MORRIS COUNTY — Mark your calendars to come to this one-of-a kind Halloween outdoor festival, Morris County Park Palooza, on Saturday, October 5, at Lewis Morris County Park in Morris Township. Park Palooza will feature 20+ food trucks, a biergarten, live music, and Halloween activities for adults and children, carnival games, face painting, and so much more. It is set to run from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Come in costume and grab a bite to eat from a variety of 20+ popular food trucks, or throw back a few of the hand-crafted brews, wine and sangria from the biergarten, all while listening to one of the two live featured bands! Pack a blanket and chairs, and enjoy live pop to rock music from Jazmyn Adelle & Company and Guy Smiley Band.

Enjoy Halloween lawn games for adults and kids, moon bouncer, magician, face painter, and much more.

Tickets can be purchased online beginning on September 4 at discounted rates of $5.00 per adult and $2.00 per child by clicking here. Day of the event for $10.00 per adult and $5.00 per child.

There will be FREE parking, and admission allows for re-entrance throughout the day. All foods and beverages are sold separately.

For more information and directions to Lewis Morris County Park click here.

Proceeds from this event, hosted by Garden State Food Truck Festival, will benefit the Morris County Park Commission.

The Morris County Park Commission features one of the region’s best park systems in the state of New Jersey. It currently protects and maintains 20,197 acres at 38 distinct sites plus offers a year-round calendar of events and activities for all to enjoy!

MORRIS COUNTY — Assemblyman Anthony M. Bucco, the Republican Conference Leader, called out the Democrats today for not addressing property taxes. The Assembly met to expand a vote-by-mail law and didn’t consider any other bills.

Bucco said that if the legislature spent time on the number one issue for voters, turnout wouldn’t be a problem. A Monmouth University poll found that property taxes were far and away the most important issue to voters. That was followed by a Rutgers-NJBIA poll, where eighty percent of respondents said they pay too much in property taxes for the services they receive, and that state government isn’t doing enough to address cost of living and affordability.

MORRIS COUNTY — After a recent television news investigation into school bullying found the danger may be more prevalent than state statistics show, Senator Joe Pennacchio urged the General Assembly to pass his Mallory’s Law legislation bolstering New Jersey’s anti-bullying statutes.

The News 12 New Jersey report indicates school districts may be significantly under-reporting bullying cases. One district reported nine incidents to the state in three years, while school board minutes showed 27 in the same period.

“We need to stop this nonsense and prevent the under-reporting of bullying that is going on, and my bill will help do that,” said Pennacchio, whose bipartisan bill (S3433) passed the Senate in June with unanimous support, although the Assembly version has not moved. “We’re going to force schools to keep better records.”

The bill requires written reports be filed on numbered forms developed by the Department of Education, and requires school districts to provide parents with an online form for reporting harassment, intimidation or bullying. After a report is filed, principals must submit the form to the school superintendent, the executive county superintendent, and the parents of students involved.

According to the News 12 report, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention find each year one in five students are bullied at school. New Jersey’s numbers are just one in 200, and 174 school districts, with 88,000 students, reported no bullying at all.

“This investigation makes a strong case for enacting Mallory’s Law as soon as possible,” said Pennacchio. “It’s obvious we can’t trust self-reporting by the school districts. We must be more concerned about the welfare of our children than the reputations of our schools.

“For the sake of our children, I urge the Assembly to pass this bill, and the governor to sign it into law as soon as possible.”

The legislation – named for Mallory Grossman, a 12-year-old bullying victim from Rockaway who committed suicide in 2017 – strengthens the state’s Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights, signed into law in 2010 and considered one of the toughest anti-bullying laws in the nation. Under the bill, each school district’s anti-bullying policy must include specific penalties for bullying, and ensures school officials take preventative actions before tragedy strikes.

“We must do more to protect kids now that texting and social media make bullying possible 24/7. By requiring school and county officials to address bullying situations before an incident escalates, Mallory’s Law can help prevent the loss of more young lives,” Pennacchio said, noting that suicide is the second leading cause of death for children ages 10 to 14.

MORRIS COUNTY — The National Endowment for the Humanities announced its award to the Morris County Park Commission of the prestigious Preservation Assistance Grant for their project, ‘Sustainable Management of Collections Environments with Limited Controls.’

This $10,000 award will support the assessment and monitoring of storage environments for collections maintained in three Morris County Park Commission sites. Maintaining optimal collections environments is a key to the long-term preservation of Morris County’s valuable artifacts, but for many historic structures with limited controls, there have not been many options to intervene.

Working in partnership with the Image Permanence Institute, Rochester Institute of Technology the Morris County Park Commission can now explore sustainable and low-cost solutions for maintaining appropriate temperature and humidity conditions for artifacts in buildings without HVAC, and in some cases, no electricity. The grant funds will support a three-day site visit to assess and survey 10 buildings with varying environmental controls. It will also support the purchase of e-Climate Notebook monitoring equipment, and the training of staff in using this data analysis software.

