We want you, our readers, to help us pick the teams to beat across the state.

ESSEX COUNTY -- Which Essex County cheer squad's got the highest kicks, coolest stunts and loudest cheers? We're relying on NJ.com readers to help us decide.

Andrea Owings, a cheerleading coach from Mount Ephraim in her 24th season, said a lot goes into making a team great.

"Coaches have to keep a lot of things in mind -- stunt and tumbling ability, routine organization, how it's all put together, clean choreography," she said. "It's got to be not sloppy, and there has to be a good energy." 

Owings, who coaches for Triton High School in Runnemede, has also judged cheerleading competitions and said how the judges score depends on the size of the company running the event.

"Some companies have it broken down so there's a judge who just watches the tumbling, a judge who just watches the stunts, an overall routine judge and a few others," she said. "They literally just watch and count the number of tumblers, the number of passes, take note of the quality."

These judges also look at the difficulty and execution, overall impression and sometimes the creativity of the routine, as well. 

How do these squads get prepped for the intense judging at competitions? Practice, practice, practice!

"My team practices three times a week for two and a half hours each day," Owings said, adding that from September to February, the squad strictly focuses on competition routines.

"Some days we just do the spots, some days we just run the stunts, break, run them again," she said. "Other days we run the entire thing a few times to make sure no one is going to crash and die with breaks in between."

While it may seem to be all smiles and flips, cheerleading season is months of hard work. But in the end, the best squads are competition-ready with stellar routines.

So, how does your squad stack up? 

Show us your school spirit by dropping a note in our comments section to let us know who's got the best team and why. Tell us what makes that team stand out -- like the best dance routine, the most energetic cheers or the most creativity -- and we'll combine your votes with competition scores to choose the best squad in the county.

Nominations can be made starting now until TK DATE.

We'll then post the results for each county in a story about the best high school cheerleading teams from across the state.

For now, throw in your two cents. Which team is better than the rest?

Caitlyn Stulpin may be reached at cstulpin@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @caitstulpin. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Marisa Iati may be reached at miati@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @Marisa_Iati or on Facebook here. Find NJ.com on Facebook. 

A couple of stunning upsets took place in the sectional finals this weekend.

Medina Gibson allegedly stabbed the 34-year-old man after a quarrel on West Runyon Street near Seymour Avenue

NEWARK -- A 31-year-old woman has been charged in the stabbing of a city man Sunday night, police say. 

Medina GibsonNewark PD 

Medina Gibson allegedly stabbed the 34-year-old man after a quarrel on West Runyon Street near Seymour Avenue at about 9 p.m., according to Newark Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose. 

The man was taken to University Hospital, where he is listed in stable condition, Ambrose said. 

Gibson was arrested two hours later and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and unlawful possession of a weapon, according to Ambrose.

Craig McCarthy may be reached at CMcCarthy@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @createcraig and on Facebook here. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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Maintenance employee had been accused of harassing a student.

NEWARK -- Montclair State University was justified in firing a maintenance worker who was accused of harassing one of the school's students, appellate court judges ruled last week.

In a written decision May 26, the judges upheld a 2015 decision that determined MSU lawfully fired Naresh Rajram, a senior maintenance employee at the college.

A student had lodged a complaint and a police report alleging Rajram harassed her, taking her cell phone so he could get her number, and texting her inappropriate messages about her past boyfriend, according to the ruling. He also invited her out to a bar, even though she was underage, the student alleged.

New Jackals owner promises $1M in stadium upgrades

The appellate court agreed with the original administrative court decision that Rajram did not "act in a professional manner and refrain from overly personal and harassing behavior."

Montclair State's firing was further justified because Rajram's alleged actions made a student feel unsafe in her dormitory, where he worked, according to the ruling.

On appeal, Rajram argued the decision was not supported by evidence, as it was based largely on testimony from the student, Rajram, and other Montclair State employees, and that termination was too severe a punishment.

"We conclude the Commission's decision was based upon substantial credible evidence in the record," the appeals court judges wrote. "We further conclude that (Rajram's) termination from the university was not so disproportionate to the offense in this case as to shock our sense of fairness."

