PARSIPPANY — Freedom Quilt Project – In honor of Martin Luther King Day, children of any age colored a paper quilt square to add to the bulletin board in theLake Hiawatha Children’s Department.
The quilt square patterns represent secret messages designed to help slaves travel safely to freedom on the Underground Railroad.
At theParsippany Library on Wednesday, January 17, the Children’s Department held the program – All About Martin Luther King, Jr., children listened to stories about Martin Luther King, Jr. and made the attached Peace themed craft.
PARSIPPANY — On Tuesday, January 9, 2017, Brian M. Rader, Esq., on behalf of a number of plaintiffs, filed a Verified Complaint and Order to Show Cause seeking an injunction of the Lake Parsippany assessment program.
On Tuesday, January 17, 2017, the parties appeared in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Morris Vicinage.
The Court granted the injunction and suspended the assessment program. Lake Parsippany Property Owners Association (LPPOA) is not permitted to send further bills, invoices or engage in collection actions against individuals.
Any payments that the Lake Parsippany Property Owners Association receives in connection with the assessment program from any lot owner will be held in an attorney escrow account pending the final outcome of the case.
“This is a tremendous step in the right direction because prior to granting an injunction, a court must consider the merits of the case, and determine whether the plaintiffs have a reasonable likelihood of success. Our position remains legally meritorious. Simply, there is no basis to implement an assessment against property owners who do not own property in a common-interest community, and who derive no benefit from facilities that can be utilized by any individual, whether they reside in Lake Parsippany or otherwise. The LPPOA cannot benefit from its own destruction of Lake Parsippany, ” said Brian M. Rader, Esq.
PARSIPPANY — The Woman’s Club of Parsippany Troy Hills (WCPTH) held its Second Annual Spelling Bee, on Sunday, January 15.
Twenty-seven students were selected from area Fifth Grade Elementary Schools to participate in the Spelling Bee, which was held at Parsippany Library.
Over 100 parents and family members watched the students. Judging the event were: Greg Elbin, retired teacher and President of Kiwanis Club of Greater Parsippany, Dee Ernst, local author, and William Westhoven, reporter at Gannett NJ Daily Record. Diana Freidinger, WCPTH club member was the Moderator and club member Marianne Burke was the Pronouncer.
Marianne Burke explaining the Spelling Bee Rules to the contestants. WCPTH Club President Marilyn Marion assisted
After 11 exciting rounds the First Place winner was Kaydine Gonzalez from Lake Parsippany Elementary School. Second Place winner was Ronin Wani from Troy Hills Elementary School and Kimberly Lan from Lake Hiawatha Elementary School was Third place winner. The winners are invited to participate in the New Jersey State Federated Women’s Club (NJSFWC) Regional Spelling Bee on February Fourth in Rockaway. The Regional winners will then be invited to the State Championship at the New Jersey State Federation of Women’s Clubs of GFWC (NJSFWC) Headquarters on March 4.
The Woman’s Club of Parsippany-Troy Hills is a member of NJSFWC, 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, which is open to area women, will be held on Monday, January 23 at 7:00 p.m. at Lake Parsippany Rescue & Recovery, 100 Centerton Dr., Parsippany. For more information call Cathy at (973) 984-0758, e-mail the club at womansclubofpth@gmail.com or click here to view website.
WHARTON — Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp and Wharton Borough Police Chief Anthony Fernandez announce that law enforcement authorities responded to the Brentwood Garden Apartments in Wharton Borough for a death investigation. The Morris County Sheriff’s Office crime scene unit and bomb squad is assisting in the investigation. The bomb squad responded to the scene and rendered the scene safe for law enforcement to conduct its investigation. There is no immediate danger to the adjacent community.
This investigation remains active and ongoing. As such, no additional information will be released at this time.
MOUNTAIN LAKES — The Lakeland Hills Family YMCA is once again proud to recognize individuals, groups and organizations for outstanding community service.
Nominations and applications for the annual community service awards for the Lakeland Hills Family YMCA open on February 1 and close on April 1.
Click here to nominate a high school senior; Click here to nominate an eighth-grade student; To nominate for Citizen of the Year Click here. For educators of the year nominations, click here.
All nominations and scholarship applications are available online; the only award eligible by written form is Citizen of the Year. We have made the application process as simple as possible, including direct upload of letters of reference for our student awards.
Our Annual Dinner and Awards Presentation will be held on Wednesday, May 17 at 6:00 p.m. at the Knoll Country Club West, Parsippany.
