NEWTON ROTARY CLUB

 

President Todd called the meeting to order at 12:15 pm (right on time).   The salute to the flag was followed by a moment of prayer offered by Marge McCabe.  Our voices were raised, singing “Over There” under the guidance and encouragement of John Cuozzo.  It seemed that some of our members were not totally familiar with this once patriotic song – which was particularly popular during the first World War.

 

It was noted that we had 15 of our club members present, with Mike Hanifan’s twin sons Michael and Matthew as his guests, and Mark Hontz’s son Thomas as his guest.  Our guests and members were thanked for being here for the weekly luncheon.  Mark noted that Thomas just finished his first of three years in law school at Boston University.

 

Happy Dollars were contributed by:

 

Mike Hanifan – opened up with $2 – one for having lunch with his twin and the second for requiring that the lyrics be distributed for a new song (editors note – “Over There” is not a new song. It is a 1917 song written by George M. Cohan that was popular with the United States military and public during both world wars. It is was patriotic song designed to galvanize American young men to enlist and fight the "Hun". The song is best remembered for a line in its chorus: "The Yanks are coming.").

John Cuozzo – handed in $1 – for having recently attended a concert.

Todd Lattig – gave $1 – noting that he will be in Florida shortly, going stag, as the rest of his family is about to return from that same location, just before he leaves for there.  And they say timing is everything…

Mark Hontz – gave $1 because his son, Thomas, just finished his first year of law school.  One down and two to go.  Thomas will be clerking for Judge Michael Gaus here in Newton this summer.  (Editors note:  it was good to see Mark back at lunch today – he has been missed.  Hopefully, he will be able to keep attending).

 

 

Laura said that she spoke with Norma Capolla recently and that Norma was very happy to receive the birthday card that was sent to her recently from the club.

Todd asked as to the status of the chocolate bar sale.  Marge said that John’s Barber Shop in Newton right now is the only place we are selling the bars – every other place we work with is on hiatus for a few months.  As of now, we have raised slightly more than $2,000.  That equates to the sale of more than 2,000 candy bars.

Annual Garden Party – Marge and Denise announced this annual event will take place on Saturday, June 24 from 4:00 to 7:00 pm.  It will be held at the Stillwater Community Center, on the rear of the former Swartswood Firehouse, just outside of the historic, beautiful and quaint village of Swartswood.  The theme for the party is A Toast to Summer.  The cost is a pittance – only $25 per person.  The event is going to be catered by Dominic’s in Newton, with members bringing deserts.

Since there is no time to get tickets printed up, Marge said that it was decided to email an announcement to all of the members and ask them to send in their checks so we know we don’t have to do follow-up calls to see if you are going to be joining us.  Checks can be mailed to 125 High St, Newton, NJ  07860 and be made payable to Newton Rotary Club.

Memorial Day Parade – Marge spoke about the Memorial Day parade that will be held in Newton. We are planning on handing out bottles of water to the veterans at both the beginning of the parade and at the end.  Next Wednesday, before the meeting starts, we will be putting labels on the water bottles that say the water is courtesy of the Newton Rotary Club.   It will be a production line just like we did for the dictionaries.

Farm and Horse Show - we were reminded to add to our calendars the dates of August 4 to 12 for the Farm and Horse Show this year.  More about the scheduling will be brought out during the next few weeks.

Ticket Raffle – our Rotary Club is holding a raffle for two tickets to the Boots, Bourbon, BBQ event at the Sussex County Fairgrounds on Saturday, June 10th.  Buz explained that this event will raise money to help the fairgrounds with its postponed repairs  and much needed improvements. 

Each ticket is $20 and the winner will receive two tickets to the event worth $160.  The drawing for the winner will be during the Rotary luncheon on June 7th at the Hampton Diner.  Call Marge ASAP if you would like to participate in the raffle. 

 

Buz bought the first $20 ticket, while Carl, not wanting to be upstaged, bought the second $20 ticket.  It is hoped that the Club can make some money for our upcoming 100^th year celebration.

 

The event will take place on Saturday, June 10, with doors (or gates) opening at 5:00 p.m.  Dinner will begin at 6:00 pm, provided by the American B-B-Q Company.  They will also be holding a 50/50 raffle and a live auction taking place at 7:30 pm.  Music will be provided by Whiskey Crossing – how appropriate!

 

 

Wednesday, May 24 – