Archives for October 2019

I know many of you may have questions about how Amber Alerts are activated. Here are the New York State guidelines for Law Enforcement agencies to activate the Amber Alert Plan for a missing child.

“The AMBER Alert Program is a voluntary partnership between law-enforcement agencies, broadcasters, transportation agencies, and the wireless industry, to activate an urgent bulletin in the most serious child-abduction cases. The goal of an AMBER Alert is to instantly galvanize the entire community to assist in the search for and the safe recovery of the child.”

AMBER Alerts are automatically sent through the Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) program to millions of cell phone users. If you have a WEA-enabled phone, you are automatically enrolled for the three alerts: President, Imminent Threat and AMBER Alerts.

The New York State AMBER Alert Plan can be activated when an investigating law enforcement agency has reasonable cause to believe that:

• An abduction of a child (under the age of 18) has occurred, and
• The child is believed to be in danger of serious bodily harm or death, either due to the actions of another or due to a proven mental or physical condition.

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Even if formal activation criteria have been met, activation may be impractical if available information is not specific enough and/or an extended period of time passed since the disappearance.

For example, an AMBER Alert specifying involvement of a white van (without a license plate number) could actually hinder an investigation by causing the public to inundate police agencies with possible sightings.

“Reasonable Cause to Believe” means that from eyewitness accounts, or by eliminating other possibilities, your investigation leads you to believe that a child has been abducted.

Familial abductions qualify only if a child is endangered by the actions of the abducting family member.

Whenever an AMBER Alert request does not meet activation criteria, requesting agencies are referred to other NYS Police investigative resources and to the NYS Department of Criminal Justice Services Missing Persons Clearinghouse (MPC) for possible issuance of a Missing Child/College Student Alert.

AMBER Alerts will link to photos of missing children under FCC upgrades.

Any questions or concerns on AMBER Alert messages received on your phone should be directed to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC). Reach them at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) or visit missingkids.com.

By Mike Reilly, District 31 Community Education Council President and former NYPD Lieutenant

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Hackers and cyber-scams can spoil your holiday. Experts share what you need to know before you click “buy.” Here are a few things to look for when shopping online to help you recognize shady sites and keep your information private.

These rolls are the perfect festive addition to any holiday table — plus they are super yummy!

Prep time: 30 minutes plus stand time
Cook time: 20 minutes
Makes 12 to 16 rolls

Cinnamon rolls:

Ingredients
½ cup of granulated sugar
1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon
1 ½ cups of dried cranberries
1 ½ cups of Juicy Juice^® 100% Juice, cranberry apple flavor
2 (1-lb.) loaves of frozen white bread dough, thawed according to package directions
½ cup butter, softened
2 tablespoons of orange zest

Directions:

1. Coat a large baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a small bowl, combine granulated sugar and cinnamon; set aside.
3. In a medium, microwaveable bowl, combine cranberries and juice and microwave on HIGH for 1 minute; let stand 20 minutes to rehydrate. Strain cranberries, pressing to remove excess juice and set aside.
4. Meanwhile, on a lightly floured work surface, roll each dough loaf into a 10×16-inch rectangle. Spread each rectangle evenly with half the butter (¼ cup); sprinkle with cinnamon–sugar mixture and orange zest, leaving a ⅓-inch border.
5. Top with cranberries, pressing gently into dough.
6. Working with 1 rectangle at a time and starting at a short end, roll dough up tightly to enclose filling. Brush edges with water, and pinch to seal.
7. Carefully cut each dough roll crosswise into 6 to 8 slices; place on baking sheet.
8. Cover with a dish towel; let stand in a warm place for 30 minutes or until dough nearly doubles in size.
9. Preheat oven to 350°F.
10. Bake rolls 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown and let stand for 15 minutes on baking sheet to cool.

Glaze:

Ingredients:
1 ½ cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons of Juicy Juice^® 100% Juice, cranberry apple flavor
1 tablespoon of milk

Directions

1. Meanwhile, for the glaze, in a medium bowl combine powdered sugar, juice and milk; stir until smooth.
2. Drizzle glaze over warm rolls and serve.

Recipe courtesy of Juicy Juice. Get more recipes from Juicy Juice.

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The season for snow is here! As the holidays quickly approach, so do all of the cheerful sights, sounds and festive outfits. Dress your Juicy Juice® juice boxes up to look like cute reindeer in this fun and easy craft. It’s bound to get kids in holiday spirit and bring a smile to their faces!

• Step 1: Gather your materials. You will need:
  • Copper-colored gift wrap (or brown construction paper)
  • Googly eyes
  • Red glitter paper
  • Brown pipe cleaners
  • A Juicy Juice juice box
  • Safety scissors
  • Scotch tape

• Step 2: Wrap your Juicy Juice juice box with the colored gift wrap and a piece of tape, be sure to leave space at the top so that there is room to use the straw!

• Step 3: Carefully cut a small, one-inch circle of red glitter paper and tape it onto the front and center of the juice box to create a nose; then paste a pair of googly eyes right above it!

