Open for Business: Profiles in talent from the Morris County Career Networking Group

 

Versatile, and responsive Senior Business Analyst / Project Manager with a proven record of success in solving business process and technology challenges. Creative and persistent problem solver who thrives on challenges, is cool under pressure and gets the job done. Bright, enthusiastic and resourceful team builder who possesses excellent interpersonal and communication skills. Noted for using leadership and negotiation skills to effectively develop accord at all levels of management. Accomplished in achieving success in areas including leading multiple projects, raising levels of customer satisfaction and developing increased understanding between business sponsors and technology solution providers. Fluent in French.             www.linkedin.com/in/stephenjconnelly

Free service provides traffic and emergency alerts to Morristown

Morristown police today announced a free service that can provide alerts to residents via text messages or email.  Local officials are working with Nixle.com to send alerts about missing or wanted persons, traffic alerts and community advisories to subscribed residents. Users can request information within a quarter-mile radius of their homes, according to Detective Lt. Steve Sarinelli, spokesman for the Morristown police.

In a statement, Police Chief Pete Demnitz said testing of the service has gone well. Mayor Tim Dougherty said he received a text alert that routed him around a traffic tie-up. “I was able to change my route and got to my meeting on time. I think this will be great for our town,” he said.

Registration details are at Nixle.com. Below is the full text of the police announcement.

FROM THE MORRISTOWN POLICE:

(Morristown, New Jersey) –The Morristown Police Department is pleased to announce that we will be utilizing a new communications service, effective immediately, that allows us to send important, valuable community information directly to residents using the latest technology.

The Nixle Community Information Service allows us to create and publish messages to be delivered to subscribed residents instantly via cell phone text message and/or email. Notifications can also be accessed online at Nixle’s web site at www.nixle.com.

Messages may include community alerts for wanted or missing persons, traffic alerts for accidents and road closures, community advisories for upcoming events and many other relevant safety and community event information.

“We are very excited to be able to provide accurate and timely information to those who live, work and travel through Morristown” says Police Chief Peter Demnitz. He added that the service had already proven extremely valuable during the testing stage and community feedback had been very positive.

Morristown Mayor Tim Dougherty said that he was pleased with the opportunity to provide this service to the members of his community and had already seen first hand how the system could be of use. “I received a message on my cell phone telling me that there was a traffic delay in town from a car accident. I was able to change my route and got to my meeting on time. I think this will be great for our Town.”

The service is reliable and free for residents to use. The messages can be sent specifically to residents registered within a ¼ mile radius, giving them the opportunity to receive trustworthy information relevant only to their neighborhood. Residents decide from which local agencies they want to receive information.

Subscribers can also choose the way in which alerts are received, whether it is by email, text message, or over the web. There is NO spam and no hidden cost. Standard text messaging rates do apply.Nixle builds on the foundations of other public-to-public communication services, such as Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace, but adds a key component: security.

When citizens receive information from our agency via Nixle, they know it can be trusted. “Nixle is a first-of-its-kind tool for communities that need to provide critical information to their residents,” said Craig Mitnick, Founder and CEO. “In today’s world, you have to trust the source of your information. Residents of Morristown can rest easy that the local messages they receive are authentic.”

Residents of Morristown and those in neighboring communities can immediately begin receiving pertinent information via text message, email, and web by registering at www.nixle.com. We are very excited to have you experience it for yourself.

About Nixle

Nixle is a community information service provider built exclusively to provide secure and reliable communications. It is the first authenticated and secure service that connects municipal agencies and community organizations to residents in real time, delivering information to geographically targeted consumers over their cell phones (via text messages), through e-mails and via Web access. Nixle has secured a partnership with Nlets (the International Justice and Public SafetyNetwork), allowing local police departments nationwide to send immediate alerts and advisories. Privately funded Nixle,which has offices in New Jersey and California, is free to all governments, their agencies and organizations, nongovernmental organizations and consumers. For more information, visit www.nixle.com

Some free tickets remain for U.S. Army band, July 6 at Morristown’s Community Theatre

About 300 free tickets are left for the United States Army Field Band Jazz Ambassadors concert, at Morristown’s Community Theatre on Tuesday, July 6, at 7:30 pm.

The band will feature big band swing, bebop, standards, Dixieland and patriotic selections. We caught last year’s show, and it was rousing.

