Vernon councilman Dan Kadish dies

VERNON — Vernon Township Councilman Dan Kadish died on Monday night following heart surgery, township Mayor Harry Shortway announced on Tuesday morning.
He was 79 years old.
He moved to Vernon 70 years ago and was raised on his family's dairy farm and attended the one-room Price's Switch Schoolhouse.
"Dan was a renaissance man driven by his love of farming, the people he served, and his family," Shortway said in a statement. "He will be greatly missed."
Kadish first served the township as a councilman from 1994 until 2000 and then was elected to the council again in 2011 when the form of government was changed. He was re-elected in 2015. His term was scheduled to end on Dec. 31, 2019.
According to his bio on the township website, he was active in the change to the current Faulkner form of municipal government and intitiated a 10-year replacement plan of fire equipment. He also was a strong supporter of allowing first responders to administer Narcan in cases of drug overdoses.
He was a panelist for eight years for the U.S. Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Fulbright Teacher Exchange program abroad and was appointed a grant evaluator for the New Jersey Council on the Arts. He also co-founded the Jersey City Heights Arts Council. He was a lifelong educator.
He also was a supporter of farming.
He was trained as an artist at the Brooklyn Art Museum Art School, New York University and Yale University. He has had 15 solo exhibitions and participated in 50 group shows.
He taught at Wright State University, Kean University, Technical Career Institutes and other schools for 40 years.
He has owned Price's Switch Farms since 1976 with his brothers. He also operated a cow-calf operation with his wife, Carol Gunn-Kadish, since 1996.
He retired from teaching and farming in 2015.
He has two children, David and Jonathan, by a former marriage.
Funeral arrangements have not beeen announced.
Vernon Township flags are being flown at half-mast.
Editor's Notes: This story will be updated.