Rajram's attorney did not immediately return a call requesting comment. A college spokeswoman Friday said she could not immediately comment on the ruling.

Jessica Mazzola may be reached at jmazzola@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessMazzola. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

See which districts in the Garden State have proposed layoffs for the 2017-2018 school year.

An appeals court has asked a judge to explain why the man received the sentence in the 2012 killing.

NEWARK -- A Superior Court judge will need to explain why a man convicted of stabbing a drug dealer to death in 2012 was sentenced to 25 years in prison, an appeals court has ruled.

The decision comes in Daniel Bedford's appeal of his 2015 sentencing in the stabbing death of Kareem Montague, 33, of Elizabeth, who was selling him PCP-laced cigarettes inside a car driving through Newark on June 6, 2012.

Among other appeals, Bedford argued the 25-year sentence he received in the killing was excessive.

"Apart from the fact that the jurors rejected (Bedofrd's) claim of self-defense, we are unable to determine why the judge...(imposed) a sentence so near the top of the ten to thirty (year) range," the appeals court ruling states.

The appeals court sent the case to the trial court judge for further explanation of the sentencing.

The appeals court upheld the court's ruling and other procedures during the trial that Bedford's appeal called into question.

Man tied, stabbed, and shot family during savage attack, authorities allege

An attorney for Bedford, now 25, of East Orange, had requested a 12-year sentence on his convictions of aggravated manslaughter, carjacking, and weapons offenses. He was acquitted of the more serious murder charge.

Prosecutors said Montague's girlfriend was driving the two of them at about 1 a.m. in June 2012 when they stopped near Orange Street to pick up Bedford, who was buying laced cigarettes.

Prosecutors argued that Bedford pulled out an 11-inch knife and stabbed Montague in the heart. Bedford admitted stabbing Montague during an altercation over the deal, but said that Montague had produced the knife, and he acted in self-defense - an argument the jury rejected.

During the fight, the girlfriend said Montague told her to drive to the hospital, which she started to do. But, she got out of the car when Bedford ordered her to, she testified.

While she ran to a gas station and called 911, Bedford drove the car further, later abandoning it and fleeing to California, where he was caught a short time later, prosecutors said.

Montague's body was found in the blood-soaked backseat of his abandoned car, authorities said.

During Bedford's 2015 sentencing, Montague's relatives called for a lengthy prison term. Prosecutors noted Bedford's criminal history, which included 18 adult arrests - several of which occurred between the stabbing and sentencing.

At his sentencing, Bedford told Montague's family members he was "beyond sorry."

Jessica Mazzola may be reached at jmazzola@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessMazzola. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

NJ.com's baseball reporters take a shot at forecasting some of Tuesday's action.

The Castle is an 85,000-square-foot banquet hall on Route 23 in Pequannock

PEQUANNOCK -- A roofing company was recently fined $38,025 after a 21-year-old Belleville man's fatal fall at The Castle banquet hall on Route 23 in November, authorities said.

Michael A. Montero was standing on a wooden pallet on the fork end of a forklift about 1:30 p.m. on Nov. 18 when an apparent mechanical failure occurred and the forked end detached, police said.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration said in an inspection report a laborer with GK Brothers Construction LLC was raised by a rough terrain forklift to an upper floor elevation to retrieve a ladder. The front end fork attachment detached while lowering the man, causing him to fall about 20 to 30 feet, OSHA has said.

OSHA said in the inspection report the worker was killed by trauma from the fall.

Montero's co-workers took him to Chilton Medical Center after the fall, but he was pronounced dead at 1:46 p.m., police have said.

GK Brothers Construction, a non-union roofing contractor with a mailing address in Belleville, was fined $12,675 on May 17 for each of three serious safety violations in connection with this worker's death.

The construction company has a history of safety violations.

OSHA records show GK Brothers Construction was cited on two other occasions in the past five years for safety violations for work-related falls. The company was also initially cited for a work-related fall violation in March 2014, but that violation was later expunged. 

