MORRIS COUNTY —  “Today we got just a taste of what Murphy’s illegal free-for-all election will mean to the legitimacy of this year’s general election. A Passaic County judge has ordered an expensive do-over in Paterson, our state’s third-largest city, a city that disenfranchised thousands of voters in May when 20 percent of mail-in ballots were ruled invalid and candidates were charged with fraud by the state Attorney General’s Office. Looking at the mayhem that happened in Paterson, only a knucklehead would force the entire state to vote by mail.

“The state constitution clearly states that general elections are to be scheduled the first Tuesday of November, and that date may only be altered by state law. The Governor, however, thinks the virus gives him near-unlimited powers to disregard the law and decide for himself when and how the state will conduct its elections. That is why today the Trump administration, along with the Republican National Committee and New Jersey State GOP, decided to sue the governor, a lawsuit I support, and am seeking to have the Morris County GOP join.

“Morris County has a duly elected and highly capable county clerk that is charged with overseeing our election process and ultimately certifying the results. In light of the legal challenges, I am asking the Clerk to prepare to hold in-person elections, with appropriate safeguards in place, to include the possibility of outdoor, staggered voting. I would personally work with our Clerk as well as the Secretary of State, who is responsible for elections, to ensure proper social distancing protocols are followed while not infringing on our fundamental right to vote. And for those who are at-risk or feel it’s unsafe, they may request an absentee ballot, a controlled, alternative way of voting by mail that already exists.

“Morris County can handle its own fair and open elections, in accordance with the law, and does not wish to be under the thumb of our would-be dictator. However, if the lawsuit should fail, I am going further and would ask the county clerk to refuse to certify the all-mail election, as the legality of the election would be in question as would the validity of the ballots.

“There are few rights as precious as the right to vote, an exercise in citizenship Americans hold in high regard. And here in Morris County, the Crossroads of the American Revolution, we especially value the franchise given the high costs that were paid to secure that right.”

Morris County Freeholder Tom Mastrangelo

MORRIS COUNTY — Senator Joe Pennacchio continued his efforts for more information on the policies and decisions that affected resident care at State-run long-term care facilities during the pandemic. In a follow-up letter (Click here) to New Jersey Department of Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli, the Senator again sought answers from the state’s top health official.

“We keep asking questions but we don’t get answers. The Administration seems to find it easier to ignore inquiries than to face the harsh reality of what happened, and could happen again, in our nursing homes,” said Pennacchio (R-26). “The victims and their families deserve answers. Seven thousand people died and nothing is being done. Why? Doesn’t anybody care?”

Pennacchio first wrote to the commissioner on May 13 and has yet to receive a written response to his concerns.

In the recent letter, Pennacchio said the chilling commentary heard by the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee and the Assembly Aging and Senior Services Committee on August 13 made it clear the situation in the nursing homes may have been worse than first feared.

The testimony was “horrifying and heartbreaking,” Pennacchio wrote in his letter. “None of us are comfortable with the notion that elderly residents of state-run facilities may remain in jeopardy and vulnerable to another outbreak of coronavirus or some other dangerous pathogen.

“Public policy, especially when it involves the deaths of 7,000 of our seniors, demands transparency and public scrutiny,” Pennacchio’s letter concluded.

The full text of the letter is below:

August 20, 2020

Honorable Judith Persichilli
Commissioner, Department of Health
P.O. Box 360
Trenton, NJ 08625-0360

Dear Commissioner Persichilli,

It has been three months since my letter requesting clarity on how deaths of long-term care facility residents and staff due to COVID-19 are accounted for on the state’s dashboard and in other reporting.

This letter is a follow up to that correspondence of May 13. We have never received the written response that was requested.

Today, I once again seek answers and clarification as the Legislature considers action to prevent any repeat of the calamity that has already taken the lives of 7,000 seniors trusted to the care of state the state’s long-term care facilities and veterans’ homes.

The testimony provided by witnesses during the joint meeting of the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee and the Assembly Aging and Senior Services Committee was horrifying and heartbreaking.

As an elected legislator, my requests to you for information reflect the questions and concerns of thousands of New Jersey families who lost loved ones to this crisis or who want to ensure that the facilities are safe for the residents that remain.

None of us are comfortable with the notion that elderly residents of state-run facilities may remain in jeopardy and vulnerable to another outbreak of coronavirus or some other dangerous pathogen.

