The Morris County Heritage Commission History Re-Grant Program has awarded a total of $17,327 in re-grant funding to eight organizations in the county for general operating support and history projects.

Funding for the re-grant program is awarded to the commission as a general operating support grant from the New Jersey Historical Commission. The Heritage Commission then re-grants the funds to non-profit organizations based in Morris County with collections or programming relating to the history of the county or the state.

The Boonton Holmes Public Library received an award of $1,000 for a photograph archival project, and the Chester Library received $2,500 for an Observer Tribune newspaper digitization project.

The Rockaway Borough Library was awarded $3,027 toward restoration and preservation of town founder Stephen J. Jackson’s portrait.

The Heritage Commission awarded the Morris County Historical Society $1,500 for textile exhibit materials, while the Kinnelon Historical Society received $1,500 to continue the conservation and preservation of the Scoville photograph collection.

The Washington Township Historical Society was awarded $2,000 for archival storage and collections inventory and management materials.

The Township of Roxbury Historic Advisory Committee was awarded a grant of $4,500 for a consultant to prepare a historic district nomination to the Federal and State Registers of Historic Places, and Macculloch Hall Historical Museum in Morristown was awarded $1,300.00 for Americans with Disabilities Act compliance equipment.

The Heritage Commission has received funding for the re-grant program since 2001.

More information about the re-grant program or any of the other programs sponsored by the Morris County Heritage Commission may be obtained by calling the commission at 973-829-8117; by visiting its Web site, www.MorrisHeritage.org ; or by e-mailing the commission at Heritage@co.morris.nj.us
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The Morris County Vocational School District is encouraging Morris County students who will be juniors in high school next year and their parents to consider applying to one of the school's career and technical share time education programs.

The MCVSD provides students the opportunity to receive daily career and technical training as part of their junior and/or senior high school program. Students take academic subjects at their home school, and they are transported to the vocational school district for specialized career and technical training.

Training is available in Auto Body and Collision Repair; Automotive Service Technology; Carpentry; Computer Drafting and Graphics Studio; Cosmetology; Electrical Trades; Plumbing; and Welding Technology.

Applications are now available online at www.mcvts.org . Additional information is available by calling the Morris County School of Technology at 973-627-4600 ext.277, or by visiting visit the school's website, www.mcvts.org .

The Morris County Vocational School District offers programs for Morris County high school students, including Academic and Career Academies, Share Time Programs and Share Time Programs for students with Special Needs. Adult Education programs are also available.

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Morris-Sussex-Warren Employment & Training Services continues to maintain contact with the youth who participated in the Summer Work Experience Program that was funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Barbara McShane, Supervising Employment Specialist, said Employment and Training Services is especially interested in staying in touch with the older youth who are out of school and whose jobs under the program lasted through October.

McShane said Employment and Training Services staff recently met with a number of the older youth at an event made possible by several Morristown businesses including The Famished Frog, Greenberry's Coffee & Tea Company, Scotti's Record Shops, International Pottery and Dunkin Donuts.

"We were looking for ways to engage these young people and to continue to offer our services to them, if needed, and the generosity of these businesses enabled us to do that." McShane said. "We wanted the program participants to know that we're available to work with them and help them develop plans to transition from the summer program to a training program or employment."

The Summer Work Experience Program offered summer jobs at participating government offices, schools, community-based organizations and nonprofit agencies to income-qualified youth between the ages of 16 and 24. A total of 161 young people participated in the jobs program, 94 of them from Morris County, McShane said.

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The Morris County Municipal Utilities Authority reminds county residents to recycle gift wrap this holiday season and not put it out with the trash. The only exception is foil wrap, which should be reused or put into the trash, but not into paper recycling bins.

Penny Jones, recycling education specialist with the MUA, said gift wrap, including tissue paper, is acceptable in Morris County's recycling programs.

"The amount of trash that haulers collect increases dramatically during the holidays," Jones said. "Much of that is gift wrap and packaging that can be reused or recycled rather than placed in the trash."

Jones suggested saving and reusing bows as well as bubble wrap and clean, dry polystyrene (Styrofoam) packing peanuts. She said the packing peanuts and bubble wrap can be brought to Mail Boxes Etc., the UPS Store or similar retailers for reuse.