GK Brothers was initially fined $2,800 for a serious violation in connection with a work-related fall that occurred in July 2012, but it paid $1,400 in fines after an informal settlement with OSHA. 

The company was also initially fined $10,560 for one serious violation and two repeat violations for a work-related fall in April 2015. The company, however, contested the violations and settled with the agency for $2,500.

The Castle is an 85,000-square-foot banquet hall currently under construction by Badanco Holding Company. 

Messages placed to GK Brothers Construction and Badanco Holding Company Tuesday morning haven't yet been returned.

Justin Zaremba may be reached at jzaremba@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinZarembaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Everything you need to know about the sectional finals.

Robbinsville saw a run of five straight trips to the state final end last year with a South Jersey quarterfinal loss to Voorhies, but the sophomore-laden Ravens are back in familiar territory. They'll travel to No. 1 Bordertown, which is led by senior Debra Jones and sophomore Makenza Goleniecki.1Phil McAuliffe | For the Time of Trenton 

NJ Advance Media animated 30 years of satellite data to show how the state has evolved since the 1980s.

About 200 students graduated from Rutgers Law School Friday at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center.

NEWARK -- They were urged to be selfless and find ways to serve the community. They were told to exercise the power of the law responsibly. And they were reminded that through it all, to also enjoy their lives. 

About 200 Rutgers Law School graduates received their juris doctor degrees during the school's 107th commencement ceremony Friday at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, the school said in a release. 

Students and faculty marched from the law school at 123 Washington Street to the ceremony Friday morning accompanied by bagpipers. Some wore yellow arm bands to represent democracy and express their concerns against threats to the rule of law. 

Faculty speaker Professor George Thomas said he knew many students were "worried about the state of the republic" but reminded the audience that the republic "has endured" and that the students would only help strengthen it. 

Patty Shwartz, judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, was this year's keynote speaker.

"Be open to learning, to giving, to participating," Shwartz said according to the school. "Never become apathetic. Be courageous, devoted and reach beyond yourselves."

Karen Yi may be reached at kyi@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @karen_yi or on Facebook. 

Students celebrated at the Birchwood Manor in Whippany on May 26.

WHIPPANY -- West Orange High School seniors were dressed to impress.

The school held its 2017 prom May 26 at the Birchwood Manor in Whippany. Hundreds of students donning gowns and tuxedos gathered at the venue to snap photos, have fun with friends, and, of course, dance.

Scroll through a selection of West Orange High's prom photos above.

And, see where and when other seniors from Essex County high schools will be celebrating here.

MORE PHOTOS

Prom season is in full swing and NJ.com is capturing the moments for many New Jersey high schools. Check back at nj.com/essex for other local high school prom coverage in the coming weeks.

Be sure to check out our complete prom coverage at nj.com/prom.

SHARE YOUR PROM PHOTOS ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Let's see your prom photos. Post your pictures on Twitter and Instragram with #njprom. We'll retweet and repost our favorites on Twitter @njdotcom and Instagram @njdotcompix.

Jessica Mazzola may be reached at jmazzola@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessMazzola. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

A 17-year-old teen assaulted two police officers who were guarding him at the hospital after he attempted to rob residents and was injured, police said

NEWARK -- A teenager was arrested and charged with assaulting and spitting on two city police officers who were watching him at the hospital while he was being treated for injuries he sustained while attempting to rob a home, authorities said. 

Police said the 17-year-old entered a residence on Park Avenue and Culter Street Tuesday and shot his handgun after he was confronted by residents inside.

Residents held him until police arrived at the home around 1:45 a.m., officials said. Officers then took the teen to University Hospital to treat his injuries from the fight with the residents, police said. 

The teen allegedly assaulted the officers at the hospital, police said. 

The Newark juvenile is charged with aggravated assault on a police officer, throwing bodily fluids at law enforcement, terroristic threats against police, robbery and unlawful possession of a handgun. 

Karen Yi may be reached at kyi@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @karen_yi or on Facebook. 

