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Female Body Pulled from Jersey City Reservoir

By
Frank Cahill
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Parsippany Rescue and Recovery

BOONTON — The body of an adult female who police said jumped into the Jersey City Reservoir was recovered by dive teams and a state police chopper Sunday evening. The dive team was lead by Parsippany Rescue and Recovery.

The female allegedly jumped into the water near Washington Street — which runs over the water near Reservoir Drive.

A search of the area by dive teams and a state police thermal imaging camera helped to locate and remove their body from the water near Knollwood School, where emergency vehicles were staged. The body was recovered approximately 9:45 p.m.

Emergency Vehicles were lined up near Reservoir Tavern

Morris County Sheriff’s Crime Scene, Morris County Prosecutor’s Office, Parsippany-Troy Hills Police, Morris County Sheriff’s K9 Unit, Morris County Office of Emergency Management (with a drone), Town of Boonton Police, Boonton Township Police, Parsippany Volunteer Ambulance, Rockaway Neck Volunteer Ambulance, Saint Claire Paramedics, Lake Hiawatha Volunteer Fire Department District 4, Bergen County Scuba Regional Task Force, Lincoln Park Fire Department, Montville Fire Department, Boonton Township Fire Department all responded to the scene.

The person was pronounced dead at the scene. The Jersey City Reservoir is a 700-acre reservoir located between Boonton and Parsippany-Troy Hills. The reservoir provides water for Jersey City. On September 28, 2018, officials from Jersey City and the Morris County Park Commission announced a plan to create a nature preserve and 7.7-mile (12.4 km) educational-hiking trail around the reservoir that will allow for passive recreation while protecting the water supply with additional security measures.  Phase 1 of the trail is expected to be completed by 2021.

In March 2019, a body was found floating in the reservoir, eventually identified as Boonton resident Sean Stohl who had been reported missing since November 2018.

Alexander Rothschild named to Union College Dean’s List

By
Frank Cahill
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FLORHAM PARK — Alexander Rothschild was named to the 2020 Dean’s List at Union College.

Rothschild is a member of the Class of 2020 majoring in Mechanical Engineering.

Comprised annually, the Union College Dean’s List honors students who have a grade point average of 3.5 for the entire academic year and meet certain other requirements.

Union College, founded in 1795 as the first college chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, offers programs in the liberal arts and engineering to 2,100 undergraduates of high academic promise and strong personal motivation.

Union, with its long history of blending disciplines, is a leader in educating students to be engaged, innovative, and ethical contributors to an increasingly diverse, global and technologically complex society.

Opera at Florham tenors to salute Pavarotti

By
Frank Cahill
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FLORHAM PARK – Opera at Florham invites the public to come out of quarantine during the Novel Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic to enjoy an afternoon of beautiful, with an opportunity dinner with “Our Three Tenors, A Tribute to Luciano Pavarotti,” at 2:00 p.m. Sunday, September. 20, in Rod’s Steak and Seafood Grille in the Conservatory of the Madison Hotel at 1 Convent Road at Morris Township.

“In this ever-changing time of COVID, Opera at Florham is delighted to present our Musicale in a temporary venue — the beautiful Conservatory located in Rod’s at the Madison Hotel,” Opera at Florham President Joan Del Giudice said. “The optional three-course dinner, being served outside under a tent, begins at 4:00 p.m.”

Del Giudice suggested, “Come out for an afternoon break, wear your best mask, practice social distancing, and enjoy selections from famous operas, Broadway and the American Songbook sung by tenors Theron Cromer, Matthew Cerillo and Jacob Rivera.

Madison Rotary Enters New Era

By
Frank Cahill
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MADISON — The Rotary Club of Madison, a social welfare service organization, has been serving local and global communities since 1923. Also over the past 33 years, the Rotary Club of Madison Foundation has successfully carried out humanitarian projects, such as End Hunger 3.6, to help fight food insecurity locally. The two entities have merged after a year-long unification process to streamline governance, administrative and financial development operations.

“Madison Rotarians have used their passion, energy, and intelligence to take action on sustainable projects and have raised and given away more than $2 million to worthy causes, including scholarships to Madison students,” said Rotary President Tayfun Selen.

Liz Parker of Harding Township, executive editor and co-publisher of this newspaper, and Joe Smith of Morris Township finished their 2019-20 terms with distinction as Board President of the Club and Foundation, respectively.

