Tuesday, April 23, 2013
JCP&L response time getting better, but still not great, mayor says.
While spring has sprung in Washington Township, so has the erratic weather, which has brought with it a series of power outages in recent weeks. Those outages came with some decent restoration times – three hours at the most, a few minutes at the least – even though they affected anywhere between 800 and 1,500 customers each time. On Wednesday, April 10, a heavy rainstorm brought lightning and thunder to the area, knocking out power for some 1,540 residents supported by the Chester power line. The result was two hours and 17 minutes without power after a lightning strike overloaded the circuit, Washington Township Mayor Ken Short said. Another massive lighting storm hit the area on Friday, April 19, this time knocking out electricity for …
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Congressman will field questions from residents during 1:15 minute event.
Congressman Leonard Lance is coming to Washington Township, and all residents will have an opportunity to ask the representative questions in a town hall style format on March 25. Lance, representing New Jersey’s 7th congressional district, became Washington Township’s voice in Washington D.C. in 2013 after a decennial redistricting took place in 2011. “(Lance) will be discussing what’s going on in Washington, and answering whatever questions residents may have for him,” Washington Township Mayor Ken Short said. The event is scheduled for 5:30 to 6:45 p.m. at the Washington Township Municipal Building. "During the meeting, I will discuss important issues facing Congress and the American people. I will take questions on various topics like …
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Average homeowner to see $35 hike in next year's taxes.
Washington Township’s 2013 municipal budget is set for introduction by the township committee at its regular meeting March 18, and has a tax levy increase–the portion paid by property taxes–of 1.94-percent. The total spending plan comes to $15,787,000, and includes a handful of new equipment for the police department and department of public works, according to Mayor Ken Short. At the onset of the budget preparation season, the committee approved two new police vehicles, when a total of five were requested by the department. The governing body approved a third Chevy Caprice at its February meeting, and at its final budget meeting, gave the go-ahead for an additional two sport utility vehicles, Short said. The Department of Public Works was…
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Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Meetings, communication efforts filled last four months since Hurricane Sandy.
Utility poles are still cracked and electric wires are still frayed in parts of Washington Township, four months after Hurricane Sandy ravaged New Jersey. Plenty of action has taken place in the time since, however, to prepare for future natural disasters which, according to Mayor Ken Short, will happen again. “[A similar storm] will happen again, hopefully we’re better prepared,” Short said at a recent Township Committee meeting. Short read through a list of meetings and upgrades that have taken place in the past four months, including: Short met with a group of the town's department heads and office of emergency officials where it was made known the biggest issue during Sandy and her aftermath was the lack of communication. The township'…
Thursday, February 14, 2013
JCP&L using air attack to rid area of wayward branches, tree limbs.
First it was by land, now it's by air. All that's left for JCP&L is to attempt cutting trees from the water. Starting Monday, the area's electricity provider will be conducting tree-trimming by way of helicopter, with a series of chainsaws dangling from the air-bound machines. "I've seen the photos of it," said Washington Township Mayor Ken Short. "It's a pretty incredible sight." The cutting program will occur along the high-voltage lines in the township, starting near the Newburgh Road area, according to the township. Trimming will be limited to their established right on either side. The cutting will conclude in the Bartley Road area on or around April 1. When not in operation, the helicopter will refuel and be maintenanced at St. Mark'…
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Red Cross certification to be sought by five municipalities.
The list of differences between Washington Township, the Chesters and Mendhams is just as long as their individual country roads. But one thing that all five towns share are the battle scars, stories and disruptions that Hurricane Sandy brought to the area in the fall of 2012. Residents from each town were out of power for up to 15 days, with schools closed anywhere between seven and 10 days. The time is now, according to each of the town’s leaders, to work together and help each other in preparing for the next time a devastating natural disaster winds its way through the region. At a recent meeting of the mayors, Office of Emergency Management members from each of the towns spoke about the needs of the municipality he served if another …
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Town leaders continue to work together on various other shared interests.
Maybe it was naivete, maybe it was overconfidence. Either way, mayors from the five towns that make up the West Morris Regional High School district were excited about making a historical change in the way education–and its funding–operated. That was nearly two years ago, and dozens of meetings–both open and behind closed doors–led the leaders to realize why it had never been done, and why, once again, would not be changed. In June 2011, the first education summit was held at Mendham High School. The event included elected officials from mayors to board of education members that would come up with the groundwork to make a change in the district’s structure. “When we had that summit, there was a binder with reports in it about all the times…
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Despite impasse on regional schools feasibility study, town leaders to discuss other forms of working together.
While the town’s leaders in the region are getting the band back together, the set list is going to have a different tune in 2013. Mayors from Washington Township, the Chesters and Mendhams will reconvene—their first gathering since August 2012—Thursday at the Chester Borough Municipal Building to discuss, well, anything they want. The group first began meeting publicly in the spring of 2012 as an advisory committee alongside members of the area’s school boards to potentially come to terms on a regional feasibility study. The purpose of the study was to find financial and educational gains in a potential restructuring of the area’s schools. An impasse was the outcome, as Mendham Township and Chester Borough couldn’t agree with the other …
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Town's top elected officials part of same five-member group from 2012.
For the second consecutive year Ken Short and Bill Roehrich will be Washington Township’s mayor and vice mayor. The two were both elected by their fellow committeemen Wednesday night at the township’s annual reorganization meeting. Short and Roehrich were both re-elected in November to three-year terms. This is the fifth consecutive term for Short and the second for Roehrich. Short will also serve in his fourth consecutive year as mayor. “This was an extremely difficult year in Washington Township,” said Short after the committee approved his appointment as mayor. “I thank the committee for placing their trust in me, but everyone needs to realize we are five equal members, and we’re all responsible for the decisions made for this town.” …
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Mayors throughout country are signing letter to President, Congress seeking stricter gun control legislation.
Last week a 20-year-old man shot and killed 26 people, including 20 children, at a school in Newtown, Conn., his mother and himself. On Wednesday, more than 750 mayors from around the country, who are part of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG) coalition, signed a letter to call on President Barack Obama and Congress to pass stricter gun control legislation. "With all the carnage from gun violence in our country, it's still almost impossible to believe that a mass shooting in a kindergarten class could happen," New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a statement. Bloomberg is Co-Chair of MAIG. "We heard after Columbine that it was too soon to talk about gun laws. We heard it after Virginia Tech. After Tucson and Aurora and Oak …
Mrs.C
6:38 pm on Wednesday, April 24, 2013
I believe Mayor Short was talking about the evening outage on April 19th. I don't believe he even knew my area was without power on that Friday morning till around 4:30 PM. more ›