PARSIPPANY — Sampson is a 12-week old male Pit Bull puppy. He was surrendered by his owner who did not have enough time to fairly commit to him.
Sampson needs an experienced home that will teach him boundaries and give him plenty of structure as he is already a confident little guy.
Sampson is doing well with housebreaking and knows “sit”. He is up to date on puppy vaccines and will be neutered before going into his new home. Parsippany Animal Shelter is accepting applications for Sampson, so if you would like to meet him, please visit them during our shelter hours Monday to Friday 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. or Saturday and Sunday 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 Noon.
Parsippany Animal Shelter is located at 1069 Parsippany Boulevard. You can reach them by calling (973) 263-7083.
PARSIPPANY — Two County College of Morris (CCM) students recently were informed they won top national awards based on their exceptional educational achievements and contributions to the community.
Andrea Alfonso
Parsippany resident Andrea Lucia Alfonso, is one of only 10 students nationwide selected to receive a $7,500 Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) Hites Transfer Scholarship, the honor society’s most prestigious and largest award.
Jaida Schettino, of Sparta, has been named one of 50 Coca-Cola Community College Academic Team Silver Scholars nationwide for 2018. As a Silver Scholar, she will receive a $1,250 scholarship. The Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation sponsors the Coca-Cola Community College Academic Team program by annually recognizing 50 Gold, 50 Silver and 50 Bronze Scholars nationwide. The program is administered by the PTK honor society.
The 150 Coca-Cola Scholars were selected based on scores the students earned in the All-USA Community College Academic Team competition.
“We’re very proud that Andrea Lucia and Jaida have been selected for these honors,” said Dr. Anthony J. Iacono, president of CCM. “Both are exceptional students who are truly deserving of this national recognition.”
A dual major in biology and engineering at CCM, Alfonso over the last three years also has been working at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) on artificial tissue engineering. She has presented her research findings at a National Institutes of Health (NIH) conference and authored an article on her work in the Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practices. Based on her success, she recently was awarded an NIH-supported internship to continue her work at NJIT this summer.
Along with her academic success, Alfonso has been an active member of the college community, serving as president of the Student Activities Programming Board and vice president of service for the college’s PTK honor society.
For Alfonso, whose brother and sister both attended CCM, there was no question where she would begin her college education. “My parents and I knew this would be the right place for me because of all the support and opportunities CCM offers,” she says. “The professors here are really supportive and know what it takes to succeed.”
Following her graduation from CCM in May, Alfonso plans to continue her studies in biomedical engineering with the goal of building a career in tissue engineering or medicine.
Jaida Schettino
A communication major, Schettino is responsible for paying for her higher education so she selected CCM for its affordability. She also was determined to make the most of her experience as a CCM student. She joined the Lady Titans Soccer Team, was appointed president of the college’s PTK chapter and serves as treasurer of Sigma Chi Eta, the college’s communication honor society.
“I’ve found the small classes sizes at CCM to be particularly advantageous because I got to know my professors individually,” says Schettino. “Going to County College of Morris has transformed my academic career. I never thought I would be given the opportunity to apply to such prestigious senior colleges and receive a second chance at showcasing my abilities as a student.”
Following her graduation in May, Schettino plans to earn her bachelor’s degree in integrated marketing communication from Ithaca College and pursue a career in event coordination.
“Thanks to my accomplishments at CCM, two thirds of my remaining college tuition at Ithaca is being taken care of through merit and scholarships,” notes Schettino.
PARSIPPANY — On Monday, March 26, Girl Scout Cadettes learn how to create a news article on Parsippany Focus at Parsippany-Troy Hills Public Library, 449 Halsey Road. The troops attending the presentation were Troops 95609, 95610, 95089 and 94372.
The Girl Scouts will earn three badges during the media journey
Along their media journey the Girl Scouts will earn three badges, the girls will learn how to monitor, how to influence and how to cultivate media.
The publisher came to the library to help educate the girls as part of their media journey, and to teach how to create an informational article.
Mrs. Bruggeman, a Parsippany Girl Scout leader, took a picture of all the Girl Scouts and Frank Cahill. We uploaded the picture to the Focus servers, then wrote a caption under the picture. Then we wrote the story answering the questions: Who, What, When, Where, Why and How. We then described the badges that we are earning for the media journey.
Mr. Frank Cahill also discussed and showed us the proper identification reporters use.
We also read other articles and answered the questions required to write a story.
Mrs. Maria Messana, a Parsippany Girl Scout leader, organized the presentation with Parsippany Focus.
The Cadettes are students from Brooklawn Middle School and Central Middle School.
MT. LAKES — April is a busy month at the Lakeland Hills Family YMCA when they will be offering a variety of free evening programs that are open to the community.
On Thursday, April 12, Dr. Julie Scarano, DC, will present “Eat Well, Move Well, Think Well” where you’ll discover all the different ways to make yourself feel better that doesn’t include food!
