PARSIPPANY — On Monday, April 10, Council Vice President was on his way to IHOP, 792 Route 46, Arlington Shopping Plaza to a Parsippany Area Chamber of Commerce meeting.
Upon entering the parking lot he seen a distressed dog running around aimlessly heading towards Route 46.
He immediately got out of his vehicle and approached the dog. The dog continued his path towards Route 46. This was about 6:00 p.m. and the traffic on Route 46 was heavy at the time. He was able to call the dog and the dog actually listened and came back to Mr. Peluso. Mr. Peluso was able to catch the dog and hold and pet the dog and make him feel comfortable. The dog was scared and lost at the same time.
He then approached someone in the parking lot, who obtained water for the dog, which was thirsty from running and trying to find his way home. He then read the name on the dog tag, and “Jake” had a telephone number which he called and the call went to voice mail. He then texted the individual letting them know he had the dog. A few minutes later someone called back and he explained where the dog was. The family was excited and said they were out searching for the dog for some time now, and would meet Mr. Peluso in the parking lot.
The family arrived, mom and three youngsters who was happy to be reunited with their dog and took the dog home.
The family resides in Huntington Ridge Condo off of Route 46 and North Beverwyck Road.
The family was grateful and thanked Mr. Peluso for saving the dog.
FLORHAM PARK — Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-11, will speak at the Morris County Chamber of Commerce’s Washington Update Breakfast on Friday, May 12.
The event will be held at the Wyndham Hamilton Park hotel, 175 Park Avenue, Florham Park, costs $55.00 for members and $75.00 for nonmembers.
The congressman has been criticized for not holding a town-hall meeting to talk with constituents face to face since 2013. He does attend community events in the district, and he holds telephone town-hall meetings, for which residents can sign up.
At the chamber meeting, Frelinghuysen is expected to “discuss his work in Congress, including efforts regarding health care, tax policy, security and defense, the federal budget and other critical issues,” according to a chamber announcement.
Frelinghuysen became chairman of the House Appropriations Committee in January.
The breakfast and program will be from 8:00 a.m. to 9:15 a.m. with networking and registration beginning at 7:30 a.m.
PARSIPPANY — Recently, the Parsippany Area Chamber of Commerce hosted a morning networking event titled “Email Marketing – The Good, The Bad & The Ugly.”
Ilene Greene and Ted Polmar, Principals of MarketShare Communications and BizCircles Entrepreneurs Business Network, presented this PACC Breakfast Program. Their firm specializes in marketing strategy, website development, and branding for small and middle market companies.
Everyone uses email these days – but the question is, does it really work? We are all inundated with tens or hundreds of emails every day and every week. Which ones get opened and why?
The attendees received first hand knowledge of the 10 Facts You Need to Know About Email Marketing. Some of the topics included:
Best subject lines to get opened
How good is your list
How you can use email to grow your social media following
Best times to send emails – it’s changing all the time
Is your email template responsive and why it must be
Best and most cost-effective way to reach your target audience
Ilene Greene and Ted Polmar, Principals of MarketShare Communications and BizCircles Entrepreneurs Business Network, will present this PACC Breakfast Program. Their firm specializes in marketing strategy, website development, and branding for small and middle market companies.
You can join Parsippany Area Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday, May 9 when Ilene Greene and Ted Polmar presents “Social Media & Why We All Need to Engage.”
There was a time when social media was considered by some as a passing fad. Something that “the kids” were using, that businesses could never really benefit from. Today roughly eight-in-ten online Americans (79%) now use Facebook, a 7-percentage-point increase from a survey conducted about one year ago.
Popular social platforms have become marketing giants, offering businesses valuable data about their customers and a (mostly) free way to reach them. Social media for business is no longer optional.
Come to our next breakfast on Tuesday, May 9, and learn the 10 Benefits of Social Media and why you MUST be engaged – from Main Street to the Board Room. Find out who is using social media, how often they engage and which ones. Social Media helps you get: Exposure • Brand Awareness • Customer Loyalty and more!
This event is held at IHOP, 792 Route 46. $10.00 for members, and $15.00 for non-member and includes breakfast. Click here to register.
PARSIPPANY — On Saturday, April 15, the Easter Bunny, hopped into IHOP, to visit the children having breakfast. Children had the opportunity to take pictures with the Easter Bunny and the Easter Bunny gave out candy to everyone.
