Mayor Fred Henry presents a proclamation to South Amboy resident Erik Kuhn, who will receive his Eagle Scout award on July 16th

By: Joseph L. Kuchie

SOUTH AMBOY – South Amboy has reached an interlocal services agreement with Woodbridge Township that will provide opioid recovery services for overdose victims in South Amboy.

The Opioid Recovery Program in Woodbridge provides immediate recovery support for those who have recently overdosed. Most importantly, if the user declines the support at the emergency room, recovery specialists from the program continue to reach out daily in hopes of convincing the user to agree to getting help.

Erik Kuhn with Mayor Fred Henry

South Amboy resident Kim Seber praised the city’s decision to enter the agreement with Woodbridge. Seber developed the event “Fed Up!” last year that brought the community together to help cope with the loss of loved ones due to accidental overdose and taught residents about the ongoing opioid problem in South Amboy.

“The success rate of those programs currently is 80 plus percent of not having to revive the same person over and over again with Narcan [a nasal spray used for emergency treatment of opioid overdose],” Seber said. “Individuals when they hit that emergency room are immediately being met with certified Peer Recovery Specialists. It is a crucial time to grab them because within four hours they can overdose again.”

“I think It’s really crucial that we do get involved in that program because it’s really going to save our town in the long run, it’s going to save lives, and it’s also going to save the police having to keep going to save the same people over and over again,” she added.

Council President Mickey Gross announced that the council will be working together to re-launch the Municipal Alliance, a volunteer group that deals with domestic violence and drug abuse.

“We have taken the initial steps to contact the county about funding,” Gross said. “It’s not an easy process but we’re going to go through the process. It’s the right thing to do and if we save one life, we win. It’s that simple.”

South Amboy’s council also passed two resolutions that celebrated two hard-working individuals in the city.

First, the city approved the re-naming of Field 2 at Allie Clark Field to honor John “Skeets” Skarzynski, a life-long resident of South Amboy who dedicated 61 years to baseball in Middlesex County.

Skarzynski was a star athlete at Hoffman High School and went on to play minor league baseball with the New York Giants organization. “Skeets” signature voice was heard behind the plate at numerous little league, Babe Ruth league, JV High School, and men’s softball league games for more than a half century.

“On top of being a gentleman he helped so many kids in this town as a mentor for many sports,” councilman Tom Reilly said. “He was a genuine, terrific person who served the city well.”

“Skeets was an umpire for me and also an umpire for my son,” Councilman Brian McLaughlin said. “I told my son all the time ‘they don’t make them like Skeets anymore’… He was great for this community.”

Next, Mayor Fred Henry presented a proclamation to South Amboy resident Erik Kuhn, who will receive his Eagle Scout award on July 16th.  Kuhn has been a member of Troop 91 in South Amboy for eight years, and several his fellow boy scouts came out to support him and watch him be recognized.

“Erik Kuhn, thank you for all that you’ve done,” Mayor Henry said. “There’s a lot of dedication in this room… It’s great to know that our future is bright going forward.”

Councilman Reilly and Business Administrator Stacey Kennedy also announced a Consumer Affairs Discussion and Q&A event that will be held at 10:30 a.m. on July 10th at the South Amboy Senior Center. A representative from the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs will speak about how to avoid certain scams, including phone, e-mail, text message, and door-to-door scams.

For more information on what to expect, visit NJConsumerAffairs.gov. For more information on additional events coming to South Amboy this summer, visit SouthAmboyNJ.gov.

All council members were in attendance for the meeting. The next city council meeting will be held on July 19th at 7:00 p.m.