Please contact Rosemary Linder Day at (973) 334-2820 or email by clicking hereif you require any further information.
This is the time to recognize an individual who has performed community service for any organization, club, non-profit, school, etc.
Additionally, they acknowledge stellar teachers for our Educator(s) of the Year. Winners will be announced on April 15, and will be guests of Lakeland Hills Family YMCA at the Annual Dinner.
HANOVER — Wegmans Food Markets is now hiring and training more than 300 part-time employees for its first location in northern New Jersey. The long-awaited 113,000 square-foot supermarket, plus 15,000 square feet that will be leased to a third-party owner for a wine, beer, and spirits shop,will open in Hanover’s Mack-Cali campus at the intersection of I-287 and Route 10 this summer.
Job openings span a variety of part-time customer service and culinary positions across every department. Hiring for full-time jobs began in 2016 and select full-time openings remain. Applicants are encouraged to apply online at www.wegmans.com/careers, or call (973) 490-2500 for more information. Applications are not accepted at the store or construction site. Interviews are conducted at a temporary employment office in Parsippany.
“New employees start work soon after they’re hired because we begin training long before the store opens,” said Wegmans Store Manager and 27-year employee Tim Lockwood. “Wegmans is widely known for being a great place to work, offering competitive pay and benefits, and flexible scheduling. Many of our leaders started with the company part time as a first job and went on to attend college with tuition assistance from our employee scholarship program.”
The Wegmans Employee Scholarship Program is a unique point of pride for the family-owned company. Since the program began in 1984, more than 33,000 employees have been awarded scholarships totaling $105 million.
Wegmans Hanover will employ approximately 500 people, 425 of whom will be new to the company and hired locally. The store will feature The Burger Bar, a family-friendly, casual restaurant counter that serves delicious burgers, fresh salads, flavorful sandwiches, specialty milkshakes, soups, and sides.
Wegmans operates seven stores in New Jersey. When the new store opens in Hanover, the company will have created more than 4,800 jobs in the state since opening its Princeton location in 1999. That number will continue to increase with another new store slated to open in Montvale this fall.
Wegmans Food Markets, Inc. is a 92-store supermarket chain with stores in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland, and Massachusetts. The family-owned company, recognized as an industry leader and innovator, celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2016. Wegmans has been named one of the ‘100 Best Companies to Work For’ by FORTUNE magazine for 19 consecutive years, ranking #4 in 2016.
PARSIPPANY — Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp and Chatham Township Police Chief Steven Hennelly announce that law enforcement authorities are currently investigating an early morning report of shots fired in Chatham Township.
As a result of this call, law enforcement responded to the area of Susan Drive. Upon arrival, they encountered a suspect in the roadway. The suspect was taken into custody without incident.
This investigation remains active and ongoing. As such, no additional information will be released at this time. However, it appears that this is an isolated incident and there is no danger to the public.
This matter is being investigated by members of the Chatham Township Police Department, the Morris County Sheriff’s Office – Criminal Investigation Section, and the Major Crimes Unit of the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the Chatham Township Police Department at (973) 377-0100, or the Major Crimes Unit of the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office at (973) 285-6200.
MORRIS COUNTY — Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp and Morris County Sheriff James M. Gannon confirm the death of an inmate on Friday, January 13 at the Morris County Correctional Facility.
The inmate, who had been admitted to the Correctional Facility during the early morning hours of January 12, 2017, was discovered this morning within his cell by staff members. Medical aid was rendered without success.
The investigation into this incident is being conducted by the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit, the Morris County Sheriff’s Office, and the Morris County Medical Examiner’s Office.
This investigation is ongoing, and the Cause and Manner of Death are pending the findings of the Morris County Medical Examiner. The identity of the decedent is not being released at this time, pending proper notifications to the decedent’s next of kin.
PARSIPPANY — On Tuesday, January 10, the Lake Parsippany Property Owners Association (LPPOA) attempted to hold a meeting regarding the implemented mandatory easement assessment on all properties within the original purchase tract of Lake Parsippany. This includes 2,204 property owners of the original purchase tract of Lake Parsippany whose deeds provide for such access.
The Parsippany Police Department arrived at approximately 8:00 p.m., just a half-hour after the start of the meeting, and told the crowd of over 400 residences to leave because of overcrowding. The gym at Lake Parsippany School has a capacity of 362 people.
There was also a meeting scheduled for Friday, January 13 which has been canceled until a larger venue is secured.
