MORRIS COUNTY — Legislation sponsored by Senators Joe Pennacchio and Anthony Bucco to pay tribute to former Morris Plains Mayor and Morris County Freeholder Frank Druetzler for his 38 years of laudable public service, by ceremoniously renaming a local rail station in his honor, has passed the Senate Transportation Committee.
Senator Joe Pennacchio
“I have had the pleasure of working with Frank for more than 20 years,” Pennacchio said. “Frank is a pillar of the community, and his numerous accomplishments in Morris Plains are a testament to his hard work. He always put people before politics. Renaming the train station in Frank’s honor is a fitting way to pay tribute to his legacy.”
Pennacchio and Bucco’s bill, S-3449, would ceremoniously designate the Morris Plains rail station as the “Frank J. Druetzler Station – Morris Plains, New Jersey.”
Druetzler, a Morris County native, began his distinguished career in civil service as a member of the Morris Plains Borough Council. In 1986, Druetzler was elected Mayor of Morris Plains and later to the Morris County Freeholder Board.
Druetzler also served as councilman for six years, freeholder for 15 years, and mayor for 32 years.
His achievements include initiating a Memorial Day parade, “Family Day,” the town bonfire, and “Uncle Frank’s Fishing Contest.” Under his leadership, Morris Plains opened a Community Center, a borough museum, and erected the Morris Plains September 11, 2001 memorial. As Freeholder, he pushed and succeeded in preserving open space, building a new county library as well as a new county jail.
“Frank always puts everyone else before himself – he is the epitome of a selfless community servant,” Bucco said. “His success and popularity throughout Morris Plains and Morris County speak volumes. Renaming the station is a meaningful way to recognize the wonderful and historical impact he made on behalf of our residents.”
MADISON — Wilkes University student Ivy Kusi, a graduate of Madison High School participated in a LEAP-AB trip to the Carolina Tiger Rescue in North Carolina. LEAP-AB stands for Leadership, Education, Advocacy, and Partnerships-Alternative Break, coined by student leaders in 2016.
Kusi and other students donated their time at the tiger rescue, doing work which addresses animal welfare issues. Activities include general sanctuary maintenance including daily animal care tasks and the building of new enclosures.
About Wilkes University:
Wilkes University is an independent institution of higher education dedicated to academic and intellectual excellence through mentoring in the liberal arts, sciences, and professional programs. Founded in 1933, the university is on a mission to create one of the great small universities, offering all of the programs, activities, and opportunities of a large, research university in the intimate, caring, and mentoring environment of a small, liberal arts college, at a cost that is increasingly competitive with public universities. In addition to 47 undergraduate majors, Wilkes offers the doctor of nursing practice, doctor of education and doctor of pharmacy degrees and more than a dozen master’s degree programs, including the master of business administration and master of fine arts in creative writing. Learn more at www.wilkes.edu
HANOVER TOWNSHIP — The Elizabeth Ann Seton Knights of Columbus #6904 resurrected their annual St. Patrick’s Day Party after being dormant for three years on Saturday, March 16. The festivities kicked off with a prayer from Deacon Vincent Lobelo followed by a delicious meal of corned beef, cabbage and all the trimmings served by the Knights of Columbus at the Parish Hall of Our Lady of Mercy Church in Whippany.
Bob Peters, winner of the best dressed Leprechaun with Ralph Cetrulo.
Father Paddy O’Donovan (this year’s grand marshall of the Morristown St. Patrick’s Day Parade) provided a prayer and then sang Danny Boy to a crowd of over 170. “We are thrilled with this year’s turnout and are very gracious for Our Lady of Mercy Church providing the venue, which we are sure will become a tradition here in Whippany,” commented Ralph Cetrulo, this year’s co-chair along with John Monahan.
The Knights of Columbus is the world’s largest Catholic fraternal service organization. Founded by Michael J. McGivney in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1882, it was named in honor of the explorer Christopher Columbus.
The Order is still true to its founding principles of charity, unity and fraternity.
MORRIS COUNTY — Former Riverdale Councilman Gary Mastrangelo has endorsed Veteran, Educator, and Republican Leader William Felegi of Lake Hopatcong in the Republican primary for Morris County Freeholder. Prior to moving to the Lake Hopatcong section of Jefferson Township in 2016, Felegi lived in Riverdale, where he served on the Republican County Committee and as a member of the Riverdale Public Library Board of Trustees.
“I am proud to support my good friend William Felegi for Morris County Freeholder because I know he’s a principled, hard-working, and honest leader who will put Morris County first. During his seven years as a resident of Riverdale, Will brought energy and enthusiasm to our local Republican Party and served our community as a member of the Riverdale Public Library Board of Trustees,” Mastrangelo stated.
Mastrangelo also praised Felegi’s commitment to public service.
