Monday, April 20, 2009
Blood Drive this Thursday!
The Harrison EMS, in partnership with my office for National Donate Life Month will be hosting a Blood Drive this Thursday, April 23, 2009 from 12pm to 5:30pm at EMS HQ's located at 2 Pleasant Ridge Rd Harrison (Police HQ Parking Lot). As I am sure you know by now, this area's blood supply is very low and therefore, it is important that we receive as many donors as possible. In order for this drive to be a success, we need a minimum of 20 DONORS! If you or somebody you know is interested in donating please call my office at 914-670-3030 or email me at jacocella@harrison-ny.gov and reserve a time slot.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
April is National Donate Life Month
I would like to write about a topic that has affected my life in more ways than one. Organ donation may seem like an uncomfortable topic for some, because in many instances, it means death. But for those on the receiving end, it means life. In my case, it means both.
You see, when I was 11-years-old, I watched as my mother’s life was slowly being taken away, from complications associated with diabetes. Her kidneys shut down, and she was forced to go on dialysis three times a week. She was placed on a waiting list for a lifesaving transplant but, as she waited, her condition worsened. In June 1992, her transplant kidney came from an unexpected place — my father. He was a match for her, and the two were wheeled into surgery within days after.
Though the kidney transplant itself was a success, she unfortunately passed away the next day from heart complications. At first, I was very disillusioned about the whole organ donation process. There was my mother, a woman who waited and waited for a transplant and, when it finally came, she passed away.
Angry and confused, little did I know that just eight years later, I would be faced with the same circumstance in my personal life. It was August 1999, and I was about to begin my senior year in high school. At the time, I was working for the Harrison Recreation Department, enjoying the last few days of summer at the Brentwood pool, when I became ill. My own kidneys were shutting down and I needed a transplant of my own. I went from being at a high point in my life to all of a sudden being at my lowest. I surrounded myself with friends and family while I started dialysis three times a week and got on a waiting list for a kidney transplant — a transplant that had an estimated wait time of three years. I was a minor at the time, so the wait was a little shorter; however, not by much.
As I went through the year battling the most depressing time of my life, my community got me through. Friends and family were the ones I counted on the most, and they never let me down. In March 2000, I received news I never thought I would get: A transplant was available for me; it was a perfect match from Ohio. Unfortunately, that’s all I knew about the person — “a perfect match from Ohio.” I didn’t know if the person was a man or a woman, nor their background, nothing. Just that he or she was a young, perfect match who had passed away.
I began imagining who the person was. I knew that a perfectly healthy organ donor walked out of their house that morning in Ohio and, now, would be giving me a kidney in New York and a heart to someone else, and so on. I imagined his or her hand signing the organ donor card, no matter if was the day before or 10 years prior — that person chose to save lives by passing his or her own life on.
Right now, there are 98,000 people across the country waiting for an organ transplant to save their lives. Each day, 77 people get a second chance at life; however, 17 to 19 of them die because they are still waiting.
April is National Donate Life Month and the need is growing. You can save up to seven lives after you pass on by becoming an organ donor. Imagine — you can give a burn victim new skin, a blind person the gift of sight or a person on dialysis their freedom back.
It starts with you. It starts with life. I am proud to offer information in my office in Town Hall on becoming an organ donor, and I hope you will pick up a copy. Or feel free to visit my Web site at www.HarrisonClerk.com to sign up online.
I urge you to talk with your family about this lifesaving decision. After all, if organ donation didn’t save lives, you wouldn’t be reading this entry right now.
You see, when I was 11-years-old, I watched as my mother’s life was slowly being taken away, from complications associated with diabetes. Her kidneys shut down, and she was forced to go on dialysis three times a week. She was placed on a waiting list for a lifesaving transplant but, as she waited, her condition worsened. In June 1992, her transplant kidney came from an unexpected place — my father. He was a match for her, and the two were wheeled into surgery within days after.
Though the kidney transplant itself was a success, she unfortunately passed away the next day from heart complications. At first, I was very disillusioned about the whole organ donation process. There was my mother, a woman who waited and waited for a transplant and, when it finally came, she passed away.
