PARSIPPANY — Why not begin your Lenten Journey and have it end with the joy of our Lord’s resurrection. Our Lenten Mission this year will be sponsored by St. Peter the Apostle Parish and St. Ann’s Parish of Parsippany, 179 Baldwin Road.

A Journey to Joy is a gift you can give to yourself during this Lenten Season. Join us for a three-day Lenten Mission, presented by Daytime Emmy-Nominated TV Actor, Frank Runyeon (All My Children, The Young and the Restless, Santa Barbara, Falon Crest, LA Law and Melrose Place!

Monday, March 9; Tuesday, March 10 and Wednesday, March 11
St. Peter the Apostle Parish

Monday – 7:30 p.m. – Signs: The Gospel of John. All the drama and power of this beloved Gospel are brought to life in a spellbinding performance.

Tuesday – 7:30 p.m. – Sermon on the Mount: Bringing to life the famous Sermon on the Mount as well as the Lords Prayer, the Golden Rule.

Wednesday -7:30 p.m. – Hollywood vs. Faith: The struggle to live as a Christian in the age of Media Values.

This will be a mission that you have never experienced before. For 25 years, Frank has helped audiences of all ages rediscover the power of Scripture Stories through one-man plays. Join us and let Frank deepen your lenten journey with scriptures, drama and humor!

If you would like more information about Frank Runyeon, visit www.frankrunyeon.com

Bring a friend, a neighbor, a family member, your children, grandchildren and plan on being entertained!! Please email any questions you might have to Lentenmission2020@gmail.com.

MORRIS COUNTY — The Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF) program at County College of Morris (CCM) has received the Silver Award of Excellence from NASPA Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education for its record of success in serving first-generation students.

The national award recognizes programs, policies, procedures, best practices and services that support students who are the first in their families to earn a college degree.

Sponsored and supported by the New Jersey Office of the Secretary of Higher Education, EOF provides underserved, low-income and predominately first-generation students with academic and financial support to assist them in completing a college education. EOF students receive a state grant to help defray the cost of their education. At CCM, the program also offers them comprehensive, customized and holistic support services, including a summer orientation on college readiness, academic counseling, tutoring, mentoring, workshops on study and time management skills, and opportunities to develop leadership skills.

At CCM, EOF also collaborates with other campus departments, such as Counseling, Career Services, Campus Life and The Academic Success Center, to ensure the success of its students.

Students who participate in the CCM EOF program have high success rates, both in terms of graduating with an associate degree and transferring to a four-year institution to earn a bachelor’s degree. On average, nearly 45 percent of CCM’s EOF students graduate within three years of enrolling at CCM, compared to the 22 percent three-year rate for community colleges nationwide.

“Ultimately, EOF at CCM meets students where they are regardless of their background, academic aptitude, social challenges or needs,” says Dr. Pam Marcenaro, dean of Learning Support and Opportunity Services, who oversees the EOF program. “Our philosophy is to personalize and customize support for students to help them fulfill their academic and professional goals and increase their overall chance of college success.”

“The EOF staff at CCM does an outstanding job of assisting first-generation students so they can improve their lives and positively impact their communities,” notes Dr. Anthony J. Iacono, president of CCM. “We’re delighted that their work and the success of the students they serve have been recognized with this national award from NASPA. Our EOF students are invaluable members of the CCM community and are leaders in the making. Every one of these students has a dream, ability and the need for a great education. They are our future.”

NASPA serves as a leading voice for student affairs whose mission is to drive innovation and evidence-based student-centered practices throughout higher education nationally and globally.

PARSIPPANY — Members of the Parsippany Police Department recently visited IHOP, 792 Route 46 to host another “Coffee With a Cop.”

Coffee With A Cop is a national program which has been widely successful. The program is a very informal one, the hope is to bridge the gap between police and community in an open forum to talk about anything.

MORRIS COUNTY — Assemblywoman BettyLou DeCroce recently said “I was disappointed in Gov. Murphy’s budget address today because I don’t believe increasing spending by another $2 billion and raising taxes and fees is going to help the hard-working, middle class families of this state; nor will his proposals create jobs or stem the flight of individuals and business from New Jersey.”

The governor’s fiscal blueprint would give our state a $41 billion budget for FY 2021, which is $6.2 billion higher than when he came to office less than three years ago. That represents spending growth of 18 percent per year.  Governor Murphy is driving the state’s financial bus in the wrong direction. In a state screaming for tax relief, there was not one sentence in his address that called for cutting spending on anything. Sadly, his progressive agenda of more spending is simply unsustainable no matter how many rich people you tax.