In October 2016 members who paid the membership fees for Calendar Year 2016 voted on the assessment fees. The vote was 101 for the mandatory easement and 16 against mandatory easement. The remaining 2,087 residents were not allowed to attend any of the original meetings and were not allowed to vote. Less than 5% of the residents affected by the mandatory easement were permitted to vote.
Cedarcrest Property Management, hired by LPPOA, sent the 2,204 residents an “invoice as of 12/31/16”, for $115.00. The invoice further states that “payment is due January 31, 2017.” The Invoice was accompanied by correspondence which indicated that if payment is not received by March 15, 2017, “a late notice will be mailed to include a $25.00 late fee asking for payment immediately.” However, there is no contract between the parties, and no statute, that would authorize the LPPOA to charge any late fee. The threat of a $25.00 late fee was intentional and was intended to intimidate and harass the property owners into paying the Assessment.
Lake Parsippany
The LPPOA is a shell of an entity that exists to operate a social club that is comprised, significantly, of individuals who are not even Lot Owners. Under the circumstances, the LPPOA has no authority to levy the Assessment against the Lot Owners and has no authority to institute collection actions against the Lot Owners for non-payment.
A dozen neighbors in Lake Parsippany, including Mary Purzycki, decided in October 2016 after the LPPOA membership voted to impose a mandatory assessment fee on the 2,204 property owners, to form a group to seek legal advise. The “No Assessment Group” decided to pursue a legal representation on this issue.
The group was formed by Lake Parsippany resident, Mary Purzycki who lived here for 46 years and served on the Lake Parsippany Property Owners Association Board of Directors for ten years, and was a representative to the Coalition of Lake Associations. At one of the Coalition’s meetings the Easement Assessment Theory was presented, she brought the information back to the LPPOA Board of Directors. The board agreed to investigate the assessment theory.
She said “After much thought, she knew it would put a financial burden on a majority of the people living in the lake. The Broad decided after reviewing not to pursue the idea any further.”
“The conclusion the board came to then, in my mind, has not changed today. The fact that low and moderate-income families moved here because of the affordable housing market, has not changed. In addition, most senior citizens are on fixed incomes, and some families live from paycheck to paycheck that has not changed,” said Purzycki.
She continued “The LPPOA did not take any of these factors into consideration when they voted to impose this mandatory assessment fee. The fact some people cannot afford the extra $115.00 fee expense was not considered. It should have been one of their primary concerns. The fact that the 2,204 voices of the residents were not heard or cared about is unconscionable. It is unfortunate that the association did not realize that people should come first and the association’s possible financial problems are second to that. The community is now divided. This assessment fee has only promoted animosity and hostility. It is time to stop the assessment fee and bring back the united friendly neighborhood, I knew and love.”
After reviewing the options, the group decided to retain the services of Brian Rader, Esq. from the law firm of Jardim, Meisner & Susser to represent them.
On Monday, January 9 a “Memorandum of Law in support of the Owners’ Order to Show Cause” was filed in the Morris County Superior Court.
On Tuesday, January 10 the LPPOA was served the legal documents at 7:00 p.m. The Morris County Superior Court has ordered both parties to appear next week before Judge Brennan.
“For decades, the Lake Parsippany Property Owners’ Association, Inc. (“LPPOA”) has taken every imaginable step to alter, amend and abolish the neighborhood scheme that was originally intended for Lake Parsippany. Now, the LPPOA is seeking to hold all individuals who live within the original bounds of Lake Parsippany financially accountable for maintaining Lake Parsippany and its common facilities. While the LPPOA is attempting to enforce a common-interest based legal theory, the LPPOA itself is responsible for its abolition, and due to the actions of the LPPOA, Lake Parsippany is not recognized as a common-interest community. We allege that the actions of the LPPOA are not only immoral, but improper as a matter of law and equity, and we are seeking a declaratory judgment stating the same,” saidBrian M. Rader, Esquire.
The Cedar Crest Property Management sent out the invoices for the mandatory assessment fee along with notice of late payment details and costs. The invoices were sent to the residents before LPPOA held any meetings to discuss the assessment with the 2,204 affected residents.
If you would like more information on the “No Assessment Group,” you can email noeasment@gmail.com or call (973) 220-2378. Please include in your email your first and last name, address, phone number, and email address. You will be contacted within 24 hours.
Currently, LPPOA has no President. The following is a list of officers:
TRENTON — Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno will soon file paperwork and formally throw her hat in the ring in New Jersey’s race for governor, according to several reports. The Asbury Park Press and Politico New Jersey reported Thursday morning that Gov. Chris Christie’s second in command, long rumored to be vying for the Republican nomination, would…