Angry and confused, little did I know that just eight years later, I would be faced with the same circumstance in my personal life. It was August 1999, and I was about to begin my senior year in high school. At the time, I was working for the Harrison Recreation Department, enjoying the last few days of summer at the Brentwood pool, when I became ill. My own kidneys were shutting down and I needed a transplant of my own. I went from being at a high point in my life to all of a sudden being at my lowest. I surrounded myself with friends and family while I started dialysis three times a week and got on a waiting list for a kidney transplant — a transplant that had an estimated wait time of three years. I was a minor at the time, so the wait was a little shorter; however, not by much.
As I went through the year battling the most depressing time of my life, my community got me through. Friends and family were the ones I counted on the most, and they never let me down. In March 2000, I received news I never thought I would get: A transplant was available for me; it was a perfect match from Ohio. Unfortunately, that’s all I knew about the person — “a perfect match from Ohio.” I didn’t know if the person was a man or a woman, nor their background, nothing. Just that he or she was a young, perfect match who had passed away.
I began imagining who the person was. I knew that a perfectly healthy organ donor walked out of their house that morning in Ohio and, now, would be giving me a kidney in New York and a heart to someone else, and so on. I imagined his or her hand signing the organ donor card, no matter if was the day before or 10 years prior — that person chose to save lives by passing his or her own life on.
Right now, there are 98,000 people across the country waiting for an organ transplant to save their lives. Each day, 77 people get a second chance at life; however, 17 to 19 of them die because they are still waiting.
April is National Donate Life Month and the need is growing. You can save up to seven lives after you pass on by becoming an organ donor. Imagine — you can give a burn victim new skin, a blind person the gift of sight or a person on dialysis their freedom back.
It starts with you. It starts with life. I am proud to offer information in my office in Town Hall on becoming an organ donor, and I hope you will pick up a copy. Or feel free to visit my Web site at www.HarrisonClerk.com to sign up online.
I urge you to talk with your family about this lifesaving decision. After all, if organ donation didn’t save lives, you wouldn’t be reading this entry right now.
Friday, March 20, 2009
HARRISON TOWN CLERK DENOUNCES OBAMA REMARK
CALLS LATE NIGHT TALK SHOW SLUR INSENSITIVE
TO DISABLED AMERICANS’ CENTURIES-LONG FIGHT FOR RESPECT
HARRISON, N.Y. —Harrison Town Clerk Joseph Acocella recently denounced a remark made by President Obama during an appearance on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” on March 19.
Obama, who was describing his bowling score to Leno and joking about his poor performance, said that even though he practiced in the White House, “it’s like — it was like Special Olympics, or something,” to a laughing studio audience.
“As a disabled American who has worked tirelessly to overcome challenges in today’s society, I was disappointed with President Obama’s remarks on the ‘Tonight Show,’” Acocella said. “The president is a leader who must serve all Americans, despite their race, religion, political views or disability. When you make a comment like he did, comparing his bowling score of 129 to that of the Special Olympics, it shows you do not understand the people you were elected to serve.
“People with disabilities have had to fight for centuries to prove themselves in a world that fears the uncommon,” said Acocella, who was born with Lumbar Sacral Agenesis, a condition that led to both of his legs being amputated at the age of 3. “The president’s insensitive remarks echoed just how uninformed he and others can be toward a group of individuals who have had to overcome life-altering obstacles. Our disabled population has already proven its true value to this society, and as a result, deserves the respect of all Americans, including its presidents,” he said.
Acocella went on to say that Obama “could learn a thing or two from the Special Olympics.”
According to published reports, immediately following the taping, prior to the show being aired, Obama phoned Special Olympics Chairman Tim Shriver to issue an apology.
TO DISABLED AMERICANS’ CENTURIES-LONG FIGHT FOR RESPECT
HARRISON, N.Y. —Harrison Town Clerk Joseph Acocella recently denounced a remark made by President Obama during an appearance on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” on March 19.
Obama, who was describing his bowling score to Leno and joking about his poor performance, said that even though he practiced in the White House, “it’s like — it was like Special Olympics, or something,” to a laughing studio audience.
“As a disabled American who has worked tirelessly to overcome challenges in today’s society, I was disappointed with President Obama’s remarks on the ‘Tonight Show,’” Acocella said. “The president is a leader who must serve all Americans, despite their race, religion, political views or disability. When you make a comment like he did, comparing his bowling score of 129 to that of the Special Olympics, it shows you do not understand the people you were elected to serve.
