MORRIS COUNTY — Stephen M. Somers, owner and president of Vigon International, a leading manufacturer within the flavor and fragrance industry, delivered the keynote address at Centenary University’s 144th commencement on Saturday, May 11. The ceremony was held under a large tent on Anderson Field on the University’s Hackettstown campus.

Somers, who was awarded an honorary doctor of humane letters at the event, has been recognized as the E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year in manufacturing for the greater Philadelphia area, and his firm recently earned its third consecutive spot on the “Best and Brightest Companies to Work For” list compiled by the National Association for Business Resources. A part owner of the New York Yankees Triple A team, Somers and his wife, Sharon, are the lead donors of Centenary’s new baseball complex dubbed “Our Diamond of Dreams.” He holds a master’s degree in analytical chemistry from St. John’s University and a bachelor’s degree in organic chemistry from St. Joseph’s College.

During the ceremony, 505 graduates received associate, bachelor’s and graduate degrees. A hooding ceremony for students earning graduate degrees, including the University’s first doctoral class, was held on Wednesday, May 8, in the Sitnik Theatre. The Class of 2019 included graduates from Centenary’s main campus in Hackettstown, as well as the School of Professional Studies in Parsippany and Edison.

River Vale resident Milissa Plescia was valedictorian of the Class of 2019. She is the first non-traditional, adult student to earn this distinction in University history. The business administration major this year celebrates 30 years of working at BASF, where she is currently an administrative associate to the senior vice president of human resources North America. The mother of three attended classes at Centenary’s School of Professional Studies and graduated summa cum laude.

During the ceremony, the University also recognized Caitlin C. Wigger of Clifton Park, N.Y., and Christine DeLuca of Netcong with the Welsh Prize for academic excellence. A double major in equine studies: pre-vet and biology, Wigger was recognized with the Welsh Prize for traditional students and delivered a graduate reflection on behalf of undergraduates. She is a summa cum laude graduate. DeLuca received the Welsh Prize for non-traditional students. She earned her degree in business administration summa cum laude, attending classes at Centenary’s School of Professional Studies. In addition, Melissa Coleman of Hardwick, N.J., presented a graduate reflection on behalf of master’s candidates, while Rev. Najee S. Evans of Hillside, another member of the Class of 2019, delivered the benediction.

The Centenary University Distinguished Teaching Award was presented to Kris Gunawan, Ph.D., of Hackettstown, assistant professor of psychology. Dr. Gunawan has taught at Centenary for three years, and has earned the respect of his colleagues and students at the University. He received his doctorate from the University of Nevada, master’s and undergraduate degrees from California State University, and an associate degree from Mt. San Antonio College in California.

The Joel A. Kobert Award for Teaching, which recognizes an adjunct professor for teaching excellence, was awarded to James Stone, an adjunct professor in the Centenary University Department of Business. A resident of Randolph, he is a certified public accountant who earned undergraduate degrees from Fairleigh Dickinson University and Biscayne College/St. Thomas University in Florida. He is a vice president for BASF Americas.

Founded in 1867 by the Newark Conference of the United Methodist Church, Centenary University’s academic program integrates a solid liberal arts foundation with a strong career orientation. This mix provides an educational experience that prepares students to succeed in the increasingly global and interdependent world. The University’s main campus is located in Hackettstown, with its equestrian facility in Washington Township. The Centenary University School of Professional Studies offers degree programs at two locations, Parsippany and Edison, as well as online and at corporate sites throughout New Jersey.

NORTH JERSEY — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested thirteen immigration violators in New Jersey during a four-day surge effort that targeted aliens who have been issued a final order of removal in the past five years, have failed to depart the United States, and have received criminal convictions or have pending criminal charges.

DENVILLE — Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp, Acting Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Chief of Investigations Christoph Kimker and Chief Frank Perna of the Denville Township Police Department announce that Paul Iantosca, 52, of Randolph, has been charged with one count of Luring in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:13-6(a), a crime of the second degree, one count of Attempted Sexual Assault in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:5-1(a)(1)/2C:14-2(c(3)(b), a crime of the second degree; and one count of Endangering the Welfare of a Child, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C: 24-4(a)1, a crime of the third degree. Iantosca is the Principal at Valleyview Middle School in Denville.

These charges relate to actions Mr. Iantosca is alleged to have engaged in with a 16 year old former student.  The defendant was charged and is currently lodged at the Morris County Correctional Facility in accordance with Criminal Justice Reform.  No further information will be released at this time.

Prosecutor Knapp would like to thank the Denville Township Police Department and the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Sex Crimes/Child Endangerment Unit, whose efforts contributed to the investigation of the matter.

Anyone with information relating to these or any related incident is asked to call Detective Lydia Negron at the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office at (973) 285-6213 or Det. Scot Tobin at the Denville Police Department at (973) 627-4900 ext. 9.

