Chiropractor in Interlaken, NJ

A series of tornado warnings — as many as 10 — have been issued in different regions of central and northern New Jersey as strong thunderstorms are pushing their way across parts of New Jersey early Thursday evening.

The National Weather Service said at least one suspected twister, which it described as “a large and dangerous tornado” in its warning, appeared on radar to touch down on the ground in near Trenton in Mercer County shortly before 6 p.m.

Another suspected tornado was seen on radar near Lakehurst, about 9 miles west of Toms River in Ocean County, at about 8:15 p.m., the weather service said.

The first tornado warning in this flurry of weather alerts took effect at 5:08 p.m. and expired at 5:45 p.m., the National Weather Service said, urging people in the warned area to take immediate cover in a sturdy building. The tornado warning covered the southwestern region of Hunterdon County, along with the northwestern area of Bucks County in southeastern Pennsylvania.

Shortly after 5 p.m., “a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado was located over Quakertown, or 12 miles southeast of Allentown, moving east at 35 mph,” the warning says, noting weather radar indicated cloud rotation, one of the key signatures of a funnel cloud.

Among the locations in the path of this storm were Quakertown, Byram, Bedminster, Tinicum, Ferndale, Frenchtown, Milford, Revere, Ottsville, Pipersville, Erwinna, Richlandtown and Trumbauersville.

UPDATE (5:40 p.m.): At about 5:30 p.m., the National Weather Service issued a second tornado warning, for the south-central region of Hunterdon County, effective until 6 p.m., and a new tornado warning was issued for parts of Essex County at 5:35 p.m., effective until 6 p.m. Thursday.

The Essex tornado warning was prompted by a severe thunderstorm moving over Caldwell, the weather service said. “Flying debris will be dangerous to those caught without shelter. Mobile homes will be damaged or destroyed. Damage to roofs, windows, and vehicles will occur. Tree damage is likely.”

UPDATE (5:55 p.m.): A new tornado warning has been issued for south-central Hunterdon County and northwestern Mercer County, effective until 6:15 p.m. Thursday. The National Weather Service said a tornado was confirmed on the ground in the Lumberville area of Bucks County and was moving towards the Lambertville area of Hunterdon County.

The weather service’s Mount Holly office described this as “a large and dangerous tornado,” saying it was located over New Hope, Pennsylvania, about 11 miles northwest of Trenton, and moving southeast at a pace of 25 mph.

UPDATE (6:15 p.m.): A tornado warning has been issued for parts of Burlington, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex and Monmouth counties, effective until 6:45 p.m., with the National Weather Service describing this as “a large and extremely dangerous tornado,” located over Washington Crossing, about 9 miles northwest of Trenton.

“This is a particularly dangerous situation. Take cover now!” the weather service said in its warning. “You are in a life-threatening situation.”

UPDATE (6:45 pm.): A tornado warning has been issued for parts of Mercer, Monmouth and Ocean counties, effective until 7:30 p.m., because of a severe thunderstorm moving through the region and indications of wind rotation spotted on radar, the National Weather Service said. This storm cell was located over the Edinburg section of West Windsor, about 7 miles east of Trenton, and moving southeast at 25 mph.

UPDATE (7:07 p.m.): A tornado warning has been issued for parts of Burlington County, along with sections of Bucks and Philadelphia counties in eastern Pennsylvania, effective until 7:30 p.m.

UPDATE (7:20 p.m.): A tornado warning was issued for parts of Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean counties, effective until 7:45 p.m., because of a severe thunderstorm that was moving over Twin Rivers, about 15 miles east of Trenton.

UPDATE (8:05 p.m.): A tornado warning was issued for Ocean County, effective until 8:30 p.m., because of a severe thunderstorm that was moving over Woodruff, about 13 miles west of Toms River, and Lakehurst, about 9 miles west of Toms River, and moving east at 25 mph.

