The Alternative Press

WEST ESSEX, NJ - Sandy Hook, Connecticut, is 90 miles from the West Essex area of New Jersey, about an hour and forty minute drive.  It’s a small village within the larger community of Newtown, Connecticut.  Far away enough from here to seem distant, but this weekend, however, the hearts of our community joins with theirs in grief, as firmly as if Sandy Hook was the next town over.  

There were 20 First Graders whose lives were extinguished yesterday.
Twelve of them were little girls:
* Charlotte Bacon, 6
* Olivia Engel, 6
* Josephine Gay, 7
* Ana Marquez-Greene, 6
* Madeline Hsu, 6
* Catherine Hubbard, 6
* Grace McDonnell, 7
* Emilie Parker, 6
* Caroline Previdi, 6
* Jessica Rekos, 6
* Avielle Richman, 6
* Allison Wyatt, 6

Eight of them were boys:
* Daniel Barden, 7
* Dylan Hockley, 6
* Chase Kowalski, 7
* Jesse Lewis, 6
* James Mattioli, 6
* Jack Pinto, 6
* Noah Pozner, 6
* Benjamin Wheeler, 6

The hearts of their families have broken. There are no words to express the loss and sense of disbelief they are experiencing.  

Six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School were also killed yesterday;  many report they died heroically in efforts to protect the children:
* Rachel Davino, 29
* Dawn Hocksprung, 47, Principal
* Anne Marie Murphy, 52, Special Education Teacher
* Lauren Russeau, 30, Permanent Substitute Teacher
* Mary J. Sherlach, 56, School Psychologist
* Victoria Soto, 27, 1st Grade Teacher

Throughout West Essex yesterday, members of the community expressed their compassion for those affected by the tragedy.  They described a shared sense of bewilderment, and reflected on their love for their own family members.

Mayor Ed Abbot, of Essex Fells expressed, “Everyone in Essex Fells has in their thoughts and prayers the victims and families of the horrific, unthinkable, and cowardly act that took place today in Newtown, Connecticut.   I am certain that words do not exist that can begin to describe the overwhelming and absolute grief and painful sorrow felt by the parents and family members who lost their children and friends by this depraved and evil violence.”

“By all accounts, Newtown is very similar to our little town,”  continued Mayor Abbot, “a very tightly knit community that has it focus on the magnificence of its smallest residents, the kids.  For an act so violent, so evil, and so unfathomable to have occurred rips at the very fabric of communities like ours.  Tonight, and for the days and months ahead, Newtown should know that even in its darkest moments, it will never be alone,  for small towns and communities all across the United States and the world will mourn with them and have them in their prayers.  I know Essex Fells will.”

"Such a tragedy, it's unbelievable,” expressed Christine Gurriere of Caldwell.  “I'm in tears even though my kids are 19 and 16. I can only imagine the trauma for young kids and the parents of young ones.  This just make no sense."

Beth Coudray Bucci of North Caldwell commented: "This makes me nauseous.  My own children are 17, 15 and 12, and will always be 6 in my eyes. I texted each one of them earlier to remind them that I love them."

Some residents expressed outright anger:
"I am shocked and horrified," Lori Scarangella Uhlendorf of Fairfield expressed.  "I am praying for all of the families in Newtown. I want to know how many children have to die before all schools require an armed police officer present in the school at all times?"

Nick Bellomo of Roseland thought of his own life as a father: "It's horrible.  As a father of two I have devoted my entire life to my children, my daily routine revolves around my kids.  Hearing of this tragedy has made me so upset that words can't describe. These poor children have lost their lives in the hands of a maniac. It's so close to their favorite holidays; their family's are tarnished for life.”

“As parents we try to protect them from all evil,” added Bellomo.  “But in the end, even in the schools they are not always safe. It's a sad day when the lives of children are taken from us in such a horrifying way. My heart goes out to the family's involved, and for all of those poor kids who lost their lives."

Roseland Councilman Thomas Tsilionis expressed: "As a parent, I am overcome with grief and outrage by the recent tragedy at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. This is an unspeakable and unthinkable act of violence that will forever change the way every American will send off our kids to school in the morning, even though this has happened in high schools and colleges in the past. The thought of a 1st grader being shot 3 to 10 times is just something that is beyond what any imagination can comprehend. My heart goes out to the families impacted by this senseless tragedy."

Councilman Tsilionis continued, "Terrorists have taken notice of how this has impacted all of us and now future evil has something it can copy-cat. We can’t ignore, that in a population of over 300+ million people, we will have our share of evil. These mass killing sprees are happening way too often. We must deal with this as we dealt with 9/11. We can start by having tougher gun laws and using technology to monitor the movement of these weapons. There is a big difference between a rifle which is designed to hunt deer and an automatic rifle. My biggest fear is that this will be a recurring event in the future."

Chief James Bongiorno of the Caldwell Police Department expressed, “Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone involved in this unthinkable and awful incident as they try and deal with the unimaginable grief.  From a Law Enforcement perspective, we will analyze the facts and learn as much as we can to hopefully prevent anything like this from happening again.”

Friday afternoon, members of the Caldwell and West Caldwell Police Departments maintained a presence at the district schools at dismissal time, “in order both to provide more security and also to ease the general anxiety parents may be feeling as a result of today’s events in Newtown,” explained Superintendent of the Caldwell-West Caldwell Schools, Dr. James Heinegg.  “As a district, the safety of our students is our highest priority, and we are continually assessing our ability to establish a secure environment for them.”

