WEEK IN REVIEW: The Ides of November 2011

If a Tree Falls in Chester...

Yes, this week's big and frustrating news happened on Wed., Nov. 16, 2011 at approximately 12:30 p.m. when the power throughout much of Long Valley was lost again due to a fallen tree in Chester, NJ. 

The outage lasted until 7 p.m. for some residents. To read about how the afternoon unfolded, . 

A lot of 'Splainin' To Do...

For those of you who are old enough, I mean 'wise enough' to remember I Love Lucy, you can surely imagine Ricky Ricardo's voice coming out of Mayor Short's mouth this coming Monday night, Nov. 21, when JCP&L meets face to face with the township committee. Short may very well begin the meeting with Ricky's famous line, 'You've got a lot of 'splanin' to do.' Only in this sitcom, Lucy is played by JCP&L.  

According to a spokesperson for Jersey Central Power and Light, Ron Morano, it is not uncommon to have lingering problems after the two destructive weather events only two months apart. 

While Morano said that JCP&L is certainly going to learn from each storm and put into place new policies and practices, such as holding daily press conferences and meetings with mayors during major outages to keep the public informed, he believes that Mother Nature is largely to blame for the long term outages experienced throughout the region. To read the interview with Morano,

Washington Township, Proud of Its Report Card

Considered to be the second highest in the socio-economic scale employed when assessing New Jersey school districts, Washington Township enjoyed outstanding scores overall compared to similar districts.

Rick Papera, Assistant Superintendent of Schools presented the 2011 results of the New Jersey Assessment of Skills & Knowledge (NJ ASK) and the Measures of Academic Progress (M.A.P.) tests at the Washington Township Middle School Board of Education meeting on Nov. 15, 2011. To read the full assessment,

School Will Be in Session During Winter Holidays 

Elementary and Middle School students in Washington Township will be expected to attend school on Martin Luther King Day, and the two days normally alloted for Washington's Birthday or President's Day in early 2012 to make up for the emergency closing days that have already been used in early September and October of this year. To learn more about the decision,

Washington Twp. Schools Head: Christie Plan Sounds Good

The head of Washington Township's K-8 school district says he's on board with Gov. Chris Christie's plan to overhaul the systems used to rate New Jersey Schools. 

Christie's reform agenda is part of the state's application for a waiver to provisions of the federal No Child Left Behind act, which normally requires all students to achieve proficiency in math and reading by 2014. As the deadline has gotten closer, an increasing number of schools have been labeled "failing" for falling short on standardized tests in among their overall populations, or in subgroups—such as a group of all children from a certain race, or a group of all children with disabilities. Failing schools can face a variety of penalties.

Christie's office said his new plan would move away from a one-size-fits all approach to school accountability. And Washington Township Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey S. Mohre said the township’s philosophy is very much aligned with that idea.

“The plan has many interesting components and, hopefully, will provide effective solutions for our state's lowest performing schools,” he said. For the full story,  

Historic Home Tour: Step Back in Time on December 10

The Washington Township Historical Society will be hosting its 28th Annual Historic House Tour on Sat. Dec. 10, 2011 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

This year’s tour will be held primarily in the Pleasant Grove section on Schooley’s Mountain. Two of the oldest homes in that area that have never been on the tour will be opened this year. To learn more about the tour,

Christie Claims Success at Municipal League Conference

Gov. Chris Christie touted progress on property tax reform and creation of private sector jobs during a luncheon speech Thursday at the 96th annual League of Municipalities Conference in Atlantic City.

Citing a "tool-kit" aimed at helping local government maintain a two percent cap on property tax increases, the governor said, “Think now where we were two years ago, and where we are today. Think about what we have done, first and foremost, in terms of property taxes in New Jersey.” To find out more,

State Looks to Build Homes for Disabled

At its schedule work session, the Township Committee discussed taking action at its upcoming Nov. 21 meeting to move forward with a state sponsored plan to provide housing for developmentally disabled persons. 

The program, called the Special Needs Housing Partnership, is coordinated by the state Department of Community Affairs and Department of Human Services. It aims to create homes for 600 developmentally disabled persons by 2013.

To learn more about the plan,