MORRIS COUNTY — The 50th Annual Canal Day Music and Craft Festival, set for this Saturday, August 24, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. in Hugh Force Canal Park at 180 West Central Avenue, Wharton, promises to be a lively celebration of the historic Morris Canal and the rich heritage of the communities along its route.

The old-time country fair offers a day filled with music, culture, and family-friendly activities, including:

• Live Music: Enjoy performances by some of New Jersey’s finest acts across two stages, featuring Rock, Blues, Country, classical, and traditional and contemporary Irish Folk Music.
• Interactive Activities: Take free kayak rides, join a formal history boat tour, and learn the traditional craft of blacksmithing.
• Educational Exhibits: Engage with Revolutionary War and Civil War reenactors and marvel at a live animal show featuring local and exotic wildlife.
• Shopping and Food: Explore over 150 vendors offering fine art, crafts, and delicious food from local eateries and gourmet food trucks.

The Morris Canal, an engineering marvel that spanned 102 miles across Northern New Jersey, operated from the 1820s until 1924. The site at Wharton’s Hugh Force Canal Park features one of the best-preserved sections of the canal, which was critical to regional development nearly two centuries ago.

A 16-year, $4.7 million restoration funded by state and county grants revitalized a quarter-mile stretch and the only operational lock remaining from the 102-mile canal that once linked Phillipsburg and Jersey City. The lock, which once elevated and lowered boats on their journey through the canal, was fully restored in 2022, along with the adjacent stone “lock tender’s” house, which now serves as a museum.

As part of Morris County’s Cultural Resources Survey, the county’s Office of Planning and Preservation has also been actively compiling a list of the men, women, and children who earned a living on the Morris Canal.

Here are the Morris County officials and organizations participating at this year’s Canal Day:

• Morris County Clerk’s Office: Get information on the many services provided, from recording vital records to officiating marriage ceremonies and processing United States Passport applications.
• Morris County Engineering and Transportation: Discover how you can help prevent water pollution through proper stormwater management.
• Morris County Mosquito Control: Learn about mosquito habitats, life cycles, and how to reduce standing water around your home. A live mosquito display and expert advice will be available.
• Morris County Municipal Utilities Authority: Find out more about recycling and waste management programs across Morris County, and how its Water Division supplies drinking water to local municipalities and water companies while serving as the county’s key environmental resource.
• Morris County Sheriff’s Office: Meet the Bomb Squad and K9 team, with demonstrations and equipment displays. Sheriff James Gannon will also be present with Hope One, the mobile recovery access vehicle providing addiction and mental health services, along with Narcan training.

Admission to the festival is free, and $5.00 off-street parking is available. At 7:00 p.m., Robert Street Park will host a spectacular fireworks display.

Schedule of Events:

• Great Field Bandshell Musical Performers:
  • 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.: Norton Smull Band
  • 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.: The Big Noise Band
  • 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.: Sonrise Mountain Revival
  • 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.: Bootleg, The Band
  • 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.: Stone Hearth Bluegrass Band
  • 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.: Colburn and Co.
• Street Area Activities (All Day):
  • Morris County Sheriff’s Department Bomb Disposal Unit demonstration
  • Blacksmith demonstrations by William Barrett
  • Pony rides
• Park Area – Gazebo Opening Ceremony:
  • 10:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
  • 10:00 a.m.: Opening ceremony with color guard, bagpipes, and flag salute
  • 10:15 a.m.: History of the Morris Canal provided by The Canal Society of New Jersey
• Park Area – Gazebo Music Schedule:
  • 10:30 a.m.: Growing Old Disgracefully
  • 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.: Wallaby Tales Animal Show
  • 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.: Niki Briar
  • 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.: Coo Coo Cachoo
  • 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.: Long Hill String Band
  • 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.: Loretta Hagen
• Park Area Special Activities (All Day):
  • Kayak rides on the Morris Canal
  • Revolutionary War encampment and firearm demonstration by the 3rd New Jersey Regiment “Jersey Blues”
  • Civil War encampment provided by the 7th Virginia Cavalry Company A
  • Morris Canal narrated a historical boat tour on the Morris Canal by The Canal Society of New Jersey
  • Interpretation of Morris Canal Lock 2 East and Tender’s House
  • Horse-drawn hayrides
  • 11:00 a.m. and 2:45 p.m.: Civil War Small Arms Firing Demo
  • 11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., and 3:30 p.m.: Guided historical walking tours along the Morris Canal by The Canal Society of New Jersey

For more information and a festival map, visit www.canalday.org.

