Chancellor Avenue School Principal and Orange High School Class of 1985 graduate Winston Jackson, center, leads the contingent of students and teachers from his school that participated in Irvington Fire Department Lt. Mike Scott’s eighth annual Cancer Walk on Sunday, Oct. 14.
IRVINGTON, NJ — Irvington Fire Division Lt. Mike Scott and his division kicked off the eighth annual Breast Cancer Walk on Sunday, Oct. 14.
“This is good walking weather,” said Scott on Sunday, Oct. 14, as he walked down Grove Street, alongside Melody Scott. “It’s good. A good turnout. I’m looking for a little bit more every year, if we can do that, but otherwise it was a very good turnout.”
East Orange native Melody Scott, who previously worked in Irvington before going to work in her hometown in Mayor Ted Green’s administration, said she come out to show her support since her heart and her current home are still in Irvington.
“He’s official,” said Melody Scott of the lieutenant on Sunday, Oct. 14. “He gets it done. He’s been getting it done for eight years. This is great. … I support Mike Scott. He’s doing an awesome job.”
Students from Chancellor Avenue School also joined in the walk, as did their principal, Winston Jackson, and members of the faculty.
“We feel great about being out here, representing breast cancer awareness and trying to find a cure, so that everybody can be safe,” said Jackson on Sunday, Oct. 14. “No special credit. They get to put it on their Domain Four binder.”
“They wanted to come out and support the cause,” said Irvington Superintendent Neely Hackett, who also took part in the walk, on Sunday, Oct. 14. “That’s a great thing.”
Public Safety Director Tracy Bowers and Deputy Public Safety Department Director John Brown agreed that turnout for the event was impressive.
“It’s always a great walk to fight against cancer,” said Brown on Sunday, Oct. 14. “It’s always a great day. It’s also great exercise.”
“This is a tremendous opportunity to participate in an event with people that have lost loved ones as a result of cancer,” Bowers said Sunday, Oct. 14. “So we do all we can to support this effort. We’ve been doing it for eight years. It’s growing, so we thought that this is something that we want to continue to do and that’s what we’re going to do. That’s something we have to pay and, when we have that kind of collaboration and cooperation from all the different parts of town, that’s a recipe for success.”
Irvington native Charlotte Galla, known for her efforts to help stray and abandoned cats in town, also came out for the walk, just as she supports other good causes.
“Everybody’s lost somebody to cancer, some way somehow,” said Galla on Sunday, Oct. 14. “You know you have the best with Mayor Tony Vauss. We have ‘One Team One Dream’ and that’s why Irvington is doing so good with things like this annual Cancer Walk right now.”
Rodney White used the Breast Cancer Walk as an opportunity to make a related political statement.
“This cancer initiative that this administration is doing is great, it’s wonderful, but I’m going to tell you that we can’t get funding for cancer or anything else if we don’t get the right people in office, to make sure laws go so that it can be funded,” said White on Sunday, Oct. 14. “It needs to be funded. Right now, we really need to get out the vote. I’m especially talking about voters (ages) 18 to 25. Please get out there. Let’s get out there and vote, because we could scare this world, not just the United States, to show what young people can do, if you really do take initiative.”
Even though he’s too young to vote, Chris Law, 16, a sophomore at Irvington High School who attended the walk, embodied the sentiments White expressed. He walked with a group of his classmates while carrying a pink stuffed monkey around his neck.
“At least it’s a monkey hanging from his neck and not on his back,” White joked.
“The monkey’s kind of pink,” explained Law on Sunday, Oct. 14. “So I made it represent for me, just like we came out to represent for the survivors and victims of breast cancer and the fight to find a cure.”
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