According to Melanie Bump, Curator of Collections and Exhibits of the Morris County Park Commission, “This award is important to the people of Morris County as valuable assets, which include a collection of artifacts relating to the 300 years of Morris County history, will be preserved.”

She added, “It will also inform new sustainable practices in environmental management of collections storage, impacting collections stewardship around the world.”

Dave Helmer, Executive Director of the Morris County Park Commission, added,  “We should celebrate that Morris County received this most competitive and sought-after grant as it demonstrates the critical importance of this project and the Park Commission’s stewardship responsibility of local, regional and even national historical and cultural artifacts.

The National Endowment for the Humanities received 102 eligible applications, and 45 Preservation Assistance Grants were awarded across the country. The Morris County Park Commission is one of only two institutions in this year New Jersey to receive this grant, and were funded at the full amount. The Endowment awards grants to top rated proposals examined by panels of independent, external reviewers. There are four levels of review before a grant is officially supported, including a final review by the NEH chairman.

Cultural institutions, such as museums, archives, libraries, colleges and universities, public television, and to individual scholars are all eligible for grant funding through the NEH.

MORRIS COUNTY — Morris County Sheriff James M. Gannon has selected Kelley Zienowicz as the person to lead the Sheriff’s Office into the future.

Kelley Zienowicz, a graduate of the elite FBI National Academy, will be promoted to the rank of Chief Morris County Sheriff’s Officer, the highest-level Officer position in the Sheriff’s Office Bureau of Law Enforcement.

Chief Zienowicz’s promotion will formally take place on Tuesday, September 3, during a swearing-in ceremony, making her the highest-ranking woman in the Morris County Sheriff’s Office and the sole female chief in Morris County.

“I am so proud to announce the promotion of Kelley Zienowicz to Chief Sheriff’s Officer of the Morris County Sheriff’s Office,” Sheriff James M. Gannon said.

“Chief Zienowicz has a temperament that motivates and energizes others. She is highly-educated, a graduate of the elite FBI National Academy, and a true leader with an impeccable work ethic.”

“With Chief Zienowicz at the helm of day-to-day operations overseeing all divisions in the Sheriff’s Office Bureau of Law Enforcement, we will accomplish great things which the people of Morris County deserve,” Sheriff Gannon said.

“Not only am I proud to have the backing of the Sheriff, I know this is an important time for the agency as a whole. I hope to bring positive motivation to the agency, from the top to the bottom,” Chief Zienowicz said.

As Chief, she will be responsible for management and day-to-day oversight over the Bureau of Law Enforcement’s four divisions: Support Services, Protective Services, Legal Services, and Special Services, which includes the Crime Lab and Crime Scene Investigation Unit.

Chief Zienowicz – who has received multiple awards, including the New Jersey Women in Law Enforcement Breaking the Glass Ceiling Award – will be promoted to Chief from her previous rank of Detective Lieutenant.

Chief Zienowicz grew up in Chester and attended Villa Walsh Academy. She earned a bachelor of arts degree in psychology from Boston College in 1999, and a master of arts degree in forensic psychology from John Jay College in New York City in 2003.
She began her career with the Morris County Sheriff’s Office in 1999 as a civilian clerk-typist assigned to the Internal Affairs Section. Within a year, she was hired as a Sheriff’s Investigator and in 2001, she attended and completed training at the Morris County Police Academy.

Chief Zienowicz was first assigned to the Protective Services Division, which provides security and judicial protection at the courthouse complex.

In August 2001, she was assigned to the Criminal Investigation Section – now called Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) – and spent 11 years in the Unit, assisting in multiple criminal investigations throughout Morris County.

She was called as a witness for the prosecution in several high-profile criminal cases in Superior Court between 2003 and 2014. She was qualified as an expert fingerprint witness in the sexual assault trial and retrial of Andrew Pena, and testified about evidence in the murder trials of Jose Feliciano, convicted of murdering the Rev. Edward Hinds in Chatham in 2009; Anthony Novellino, convicted of killing his former wife, Judith, in Denville; and Carlos Rojas, found guilty of bludgeoning Esteban Hernandez Vazquez and leaving his body in the trunk of a car abandoned in Lincoln Park.

Chief Zienowicz was promoted to the rank of Sergeant in April 2012 and assigned to the Legal Services Division as the Executions and Foreclosure Section Supervisor. That promotion was followed on March 1, 2016, by another advancement to the rank of Detective Lieutenant.

She was assigned the post of Division Commander in the Administrative Division, overseeing Internal Affairs and the Special Operations Section. She then was transferred to the Protective Services Division in September 2016, where she oversaw the courthouse complex and operations and security at the Dover Probation Office.

