Clayton Free Press

11/28/2025

BRIDGET FLYNN NESKO (July 22, 1967 – November 28, 2022)

Three years ago this morning at 2:30am, the world lost a joyful soul – a protector, filled with love and committed to leaving a positive mark behind. Born with little, she gave her all to help family, friends and strangers in need, and her greatest wish was to do no harm, to cause happiness and produce smiles, because “nice mattered”.

The world is a much colder place today without her.

I miss and love you, my Bridget, and always will.
Kevin

09/16/2025

LOCAL RECOGNITION FOR A LIFE WELL LIVED IN THE SERVICE OF OTHERS

BRIDGET NESKO, BSN, RN RECOGNIZED WITH DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD FROM GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY

On September 18, 2025, the George Mason University Alumni Association and the University’s College of Public Health will recognize the lifetime achievements of Bridget Nesko, BSN, RN with the Distinguished Alumni Award for a life well lived in the service of others.

Nesko was a brilliant and accomplished registered cardiac nurse and health care educator, publisher, radio broadcaster, and voiceover artist. She graduated from George Mason University with her Bachelor of Science in nursing degree in 2006 and was awarded the Kitty Parker Smith Leadership Award for her outstanding community service. During her lifetime, Nesko built a dynamic health care career in various nursing roles and emerged with the clear understanding that women needed better health care attention than was available.

A victim of the health care system she worked so hard to improve, Nesko suffered from various growing symptoms of ovarian cancer that went undetected by her medical team members for more than six years. Her ovarian cancer was finally diagnosed after reaching a critical and virtually incurable Stage 3C in February 2021. After diagnosis, and despite the uphill battle she knew she faced, Nesko had the strength, will, and determination to fight. She urged her husband and family to help defy ovarian cancer—to delay, defer, and maybe defeat the cancer’s ability to claim more women’s lives—through physician education and public and media awareness.

Despite Nesko’s 17-month regimen of 21 chemotherapy treatments, she succumbed to the illness at her home on November 28, 2022, at the age of 55—just 16 years after earning her BSN degree.

In her honor and legacy, Nesko’s family created the Bridget Nesko Ovarian Cancer Foundation and Education Center, which works closely with George Mason University to, among other things, recognize and honor graduating BSN candidates for their achievement in overcoming adversity to become a clinical nurse.

George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia is among the nation’s leading Healthcare focused learning institutions, with more than 25,000 Patriots registered in the alumni online community.

For more information about the Bridget Nesko Ovarian Cancer Foundation and Education Center, go to BridgetAngelFund.Org. For more information about George Mason University, go to GMU.Edu

08/31/2025

SEPTEMBER IS OVARIAN CANCER AWARENESS MONTH

It is also the month when, in 2022, Bridget Nesko published her last edition of her New Jersey Free Press community newspaper, after five years and nine months in publication.

Sick, fatigued beyond imagination, in pain from 17 months of chemotherapy treatments that failed, and nearing the end of her life, Bridget refused to stop publishing her community newspaper – until she couldn’t physically do it anymore.

Bridget succumbed to her ovarian cancer 52 days after its publication.

In Bridget’s honor and memory, I wanted to share a copy of that publication and remind you that, by midnight tonight, another 570 women will have died worldwide from ovarian cancer – many if not most could have survived if diagnosed earlier.

That is what the BRIDGET NESKO OVARIAN CANCER FOUNDATION AND EDUCATION CENTER is fighting to do - DEFY OVARIAN CANCER in our lifetime.

We don’t want your money – we want your attention and we want
to help save your life.

https://bridgetangelfund.org/

07/22/2025

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRIDGET – YOUR LEGACY OF HEALING LIVES ON

Today – July 22nd – Bridget Nesko should have been celebrating her 58th birthday.

Instead, I and Bridget’s brother Michael Flynn, treated the amazing nursing and technical oncology and infusion staff at Jefferson/ Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center in Philadelphia to lunch in Bridget’s honor and memory. Their remarkable team treated Bridget with tender care and acute attention throughout her 2021-22 ovarian cancer illness.

We lost Bridget because of six years of medical practitioner delays in recognizing and diagnosing her ovarian cancer signs and symptoms. By the time her medical team at Jefferson and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center diagnosed her illness, it was too late.

A brilliant cardiac nurse, educator, publisher, broadcaster, and incredible wife, love, partner, friend, mother, daughter and sister, Bridget died on November 28, 2022, at the age of only 55.