Morris County Freeholder Tayfun Selen of Chatham Township was inducted on June 25 as President for 2020 – 21 of the newly merged organization. The Madison Rotary’s leadership team this year also include President-Elect Carol Martorana of Madison, Vice President Doug Willis of Madison, Treasurer Dave Farrell of Florham Park, Secretaries Barry Kroll of Madison and Tanya Van Order of Morris Township, Immediate Past President Liz Parker, and Board Members Joe Smith, Ed Kalinka of Florham Park, John Hogan of Madison, Amul Modhera of Morris Township, Pat Rowe of Madison, Jeff Kraft of New Providence, and Jeff Andrew of Basking Ridge.

Founded in 1905, Rotary is the world’s most prominent global humanitarian organization, with 1.2 million members focusing on local and global initiatives, such as fighting diseases, promoting peace, growing the local economy, and supporting youth and education.

Outgoing club president Liz Parker remarked that for 95 years, “Madison Rotarians have used their passion, energy, and intelligence to take action on sustainable projects and have raised and given away more than $2 million to worthy causes, including scholarships to Madison students.”

New Rotary President Selen added, “As a 501 (c)(3) charity, the Madison Rotary is now better positioned to engage community partners and attract donors, so we can make much bigger impacts in meeting the ever-increasing needs of our community.”

“This is an exciting time for the Madison Rotary as we work together to help our community during these challenging times and meet our commitments to help our long-standing partner organizations,” Selen observed. “We invite business professionals and community leaders who are interested in making a positive difference to join us.

Click here for more information.

Freeholder Selen Continues to Fight for Reimbursement of JCP&L Customers

By
Frank Cahill
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Morris County Commissioner Director Tayfun Selen

MORRIS COUNTY — Morris County Freeholder, Tayfun Selen demands that JCP&L reimburse their Morris County Ratepayers.

“First and foremost, thank you for your kind words and encouragement last week regarding my strong criticism of JCPL and their incompetent response to recent storms.

“It’s 15 days post-storm now, and I am not done fighting.

In other parts of New Jersey, utility company PSE&G has started to reimburse ratepayers for food and medicine that went bad during the power outage.

“CONED, a utility company in NY has been doing the same.

“What has JCPL done? Nothing!

“Frankly, I’ve received countless calls and emails from seniors, single moms, and small business owners across the county who suffered a real hardship due to these unacceptably long power outages. JCPL must be held accountable.

“JCPL made over $380 million in profit in the first six months of the year and the CEO made $9 million last year. It’s time for JCPL to put people before profits and do the right thing by their customers in Morris County.

“If JCPL won’t do it voluntarily, then the Board of Public Utilities needs to do their job and protect ratepayers.

“Enough is enough. If you have your own story about getting screwed by JCPL, call my cell phone at (973) 222-0484.”

Morris County Announces Grants for Local Businesses

By
Frank Cahill
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MORRIS COUNTY — The Morris County Freeholders are pleased to announce that small businesses in the county will share in the $15.3 million in Coronavirus, Aid, Relief and Emergency Security (CARES) Act funding the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) has made available to select businesses in 12 counties that did not receive direct aid from the federal government.

The limited grant program is earmarked for business owners in Morris and 11 other counties – Atlantic, Burlington, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Hunterdon, Mercer, Salem, Somerset, Sussex, and Warren – that did not get any direct federal CARES Act funding because it was predicated on counties meeting specific population requirements.

Grants are to be provided to businesses that had already applied as of the July deadline for aid through the NJEDA’s Small Business Emergency Assistance Grant Program.

“We are pleased to announce, along with our chamber partners, small business assistance for Morris County. We urge the EDA to increase funding for this program, as has been done for Passaic and Essex counties. While the EDA’s effort to boost our small businesses is a good start, we need to do more for businesses and employees in New Jersey,” said Freeholder John Krickus.

From small retail outlets to service providers and restaurants, Morris County entrepreneurs continue to struggle to stay in business under the state’s COVID19 restrictions.

“I applaud this first step by the NJEDA as one of many that must be taken to help Morris County’s family-owned stores, small businesses, and our overall economy during this crisis. As the board’s liaison to economic development, I will continue to fight, along with my colleagues on the freeholder board, to ensure there is a fair distribution of this federal and state aid to the people of Morris County,” said Freeholder Tom Mastrangelo.

The Morris County Chamber of Commerce and the Morris County Hispanic-American Chamber of Commerce (MCHACC) also expressed gratitude that Morris County businesses are receiving grants.

“Latinos are playing a critical role in driving our economy through outsized new business growth in Morris County. Helping the small Latino businesses and their employees will tolerate the effects of the economic impact of COVID-19,” said Esperanza Porras-Field, President Emeritus & Founder of the MCHACC.

