M t . O l i v e’s H o m e t o w n N e w s p a p e r
MOUNT OLIVE LIFE Vo l . 1 8 • I s s u e 4
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Member of Mid-Atlantic Community Papers • Association of Community Publishers • Mt. Olive Chamber of Commerce AUDITED BY CIRCULATION VERIFICATION COUNCIL (CVC), ST. LOUIS, MO.
Support Military Child Memorial at Painting Event & Beer Social
BY CHERYL CONWAY STAFF WRITER
MOUNT OLIVE - May flowers will most certainly be blooming this spring, not only in landscapes and gardens, but at the Jersey Girl Brewery in Budd Lake. Whether it’s art, music, socializing or beer, The Military Child fundraiser set for Sunday, May 21, at the local brewery on Sand Shore Rd. will be the place for fun and camaraderie. The event is being sponsored by the All-Veterans Memorial in Budd Lake. The community is invited to the Military Child Painting Event from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., followed by the AVM’s Beer Garden Social from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. “We are raising funds for the Military Child Monument,” explains Charlie Wood Uhrmann, founder of the AVM. She says “100% of the proceeds will be applied towards the monument.” The Military Child Monument is the latest element being designed and sculptured at the AVM, a one-of-a-kind memori-
al site dedicated to all those who have served and are serving in the military. The latest element features a garden representing five variations of flowers: Three different stages of the dandelion, a poppy and a daisy. The dandelion will represent the resilient life stages of the military child. A red poppy will represent “the life of our fallen warriors; the memory of children, all children, our children during war,” says Uhrmann. And the daisy symbolizes innocence and purity and new beginnings for children, “all children,” caught up in life’s many battles. Uhrmann created the design and the concept of the garden. She is hiring Tim Sheldon of Wicked Workz to create the steel sculptured monument, that will stand just under 10 feet on a large mound of stones. “We need to raise $8,500 for the monument,” says Uhrmann. The AVM is a non-profit 501©3 organization that has been made possible through donations and
sponsorships for the past 15 years. For the Military Child Painting event, Uhrmann asks participants to register to ensure there are enough materials. Anyone aged 16-90 is welcome but there is a limit of 50 attendees. The cost is $45, which will include all materials and instructions. “Each participant will take home their painting, and a gift bag from the AVM,” says Uhrmann. While Uhrmann came up with the overall design and concept, the artist behind the drawing is Eileen Schissler of Mt. Olive, who will be instructing the class. “Participants will learn artistic techniques and skill sets from the artist who painted several of the murals at the AVM (Blue Skin),” says Uhrmann. The design for the fundraiser is a modified version of what the sculpture will entail. Schissler’s artwork which participants will replica at the event is a “dandelion to represent the Military
Child,” explains Schissler. “The three flowers represent the stages of a child’s life. The bud for the infant/toddler, flower for the adolescent and the fuzzy dandelion for the teen.” Under Uhrmann’s suggestion, “I have been working over the past few weeks to come up with a design that would represent the Military Child as well as being a piece that others will be able to paint without too much difficulty,” the artist explains. “The original idea presented to me was several different flowers. The concept was refined to only include one dandelion. I took that concept to include a bud, flower and fuzzy dandelion.” The flower will be painted with acrylics on a black canvas, she describes. “I purchased sketch pads and canvas as well as the paints to complete the design,” says Schissler, an associate support department supervisor at Home Depot where she has worked for the past 25 years.
Scotland Leaves Legacy of Kindness As She Retires
BY CHERYL CONWAY STAFF WRITER
MOUNT OLIVE - Longtime teachers leave a mark on a school district and community, and all will surely agree that Ann. M. Scotland will always be remembered for spreading kindness near and far. After 36 years of teaching in the Mt. Olive School District, Scotland is retiring. She completed her paperwork requirements to officially retire this July 1. “It’s time,” says Scotland, 60. “My adult children whom I adore live in Colorado and Pennsylvania. I am blessed to be a granny to my sweet granddaughter. My goal is to make special memories with them now. More chapters to share in, more of my story to be.” Her plans are to “Fill myself with family, travel and be useful in some way. Once settled I wouldn’t mind getting some type of part time job mentoring future educators.” A teacher for 39 years, Scotland started in September 1984, “as Miss Smith at the age of 21
in a private school called Morris Plains Country Day School in Morris Plains. I taught a full day kindergarten. I did that for two years. “I wanted to get a job in a public school, so I stopped and subbed for Mt. Olive and Dover,” until 1986. “Then in January of 87’, I found my dream spot in Mt. Olive.” She started out at Mountain View Elementary School teaching fourth grade until 1990. From 1991-2001, she jumped over to Sandshore to teach first and second grade; and then in the fall of 2001 she relocated Chester M. Stephens to teach first and second grades. “I have been at CMS since it opened as an elementary school in 2001,” says Scotland, who currently teaches second grade. Teaching was her childhood dream. “Since I was a little girl, teaching has been my passion,” says Scotland. “I did struggle as a student. I wanted to reach
all children but especially ones that had low self-esteem due to challenges that learning can present. It has always been my intent to help boys and girls reach their fullest potential academically and to underscore no matter where they are with their learning, there is a place to contribute and have purpose. There is a place for everyone.” After graduating Whippany Park High School in 1980,
Scotland attended County College of Morris in Randolph for her associate’s degree in humanities and social science in 1982 and then went on to Glassboro State Teacher’s College, now Rowan, for her bachelor’s in elementary education in 1984. While working, Scotland went back to school at night
MOUNT OLIVE - The winners from March’s “Find Moe Life Mascot” are Ryan Hanlon; Hackettstown, Jeffrey Zwi-
er; Budd Lake, Mary Backer; Flanders and Kathy Titone; Budd Lake. Mr. Moe was hiding in the fol-
lowing ads: Entourage, Crown Mortgage, Dr. Rooney, Czig Meister, Dino’s and Expo Realty.