Dr. Heinegg commented, "We have posted several resources for parents and teachers on the district's home page of our web site, and I strongly encourage you to consult those documents for guidance in working with your children on this difficult topic."  Documents include:
* Helping Children Following School Violence
* Talking to Children About Violence
* How Not to talk to your children about Newtown, Connecticut
* What Parents Can Do

Chief of the West Caldwell Police Department, Michael Bramhall commented, “In light of the situation in Connecticut, a decision was made to place police officers at schools at dismissal.   We felt our presence would be a welcome sight to parents as they picked up their loved ones from school.  Our prayers go out to the families in this tragedy.”

North Caldwell's Mayor Alessi expressed, "Of course we are all saddened by this horrific and senseless event that resulted in the deaths of 6-year-old and 7-year-old children who did nothing more dangerous than go to First Grade on Friday, only eleven days before Christmas. The same is true of the heroic teachers who fought against a terrorist, not in Afghanistan or Iran,  but at a grammar school in Newtown, Connecticut."

Mayor Alessi described plans for a Monday morning meeting at the North Caldwell Superintendent's Office where the administrative team will discuss their schools' security.  In addition, Superintendent Dr. Linda Freda has prepared a letter, already approved by the Board of Education, to be sent out to parents.

"I have also spoken with Chief Deuer, President of the North Caldwell Board of Education Bob Kessler, Marie Rosenberg one of the North Caldwell representatives of the West Essex High School Board of Education, Councilman Jim Campbell who is Chairman of the Public Safety Committee, and our Office of Emergency Management Director John D'Ascenzio, along with reaching out to Barbara Longo,  the Superintendent of West Essex," continued Mayor Alessi.  "We are all committed to take measures to protect our children. I know we are all praying for the families affected by this inconceivable and inconsolable tragedy."

Roseland's Mayor John Duthie expressed: "Our thoughts and prayers are with all of those affected by the heinous event perpetrated upon the Sandy Hook Elementary School this past Friday.  I wish that we could go back in time and prevent this despicable act from ever having become even a thought in one's mind. So many lives have been forever shattered.  It is unimaginable that these little angels went to school just as they would on any other day, but this time they would not return home. Those children that lost their lives along with the courageous teachers and staff members from the school will be remembered for all of the good that they brought to the world. The event weighs heavy on our hearts."

Songwriter Jeff Davidson of Verona was inspired by the actions of Newtown teacher, Kaitlin Roig who huddled with her students in a bathroom which she had barricaded with a bookshelf.  "I told them we had to be absolutely quiet," Roig told ABC News. "Because I was just so afraid if he did come in, then he would hear us and just start shooting the door. I said, 'We have to be absolutely quiet.' And I said, 'There are bad guys out there now, and we need to wait for the good guys to come get us out."

Roig continued:  "If they started crying, I would take their face and say, 'It's going to be OK. Show me your smile,'" she said. "They said, 'We want to go home for Christmas.' 'I just want to hug my mom.' Things like that, that were just heartbreaking."

Inspired by her comments, Davidson wrote ">the following song, Show Me Your Smile, this weekend:
"There was a pop pop pop in the hallway, And we could not stop the sound
I thought that pots and pans were falling, Until someone pushed me down
It was my teacher, my protector, The one who held my trust
My eyes were movin' with confusion, Then my tear drops turned to dust

When she said….
Show me your smile, show me your smile.  Know that I love you, every one of you.

There was no reason to expect this, Though we've seen it from afar
Now this our town on the TV, Now it's our kids who were harmed
So there's anger and frustration only peppered with relief,
As a child finds a mama and a daddy finally breathes

and they all say…
Show me your smile, show me your smile.  Know that I love you, every one of you.

All the world was watching…waiting, biting fingers….shaking heads 
Like a puzzle with all the wrong pieces, This will never make much sense
And we will hug hug hug all our children hard, We can't explain it, but we'll try
And if we stumble through the story, Stop and look them in the eyes

and say…
Show me your smile, show me your smile.  Know that I love you, every one of you.

When the good guys came to get us, We were huddled, hugging tight
And our parents prayed outside, That they could tuck us in tonight
Single file, they said, "close your eyes, No one look around"
But I swear that through my squinting, I saw angels on the ground
little angels….all around….
There were whispers through the screaming, tiny voices we all knew
I could barely make the meaning, But it's clearer….now it's through

they said….
Show me your smile, show me your smile.  Know that I love you, every one of you."

The youngest of the adults killed, Victoria Soto, 27, was the First Grade Teacher in room 10.  On her school website she enthusiastically wrote: "This is my third year as a first grade teacher at Sandy Hook School! I absolutely love teaching first grade!”

According to ABC News, Soto reportedly did her very best to get her students into a closet and out of danger.  Out of Soto’s sixteen students in Room 10,  five of them were killed.

“In my free time, I love to spend time with my black lab Roxie. I love spending time with my brother, sisters and cousins,” Soto wrote describing herself.  “I love to spend time reading books on the beach soaking up the sun. I also love flamingos and the the New York Yankees. I look forward to an amazing year in first grade with my amazing students of room 10!"

Mayor Ann Dassing of Caldwell commented, “I would like to urge everyone to take some time today and everyday forward, to pray for the victims and their families and all others that have been touched this unimaginable tragedy.”

Mayor Abbot added, “Tell your kids you love them and hug them every chance you get.”