New Jersey state residents, many of whom were prohibited from visiting their loved ones while COVID-positive patients were quietly being introduced into unprepared and understaffed facilities.

The lack of transparency throughout the now five-month-long pandemic further contributes to the distrust and worry.

Please provide my office, on behalf of the residents of New Jersey, responses to the following:

1)      Provide clarification of how COVID deaths are calculated and attributed to LTC facilities.

2)      Explain why nursing home patients who contracted the virus in isolation and became so sick they required hospitalization and died were not included in nursing home totals.

3)      Did the State provide financial incentives to nursing homes to accept COVID patients into confined buildings full of medically fragile elderly residents?

4)   Clarify why a closed, confined space like prison was regarded as a danger to prisoners and a confined space in a nursing home, with a more frail and vulnerable population, was not.

5)   LTC staff who contracted the virus and died were not counted as LTC COVID casualties. Why not?

6)   Although the USS Comfort, the Javits Center, and other field hospitals were available, New Jersey chose not to use them. Why? Why didn’t New Jersey utilize their medical professionals?

This information will help me, as a legislator, to better understand the problems faced by health care workers and your department, and legislative options that could help save lives and ensure the health of our senior citizens.

Commissioner, public policy, especially when it involves the deaths of 7,000 of our seniors, demands transparency and public scrutiny. I would hope you agree. The question, of course, is when?

I look forward to and welcome your written response.

Sincerely,

Senator Joe Pennacchio
26th Legislative District

MORRIS COUNTY — Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp, Acting Chief of Investigations Christoph Kimker, and Riverdale Police Department Chief Kevin Smith announce the arrest of Alejandro Almazan, 33, Pompton Lakes.

Almazan has been charged with two counts of Sexual Assault, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:14-2b, crimes of the second degree; Endangering the Welfare of Children, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:24-4a(1), a crime of the third degree; and Lewdness, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:14-4b(1), a crime of the fourth degree.

It is alleged that on August 9, 2020, the 11-year-old female victim had a private soccer lesson with the defendant.

The defendant is known to the victim as he is her coach through the Ramapo Youth Soccer Association.

During the lesson, the defendant had the victim jog with him to a private area within Independence Field in Riverdale. During this time, the defendant contacted the child’s intimate body parts over her clothing.

The victim also disclosed that the defendant pulled up his shorts and exposed his penis to her.

Prosecutor Knapp would like to thank the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Sex Crimes/Child Endangerment Unit and the Riverdale Police Department, whose efforts contributed to the investigation of the matter. Anyone with information relating to this incident is encouraged to call Det. Lydia Negron of the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office at (973) 285-6213 or the Riverdale Police Department at (973) 835-0034.

MORRIS COUNTY — Table of Hope, with the support of local officials and other organizations serving Morris County, will be holding another food distribution event at County College of Morris (CCM) on Saturday, August 29 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in Parking Lot 1 on the CCM campus.

Along with distributing food, backpacks with school supplies will be available for children to help them start their year off strong. All Morris County residents are welcome to come for the distribution. Visitors are asked to use the college’s Dover Chester Road entrance. Face coverings are required for everyone who comes to campus.

The distribution will provide individuals and families with fresh produce, meat, dairy, canned goods, and other groceries. It will operate as a contactless drive-through event with cars stopping at different food stations categorized by food type where volunteers will place bags or boxes into automobile trunks. There also will be a station to distribute backpacks with school supplies. CCM hosted a similar event for Table of Hope this past June. Serving as volunteers and welcoming speakers at that event were New Jersey First Lady Tammy Snyder Murphy, Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill, State Senator Anthony M. Bucco, and Freeholders John Krickus and Stephen Shaw.

Shortly after COVID-19 struck, Rev. Dr. Sidney Williams, pastor of Bethel Church of Morristown, converted the Table of Hope bus that was used to pick up food so it could be utilized for mobile food distribution. Williams is the founder of the Spring Street Community Development Corporation that operates Table of Hope and other programs to improve the lives of individuals and families in Morris County.

Assisting Table of Hope with this latest distribution are Morris County Sheriff James M. Gannon, a CCM graduate, the Morris County Board of Chosen Freeholders, and approximately 40 volunteers, including numerous CCM employees and students. Serving as sponsors are the Morris County Chamber of Commerce, Morris Habitat for Humanity, the Girl Scouts of Northern New Jersey, Market Street Mission, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. Pi Theta Omega Chapter, Valley Bank, and Alstede Farms.