UPDATE (8:40 p.m.): A tornado warning was issued for the east-central region of Monmouth County, effective until 9:15 p.m., because of a strong thunderstorm that was heading towards Asbury Park, Neptune City, Spring Lake Heights, Bradley Beach, Spring Lake, Avon-By-the-Sea, Sea Girt, Interlaken, Deal, Allenhurst, Loch Arbour, Ocean Grove, Shark River Hills, West Belmar, South Belmar and Wanamassa.

UPDATE (8:45 p.m.): A tornado warning was issued for parts of Ocean County, effective until 9:30 p.m., because of a severe thunderstorm that was moving over the Brookville area, about 15 miles southwest of Toms River.

Sixteen of New Jersey’s 21 counties are under a tornado watch until 9 p.m. Thursday, but the watch was extended to 10 p.m. in Monmouth and Ocean counties because of strong thunderstorms that continued to lash those areas Thursday night.

A watch is not as urgent as a warning, but it means conditions are favorable for some powerful storms that could spawn an isolated tornado. Some of the storm cells that sweep across New Jersey Thursday evening could also generate damaging straight-line winds, large hail, frequent lightning and flash flooding.

Earlier Thursday afternoon, a tornado warning was issued near Stockley, Delaware, about 20 miles southwest of Rehoboth Beach, after a funnel cloud was spotted by people in the area. Another tornado warning was issued shortly after 4 p.m. for parts of Berks, Lehigh and Northampton counties in eastern Pennsylvania, then another one was issued for Lehigh and Northampton counties shortly before 4:30 p.m.

In addition, the National Weather Service said a waterspout was spotted about 5 miles north of Bethany Beach, near the Indian River Inlet, in Delaware.

It’s not immediately known if any tornadoes touched down on the ground in Delaware or caused any significant damage.

Recent tornadoes in N.J.

New Jersey is no stranger to tornadoes of late, with three small twisters confirmed so far this year — all during the month of July.

Two tornadoes touched down in the Garden State as Tropical Storm Elsa brushed the Shore region during the early-morning hours on July 9 — one in Woodbine in Cape May County and one in Little Egg Harbor Township in Ocean County.

A tornado touched down in northern Burlington County on July 17 during a cluster of violent thunderstorms that swept through New Jersey that night. The tornado had an EF-1 rating, with estimated peak winds of 80 to 90 mph, the weather service determined.

New Jersey typically gets an average of two tornadoes each year.

Current weather radar

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THE CELEBRATED ILLUSTRATOR CREATED ENDURING SCENES OF THE AMERICAN WEST

His first job in art entailed painting cows on milk wagons in Clinton, Iowa, the rural town his German parents immigrated to when Koerner was 3 years old. When he was 20, he moved to Chicago and landed a job as a staff artist at the Chicago Tribune. Koerner later relocated to New York and other East Coast locales, where he continued his illustration work and art education, before finally settling in Interlaken, N.J.

While attending Pyle’s illustration school in Wilmington, Del., Koerner was greatly influenced by the master illustrator, as well as by his fellow students, a roster that included the likes of N.C. Wyeth, Harvey Dunn and Frank Schoonover.

His first illustration for the magazine – Riding the Range, 1909 – accompanied a story about a cowboy hired to remove a homesteader from a large ranch’s unknown range. (Spoiler alert: The cowboy succumbs to the blandishments of the homesteader’s daughter instead.) The assignment was the beginning of a long and productive partnership with the Post.

Traveling to places such as Wyoming, Montana and California greatly enhanced Koerner’s paintings and illustrations. In addition to making sketches and photographs of the scenery, he would often collect Western artifacts.

Koerner’s A Charge to Keep was one of President George W. Bush’s favorite paintings. Bush was such a fan, in fact, that he brought the artwork with him to the White House and used it on the back cover of his 1999 memoir, also titled A Charge to Keep. An illustration based on the painting, which depicts horsemen charging up a rugged trail, first appeared in a 1916 edition of The Saturday Evening Post.

His weekly comic strip Hugo Hercules began its four-month run in the Chicago Tribune in September 1902. Though the strip was unsuccessful, its main character – a kindhearted gent who used his superhuman strength to help people out of jams – is considered by some to be the world’s first superhero.