IHOP waiter Daniel Arguelles with the Easter BunnyCommittee Chair of YCPO of Kiwanis Club of Greater Parsippany Karen DeChristopher visits with the Easter Bunny11 month old Lucas Amaral meeting the Easter Bunny for the first time at IHOP on SaturdayIHOP employees Cara David and Kathy Jovel and Kiwanis member Karen DeChristopher visits with the Easter Bunny
PARSIPPANY — Sedgefield Civic Association held their annual Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, April 15. The children, in age groups went into Grafton Park to collect Easter eggs.
The children at the starting line waiting for hunt for the eggs in Grafton Park
Each age group had an opportunity to find a golden egg with a silver dollar, to win a grand prize. There were over 1,200 eggs hidden in the park.
Mayor James Barberio attended and gave each child an Easter bunny and some candy. The Easter Bunny hung out for pictures with the children, then took off to IHOP, 792 Route 46 to enjoy Breakfast with the children. (Click here to read related story)
For more information on Sedgefield Civic Association, click here.
Council Vice President Robert Peluso with his son who was ready to find the Easter Eggs
PARSIPPANY — Librarians and Staff Members at Parsippany’s three libraries; Main Library, Mount Tabor Branch and Lake Hiawatha Branch were treated to refreshments on Tuesday, April 11 by members of the Woman’s Club of Parsippany-Troy Hills (WCPTH) to celebrate National Library Workers’ Day. Club members treated the staff at all three branches to desserts, chips, candy and drinks to thank them for their dedication to the Parsippany library system. Club Members were on hand to chat with the staff and thank them in-person.
National Library Workers’ Day was established in 2003 to ‘recognize the hard work, dedication, and expertise of library support staff and librarians.’
This is the third year WCPTH has supported National Library Workers’ Day. The club has a special relationship with the library, being one of its first donors in the 1960’s when the township library was established. Nationally, Women’s Clubs are credited with establishing three quarters of the nation’s libraries.
The Woman’s Club of Parsippany-Troy Hills is a member of the New Jersey State Federation of Women’s Clubs of GFWC, which is the largest volunteer women’s service organization in the state, providing opportunities for education, leadership training, and community service. The next General Meeting is Monday, April 24 at 7:00 p.m. at the Lake Parsippany Rescue & Recovery Building, 100 Centerton Drive. For more information call Cathy at (973) 984-0758, e-mail the club at womansclubofpth@gmail.com, visit their website by click here.
Meeting schedule is subject to change. Please contact Cathy, Membership Chairman, if interested in attending a meeting or to confirm date and time.
PARSIPPANY — Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook are in a statistical deadhead when it comes to college and high school students and the social media networks they use, but Snapchat and Instagram jump to a solid lead when it comes to how often they use them.
According to an online survey of 333 college and high school students conducted by SCG, a Parsippany based advertising and public relations agency, about 95 percent of students say they use the three major social media platforms, but 88 percent say they use Instagram and Snapchat often, versus 81 percent for Facebook. Twitter trails on all fronts with only 66.6 percent reporting use and fewer than 50 percent using it often. Students report lower usage of Tumblr, YouTube, and Pinterest.
Snapchat wins the battle for daily use, with 78 percent saying they use the service daily, as compared to 76 percent for Instagram, and 66 percent for Facebook. Seventy-one percent say they use Snapchat more than six times per day, and 51 percent says they are on Snapchat more than 11 times per day.
To access the full white paper on the results, click here.
“Students – mostly GenZ – are spending about 11 hours per day in front of up to five different screens. So it should be of no surprise that they are not married to just one platform,” said Michael Cherenson, SCG’s executive vice president for public relations. “Marketers and brands must be agnostic when it comes to platform. This means being open to use of several social media networks, often in unique ways.”
When it comes to Snapchat, respondents say they are most interested in keeping in touch with friends (89.5 percent) and sharing and creating videos, images and stories (56.8 percent). A whopping 49.2 percent say they return to Snapchat daily simply to maintain a Snapchat streak.
“More than half of Snapchat users say they would feel disconnected from friends if not for Snapchat, which speaks volumes about the relationship students have with the platform and their peer networks,” Cherenson said. “Almost 25 percent indicated Snapchat is essential to their relationships.”
Almost 90 percent of Snapchat users say they enjoy the GeoFilters, while 85 percent say they like the Snapchat Lenses. Students report little to no interest in ads that appear in stories.