On Tuesday, April 17, come to a Must-See Documentary Night on “Bag It. Is Your Life too Plastic?” You’ll learn where bags and other plastics end up, and at what cost to the environment, marine life, and human health.
On Thursday, April 19, you’ll hear from some legal and financial experts on what you need to know about “Tax Reform: What the New Laws Mean to You.”
Finally, on April 24, the Y will host a “Gluten-Free Workshop” with a variety of speakers/topics, including tasty samples. All programs begin at 6:00 p.m. and pre-registration is requested by calling (973) 334-2820 or register online by clicking here.
MORRIS COUNTY — Law enforcement officers from the Morris County Park Police Department will be cracking down on distracted drivers during April as part of New Jersey’s UDrive. UText. UPay. enforcement campaign.
Beginning Sunday, April 1 and running through Saturday, April 21, the high visibility law enforcement initiative will target motorists who engage in dangerous distracted driving behaviors such as talking on hand-held cell phones and sending text messages while driving.
“Distracted driving is possibly the most serious safety issue on our roadways today,” said Gary Poedubicky, Acting Director of the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety. “The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that in 2015 alone, 3,477 people were killed in distracted driving crashes and an estimated 391,000 people were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving a distracted driver.”
In New Jersey, driver inattention was listed as a contributing circumstance in 52 percent of the state’s crashes in 2015. Driver inattention was in fact listed as a contributing factor in crashes at a rate nine times higher than that of the next highest contributing factor (speed).
The campaign is being carried out during the month of April, which the National Safety Council has designated as Distracted Driving Awareness Month. The New Jersey campaign is modeled after similar successful high visibility enforcement programs such as Click It or Ticket and Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.
“Park Police Officers are encouraged to be on the look-out for these violations year-round, but we will be especially vigilant during the month of April. Drivers can consider this their warning,” said Chief Gabe DiPietro of the Morris County Park Police Department.
PARSIPPANY — Parsippany-Troy Hills Board of Education 2017-2018 school calendar year, included four snow days. Unfortunately, with recent storms, schools were closed for a total of seven days, and students must make up for three days.
The first snow day make up was on March 12.
The Board of Education has scheduled two make up days as half day on Friday, March 30 and a half day on Tuesday, June 5.
(Note: Since June 5 is the primary election scheduled at most schools, Police Officers present at all polling locations.)
Professional Development for staff will be scheduled for the afternoon of June 5.
Superintendent of Schools Dr. Barbara Sargent said “As pretty as the snow looks when it drifts so gently to the ground, I am certain you share the same inner frustration as I at the number of storms that have impacted our area – and our school calendar. It is very late in the season to be making changes to our school calendar – and, yet, here we are needing to make adjustments that will allow us to meet the state requirement of having students in school for 180 days.”
New Jersey Department of Education defines a school day in session is a day on which the school is open and students are under the guidance and direction of a teacher(s); and the day must be 4 hours or more to be considered a full day (or at least 2½ hours for kindergarten) (N.J.A.C. 6A:32-8.3(a) and (b)). Schools must be in session a minimum of 180 days and the number of school days in session does not include summer school.
In determining how we will modify the school calendar for staff and students, I adhere to the following guidelines: Student and staff attendance should be optimal; Effective and relevant instruction should occur and Minimal impact to families and staff.
These changes will allow high school seniors to graduate on time with diplomas in hand. It will also allow our families and our staff to enjoy an uninterrupted spring break, the importance of which should not be underestimated.
Students with other obligations for March 30 and June 5 should honor those obligations. It is not the desire to create conflict with pre-planned family events. Time with family matters and parents should feel comfortable and confident in their decision to adhere to their plans. School will be in session and the awesome teachers will be present to lead and instruct all students present.
MORRISTOWN — Estimated 13,000 people chant ‘Enough is Enough’ during March for Our Lives held in Morristown on Saturday, March 24.
The local event was organized by Bella Bhimani, a sophomore at West Morris Mendham High School, the walk was a non-partisan, student-led march against gun violence.
Morristown Mayor Tim Dougherty addressed the crowd at the beginning of the March starting Morristown Town Hall. Dougherty said “Get behind people that will support the right to protect our children in schools and on the street, enough is enough. Protect our kids, not guns, enough is enough. Let me hear it. Enough is enough, Who do we care about? Our children. Enough is Enough. And that let echo in every town and every city and every state in these United States of America. God Bless you all for coming out here and protesting and standing up for your rights and trying to protect the people who need protecting from the people that won’t protect us. So keep it up, I will stand with you, I will walk with you. God bless and Keep it Up.”