“People with disabilities have had to fight for centuries to prove themselves in a world that fears the uncommon,” said Acocella, who was born with Lumbar Sacral Agenesis, a condition that led to both of his legs being amputated at the age of 3. “The president’s insensitive remarks echoed just how uninformed he and others can be toward a group of individuals who have had to overcome life-altering obstacles. Our disabled population has already proven its true value to this society, and as a result, deserves the respect of all Americans, including its presidents,” he said.
Acocella went on to say that Obama “could learn a thing or two from the Special Olympics.”
According to published reports, immediately following the taping, prior to the show being aired, Obama phoned Special Olympics Chairman Tim Shriver to issue an apology.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Town Board on demand! Now you watch the fun from anywhere : )
This evening I announced that you may now watch the Town Board meetings whenever you want with Town Board on Demand. Click on the video section of my site where you can find the video of each meeting beginning with the January 7, 2009 meeting. This is by far one of the biggest steps taken to open up our government and bring it into the 21st century. I am pleased to offer this service. When I took office last January many residents - and non residents asked if it could be done. Over the year, I met with various vendors who would able to provide software to the town that would link the agenda with the video and so you can watch the meeting online and click on any agenda item and it would go to that point in the video. Unfortunately, this type of software is too expensive during this financial time. So, I met with our IT Department to find a solution for now that would still provide the meetings online. It will not be streamed live unfortunately, but rest assure I am actively pursuing that phase of the project. For now, expect to be able to view the meetings online beginning the day after the meeting starting in the afternoon. I hope you find this helpful. Please be advised Harrison residents can still watch the Town Board meeting on channel 75 at Noon, 6pm and 10pm every day. Happy watching!
p.s. people on my email list were the first to know about this advancement - are you on my email list??? Join today and be the first to know when it comes to your government. Visit my homepage at www.HarrisonClerk.com to join today!
p.s. people on my email list were the first to know about this advancement - are you on my email list??? Join today and be the first to know when it comes to your government. Visit my homepage at www.HarrisonClerk.com to join today!
Monday, January 12, 2009
I'm only as good as the technology.
Today, the hundreds of residents who are on my email list recieved a message notifying them of solicitors going door to door throughout the town. There is just one problem with the email - the solicitors came on Friday not today. So, you may have read the email and said "he's a little late to be notifying me". Allow me to explain. I actually sent the email Friday afternoon immediately after the solicitors' application was approved. However, the town servers went down and therefore they did not send the email out until this morning when they were restored. I, of course, would never send you information that late however, - I am only as good as the technology. Sorry for the confusion.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CLERK ACOCELLA ANNOUNCES
“RECORDS MANAGEMENT DAY” FOR THE TOWN OF HARRISON
Initiative will remove paper clutter and pave the way for savings on town resources
HARRISON, NY- Town Clerk Acocella announced this evening that January 23, 2009 will be the first ever “Records Management Day” in the Town of Harrison. Since taking office last January the Clerk, who also serves as the Records Management Officer for the Town of Harrison reviewed the practices of the departments for filing and retaining government records. Mr. Acocella saw room for improvement in several areas and is taking action to begin new practices and setting the tone for more efficiency in the future. “Every government document that comes through these halls is my responsibility, I do not take this job lightly and I intend to set out new initiatives that will save on time and resources in the future” Mr. Acocella stated. Acocella met with Clerks from around Westchester back in November to brain storm to find a solution for a growing problem that is also happening in the neighboring communities. “Everyone is out of space. There is just no more room to store these files" Mr. Acocella said. Records Management Day is designed for employees to report to work as usual but certain offices will be closed for the day so they can focus on going through old files, sort out duplicates they don’t need, prepare old files to be shredded and prepare archive files to be sent to the offsite facility for Town archives. “By the end of the day, each department should have a shred pile and an archive pile. The shred pile will conform to the NYS Records Retention Schedule which clearly outlines how long you must keep a document for. The archive pile will be logged into a computer database and sent to an offsite archives facility” Acocella stated.
Records Management Day will be Phase I of what Clerk Acocella is calling “Operation Good Housekeeping”. Phase II will come later and address accessibility issues the town is currently facing with the records they have at an offsite facility. “The goal is first get rid of the clutter. After we do that we can begin to search for a program that will digitize our remaining documents so all we have to do is point and click from our office computers. This is by far the boldest step taken to eliminate the waste, build better practices and save on future resources and I am proud the departments are standing with me on this very important issue" Acocella stated.
