PARSIPPANY — The Township of Parsippany-Troy Hills provided a safe and fun place for Parsippany children to “Trick or Treat.” The children went from trunk to trunk instead of door to door! Families, Volunteer organizations and friends decorated their vehicle and joined in the fun with the children. There were firemen, policemen, batman, witches, and princesses roaming around Veterans Park collecting bags of candy.

PARSIPPANY — Parsippany-Troy Hills Township Council President Paul Carifi, Jr., would like to remind residents this week’s Council Meeting will be held Thursday November 8, at its regularly scheduled time of 7:30 p.m.; However, immediately thereafter the Township Council will make a motion to move into closed session. The open session will begin at 8:30 p.m.

The public is invited to attend all meetings. A portion of each meeting will be set aside for public comment. Formal action may or may not be taken at all scheduled meetings.

Any individual who is a qualified disabled person under the American with Disabilities Act may request auxiliary aids such as a sign interpreter or a tape recorder to be used for a meeting. Auxiliary aids must be requested at least 72 hours prior to the meeting. Please call (973) 263-4357 to make a request for an auxiliary aid.

MORRIS COUNTY — Thank you! Thank you to each and every one of you for your support throughout our campaign.

Yesterday, the Sherrill campaign received more votes than ours.  I always have admired Mikie’s prior service to our country, and now I wish her well in the next phase of her life as the Representative from this district to the House of Representatives.

Despite the outcome at the polls, Johanna and I want to stress to you the immense sense of gratitude we have for all of you, and for everyone who has put so much of themselves into this campaign.

From the beginning, our campaign has offered a positive, hopeful, and confident vision of America.  We have touted our belief in fundamental American values like rewarding hard work, and enforcing our laws.  Our mission has been infused with optimism, and we have been determined to transcend the pettiness of small politics to speak of things greater than ourselves.

We will never stop fighting for the values we believe in because we love our country too much to stop.  We love our families, our friends, and our neighbors too much.  And yes, we even love our opponents too much to stop fighting for what we believe is right for all Americans.

So let us celebrate some great accomplishments, and remember those accomplishments most.  We know, and the rest of the world knows, that we have fought the good fight.  We have finished the race.  And we have kept the faith.  And until we’re called upon to get back in the arena and do it once again, may God bless the great State of New Jersey, and may He bless the United States of America.

PARSIPPANY — On Saturday, October 27, in the midst of heavy rains, wind, and flooding, some thirty “Friends of Troy Meadows” gathered on Troy Meadow Road to pay tribute to the late Robert L. Perkins, Jr., founding Trustee and former President of Wildlife Preserves, Inc. During his lifetime, Mr. Perkins acquired and preserved some 6,000 acres of land in New Jersey. He played a vital role in preserving land and protecting wildlife in the Central Passaic Basin, from the Great Swamp to Great Piece Meadows.

A commemorative plaque mounted on a natural boulder was unveiled during a steady afternoon rain shower, while several people took the opportunity to speak of his life and his accomplishments.

Robert (Bob) Perkins was a humble, private man who never relished in taking credit for all the great things he accomplished. He leaves a legacy of thousands of acres of open space, purchased with private funds, at no cost to taxpayers.

The Robert Perkins Monument is located in Troy Meadows in Parsippany-Troy Hills.

Troy Meadows is a mix of meadows, fields, and forests containing a variety of common and endangered plant and animal communities and many biological features, ponds and vernal breeding pools. It is part of the Atlantic flyway and serves as a staging area for migratory waterfowl.  It is an exceptional resource for many species of fauna and flora and contains a dense population of avian and amphibian species, a particular haven for frogs, salamanders, and marsh birds. Troy Meadows is managed as a natural area and wildlife sanctuary and a favorite, famous place for bird watching.

Robert (Bob) Perkins passed away in June, 2017, just a few days shy of his ninetieth birthday.

Robert’s legacy is preserving vast freshwater marshland in the central Passaic River Basin from Great Swamp north to Black Meadows, Troy Meadows, and Great Piece Meadows.

Robert Perkins is the founding father of Wildlife Preserves, Inc., a private, nonprofit land conservation organization dedicated to the preservation of natural areas, open space, wildlife, and wildlife habitats for conservation, education, and research. He was an avid bird watcher and could recognize thousands of birds and hundreds of bird calls.

He was known for walking through swamps with a pair of binoculars and a canoe paddle to blaze his way. During his youth, he attended Putney Boarding School in Putney, Vermont and he graduated Yale University in 1955.

While still in college, he raised funds from, private philanthropists who loved birds; he charmed hundreds of land owners and bought thousands of acres of natural lands under the name of Wildlife Preserves, Inc.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service praised Bob Perkins regarding his accomplishment for consolidating hundreds of individual lots of land into one contiguous parcel at Troy Meadows. A letter written in 1960 by the Fish and Wildlife Service states, “(He) did what no one else was able to do before him.” Wildlife Preserves donated and sold property to other preservation groups, and in some cases its lands were taken by eminent domain to create many parks and forests in the Northeast. Parts of the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuges, the Fire Island National Seashore and three Morris County Parks were saved and once owned and by Wildlife Preserves.

Mr. Perkins acquired marshlands from the Delaware Bay in Delaware and southern New Jersey, north through the Pine Barrens, along the central Passaic Basin to the Appalachian mountains of northern New Jersey, through New York State, and as far north as New Hampshire and Maine.

PARSIPPANY — The GFWC Woman’s Club of Parsippany-Troy Hills is collecting used eyeglasses, hearing aids and jewelry to be donated to New Eyes for the Needy.

New Eyes for the Needy is a not for profit organization founded in 1932 to improve the vision of the poor.

New prescriptions eyeglasses are provided through a voucher program for Children and Adults in the United States who cannot afford glasses on their own. They operate primarily through volunteer efforts and are overseen by a Board of Trustees.

The Woman’s Club has placed collection boxes at Boiling Springs Saving Bank, 66 North Beverwyck Road, Lake Hiawatha and Cerbo Lumber, 1855 Route 46, Parsippany.

Your donation will help the Woman’s Club help others.  For further information about the Woman’s Club of Parsippany-Troy Hills email womansclubofpth@gmail.com.