To find the closest store, Jones said an individual can visit the Plastic Loose Fill Council's Web site, http://www.loosefillpackaging.com or call the "Peanut" Hotline at 1-800-828-2214.

Jones said corrugated cartons and pre-holiday catalogs should also be recycled, as should cans and bottles from holiday gatherings.

Additional information about recycling in Morris County may be obtained by contacting the Morris County Municipal Utilities Authority at (973) 285-8394, or by visiting the MUA site, www.mcmua.com .

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The Morris County Improvement Authority has awarded a $22.3 million contract to a California and New Jersey solar development team to implement the county's pilot Renewable Energy Program, which is projected to save its participants an estimated $2.3 million in energy costs over the next 15 years.

Under the program, Tioga Energy, Inc., of San Mateo, Calif., with offices in New York, and SunDurance Energy, of South Plainfield, N. J., were competitively selected to install solar panels on the roofs of 14 public school buildings in five school districts and several county government facilities.

"Not only is this the first successful renewable energy public private partnership in the state, but it's also the state's first successful regional renewable energy program," said Freeholder William Chegwidden, liaison to the Authority. "The freeholders, the Improvement Authority commissioners, the school districts and our professional staffs worked extremely hard for more than a year on this project, which will result in environmental, financial and educational benefits to all of the participants."

The initiative is being financed by the Improvement Authority, with bonds guaranteed by the county and no debt service incurred by the local entities, making it financially feasible for the participating school districts, Chegwidden said.

"It can be cost prohibitive for a school district or a town to implement a renewable energy program on its own," Chegwidden said. "The Improvement Authority initiative enables an entity to go green by joining with the county to reduce a portion of its energy bills and not experience any out-of-pocket costs. This is a true partnership between the county government and the school districts."

The solar developer will design, install, operate and maintain the equipment, according to John Bonanni, Morris County administrator and Improvement Authority chairman.

"The Tioga team will be able to take the federal tax and state utility advantages that are available in the solar industry" Bonanni said. "The developer can then effectively pass on a portion of these benefits to the participating school districts and the county through the sale of solar energy to them at a fixed price, lower than the existing retail price for energy, for 15 years."

While the initial participants include some county government and Park Commission facilities and five school districts, Chegwidden said he expects more local governments will follow.

"This is a long term project," Chegwidden said. "We've had more than 40 municipalities and schools districts express interest in the program. Once we get the pilot off the ground, we’ll go back to them."

The solar systems will be installed at Boonton High School, the high school parking lot and the John Hill and School Street schools in the Boonton School District; Morris Knolls and Morris Hills high schools in the Morris Hills Regional School District; Mountain Lakes High School and the Wildwood School in the Mountain Lakes School District; the Brooklawn, Central, Littleton and Troy Hills schools in the Parsippany-Troy Hills School District; West Morris Central and West Morris Mendham high schools in the West Morris Regional High School District; the ice rinks and parking lot at the Morris County Park Commission's Mennen Arena in Morris Township; the county's Schuyler Building and the building's parking facility in Morristown; and the county Voter Machine Tech Center in Hanover.

Additional information about the renewable energy initiative may be obtained by calling the Morris County Improvement Authority at 973-285-6020.

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The Youngtown Edition, the student newspaper at the County College of Morris, has been awarded a Silver Medal by The Columbia Scholastic Press Association for its work in the 2008-2009 school year.

The Youngtown has been participating in this con­test for 10 years and has won two gold medals as well as several silver and bronze medals.

The CSPA, a department of Columbia University, was established in 1925 with hopes of improving student publications. Each publication entered in the contest is evaluated and judged on a number of criteria.

The Youngtown was cited for several features, including its entertainment section, which the judges praised for "reader engagement and interest."

The Youngtown editor in chief is Frank Blaha, the managing editor is Tori Finn, the paper's advisor is CCM Professor Matthew Ayres and the coordinator is Dr. Noel Robinson.

"I'm proud of the students and anyone who is part of the Youngtown," said Ayres. "This award is a testament to all their hard work. All past and present contributors should be very proud of this wonder­ful achievement."

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With the hustle and bustle that distracts us at this time of year, the Morris County Municipal Utilities Authority reminds all county residents, businesses and institutions to recycle.

