PARSIPPANY — Robert “Bo” P. Rizzolo, 76, passed away on Friday, April 22 at his home.

He was born in Newark and resided there for 32 years before moving to Parsippany in 1971.

Bo was a dedicated Police Officer. He began his law enforcement career with the Newark Police Department where he worked from 1967 until 1971. He then went on to join the Parsippany Police Department where he worked for 27 years before retiring in 1998 as Detective.

Bo was an avid collector of coins and enjoyed fishing on the lake in his backyard. He loved entertaining in his home and spending time with his family.

He was pre-deceased by his mother and father, Lucille and Peter Rizzolo, and his sisters Jovina Simonelli and Marlena Sanchez.

Survivors include his sons, Peter and his wife, Maria of Randolph, Bobby and his wife, Kelly of Mine Hill and Marc of Parsippany; his daughter, Laura of Montville; his step-children, Lori Ann and Frank Badan; his sisters, Rosemarie Bispo of Edison and Porsha Meoli and her husband, Rocco of California; his grandchildren: Kyle, Brandon, Haley, Nicholas, Julia and Ariana; he is also survived by his many nieces and nephews.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend his Funeral Service at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, April 26, at Par-Troy Funeral Home, 95 Parsippany Road. Cremation: Private. Visiting Hours are on Monday from 4:00 p.m.to 8:00 p.m. at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, please make donations in his memory to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. 901 E Street, NW (Suite 100), Washington, DC 20004-2025.

PARSIPPANY — The Parsippany-Troy Hills Township Council passed a resolution 3-2 approving the services of Alpha Dog Solutions. Council Vice President Robert Peluso and Councilman Paul Carifi, Jr., voted against the resolution.

AlphaDog Solutions, Inc. provides a variety of technical services relating to the installation and maintenance of hardware, software and communications facilities relating to the operation of the Township’s website, www.parsippany.net.

In recent years, the Council voted against using the services of AlpaDog Solutions, although the Administration “negotiated” special terms to fall under the amount of $17,500, which doesn’t require approval of the council.

AlphaDog Solutions is the owner of certain software known as “The Cyber Clerk Program,” which is a combination of proprietary software and internet based applications that facilitate the operations of governmental entities and the interaction of governmental entities with its citizenry. This means that Parsippany-Troy Hills “does not” own the technology and if the Township ever wanted to switch services, the site would have to redesigned.

The contract states “maintain it’s website through December 31, 2016 at a monthly fee of $1,995.00.”  The fee includes a monthly hosting fee of $95.00.  The total value of the resolution is $23,900.00.

According to Ellen Sandman, the Business Administrator, AlphaDog was paid $17,100.00 for services in 2015. The administration can bypass the Council if the total paid to the vendor is under $17,500.00, thus overriding the defeated 2015 resolution.

Council President Louis Valori said “It makes absolutely no sense to replace a website administrator who has a proven history with our township in keeping our information systems current in the most efficient, effective and economical manner as possible.”   

“AlphaDog has consistently been proactive and responsive to the information technology needs of this Township and works in close coordination with our Business Administrator, Chief Financial officers and other executive staff members,” he continued.

In response to voting against the resolution, Council Vice President Robert Peluso said “I respect AlphaDog for their quality of service that several employees noted, but from prior discussions with the Mayor, our contracts should be openly discussed and transparent.  This contract was not put out to bid and shared services were not reconsidered.  After spending close to $24,000, the Council is still not informed who performs and how much our taxpayers pay for social media management and achieving. I strongly believe we need to be 100% transparent to our taxpayers and our online media is a great way to provide our taxpayers with information.”

The resolution states “AlphaDog Solutions, Inc. has submitted a Business Entity Disclosure Certification, which Certification provides that they have not made any reportable contributions to candidate committees, joint candidate committees, joint candidates committees or political party committees representing the elected officials of the Township in the one year period preceding the award of the Contract, and that the Contract will prohibit AlphaDog Solutions from making any reportable contributions through the term of the contract that would bar the award of this Agreement pursuant to N.J.S.A. 19:44A-20.5 et seq.”

