EAST HANOVER – The Knights of Columbus will hold a Blood Drive on December 29 from 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at
Saint Rose of Lima Church Hall, 312 Ridgedale Avenue.
To sign up, click here.
For additional information, contact Michael Trocchia at (973) 216-5029 or email [email protected].
EAST HANOVER — Township of East Hanover officials light the Menorah on December 21 at East Hanover Township Town Hall starting at 6:00 p.m.
East Hanover Township Town is located at 411 Ridgedale Avenue.
MORRIS COUNTY — School Counselor Jennifer Katz has announced the Morris County School of Technology (MCST) Educational Services Professional of the Year.
Ms. Katz has been a School Counselor at the Morris County School of Technology for 13 years and has been instrumental in establishing and implementing the school’s guidance program. In her role as a counselor, Ms. Katz advocates for her students and provides a safe and warm environment for all. She displays an innate ability to empathize, care for, and support others. She listens and counsels without judgment and fosters a sense of independence, motivation, and growth.
“Ms. Katz is our 2022-2023 Educational Services Professional of the Year because she always starts with the heart,” said Lynne Jackson, Principal at Morris County School of Technology.
Counseling in today’s climate is difficult and requires wearing many hats; this is one of Ms. Katz’s greatest strengths. In her position as a college advisor, working on college prep and the application process, she has aided hundreds of students in achieving their post-secondary goals.
Ms. Katz is also willing to help her students, parents, and colleagues. Her collaboration with families, coworkers, and stakeholders is unmatched. “Ms. Katz epitomizes excellence in school counseling in every aspect of her job,” said Athena Borzeka, Director of Student Services & Special Education. She takes on all her roles with willingness and ease. She works extremely hard to ensure her students’ academic, emotional, and social well-being and success. Ms. Katz credits her co-counselors and supervisor for their constant support and contributions in making the MCST guidance department successful.
The Morris County Vocational School District (MCVSD) offers career and technical education programs for Morris County high school students. The Morris County School of Technology, located in Denville, offers a wide range of these programs, from auto service and construction trades to healthcare sciences and design. The high school currently has ten full-time academies and ten share-time programs on its Denville campus. In addition, through collaboration with local school districts and the County College of Morris, MCVSD offers six full-time academies and five share-time programs established at off-site satellite locations. Learn more by clicking here.
MORRIS COUNTY — Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Supervising Assistant Prosecutor Samantha DeNegri and Sergeant Patrick LaGuerre recently visited freshmen and sophomore students at Morristown High School. They conducted presentations on bias incidents, cyber harassment, and making smart choices about social media.
The presenters stressed exercising good judgment regarding how you interact with others or what you post on social media. This applies to videos or images utilizing song lyrics or meme-ified language. How you conduct yourself online could potentially impact your future.
Social media and technology today document everything. SAP DeNegri explained taking or sharing explicit photos can lead to legal ramifications and unintended consequences even years later, and oftentimes are viewed by those others than the intended recipients. She added that the images can still be accessed even if a device is destroyed, and MCPO would not hesitate to prosecute those who maliciously share such material.
Sgt. LaGuerre explained the difference between bias crimes and bias incidents, cautioning students that their school administrators can choose to take disciplinary action even if an incident isn’t considered criminal.
SAP DeNegri said Morris County takes a zero-tolerance approach to threats of violence
The MCPO routinely conducts presentations at public and private schools throughout Morris County to present on these important topics and to talk directly with students. This year, they’ve conducted over a dozen such assemblies in Morris, Warren, and Sussex counties.
Prosecutor Robert J. Carroll said, “In an age of oversaturated digital communication, the MCPO uses face-to-face visits to make a genuine connection with our students. We want our young people to make smart choices about interacting online and in person.”
MORRIS COUNTY — PSE&G invites you to review the updated, user-friendly online Home Energy Assessment (HEA) tool, which is available to all PSE&G residential customers. The online HEA can be accessed through PSE&G’s My Account (www.pseg.com/myaccount). It is also easily accessible by visiting www.pseg.com/HomeEnergyAssessment. PSE&G encourages customers to log in and complete the authenticated assessment to understand better their household energy usage based on their home profile.
The online HEA tool, which can be completed in just over five (5) minutes, empowers and educates customers about how they can save energy and money. It also provides customers with valuable energy-saving information and links to programs and services to help them control their energy use.
To complete the HEA, customers answer questions about their home, such as heating, cooling, lighting, etc. Once the HEA is completed, customers will be asked to enter their email addresses to receive their HEA report.
The HEA report will provide the customer with several actions they can take to achieve energy savings, as well as links to other programs and services that can help them save energy and money. Customers can take the online HEA as often as they’d like, especially when circumstances change in their home that may impact energy usages, such as installing a new heating or cooling system.
If you have any questions, please email [email protected] or call 1-800-708-9480.
HANOVER TOWNSHIP — On Thursday evening, January 12, the Township Committee, the governing body of the Township of Hanover, during its regular, open public meeting, will convene two public hearings concerning the proposed release and replacement of a Patriots’ Path public access and conservation easement held by the Township on a portion of the Hanover Towne Center property (former Pine Plaza Mall) located at 801-849 Route 10 East in the Whippany.
This property is also designated as Lots 12, 13, and 14 in Block 4001, as set forth on the Tax Map of the Township.
The property in question is a total of 19.77 acres. In the event of a snowstorm, the public hearings will be held on Thursday, February 9.
The two public hearings are being held in accordance with N.J.S.A. 13: 8B-5 and N.J.A.C. 7: 36-26.G(c) in conjunction with the Township’s application to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Green Acres Program, for the proposed disposal and replacement of this same aforementioned Patriots’ Path public access and conservation easement held by the Township.