“We are delighted to partner with CCM so that we can reach a greater number of Morris County residents,” said Williams.

“While the past five months have been difficult and challenging for so many, it’s also been so very heartwarming to see how the Morris County community has come together to help those in need,” said Dr. Anthony J. Iacono, CCM president. “The CCM community is proud to call Morris County home. We’re delighted to partner once again with Table of Hope and Morris County’s Freeholders, Chamber of Commerce, Sherriff’s Office, and others to host this event, along with providing staff and students to serve as volunteers. As community organizations, we are all committed to doing all we can to strengthen the communities we serve.”

“Morris County is blessed to have folks who don’t hesitate to pull together when others are in need, during this time as the COVID-19 pandemic lingers,” said Morris County Sheriff James M. Gannon. “I am honored and humbled to work with County College of Morris, its President Dr. Anthony Iacono, Table of Hope and Rev. Sidney Williams and his wife, Teresa, and the Morris County Board of Freeholders for a second time on easing the burden on families by providing food to them.”

“The great work being done by Table of Hope and other food pantries in Morris County has been exemplary,” said Morris County Freeholder Kathy DeFillippo, liaison to the county’s Human Services agencies. “Without their dedication, many people in our county, who have lost their jobs due to COVID-19, would be hard-pressed to feed their families. We strongly back their efforts.”

In March, Table of Hope began operating weekly mobile food distribution programs in Morristown, Parsippany, and Dover, along with additional grocery supply events in other Morris County communities. Prior to COVID-19, its pantry in Morristown served about 65 people weekly. The number now being served each week at each mobile distribution event averages 500 to 600, reports Teresa Williams, executive director of the Spring Street Community Development Center. To date, more than 18,500 individuals and families have been helped and over 899,300 pounds of food has been distributed.

Table of Hope also operates a soup kitchen that during the pandemic has continued to provide dinners as take-out service.  Table of Hope receives food from the Community Food Bank of New Jersey in Hillside, local farms, and foodservice companies. To volunteer or make a donation, visit the Spring Street CDC by clicking here.

Along with Table of Hope, numerous other services are available to assist residents in Morris County’s 39 municipalities who are in need of food. A list of available food services, including food pantries, volunteer shopper organizations, meal delivery services, and take-out meal services click here.

MORRIS COUNTY — Morris County Surrogate sends a letter to Governor Phil Murphy and Robert Asaro-Angelo regarding “Discriminatory action against people with disabilities.”

A copy of the letter is printed verbatim.

Governor Phil Murphy
225 W. State Street
Trenton, NJ 08608

Robert Asaro-Angelo
Commissioner, Department of Labor and Workforce Development
1 John Fitch Plaza
13th FL Suite D
Trenton, NJ 08625-0110

Dear Governor Murphy and Commissioner Asaro-Angelo:

Having a daily and weekly regimen plays a key role in the life of New Jersey’s citizens with disabilities. Equally important is the sense of purpose and well-being they feel when they have a job that bestows responsibility upon them and allows them to make a genuine contribution to society through employment.

On March 15, 2020, a letter was disseminated by Robert Asaro-Angelo, the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development, ordering all Extended Employment programs to cease on or before March 17, 2020. As a result, 2,750 members of the special needs community who worked in the many extended employment facilities throughout NJ were sent home to their families or group homes to languish.

In total, 2,750 individuals and their families have been impacted by the Labor Commissioner’s letter. Most of these jobs were in light manufacturing which remained open throughout the pandemic to employees without disabilities. The manufacturing processes of these Extended Employment entities serve a multitude of businesses throughout the state of New Jersey including multiple telecommunications, manufacturing, food, and cosmetic companies that cannot go without these critical parts of their supply chain. As a result, temporary workers are staffing the facilities normally staffed by members of special needs community.

In short, almost 3,000 members of the special needs community from the state of New Jersey are being discriminated against by being kept from their jobs; jobs that remain open and are being temporarily filled by other staff members until the members of the special needs community are permitted to return to work.

