PARSIPPANY — This is the third week in a row that we’ve seen a weekly case increase in the double digits. It’s clear at this point that we’re experiencing an increase in new case rates here in New Jersey.
Keep up with the day-to-day numbers on the Morris County coronavirus tracker by clicking here.
PARSIPPANY — Parsippany-Troy Hills Township Clerk Khaled Madin released the following information for voters of Parsippany-Troy Hills:
The General Election for 2020 will be November 3, 2020. In the Township of Parsippany-Troy Hills, there will be two polling locations:
(1) Brooklawn Middle School, located at 250 Beachwood Road, Parsippany, and
(2) Central Middle School, located at 1620 Route 46 West, Parsippany.
Polling locations will be open from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Please be advised that the above polling locations are reserved and limited to individuals with disabilities which render them unable to complete a mail-in ballot or a provisional ballot without assistance. Therefore, polling locations are not available for the general public without such disabilities; however, as a courtesy, all persons may vote provisionally or drop off their vote by mail ballots at the above-mentioned polling locations.
In addition, a Ballot Drop Box is provided by the County of Morris for voters to submit their mail-in ballots which is located in the front of the Township Parsippany-Troy Hills Municipal Building at 1001 Parsippany Boulevard.
This box is available to all Morris County voters and ballots must be received until 8:00 p.m. on November 3, 2020.
The Ballot Drop Box is under 24-hour surveillance and the Vote by Mail Ballots are picked up on a daily basis and brought to the Board of Elections. All security measures will be followed when collecting and transporting the Vote by Mail Ballots.
PARSIPPANY — Township of Parsippany-Troy Hills Planning Board will hold a meeting on Monday, October 19 starting at 7:30 p.m.
Click here to download the agenda.
The members are:
PARSIPPANY — Parsippany Hills High School hosted a food collection. The food will be donated to the Parsippany Food Pantry. The Food Drive was coordinated by Key Club Advisor Ms. Bushong.
The food collection was conducted on Thursday, October 15 on the PHHS patio from 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Go Vikings!
Key Club is the oldest and largest service program for high school students. It is a student-led organization that teaches leadership through service to others. Members of the Kiwanis International family, Key Club members build themselves as they build their schools and communities.
The Parsippany High School Key Club hosts Halloween at the High for children in the community, reads to Parsippany elementary school students in the SKIP program, assists at a local daycare center, and much more.
Parsippany High School Key Club is sponsored by Kiwanis Club of Greater Parsippany.
MORRIS COUNTY — Governor Phil Murphy signed Executive Order No. 190, extending a moratorium preventing New Jersey residents from having their utilities disconnected through at least March 15, 2021. The moratorium applies to all residential gas, electric, and water utilities, both public and private. Further, the utilities will not be charging late fees nor fees to reconnect services that have been disconnected. The Order also requires that all residential services that were disconnected after social distancing measures went into effect on March 16 be reconnected. The Governor and legislative leadership further announced that $15 million from the Coronavirus Relief Fund will be allocated to assisting low-income households in paying off utility arrearages.
“New Jerseyans are hurting and many of our fellow state residents, who have lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic need help,” said Governor Murphy. “Extending the utility moratorium is the right thing to do as so many in our state struggle to pay their bills during one of the most devastating economic crises in the history of our country. As we enter the winter months it becomes even more imperative that we work with our state’s utilities keep the lights on and families warm.”
“Thank you to the Governor and to the utilities for taking an important step today to protect New Jersey residents who are facing dire financial circumstances and are unable to pay their utility bills,” said Board of Public Utilities President Joseph L. Fiordaliso. “Now, nobody will fear losing service during the winter months. Please know as well that assistance and deferred payment programs are available to prevent bills from piling up over time. Help is here for those who need it.”
In addition to extending the Internet disconnection moratorium to November 15, cable and telecommunications providers are prohibited from disconnecting Internet service in households that have one or more school-age children that may be using such service for educational purposes. Also, if a household experiences a change of circumstances where school-age children will be using their home Internet service for school, the cable and telecommunications company will be required to reconnect that Internet service.
