Registration opens Tuesday, May 3 at 9:00 a.m., and registration forms are available on the website or at the Recreation Department. Cost is $225.00 per registrant and $215.00 for each additional.
The program runs Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Participants must bring their own lunch.
MADISON — The Madison Area Chamber of Commerce is accepting nominations for their annual Extra Mile Award. This award recognizes Madison employees who provide exceptional customer service. These individuals are rewarded for their extra special friendly and knowledgeable service, which truly makes a difference in a customer’s shopping experience.
Nominations from the general public will be accepted until Friday, June 3. The winner will be invited to the Chamber’s Annual Awards Night on June 14.
“We encourage customers to take a moment to fill out a ballot in order to recognize, support, and celebrate their favorite, best retailers and service providers,” said Karen Giambra, the Chamber’s executive director.
Have someone to nominate? Please provide your nominee’s name, place of business, contact information, and the reason for your nomination.
Please email all nominations to Karen Giambra at [email protected], or mail them to Madison Area Chamber of Commerce, P.O. Box 152, Madison, NJ 07940.
Businesses are also encouraged to place nomination ballots out on their counters.
All nominations must be postmarked by Tuesday, June 3, 2022.
MORRIS COUNTY — The Parks Program, an interdisciplinary institute at County College of Morris (CCM), is venturing to Yellowstone National Park with its first-ever student group this month.
Seven CCM students were competitively selected for this once-in-a-lifetime, free opportunity to visit the national park from May 14 through May 19. They are sharing the experience with three CCM professors who are collaborating onsite to teach art history, biology, and storytelling in the amazing outdoor classroom.
“We’re very excited for this interdisciplinary trip to Yellowstone National Park that will serve as our learning laboratory,” says Dr. Brian Sahotsky, professor in the Art & Design department and one of the program organizers. “This trip in itself is not a program completion requirement but rather a capstone for students to investigate several disparate aspects of what makes the conservation of natural lands so great.”
The four-day journey begins with seeing the incredible magnitude of Yellowstone and learning the history of artists, naturalists, and explorers. Sahotsky will lead the group through Artists Point, Yellowstone Falls, and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone providing opportunities for students to journal and sketch to capture the beautiful scenery.
Later that week, Professor John Soltes, an award-wining journalist teaching in the Communication department at CCM, will provide an overview of the cultural histories and discuss the major issues facing Yellowstone in the 21st Century. “We will also meet Dr. Shane Doyle, a member of the Crow Nation, and visit one of the tribe’s ancestral spots,” says Soltes.
The itinerary also includes looking for wildlife, such as bears, wolves, bison, elk, and moose, in Yellowstone’s Hayden Valley and Lamar Valley. CCM Biology Professor Samantha Gigliotti will use her many years of experience conducting educational sessions about wildlife conservation to delve into this topic in Wonderland.
“Yellowstone National Park is one of the few places left in the United States where you can still see large mammals that once roamed the majority of our country,” says Gigliotti. “Our students will be presented with this amazing opportunity to learn about these incredible animals’ biology and life history and immerse themselves in the landscapes that support them.”
This unique adventure wraps up with seeing the Yellowstone Caldera, the supervolcano that last erupted about 640,000 years ago creating a 30 x 45-mile landform, and also visiting a variety of geyser basins including Old Faithful.
“Ever since I was a child, I’ve always been an advocate for protecting the Earth’s diverse ecosystems,” says Peter Balluffi-Fry, an International Studies major from Mountain Lakes, who will be going on the trip. “Being able to explore and learn about the national park that inspired Americans to begin protecting our country’s natural environment is what ultimately motivated me to apply. “I’m looking forward to witnessing all of Yellowstone’s natural, majestic beauty first-hand, from the Grand Prismatic to the bison and bears that call Yellowstone home.
CCM students interested in going on the trip submitted an application with an essay explaining why they wanted to travel to Yellowstone. According to Sahotsky, “It was competitive with many more applicants than slots we had available.”
CCM is currently ranked #1 in New Jersey for best associate degrees and in the top 1.8 percent of the best community colleges nationwide by Intelligent. The college continues to maintain its #1 position in the state in PayScale’s “Best Community Colleges in New Jersey by Salary Potential,” a distinction it has held for five years in a row.
To learn more about CCM click here.
MADISON — The Madison Area Chamber of Commerce businesses will be celebrating Cinco de Madison on Thursday, May 5 from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Shop and dine around the downtown business district and enjoy special discounts and incentives at participating shops and happy hour drink specials at participating restaurants.
Stop by the festive tent Chamber located in front of The Pink Pear, 42 Main Street where the first 100 people will have a chance to win prizes on the “Spin to Win” wheel. Prizes include Madison Gift Checks, products and gift cards from the local business, and other surprises.
MOUNTAIN LAKES — Annual beach tags are now available for sale from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Borough Hall, 420 Boulevard, Suite 103.
Click here and fill out the application and remember to bring identification to verify residency.
Be prepared for the season and avoid the last-minute rush by purchasing your tags early.
BONTON — As the paper and plastic bag ban in stores goes into effect, why not purchase a reusable bag and support the GFWC Woman’s Club of Boonton.
The club will receive a $1 donation from each purchase of the $3.00 reusable GIVE BACK WHERE IT COUNTS Bag at the ACME store located at 550 Myrtle Avenue, Boonton.
After you purchase your reusable bag, follow the instructions on the tag to Select The Woman’s Club as your non-profit choice. This is a great way to support the Woman’s Club and its community service projects.
The club is also looking for new members, and monthly meetings are held on the second Thursday of the month. Today’s women’s clubs meet for community service, to develop friendship, and leadership skills, and to have fun.
For additional information, email [email protected], and be sure to visit our Facebook page.
