MORRIS COUNTY — County College of Morris (CCM) recently was recognized by two key state business groups for its excellence in preparing students and employees to meet the needs of industry and for serving as an educational leader and valued business partner.

Recently the college was presented with an Industry Leader Best Practice Award by the Commerce and Industry Association of New Jersey (CIANJ). This marked the second year in a row CCM received a CIANJ Best Practice Award. Once again, the award recognized CCM for the strength of its programs offered through its Center for Workforce Development and the construction of an Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering Center, slated to open in 2010.

A panel of judges, including Dale Caldwell, executive director of the Farleigh Dickinson University Rothman Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship; Robert Stramara, chief operating officer of the New Jersey Manufacturing Extension Program (NJMEP); Dean Paranicas, CEO of the Healthcare Institute of New Jersey and CIANJ President Anthony Russo, reviewed the submissions and selected the most extraordinary ones to be honored at the conference.

CCM President Anthony J. Iacono served as the opening keynote speaker for the awards ceremony held at Nanina’s in the Park in Belleville. During his remarks, Iacono said that the college’s success relies on the strength of its partnerships with business and industry and other organizations.

“As I like to say, CCM does great things every day, but we do even greater things with and because of our partners,” said Iacono.

Included among those partnerships is an online course the college is providing in conjunction with NJMEP to provide food safety training for employees in the food production and manufacturing industry. CCM also is the lead organization in a consortium, supported by a $4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor, to develop apprenticeship models for the advanced manufacturing industry.

The second recognition was presented to Iacono by NJBIZ, which named him to its Education Power 50 list. One of the leading business publications in the state, NJBIZ in its September 23 issue praised Iacono for the college’s work to provide skilled professional for the manufacturing industry. In the article, Iacono noted, “Our work is to help others to do their work better.”

MORRIS COUNTY — Main 233 in Chatham graciously hosted a wine tasting event with Reasons Wine on Thursday, September 12 for the local neighborhood to participate in.

Winemaker Ned Morris spoke to a packed crowd about how he began his career as a Sommelier in Southern Australia, earned his Masters Degree in Food Chemistry and Fermentation Science, and became a winemaker in Washington State.

Ned strives to create wines that are brilliantly balanced to serve with any meal. Chef John Carrino’s passion for perfectly prepared food pairs beautifully with all of Reasons Wines.

That night, John featured a 16-ounce Berkshire Tomahawk Pork Chop (with a bourbon fig glaze),  an 8-ounce Filet Mignon (with a merlot pear reduction), and a Bone-in French Cut Chicken Breast (with a pancetta demi-glaze).

Seafood lovers chose the Blackened Pan-Seared Tuna (with a mango pineapple salsa and tropical collisions) or the Coconut Crusted Wild Salmon (with sweet chili grilled asparagus and mango ketchup). Quickly the town of Chatham is learning that John’s talent as a chef impresses everyone who dines at Main 233.

Lunch is served Tuesday through Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and dinner is served Tuesday through Sunday from 4:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

Main 233 is available for corporate events, private dining and catering. Click here for upcoming events.

MORRIS COUNTY — Morris County Sheriff James Gannon and the Sheriff’s K-9 unit will visit the Little Village Country Day School on Thursday, October 3.

Sheriff Gannon and his staff will be teaching the parents and students about safety and strangers, very important lessons.

Little Village County Day School is located at 26 West Hanover Avenue, Randolph.

MORRIS COUNTY — The CCM Center for Cyber Security, Department of Information Technologies and Cyber Security Club at County College of Morris (CCM) will be offering workshops and other events in October as part of National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, a national effort to help everyone stay protected whenever and however they connect.
The overarching theme for 2019 is, “Own IT. Secure IT. Protect IT.” and CCM is proud to be a champion and support this online safety and education initiative.

All CCM National Cybersecurity Awareness Month events are free and open to the public and take place on the college’s campus at 214 Center Grove Road, Randolph.
The kick-off takes place Tuesday, October 1, with hands-on, fun activities in the Center for Cyber Security in Emeriti Hall, Room 217, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

A session on how to “Protect Your Password 2019 Style” will be held on Tuesday, October 8, in the Center for Cyber Security, Emeriti Hall, Room 217, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.

The evening of Wednesday, October 16, will be Cybersecurity Movie Night with a film selected by CCM students. That takes place in the Student Community Center, Davidson Room B, from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

A session on virtual private networks, “Connect Safely – Use a VPN,” will be held on Tuesday, October 29, in the Center for Cyber Security, Emeriti Hall, Room 217, from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.

The closing session will be a Tabletop Cyber Stratego game. Stratego is an old board game using military pieces with the object to “capture the flag” of the other team. Cybersecurity competitions are based on this strategy and outcome. This is a great way to learn more about cyber competitions and about the field of cybersecurity.

CCM is listed as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education by the National Security Agency (NSA) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS). CCM is the first community college in New Jersey to hold that designation. The college’s certificate program in Information Security is mapped to NSA and DHS standards. Along with the information security certificate, the Information Technologies department offers degrees in computer science, information technology, game development, media technology and technical studies. Other certificate programs include web development and media technology. To learn more about the degrees and certificates that are offered, click here.

For additional information on the Cybersecurity Month events, email [email protected].

MORRIS COUNTY — Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp, Acting Chief of Investigations Christoph Kimker, and Pequannock Township Police Chief Brian C. Spring confirm an active investigation into a bank robbery that occurred this morning in Pequannock.

At approximately 10:43 a.m., law enforcement received a report of a bank robbery that occurred at the Wells Fargo Bank, 523 Route 23, in Pequannock.

The subsequent investigation has revealed that a male entered the bank branch and demanded money. The investigation has revealed that the suspect appears to be an older white male with a black beard, which is possibly fake. He was last seen wearing dark colored pants, a dark colored hooded Adidas sweatshirt with white stripes on the arms, a dark colored ball cap, and glasses.

Numerous law enforcement agencies have responded and are currently investigating this incident, including the Pequannock Police Department, the Morris County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigations Unit, the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Anyone with information about this incident, including the identity of this male, is urged to call the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office – Major Crimes Unit at (973) 285-6200 or the Pequannock Police Department at (973) 835-1700.