“Whether it was as a Sergeant in the National Guard or spending countless hours volunteering to support Riverdale’s library, Will has demonstrated a true commitment to service above self. It’s that belief in service to others that will make him an extraordinary Freeholder,” he declared.
Felegi thanked Mastrangelo for his endorsement and said he looks forward to earning the support of Morris County voters.
“I am extraordinarily honored and grateful to receive the endorsement of my friend Gary Mastrangelo. I also thank Gary for his years of service on the Riverdale Borough Council. I look forward to earning the support of residents in all of Morris County’s thirty-nine municipalities,” he said.
MADISON — Morris County Park Police Officers executed a motor-vehicle stop for an equipment violation in Morris Plains on March 10.
An investigation revealed the driver, Jose A. Marin-Gonzalez, 40, of Morris Plains, to have a warrant for failure to appear in Madison Joint Municipal Court.
BOONTON —When the federal government capped state and local tax deductions at $10,000, small business owners, whose revenue is passed through as personal income, took a huge hit. In response, Assemblyman Anthony M. Bucco helped propose a new plan that would allow small business owners to deduct their income from federal taxes, protecting them from the SALT cap’s blow to their bottom-line.
“The federal $10,000 cap on state and local tax deductions took a toll on property-tax payers,” said Bucco (R-Morris). “And it also took a toll on many small business owners that file under the state income tax. New Jersey is already the most expensive and unforgiving place to own a business. We need to do all we can to help.”
The bill (S3246), which cleared the Assembly Appropriations Committee today, helps S corps and limited liability companies with a tax credit to shift tax obligations from the owners of the business to the business itself.
Owners would calculate their share of profit and multiply it by the tax rate they would pay on that profit; 5.25 percent between $1 and $250,000, 6.37 percent between $250,000 and $1 million, 8.97 percent between $1 million and $3 million, and 10.75 percent on income over $3 million. The credit would equal 100 percent of each owner’s taxed share of revenue.
“We should be making every effort to make New Jersey small-business friendly, and this change will provide much needed relief for many of New Jersey’s job creators,” said Bucco.
The tax change is retroactive to January 1, 2018. It passed the Appropriations committee today 9-0.
MORRIS COUNTY — Each year, Morris Arts offers two scholarship opportunities for graduating high school seniors who have exhibited artistic excellence in dance, drama, music, or visual arts and plan to pursue post-secondary studies at an accredited institution or acknowledged arts school or fine arts program. The Elaine Ehlers Arts Scholarship, in the amount of $5,000, and The Eugenie Coladarci Arts Scholarship, in the amount of $1,500, were created to recognize artistic excellence, encourage the artists of the future, and to celebrate the value of the arts to the human experience.
Morris County high school seniors graduating in June 2019 who are currently attending public, private, or parochial school or who are home schooled in New Jersey were eligible. Applicants must also (a) be Morris County residents, (b) plan to pursue post-secondary studies at an accredited institution or acknowledged arts school or fine arts program, and (c) have demonstrated artistic excellence in any one of four arts disciplines: dance, drama, music, or visual arts.
The Elaine Ehlers Arts Scholarship was established in 2002 in memory of Elaine Ehlers (1953-2001), a health-care administrator by profession, who had a voracious appetite for all things artistic and musical. She derived intellectual and emotional sustenance from the arts and supported programs at many museums and musical institutions. By establishing this scholarship, an enduring legacy has been created to reward those who possess artistic talent and who plan to further their arts education.
This year’s Ehlers Scholarship winner, dancer Leah Suskind , is a graduating senior at the Morris County School of Technology/ Academy for Visual and Performing Arts and, next fall, will pursue a Bachelors of Fine Arts as a Dance Major at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. A Finalist Winner for the National Dance Education Organization Artistic Merit, Leadership, and Academic Achievement Award, a three-time winner at the Teen Arts Festival (County College of Morris) and winner of numerous scholarships, overall awards and judges’ awards for competition dance, Leah received scholarships from Rutgers Pre-College Dance Conservatory, Ballet Forté, and the New Jersey Dance Theatre Ensemble. Additionally, she has pursued training at the highly competitive Summer Intensives / Programs at Juilliard, NYU Tisch Summer High School Dance Program, Carolyn Dorfman Dance Company, RIOULT, the Rockettes, Bailar Al Sol Dance Festival, West Side Dance Center, NextStep Dance Company and has performed at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. One recommendation cited Leah’s “command of multiple genres” and her “creativity and technical skill in dance” while another stated, “As a dance professional for over 30 years, there have only been a few students whom I would highly recommend for seeking a dance career and Leah is one of them.” For her application, she performed both “competition” style work and her original work, Illuminate. She choreographed Illuminate “in honor of one of my younger brothers who was recently a victim of an anti-Semitic hate crime at our synagogue’s Holocaust Remembrance Service late April.” The work eloquently communicated Leah’s “sadness for the past and hope for the future” and the panel found her performance deeply moving, technically demanding, artistically mature and exquisitely executed.