All seats are general admission, and there is a limit of four tickets per order. They can be picked up at the box office during these hours:

10 am – 6 pm, Wednesday-Thursday, June 30-July1
10 am – 2 pm, Friday, July 2
Closed Saturday, July 3 – Monday, July 5
Open Tuesday, July 6 at 10 am

More details from the theater are here.

Army band wins over Morristown

Video: Steel Drums 101 with Patrick Gomes on the Morristown Green

Patrick Gomes is the steel drums half of the Conroy Warren Duo.  Steel drums are more common in Patrick’s native Antigua than they are in Morristown, so we asked him to explain the finer points of the instrument after Tuesday’s performance on the Green.

The lunchtime concert was part of the “Music Without Borders” series hosted by the Community Theatre and the Arts Council of the Morris Area. This video interview runs  2 minutes and 47 seconds. And here is video of Patrick performing with Conroy Warren:

Tropical sounds on the Morristown Green, courtesy of the Conroy Warren Duo

MG Kids showcases more earth-friendly art

Today’s MG Kids features more pictures and earth-friendly messages created by Homeless Solutions‘ youngest clients in honor of this year’s Earth Day.

MG Kids welcomes children’s original artwork, stories, poetry and news articles. Click here to find out how to contribute.

Video: Tropical sounds on the Morristown Green, courtesy of the Conroy Warren Duo

The Conroy Warren Duo hails from Antigua. You could almost feel the Caribbean breeze yesterday as Conroy Warren and Patrick Gomes played “Yellow Bird” on the Morristown Green.

The duo’s tropical sounds soon had people doing a conga line. All that was missing were the pina coladas.

It was the second installment of “Music Without Borders,” a summer series sponsored by Morristown’s Community Theatre and the Arts Council of the Morris Area.  Next up is Los Ciegos Del Barrio, on July 13 at 6:30 p.m. outside the Community Theatre.

MUSIC WITHOUT BORDERS:

Video to tickle your Kundalini: The Fula Flute Trio

Free world music series comes to the Morristown Green

Morristown mayor says state Board of Public Utilities assures him it’s pressing for answers in library explosion

The state Board of Public Utilities will “stay on until it finds the cause and solution” for the May 3 explosion at the Morristown & Township Library, Morristown Mayor Tim Dougherty told the town council last night.

Yesterday the Mayor spoke with the BPU for the first time about the case, a conversation lasting about 15 minutes over the phone, he said. The board will ensure that experts hired by utilities to study the explosion do their jobs, the Mayor said.

But he added it’s unlikely the board will agree to Councilwoman Alison Deeb’s request for written reports on the progress of the library investigation. How the BPU will communicate its findings to the town is unclear, the Mayor conceded.

The library remains closed, as asbestos removal proceeds.

Librarians–who escaped the library only moments before the powerful blast–temporarily are working from a handful of locations, including a storefront across South Street from the library. Library officials hope at least part of the library can be re-opened by Labor Day.

Morristown council adopts $37.2 M budget and approves Franklin Street revamp in marathon meeting

In a meeting lasting nearly four hours, the Morristown council adopted a $37.2 million town budget that will increase property taxes by 1.9 percent.

Design changes intended to improve safety and privacy along Franklin Street also were approved, although some residents objected to the parking portion of the plan.

Council discussion of the budget proposed by Mayor Tim Dougherty’s administration ran longer than anticipated, and two council members–Raline Smith-Reid and James Smith–unsuccessfully pushed to schedule a workshop session on the budget.

When it appeared that the council lacked the necessary four votes to adopt the spending plan, the town clerk set up a conference call to include Councilwoman Michelle Harris-King, who was absent from the meeting.

She voted with Rebecca Feldman, Alison Deeb and Kevin Gsell for the budget. Raline and Jim voted no. Council President Anthony Cattano Jr. was absent.

Alison Deeb, a Republican, praised the Democratic mayor for a tight budget. “Are you sure you’re not a Republican?” she joked.

The budget will cost homeowners an extra $19 for every $100,000 of assessed value. Someone with a home assessed at $357,000, the town average, will pay about $68 more than last year for local government. Nine full-time employees and three part-timers were laid off, and 14 vacant jobs won’t be filled, according to the administration.

Plans to slow traffic along Franklin Street, near Morristown Memorial Hospital between Route 287 and Madison Avenue, were approved by a 5-0 vote, with Raline abstaining. Curbs will be widened, traffic lanes will be narrowed, and a series of red brick crosswalks will be installed this fall. A shared lane for bicyclists also is envisioned for the hospital side of Franklin Street.