Thanks to everyone who enter and congratulations to our winners!
PLEASE SEE SCOTLAND LEAVES, PAGE 8
Your Chance to Win a $25 Gift Card with the “Find Moe Life Mascot” Contest
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the Korean War,” continues Schissler. “He served for two years prior to getting married and starting a family.” Although she is not a military child, she sympathizes with those who are. “I have friends that were in the military and had to leave children behind while serving,” she says. “It is important for PLEASE SEE MILITARY CHILD, PAGE 6
Madison Teen Diagnosed with Rare Type of Cancer
Jake and his dog, Riley
Winners FromMarch’s “Find Moe Life Mascot” Contest
MOUNT OLIVE - Check out our new mascot...Mr. Moe Life. Look for him in the ads in this issue and enter (no purchase necessary) to win a $25.00 gift card.
This is not Schissler’s first contribution to the AVM. “I have worked on several projects over the past 10 years,” she says. “Some with Home Depot and others on my own. The latest was Washington’s horse.” As a Mt. Olive resident for 28 years, Schissler says “I am happy to support the community through the work I do at AVM. “My dad is a veteran of
the paper in 6 random ads. Then go to www.mtolivelife.com scroll down and fill out the form to be entered. Winners will be notified and printed in the next issue.
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BY MARYANNE CHRISTIANO-MISTRETTA STAFF WRITER AREA - Madison teen, Jake Mocko, was like any other teen, going to high school and appreciating life. He just started driving. He enjoyed babysitting, reading, and painting. Then came the lower back pain, which over-the-counter meds and physical therapy couldn’t relieve him of. It was constant. And it wasn’t getting any better. After getting an MRI, a very large, slow-growing tumor was discovered on his spine. Though the doctors felt it was benign, the fact that it was growing sideways was causing Jake to limp and scheduled him for a surgery within a few days. “They didn’t know how he was still walking,” said his mother, Jennifer Mocko. “We went home. I watched his condition. I watched him decline immediately. He had to walk with assistance up and down the stairs. It was so scary.” The surgery was performed on June 29, 2021, at Morristown Medical Center. Jake was there for 11 days. They removed most of the mass, but pieces wrapped around his spinal cord were unreachable. Jake was left with no mobility in his legs and arms. He was also left with a loss of feeling in his mid-section. He had to learn to use his whole body all over again, since the tumor was located so high in his spinal cord. Jennifer explained, “He had to learn to use his arms all over again, touch his nose, touch his head,
pick up utensils. He was making progress. We were seeing some of the nerve activity being restored. We were feeling hopeful. We were told he’d be walking in a few months.” However, while focusing on helping Jake walk and move his arms again, results came back, along with tissue tests. Jake was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called astrocytoma, a highly aggressive cancer that does not respond to traditional treatments of radiation and chemo. After more testing, they learned his cancer is actually called a grade 4, high grade glioma/glioblastoma. Jake had been through radiation and chemo. And since August of 2022, Jake has been going to DC once a month for T-cell therapy. That entire summer was spent at Kessler doing rehab with six weeks of radiation, five days a week. According to Jennifer, he had a two-month period where he was waking up multiple times at night with nerve pain, from the radiation. The Mocko family has been dealing with a lot of grief over the past year. Jennifer and her husband have been going through a divorce and she’s tried to keep a positive attitude for her son. “The first time in the hospital, I was there with him by myself,” she said. “I thought, how I respond right now is going to influence how he’s going to deal with it. He PLEASE SEE MADISON TEEN, PAGE 2