The Eugenie Coladarci Arts Scholarship was first awarded in 1999 in memory of Eugenie R. Coladarci, who was Vice President of Marketing and Public Relations at Chase Manhattan Bank and an active member of Morris Arts for eleven years. She was completing her first term as Board Chair when she passed away in 1997. As a statewide champion of the arts, Genie encouraged the development of young artists and believed in the value of the arts to the quality of life. The idea of a scholarship to assist talented young people wishing to continue their study in the arts was very important to her.
Sophia Grace Donelan
This year’s Coladarci Scholarship winner is soprano Sophia Grace Donelan, a graduating senior at Villa Walsh Academy, who hopes to pursue a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance at a major conservatory and, eventually, to become a professional opera singer With extensive training in voice, acting and dance, Sophia qualified for the 2018 summer Boston University’s Tanglewood Institute Young Artists Vocal Program where she studied voice, music theory, music history, diction, movement/bodywork and art song recitals, sang the role of Frasquita in the “Card Trio” from Carmen, soloed in the West Side Story Medley, sang for the Master Class with Mezzo Kelly O’Connor and performed with the BSO Chorus under John Williams. A National Semi-Finalist in the High School Division/Classical Singer Music Vocal Competition, she was also a National Finalist in the New York Lyric Opera Vocal Competition (High School Division). One recommender stated “I believe this lovely young lady has the beautiful instrument, musical intelligence and emotional fortitude to become a great singing actor.” Another states, “In my forty plus years of teaching and conducting, I can say without reservation that Sophia is truly exceptional!”…The panel felt Sophia was far more advanced and well trained than most singers her age. Impressed by her refined and skilled performance of challenging repertoire in three languages, panelists noted her beautiful tone quality, accurate intonation, clear diction, breath control, well-shaped phrasing, wide dynamic range as well as her understanding of and ability to expressively convey the meaning of the texts she sang.
The panel also felt strongly about awarding an Honorable Mention to acknowledge the accomplishments of multi-instrumentalist, prize-winning composer and outstanding bassoonist, Matt Wisotsky, who is a graduating senior at West Morris Mendham High School. According to one recommendation, “he has proven to be one of the finest young musicians I have encountered in over forty-five years of teaching.”
The winners were introduced at the Thursday, March 14 opening reception for the new exhibit, seeing the unseen, featuring works by ten outstanding artists and guest curated by Greg Leshé, in the Gallery.
Morris Arts, located in Morristown, is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1973 dedicated to building community through the arts. Using the arts to inspire, connect and engage, Morris Arts serves as a resource for Morris County with a special focus on arts programming in the schools and in the community, arts advocacy, creative placemaking and support of the Morris Area community of artists and arts organizations.
TRENTON – Governor Phil Murphy, Senate President Steve Sweeney, Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, Senator Scutari, and Assemblywoman Quijano announced an agreement on the broad outlines of legislation to legalize adult-use marijuana in New Jersey.
“Legalizing adult-use marijuana is a monumental step to reducing disparities in our criminal justice system,” said Governor Murphy. “After months of hard work and thoughtful negotiations, I’m thrilled to announce an agreement with my partners in the Legislature on the broad outlines of adult-use marijuana legislation. I believe that this legislation will establish an industry that brings fairness and economic opportunity to all of our communities, while promoting public safety by ensuring a safe product and allowing law enforcement to focus their resources on serious crimes.
“This plan will allow for the adult use of cannabis in a responsible way,” said Senate President Sweeney. “It will create a strictly regulated system that permits adults to purchase limited amounts of marijuana for personal use. It will bring marijuana out of the underground market so that it can be controlled, regulated and taxed, just as alcohol has been since the end of Prohibition. This plan will also advance important social justice reforms to help reverse the discriminatory impact that drug laws have had on diverse communities.”
“The agreement reached to legalize adult-use cannabis is the result of incredibly hard work by many people over many months,” said Speaker Coughlin. “Getting to this point wasn’t easy. We talked and we negotiated in good faith, but most importantly, we listened. I want to thank Governor Murphy and Senate President Sweeney for their tireless efforts and willingness to compromise so we could put forth the most responsible legislation possible. I believe this new, regulated industry will help boost our economy, but I’m particularly proud of the critical social justice components included in the bill.”
“The prohibition on marijuana has long been a failed policy,” said Senator Nicholas Scutari. “This plan will bring an end to the adverse effects our outdated drug laws have had on the residents of our state. As a regulated product legalized marijuana will be safe and controlled. It is time to legalize adult use marijuana in New Jersey and this is a well crafted legal reform that will advance social policy in a fair and effective way.”