MORRIS COUNTY — The Morris County Board of County Commissioners invites residents of Morris County and beyond to join them on Sunday, September 8, at 6:00 p.m. in remembering and honoring those we lost in the September 11th terrorist attacks more than two decades ago.

The 23rd Annual Morris County 9/11 Remembrance ceremony will occur at the Morris County 9/11 Memorial at 460 West Hanover Avenue in Parsippany-Troy Hills. This year’s keynote address will be delivered by Dr. Brian Mignola, Deputy Chief Surgeon of the New York Police Department, who serves as the physician for over 1,500 police officers. He is also the director of a family medicine practice in the Dongan Hills section of Staten Island.

On September 11, 2001, Dr. Mignola cared for the victims on the day of the attacks and assisted with the transport of those injured or killed across the Hudson River. Nearly a quarter century later, he continues to provide ongoing care to those affected by 9/11, addressing long-term health issues and overseeing new cases as the head physician for the New York Police Department.

“This ceremony holds profound significance for Morris County as we honor the 64 friends and neighbors we lost 23 years ago in the cowardly 9/11 attacks. Our community united to create the county 9/11 memorial, which we’ve diligently maintained over the years. On this 23rd anniversary, we are honored to have Dr. Mignola join us as we gather to preserve the memory of those we lost, offer a prayer, and reaffirm our nation’s vow never to forget,” said Commissioner Director Christine Myers.

The Morris County 9/11 Memorial was constructed to pay tribute to the nearly 3,000 people killed in the attacks, with a particular emphasis on the 64 Morris County residents who perished that day. The names of all the victims are engraved on ruby-colored paving stones set in the walkway surrounding the memorial, with the names of the 64 Morris County residents listed on individual brass plates affixed atop the memorial’s inner wall.

The county’s 9/11 event will begin with a march of area police, fire, rescue, and emergency personnel, accompanied by a color guard, up West Hanover Avenue as the Police Pipes and Drums of Morris County play music. An invocation by the Reverend George Dredden of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark will accompany a lighting of candles and the traditional reading of the names of each Morris County resident who died.

The Morris Choral Society will perform songs with musical interludes by Darren O’Neill and Ereni Sevasti. The Morris County Board of County Commissioners will conduct the remembrance, joined by U.S. Representatives Tom Kean Jr., Mikie Sherill, and Sheriff James Gannon.

Seating at the Memorial is limited, so the public is encouraged to bring lawn chairs.

Parking will be available at the Morris County Department of Human Services building at 340 West Hanover Avenue, on the Morris Township side of the street. Shuttle buses will transport attendees the short distance to the memorial.

Police, fire departments, and rescue squads from across the county are invited to participate by sending one apparatus per department and assembling at 4:30 p.m. at the Morris County Public Safety Academy, 500 West Hanover Avenue, Parsippany-Troy Hills.

MORRIS COUNTY — For the tenth year, CCM has been selected to receive a College Readiness Now (CRN) X grant of just over $50,000 to increase the number of ” college-ready ” high school graduates.”

Awarded by the State of New Jersey’s Office of the Secretary of Higher Education (OSHE) the college plans to use the grant in the 2023-2024 fiscal year to continue its current programming in providing learning opportunities for needy students.

Due to the college’s incredibly successful partnerships with high schools in Morris County, participating twelfth-grade students may take a year-long equivalency course in mathematics taught by the district. Alternatively, those who are identified as not college-ready in mathematics may participate in an intense, five-week summer bridge program.

Successfully completing this on campus before enrolling as a first-year student at CCM has benefits. For example, being exempt from the college’s math placement exam and ready to take college-level math courses can save time and money.

As a top-ranked community college in New Jersey, CCM is proud to be a key participant in increasing the number of high school graduates to be “college-ready.” The college has close ties with area high schools and looks forward to further strengthening and expanding its relationships.

“We have been working with several school districts in Morris County to implement the year-long program,” says Marva Cole-Friday, Associate Director and Dual Enrollment & College Readiness Now Coordinator at CCM. “Our goal is to increase the percentage of college-ready students at CCM.”

CCM is working towards implementing a similar English as a Second Language program in hopes of increasing student success rates.

This non-competitive grant is funded by the State of New Jersey and administered by the Center for Student Success through the New Jersey Council of County Colleges, with oversight by OSHE. All community colleges in New Jersey were invited to participate, but participation was not mandatory.

For more information, contact Marva Cole-Friday, Associate Director and Dual Enrollment & College Readiness Now Coordinator at CCM, at MCole-Friday@ccm.edu, or call (973) 328-5105.