"Mary Poppins" at Paper Mill Playhouse is a musical full of fuzzy warmth, bolstered by fine performances and impressive staging Watch video

"Mary Poppins" at Paper Mill Playhouse is a musical full of fuzzy warmth, bolstered by fine performances and impressive staging. What more could one want for a summer's night out at the theater?

There are no great risks here by the theater, no surprising revelations by the show. There is only a heaping dose (far more than a spoonful) of charm and, for many, the promise of nostalgia.

There is something iconic about the image of the world's first Super Nanny popping in on Cherry Tree Lane via flying umbrella, something that injects the proceedings with magic and whimsy. After a drab opening number, this musical version of the 1964 Disney film gains steam with the airborne arrival of its title character, who immediately gives the same color and life to the show that she will come to offer young Jane (played by Abbie Grace Levi and Madi Shaer at alternating performances) and Michael (Maddox Padgett and John Michael Pitera) Banks.

From here, the show builds all of its energy around this mysterious woman of manners and conviction; at Paper Mill, Elena Shaddow dazzles in her shouldering of that responsibility. She makes for an unflappably composed Mary Poppins, with a self-satisfied smirk and a charismatic confidence. Showing us a nanny we could all love and appreciate, the actress also manages to strike a finely tuned balance between sternness and affection for her two charges.

Mary Poppins's partner in revealing the world's hidden wonders to Jane and Michael is the street-sweeper/artist/chimney-sweep Bert, brought to compelling life here by Mark Evans. In some respects, Bert is Mary Poppins's co-conspirator in broadening the imaginations of Jane and Michael--  and perhaps in saving the soul of the Banks family -- and so Evans must match the whimsy of Shaddow. It's a tall task which the actor accomplishes skillfully. His Bert is at once streetwise and happy-go-lucky who proves a caring guide to the children and an affectionate match for Shaddow's Mary Poppins.

The show follows the familiar story of the classic film closely, with a mostly seamless addition of new songs and additional music and lyrics by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe. The adaptation has placed a greater emphasis on the razzle-dazzle of song and dance, centering each act around a blockbuster number. First, we get the revelation of Mary Poppins's famous coinage, "supercalifragilisticexpialidocius," and later a village's worth of chimney sweeps frenetically tap dancing on rooftops. Both sequences are meticulously choreographed by Denis Jones, who injects the dance numbers with a great deal of fun.

Director Mark S. Hoebee also shines here in keeping the show's mood light and quirky. The performances of virtually the entire cast, from Dierdre Friel's delightfully exasperated Mrs. Brill to Liz McCartney's terrifying Miss Andrew, are finely tuned and convey the show's essential gaiety. That is a mood that Hoebee and his team chase down with consistent success. This "Mary Poppins" is a refreshing delight.

Mary Poppins

Paper Mill Playhouse

22 Brookside Drive, Millburn

Tickets: $44-$143; available online at www.ickets.papermill.org. Running through June 25

Patrick Maley may be reached at patrickjmaley@gmail.com. Find him on Twitter @PatrickJMaley. Find NJ.com/Entertainment on Facebook.

Mayors of towns on the Morris & Essex lines want NJ Transit to rethink a plan to divert those trains to Hoboken while Amtrak does track work in Penn Station New York this summer.

Mayors of towns on NJ Transit's Morris & Essex lines, which will be diverted to Hoboken during Amtrak's summer track work at Penn Station New York, want officials to tell them why their commuters will feel all the pain.

That plan was announced with fanfare last week by Gov. Chris Christie, who said diverting Morris & Essex line trains to Hoboken would spare riders of the Northeast Corridor and North Jersey Coast lines from major pain. Amtrak's track project could cause commuters to lose 25 percent of their trains. 

"The commuters don't understand why it's just M&E passengers that will be affected," said Maplewood Mayor Victor De Luca. "It's not an easy lift to go through Hoboken (and transfer to PATH trains or ferries) and do it day after day."