“The Cares Act Funding for grants will be a big relief for small business owners that are struggling. The Latino community is opening more small businesses than anyone else in the United States and become the fastest-growing business owners across the country, she added.”

Hispanic-owned businesses employ more than 3 million people, according to the 2019 State of Latino Entrepreneurship report by the Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative (SLEI), and account for about 4% of U.S. business revenues and 5.5% of U.S.

“Small businesses are vital to the economy of Morris County which overall produces over $50 billion in GRP and thousands of jobs, tax revenue, and desired goods and services, and these businesses have been disproportionately affected during this health and economic crisis,” said Meghan Hunscher, President of the Morris County Chamber of Commerce and Morris County Economic Development Corporation.

“We are grateful that the NJEDA will allow businesses in Morris County to access the CARES Act funds. Since continued cash flow is a concern, we also strongly encourage the Governor to consider reopening businesses in portions of the state where the virus is clearly under control and in a way that can keep customers safe to make sure businesses survive this pandemic,” she added.

The NJEDA created its Small Business Emergency Assistance Grant Program in March to provide financial assistance to certain small and medium-sized businesses and non-profits that needed payroll and working capital support because of the adverse impacts they suffered under restrictions imposed due to the COVID19 pandemic. The program focused initially on certain targeted industries that were the most adversely impacted and offered reimbursement for lost revenue as a result of business interruption.

The NJEDA has a newly created Small Business Dedicated Team. More information on that team can be found by clicking here.

For information on the State’s COVID-19 resources for businesses click here.

To learn more about the NJEDA click here.

Morris Prosecutor: Santander Bank ATMs Theft Investigation

By
Frank Cahill
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Santander Bank

MORRIS COUNTY — Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp and Acting Chief of Investigations Christoph Kimker has announced that the Prosecutor’s Office have joined the investigation into a series of thefts from Santander Bank ATMs located within Morris County.

The Prosecutor’s Office is investigating in conjunction with several other agencies, including the FBI, State Police, Morris County Sheriff’s Office and Park Police Department, and municipal police departments in Parsippany, Boonton, East Hanover, Long Hill, Rockaway Borough, Denville, Montville, Randolph, and Wharton.

At this time, there is no reason to believe customer accounts were compromised and that only the financial institution was victimized.

Numerous defendants have been charged in Morris County in connection to this investigation, which is ongoing.

Inquiries should be directed to Public Information Officer Meghan Knab at [email protected] or by phone at (973) 829-8159.

Morris County to Replace Intervale Road Bridge in Parsippany — Detour Required

By
Frank Cahill
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Intervale Road bridge in Parsippany will be replaced. Four-month project will require detours

MORRIS COUNTY — Morris County is set to start work during the week of Monday, August 31 on replacement of the Intervale Road bridge in Parsippany, a span that crosses a tributary of Troy Brook.

The tiny county-owned span will be closed to traffic for about four months, with motorists facing a one-mile detour. Signs will be installed to guide traffic on alternate routes in both directions, employing Intervale Road and Lake Drive.

This is one of a series of bridge projects currently being undertaken by county government across Morris County.

“This may be a small bridge but it is very important to county residents who use it every day, and we must maintain it,’’ said Freeholder Stephen Shaw. “It is part of the county’s continuing effort to ensure that we provide safe and first-rate infrastructure for county residents and businesses.’’

The $726,360 Intervale Road bridge project will include replacement of the existing structure and both roadway approaches. Sparwick Contracting of Lafayette Township in Sussex County, the lowest responsible bidder, will be the contractor on the project, which is being financed by the Morris County government.

Intervale Road bridge carries as many as 600 vehicles daily. The original stone masonry arch bridge was built about 120 years ago, estimated at 1900, and then widened and reinforced in 1940.

The bridge, bordered by guide rails on both sides, is just six-feet long and 31-feet wide. It carries two lanes of traffic in eastbound and westbound directions. While a bridge evaluation report lists the bridge in overall “fair” condition, the original stone arch has been deteriorating. It will be more cost-effective to replace the bridge rather than continue increasingly costly maintenance.

Morris County is moving ahead on many bridge projects this summer, taking advantage of lighter traffic during the COVID-19 crisis to get work done with less impact to the motoring public.