The Woman’s Club of Boonton is a non-profit, community service organization and a member of the New Jersey State Federation of Women’s Clubs (NJSFWC) of GFWC, which was founded in 1894, visit their website at njsfwc.org.
MORRIS COUNTY — Morris County Surrogate Heather Darling hosted an Open House to show off her newly renovated office suite.
The open house was attended by Senator Anthony Bucco, a representative of Assemblywoman Aura Dunn, Sheriff Jim Gannon, County Clerk Ann Grossi, Prosecutor Robert Carroll, Commissioner Director Tayfun Selen, and County Administrator John Bonanni.
Surrogate Darling gave special thanks to the teams that brought the project to fruition, specifically Buildings & Grounds, Information Technology, the designer, and her Chief of Staff, Christina Ramirez.
Reverend Herman Scott opened the ceremony with a blessing for the new office. The Surrogate’s office was temporarily relocated to a small space for several months while the office suite was taken down to the outer walls and concrete floors.
It had been over 30 years since the suite was renovated and the work was mandated by the county with the caveat that Surrogate Darling be given time in the office before renovations in order to choose the most practical layout for the office now and into the foreseeable future.
“It was time to redesign and rework the office to create an efficient workflow with easy, welcoming access for the public to our office,” said Surrogate Darling. “We added a layer of safety and security for both the public and our staff based on the U.S. Marshall’s assessment for courthouse security.”
The renovation, part of the County’s overall infrastructure maintenance, also coincides with the overall modernization efforts Surrogate Darling has brought to the Surrogate’s Office since 2020 when she became Surrogate.
The Surrogate and her team’s overall goal is to offer the highest level of customer service and respond to the needs of the community by offering easy access and convenience.
The Surrogate’s Office is responsible for the probate of Wills, oversight of the administration of guardianships of incapacitated adults, and guardianships of minors, including money management for these guardianships. The Surrogate also oversees the adoption process in Morris County.
For more information on the Morris County Surrogate’s office click here.
BOONTON — This single-family home has 1,634 square feet on a 6,098 square foot lot containing three bedrooms and one bathroom located at 211 Harrison Street. One car garage. Sold on March 11 for $419,000. It was listed by Andrea Martone, Realty Executives Platinum, and the buyer was represented by Mary Menard with Compass New Jersey.
Other Boonton (or Boonton Township) home sales:
| Street No. | Street | Sale Price |
| 211 | Harrison Street | $419,000.00 |
| 130 | Fairview Avenue | $640,000.00 |
| 28 | Miller Drive | $1,125,000.00 |
| 802 | Boonton Avenue | $525,000.00 |
| 14 | Ashwood Trail | $531,000.00 |
| 3 | Spruce Court | $975,000.00 |
| 5 | Tourne Road | $335,000.00 |
MORRIS COUNTY — With safety being paramount to Superintendent, Dr. Robert Zywicki, it is no surprise that Mount Olive Public School District has once again ranked as the safest school district in Morris County out of the 41 school districts surveyed. Dr. Zywicki made it clear that “the time and resources dedicated to health and safety are not seen as one time initiatives”, but rather the heart of all initiatives led by Dr. Zywicki and the Mount Olive Board of Education.
The Mount Olive School District continues to lead with full compliance with Alyssa’s Law, numerous panic alarm buttons throughout every school, and a distinct notification system to law enforcement. All facilities are equipped with several visual assistance (strobes) to alert the hearing impaired during an emergency. The district provides armed officers at every school during school hours and after hours, at BOE meetings, during summer school/extended school year, and at events held by outside organizations that take place on BOE property. The district has a full-time Class 3 (School Resource Officer) assigned to the High School. All of the schools are equipped with scanning devices that check visitors prior to gaining entrance to the schools. All district school security staff personnel are all retired police officers and are trained in School Resource Officer Training, CPR, First Aid/Epi-Pen, AED, Stop the Bleed, and CPI (Crisis Prevention Institute).
Mount Olive staff members are trained every year on the security manual for the district and are implementing a district-wide radio project that will enable them to contact the local Police Department directly and where schools can communicate directly with other schools by radio. All security employees wear uniforms along with visible identification cards displayed while they are working. All employees of the district are required to wear identification cards.
Cameras have been an instrumental part of the safety protocols that have made a huge impact on the Mount Olive School District. Not only does every school, bus, and the BOE building all have security cameras, but now as part of a new pilot test, cameras have been installed on the outside of four buses located underneath the stop arm. These cameras are recording continuously and the bus drivers simply press a button if they see any vehicles passing illegally when the bus is stopped. The cameras get a clear shot of the vehicle and license plate in question. That video is sent to James Carifi, the Director of Security for Mount Olive School District, who will petition for a summons for the registered owner of the vehicle, who will eventually be asked to appear in court. Since the implementation of the cameras outside the buses, there have been over 250 violations. The violators will get points on their license and a $500 to $300 fine. Dr. Zywicki and the Mount Olive BOE plan to equip the remaining 72 buses with outside cameras by March of 2022. According to the Director of Security, James Carifi, who is invested in the well being of the students and keeping the children safer, “These cameras have been a difference-maker and a deterrent to motorists, who now think twice before passing stopped school buses and putting children in harm’s way.”
Mount Olive School District continues to provide the safest and most innovative learning environment to all staff and students by prioritizing health and sanitation and meeting and exceeding all of the Covid-19 recommended guidelines.
According to Dr. Zywicki, “MOPD Chief Beecher continues to be an integral part of the safety of our community by continuously having MOPD officers available to support our schools.”
The Mount Olive School District, under the direction of Superintendent, Dr. Zywicki and the Mount Olive Board of Education will continue to prioritize health and safety moving forward, with the goal being to lead by example.
Reprinted from Morris County Focus Magazine, May 2022. Click here to view.
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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