Holiday parties and family get-togethers create loads of cheer and tons of mandated recyclable materials. That means all of the plastic bottles coded 1 & 2, glass bottles or food jars, aluminum cans, steel food cans, corrugated cardboard boxes, greeting cards, wrapping paper and live Christmas trees that are generated during the festivities must be kept separate from garbage and then recycled.

However, greeting cards and wrapping paper that contains foil should be thrown into the trash.

Other mandated recyclables are newspapers, mixed paper, junk mail, magazines, catalogues, envelopes, soft cover books, leaves, grass, brush, branches, woody plants, natural wood waste, oil-contaminated soil, used motor oil, lead-acid batteries, hazardous dry cell batteries, metal appliances and whole tires.

For additional information, contact your town's recycling coordinator or visit the Morris County MUA Web site, www.mcmua.com .

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The Morris County Municipal Utilities Authority is no longer accepting use-once alkaline batteries or rechargeable batteries for recycling.

Changes in federal regulations combined with less hazardous battery components mean the typical household AAA, AA, C, D and 9-volt batteries now fall below federal and state hazardous waste standards and should be thrown out in the ordinary trash, said Larry Gindoff, solid waste coordinator for the MCMUA.

"Energizer, Duracell and other manufacturers have eliminated mercury content to the point that the typical use-once household battery is no longer considered hazardous," Gindoff said.

However, rechargeable batteries like those found in cordless power tools, digital cameras and cellular phones still must be recycled by bringing them to any one of a number of rechargeable battery drop-off locations across the county under a program called Call2Recycle.

"This program is operated by the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation at no cost to the individual," Gindoff said. "The rechargeable battery recycling locations are provided with a drop-off box with small plastic bags so the batteries can be individually bagged in accordance with new federal guidelines."

Among the drop-off locations for rechargeable batteries are Home Depot, Lowes, Best Buy, Radio Shack and Verizon Wireless stores. Collection sites may be found by calling 1-877-2-RECYCLE or by visiting www.call2recycle.org

Since rechargeable batteries sometimes look like regular alkaline batteries, Gindoff advises reading the label on the battery to determine if it is rechargeable.

Other batteries such as button cell batteries, non-rechargeable lithium batteries and lead-acid batteries like those used in motor vehicles and boats must still be taken to household hazardous waste disposal programs, Gindoff said. Information about Morris County's household hazardous waste programs can be found on the MCMUA Web site, www.mcmua.com , or by calling 973-829-8006.

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The Morris County Sheriff's Office, in conjunction with the Sheriffs'
Association of New Jersey and the United States Marshal's Office for the District of New Jersey, is conducting a week-long joint Food Bank Drive culminating on Monday, Dec. 21.

The Food Drive is in honor of Monmouth County Sheriff Kim Guadagno who has been elected Lt. Governor of New Jersey. At the most recent Sheriffs' Association meeting, Guadagno announced that instead of an inaugural ball for the new governor in January, a dinner will be held with half the cost of each ticket to be donated to a food bank. It is in this spirit of giving back that week-long food drive is being conducted.

Non-perishable food items may be brought to the Morris County Courthouse on Washington Street in Morristown or to the county Administration and Records Building on Court Street in Morristown and placed in receptacles in the lobby of each building.

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The Morris County Freeholders on Dec. 9 presented Morris County Distinguished Military Service Medals to 10 veterans, eight whom are members of the Roxbury Police Department, in recognition of their military service.

The freeholders presented medals to police Corporal Stephen Turko, an Air Force veteran; Detective Sabino Zarro and patrolmen Eugene Campbell, Jack Niemynski and Richard Ricco who are Army veterans; Marine veterans patrolmen William Beck and Thomas Denicola; and Navy veteran Patrolman Michael Fournier.

While the freeholders have presented more than 8,950 Distinguished Military Service Medal at ceremonies across the county since 2000, Freeholder Director Gene F. Feyl told the recipients their ceremony was unique.

"The freeholders have been privileged to have conducted a number of these ceremonies to express our gratitude to men and women who, like you, have distinguished themselves as veterans to ensure that this great nation of ours remains safe and secure," Feyl said. "But what makes this ceremony different from the others is that as police officers, you continue to place yourself in harms way every day to ensure the safety of the citizens of Roxbury. And for that, too, we are grateful."

Medals were also presented to Roxbury Municipal Court Judge Carl F. Wronko and his wife, Christine, both of whom are Army veterans who met and became engaged while they were serving in Vietnam in the early 1970s.

