirmed last month that an LA Fitness gym will fill the long-empty space left by a former furniture store. The township is hoping for a Februar y 2020 opening, and Ner winski expects the vacant building to be fully torn down within the next two months. “LA Fitness is the type of organization that does a lot of market research into where they place their gyms,” Nerwinski said. “This location seems to be a no-brainer for them. They have not closed a single location. They build, and they’re stayers.” Nerwinski said some of the conclusions the company drew from that research include the site’s visibility from Route 1, the vision of current shopping center owners JJ Operating Real Estate Investments and the township’s proximity to both Philadelphia and New York. Nerwinski said the reaction of some residents has been along the lines of “If Retro Fitness didn’t work out, why would this gym?” but he maintains that the two fitness centers are two different entities. See SHOPPING, Page 5
ssciarrotta@communitynews.org
Lawrence High School teacher Jametta Clarke was one of 183 black women honored by the Capital City Area Black Caucus last month for her dedication to community involvement. (Staff photo by Samantha Sciarrotta.)
LHS teacher honored by Black Caucus By JenniFeR GoetZ Last month, the Capital City Area Black Caucus honored 183 black women in Mercer county for their dedication to making a positive impact on their community. Lawrence High School’s own social studies teacher, Jametta Clarke, was one of them. Clarke, originally from Alabama, moved to New Jersey almost eight years ago. She credits her New Jersey family and friends, her job with Lawrence High School and her worship experience at Union Baptist Church in Trenton as the
reasons she remained in New Jersey. As for her what she does, Clarke has an impressive resume. “I’m a jack of many trades,” said Clarke. “I teach high school social studies by day and children’s Bible study by Wednesday night, choir direct at school and church, cater, event plan and much more.” For Clarke, “teaching is at the heart” of everything she does. She has served as a social studies teacher for about 14 years. Clarke worked as a teacher in Alabama for seven
years, and as a teacher in New Jersey for seven years. Even after a student has left her class, Clarke will always think her former students as her children. “Once my student, always my child.” “Whether I’m teaching history, law, economics, a new song to my Gospel Choir children or working with a team of dedicated Black History Celebration student planning committee members, I’m constantly inspired by them. They motivate me daily to give them the best me that I have to give. On some of my worst days, See CLARK, Page 8
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