The governor mentioned the middle class many times in his speech but I cannot find one thing in his remarks that will lift the tax burden on middle class, working families, who are reaching their financial breaking point.

It is ironic that the governor, who says one of his top priorities is to attract business to the state is promoting policies that add another tax on corporations – the corporate responsibility tax — and again lobbying for a tax on top earners who own businesses and create jobs. Increasing corporate taxes will not help New Jersey attract business investment.

New Jersey needs real, sustainable property tax relief and to get that, we will have to reform the way that government operates. We will have to reform our pension and benefits programs and begin the task of cutting spending, or before long, New Jersey will go bankrupt.

MORRIS COUNTY — Bray is about 1½ years old and about sixty pounds.  This is what is foster family has to say about him…”Bray is awesome!  He is a happy, super friendly fellow who loves, loves, loves people!! And he loves comfort…he on our bed and is always on a bed or a couch snuggled up with someone if possible. Bray enjoys running in the yard, playing with toys and going for walks.

He loves his squeaky toys and wants to play tug of war with you. When you him, he will give you lots of kisses!! Bray always wants to be around us!  With his easy going mellow personality he is ready for anything!  Do you want to go for a walk, Bray will go with you. If you want to hang out, Bray will hang out with you!  He is a go with the flow type of dog! This smart dog loves to please and he knows the commands sit, no and he is house trained and good with other dogs. He’s a good watchdog, barks when he hears other dogs or when someone comes to the house, but is not aggressive at all. We Love Bray!”

Someone found Bray and his brother, Billy and took then into into an over-popular shelter in NC. After no one came in to claim the dogs, the shelter reached out to FHDR.  When we heard about their wonderful, easy going personalities, we transport them to live in foster homes in NJ. Bray is looking forward to meeting you!
Please email FHDR@att.net if you are interested in adopting Bray.  You can see more photos and our other adopted pups at FHDR.petfinder.com

PARSIPPANY — Tuesday, February 18, the Township Council rejected the Development Accountability Ordinance. As I proposed last month, this ordinance would have allowed any resident of Parsippany to appeal a major use variance approval of the Zoning Board to the Council, leaving the ultimate say on development projects involving a zone change with elected officials, not the Council majority-appointed Zoning Board.

For too long the Zoning Board has approved use variance after use variance, which do not agree with the approved zoning of the Township. These are applications asking for relief from our approved zoning rules and Master Plan.

Even more distressing is that the Council would not even allow this ordinance to be introduced, robbing the public of any opportunity to be heard before the ordinance was rejected.

That allows applications like the proposed 7-Eleven, the St. Christopher’s site, and others to potentially be approved with no checks and balances, and no accountability to the concerned residents of Parsippany.

I am incredibly disappointed that the Council chose to not even consider such a pro-citizen proposal. We’re not talking about sheds and fences here; we’re talking about major and controversial projects, which under current law will be fully decided upon by the unelected Zoning Board.

PARSIPPANY — The Friends of the Library will hold a Children’s Book Bag Sale at the Main Branch of Parsippany Library, 449 Halsey Road, now through February 27.

The bag sale is open during library hours. Bags will be provided, and customers can fill one for $5.00.

For the first time, this bag sale will include only children’s and junior books, and hundreds are available. Please e-mail questions to parsippanylibraryfriends@gmail.com.

MORRIS COUNTY — Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp, Acting Chief of Investigations Christoph Kimker and Mt. Olive Chief of Police Stephen Beecher announce the arrest of Mario Reis, 58, Budd Lake, on Identity Theft, Theft by Deception, Forgery, False Government Documents and Conspiracy related charges. Michael Kurzyna, 70, Netcong, was also arrested on Conspiracy to commit Theft by Deception charges.

On July 1, 2019, the Mount Olive Police Department was contacted by the victim who reported that sometime during 2016, an acquaintance of the victim, Mr. Mario Reis, contacted the victim stating that Mr. Reis was in need of financial assistance regarding his home heating oil company J&M Fuel LLC.  The victim then invested $35,000.00 into Mr. Reis’ company.

In 2019, the victim received a letter in the mail from a company by the name of CAN Financial.  The letter explained that the victim’s request for a loan was denied.  The victim had not applied for any loans and further found that multiple loans had been taken out in the victim’s name that totaled approximately $175,000.00.  As a result, the victim’s personal finances were being frozen for lack of payment and other loan related issues, which the victim believed were caused by Mr. Reis.