By the time of his death, in 1938, Koerner had created more than 2,000 illustrations that were published in a variety of popular magazines, most notably The Saturday Evening Post. He also illustrated a number of books by Western writers such as Zane Grey and Eugene Manlove Rhodes.

Heritage Auctions’ Feb. 25 Art of the West Showcase Auction features two works by Koerner: Let’s Drop Over to the Office (estimate: $10,000-$15,000), an oil-on-canvas that later appeared as an interior illustration in a 1926 edition of The Saturday Evening Post, and another oil-on-canvas titled When Tempers Grow Raw (estimate: $4,000-$6,000).

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Lawrence Hajna (609) 984-1795 Caryn Shinske (609) 984-1795 Vincent Grassi (609) 984-1795

(23/P022) TRENTON – The Department of Environmental Protection is awarding 23 Urban and Community Forestry grants totaling $1,106,934 to local governments and non-profit organizations to help municipalities advance the stewardship of their urban and community trees and forests, Commissioner Shawn M. LaTourette announced today.

Awarded through a competitive process since 2000, the DEP’s Urban and Community Forestry grants assist in the establishment and growth of local, self-sustaining urban and community forestry programs. With proper care and maintenance, trees in community and urban settings can be healthy and live many decades. Today’s announcement is made on the International Day of Forests, which the United Nations General Assembly established in 2012 to raise awareness about the importance of forests.

“The stewardship of urban trees has never been more important than now, especially as New Jersey continues to experience the adverse impacts of a changing climate,” Commissioner LaTourette said. “These grants will help improve the urban tree canopy throughout the state providing ecosystem services, reducing heat island effects and improving human health. Proper planning and management of trees and forests also mitigates storm water and other flooding, as well as air pollution.”

Funding for the 2022 grants comes from the “Treasure Our Trees” state license plate sales and the New Jersey Forest Service’s No Net Loss Compensatory Reforestation Program.

“Trees and forests are important to New Jerseyans on so many levels. Trees store carbon and reduce greenhouse gases and energy use, which lessens the impacts of climate change and strengthens the resilience of towns and cities, said John Cecil, Assistant Commissioner for State Parks, Forests & Historic Sites. “It is a priority of the New Jersey Forest Service to not only plant trees in communities and urban areas, but to ensure their long-term survival through proper planning, care and management.”

Reforestation and tree planting grants totaling $598,216 have been awarded to:

Bergen County: Bogota ($40,000), Englewood ($66,830) Burlington County: Moorestown ($8,000) Hunterdon County: Clinton Town ($25,000) Middlesex County: Highland Park ($150,000) and East Brunswick Township ($30,000) Monmouth County: Interlaken Shade Tree Commission ($42,150) Morris County: Pequannock Township Department of Public Works ($50,000) Passaic County: Clifton ($49,026) Somerset County: Somerville ($137,210)

Resiliency planning grants totaling $508,718 have been awarded to:

Bergen County: Ramsey ($20,000) Camden County: Haddonfield Shade Tree Commission ($50,000) Essex County: Caldwell ($11,258) and Essex County ($20,000) Hunterdon County: Lambertville ($37,000) and Readington Township Environmental Commission ($50,000) Mercer County: Trenton ($50,000) and Princeton ($50,000) Morris County: Morris County Park Commission ($50,000) Monmouth County: Long Branch ($50,000) and Millstone Township ($50,000) Warren County: Lopatcong ($46,145) and Belvidere ($24,315)

Grant recipients may use their awards for a variety of projects such as community tree inventories, risk tree assessments, storm assessments, tree planting and establishment, and reforestation. Local governments also use the grants to manage impacts from invasive species such as emerald ash borer, an invasive tree-killing beetle causing widespread losses of ash trees nationwide.

“A comprehensive local urban and community forestry program provides environmental, social and economic benefits,” said Todd Wyckoff, New Jersey State Forester. “An urban tree canopy is part of a community’s infrastructure and creates valuable environmental, economic and social benefits. Communities that are accredited with the New Jersey Urban and Community Forestry Program have a Community Forestry Management Plan, participate in required training and education programs, and report back to the program on their accomplishments every year.”