“After months of discussions and debate, I am proud that we have come to an agreement on a bill to legalize adult-use cannabis,” said Assemblywoman Annette Quijano. “We learned from stakeholders and listened to opponents. The final product is fair, responsible and focused on social justice. I want to thank Speaker Coughlin for his leadership in the Assembly and express my gratitude to Governor Murphy and Senate President Sweeney for partnering with us in this daunting endeavor.”
Under the terms of the agreement, adult-use marijuana will be subject to an excise tax of $42 per ounce, which will be imposed when marijuana is cultivated. In addition, municipalities that are home to a cultivator or manufacturer will receive the revenue from a 2% tax on the product within their jurisdiction. Municipalities that are home to a wholesaler will receive the revenue from a 1% tax on the product within their jurisdiction, while municipalities that are home to a retailer will receive the revenue from a 3% tax on the product within their jurisdiction.
Adult-use marijuana will be governed by a Cannabis Regulatory Commission, composed of five members. Three members will be appointed by the Governor, with the Governor’s initial appointments to serve terms of at least four years and not be subject to Senate confirmation. Two other members will be appointed by the Governor, upon the recommendations of the Speaker and Senate President. The Commission will promulgate all regulations to govern the industry and will oversee the applications for licensing of adult-use marijuana dispensaries.
Provisions in the bill establish an expedited expungement process for individuals convicted of low-level marijuana offenses, and a virtual expungement process that will automatically prevent certain marijuana offenses from being taken into account in certain areas such as education, housing, and occupational licensing. Additionally, there are a number of provisions that aim to ensure broad-based participation in the industry for Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (M/WBEs), low- and middle-income individuals, and disadvantaged communities across the state.
Final text of the legislation will be released in the coming days, subject to pending technical edits.
MORRIS COUNTY — Meet Charlie and Max, six-year-old Golden Doodles! These giant lovebugs can’t wait to find their forever home together!
Max
Charlie and Max have a bit of extra “fluff” right now and weigh 120 and 128 lbs each. Their size matches the size of their hearts though as these guys are full of love to give!
They were born into the same litter and purchased together by their previous owner who could no longer care for them. We are so happy they are with W.A.R. now so they can find their real forever home!
They are both potty trained and know some basic commands.
They are very strong on the leash and will need someone who can work with them on this.
Charlie
They have lived with dogs of all sizes and are suitable in a home with children 13 and up due to their size.
Charlie and Max love running around playing, as well as snoozing on top of you on the couch!
If you’re looking for double the love, apply to adopt Max and Charlie today!
If you are interested in adopting Charlie and Max, please fill out an application by clicking here.
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MORRIS COUNTY — The maker movement in the United States isn’t just a hobby; it’s having a significant impact on school curriculum development and growing local economies. To celebrate making and maker culture, residents throughout New Jersey will come together on Friday, March 22 and Saturday, March 23, in libraries, schools, museums, colleges, makerspaces, businesses, and other community locations.
NJ Makers Day is designed to be a statewide event that celebrates, promotes, and in many cases may introduce maker culture, as well as the values associated with making, tinkering and STEM-based learning. In 2017, NJ Makers Day drew over 85,000 individual attendees to more than 300 participating sites across all 21 counties in the state. Participating locations included schools, colleges and universities, libraries, museums, and other educational organizations.
Makerspaces across the state are having a significant impact on education and job skills development by providing access to people, information, resources, and tools that facilitate making to a wide variety of skill levels. NJ Makers Day allows communities to share hands-on programming opportunities, demonstrations and displays, and the expertise of the individuals and organizations that make, create, and develop right in their own backyards.
“We are ecstatic to be able to bring this type of programming to the Morris County community,” said Mark Sutherland, Manager of Morris County Park Commission Historic Sites. “We are committed to finding ways to help people learn new skills and to work collaboratively on exciting hands-on projects.” Cooper Gristmill in Chester Township and Historic Speedwell in Morristown are proud to be participating sites for New Jersey Makers Day on March 22 at the Cooper Gristmill, and March 23, 2019 at Historic Speedwell! Community members of all ages are invited to attend for two exciting days filled with activities focusing on maker culture.
At both sites, visitors will have the opportunity to use their critical thinking and decision making skills to bring their bright idea to the real world. At Historic Speedwell, participants will be given startup (fake) money to buy resources to make their invention, as well as create marketing for it.
At Cooper Gristmill, participants will have a similar experience, however, instead of marketing, they will complete a patent for their invention based on the current US Patent Office application requirements. Using Legos, Lincoln Logs, K’nex, pipe cleaners, and other building supplies, participants can form whatever idea they wish to bring to life!
For more information, please contact Maressa McFarlane at (973) 285-6537 or visit www.morrisparks.net. Cooper Gristmill is located at 66 Route 24, Chester. Historic Speedwell is located at 333 Speedwell Avenue, Morristown.