To honor her legacy and carry on her work to save lives, after Bridget’s death, we created the Bridget Nesko Ovarian Cancer Foundation and Education Center. The Center is committed to defying ovarian cancer by providing and promoting ovarian cancer education, awareness, and technical certification to the primary care medical community through a comprehensive and evidence-based remote training and testing educational program aimed at enabling faster recognition and response in clinical settings. By attending this free reorientation program, there will be no reason for an ovarian cancer misdiagnosis.

Our program will be operational in 2026 and open to all medical practitioners nationwide.

By midnight tonight, another 570 women will die worldwide from the ravages of ovarian cancer – most, like Bridget, because of late or misdiagnosis.

Learn to protect yourself and the lives of your loved ones by learning the ovarian and gynecologic cancer signs, symptoms and early testing and treatment options by going to https://bridgetangelfund.org

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Pictured with the 50-pizza order is Claudia Thomas-Nembhard, MSN, RN, OCN (left), Michael Flynn – Bridget’s Brother and Trustee with the Bridget Nesko Ovarian Cancer Foundation (center), and Karen Campisi, Senior Practice Manager for oncology and infusion operations at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital (right).

06/09/2025

03/10/2025

LAST CALL TO READ JERRY BLAVAT’S “GEATOR GAB” COLUMN

If you are a fan of the late Jerry Blavat, here is your last chance to read his monthly column “GEATOR GAB”, which appeared in the NEW JERSEY FREE PRESS monthly community newspaper from October, 2020 through September 2022.

With the death of my wife, partner and newspaper publisher BRIDGET NESKO in November 2022, Bridget’s New Jersey Free Press newspaper ceased publication. Shortly thereafter, Jerry Blavat lost his life too in January, 2023.

While the newspaper ended publication, a small team of Bridget’s family and friends contemplated continuing the news website, but have collectively agreed to close the website effective April 2025.

Take advantage now of your chance to read Jerry’s column and remember the Memories he shared with his fans.

Go to: https://njfreepress.com/jerry-blavat-geator-gab/

01/28/2025

10/18/2024

JOB ANNOUNCEMENT

The Clayton Police Department seeks a motivated, hardworking, and determined candidate for the position of Full Time Patrol Officer. The selection process will result in the appointment of an individual who possesses the skills, knowledge, abilities and drive necessary to ensure the department remains an effective, professional, and respected law enforcement agency.
Applicants must meet the following minimum requirements:

1. Possess one of the following credentials:

- Hold a valid Basic Police Officer Certification from the New Jersey Police Training Commission.

- Hold a SLEO-2 Certification from the New Jersey Police Training Commission with the ability to be waived to a Basic Police Officer Certification from the New Jersey Police Training Commission.

- Hold an Associate’s Degree or higher from an accredited college or an honorable discharge from the military and 30 college credits.

2. Be a citizen of the United States and a resident of the State of New Jersey.

3. Be able to read and write the English language proficiently and intelligently.

4. Have no convictions of any indictable New Jersey Laws or the Laws of the United States, nor shall have been convicted of any crime or offense involving moral turpitude.

5. Have a valid New Jersey driver's license.

6. Submit to and successfully complete a background investigation.

7. Submit to and successfully pass a physical fitness test.

8. Submit to and successfully pass a drug screening test pursuant to the Attorney General’s Law Enforcement Drug Testing Policy.

9. Submit to and successfully pass a medical examination and have a medical doctor complete a Medical Certification Form.

10. Submit to and successfully pass a psychological examination.

The position will also be subject to other duties and responsibility as set forth in the job description and Clayton Police Policy on file with the Clayton Borough Clerk. Applications and resumes must be delivered in person to the Clayton Borough Clerk between 8AM and 4PM on normal business days. Applications will be accepted from the time of posting until 4:00 PM on Friday, November 29th, 2024.

Chief Andrew Davis
Clayton Police Department

Click on below hyper link to access the Police Application;
https://www.claytonnj.com/sites/g/files/vyhlif4281/f/uploads/new_police_application_-_final_verision_-_2021.pdf

KEY BENEFITS
1. Competitive Salary
2. Health Benefits
3. Pension

The Borough of Clayton is an Equal Opportunity Employer. The Borough does not discriminate against any applicant for employment or any employee because of race, age, s*x, disability, national origin, religion, veteran status or any other protected class.