The mayors said NJ Transit officials have pushed off two scheduled meetings since last Friday, requested by De Luca and Sheena Collum, South Orange's village president, on May 24. The meeting was rescheduled twice, from May 26 to May 30 and finally to June 7 with the mayors of Maplewood, South Orange, Millburn, Summit and Livingston.  

 "Everyone knows the track work has to be done, we're not saying don't do it," De Luca said. "Someone made a public policy decision without including a lot of the public. This fairy tale solution of sending people to Hoboken is unacceptable to commuters."

NJ Transit spokeswoman Nancy Snyder said the plan was developed by a rail technical team in the interest and safety of all NJ Transit customers around the state.

"Train movements and schedule compilation is developed by a highly-skilled, technical and qualified rail service planning team," she said.

De Luca was one of five municipal officials and state Senator Richard Codey, D-Essex and Assemblyman John McKeon, D-Morris, who showed up at NJ Transit's Newark offices at 2 p.m. Tuesday to press for the meeting. Agency officials declined to talk to them, De Luca said.

"The commuters want answers and we can't provide them with answers, Collum said, who posted video from NJ Transit's lobby on Facebook . 

They are also among a group of Morris, Essex and Union county mayors from towns on the M&E who will testify at a Wednesday Joint Legislative oversight committee hearing in Newark.

"The first time we heard about this was the governor's announcement," he said. "There was no heads up, no courtesy call and no one asked us for input."

NJ Transit officials did not want to preempt tomorrow's legislative hearing on this matter, Snyder said.

"It should be noted that informational meetings with local officials was as a briefing, not a negotiation session," she said.

Municipal officials are concerned that a June 7 meeting date will be too late to make changes before the plan to divert trains is implemented on July 7.

"We don't want them to say they can't change their plans," De Luca said. "It will be harder as they get closer to the deadline. If they make other plans, they will need lead time."

The mayors questioned if Hoboken Terminal can handle about 20,000 riders from the 17 displaced Midtown Direct trains. Commuters experienced severe overcrowding and delays after an April 3 derailment in Penn Station that sent M&E New York trains trains to Hoboken instead for four days.

Lawmaker doesn't like NJ Transit's Penn Station plan

"If you're going to inconvenience people, do it with some kind of balance," De Luca said. "Hoboken infrastructure is not capable of handling 1,200 people on a train when entire train can't fit on a platform and people have to walk through the train."

Snyder said that variations to the plan were analyzed, but the goal is to move the greatest number of customers directly into New York, in the safest manner possible. Riders at Hoboken have three modes of transit to cross the Hudson River, she said. Hoboken Terminal's concourse also reopened last month ahead of schedule, she said.

"Recognizing the temporary inconvenience of a 2-seat ride, customers will pay a reduced fare of up to 63% off their regular fare," she said.

De Luca said he was a regular Morris & Essex line commuter until he retired one year ago. He questioned why commuters on one line will feel all the pain. He said the fare discount doesn't make up for longer commutes or time lost with families. 

"It seems unfair that 17 M&E trains will be diverted, maybe there is some trading that can be done," he said. "we also want to make sure there are ferries to midtown and that PATH is cross honoring (rail tickets) in all stations."    

Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @commutinglarry. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

"

The three week march to the Meet of Champions is on!

The 45-year-old Watchung man is accused of killing a beloved East Orange teacher

NEWARK -- The defense team for Andre Higgs, accused of fatally shooting East Orange teacher Latrena May two years ago, made their theory of the case clear Tuesday: Higgs accidentally shot May only because a cop shot him first.

Latrena May. (Facebook)
 

In his second day of cross-examining Detective Kemon Lee, defense attorney Joseph P. Rem Jr. suggested Higgs had merely been holding a gun when the East Orange police officer shot first, inadvertently causing the 45-year-old Watchung man to fire his own weapon into May.

May, 27, was a teacher at Pride Academy Charter School and the mother of Higgs' daughter.

"Your recklessness killed Latrena May, and not Andre Higgs, isn't that right," Rem asked Lee, drawing an objection from the prosecution that Superior Court Judge Ronald D. Wigler quickly sustained.

