MORRIS COUNTY — Melissa Albright, the vice president of marketing, public relations, and enrollment management at the County College of Morris (CCM), has been named the 2023 Rising Star by the National Council of Marketing & Public Relations (NCMPR). The award recognizes an up-and-coming communication professional at a two-year college who has demonstrated creativity and ability in college marketing and public relations and has shown evidence of a promising future.

After two years in higher ed marketing leadership, Albright uses her relationship-building skills to help 25-year industry veterans grow. She has years of experience in the corporate world and as a middle school teacher, and the lessons from those items on her résumé help her in her current role. But it’s perhaps her time teaching special education helps the most, she says, both in her vice president duties and as an employee celebrating the success of community college students. Her seven years teaching special ed taught her a level of compassion and understanding not to put ceilings on any students she worked with, she says.

Albright prioritizes employee learning, speaking of one employee who has been with the college for a quarter century. She recently told Albright, “I’ve been doing my job for 25 years and doing it the same way for 25 years. I thought I was pretty good. Then you came along, and you invested in me. You’ve taught me to collaborate differently, and now I feel like I’m doing my best work.”

CCM recently was named one of 10 finalists for the Lumina Foundation’s Million Dollar Community College Challenge. As a finalist, CCM will receive $100,000, which it will use for a website redesign. Albright co-wrote the college’s submission and developed strategies for the challenge.

“She is also responsible for a huge morale boost within marketing and communications,” writes CCM president Anthony Iacono, who nominated Albright for the award. “Today, we have a team that is proud of their work, each other, and our college. Melissa has taught them their importance and value as people and professionals, and their results have exceeded anything we could have imagined.”

MORRIS COUNTY — The DeGroot campaign formally objected to the candidacies of Robert Snyder for Commissioner and Andrew Agliata for County Clerk. “Our campaign is aware that their petitions were improperly circulated and notarized. This was confirmed by eyewitness testimony and video evidence,” said a spokesperson for the DeGroot Campaign.

Eyewitness testimony and video evidence of the petition signers confirmed that the circulator was not present when Republican voters signed the petitions for Snyder and Agliatta. It was circulated instead by a woman who was identified as an Executive Board Member of the Morris County Republican Committee and a Montville School Board Member, also an elected Morris County Committee Woman. The Morris County Republican Committee had previously chosen their “Line” candidate for Commissioner Tyfun Selen.

DeGroot stated, “This shady scheme of collecting signatures for these two “last day to file” candidates was solely to create confusion among Republicans and to hurt DeGroot’s campaign by pushing his bracket further off the ballot and diluting DeGroot’s chances for victory. Make no mistake, shady things are going on, and schemes were hatched to protect Selen and the Line.”

“This woman did not identify the candidates she was collecting signatures for and misled the signers as to who they were signing for. One signer stated that this woman requested they sign the petition twice but did not inform them that it was for two candidates. Further, this woman did not sign the petition as the circulator; however, a young man did sign the petition under oath, knowing he was not the circulator.”

“Paul DeGroot is supported by the real Republican voters of Morris County, who will not fall for the establishment’s last-minute ballot-fixing schemes for their gain.”

“Collusion with phantom candidates to manipulate the ballot is a shocking and grave threat to voter integrity and a dirty trick. The Republican Party has long opposed the Democrat’s careless election schemes. We cannot allow fraudulent petitions and back-door deals to manipulate the ballot in our own Party. We must do better.”

“As a former Chief Assistant Prosecutor of the Public Integrity Section, his unit sought out and prosecuted corruption. When elected to the Board of County Commissioners, DeGroot will be a breath of fresh air and shine a bright light to expose backroom deals and prevent things like this from happening,” stated DeGroot.

Last week,  a slate of off-the-line candidates running in the Republican primary received Column 1 after the deputy county clerk Anna McMahon conducted a ballot draw. Column 1 is headed by Paul DeGroot, a former Passaic County Prosecutor, and 2022 Congressional candidate now seeking a county commissioner seat.

That placed Tom Mastrangelo (R-Montville), a county commissioner seeking the GOP nomination for State Senate, at the top of the ticket in Morris County.  Mastrangelo is joined in Column 1 by BettyLou DeCroce (R-Parsippany), who seeks to regain the Assembly seat she lost two years ago, and another Assembly candidate, former Parsippany Councilman Robert Peluso.

MORRIS COUNTY — Court-Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Morris and Sussex Counties, based in Cedar Knolls, will host its annual fundraiser, “CASA at the Zoo,” from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Saturday, June 10, at the Turtle Back Zoo at 560 Northfield Avenue, West Orange.