More information about the Morris County Distinguished Military Service Medal program may be obtained by contacting the Morris County Veterans Service Office at 973-285-6866.

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Morris County is offering assistance to towns that would like to become more pedestrian-friendly.

The county's Division of Transportation will, upon request from a governing body, school board, civic or community group, come into a town and introduce its Walkable Communities program.

Denise Chaplick, the division's principal planner, said the program includes a workshop that brings various segments of the community together to identify barriers to walking and prioritize specific recommendations for improvements.

"Walkable Communities have sidewalk networks, opportunities for safe crossings and destinations that are within walking distances," Chaplick said. "This program can help citizens and officials evaluate their communities, plan for improvements and adopt the policies and programs to make walking easier and more pleasant."

Improvements may range from the use of signs warning motorists of pedestrian crossings to the installation of consistent sidewalks, Chaplick said.

The division is able to conduct approximately two workshops a year, with sessions having already been conducted in Dover, Lincoln Park and Washington Township and for the Hanover Park Regional School District and the Washington's Headquarters Neighborhood Association in Morristown.

More information about the Walkable Communities program may be obtained by visiting the Morris County Division of Transportation Web site, www.morrisdot.org .

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The Federal Highway Administration has issued its authorization for the Chester Branch Rehabilitation project, enabling Morris County to seek bids to improve the four-mile active freight line in Roxbury.

The county in February applied to the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority for $5.8 million in federal stimulus funds through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for this project, contingent upon federal authorization being received.

"The rehabilitation of the Chester Branch meets the intent of the federal stimulus legislation by creating employment opportunities not only during rehabilitation but by the future economic opportunities it will create in Morris County," said Freeholder Director Gene F. Feyl, who also is a member of the NJTPA Executive Committee. "This project has regional, long-term benefits, and I am thrilled that it has reached this critical milestone."

The Chester Branch now serves Roxbury Township commercial users, but has the potential to also serve customers in Randolph Township, in particular the former Westinghouse site, now the BETA Corporate Park, Feyl said.

"The corporate park has a rail siding serving the property, and even though there are no current railroad customers, this could change once the rehabilitation work is completed and tenants see a reliable rail service option," Feyl said.

Efficient use of this rail line has the potential to reduce truck traffic along major roads including, Route 10, Sussex Turnpike, Route 46, Interstate 80 and other arterial roads throughout Morris County, Feyl said. He noted one rail car is approximately equivalent to four tractor trailers.

Details about the Chester Branch Rail Project may be found on the Morris County Transportation Division Web site, www.MorrisDOT.org .

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The Morris-Sussex-Warren Workforce Investment Board and its One-Stop Career Center network are part of a pilot program offering free online training courses in Medical Billing and Coding.

The federally-funded training includes an array of online courses provided by MEDCOM, a producer of healthcare training materials, and a certificate in Medical Billing and Coding offered by Essex County College upon completion of 10 mandatory online core courses.

The goals of the pilot program include improving and increasing healthcare employee retention, reducing the state's unemployment rate by placing individuals in jobs, and enhancing the skills of new and existing employees, said Jack Patten, director of the Workforce Investment Board. The U.S. Department of Labor reports that the demand for medical billing and coding professionals is, and will remain high, according to Patten.

"Medical billing and coding is an excellent career that offers a tremendous amount of growth and flexibility," Patten said. "The majority of medical billers and coders get certified, and some eventually start their own medical billing business from home. This is great career for stay at home moms who are interested in working from home."

Among other things, billers and coders make sure the medical professionals get paid for services and supplies and assign codes to specific illnesses, injuries, and medical procedures under a system of coding that is used across the healthcare system, from doctors' offices and hospitals to insurance companies, Patten said.

According to Patten, to be eligible to participate in the training program, an applicant must meet certain criteria including being a U. S. citizen and a resident of Morris, Sussex, Warren, Bergen, Passaic, Hudson, Essex, Middlesex or Union County. He said an applicant must also have basic computer, reading and writing skills and knowledge of the Internet.

Additional information about the program may be obtained by contacting the program coordinator Gessika Mathieu at Mathie.gessika@gmail.com or Shanerah Green at Shan.green@yahoo.com or by calling (973) 877-1904.

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