The Township proposes to divert 0.84 acres of the property under the Green Acres Program’s rules and replace it with a 1.04-acre trail and conservation easement on the same Hanover Towne Center property.
It will remain deed restricted under the Green Acres Program’s rules. With the redevelopment of the Towne Center property, there is now a need, and the opportunity, to relocate and construct the public trail and conservation easement to finally realize the intent of the original easement that dates back to 1990.
The relocation of the public access trail and conservation easement also requires the review and approval of the State House Commission and the Commissioner of the NJDEP. The application to Green Acres and related documents are posted here and will also be available at the Hanover Township Municipal Building and the Whippanong Library.
Suppose you are interested in making a public comment during the night of the Hearings or the written comment period. In that case, instructions are posted on the Township’s website under the Township News tab entitled “Hanover Towne Center Green Acres Disposal.”
Click here to view the Project Reference Maps.
MORRIS COUNTY — Senator Anthony M. Bucco announced that $1.6 million would be allocated toward improving access to transit facilities and public transportation throughout Morris County.
“I am extremely pleased that over $1.6 million is being invested in Morris County to help rebuild our transit infrastructure. This funding is so important to New Jersey families,” said Bucco (R-25). “These grants represent a return on taxpayers’ investment and will help make the train stations and roadways of Netcong, Morristown, and Dover safer and more enjoyable for residents and commuters alike.”
The $1.68 million in grants are aimed at enhancing areas around transit facilities and public transportation throughout Morris County.
The grants are divided into Transit Villages, Safe Streets, and Bikeways. Netcong will receive $800,000 for improvements to Main Street through the Transit Village Program; Morristown will receive $86,000 for Phase II of their train station improvements throughout that same program, and Dover will receive $800,000 in Safe Streets funding for traffic signal improvements on Blackwell Street.
MORRIS COUNTY — The County College of Morris (CCM) has been rated the Best for Transfer Students by Intelligent, adding to the college’s growing list of accolades.
This is the second year in a row that Intelligent has rated CCM as the best community college in New Jersey for students who start at the college and then transfer to a four-year institution to earn a bachelor’s degree.
The 2023 ranking of the Best Community Colleges in New Jersey is based on the transfer agreements CCM holds with colleges and universities across the state and nation. CCM has more than 170 transfer agreements to ease the process for students who want to earn an associate then a bachelor’s degree. More than 70 percent of CCM graduates transfer to earn their bachelor’s degree within three years of graduation – enrolling in schools from New Jersey’s top colleges and universities to the Ivy League.
“CCM has made it a priority to develop transfer agreements with other institutions to ensure our students can seamlessly continue with their higher education,” notes Kari Hawkins, Coordinator of Transfer Services & University Partnerships. “We are delighted to receive this recognition as additional proof of the high-quality education and support services students receive at CCM so they can meet their educational goals.”
Besides its success at transferring students to other colleges, CCM also enrolls many students each year who begin at another institution and then decide the community college is a better fit for starting their higher education.
Along with this latest distinction from Intelligent, the college earned several other national and state rankings in 2022. Included among those, CCM was selected as a Top 10 Community College in the U.S. by the Lumina Foundation, rated the Best Community College in New Jersey by Best Accredited Colleges, and #1 For associate degree graduates in New Jersey who earned the Best Salaries by Payscale, a distinction it has received for five consecutive years.
The college is currently enrolling students for the Spring 2023 Semester. Don’t delay; enroll today so you, too, can benefit from exceptional higher education and support services designed for your success. Click here for more information.
EAST HANOVER — The East Hanover Police department is expressing gratitude to the community for the overwhelming, generous response to this year’s toy drive that they orchestrated to benefit the kids at Goryeb Children’s Hospital.
The East Hanover Police posted, “A special thanks to two local businesses, New Adventure Toys & Games and Silver Fox BJJ of East Hanover, who donated above and beyond!”
They needed a convoy of police vehicles and trailers to transport the toys due to the number of toys donated. The toys donated not only help during this holiday season but throughout the year for birthdays, treatment days, or any day to help a child through a hard time.
MORRIS PLAINS — Morris Plains resident Bethany Schwager was Named MPAC’s Volunteer of the Month. This recognition program is designed to shine a light on the many individuals who contribute their time and energy toward making MPAC and the MPAC customer experience successful.
Bethany joined the MPAC Volunteer Program in 2016. She is one of the many faces behind our concession stands at performances. Bethany has supported MPAC during some of our busiest shows, which involves serving our patrons quickly and efficiently. Her ability to stay calm during very complicated and unplanned situations has been an asset to MPAC. In 2020 Bethany introduced us to her daughter, Aubrey, who is also now a volunteer with us, adding a new, dynamic mother-daughter duo to our team.
“Bethany and I have had to handle some surprising situations together, and she has made it look like everything is running as planned,” said Eric Pach, MPAC’s Front of House Director. “We are grateful to have such a genuinely hard-working woman as a part of our concessions team!”
“I volunteer because I enjoy being involved in my community and supporting the arts,” said Bethany Schwager. “I value my connections with the staff and fellow volunteers and always look forward to time spent at MPAC.”
For more information about MPAC’s volunteer program, please click here.
Morris Focus was founded in 2017 and is published in print and online formats. Its mission is to provide timely and accurate news coverage to Morris County residents and promote community engagement and involvement. The newspaper covers various topics, including local government, education, business, and sports. We can be reached by calling (973) 559-6000—a member of the Parsippany Area Chamber of Commerce and the Morris County Chamber of Commerce.
Contact us: [email protected]
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