Editor’s Note: An arrest or the signing of a criminal complaint is merely an accusation.  Despite this accusation, the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until he or she has been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

PARSIPPANY — NJ Insider reporter Fred Snowflack published an article about a mystery payment by the Dinsmore campaign to a “consultant” based in Wyoming. As reported by Mr. Snowflack, the address given for the “consultant” is a mail forwarding business.

Dinsmore sent a $42,000.00 payment to an entity named “Checkmate Strategies” for consulting services. The funds in question were listed as a loan from Dinsmore to the campaign on February 4, 2019. The same day the report lists a check for $42,000.00 to Checkmate Strategies located in Wyoming. There is no indication what services the payment was used for, only a reference to “consultant”. (Click here to view ELEC report)

A review of the Wyoming Secretary of State corporate filings reveals that there is no company registered under the name Checkmate Strategies at the address. In fact, there is no business registered in Wyoming at all under the name Checkmate Strategies.

This would appear to be a violation of the NJ ELEC filing guidelines. The  ELEC instructions for filing state:

“Enter the payment date, the check number, the name and address of the payee, and the purpose of the disbursement. When describing the “purpose” of the expenditure, the specific election-related reason for the expenditure must be provided, such as “newspaper advertising,” “postage,” “printing of campaign – 5 – R-1 Instructions Revised: 03/03/2017 fliers,” etc. Unsatisfactory descriptions of “purpose” would be “campaign expense,” “reimbursement,” or “operations” (NJ ELEC R-1 Forms and Instructions, Page 4-5).

Freeholders Doug Cabana, Tom Mastrangelo and Kathy DeFillippo called for an immediate investigation by ELEC of Donald Dinsmore’s deceptive April 15, 2019 report.

“ELEC reporting is intended to allow the public to see the sources of candidate funding and the places candidates are spending those funds. ELEC should immediately investigate Dinsmore’s payment to a shadow company from Wyoming” stated Doug Cabana.

When contacted by Snowflack, the Dinsmore campaign would not provide any additional information about the expense.

What is Dinsmore hiding? Why is Dinsmore concealing the true recipient of these funds and their actual purpose? NJ ELEC should demand these answers immediately.

Editors Note: There is a similar company Checkmate Action Group, LLC., at the listed address in Wyoming, and was formed on January 28, 2019, just 6 days before the $42,000 check was issued. (click here for official documentation). The address listed in Wyoming is also the address of a mail forwarding service, and a corporate registration service. Checkmate Action Group isn’t listed in a Google search, and there is no website for the company. There is a New Jersey political consulting firm named Checkmate Strategies located in Jackson. Checkmate Strategies was co-founded by Chris Russell and won numerous awards for its work. On a subsequent ELEC filing report by Dinsmore, Felegi and Winterfield for Freeholder dated May 6, 2019, an additional $13,461.94 was sent to Checkmate  Action Group, LLC at the Wyoming address for “Campaign Consulting.” Checkmateactiongroup.com was purchased on January 25, 2019, with a private registration, to hide ownership, and no website was ever built. Checkmate Action Group is not listed with the Better Business Bureau.

MORRIS COUNTY — The arts are alive in Morris County! County College of Morris (CCM) hosted the 39th annual Morris County Teen Arts Festival on Friday, May 17.  Over  1,500 students and a staff of 40 professional artists participated in performances, critiquing seminars and workshops in every discipline.  The festival disciplines included art, dance, design, drama, graphic design, music, music recording, musical theater, photography, video and writing.

The focus of the Teen Arts Festival is not on competition but on celebration. The goals of the activities is to help students: develop perceptual, intellectual, social and technical skills; gain cultural awareness and understanding; develop personal cultural and aesthetic values; and learn self-discipline, critical thinking and problem solving through analyzing, interpreting and making assessments.

Funding of the event was made possible in part by grands from Morris Arts through the  New Jersey State Council on the Arts, Department of State, Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, a gift from the Mayo Performing Arts Center and further support was made possible due to a generous contribution from Home Depot.

PARSIPPANY —Representative Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11) voted in favor of H.R. 5, the Equality Act, to extend the anti-discrimination protections under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to LGBTQ Americans in housing, education, employment, credit, public accommodation, federal funding, and federal jury service. Representative Sherrill is an original co-sponsor of H.R. 5.

“New Jersey recognized the gaps in current federal law and took steps to ensure equal treatment for our LGBTQ community,” said Representative Mikie Sherrill. “But in more than 30 states across the country, LGBTQ individuals can still be fired from their jobs, or evicted from their homes, because of who they are. The Equality Act brings federal law into alignment with what we’ve done in New Jersey, and is an important reflection of our American values. I am proud to see the bipartisan support for this measure in the House.”

“While LGBTQ New Jerseyans enjoy commonsense legal protections against discrimination, 44% of LGBTQ Americans still live in states where it is legal to fire, deny housing, or refuse service to someone simply because of who they are or who they love,” said Christian Fuscarino, executive director of Garden State Equality. “Today’s passage of The Equality Act in the House is a historic step forward to ensuring equality under the law truly means equality for all, and I am proud that New Jersey’s congressional delegation is leading the way in championing civil rights for LGBTQ Americans across the nation.”