Ongoing Morris County Bridge Projects:

  • Jefferson Township: Russia Road bridge replacement
  • Dover: East Blackwell Street bridge replacement
  • Mt. Olive/Netcong: Waterloo Road bridge replacement
  • Rockaway Township: Valley Road bridge replacement

Completed 2020 Morris County Bridge Projects:

  • Washington Township: Schooley’s Mountain Road bridge
  • Rockaway Township: Chestnut Terrace Bridge
  • Morris Township: Mill Road bridge in Morris Township

Morris County Secures More Than $7 Million in Aid for COVID-19 Response

By
Frank Cahill
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0
Morris County Administrator John Bonanni speaks at a news conference with New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy at Vasa Park in Mount Olive to announce federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security funding

MORRIS COUNTY — The Morris County Freeholders are pleased to announce that more than $7 million in federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) funding has been directed by Governor Phil Murphy to assist Morris County with continued COVID-19 testing and reimburse it for costs already incurred in its diligent response to the pandemic.

The funding includes $3,819,380 in reimbursement dollars for expenses Morris County incurred as of June 30 and which were not covered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) dollars, insurance, or other funding. An additional $357,500 is earmarked to continue testing operations until December and $2,915,033 to support the testing of vulnerable and priority populations moving forward.

Gov. Phil Murphy speaks with Morris County freeholder director Deborah Smith, left, and deputy director Stephen Shaw

“This funding it critical to Morris County’s ability to continue combating this devastating pandemic with the same responsible, direct, and forceful effort we mobilized when the virus first hit us,” said Freeholder Director Deborah Smith.

“Morris County went from being one of the most seriously impacted areas in the state to having one of the lowest virus-spread rates in the state because of our rigorous, organized response, which included proactive budgeting and spending adjustments so we did not dig the county into a financial hole,” Freeholder Smith added.

Morris County’s extensive response included, among other actions, opening a testing center, monitoring the virus spread, direct aid to food pantries, partnering with health providers, and providing infrared thermometers to community and faith-based groups.

“In early March we were planning for a prolonged health emergency. We bolstered our health and human services, focused our county resources on fighting the pandemic, and worked closely with our local health officials and medical providers. Our efforts included retaining additional public health staff, boosting our stockpile of personal protection equipment, and launching a testing site without state aid. We have now pivoted to assist in recovery with the formation of a COVID-19 Recovery Task Force,” said Freeholder Deputy Director Stephen Shaw.

“The task force continues to address the needs of community organizations, businesses, and help with the mental health effects of the pandemic. This grant dovetails with some of those initiatives, and we look forward to offering more testing support to our towns, businesses and communities as we pull through this crisis together,” added Freeholder Shaw.

Morris County, along with 11 other counties, received no direct CARES Act funding from the federal government this past spring because direct aid was predicated on a requirement a county have a population of at least 500,000 residents. Morris County missed that threshold by a mere 8,000 residents, while nine other counties, two of which barely met the population requirement, shared in $1.05 billion in direct aid.

Morris County freeholders flagged the population requirement as arbitrary and urged the Governor in April to provide Morris County with a share of $2.4 billion the State of New Jersey received from the CARES Act.

The freeholders’ request was supported in a joint letter by Republican State Sen. Anthony Bucco, Democratic State Sen. Dick Codey, and Democratic U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill. They argued it is unfair to deny aid to some counties and give millions to others, particularly when the counties have virtually the same populations.

They also noted the pandemic’s impact on Morris County residents last spring was much higher than in other counties that each received nearly $90 million or more indirect aid.

“We want to thank the state and Governor Murphy for this grant. We also need to acknowledge that we were very fortunate to have had the support of Senator Bucco, Congresswoman Sherrill, and Senator Codey advocating the Governor’s Office to secure this funding,” said Morris County Administrator John Bonanni.

“Without question, their joint efforts helped the Governor to recognize how inequitable a rigid population requirement was in determining the distribution of financial aid in New Jersey, which has been hardest hit, second only to New York, by the pandemic,” added Administrator John Bonanni.

The new funding provides opportunities for the county to conduct at-home testing programs and work with municipal health officials to establish scheduled mobile testing sites. A more detailed plan is already in development and will be available in the near future.

The freeholders and administrator joined Governor Murphy earlier today in announcing the new grant at an event at Vasa Park in Mount Olive.

For more information on the initiatives taken by Morris County to address COVID-19 since February and other significant announcements about the virus in New Jersey click here.