The investigation found that approximately $531,120.00 in loans were taken out as a result of Mr. Reis allegedly stealing the identity of the victim.  Mr. Reis allegedly utilized the victim’s information and allegedly completed fraudulent applications for loans, which were deposited into his fuel oil business account and were subsequently spent by Mr. Reis on personal and other expenses. Mr. Reis allegedly conspired with and allegedly utilized Mr. Michael Kurzyna, a loan broker at the time out of Netcong, to pass the fraudulent information to the end lender. Mr. Kurzyna allegedly agreed to broker the loans knowing that Mr. Reis was attempting to circumvent certain criteria/requirements within the loans.  At this time, the amount of the defaulted loans are approximately $281,906.20.

The defendant, Mario Reis, has been charged with the following offenses:

• 1 count of Identity Theft, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:21-17a(1), a crime of the Second degree;
• 1 count of Theft by Deception, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:20-4c, a crime of the Second degree;
• 1 count of Criminal Attempt to commit Theft by Deception, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:5-1 and 2C:20-4c, a crime of the Second degree;
• 1 count of Conspiracy to commit Theft by Deception, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:5-2a(2) and 2C:20-4c, a crime of the Second degree;
• 1 count of  Forgery, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:21-1a(2), a crime of the Third degree;
• 1 count of  Forgery – Uttering, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:21-1a(3), a crime of the Third degree; and
• 1 count of False Government Documents, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:21-2.1c, a crime of the Third degree.

The defendant, Michael Kurzyna, has been charged with the following offense:

• 1 count of Conspiracy to commit Theft by Deception, in violation of J.S.A. 2C:5-2a(2) and 2C:20-4c, a crime of the Second degree.

Prosecutor Knapp would like to thank the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Specialized Crimes, Financial Crimes Unit and the Mt. Olive Police Department whose efforts contributed to the investigation of this case.

Editor’s Note: An arrest or the signing of a criminal complaint is merely an accusation.  Despite this accusation, the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until he or she has been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Parsippany Mayor Michael Soriano delivered his “State of the Town” address at a special meeting that he called on Friday, February 7. His speech was filled with doom and gloom which he blamed on everybody but himself. He blamed the Zoning Board, He blamed the Township Council, He blamed the previous administration … He was setting us up for a huge increase in taxes that he will propose in the 2020 budget that he will claim no responsibility for … we made him do it.

In a Mayor’s first term, he inherits many things that he has no control over and so he can blame everything that is not right on the previous Council and Administration. He is, in essence, on his honeymoon. In the Mayor’s second year, that budget is his, he is accountable to the community for Tax increases, Services to the community, and Employee morale. In the Mayor’s third year, we are way past hearing that the Mayor is “digging out of a financial mess that he inherited”.

First, let’s address the Mayor’s criticism of the Zoning Board. He correctly points out that the Township Council appoints all members of the Zoning Board. He fails to mention that he appoints all members of the Planning Board (except me). He claims that the Zoning Board approves too many applications … he insultingly calls them the “Board of Yes”. He has proudly recommended that the Township Council pass a “Development Accountability Ordinance” that would allow any resident to ask the Council to overturn a decision of the Zoning Board. The Mayor’s recommendation is wrong on so many levels.

• First of all, the Zoning Board and the Planning Board are, by law, autonomous bodies. The Mayor and Council cannot interfere with any application that is before them. Both bodies have the benefit of an Attorney, a Planner, and an Engineer to assure that an applicant’s application is sound and assure that the Boards operate within the Land Use Laws and the Township Ordinances. Both Boards consist of Township Residents who are volunteers and who want what is best for our Township.

• Although the Mayor is a member of the Planning Board, he does not attend any of their meetings. He instead, has delegated his responsibility to another. He therefore, has no idea how many applications are approved. Since I have served on the Planning Board for most of the past twenty-five years, I can inform him that the percentages of applications approved by the Planning Board and the Zoning Board are similar (by my estimation). By the way, for the twelve years that Mimi Letts was Mayor, she never missed a Planning Board meeting.

• Bottom Line, the Mayor’s recommendation is foolish and his ordinance should be defeated.

Now let’s address the “Financial Mess” that the Mayor refers to. First of all, the hiring practices of this mayor are outrageous. Additional staff, new political patronage positions at outrageous salaries … some of which have no job descriptions. In the Mayor’s first year, I calculated $550,000 dollars in Salary, Pension and Benefit costs for those positions that I felt were unnecessary.