Currently, 253 municipalities and counties across New Jersey have management plans for trees and forests approved by the New Jersey Forest Service, 152 of which are fully accredited with the Urban and Community Forestry Program. The program hopes to announce a new round of grants in 2023 aimed at urban and community tree inventory to help inform local management decisions moving forward.

For more information about the New Jersey Urban and Community Forestry Program, including details on accreditation with the program, visit www.communityforestry.nj.gov

Like the New Jersey Forest Service on Facebook at www.facebook.com/newjerseyforests

For more information on how to purchase the Treasure Our Trees commercial or passenger vehicle license plate, which funds the New Jersey Urban and Community Forestry grants, visit https://nj.gov/mvc/vehicles/treasure.htm

For more about Urban and Community Forestry Stewardship grants and related programs, visit www.nj.gov/dep/parksandforests/forest/urbanandcommunity/grants.html

Follow Commissioner LaTourette on Twitter and Instagram @shawnlatur and follow the DEP on Twitter @NewJerseyDEP, Facebook @newjerseydep, Instagram @nj.dep and LinkedIn @newjerseydep

PHOTO: Forester Levon Bigelow inspecting a tree planted under a NJUCF stewardship grant.

“I’m proud New Jersey is my home. Yeah said I’m proud now New Jersey is my home.” So sings Bruce Springsteen in – you guessed it – New Jersey is My Home.

Whoever buys Darlington, a majestic estate built in 1907, will be mighty proud New Jersey is their home, too.

The 58-room mansion on a five-hectare parcel of land in the exclusive Mahwah township has been described as the American Versailles, rivalling Gilded Age mansions in Newport, Rhode Island.

Over the past seven years, the three-storey James Brite-designed home has undergone a meticulous renovation.

Mechanical systems and bathrooms have been replaced. Italian wood-carvers were among the team of architects, designers and artisans involved in the upgrade.

Now offering 4600 square metres of living space, the heritage-listed property features a great hall with a 1906 pipe organ, a mural-walled library, restaurant-style kitchen, wine cellar, cigar room, beauty salon, pools, steam room, tennis court, eight-car garage and staff quarters.

It’s listed through Christie’s International Real Estate affiliate Special Properties with a guide of US$48 million (about $61 million).

Special Properties agent Sonja Cullaro says northern New Jersey, which is part of the New York City metropolitan area, is one of the most affluent parts of the United States, offering a huge range of architectural styles.

“This area has historically been a place where people settle to enjoy a high-quality, sophisticated lifestyle in more spacious, lush, green settings, while still being just a short distance away from New York City,” Cullaro says.

Cullaro says the luxury market in Northern New Jersey has performed strongly and consistently lately, with proximity to the bright lights of New York City one of the region’s strongest drawcards.

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Wall Street executives, business owners and celebrities are among those who call the area home, lured by low property taxes, top schools and park-like surroundings, not to mention easy access to great shops, cultural attractions, restaurants and outdoor recreation.

“We believe the outlook for 2018 and beyond is extremely positive.”

“Yes,” Cullaro says. “There are generally no restrictions to foreigners purchasing property here.”

$16.2 million

A nine-bedroom estate on the edge of the Manasquan River in Brielle, about an hour’s drive from New York City.

$7.6 million

A six-bedroom French chateau-inspired home in the suburb of Saddle River, complete with slate roof, pool and waterfall.

$2.9 million

An eight-bedroom home in Interlaken, New Jersey. The 1929 Tudor-style home has an original chestnut staircase.

When doctors told Arnaldo Silva of Middlesex, NJ, that he had breast cancer, he was dumbstruck.

“They were talking Chinese to me,” Silva, 68, tells The Post. He hadn’t even known that a man could get breast cancer.

His shock was compounded a month later, when his 33-year-old daughter, Vanessa, was diagnosed with the same disease.

At that point, oncologists urged father and daughter to get tested for BRCA gene mutations, which Silva had never heard of before. He and his daughter both tested positive.