The third day of Higgs' trial in Wigler's Newark courtroom was also the first time the jury heard that Lee's shooting of Higgs on May 1, 2015 had since been ruled justifiable by the state Attorney General's Office, a fact Essex County Assistant Prosecutor Justin Edwab leveraged in his redirect examination of Lee on Tuesday afternoon.

Under the attorney general's use-of-force guidelines, law enforcement officers in New Jersey may use deadly force only when they believe it is "immediately necessary to protect the officer or another person from imminent danger of death
or serious bodily harm."

Lee, who testified he pulled up in front of May's Tremont Avenue home after she called out to him, said the circumstances met that description. Authorities allege Higgs shot May three times with a .45-caliber pistol right after Lee asked her to come down off the top step where the two were standing.

The officer said he shot Higgs when the man opened fire on May.

"I could have been next," he told Edwab from the witness stand. "I was afraid for myself, but more for her."

Lee said he had unholstered his .40-caliber pistol when he got out of his patrol car for three reasons he thought made it a "potentially dangerous situation": Higgs' size compared to May, how close the two were standing and the fact she had called out to him.

"Were your instincts correct to have your gun unholstered and approach the situation with a firearm," Edwab asked.

"They were correct," Lee said.

Dashcam video from the officer's patrol car shows him pulling up in front of the house and approaching with his gun lowered, but does not show Higgs shooting May -- only Lee firing his own weapon.

Rem, who is joined by attorney Remi Spencer in representing Higgs, repeatedly pressed the officer on whether he had concealed his actions before and after the shooting from detectives and superiors -- charges Lee adamantly denied through hours of objection-laden questioning that prompted multiple sidebar discussions with the judge.

When Rem asked the officer why he failed to complete a use-of-force questionnaire following the shooting, Lee said it was "just an oversight."

He also defended his decision not to attempt to provide medical care to May at the scene, instead calling in a mobile intensive care unit.

"It looked that any aid I was qualified to give her wouldn't have been enough," he told Rem.

Judge: Cop's shooting of murder suspect OK to question

Wigler previously ruled the defense cannot bring up the subject of prior justified shootings Lee was involved in as a law enforcement officer, although attorneys can question him about his training and department regulations.

Authorities have said the couple's then 4-year-old daughter was inside May's home at the time of the shooting, but was unharmed.

Higgs is currently jailed at the Essex County Correctional Facility, where he has been since Wigler modified his $1 million bail to cash only following an arrest on drunk-driving charges.

The trial is expected to resume at 9 a.m. Wednesday.

Thomas Moriarty may be reached at tmoriarty@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ThomasDMoriarty. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Congressman rejects House health care plan, speaks out in favor of NATO alliance

CRANFORD, N.J. (AP) -- Republican U.S. Rep. Leonard Lance told his constituents, at times to applause, that he opposes President Donald Trump's budget proposal, rejects the GOP-led House's health care overhaul and strongly supports NATO.

Lance, a five-term congressman, contrasted himself with the Republican president on Tuesday during a town hall at Union Community College in northern New Jersey's 7th District, where Trump lost the vote last year.

It was Lance's first town hall since a special counsel was appointed to investigate Russian interference in the presidential contest and since the House narrowly passed a Trump-backed health overhaul bill, which Lance opposed.

"I always vote my conscience, and I will support President Trump where I agree with him and will not support him where I disagree with him," he said.

Tuesday's meeting contrasted with earlier events at which protesters picketed outside and Lance faced regular, angry interruptions.

Lance attributed the difference to his regular meetings with voters and his no vote on the American Health Care Act.

Mary Herald, a retired physician from Summit and a Democrat who previously voted for Lance, said she's seen a "dramatic" change in Lance over the years, from centrist to more conservative. Now he's shifting back to the middle, she said.

"I think he wants to be a good congressman but gets caught in the machine of the Republican Party," Herald said.

Voters expressed anger toward Trump throughout the meeting. One of the biggest reactions came when Alan Gilson, an engineer from Somerville who said he had been a Republican, called the president "morally bankrupt."