There also is a high degree of interest in content, including “Real Stories or day-in-the-life,” “Behind-scenes videos,” and How-To videos. When asked about what brands or companies use Snapchat well, Cosmo, Buzzfeed and the Kardashians were cited most frequently.
“Brands would be wise to use the platform for storytelling, providing new and interesting perspectives, and for engaging in a thoughtful, interesting and meaningful way with students,” said Cherenson. “Cookie cutter content will be pushed aside quickly.”
About SCG Founded more than half a century ago, SCG (Success Communications Group) provides 21st century communication services highlighted by creativity, passion, and innovation. With specific expertise in public relations, advertising, marketing, social media, digital marketing, and recruitment, SCG is headquartered at26 Eastmans Road, Parsippany with regional offices in the metro areas of Philadelphia, Atlanta, San Diego, and Tampa.
As the Trump Administration’s new federal budget moves forward, I have been heartened to hear Representative Frelinghuysen’s positive statements on the importance of foreign assistance programming and these programs’ demonstrated value in improving American security and prosperity. Using only less than one percent of the federal budget, these programs comprise a critical piece of our country’s foreign policy.
We know all too well that violent extremists do not only wage their campaigns in their hometowns, their movements and attacks are global and present a clear threat to the security of Americans. While there is still much work to be done in defeating these groups, American foreign assistance investments in education and licit livelihoods have played a major role in reducing local support in other countries for extremism. Reducing this programming at this point would certainly move this effort backwards.
Foreign assistance also opens foreign markets for American business and export, both by building foreign markets for American goods and services as well as serving as a key negotiation point in discussions around taxation and regulation. In a world with increasing global competition, American businesses cannot afford to lose the benefits provided by foreign assistance programming. This is especially true as American competitors, particularly Chinese businesses, are realizing the returns from their own governments’ investments in foreign assistance.
Finally, American foreign assistance fights the spread of diseases that, through international flights and shipping connections, could easily reach the United States within days and do immeasurable damage to American lives and livelihoods. All totaled, foreign assistance is an investment that is extremely important to the security and prosperity of Americans, as well as those abroad that we reach with programming. Representative Frelinghuysen is right to question the Trump Administration’s proposed cuts to USAID and the State Department’s foreign assistance budgets.
Local Beat is the NJ News Commons’ weekly roundup of the best reporting by community news sources. THREE CRDA BOARD MEMBERS TAKE THOUSANDS IN BACK PAY, STIPENDS As many in Atlantic City are facing pay cuts and layoffs under the state’s takeover, one state authority has paid its own board members thousands of dollars in back…
PARSIPPANY — Four days after Democratic activist and candidate for governor Bill Brennan filed a citizen’s complaint against Parsippany-Troy Hills Mayor James Barberio and Business Administrator Ellen Sandman in Parsippany Municipal Court, Parsippany-Troy Hills Council President Louis Valori called a special meeting to introduce an ordinance establishing White Collar Salary Ranges.
Both defendants must appear in Morris County Superior Court on Wednesday, April 19 at 11:30 a.m.
This is clearly a salary ordinance, and not a payment ordinance.
The Ordinance, #2017:05, shall be retroactive to January 1, 2017 for all employees active on the date of introduction of this ordinance. The salary in this ordinance for Keyboarding Clerk 1 will have a minimum starting salary of $17,000 annually to $55,000 annually. (Note: A copy of the Ordinance was not available to the public during the special meeting, Parsippany Focus obtained a copy through Open Public Records Act (OPRA). Click here to see the complete White Collar Salary ranges.
Retired Police Sergeant Eugene Natoli
According to New Jersey Civil Service Commission, the definition of a Keyboarding Clerk I is “Under close supervision, performs routine, repetitive clerical work involving the processing of documents in a variety of functions; formats and key enters/types correspondence, documents, reports, charts and other materials on a computer console, typewriter, or other key entry device used by the agency; does other related duties as required. Keyboarding clerks typically spend a majority of their work time (more than 50%) typing or operating keyboard equipment. Speed and accuracy are essential for all keyboarding positions.
The complaints stem from a series of articles published in Parsippany Focus earlier this year. Barberio authorized the hiring of Retired Police Sergeant Eugene Natoli on December 19, 2016 at an annual salary of $50,000. The “Request for Personnel Action” report indicates he works in the “Administration Department” as a “Keyboarding Clerk 1.” The position is a full time, permanent position. It is evident that Mayor Barberio hired Mr. Natoli in clear violation of the law.(click here to read article).