One of her most profound pleasures was her nomination to attend the 273rd Session of the prestigious FBI National Academy, a 10-week course of study in Quantico, Virginia, in the summer of 2018. Sheriff Gannon, who backed the nomination, is an FBI National Academy Graduate, as well.
The FBI National Academy is a professional course of study for U.S. and international law enforcement managers who are nominated by their agency heads because of their demonstrated leadership abilities. The program provides coursework on intelligence theory, terrorism, terrorist mindsets, management science, law, behavioral science, communication and forensic science to improve the administration of justice in police departments and agencies.

Upon returning from the FBI National Academy, Chief Zienowicz in September 2018 was transferred to the Special Services Division, overseeing CSI, Evidence Section, and the Bomb Unit.

Assisting in the implementation of new technologies at the Sheriff’s Office, Chief Zienowicz was a member of the Evidence Unit start-up team for the BEAST evidence tracking system, guided implementation of the CivilServe civil process database system in the Executions and Foreclosure Unit, and coordinated use of the new Computer Aided Dispatch System within the Protective Services Division.

Chief Zienowicz has logged a voluminous number of hours on training, including intensive courses on crash reconstruction, supervision of police personnel, shooting analysis and reconstruction, and interpretation of bloodstain patterns.

She has received the Sheriff’s Achievement Award, Exceptional Duty Award, Unit Citation Medal, Professional Service Medal, Educational Achievement Medal-Masters Degree, Morris County Detective’s Association Distinguished Achievement Unit Award, and the NJ Women in Law Enforcement Breaking the Glass Ceiling Award, which is awarded to women who achieve a law enforcement rank of lieutenant or higher.

Chief Zienowicz is a three-time Police Unity Tour rider and participates annually in the Special Olympics Torch Run.

MORRIS COUNTY — Morris County Board of Freeholders will hold the 18th Annual Remembrance of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks against our nation on Sunday, September 8, at 6:00 p.m.

The ceremony will be take place at the Morris County September 11th Memorial on West Hanover Avenue in Parsippany, near the Morris View Healthcare Center and Morris County Public Safety Academy. It will be held rain or shine.

Alison Crowther and Honor Crowther Fagan, the mother and sister of Welles Crowther (“Man in the Red Bandana”), who gave his life to save others at the World Trade Center on 9/11, will speak at the event.

The county’s 9/11 event will include a march with a color guard up West Hanover Avenue to the 9/11 Memorial by police, fire, rescue and emergency personnel from across Morris County. They will be led by flag bearer Expedito C. Santillan, father of the late Maria Theresa Santillan of Morris Plains, who perished on 9/11.

The observance will include a special invocation, a lighting of candles, reading of the names of each of the Morris County victims, a 21-gun salute, keynote remarks, and music by the Morris Choral Society, Bethel AME Church of Morristown Ensemble, and Police Pipes and Drums of Morris County.

“It is an honor to have the Crowther family at the Morris County 9/11 Remembrance this year,” said Freeholder Director Doug Cabana. “We gather at the county memorial each year on the anniversary of 9/11 to recall every single one of the nearly 3,000 innocent people who were lost to our nation that day, like Welles Crowther, and that includes 64 of our Morris County residents, plus so many police, fire, EMT and other rescue workers.”

“We want their families and friends to know their loved ones are not forgotten, that we will never forget their sacrifices,” Freeholder Cabana added.

Welles Remy Crowther was a 24-year-old rookie investment banker working on the 104th floor of the South Tower at WTC when the attacks occurred on 9/11. Using training he received as a volunteer firefighter in his hometown, he rescued other workers trapped in the burning tower.

He was last seen working with members of the FDNY just before the South Tower collapsed.

Crowther became known as the “Man in the Red Bandana’’ for the red handkerchief he wore as a protective mask while taking on the role of rescuer. His story has been told in the documentary film, Man in the Red Bandana. Click here.

The Rockland County, N.Y. resident is annually honored by his alma mater, Boston College; he posthumously was named an honorary New York City firefighter; and his efforts were cited by President Barack Obama in the 2014 dedication of the National 9/11 Memorial and Museum. Click here.

Morris County’s September 11th Memorial pays tribute to all of those who died in the terrorist attacks in New York, Pennsylvania and Washington D.C., on September 11, 2001, with a special emphasis on the 64 victims from Morris County whose names are etched in plaques affixed to the Memorial.

The names of all of the nearly 3,000 people who died that day are engraved in ruby-colored paving stones that have been set in the ground as a walkway surrounding the Memorial.

Since seating at the Memorial is limited, the public is encouraged to bring lawn chairs to the outdoor observance. Parking will be available at the Morris County Department of Human Services building at 340 West Hanover Avenue, in Morris Township – directly across from the Academy. Shuttle buses will be available to transport those in need the short distance to the Memorial.

For more information click here.