After November 15, cable and telecommunications providers are required to enroll customers with an already existing account in an interest-free payment plan of at least 12 equal monthly installments, including the balance already due, prior to disconnecting the customer’s service.
Although the moratorium is being extended, utility customers are still encouraged to set up payment plans with their utilities so they can begin paying their bills, if they are able, over a period of time. Utility customers are also urged to apply for the assistance programs that are available at both the Board of Public Utilities and the Department of Community Affairs and from their utilities.
Additionally, the Governor partnered with legislative leadership to set aside $15 million from the Coronavirus Relief Fund so that the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) can reduce utility arrearages. DCA will use a portion of the funds to address arrearages among low-income households who are current Universal Service Fund (USF) participants. USF serves low-income families (Income below 185% of the Federal Poverty Level) who need assistance with electric and natural gas bills.
“Protecting the most vulnerable households in our state during this pandemic is a priority,” continued Governor Murphy. “I am proud to announce that in partnering with Senate President Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Coughlin, as well as legislative leadership, we have allocated $15 million in CRF funding to reduce utility arrearages for low-income households in New Jersey.”
“We insisted that this funding be included in the budget because we won’t allow for utility shut-offs that would deny New Jersey residents vital electric, heat, and water services,” said Senate President Steve Sweeney. “A sudden loss of power and utilities would create disruptive and even dangerous conditions for families, individuals, and small businesses who are enduring more than enough financial hardship caused by the pandemic. The economic consequences of the Covid crisis are having a severe impact on their ability to afford utility bills. The extended moratorium is especially important for families with children who need power supplies to participate in remote learning at home. Utilities are a necessity that should not be lost to those in need.”
“Throughout the budget process, one of our major priorities was to provide money to help families who have been hit hard by the pandemic and fallen behind on their utility payments,” said Senate President Pro Tempore M. Teresa Ruiz. “We were able to include $15 million to reduce what is owed and help individuals around the state become current on their gas, electric, and water bills. By extending the shut-off moratorium and funding forgiveness programs we can offer a comprehensive approach to ensure residents are not left in the dark, as they work towards greater financial stability.”
“As we continue to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, too many of our neighbors are struggling with the negative financial impact caused by the coronavirus,” said Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin. “Helping those in need pay their utility bills doesn’t just keep the lights on, it will mean many residents will not have to choose between paying their gas and electric bills or putting a nutritious meal on the table. I thank the Governor and Senate President for their partnership in this initiative.”
For a copy of Executive Order No. 190, please click here.
MORRIS COUNTY — In a ceremony at the Morris County Administration Building on Wednesday, October 14, former New Jersey Supreme Court Chief Justice James R. Zazzali administered the oath of office to Acting Morris County Prosecutor Robert J. Carroll.
Also sworn in were Special Deputy Attorney General / Acting First Assistant Prosecutor Thomas A. Zelante and Special State Investigator/Acting Chief of Investigations Chris Kimker. Both
First Assistant Prosecutor Zelante and Chief Kimker held their positions prior to the appointment of the Acting Prosecutor.
Acting Prosecutor Carroll said, “I am deeply honored by this appointment. I sincerely appreciate the trust and faith of Governor Phil Murphy and Attorney General Gurbir Grewal in enabling me to lead the MCPO, which has always enjoyed a reputation for professionalism and fairness. I look forward to working with our dedicated State, County, and local law enforcement agencies, and with the input and support of our communities, I pledge to work together to resolve any divisive societal challenges that have been confronting all levels of government.”
MORRIS COUNTY — County College of Morris (CCM) invites the public to participate in a spooky, thrill-filled virtual scavenger hunt. Space is limited for the Virtual Haunted House Halloween Scavenger Hunt that takes place on Wednesday, October 28, at 7:30 p.m.