Madison Democrats are For Opening Up Responsibly

By
Frank Cahill
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MADISON — Madison Democratic candidates for Madison Borough Council, former Councilman Bob Landrigan of Green Village Road and Councilman John Hoover of Overhill Drive, express support for the careful reopening of businesses and for the measures that the town and community have taken to help those impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The candidates stated: “The health of our residents and those who work in town and the long-term health of our commercial sector requires a responsible reopening. We all want to get back to ‘normal’ with businesses thriving and people back to work, but the last thing we want to see is a re-imposition of restrictions as we are seeing in states like Arizona, Texas, and Florida – states that reopened too quickly and are now seeing record rates of new infections and fatalities. It’s great to see Madison cautiously and steadily reopening after weeks of ‘sheltering in place’.”

“The Madison Community Pool is now open, retail stores can open for indoor shopping, and the Madison Public Library provides for curbside pickup and limited indoor browsing,” Bob Landrigan observed. “Residents can also visit salons and barbershops; the Farmers’ Market is open every Thursday at Dodge Field; and the METC summertime concerts have begun. “And thanks to the efforts of Borough Director of Business Development Lisa Ellis and the Council’s resolution of June 8, residents can now enjoy outdoor dining at Madison’s great restaurants. The June 8 resolution provides for temporary changes to the borough’s enabling 2015 Sidewalk Dining Licenses ordinance – an ordinance I voted for when I was last on Council.

We had all hoped that indoor dining would shortly follow outdoor dining, as the governor had originally planned. Outdoor dining helps our restaurants and is certainly more enjoyable for patrons than take-out, but our restaurants still look forward to serving diners indoors. Unfortunately, the national resurgence of the virus and too many incidents of crowding and partying in homes, bars and restaurants within the state – the most egregious being a late July ‘mansion party’ in Jackson Township where an estimated 700 people had gathered without any regard for social distancing or mask-wearing – forced Governor Murphy to scrap any indoor dining plans for the immediate future.”
New Jersey is Now at Risk for a Covid-19 Outbreak

As of August 18, the virus infection rate, which had been as low as 0.65 in early May is now just under 1.0 in the state. This means that every existing case transmission will result in approximately one additional new case. Consequently, New Jersey, which had been identified by the group COVID ActNow as being on track to contain the contagion back in mid-June is now described as being “at risk of an outbreak.” Morris County is doing better than the state as a whole. With an infection rate at .88, the group stated that Covid-19 is “spreading in a slow and controlled fashion” in the county.

John Hoover continued “That’s good, but not good enough, and so Bob and I both ask that everyone in Madison please continue to adhere to social distancing guidelines and wear a mask whenever you cannot socially distance, particularly when you are indoors. If everyone does their part, we can yet contain the contagion and again enjoy dining indoors at Madison restaurants.

When I ran for Borough Council in 2017, the revitalization of our downtown business district was a priority for me. And it happened. Madison’s downtown was bustling coming into 2020. Vacancies were almost nonexistent. And then Covid-19 arrived here in March and everything came to a screeching halt.

But the mayor and council quickly responded. We enacted a series of measures, referred to as the Covid-19 Crises Response Toolkit which included: extending the borough’s targeted $200 electric rebate to those residents who were recently furloughed or had their jobs terminated due to the contagion; implementing a $400 electric rebate for businesses designated as non-essential and had to close, and those that have seen a major downturn in their revenues due to the lockdown; and suspending any utility disconnects and interest payments for non-payment.”

“The broader community responded as well, just as it did following Superstorm Sandy,” continued Bob Landrigan “The Madison, NJ Small Business Recovery Grant Program was created by the Madison Main Street Foundation and the DDC the support of the Madison Area Chamber of Commerce to mitigate the severe economic damage caused by the global Covid-19 pandemic to our local business community. The goal was to raise a minimum of $200,000.00. By mid-July, they were on track to raise $190,000 and 54 Madison businesses have received grants ranging between $2,500 and $4,000.

In addition, the volunteer Front Line Appreciation Group (FLAG) purchased meals from local restaurants to feed health care workers during the height of the crises. Between March 19 and June 24, the group delivered 31,670 meals to local front-line workers. Hundreds of Sewing Angel volunteers produced and delivered 35,000 masks and 7,500 scrub caps to more than 150 medical facilities, nursing homes, assisted-living facilities, shelters, and other nonprofit organizations. Weekend Meals for Students has raised more than $75,000 for grocery store gift cards to go to vulnerable families. And these are just a few examples of how the Madison community has pulled together to get us all through this crisis.”

The candidate concluded, “We look forward to the day when we can again see a fully vibrant downtown. Hopefully, this will come sooner rather than later, but it will only happen if we are fully vigilant; we all continue to social distance and wear our masks; and the virus is fully contained. Continued strong leadership and our wonderful community coming together will give us the support we need until we see that day.”

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