The hospital will pay for most of the work, as a condition of the town’s blessing for the addition of two floors to a hospital parking deck, said Rebecca Feldman.

Plans also call for parking to be eliminated on the side of Franklin Street fronting the hospital. Parking on the opposite side of the street would be reserved via permits for area residents. This element of the project still requires council approval.

The idea is to get hospital employees and visitors to use the hospital’s parking facilities, not Franklin Street, explained Rebecca. Area residents complained last night about hospital traffic creating noise and litter. They cited safety hazards and privacy intrusions caused by motorists making K- and U-turns in their hunt for parking spaces along Franklin Street. Additionally, parked cars  make it difficult for residents to back out of their driveways,  residents told the council.

While several local residents commended the Mayor and council for key aspects of the Franklin Street plan, some raised concerns about the proposed creation of 10 street parking spaces in the vicinity of DeKalb Place. One Franklin Street homeowner, a young woman who is single, said she worried that assailants could hide behind cars that will park in front of her house.

Former council candidate Ed France urged town officials to prod the hospital to allow area residents to use its parking garages for free or at reduced rates. Inevitably, such a shared arrangement would pose conflicts, a lawyer for Morristown Memorial told the council.

Redeemer Youth Mission Trip Update – Day 4

Sorry, no pictures to post today, but we will have more tomorrow.  In the meantime, the words of those here will bring to mind the sights, sounds, and smells of the experience (okay, maybe you don’t want that last one, as we are getting kinda bad smelling down here).  So read along, and thanks for all your comments too!  We have been passing them along to the kids, and it means so much to them, and to Melissa and Me.   And now, the blogs for the day.

Hello Redeemer,

The Youth Group is working hard and getting an eyeful of a completely different world. When I asked if they felt like they were doing something important, they answered with a resounding “Yes!”

This afternoon the homeowner came over to look at the progress. He said the roof looks beautiful, and when he saw the cleanup in his house he said, “Wow, I didn’t know I had a cement floor!”  Ten minutes later he came back with his six year old son and two coolers. They were filled with 4 beautiful watermelons on ice!!  The most delicious thing I have ever eaten!

Below are the words of your children. They made me weep.  I have nothing more to say except, “ Listen to what the spirit is saying through your children!”

Thanks Be to God,
Melissa

From Nataliya,

Cleaning out this space of moldy, ruined belongings of this family really is tiring.  Seeing this family’s home really does make me appreciate what I have back in New Jersey. There are bugs everywhere that are continuing to bite and sting all of us.  We finally moved out of our crowded, hot space where we slept, to a big, air conditoned space that is much more comfortable.

From Jake,

Having a lot of fun, but the work is hard.  Replacing a tin roof in the middle of the summer in Louisiana is tough, but rewarding!  We met the family of the house we are working on.  Sweet, hardworking people who are so appreciative. It’s really hot out here, but what makes the work so tough, other than the heat, is the random, re-occuring storms we get.  The sound of thunder drove Diana and I into the attic for half an hour, and the rain made everything slippery.  A cold shower has never felt so good.

Colin

My shoes are wet, my shirt is disgusting, my legs are covered in fire ant bites…and I’m still having a great time.  However I’m still looking forward to taking a shower and watching a movie and sleeping.

Sophie:

Hello again.  Well what an adventure!  When I arrived here (where we are staying for the next few days), it was hotter then you know what!  At night all 7 of us girls had to fit in the kitchen!  6 matresses 7 girls, 2 fans, and pure heat, NOT FUN!  All I was thinking about was how I wanted to go home and be in my air conditioning.  I was feeling sorry for myself.  But that all changed the next day, when I went to the house that we are roofing.  Because of my condition I cannot go on the roof, so i am cleaning out a den. This den is distroyed.  I could’t believe it!  I also met the owners and it really touched my heart. Oh, and lets not forget the dogs we named, but we won’t go there.  The things that I saw caused me to be so encouraged to help.  I quickly began to haul out the mountains and mountains of the destroyed items of the family.  The work is time consuming and hard, but definitely worth it.  I have blisters on both hands from raking the 4 inch thick dried mud everywhere, got stuck in a thorn bush, and I have fire ant bites everywhere that sting like nobody’s business.  And I can’t lie, I look foward to going to our new sleeping spot, enjoying the air conditioning, eating m&ms, watching movies, and being with my youth group and the St. Peters’ youth group. This trip is turning out to be heck of a lot better than I thought.  I miss everyone back home (including my house), but now I am so thankful, and will never take anything I have for granted!  I send my love to anyone who’s reading this!