• Step 4: For the final step, create the reindeer antlers by cutting one pipe cleaner into two (now you have two antlers) and another pipe cleaner into four. Take one-quarter piece of pipe cleaner and wrap it around the top of a half piece. Apply the same method to the other antler. Tape both antlers securely to the back of the juice box and enjoy!

The season for snow is here! As the holidays quickly approach, so do all of the cheerful sights, sounds and festive outfits. Dress your Juicy Juice® juice boxes up to look like cute reindeer in this fun and easy craft. It’s bound to get kids in holiday spirit and bring a smile to their faces!

• Step 1: Gather your materials. You will need:
  • Copper-colored gift wrap (or brown construction paper)
  • Googly eyes
  • Red glitter paper
  • Brown pipe cleaners
  • A Juicy Juice juice box
  • Safety scissors
  • Scotch tape

• Step 2: Wrap your Juicy Juice juice box with the colored gift wrap and a piece of tape, be sure to leave space at the top so that there is room to use the straw!

• Step 3: Carefully cut a small, one-inch circle of red glitter paper and tape it onto the front and center of the juice box to create a nose; then paste a pair of googly eyes right above it!

• Step 4: For the final step, create the reindeer antlers by cutting one pipe cleaner into two (now you have two antlers) and another pipe cleaner into four. Take one-quarter piece of pipe cleaner and wrap it around the top of a half piece. Apply the same method to the other antler. Tape both antlers securely to the back of the juice box and enjoy!

Craft courtesy of Juicy Juice. Click here for more activities from Juicy Juice.

Use your empty, thoroughly cleaned Juicy Juice boxes to create a winter wonderland! Try making houses, storefronts, snowy trees and more – it’s totally up to you! When you’re finished making your village, set it up and let it snow! For added delight cut a small hole into the back of each “building,” then take a string of twinkly lights and insert an individual bulb from the lights into each hole to make the village glow with winter wonderland magic. Here’s what you will need:

Materials:
Glitter
Glue sticks or glitter glue
Construction paper
Cotton balls/craft foam for fake snow
Tape
Empty Juicy Juice boxes
Red striped paper straws
Scissors
Optional: Pipe cleaners

Step One

Gather your materials.

Step Two

Using tape or glue, cover your empty Juicy Juice box completely with white construction paper. Then create the windows for your house using colored construction paper!

Once your windows are created cover your houses with them! Then use glue to adhere your houses to a base. We used an 8.5 x 11 piece of cardboard wrapped in white construction paper as our base.

Step Three

Now its time to create your Christmas trees for your winter wonderland! Take one of your red striped paper straws and cut it in half. Then cut a piece of green construction paper in half, take a 4 inch strip of it and wrap it around the cut straw.

Step Four

Repeat step three to add another layer for your tree. Then follow this process to make a few more trees and add them to your base.

Don’t forget to add holiday décor for your winter village such as fake snow and glitter!

Craft courtesy of Juicy Juice. Click here for more activities from Juicy Juice.

Thanks so much to all who entered! Congratulations to our big winners. Please email jcintron@siparent-com.go-vip.net with questions.

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Rideamals Scout Ride-On Pony  Carmela Zumbo
Cuisinart Professional Portable Gas Grill Jordan McKay
Jenga GIANT JS7 Hardwood Game Jennifer Guerci
The Laurie Berkner Band Holiday Show – Family 4-Pack of Tickets Lisa Siminson
Epson Expression Premium XP-640 Small-in-One Printer Rosanna Gottlieb
American Girl Luciana Vega Doll & Book Christine DiMare
Boujie Kidz Clothing $100 Gift Card Dianna Valerio
PLAYMOBIL Spirit Riding Free Lucky’s Happy Home Rosemarie Kreitzman
Sonic Bundle featuring Sonic Mania Plus for Nintendo Switch, Sonic Classic 1991 Ultimate Figure, Sonic the Hedgehog IDW Comic Book & Sonic Tee Kathy Malta
Botley the Coding Robot Activity Set Victoria Gorini
Schleich Adventure Tree House Peter Buenaventura
Mensch on a Bench Bundle with Mensch, Ask Papa & Mitzvah Moose Tara Marcantonio
Converse Chuck Taylor Unicorn Sneakers Kimberly Cusick
Converse Chuck Taylor Dinoverse Sneakers Stephanie Cruz
Antsy Pants Pirate Ship Build & Play Set Jackie Larsen
PLAYMOBIL Hidden Temple with T-Rex Lauren Tesi
Nancy B’s Science Club MoonScope & Skygazer Kelly DeCamillis
Antsy Pants Fire Truck Vehicle Kit Katy Tortorello
Antsy Pants School Bus Vehicle Kit Immacolata Mancini
Aura Stealth Drone by KD Interactive Janine Geritano
Infinifun My First Yoga Mat by KD Kids Janine Koutros
Antsy Pants Dinosaur Hoppity Hop / Antsy Pants Unicorn Hoppity Hop Nicole Schreiber
Scholastic Gumball Machine Denise Ullo