Mutations of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes — which are responsible for repairing damage to our DNA — are inherited traits that increase a person’s chance of developing several types of cancer. There is a 50 percent chance of carriers passing a mutation on to their offspring, as Silva did.

Normally, BRCA genes “have a protective effect” against cancer, Dr. Susan Domchek, director of the Basser Center for BRCA at the University of Pennsylvania, tells The Post. But mutations stop those genes from doing their job. As a result, carriers are likelier to develop cancers earlier in life than noncarriers — and more aggressive cancers, too. The Basser Center estimates that as many as 1 in 500 people are carriers of the mutation; that population rises to 1 in 40 among Ashkenazi Jews.

BRCA mutations are widely considered a women’s-health issue. It’s not untrue: Female carriers have up to a 75 percent chance of developing breast cancer and up to a 50 percent chance of developing ovarian cancer.

But men can also inherit and pass down this gene mutation — as well as its life-threatening effects.

Of the two mutations, “BRCA2 is more strongly associated with risks to men,” Domchek says. Male carriers’ breast-cancer risk can rise by 10 percent and their prostate cancer risk by 25 percent. Both male and female carriers see their pancreatic-cancer and melanoma risks rise by 5 percent.

While women’s risk numbers may be more staggering, male carriers face a unique set of challenges.

The first is lack of awareness: For every 10 women who get tested for BRCA mutations, only one man does, according to a study published this June in the Journal of the American Medical Association — a stat that underscores how many men mistakenly believe themselves exempt from the threat.

That was the case for Harvey Singer. The accounts director from Rochester, NY, was devastated when his mom and sister were both diagnosed with breast cancer in 1995 — but never imagined that he would one day suffer with them.

“I thought, ‘I’m not going to get breast cancer. I’m a guy,’ ” Singer, now 64, tells The Post.

Eleven years and two relapses later, his sister, Vicki, learned she was a carrier of the BRCA2 gene mutation. She urged her brother to get tested. He didn’t. Six months later, he was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 51, and prostate cancer a year and a half after that. When he did finally get tested, about a year after his sister’s initial suggestion, he tested positive.

Fortunately, Singer’s in remission from both diseases today, but he still regrets “waiting to get sick” and not getting the test sooner. Today, he and his sister run HIS Breast Cancer, a foundation that educates men at risk for the disease about how to “be proactive.”

But what does being proactive mean for men with a BRCA mutation? While women can take preventative surgical measures to reduce their cancer risk — like having hysterectomies or mastectomies, as BRCA1 carrier Angelina Jolie famously did in 2013 — men’s options are much more limited. “You can’t . . . preventively remove a pancreas, and you’re not going to preventively remove a prostate,” Domchek says. She believes the real benefit of BRCA testing for men is early detection: “It would allow us to give targeted medical intervention and to cure it if it is caught at the right time.”

Steven Merlin is a living, breathing example of how valuable knowing your family history can be. “I’m a walking miracle,” says Merlin, of Interlaken, NJ. In 2012, the former med-tech worker was suddenly diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Like Singer and Silva, he had a family history of cancer, which he frequently reminded his care team about. His doctors decided to have him tested for the BRCA mutation — and when he came out positive, he was able to enter a clinical trial available only to patients with BRCA. He still takes medicine from that trial today, and his multiple tumors have shrunk or completely disappeared. “I’m living a great life,” he says.

Silva hopes that in the future he and his daughter can say the same with confidence. Today, he is in remission after a double mastectomy; Vanessa has relapsed twice. He isn’t sure he’ll ever heal from the horror of passing down the gene: “I’m alive, but I’m still walking around with this guilt trip,” he says.

These days, he dedicates his time to the Male Breast Cancer Coalition, a foundation that raises awareness about the disease’s impact on men. He also shares his story, in the hopes that “no other families have to go through what I’ve gone through.”

“I hope I’m around to hear that this disease has been conquered,” Silva says. But, for now, “If I can help somebody, whatever it is — [if I can] prevent cancer in somebody else — I’ll take it. Sign me up.”