Municipal Alliance Seeks To Add Two Youth Members

While the Municipal Alliance moves forward with their recent campaign to delay the age of first use for alcohol and other substances, they would like to enlist the help of those who are most intimately acquainted with the pressures local teens face.

The Township Committee voted unanimously at their Tuesday, June 29 meeting to introduce an ordinance adding two permanent members to the Municipal Alliance, both of whom will be students in Bernards schools.

"At a recent meeting we were realizing that we're a bunch of adults talking about issues related to students," Township Committee member and chair of the Municipal Alliance John Carpenter said. The new members will be selected by referral from the schools, and may include two high school students or one high school student and one middle school student – the combination is still to be determined.

"We will leave it to health staff and high school to designate someone who is positive and helpful," Carpenter said.

The Municipal Alliance is busy planning the launch of their "It's 21 For a Reason" campaign, aimed at educating teens and parents about the dangers of early alcohol use. The Township Committee also passed a resolution honoring Ridge High School student Derek Vogt for his contributions to the campaign.

Vogt shot, edited and produced a video interviewing several Township residents including school officials and former Bernards Police Chief Tom Kelly about the dangers and consequences of teen alcohol use, using real life examples that happened in the township.

"I think what makes a video like that powerful is, a lot of times kids are shown things that happen as a result of substance abuse, but all of these examples happened in our town," Carpenter said. "I just wanted to take the opportunity to recognize Derek Vogt for the community service he has provided. He is a fine young man."

The ordinance will be presented in a public hearing before final action is taken on August 10 at 8 p.m. in Town Hall.