Christmas tree lighting, mayor’s newsletters a sign of unity during pandemic

There’s still a little less than nine months remaining until Christmas, but Harrison Township’s Christmas tree is already shining bright.

The tree, located on Main Street at the Woodstown Road intersection, typically serves as a beacon of light during the holiday season. This spring, however, it’s a symbol of resilience. Harrison Township began lighting the tree during the weekend of March 21 as a sign of unity for township residents during the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s just one way township officials are looking out for residents as the pandemic continues.

“I want it to be a sign of hope,” Mayor Lou Manzo said about the tree. “I want residents to be able to talk about it.”

Manzo came up with the idea of lighting the tree after seeing reports of people hanging up their Christmas lights shortly after the pandemic began.

“Fortunately, we hadn’t taken the lights off the tree yet,” Manzo said.

The mayor texted the township’s Deputy Administrator Dennis Chambers about his idea early in the week of March 15. By the end of the week, the tree was lit again.

“Everything is such a fluid situation,” Manzo noted. “I had a few emails that recommended it, that suggested it. I responded immediately and said, ‘We’re ahead of you. It’s going to happen.’”

Manzo said the reaction from residents has been positive and not just regarding the tree lighting. Harrison Township has been rolling out its fully capable digital communication resources since mid-March, utilizing the township website and email newsletter to keep residents up to date on the latest pandemic information.

About two years ago, Harrison announced a partnership with 4SureFun Media to manage its website and digital communication platforms. Residents were invited to provide their phone numbers and email to receive digital communication. The township sends out a weekly newsletter named Happening in the Hill with a slew of township news, events and links for residents.

On March 14, the township released its first newsletter specifically related to the pandemic. Two days later, when Gov. Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency, Manzo began sending out daily newsletters to residents. They included the latest local closures and news, updates on local COVID-19 cases and summaries of conference calls and email exchanges Manzo had with county and state officials.

“We wanted to just stay connected with the community in the best way we could,” Manzo said.

“At the county and state level, the connectivity and providing different resources and answering different questions has been very good,” he later added.

Manzo is also happy with how the township has kept functioning despite most municipal employees working from home as of March 22, following Murphy’s “stay at home” order. Municipal employees continue to monitor voice mails and emails during the closure. The Harrison Township Police Department is still operating as normal and trash is being collected on schedule.

“It’s been as smooth as it could be,” the mayor said. “We’ve tried to maintain the services that we have to maintain.”

After canceling its March 16 meeting, the Harrison Township Committee plans to have its next scheduled meeting on Monday, April 6, streamed online. Manzo said officials are still discussing how to handle public comment online,  but he expects details to be released sometime in the days leading up to the meeting.

“This is unprecedented,” Manzo said about the pandemic. “We need to take a breath, be as patient as we can.”