The following offices will be closed or have limited service on Records Management Day 2009. Please contact each office before Jan. 23rd for details on schedule:
Assessors Office – limited service
Mayor’s Office – limited service
Building Department
Purchasing Department- limited service
Engineering Department
Benefits Office
Law Department
Comptrollers Office – limited service
Town Clerk – limited service
“RECORDS MANAGEMENT DAY” FOR THE TOWN OF HARRISON
Initiative will remove paper clutter and pave the way for savings on town resources
HARRISON, NY- Town Clerk Acocella announced this evening that January 23, 2009 will be the first ever “Records Management Day” in the Town of Harrison. Since taking office last January the Clerk, who also serves as the Records Management Officer for the Town of Harrison reviewed the practices of the departments for filing and retaining government records. Mr. Acocella saw room for improvement in several areas and is taking action to begin new practices and setting the tone for more efficiency in the future. “Every government document that comes through these halls is my responsibility, I do not take this job lightly and I intend to set out new initiatives that will save on time and resources in the future” Mr. Acocella stated. Acocella met with Clerks from around Westchester back in November to brain storm to find a solution for a growing problem that is also happening in the neighboring communities. “Everyone is out of space. There is just no more room to store these files" Mr. Acocella said. Records Management Day is designed for employees to report to work as usual but certain offices will be closed for the day so they can focus on going through old files, sort out duplicates they don’t need, prepare old files to be shredded and prepare archive files to be sent to the offsite facility for Town archives. “By the end of the day, each department should have a shred pile and an archive pile. The shred pile will conform to the NYS Records Retention Schedule which clearly outlines how long you must keep a document for. The archive pile will be logged into a computer database and sent to an offsite archives facility” Acocella stated.
Records Management Day will be Phase I of what Clerk Acocella is calling “Operation Good Housekeeping”. Phase II will come later and address accessibility issues the town is currently facing with the records they have at an offsite facility. “The goal is first get rid of the clutter. After we do that we can begin to search for a program that will digitize our remaining documents so all we have to do is point and click from our office computers. This is by far the boldest step taken to eliminate the waste, build better practices and save on future resources and I am proud the departments are standing with me on this very important issue" Acocella stated.
The following offices will be closed or have limited service on Records Management Day 2009. Please contact each office before Jan. 23rd for details on schedule:
Assessors Office – limited service
Mayor’s Office – limited service
Building Department
Purchasing Department- limited service
Engineering Department
Benefits Office
Law Department
Comptrollers Office – limited service
Town Clerk – limited service
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Veterans Day
Statement from Town Clerk Joseph Acocella regarding Veterans Day:
My Friends,
Today, we celebrate, we honor and we remember the men and women in uniform who have given so much of their lives so that we can live ours freely. We salute these veterans who know all too well the sound of the call of duty from our country. Today, I had the honor of sitting with many veterans from many different wars who recalled the moments of their lives when it was uncertain if it would be their last. Veterans Day is a day to recall those memories not because they are sad, but because they are who we are. Those are the memories who define who we are as a nation, a state and as a community.
Everyday we see these men and women in the deli, in the dry cleaners in the post office. They don’t ask for much, only that you stand and recite the pledge of allegiance, that you bow your head when the sound of taps are being played and that you say “thank you” to the ones who have fought and continue to fight for you.
Let’s not just honor these men and women today, but everyday because every day that you live free is day that a soldier did their job.
Thank You
My Friends,
Today, we celebrate, we honor and we remember the men and women in uniform who have given so much of their lives so that we can live ours freely. We salute these veterans who know all too well the sound of the call of duty from our country. Today, I had the honor of sitting with many veterans from many different wars who recalled the moments of their lives when it was uncertain if it would be their last. Veterans Day is a day to recall those memories not because they are sad, but because they are who we are. Those are the memories who define who we are as a nation, a state and as a community.
Everyday we see these men and women in the deli, in the dry cleaners in the post office. They don’t ask for much, only that you stand and recite the pledge of allegiance, that you bow your head when the sound of taps are being played and that you say “thank you” to the ones who have fought and continue to fight for you.
Let’s not just honor these men and women today, but everyday because every day that you live free is day that a soldier did their job.
Thank You
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