It also states “Business Entity Disclosure Certification further provides that AlphaDog Solutions, Inc. has not made any and will not make any contributions or solicit any contribution of money or pledge of a contribution in violation of Township Ordinance 10:02 (Municipal Code Part 1, Chapter 12); and AlphaDog Solutions, Inc. has completed and submitted a Political Contribution Disclosure Form and Stockholder Disclosure Certification, as required pursuant to N.J.S.A. 19:44A-20.6, not later than 10 days prior to entering into the contract.

Requests for comments from Mayor James Barberio, Councilman Michael dePierro and Paul Carifi, Jr., and Councilwoman Loretta Gragnani went unanswered.

AlphaDog Solutions is located at 335 Union Avenue, Belleville and also creates websites for North Bergen Police Department, the Borough of Raritan, Township of Lyndhurst, North Bergen, the Borough of Roselle and North Bergen Public Library as well as other locations.

The Parsippany Board of Education, recently revealed their new website, which was designed by West’s Education group, part of West Corporation, a provider of SchoolMessenger solutions. Thousands of schools and other educational institutions in all 50 U.S. states and Canada depend on SchoolMessenger products and services for community engagement in multiple languages and on any device. West’s Education Group is located in Scotts Valley, California.

PARSIPPANY — Parsippany resident Nicolas Limanov was featured on Channel 2 CBS News on Thursday, April 21 at 11:00 p.m. newscast. Click here to view the newscast.

The reporter, Tracee Carrasco, interviewed Nick and Anthony Despirito at Kafe Mozart, 2900 Route 10 on Thursday filming a segment for the evening newscast.  On Monday, Nick jumped into action to rescue a driver from a burning car in the Powder Mill West Shopping Center, as first reported in Parsippany Focus. (Click here to view article).

The newscast from CBS News stated:

PARSIPPANY, N.J. (CBSNewYork) — Without thinking twice about their own safety, good Samaritans jumped into action to rescue a driver from a burning car in New Jersey.

A Monday evening shift at Kafe Mozart in Parsippany was anything but routine for 20-year-old Nicolas Limanov and 17-year-old Anthony Despirito.

“I heard a call over my radio that I carry as an emergency responder in town, that there was an unconscious man in the parking lot of our plaza,” Limanov explained, speaking exclusively with CBS2’s Tracee Carrasco.

Limanov, a volunteer with the community emergency response team, and Despirito spotted smoke in the parking lot.

Moments later the Blue 2003 SAAB went up in flames with a 22-year-old man inside.

Limanov didn’t hesitate.

“I was able to do it just in time before a lot of fuel leaked out and the flames got worse, so it was seconds to spare, but it was done,” he said.

Nick will be honored by the Lakeland Hills YMCA  as Parsippany’s Citizen of the Year on Wednesday, May 11.

Nicolas is a volunteer extraordinaire, actively participating in numerous Parsippany activities and organizations. He truly embodies the phrase “service about self” in everything he does.

He is a first responder for the Parsippany Office of Emergency Management, which is under the umbrella of the Parsippany Police Department.

He is a board member and participant with the Parsippany Area Chamber of Commerce.

Nicolas is also an active member of the Kiwanis Club of Greater Parsippany, and is the Chairman of “Touch a Truck,” which is one of the largest fundraisers for the club.

He is out in the cold shoveling snow for his elderly neighbors; he clears fire hydrants to help fellow first responders. While focusing on a career in criminal justice, he hopes to one day work in law enforcement. From cooking at Homeless Solutions to saving lives, Nicolas does all this and still hasn’t turned the ripe old age of 21!

Most recently, Nicolas helped save an individual from a car fire, working with another Good Samaritan. He makes Parsippany a better place to live, and is more than deserving of the Lakeland Hills YMCAs Parsippany Citizen of the Year.

Nick is a graduate of Parsippany High School Class of 2013 and currently is attending County College of Morris.

See related article, by clicking here.

PARSIPPANY — This Lake Shore Drive, Lake Parsippany, resident, left a message for his mailman and others who walk across the lawn.