"I cannot see myself voting for any Republican for any office for the foreseeable future," he said.

Lance responded, saying he backs the appointment of former FBI Director Robert Mueller as special counsel investigating Russia's influence in the election. Trump has derided the Russia investigation and said there was no collusion between his campaign and the Russians.

Voters applauded when Lance discussed the president's recent trip abroad, including an address to NATO allies. Critics said the president didn't specify his support for a provision in the NATO agreement requiring mutual defense. Lance said he's a strong backer of the alliance and believes in Article 5, the mutual-defense provision.

But it wasn't all applause for Lance. The audience booed him when he said he opposed single-payer health care and supported a ban on federal spending on abortion.

The meeting came after Lance's GOP colleague Tom MacArthur, of New Jersey's 3rd District, hosted a lengthy town hall this month. Angry voters shouted at MacArthur over his amendment that revived the Republicans' American Health Care Act, which aims to replace Democratic former President Barack Obama's health care law.

The GOP health care bill faces an uncertain future in the Senate.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office delivered a damaging critique for the GOP-written bill last week. It concluded the measure would create 23 million additional uninsured Americans by 2026 as well as lower premiums for younger and healthy people by letting them buy sparser coverage. It said the measure would confront unhealthy, poorer and older consumers with high out-of-pocket costs.

Lance, an attorney and former state lawmaker known for an amendment to the state constitution calling for voter approval of public debt, has highlighted his differences with Trump and followed that approach on Tuesday.

Trump's $4.1 trillion budget proposal calls for a number of cuts, including to programs for low-income Americans. Lance said he opposed the blueprint and predicted it would not get passed.

Lance and MacArthur have stood out for holding town hall meetings while other New Jersey Republicans such as U.S. Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen and U.S. Rep. Chris Smith have avoided holding them.

"I think my constituents realize I engage in town hall meetings regularly," Lance said, when asked whether the meetings have served as a "pressure release valve" for voters.

The victim died a half-hour after being found on Goodwin Avenue

NEWARK -- A man was shot and killed in Newark on Tuesday night, authorities said. 

He was found with gunshot wounds on the 100 block of Goodwin Avenue
around 10 p.m, the Essex County Prosecutor's Office said in a statement. The man was brought to University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead a half-hour later. 

The victim's age and identity have not yet been released.

No arrests have been made. The prosecutor's office and Newark police continue to investigate. 

Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.comFollow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

The legacy of Millard E. Terrell lives on in residents of the Newark public housing development that bears his name.

No matter how late at night, residents were never turned away when they knocked on the door of apartment 2B.

They knew Millard E. Terrell would get out of bed to fix their problem - whatever it was - at Franklin Delano Roosevelt Homes, a Newark public housing complex that was renamed after him in 1987, the year following his death.

There might have been a flood or blown fuse in the basement of one of the buildings. At that hour their fellow resident Terrell would grab his flashlight, a set of maintenance keys and take care of business.

"He who sees a need and waits to be asked for help is as unkind as if he refused it,'' Terrell was often known to say, quoting Dante, one of his favorite philosophers.

Stanley Terrell, left with his mother and father, the late Wilda and Millard E. Terrell. Residents who live at Terrell Homes, a Newark public housing complex, said Millard Terrell is the reason they are fighting so hard to prevent the complex from being demolished. Terrell was tenant president and housing commissioner who advocated for residents.Stanley Terrell 

Terrell lived by this creed.  His son shared it with me when we sat down to talk about his dad, who is the sole reason why current residents of the Ironbound complex have fought so hard to stop the homes from being demolished.

MORE: Recent Barry Carter columns 

"That's the kind of guy my father was,'' said Stanley Terrell, a former Star-Ledger reporter of 38 years. "If he saw something and he knew he could do something about it, he just stepped up.''

It wasn't because Millard E. Terrell was tenant president for 25 years or because he was the first tenant to become a Newark Housing Authority Commissioner, a post he held for 13 years until his death in 1986.  

He did it because he loved the community and its people. He was Mr. FDR Homes. He was Mr. Terrell Homes, a stern hardworking man who got things done.