The special needs community has been historically and routinely discriminated against,
particularly in the area of employment. Now, programs designed to allow a group of protected citizens to enjoy participation in and contribution to society along with the rest of the population; as well as the feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction that comes from an honest day’s work have been taken away from them. What makes this even harder to accept is the fact that the discrimination, in this case, comes from the state, the very entity that should be protecting the rights of people with disabilities. The undersigned, on behalf of the disability community, would like to know how this discrimination can be justified by the state.

New Jersey’s special needs citizens deserve to be afforded equal protection of their civil rights, on par with their peers, including the very basic right to work.

The nonprofit community rehabilitation programs that provide employment for people with disabilities are in the best position to protect the people with disabilities they serve while also fostering their continued growth, sense of self-worth, and well-being. The community rehabilitation programs responsible for these services have put in place lengthy and detailed protocols and best practices with regard to COVID-19 that have been reviewed and supported by a variety of disability and public health professionals.

Although the initial intent was to protect, the harm to members of the disability community as a result of the continuation of this discriminatory policy far outweighs the benefit at this time. In light of the above and the Americans with Disabilities Act the undersigned, on behalf of the disabilities community, petition the Labor Commissioner and Governor Murphy to lift this discriminatory mandate and allow the special needs, citizens of the state of New Jersey, to exercise their constitutional right to pursue life liberty and happiness.

Morris County Surrogate Heather Darling

Click here to download a copy of the letter.

MORRIS COUNTY — The Morris County Board of Freeholders have passed a resolution unanimously asking the Governor and state Legislature to reject a primarily mail-in voting system for the November General Election, and to consider safe COVID-19 options for in-person voting, instead.

The freeholders contend the practice of an almost-100-percent mail-in-ballot election is fraught with concerns about voter fraud, voter disenfranchisement, postal delivery delays, a significant increase in election costs, and reliance on a flawed statewide voter/DMV computer registration database, plus significant delays in counting ballots.

Sending out 220,000 mail-in ballots for the July primary election resulted in a cost Morris County about $1.1 million, or an $807,000 increase compared to the 2019 primary election. Mailing an expected 370,000 ballots for the November election could almost double that cost and offer more election problems.

“Many of our residents are very upset about mail-in balloting, and have expressed their disdain about losing their choice on how to vote,’’ said Freeholder Director Deborah Smith. “The Board of Freeholders feel strongly that voter “choice” should refer to “how” to vote, not just “who” to vote for in a given election cycle.’’

Rather than mail-in balloting, the freeholders are urging the state to utilize in-person machine voting, with consideration of multiple days of voting and/or use of outdoor spaces for added safety, in conjunction with mail-in balloting.

The freeholders urge smart alternatives for in-person voting that would provide more opportunities and more days to vote, and more locations to safely vote. These options easily could accommodate the need to face coverings and social distancing.

The freeholders, in their resolution, noted that well before the COVID-19 pandemic, New Jersey law already permitted voting by mail, if a resident requested it. So, voters who are even remotely concerned about in-person voting already have the option to request a mail-in ballot, thereby enhancing voter choice.

The freeholders have sent their resolution to Gov. Phil Murphy, New Jersey Secretary of State; President of the State Senate; Speaker of the Assembly; the Morris County legislative delegation, New Jersey Association of Counties, and all other boards of freeholders across the state.

MORRIS COUNTY — Cyber scammers are trying to take advantage of the COVID pandemic by getting Morris County residents to click on an internet link with “information” supposedly sent by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), warns the Morris County Office of Information Technology.

The scammers are using the COVID-19 pandemic to find creative ways to weaken your defenses.

In this instance, a supposed CDC email includes the following intense subject line: “NOTICE OF CLOSING YOUR FACILITY AND DISINFECTING THE AREA – BY NCDC WH 20982 COV-19 Due To Recent Coronavirus COVID-19 Pandemic.”

You are instructed to download an attachment that is supposedly a letter from the CDC claiming they will close your workplace. If you download the file, however, you will find that it is actually a malicious program designed to gain access to your organization’s sensitive information.

How to beat the bad guys:

• Think before you click. These malicious actors are playing with your emotions and this threat relies on panicked clicking.
• Never click a link or download an attachment from an email you weren’t expecting. Remember, even if the sender appears to be from a legitimate organization, the email address could be spoofed.
• If you receive a suspicious email that claims to be from an official organization, such as the CDC or World Health Organization (WHO), report the email to the official organization through their website.

Stop Look Think – Don’t be fooled!

Get more information on COVID-19 scams from the Federal Trade Commission by clicking here.