Reserve a spot, gather a team and the family together to explore the many spooktacular places by emailing cmcardle@ccm.edu. An email with the ZOOM link will be sent on the evening of the terrifying event.
During the scavenger hunt, participants will visit Philadelphia’s creepy Eastern Penitentiary, discover the New York City home of Mark Twain, check into the Hollywood Hotel where celebrity ghosts haven’t checked out. Participants will also learn the chilling fate of Giles Corey at the Salem Witch Trial Memorial and sneak into the White House in search of the presidents whose ghosts have been spotted there. Beware of what’s around the corner!
To learn more about events offered at CCM both virtually and on campus click here.
PARSIPPANY — Par-Troy Council of PTA’s Candidates Night
MORRIS COUNTY — Professor Brian Olson, of the Department of Biology and Chemistry at the County College of Morris (CCM) in Randolph, has had his research on COVID-19 published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Computer-Aided Molecular Design to assist with the development of drugs to combat the virus.
Olson, the lead author on the paper, worked with Dr. Tom Kurtzman of Lehman College in Bronx, N.Y. to put together a team of researchers this past March when he realized how extensive the COVID-19 pandemic would become. In the paper, An Online Repository of Solvation Thermodynamic and Structural Maps of SARS-CoV-2 Targets, the researchers provide maps of water molecules on the virus’ proteins that also are known as solvation maps.
CCM Professor Brian Olson, whose research is helping combat COVID-19
Olson explains that knowing which water molecules need to be displaced, and which do not, provides essential information to guide the development of drugs to treat COVID-19. The first step toward determining that is mapping where the water molecules are located on the proteins.
In March, Olson, who had been tracking the coronavirus on several databases, was certain COVID-19 would turn into a pandemic.
“We were seeing clusters on multiple continents and were unable to trace the sources of infection. It was clear this was going to be an immediate and international public health issue,” he said. “That compelled me to do something.”
Utilizing the computational tool, GIST, developed by Kurtzman, the researchers worked from their homes during the pandemic. Prior to being published in the Journal of Computer-Aided Molecular Design, the research was posted by the team on Chemrxiv, a free web-based archive service, so it could be accessed early by other scientists and researchers while the peer-review process was taking place.
Now that solvation maps of the COVID-19 virus are available, Olson and his team plan to use that information to search for new drugs.Making the information public and free also will aid others in their
COVID-19 Protein
search for new and effective pharmaceuticals to defeat the coronavirus. According to Altmetric’s Attention Score, which measures the online attention and activity of research papers, the work conducted by the Olson team ranks in the top 25 percent.
Given that ranking, based on more than 2,200 views and over 300 downloads of the paper, Olson is encouraged about the development of drugs to fight the coronavirus.
“I have never seen the international scientific community come together the way it has now to find some answers,” says Olson. “There is international collaboration and the sharing of information that previously would not have been shared.”
Olson, who teaches forensic science at CCM, joined the college’s faculty in 2018. At CCM, he and several other professors, developed the college’s first virtual reality class to teach students forensic science skills by analyzing murder scenes. Along with his work on the coronavirus, he is researching the development of pain killers to replace opiates.
Olson earned his associate degree in science from the Borough of Manhattan Community College, his bachelor’s in biochemistry from Hunter College, his master’s in biochemistry from the City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate Center, and is working on his doctorate in biochemistry from CUNY Graduate Center.
He is a strong advocate for community colleges, and CCM in particular.
“Community colleges place a high value on quality teaching,” he said. “I am so fortunate. I have fun researching tiny molecules and on top of that I get paid to talk to students about narcotics, murders and other fascinating topics. I can’t imagine having a better job.”
MORRIS COUNTY — Morris County and its 39 towns will share $8,415,816 in federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding out of $60 Million released by Governor Phil Murphy today for severely impacted county and local governments not qualified to receive direct federal aid. Parsippany-Troy Hills will receive $686,649.