"That's why we say we're a village,'' said Rita Fortenberry, who lived in the third-floor apartment directly above the Terrell family. "He was like the godfather of the neighborhood.''

From Terrell, they learned how to be a community. It's why they cling to a time when neighbors looked out for each other's children. If someone couldn't get to the store, they'd picked up a loaf of bread or a carton of milk. No one went hungry.

Outsiders were questioned by residents wanting to know who they were visiting. The tenant families could fight among themselves, but would band together if someone from another neighborhood tried to start trouble.

"The things he (Millard Terrell) did made us have pride in one another,'' said Rosemary Hoarsely, who went to grade school with Stanley Terrell. "He taught us that your apartment is not your apartment and your neighbor is not your neighbor.''

Your apartment is your home, she said, and your neighbor is your family.

Terrell Homes has been the one place in  Newark where some residents have lived for more than 50 years. But the housing authority decided in 2014 that the development should be closed.

Officials at the agency said the 275-unit complex was old and costly to maintain. Environmental concerns lingered, as well, because it is located near chemical companies and at one time 650 tons of contaminated soil was removed the grounds.

Between housing authority and city council meetings, residents have been persistent in their outrage and it has worked. The housing authority did not vote recently to submit the application for demolition to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

A new plan, introduced by East Ward Councilman Augusto Amador, is emerging to save a portion of it. Stanley Terrell and the residents are relieved for the moment, knowing that the Terrell Homes legacy is still solid as the brick complex built along the Passaic River on Chapel Street.

"Too often we tear stuff down and it gets erased,'' Stanley Terrell said. "Stuff gets lost and we don't know how we got there. It's important to remember how we got there.''

His father was one of the first tenants to move into the complex named after President Roosevelt when it opened in 1946. During the next five years, Terrell didn't waste time advocating for families.

He helped start the Tenants League (think of tenant association), which put together a menu of programs that had the community spinning with activity.

Pre-school, kindergarten and first-grade classes were on site. The recreation center was open after school. Teenagers had canteen dances, and no one dared try to hide in the corner for some funny business.

Mr. Terrell would be watching. He was always around doing something. It could have been grooming tenants to be leaders, telling young people not to loiter, helping residents improve their lives

"Daddy was always trying to pull somebody out of the flames,'' Stanley Terrell said. 

In the winter, Christmas parties were memorable, with food and gifts he solicited from area businesses. The summers were just as festive when he kicked off "Fun Day," a day-long buffet of excitement. There'd be games like kick ball and bobbing for apples. Charcoal grills were filled with hamburgers and hot dogs.

Terrell stayed busy, but always made time for his family. He and his late wife, Wilda, were married 44 years and had four children. Stanley, Allyson, Michael and Veronica Sweeney.

Born in Roanoke, Ala., Terrell came to Newark in 1945 after serving in the Army during World War II. Once here, the decorated soldier and staff sergeant found work as a civilian employee at military facilities in Brooklyn, N.Y. and Bayonne. He retired in 1985 as a supervisor of the Air Force's transportation audit section.

In his spare time, and there wasn't much, Terrell would relax, listening to his extensive jazz collection that included John Coltrane, Count Basie, Duke Ellington and others.

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When he died, at age 66, Fortenberry said, residents were lost, disconnected. Their family member was gone, but not forgotten. Everyone, including local, state and federal officials, showed up for the rededication ceremony. They gathered on the black top playground that is now filled with overgrown weeds to have his name last forever.

"He was the one person who kept them (residents) on the map and in the loop,'' said former Mayor Sharpe James, who was there that day. "Mr. Terrell let all of us know that they were human beings and that they had the same hopes, aspirations and dreams and that we shouldn't just write them off.''

The housing authority tried.

Residents won't let it happen.

For within them, dwells the spirit of Millard E. Terrell.

Barry Carter: (973) 836-4925 or bcarter@starledger.com or http://connect.nj.com/user/bcarter/posts.html

or follow him on Twitter @BarryCarterSL