The Personnel Action form was signed by Business Administrator Ellen Sandman.
Natoli’s Request for Personnel Action form obtained through an OPRA requestRamona (Jackie) Ortiz
Then in an article published in Parsippany Focus on March 7, “Barberio Breaks Township Ordinances Elected to Enforce, Again,” a source inside Town Hall told Parsippany Focus that Barberio hired Ramona (Jackie) Ortiz effective December 5, 2016 as a Keyboarding Clerk I, at an annual salary of $54,000.
The salary ordinance for white-collar workers, specifically Keyboarding Clerk 1, Ordinance 2016:22 states the salary is a minimum of $17,000 with a maximum of $48,000. She was hired at $6,000 more than the maximum amount allowed by Township Ordinance. It is evident that Mayor Barberio hired Ms. Ortiz in clear violation of the law. (click here to read complete Personnel Action form)
The Personnel Action form was signed by Business Administrator Ellen Sandman.
Ortiz’s Request for Personnel Action form obtained through an OPRA request
Both individuals were hired as a “Keyboarding Clerk I.” At the time they were hired the salary ordinance for white-collar workers, specifically Keyboarding Clerk 1, Ordinance 2016:22 states the salary is a minimum of $17,000 with a maximum of $48,000. Natoli was paid $2,000 over the ordinance while Ortiz was paid $6,000 over the ordinance.
Ordinance 2017:05, read on first reading on Tuesday, April 12 was voted 3-2. Council President Louis Valori and Michael dePierro voted in favor of the ordinance. In addition, Concilwoman Loretta Gragnani voted in favor of the Ordinance by telephone since she was not present at the meeting. The first reading passed 3 – 2.
Council Vice President Robert Peluso and Councilman Paul Carifi, Jr. voted against the passage of this Ordinance.
“I find it kind-of comical that we had to have this special meeting, at the last second, right after this gentlemen who you claim files this bogus claim,” Councilman Paul Carifi told Parsippany Focus. “Again, the mayor hired these people at a higher rate than what the salary ordinance allows. That is a fact. This is a knee-jerk reaction, as usual, by the mayor.”
“I’m voting with my conscience, no,” Council Vice President Robert Peluso said.
It was reported that Brennan and Barberio did not attend the special 5:00 p.m. meeting, during which Township Attorney John Inglesino read a statement accusing Brennan of politicizing township business and criticizing Parsippany Focus Publisher Frank Cahill.
“Mr. Inglesino appears to be speaking out of both sides of his mouth. On one hand he claims there is no salary cap violation but on the other, he’s recommending that the ordinance be changed now with an unscheduled, last minute special meeting. If Mr. Brennan’s complaint is bogus, why is Mr. Inglesino in such a hurry?” stated Democratic Mayoral Candidate Michael Soriano.
Bill Brennan told the Daily Record, “I am beginning a legal campaign against these lawless abusers. Inglesino is my ultimate target. I investigated the perpetrators and started with Inglesino’s cronies, and am working my way up.”
The meeting drew a small public audience including Michael Soriano, who is running for mayor in the June Democratic primary. Barberio is running for re-election in the June GOP primary against Peluso. The audience also included former Councilman Jonathan Nelson, Former Mayor Mimi Letts and Current Council Candidate Janice McCarthy.
“These salary ordinances should be reviewed in October or November of the previous year, and adjusted at that time, not after the mayor goes and hires people above the salary ordinance,” Paul Carifi said. “He continues to do this. But in the past, for certain people that he’s hired for certain positions, we’ve been told that the promises and/or the negotiations the mayor has engaged in, that if we did not give them those salaries, we could be sued. And at that point, we had no choice. That’s why we did it in the past.”
The ordinance will be further considered for second reading and final passage on Tuesday, April 25.
PARSIPPANY — Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook are in a statistical deadhead when it comes to college and high school students and the social media networks they use, but Snapchat and Instagram jump to a solid lead when it comes to how often they use them.
Snapchat wins the battle for daily use, with 78 percent saying they use the service daily, as compared to 76 percent for Instagram, and 66 percent for Facebook. Seventy-one percent say they use Snapchat more than six times per day, and 51 percent says they are on Snapchat more than 11 times per day.
To the Editor,