About 500 CASA supporters are scheduled to attend the event and assist the CASA organization in raising unrestricted funds to support advocacy for children in the foster care system. These supporters include foster children and families, CASA trustees, staff, and volunteers.

The invitation is open to anyone interested in supporting the nonprofit to highlight the importance of CASA’s advocacy for children who have experienced abuse, neglect or abandonment.

This private event will allow guests to explore the zoo unimpeded by lines or crowds.

Admission costs $25.00 for anyone ages two to 17, and admission costs $50 for adults 18 and older. Admission is free for children younger than two. Tickets can be purchased at tinyurl.com/2p9uxeyc.

Admission includes a buffet dinner, snacks, carousels, train rides, the petting zoo, and the wonder of animals worldwide. With avian influenza no longer a threat this year, the flamingos, peacocks, and outdoor bird exhibits will be available for photos and viewing. Guests may have their photos taken by professional photographers as a memento of the evening.

Donors can sponsor an exhibit, place an ad in the official CASA at the Zoo Guide, and purchase tickets for foster children to attend. Last year, the generosity of our donors provided tickets to more than 100 children and foster families to attend CASA at the Zoo.

Funds raised will support CASA’s mission to recruit, train, and supervise volunteers who provide a voice in court to ensure each child a safe, permanent, and nurturing home.

“As in previous years, we are looking forward to perfect weather for this enchanted evening,” said Lisa Barsky Firkser, executive director of CASA of Morris and Sussex Counties. “We are excited to see familiar faces and new friends at CASA at the Zoo. The money raised will help our organization to expand our programs and enhance the advocacy we provide to children in foster care.”

MORRIS COUNTY — Morris County Prosecutor Robert J. Carroll, Chief of Detectives Robert McNally, Morris County Sheriff James Gannon, and Morristown Police Chief Darnell Richardson confirmed that Chancelle Ibin Young, 29, Morristown, has been sentenced in connection with a domestic violence incident that occurred overnight between October 25, 2021, and October 26, 2021.

On January 17, the defendant appeared before the Honorable Stephen J. Taylor, P.J.Cr., and entered pleas of guilty to second-degree Arson, second-degree Certain Persons Not to Have Weapons, and Simple Assault.

On March 31, Judge Taylor sentenced the defendant on second-degree Arson to an aggregate sentence of eight years imprisonment, subject to the No Early Release Act, which mandates that a defendant serve 85 percent of his sentence before becoming eligible for parole.  On the second-degree Certain Persons Not to Have Weapons charge, the defendant was sentenced to a concurrent mandatory term of imprisonment of five years imprisonment with a 5-year parole disqualifier. As part of his sentence, the defendant will also be subject to three years of parole supervision upon his release from prison.

On October 25, 2021, law enforcement was called to Franklin Street, Morristown, on a report of a domestic dispute.  The investigation revealed that Young had engaged in an assault upon his partner, in which he inflicted bodily injury upon her in the presence of their young child.

Upon the arrival of law enforcement, Young was observed on the street in possession of and brandishing a suspected firearm. He was also observed to engage in threatening behavior and actively vandalized a vehicle by setting it on fire.  The initial Morristown Patrol Units were later joined by fellow officers from their department and officers from the Prosecutor’s Office and Sheriff’s Office. The officers secured the scene and commenced de-escalation techniques, including hostage negotiation. Despite the defendant’s escalating threatening conduct, the officers, after several tense hours, safely took Young into custody. The firearm was ultimately recovered from inside the burned motor vehicle.

Prosecutor Carroll said, “Domestic violence is a serious crime.  The Morris County Prosecutor’s Office is committed to holding the perpetrators of domestic violence, especially those involving physical violence and using a firearm or weapon, accountable under the law. I commend the law enforcement officers who responded through the skillful use of police de-escalation techniques and inter-agency cooperation, which safely arrested the defendant who was pointing a firearm and carrying out violent and threatening behavior for an extended period. These officers demonstrated high professionalism and restraint under strenuous circumstances threatening their personal safety. I also thank Supervising Assistant Prosecutor Tia Manochio for her successful prosecution.”

The New Jersey Prevention of Domestic Violence Act provides maximum protection to victims of domestic violence.   Suppose you or someone you know is the victim of domestic violence. In that case, there are resources available in Morris County to assist victims and their families at the Morris County Family Justice Center, located at 10 Court Street, 4^th Floor, Morristown.  The Morris Family Justice contact number is (973) 829-4050, or you can visit their website at www.morrisfjc.org or contact the Domestic Violence Abuse hotline at 1-877-R-U-ABUSED.