The Old Birdge Police department in New Jersey has been looking for its department diversity for many years. In an effort to create more diversity on the police force, officials are looking to make some changes to the Old Bridge’s police hiring ordinance.The idea is to recruit officers from other municipalities for potential officers into the township. Right now there are two women police officers in the whole department and only one African American. The township Mayor, Jim Phillips says that,” our town is certainly more diverse than our police department, so we need to do something about that.” The amended ordinance which had its first reading at the council’s April 23rd meeting, proposes that Police Chiel Thomas Collow be given the ability to recruit two existing police officers per year to come and work on Old Bridge’s force. These officers will be subjected to a phisycal examination, interviews and psychological tests, but not written and physical tests . www.gmnews.com
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It is an overnight walk that begins on June 9th in the dark and long streets of Manhattan and it ends at sunup the following morning in the same place that it began, The South Street sea Port. It is a 20 mile walk to raise money and provide solidarity for people who have dealt with depression and suicide in many aspects of their lives. The event asks participants to raise $1,000 to help fund suicide prevention. It will be a “healing” event because not only will raise money but walkers get a better chance to get to know one another and share the same experiences as they have. The walk was previously in San Franscisco and Chicago but now it has come to NYC. According to the AFSP nearly 1 million people make a suicide attempt eah year in the United States. It is the forth leading cause of death in th US. There will be 2,000 to 3,000 expected walkers. William Grard who is the director of development for the AFSP said that “This is the single largest successful event for suicide prevention to date.” For most walkers this is will be a commom bond that they all can share. For more information on the walk visit www.theovernight.com or AFSP
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Some high school kids in the state of New Jersey are randomly being called out of class through an intercom  in order to be tested for drug use. They have to walk to the nurse’s office and urinate in a plastic cup. This has become source of a routine for a number of  schools in the state of New Jersey. The state was one of the fastest state to adopt and agree on such testings. Students feel that it “invades their privacy” because they never know when and who they will be calling out next. If a student happens to be tested positive, parent will be notified and the student will be banned from the school until they receive counseling. http://www.nytimes.com/intheregion.
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Two weeks ago when I came home from school, I received a letter in my mail box from the township of Old Bridge,New Jersey  stating  that my property taxes will be going up in a few months. This property tax increase is making many residents who live here very angry.However I discovered it is not only happening in my neighborhood but in the whole state of New Jersey. This situation is forcing many residents who have been living here for so long to move out. Property  taxes in this neighborhood is made up of educational taxes and it goes from 55 to 80 percent of the total property tax.  As we know, most of the property taxes are to  fund education and many of the elderly and younger couples are objecting to this idea ,because they do not have  any children who are  attending public schools. http://www.gmnews.com Â
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