PARSIPPANY — Parsippany-Troy Hills Police Department received a call at approximately 3:30 a.m. Thursday, April 21 on a female being held hostage by a male with a knife in Lakeview Garden Apartments, 200 Vail Road.

Police from surrounding towns, including Roxbury, Randolph, Morris County Prosecutors Office, Morris County K9 Unit, Morris County Sheriffs Emergency Response Team were called to the scene.

Reports that the male was apprehended and the female was not harmed.

There is no harm to the general public.

Parsippany-Troy Hills Police Department was still at the scene on Thursday morning at 9:00 a.m.

As Parsippany Focus receives additional information, we will update this breaking news.

PARSIPPANY — The Lakeland Hills Family YMCA is proud to announce its annual award recipients, with a Citizen of the Year award for Nicolas Limanov and the high school Educator of the Year award for Parsippany High School’s own Briane DeGironimo.

Nicolas is a volunteer extraordinaire, actively participating in numerous Parsippany activities and organizations. He truly embodies the phrase “service about self” in everything he does.

He is a first responder for the Parsippany Office of Emergency Management, which is under the umbrella of the Parsippany Police Department.

He is a board member and participant with the Parsippany Area Chamber of Commerce.

Nicolas is also an active member of the Kiwanis Club of Greater Parsippany, and is the Chairman of “Touch a Truck,” which is one of the largest fundraisers for the club.

He is out in the cold shoveling snow for his elderly neighbors; he clears fire hydrants to help fellow first responders. While focusing on a career in criminal justice, he hopes to one day work in law enforcement. From cooking at Homeless Solutions to saving lives, Nicolas does all this and still hasn’t turned the ripe old age of 21!

Most recently, Nicolas helped save an individual from a car fire, working with another Good Samaritan. He makes Parsippany a better place to live, and is more than deserving of the Lakeland Hills YMCAs Parsippany Citizen of the Year.

Nick is a graduate of Parsippany High School Class of 2013 and currently is attending County College of Morris.

Briane DeGironimo is a math teacher at Parsippany High School by day, and a team track coach by afternoon and evening! Briane is a talented and dedicated educator, teaching challenging courses including AP Statistics. She keeps her students focused and motivated, a task not easily achieved. After school, Briane is the Head Coach for the PHS Cross Country, Winter Track, and Spring Track teams. Under her watch, not only have all the teams improved on their record, they also have more students participating in these sports than ever before. Her commitment to the sports program and her dedication to her students has resulted in historic ways. The Girls’ Cross Country team and the Girls’ Winter Track team both won the first state sectional titles in the history of these programs at PHS. Briane is a role model for her students, and for her student-athletes. She is always selfless and humble, and is the first one to volunteer for PHS extracurricular activities, including class coverage, dances, and even the dunk tank! Briane is that rare educator who always gives her best. She was selected as the Lakeland Hills YMCAs high school Educator of the Year, where only one educator in grades 9-12 is selected from all the high schools, both public and private, in ten Morris County communities. Being chosen is quite an honor, and Briane has certainly done justice to earn the award!

The Lakeland Hills Family YMCA, a community organization located in Mountain Lakes, serves the towns of Parsippany, Boonton, Boonton Township, Denville, Kinnelon, Lincoln Park, Montville, Mountain Lakes, Pequannock, and Riverdale.

With a mission to strengthen the foundations of community, the Y recognizes individuals, groups, and corporations for their commitment to giving back to others. The Parsippany award recipients will be honored on Wednesday, May 11 at 6:00 p.m. at the Knoll Country Club West.

All honorees, their guests, and the community at large, is invited to attend the dinner. Parsippany is an integral part of the Ys community, not only recognizing Nicolas and Briane, but also is honored to have the Parsippany High School jazz ensemble play during the cocktail hour the night of their Awards Presentation.

Questions regarding the honorees and the Annual Dinner and Awards Presentation may be addressed to Rosemary Linder Day, Community Relations Director, at RosemaryL@Lhymca.com.

Dinner tickets are $50.00 per person and are available through Nancy Dunham at NancyD@Lhymca.com or call the Y at (973) 334-2820.

For a full list of honorees please check the Ys website by clicking here.