MORRIS COUNTY — Assemblywoman Aura Dunn’s bill to help families visit their loved ones with developmental disabilities living in facilities and residences overwhelmingly passed the Assembly Thursday by a vote of 75-0.

The bill (A-4239) clarifies that families will have the ability to enjoy in-person visitation between a resident of the community-based residential program or group home and the resident’s immediate family members and legal guardian.

“Visits between family members and those in these settings is so important to ensure the continued well-being of both patients and those they love,” said Assemblywoman Dunn (R-Morris). “All the evidence we’ve seen indicates that lack of contact harms these people and makes their lives even harder.  I thank my colleagues in the Assembly for recognizing this fact and getting the bill one step closer to becoming law so this will never happen again.”

There have been 866 total positives and 138 total deaths reported by the Division of Developmental Disabilities, which includes “own home” and “individuals not under services” categories.

The state Department of Human Service released guidance on March 30 that allowed residential providers to restrict visitors during the current health emergency, including individuals only being able to schedule a visit if the provider determines it is necessary for the health and safety of residents or staff. Specifically, this included family visits related to critical medical or behavioral treatment only.

Since that decision, there have been reports of group homes being seemingly neglected or forgotten during the Covid-19 pandemic. This includes reports of residents being forced to be cooped up alone in their small rooms without sufficient interaction with caregivers and family. Some family members said prisoners have more rights than some residents with special needs, including not being able to see loved ones.

“The decision by the Murphy administration has caused real, demonstrable harm to the people the Division is morally and legally obligated to serve and protect,” said Dunn. “The bill will ensure access and help reverse some of the damage that was done in past months.”

The bill now moves to the state Senate for its consideration.

MORRIS COUNTY — Parsippany resident, Mahat Jalan, is the lead role in a short American film made recently on “depression.” The film “Tehravin” is about the mourning death of a relationship. Directed by Kartik Swaminathan.

Mahat Jalan, son of Pramodbhai Jalan, an insurance agent had left his professor job in an Ahmedabad college and came to Parsippany in search of finding an emotional space for himself as a budding actor.

This short film had been featured in the New York Lift-Off Film Festival 2020.

Jalan studied in GD Arts college Palanpur and Mehsana and later came to Ahmedabad and was a professor in a college. Teaching hardly engrossed him. Restless he knew there was more to him than merely teaching others. He wanted to be an actor that was bubbling in him and trying to gain prominence. So he left Mehsana for foreign shores to showcase his talent. After studying for a while the genre of American films he knew he could express his emotions.

After seeing his zeal for acting two youths one from Mumbai and another from Israel Jalan came forward to produce this film on “depression” and Mahat seemed to fit the lead role.

His role is simply to express his depression of losing his wife without speaking a word. And he does that very appropriately.

The film is based on the Hindu ritual where twelve days of mourning is common following death. This same theme brings out the best in Mahat when his wife leaves with her boyfriend after divorcing him.

For twelve days he keeps putting a cross on the calendar for each day of showing his sadness. On the 13th day, he comes out of depression despite having lost his wife to another man and is relieved of his misery as the future awaits him.

This short film has been hugely welcomed in social media and then it got pride of place in New York Lift-Off Film Festival 2020.

The film is written, edited, and directed by Kartik Swaminathan Venkatraman.

MORRIS COUNTY — With so many residents spending a lot more time in their backyards, decks, and patios this summer due to the COVID-19 crisis, county mosquito experts have important advice to offer to prevent mosquito breeding.

Please remove standing water in and around your property during this current hot spell, when frequent summer shows can create pools of water for mosquito breeding.

Mosquito professionals are working to control the tiny biting pests in parks and forests for hikers, walkers, and bikers. In recent days, they have sprayed infested areas in the Chathams, Hanover and Morris Townships, and Parsippany. (Click here for up-to-date spraying info). But you have the power to deal with mosquitoes in your own back yard by eliminating stagnating water — the place that mosquitoes breed.

“If everyone would take steps around their own homes to eliminate standing water, it could reduce the number of mosquitoes by many hundreds of thousands, if not millions, where you live,’’ said Morris County Mosquito Division Superintendent Kristian McMorland.

Residents can take the following steps to protect themselves and their families:

• Empty water from flowerpots, pet food, and water dishes, birdbaths, swimming pool covers, buckets, barrels, and cans once or twice a week.
• Clear clogged rain gutters.
• Remove containers or trash that may be difficult to see, such as under bushes, homes or around building exteriors.
• Dispose of unused tin cans, plastic containers, ceramic pots, or similar water-holding containers on your property.
• Drill holes in the bottom and elevate recycling containers left outdoors.
• Repair and clean storm-damaged roof gutters, particularly if leaves from surrounding trees clog drains. Roof gutters can produce millions of mosquitoes each season.
• Turn over plastic wading pools and wheelbarrows when not in use.
• Avoid allowing water to stagnate in birdbaths.
• Aerate ornamental pools or stock them with fish. Water gardens become major mosquito producers if they stagnate.
• Use EPA-registered insect repellents when outdoors and wear protective clothing.

Also…

• Clean and chlorinate swimming pools, including those not in use. An untended swimming pool can result in neighborhood-wide complaints. Be aware that mosquitoes may develop in water that collects on pool covers.
• Stay in air-conditioned places or rooms with window screens that prevent access by mosquitoes.
• If a mosquito problem remains after taking the above steps, call your county mosquito control agency for assistance. There are larval habitats that only a mosquito control program can properly address.

Click here for contact information if you have questions about mosquito control products or practices. For basic on Morris County’s Mosquito Control operations click here.

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