MORRIS COUNTY — The County College of Morris’ (CCM) Art Gallery is pleased to announce the latest exhibition, “Fragile Attachments and the Space for Repair,” featuring the works of two New Jersey artists, Alaine Becker and Gail Winbury.

The exhibition runs from November 25, through January 27, 2020. The CCM Art Gallery is located in the Sherman H. Masten Learning Resource Center on CCM’s Randolph campus, 214 Center Grove Road. A reception, free and open to the public, will be held Thursday, December 12, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. The CCM Art Gallery is open Monday through Friday 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

“Fragile Attachments and the Space for Repair,” examines and dissects the artists’ personal stories and traumas. Becker and Winbury create a new world in which bodies and emotions, spaces and memories are fragmented, chopped up, and reassembled into a new milieu that exists between real experiences and imagined scenarios. The world they portray is the world of women, their wrestling with aging and death, as well as discrimination, stereotype, body image and sexuality.

Most of the pieces in “Fragile Attachments and the Space for Repair” are works on and with paper, unframed and fragile. Either executed in human scale or as intimate deconstructed and flattened dioramas, the works are pinned to the wall and left to hang. These delicate pieces are contrasted with large, bold canvases. This formal duality bleeds into the conceptual complexity of the works. The pieces effortlessly shift between figurative images and pure abstractions that resemble organic forms. Whichever technique the artists decide to utilize, Becker and Winbury use it with appropriate combination of scientific precision and intuitive gesture.

Becker holds a BFA from The State University College at Purchase. She has been awarded The New Jersey State Council on the Arts Fellowship and a Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation Fellowship. She attended a residency in the Vermont Studio Center and the Virginia Center for Creative Arts. Among other venues, Becker exhibited in Ben Shahn Gallery at William Paterson University, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Sussex County Art Gallery, the Pierro Gallery in South Orange, The Drawing Rooms in Jersey City, The Paul Robeson Galleries at Rutgers University, The Visual Arts Center of New Jersey in Summit and Seton Hall University Law School in Newark.

Winbury holds a Psy.D. from the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology and studied painting at the School of Visual Arts. She attended a residency at the School of Visual Arts, Manhattan and a Visual Art Fellowship at the Bau Foundation in Otranto, Italy. Winbury received an Artist Residency in Arad, Israel from the Jewish Federation and a Castle Hill Center for the Arts residency in Truro, Massachusetts. Her work has been seen in both the Jersey City and Trenton City Museums. She also has exhibited at the Village West Gallery, Drawing Rooms, Bethune Center and St. Peters University, The College of St. Elizabeth, William James College in Newton, Massachusetts and OTA Contemporary in Santa Fe, New Mexico and other venues. Her work is collected in the United States and Europe.

For information on the academic programs offered through the Art and Design department at CCM click here.

MORRIS COUNTY — The Landscape and Horticultural Technology (LHT) Program at County College of Morris (CCM) will be holding its annual Holiday Poinsettia Sale in early December.

Red, white, pink, burgundy and assorted bi-colored poinsettia, both large and small, will be available in 4.5 inch to 7.5 inch pots, along with various hanging basket arrangements. Prices range from $3.00 to $16.00 and bundles are available for multiple purchases. Proceeds from the plant sale benefit the educational activities of the CCM Landscape Club.

The sale takes place Monday, December 2, and Tuesday, December 3, from 11:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the LHT greenhouses. The greenhouses are located near Parking Lot 1 on CCM’s Randolph campus, 214 Center Grove Road.

For more information, contact (973) 328-5363 or [email protected]. To learn more about the LHT degree and certificate programs at CCM click here.

MORRIS COUNTY — Business and community leader Paul Ho-Sing-Loy, Chief Information Officer for Lakeland Bank, has been named Chair of the 2020 Meadowlands March for Babies.

Paul knows how important it is to fight for the health of all moms and babies. “As a father and grandfather, I can’t think of a more important cause,” he says. “When you March for Babies, you make a statement that you want to live in a world in which healthy moms and strong babies are a priority for us all.”

Recently, in recognition of Prematurity Awareness Month this November, Paul participated in a tour of the Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in Hackensack. He was joined by Greater NY/NJ Board of Trustees member, Eli Manning, members of his Executive Leadership Team, Josh and Brett Lurie of Wilmington Paper Corporation and other community leaders. Paul states, “There is no better way to fully understand the impact of premature birth then to see it first hand and meet the families affected.”

“When you participate in a March for Babies, you’re helping to tackle the biggest health threats facing moms and babies, such as those these families have experienced,” says JoAnn Bartoli, Associate Executive Director for March of Dimes.  “We’re thrilled to have Paul serve as our local March for Babies chair. He shares our commitment to moms through every stage of the pregnancy journey, even when everything doesn’t go according to plan. Moms and babies are facing higher risks than ever before. March for Babies is a day for everyone to help change that by coming together and participating nationwide.”

March of Dimes gives 4 million babies born each year the best possible start. Nearly half a million of them are born prematurely or with birth defects. Premature birth and its complications are the largest contributors to infant death in the U.S. and pregnancy-related death has more than doubled over the past 25 years.

Paul Ho-Sing-Loy is asking local businesses and community leaders to join him in support of March for Babies. “Near 200 babies are born prematurely each week in New Jersey and that is not acceptable,” He says. “March of Dimes empowers families with programs, knowledge and tools.”