MORRIS COUNTY — The 2024 Golf Tournament of Hope marks the second annual event in New Jersey, continuing its tradition as a vital fundraiser for Lily’s Hope Foundation, which has supported preemies and their families since 2014. The event will occur on Thursday, September 26, 2024, at Knoll Country Club West in Parsippany.

The 2024 Golf Tournament of Hope will kick off with registration and breakfast at 7:00 a.m., followed by an 8:00 a.m. shotgun start for the golfers. After a morning on the course, participants will gather from 12:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. for a catered lunch, including an hour of open bar.

Golfers of all skill levels are invited to this fun-filled day, which includes breakfast, lunch, raffles, contests, and more. Early registration is encouraged, and prices will increase on September 1, 2024.

For more information and registration details, visit the Lily’s Hope Foundation website.

The event promises a day of camaraderie, competition, and support for Lily’s Hope Foundation’s mission to assist families with premature babies.

MORRIS COUNTY — He’s finished. August 20 marks the end of Sen. Bob Menendez’s decades-long political career. Forced to resign from the seat he held for 18 years after losing his party’s backing, Assemblywoman Aura Dunn says he should also lose his state pension.

“Bob Menendez used his position as a Senator to line his pockets, apparently quite literally, while doling out political favors,” Dunn (R-Morris) said. “His actions are a disgrace to the esteemed offices he occupied, and he should not receive one more tax dollar from the constituents whose trust he has finally and completely shattered.

Elected or appointed officials convicted of crimes involving their government office would forfeit their pension under Dunn’s bill (A4430). Menendez, who served as mayor of Union City and as a state assemblyman before ascending to Congress in 1993, currently draws a $1,066-per-month state pension, which he has done since 2019, on top of his $139,200 annual salary as Senator.

In July, a jury convicted Menendez on 16 federal charges ranging from bribery, fraud, obstruction, and acting as a foreign agent. Federal prosecutors accused him of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of bribes—including cash, a Mercedes-Benz, and gold—for political favors. His wife, Nadine, was also charged, but the judge indefinitely delayed her case.

In response, Democrats, including fellow New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and Gov. Phil Murphy, called for Menendez’s resignation immediately following his conviction on July 16. However, he refused and instead declared his intent to run as an “independent Democrat” when Congressman Andy Kim secured the Democratic nomination for his seat in the June primaries.

The beleaguered Senator abandoned his reelection bid by mid-August and was replaced by Murphy’s former chief of staff, George Helmy. Under the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007—a bill he voted for—Menendez will lose his federal pension.

“In his pursuit of corrupt power and wealth, he forfeited it all, including his legacy,” Dunn said. “No one who abuses his or her office in such a way should ever expect to receive benefits for a service marred by criminal acts.”

Menendez will be sentenced on October 29.

MORRIS COUNTY — The Montville Township High School Key Club is a student-led organization dedicated to community service and leadership development. Through various initiatives, the club provides students opportunities to give back to their community while developing essential skills such as teamwork, responsibility, and civic engagement. The Community Garden project is one of their many efforts to make a tangible difference in the lives of residents. The garden teaches students about sustainable agriculture and reinforces the importance of community service by providing fresh produce to those in need.

Danielle Mangione-Vasser, Secretary of Montville Kiwanis, said, “We sincerely thank the Key Club Advisors, Montville Kiwanis, and the Food Pantry Committee and Volunteers for their invaluable contributions. Their support enables the Key Club to make a meaningful impact in our community by providing fresh, nutritious food to those who rely on the Montville Kiwanis Food Pantry.”

The Montville Kiwanis Club, a local chapter of the global Kiwanis International organization, is pivotal in supporting youth leadership and community service initiatives in the Montville Township area. By partnering with the Montville High School Key Club, the Kiwanis Club helps to mentor young leaders and provide the resources needed to carry out impactful projects like the Community Garden. The club’s commitment to serving the community is evident in its ongoing support of various charitable endeavors, including educational scholarships, service projects, and local outreach programs.

The Montville Kiwanis Food Pantry is a vital resource for individuals and families facing food insecurity. Operated by volunteers and supported by donations from the community, the pantry provides essential groceries, fresh produce, and other necessities to those in need. The Food Pantry, the Key Club, and the Kiwanis Club partnership highlight the collaborative spirit that drives community service in Montville. Together, these organizations ensure that vulnerable residents have access to nutritious food, reinforcing the importance of community solidarity and support.

For more information on joining the Montville Kiwanis Club, click here.