Morris County will receive $2.3 million while $6.1 million is being shared among the municipalities. The funding is intended to help the towns deal with unexpected costs caused by the pandemic, including increased costs in health benefits, health and human services, public safety, overtime, equipment, and supply expenditures.
The New Jersey Department of Human Services also is providing up to $10 million to support the state’s County Boards of Social Services with COVID19-related expenses such as technology to adapt to remote work requirements, meeting the growing demand for services, and supplies and materials to meet COVID19 health and safety standards.
Qualifying expenditures for the municipal funding include public safety and health-related expenses, COVID19-related overtime, increased residential and health-related garbage collection and services, remote working technology, signage, and information technology related to the COVID19 response and recovery, and public health-related retrofit expenses for reopening.
The Governor said the allocation formula to determine the amounts provided used a variety of relevant metrics, including the municipal COVID19 infection rate, fiscal stress, the Municipal Revitalization Index (MRI), population, and public safety and health and human services expenditures share of the budget to determine the amount of funds counties and municipalities receive.
Funds awarded may not be used for government revenue replacement, including the provision of assistance to meet tax obligations. Eligible expenditures must be incurred during the covered period between March 1, 2020, and December 30, 2020.
A breakdown on the amounts provided to Morris County and each town in the county is below:
| Boonton Town | Morris | $118,288 |
| Boonton Township | Morris | $57,333 |
| Butler Borough | Morris | $96,097 |
| Chatham Borough | Morris | $92,289 |
| Chatham Township | Morris | $107,457 |
| Chester Borough | Morris | $19,535 |
| Chester Township | Morris | $74,231 |
| Denville Township | Morris | $189,791 |
| Dover Town | Morris | $334,939 |
| East Hanover Township | Morris | $145,011 |
| Florham Park Borough | Morris | $137,460 |
| Hanover Township | Morris | $163,531 |
| Harding Township | Morris | $34,602 |
| Jefferson Township | Morris | $271,494 |
| Kinnelon Borough | Morris | $104,972 |
| Lincoln Park Borough | Morris | $143,870 |
| Madison Borough | Morris | $198,036 |
| Mendham Borough | Morris | $55,294 |
| Mendham Township | Morris | $57,672 |
| Mine Hill Township | Morris | $43,911 |
| Montville Township | Morris | $238,883 |
| Morris Township | Morris | $251,522 |
| Morris Plains Borough | Morris | $71,609 |
| Morristown Town | Morris | $298,334 |
| Mountain Lakes Borough | Morris | $42,651 |
| Mount Arlington Borough | Morris | $68,644 |
| Mount Olive Township | Morris | $371,865 |
| Netcong Borough | Morris | $48,358 |
| Parsippany-Troy Hills Township | Morris | $686,649 |
| Long Hill Township | Morris | $96,558 |
| Pequannock Township | Morris | $191,882 |
| Randolph Township | Morris | $267,893 |
| Riverdale Borough | Morris | $52,116 |
| Rockaway Borough | Morris | $83,645 |
| Rockaway Township | Morris | $294,345 |
| Roxbury Township | Morris | $282,237 |
| Victory Gardens Borough | Morris | $23,304 |
| Washington Township | Morris | $205,311 |
| Wharton Borough | Morris | $96,324 |
| Total (Municipal) | $6,117,943 | |
| County of Morris | $2,297,873 | |
| GRAND TOTAL | $8,415,816 |
For a complete list of how the $60 million was divided among all 21 New Jersey counties and their municipalities click here.
Parsippany Focus is a digital news organization that provides news coverage of Parsippany-Troy Hills, New Jersey. The organization was founded in 1989 by Frank Cahill, who currently owns and operates the organization. Parsippany Focus covers local news, events, and community issues, and their content is primarily distributed through their website and social media channels. The organization has been serving as a trusted source of news and information for the Parsippany-Troy Hills community for over 30 years.
Contact us: news@parsippanyfocus.com
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