This Mayor has been critical of the previous Mayor for using surpluses generated by the Sewer Treatment Plant and the Water Department Utilities although he has done the same thing. There is a major difference between what James Barberio did and what Michael Soriano has done. Jamie only took the surplus that could be replenished in the following year. Jamie never allowed the Utility Fund Balance to fall below that critical amount. Michael Soriano has disregarded that Fund Balance to the point that we will need an increase in sewer and water fees.

This Mayor has also been critical of the Township Council for cutting his budget. He is also blaming us for his future tax increases. The bottom line here is Fund Balance for the Current budget and the Utility budgets is the Mayor’s responsibility. When the Township Council cuts some expense items in the budget to lower taxes, those expense items do not affect the Fund Balance.

For many years prior to Mayor Soriano, Parsippany enjoyed many accolades from Money Magazine and others touting Parsippany as the best place to live in New Jersey and 13th in the Nation. We also enjoyed a very good bond rating. What we hear now is gloom and doom mixed with large tax increases. What has changed? We got a new Mayor.

MORRIS COUNTY — Senator Joe Pennacchio and Senator Michael Testa have introduced legislation that is designed to give parents more information about the vaccines offered to their children and provide improved legal recourse when adverse reactions to vaccinations occur.

“This legislation is intended to improve upon the haphazard approach to vaccinating our children, which often occurs with no warning to parents and little opportunity to make well-informed choices,” said Pennacchio (R-26). “Parents deserve to be told in advance of an appointment about vaccinations that will be recommended, and given information about vaccine ingredients, efficacy, and risk. Vaccines should be treated no differently than any other drugs. They deserve the same scientific scrutiny that we give to all medicines. A parent has a right to know what is being injected into their child’s body and that it has been properly tested.”

The bill, S-1734, requires that health care practitioners provide information to a patient or the patient’s guardian at least 48 hours prior to the administration of a vaccine, including, a copy of the insert for the vaccine produced by the manufacturer for inclusion in the vaccine’s packaging and list of the vaccine ingredients produced by the federal Centers for Disease Control.

The legislation prohibits a doctor from refusing to provide services to a patient or to seek to transfer care or the patient solely on the refusal of the patient or their guardian to receive a vaccine.

“We’re making sure that parents have ample opportunity to understand and ask questions about the purpose and risk profiles of the vaccinations that their children’s doctors are proposing,” said Testa (R-1). “Should parents decline a particular vaccine, doctors would be required to provide a clear explanation of the potential medical risks and impacts on schooling. Ultimately, we want to empower parents with information to make the vaccination choices that are right for their families.”

Additionally, Pennacchio and Testa have drafted a pair of bills that address the rights of patients who experience adverse reactions to vaccinations.

The first measure, S-1791, would make the State strictly liable for damages stemming from certain vaccine-related injuries if the vaccination was mandated by a State law, rule, or regulation as a condition of attendance at a child care center, preschool program, elementary of secondary school, or institution of higher education, or by emergency declaration, at the time of the vaccine’s administration.

The second measure, a Senate Resolution pending introduction, urges the President of the United States and Congress to repeal the federal National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, which has shielded vaccine manufacturers from liability, removed economic and legal incentives for companies to develop safe vaccines, and made it difficult for those injured by vaccines to receive compensation.

“Parents quickly find that the deck is stacked against them when they seek legal recourse for an adverse reaction to a vaccine,” said Testa. “Our State, which mandates some vaccines for schooling, is immune from liability under current State law, while vaccine manufacturers are immune under federal law from lawsuits when people claim injury. Our legislation will help those who are injured by vaccines to get the compensation they deserve and provide manufacturers with extra incentives to ensure their products are safe.”

Pennacchio said he hopes the package of legislation creates a dialogue about vaccinations.

“It’s important for policymakers and the public to engage in an open dialogue about vaccinations and parental rights, and to try to apply reason-based unbiased science to this important issue,” added Pennacchio. “Given the political realities in Trenton, it may be an uphill battle to advance this legislation, but we should at least have the discussion. It’s the right thing to do.”

MORRIS COUNTY — Rain is actually on the smaller size coming in at just 35 lbs. She is super sweet and very playful. Rain is very smart and knows ALL her commands! She is also professionally trained!!!

Rain’s ideal home would be one with a yard to play in and a family to love on. She can live with children 10+ and other male dogs!

Rain loves playing fetch, going for hikes, meeting new people, and giving a ton of hugs and kisses–she’s super affectionate! Her foster dads say that after a nice walk, she loves a good nap on the couch with them. She’s fun and always happy and will bring so much joy into your life.

If you’re looking for a young, happy girl to be your new dog-child, apply to adopt Rain today!

If you are interested in adopting Rain, please fill out an application by clicking here.

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