Last year Meadowlands March for Babies raised more than $460,000 in North Jersey and Paul Ho-Sing-Loy wants to surpass that in 2020. He has made the commitment to surpass the event goal of $500,000. Every March for Babies participant can make a huge difference for families. Anyone interested in joining a walk near them or the virtual walk can register by clicking here.

MORRIS COUNTY — Rodney Frelinghuysen has endorsed Aura Dunn, his former aide, tor the state Assembly seat vacated by Anthony Bucco.

Frelinghuysen who left the political scene since his departure from Congress in January, sent a letter dated November 14 endorsing Dunn to replace Anthony M. Bucco in the District 25 seat.

Dunn is one of six candidates vying for the seat at a GOP convention Thursday, November 21 at County College of Morris. (Click here for related article).

MORRIS COUNTY — The Morris County Sheriff’s Office received a staggering 398 suggestions of names for Belgian Malinois and Labrador Retriever puppies that were donated to the K-9 section.

Names that will carry them with dignity and fidelity throughout their careers as police dogs have been chosen for two endearing puppies donated to the Morris County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Section.

One suggestion in particular stood out when the Sheriff’s Office solicited potential names for the 5-month-old female Belgian Malinois and 10-week-old male Labrador Retriever on its Facebook page.

From the submissions, two entrants suggested the dogs be named in memory of Dover Town Police Officer Arthur J. Ohlsen, III, and Mount Arlington Police Officer Joseph S. Wargo, who both died in the line of duty.

In honor of the two Officers, the Belgian Malinois has been named JoJo, after Officer Wargo. The Labrador Retriever will answer to Odie, which was Officer Ohlsen’s nickname on the police force.

“Officers Ohlsen and Wargo are still remembered and very much missed. Naming these beautiful dogs who are partnered with Morris County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Detectives for them keeps their spirits alive within the law enforcement community,” Morris County Sheriff James M. Gannon said.

END OF WATCH FOR OFFICER OHLSEN: Tuesday, December 30, 2003.

Officer Ohlsen, an 18-year veteran of the Dover Police Department, was struck by a New Jersey Transit train under the Salem Street overpass in Dover as he directed fire apparatus to the scene of a blaze on the tracks and tried to ensure that people known to congregate by the tracks were not in danger.

END OF WATCH FOR OFFICER WARGO: Sunday, October 16, 2011.

Officer Wargo was struck in his patrol vehicle on Route 80 in Roxbury Township by a driver who admittedly was impaired on drugs. Despite efforts by police and emergency medical technicians to save him, Officer Wargo died. The driver pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter and in 2013 was sentenced to 20 years in state prison.

Officer Ohlsen’s son, Trevor Ohlsen, is a Morris County Sheriff’s Officer.  A second son, Arthur Ohlsen IV, is a former Morris County Sheriff’s Officer who now is a Parsippany-Troy Hills Police Officer.

“I think this is an amazing tribute to my father. Both my family and myself want to thank the Morris County Sheriff’s Office and everyone that voted for naming of the new K-9 puppies after him,” said Officer Trevor Ohlsen.

Officer Wargo’s widow, Amy Wargo, said she was deeply touched by the gesture and that she still has two pugs she shared with her husband before his death eight years ago.

“This is really special. It shows that Joe has not been forgotten. He would be over the moon about it,” said Amy Wargo.

Two people suggested during the Sheriff’s Office Facebook contest that the dogs be named after Officers Ohlsen and Wargo.  They are now-retired Dover Police Officer Tim Thiel and resident Eric Budinger.

The hundreds of submissions showed a great sense of fun, wit, thoughtfulness, and even scholarship. There were some duplications – Lola and Titan were suggested more than a dozen times – and many people wanted the Retriever to grow up with a human name, like Walter, Sherman, Steve or Jack.

Prince and King also were favorites. Other submissions called upon mythology with the names Thor, Zeus, Artemis and Apollo. Other proposed monikers were a bit long: Captain McPuppyface Good Boy and Commander Floppy Eared Booper Nose.

Some suggested names associated with law enforcement: Justice, Badge, and Honor.

Both puppies made their first visit on November 6 to the Hodes Veterinary Group in Mine Hill Township to have their weight, eyes, teeth, fur and overall health checked.

The male Labrador weighed in at 13.1 pounds. His handler is Morris County Sheriff’s Office K9 Section Detective John Granato, who already has begun training the Labrador in explosives detection through odor recognition exercises.

The Belgian Malinois weighed in at 36 pounds. She is handled by Morris County Sheriff’s Office K9 Section Detective Marc Adamsky, who will train her in search and rescue and accelerant detection.

The specialized training will take up to six months before certification occurs. But both dogs will likely not start their official working careers until they are a year old and more mature.

The Labrador was donated to the Sheriff’s Office by Walter Quense, founder and trainer of on POINT-K9 in Bernards Township.  The Belgian Malinois was donated by Jeff Riccio, founder and trainer at Riptide K9 in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

Both donors have a professional relationship with K-9 Section Detective Corporal Michael McMahon. The donations will save Morris County about $12,000 that otherwise would have been spent on new dogs for the K9 Section.

The K9 Section, which provides services to all 39 municipalities in Morris County, responds to more than 1,000 calls annually that include patrols, searches for missing people, fires, narcotics investigations and sweeps of public areas, festivals, concerts and large gatherings for explosive devices.