MOUNT OLIVE (3/31/09) – In a meeting that lasted less than two hours, the Board of Education last night unanimously passed the $74,264,838 budget for 2009-10 with little fanfare from an audience much subdued compared to the public response when it was introduced earlier this month.  About 60 people attended the meeting. Full Story

Democrats present full Council ticket rising out of the ashes of political debacle  

    MOUNT OLIVE 3/30/09) – The township Democratic organization is showing signs of recovering from the fiasco it experienced four years ago when it swept the mayor and three council seats and it looked like their party was, for the first time in memory, going to share in the township governance. Full Story

Mount Olive Democrats to have full Council ticket; promise hard hitting tax/shared services campaign

    MOUNT OLIVE (3/28/09) – As the Republicans did exactly what was expected yesterday in announcing the four incumbent Councilmen would run again in the June primary election the Democrats today did exactly what was unexpected in announcing a full slate of candidates and promising a hard hitting campaign accusing the Republicans of “sloth” when it comes to sharing township services within the township and with neighboring communities.   Full Story

Assemblyman Chiusano to Corzine: Reject illegal driving/tuition privileges 

      NEWTON(3/26/09) – Assemblyman Gary Chiusano says a Monmouth University poll shows New Jersey residents do not want to extend driving and tuition privileges to illegal immigrants and Governor Corzine should reject what Chiusano termed “secret proposals” to do so.  Full Story

     MOUNT OLIVE (3/26/09)3/26/09) - As expected, Republican Councilmen Steve Rattner, Rob Greenbaum, Ray Perkins and Russ Tepper have announced their candidacies for re-election.  They have submitted the required petitions to run as a ticket in the June Municipal Primary election for the Township Council.  Full Story

Deb Burleigh, school board candidate promotes drunk driving education experience 

    MOUNT OLIVE (3/25/09) – Spring has arrived and everyone welcomes the pleasant change in weather, returning robins, greening foliage, high school proms and graduations.  It also is a terrible time when the number of traffic accidents involving young people, many of them fatal, increases. Full Story

McHose to Corzine: Pension funds have had enough poison 

     NEWTON (3/24/09) - Assemblywoman Alison Littell McHose today blasted Gov. Corzine’s endorsement of investing pension funds into banks’ toxic assets and bad investment deals. “It shows he still hasn’t learned anything from the investment gimmickry that led to the national economic problems we are experiencing today,” she said. Full Story

Improved Standard and Poor’s rating to save the township thousands of dollars 

 MOUNT OLIVE (3/23/09) – When Mayor David Scapicchio announced that the township’s Standard and Poor’s rating service increased from AA3 to AA it didn’t seem to get the interest it deserved. Full Story

Governor Corzine wants to hear other budget ideas; 24^th District legislators: “Drop pre school education”

        NEWTON (3/20/09) – State Sen. Steven Oroho, Assemblywoman Alison Littell McHose and Assemblyman Gary Chiusano (all R-Sussex, Morris, and Hunterdon) today took up Gov.  Jon Corzine’s challenge to Republicans to submit budget cut ideas.  Full Story

Police arrest Budd Lake juvenile In two more burglaries 

   MOUNT OLIVE (3/20/09) -Following up in their on-going burglary investigations police this week were led to the home of a 17 year old Budd Lake youth where they found two computers that had been reported stolen.  They were valued at about $1,500. Full Story

Candidates remind residents candidates Forum March 31 

     MOUNT OLIVE (3/20/09) – Board of Education candidates Kathy Criscuolo, Rene Gadelha and Liz Ouimet today reminded residents of important dates in the current Board of Education campaign. Full Story

Mount Olive 2009-10 Budget Proposed Additions/Reductions

MOUNT OLIVE (3/17/09) – The following are the proposed changes made in the 2009-10 Board of Education budget including reviving the programs that were eliminated because of the defeat of the second ballot question in the 2008-09 budget.  Full Story

Alert police work nabs four burglary suspects   

     MOUNT OLIVE (3/18/09 – Police believe the arrests of four individuals in the past few days, charged with burglaries of five homes, to be a major development in solving the rash of at least 14 burglaries and criminal mischief complaints that have dogged police here since the end of last year.  Full Story

Mount Olive School Board introduces leanest budget in years; still a tough call

        MOUNT OLIVE (3/17/09) – To be sure there were critics at the public hearing last night for the introduction of the 2009-10 Board of Education budget but there also was an air of excitement, even among some of the critics, that the Mount Olive school system was making a dramatic change in spending priorities and at the same time improving the quality of education in all the schools.  Full Story

Township Council marks Appreciation for Counsel John Dorsey’s 25 years of service     

   MOUNT OLIVE (3/14/09) – The township council passed a Resolution of Appreciation last week commending the 25 years of service by Township Attorney John Dorsey. Full Story   

Township’s S&P debt rating increased to AA 

    MOUNT OLIVE (3/13/09) – When the economic news has been nothing but bad for so long it’s great to get a little good news and the Township Administrator Bill Sohl sprung it this week. The township’s debt rating has been raised from AA3 to AA by the Standard and Poor’s Rating Service.  The rating has a direct effect on the interest rates the township receives for any debt it incurs.

     According to Sohl, the rating is a result of the township’s refinancing of its debt obligations. It shows the township has a strong and stable tax base and maintenance of a very strong financial position highlighted by consistent fund balance levels and low to moderate overall debt burden with rapid amortization.

Elizabeth Ouimet, long time school activist joins incumbent school board members’ ticket 

    MOUNT OLIVE  (3/10/09) – Elizabeth Ouimet has done just about everything in the township school system for the past 20 years except teach or serve on the board of education.  So, she figures, now’s the time. Full Story   

Corzine gives his own take on $4 billion in spending cuts in 2010 state budget  

      (TRENTON 3/10/09) - Gov. Jon Corzine, under fire from Republicans and even some Democrats had this to say about the budget he presented to the Legislature yesterday. The Legislators will now hold hearings, examine it item by item and must, by law, return an acceptable budget to the governor by June 30th midnight. Full Story     

     NEWTON (3/11/09) – Assemblywoman Alison Litell McHose came out swinging yesterday after y Gov. Jon Corzine delivered his budget message to the State Legislature. The budget cuts school and municipal aid, eliminates deducting property taxes paid on state income tax filings, severely reduces those eligible for property tax rebates and increases payroll taxes  for unemployment insurance, McHose said in joining her Republican colleagues on the Budget Committee. Full Story

Budd Lake man caught in high speed police chase 

   MOUNT OLIVE (3/10/09) – Walik Griggs, 33, of Budd Lake is in the Morris County jail in lieu of $250,000 bail for a host of serious motor vehicle violations, one of them, aggravated assault on a police officer and another trying to elude police in a high speed chase.  Police from four municipalities and the State Police participated in the chase. Full Story

School Board Candidate Deb Burleigh sees important need: to educate voters 

    MOUNT OLIVE (3/09/09) – Civic responsibility is important to Board of Education candidate Deb Burleigh.  It’s a main reason she says she’s running. Full Story

Five more school board candidates file to run making 10 competing for three seats….a record  

        MOUNT OLIVE (3/3/09) – Five more. That’s how many last minute candidates filed before yesterday’s deadline to run in the Board of Education election on May 21.  That brings the number to 10 candidates competing for three seats, one of them a former mayor. That’s a record for Mount Olive. Full Story

Mount Olive school board in contested election

          MOUNT OLIVE (3/1/09) - The only two women on the Board of Education are up for re-election this year and they’re campaigning together.  The third board member whose term is up, Bruce Bott, is not running for re-election.  He has served 15 years. Thanks Bruce. Full Story