Estimated 13,000 people chant ‘Enough is Enough’ during March for Our Lives held in Morristown on Saturday, March 24Morristown Mayor Tim Dougherty and his wife Mary during the March for Our Lives held in Morristown on Saturday, March 24
According to the March for Our Lives website “Weapons of war have no place in our communities. Our nation requires a comprehensive assault weapons ban that prohibits the future production and sale of these weapons and provides a solution for dealing with those assault weapons that are already owned, such as a buyback program or registration. Limiting high-powered weapons to the military has worked elsewhere to eliminate the opportunity for mass shootings.”
MCDC, MD Representative Steny Hoyer, and Chairman Chip Robinson were proud to march alongside the student leaders at the Morristown March for our Lives this afternoon.They stand with these students, and with candidates who are committed to ending gun violence.
The student activists emphasized that they would soon have access to the ballot box as they hope to build support for candidates who support universal background checks and bans on assault-style weapons.
Large majorities of Americans say they support gun control measures like universal background checks. Yet when put directly to the people in a referendum in recent years, the results have been mixed.
Mikie Sherrill, Candidate for Congress in New Jersey’s 11th District, during the March for Our Lives held in Morristown on Saturday, March 24
Morristown police, the Morris County Sheriff’s Office and other agencies provided security. There were so many participants that lead marchers returning to Town Hall passed marchers at the end of the line still completing the loop.
Sonja Maddox and Parsippany resident Judy HernandezEstimated 13,000 people chant ‘Enough is Enough’ during March for Our Lives held in Morristown on Saturday, March 24
Marchers flooded streets across the globe in public protests on Saturday, calling for action against gun violence. Hundreds of thousands of marchers turned out, in the most ambitious show of force yet from a student-driven movement that emerged after the recent massacre at a South Florida high school.
At the main event in Washington, survivors of mass shootings, including the one in Florida, rallied a whooping crowd — “Welcome to the revolution,” said one of the student organizers — and spoke of communities that are disproportionately affected by gun violence. “It is normal to see flowers honoring the lives of black and brown youth that have lost their lives to a bullet,” Edna Chavez, 17, said of her South Los Angeles neighborhood.
In New York, marchers bundled in bright orange — the official color of a gun control advocacy group — charged toward Central Park. And in Parkland, Fla., less than a mile from where the shooting took place last month, one protester’s eyes brimmed with tears, surrounded by the echoing chant, “Enough is enough!”
For more information on “March for Our Lives” click here.
PARSIPPANY — Patrol Officer T. Armenti responded to a residence on Josham Lane for a burglary. After a brief investigation it was determined that the victim’s 25 inch Sanyo Television was stolen while he was away between February 14 and March 13. Josham Lane is located in the Knoll Garden Apartments in the Lake Hiawatha section of Parsippany.
This incident remains under investigation and anyone with information is asked to contact the Parsippany Police Department Investigative Division at (973) 263-4311.
PARSIPPANY — The annual “Scouting For Food” drive National Boy Scout Good Turn took place on Saturday, March 24. Boy scouts from Troop 173 collected donations of non-perishable food from neighborhoods throughout Parsippany. 2,646 items including soups, baby formula, pasta, pasta sauce, personal care items, canned vegetables, canned fruit, baby cereal, peanut butter, powdered milk, hot or cold cereal, dried fruit, and canned meats were collected by 38 scouts and delivered to the Parsippany Christian Church Food Bank on Vail Road to help replenish their shelves. The food bank is currently serving over 300 families in the Parsippany community.
PARSIPPANY — The Woman’s Club of Parsippany-Troy Hills is once again collecting used or broken smartphones, cell phones, iPads and other tablets, iPods and MP3 players from now until the end of April. All money earned by recycling these items will be donated to Jersey Battered Women’s Service (JBWS) of Morris County. JBWS provides a safe house and transitional living accommodations for victims of abuse, who are often forced to leave their homes with only the clothing they are wearing. For additional information on JBWS, please contact info@jbws.org.
Collection boxes are located at Boiling Springs Savings Bank on North Beverwyck Road, Cerbo Lumber & Hardware at 1855 Route 46 Eastbound, Green Pond Dry Cleaners on Baldwin Road, IHOP Restaurant in the Arlington Plaza Shopping Center on Route 46 Westbound, Cerbo’s Parsippany Greenhouses at 440 Littleton Road, Four Knives Deli at 166 Halsey Road and at Village Nails & Spa at 1711 Route 10 Eastbound in the Kohl’s Shopping Center.
The Woman’s Club of Parsippany-Troy Hills is a member of the New Jersey State Federation of Women’s Clubs of GFWC (NJSFWC), which is the largest volunteer women’s service organization in the state, providing opportunities for education, leadership training, and community service.
The April General Meeting is on Monday, April 23 at 7:00 p.m., at the Lake Parsippany Rescue & Recovery Building, 100 Centerton Drive. All area women are welcome.
For more information call Cathy at (973) 984-0758, e-mail the club at womansclubofpth@gmail.com, or click here to view their website.