Lots of love- Soph

Dear Redeemer,

I have to second all of what Melissa and the kids have said.  You would be so blown away by what your youth have been doing here.  We never imagined that we would be ripping up an old and tattered tin roof, and laying down a bright shiny new one.  It is hard work, and everyone has pushed themselves to go above and beyond.  As Jake said, we keep getting interrupted by rain, but we make the most of it.  And our youth, having met the family, are determined to do all they can to stop the rain from entering the home through the roof.  The roofing is a bit of a process for us, especially as we have to do it all from… well, the roof!  First, we move across the old roof, and working as a team, a few sections at a time, we pull up the old nails and then crowbar the old tin up.  Then, we slide the new tin into place, and screw it in with power drills.  We have laid about a quarter of the new tin on one side, and hope to get about half way through the first side today, if these thunderstorms will stop.  Jake, Colin and Nat have been up there with me, while Sophie and Melissa patiently respond to yells down for “more tin” or “spotter needed”!  We are all working as a team to do this hard and important work.

When not on the roof, the youth are with Melissa down below working to clear out the room in the front of the home.  You would not believe how much crud, guck and debris they have cleared out – all the result of Gustav and other storms.  When I got off the roof I could not believe the incredible transformation!  As Melissa said, the homeowners were so amazed.  They never realized that there was a real cement floor under all the mess.  They hope to move into this home, even with more work being needed, as soon as the roof is up, and there is no longer water coming in to flood the home.

But, it is not all sweat and labor… last night we ventured out for ice cream after dinner.  And, the best quote so far was when the kids saw that we were pulling into a Dairy Queen, and one said “God has spoken!”.  I love these kids!  They are the best!!

Love and Peace,
Diana

Tweetin’ from Dulac

Below are some of the most recent Twitterisms from the St. Peter’s Youth Group and their Mission Trip to Dulac, LA.   It’s great following along with this stream-of-consciousness electronic graffiti; it’s been  like reading dispatches from the front.  Which is, really, where they are – working to build housing in that hurricane-ravaged region.

Anyway, it’s been splendid watching this story unfold – a story  now in its “hard physical labor, every day, in sweltering heat, to the point of exhaustion” phase – and they’re doing it all for people they don’t know and will likely never meet.

The kids are all right.   (Wish I could be there with them, in fact – including the kids from Morristown’s Church of the Redeemer, who are in Dulac, too, alongside kids from Kirby and Smithville and Des Moines.)

You can follow along with the St. Peter’s kids at their Twitter page.

• 06/29/2010 – 13:56

  St_Peters_Youth: Eating our feelings. Thank god for the cheese puffs.-the gals
• 06/29/2010 – 13:54

  St_Peters_Youth: Golly ya’ll, my hair is just a frizzball.-emily and amber
• St_Peters_Youth: We finished the living room! Onto the kitchen. . . Oy. Covered in dust. Black buggers

• 06/28/2010 – 22:51

  St_Peters_Youth: Thank god for sonic. Goodnight jersey-amber
• 06/28/2010 – 21:33

  St_Peters_Youth: Having an icecream treat at sonic after a long hard day of work
• 06/28/2010 – 20:50

  St_Peters_Youth: Chore for the night – dishes! Of course it was rice and beans.
• 06/28/2010 – 19:10

  St_Peters_Youth: Or a ceiling!!
• 06/28/2010 – 19:09

  St_Peters_Youth: Long dayyyy but fun sooo much rain:) im nvr taken a shower for granted again!!!!!:)~ally

• 06/28/2010 – 16:56

  St_Peters_Youth: Showers needed
• 06/28/2010 – 13:25

  St_Peters_Youth: Instead of tan lines we got dirt lines:) soo dirty but havin so much fun!!!Ally
• 06/28/2010 – 12:18

  St_Peters_Youth: The crowbar is the most useful tool ever invented.-emily

• 06/28/2010 – 09:14

  St_Peters_Youth: Its raining like heck! At least we dont have to worry about dehydration!-kelsey
• 06/28/2010 – 08:12

  St_Peters_Youth: Of to work now….wish us luck:)ally
• 06/27/2010 – 23:42

  St_Peters_Youth: Things are simmering down! Hot and tired! Thats what a mission trip is about! Goodnight! – kmad
• 06/27/2010 – 21:27

  St_Peters_Youth: Wow – thats all i can say! – kmad

That last entry came right at the end of the 1,500-mile-drive….

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