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Vol. 4 – No. 41 ♦
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FR EE
June 27, 2020 – July 3, 2020
Barbers, Beauticians Back in Business, But with New Rules, Appointments Only
HATS OFF
By Andy Milone Staff Writer
Photo By Tim Derkas
Six members of the Chatsworth Education Association, through the New Jersey Education Association’s PRIDE in Public Education grant program administered locally by the CEA, provide 23 members of the Woodland Volunteer Fire and EMS company with 12-pound bags of fruit purchased from Russo’s Fruit and Vegetable Farm.
Chatsworth Education Association Provides Bags of Fresh Fruit to Frontline Workers Who’ve Labored Through COVID Pandemic and Gives Cookies Tailored Toward Class of 2020 to Graduates By Douglas D. Melegari Staff Writer
CHATSWORTH—Approximately a half-dozen members of the Chatsworth Education Association (CEA), through the New Jersey Education Association’s (NJEA) PRIDE in Public Education grant program administered locally by the CEA, delivered healthy fruit to Woodland Township’s frontline workers on June 8 to express appreciation for their efforts during the Coronavirus pandemic, and also provided custom made cookies that were included in gift baskets disseminated June 15 to graduating 8th graders of Chatsworth Elementary School, as they received their diplomas at home this year as part of a Doorto-Diploma campaign after the school’s traditional commencement ceremony was canceled due to the virus. PRIDE, according to Brenda Casano, a CEA member who is the head of the local PRIDE program and a kindergarten teacher at Chatsworth Elementary, gave $250 worth of 12-pound bags of fruits purchased from Russo’s Fruit and Vegetable Farm to the primary postal clerk of the Chatsworth U.S. Post Office, and 23 members of the Woodland Volunteer Fire and EMS company. Each bag, she said, contained bananas, strawberries, apples and oranges.
Casano told this newspaper that the NJEA, earlier in the 2019-20 school year, awarded the CEA (26 members strong) a $2,500 PRIDE grant to support a local PRIDE in Public Education campaign that “shares the successes of New Jersey’s public schools, while building community support and involvement.” She said the grant monies allowed the CEA to purchase tote bags for each school family in September, honor local veterans in November for Veteran’s Day, sponsor a schoolwide STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) night in January and hold a literacy night in March. However, a statewide school shutdown order in March forced the cancelation of a planned Easter activity, resulting in an opportunity to reallocate unused PRIDE grant dollars. “The NJEA, through the PRIDE division of the NJEA, told us that the funds could be reallocated so long as we keep it local to benefit community members and frontline workers,” Casano contended. Casano told this newspaper that projects were requested by the NJEA that would assist each local education associations’ respective communities during the COVID-19 crisis. Given the nature of the pandemic and social distancing guidelines currently in place, and that many of the frontline workers are
volunteers with varying schedules where they don’t all work on the same day, she said honoring frontline workers with a luncheon (or something comparable to that) wasn’t feasible. The CEA, instead, presented the local frontline workers with bags of “healthy, fresh fruit” from Russo’s Fruit and Vegetable Farm in nearby Tabernacle Township. Casano said the CEA knew that a lot of Chatsworth community members shop at Russo’s and wanted to also help support the local business, which had been open for several weeks with only limited access to its road stand, and mostly online ordering, due to the social distancing guidelines. “We wanted to keep everything local,” said Casano, who lives in Tabernacle and is a member of the Russo family. “We wanted to help our local businesses.” She added that by providing bags of fruits, the frontline workers were also able to take something home to share with their families. Given the voluminous workload generated by the pandemic, in addition to the need to maintain social distance if one is exposed to COVID-19, some frontline workers throughout the Pines have spent limited time with their families since the See HATS/ Page 13
SOUTHAMPTON—New Jersey residents no longer have to rely on their own two hands (or those of their friends) for a haircut during the Coronavirus pandemic. Barbershops and beauty salons, after being closed down as non-essential businesses back in March on orders from Democratic Governor Phil Murphy as part of his administration’s attempts to slow the spread of the COVID-19, were allowed to reopen on June 22. Unlike restaurants that were at least allowed to offer take-out and delivery as a means of generating revenue, these “personal-careservice facilities” were never given permission by the state to operate outside their licensed premises, such as at clients’ homes. “It has been scary,” said Sara Brown, owner of The Hair Parlour and Towne Barber Shop in Southampton. “If I did not have some money saved up for an eventual expansion, I could have lost my two businesses. I no longer have that extra money, but I am still here.” Brown was able to welcome her entire staff back on June 22, with the exception of one barber who retired and another employee who was too apprehensive to return. But even with most of her employees returning, she is working two additional days per week to help her crew catch up on a backlog of appointments, which extend into August. Establish ments that operate as sole proprietorships, however, have had their own set of challenges to contend with during the lockdown. Edie Poinsett, owner of Edie’s Beauty Salon in the Brown Mills section of Pemberton Township, said that her first day back in business on June 23 made her feel like she had money in her pocket again. “Being self-employed, we did not get any (financial) assistance during the shutdown,” she said. Even with the green light being given, the Division of Consumer Affairs has issued health and safety standards that owners of personal care services who are licensed by the New Jersey State Board of Cosmetology and Hairstyling, and the New Jersey Board of Massage and Bodywork Therapy, must follow. “We are learning how to cut and color hair around the masks, plus manage the influx of people coming from places in Shamong and Medford that had to shut down (permanently),” Brown explained. Donna Brosious, owner of The Boardroom Barbershop in Medford, pointed out that the temporary guidelines do not allow for her business to offer either shaves or mustache See BARBERS/ Page 11
INDEX Business Directory... 12
Local News................. 2
Job Board................. 14
Marketplace.............. 15
Worship Guide...........11
****ECRWSS**** LOCAL POSTAL CUSTOMER
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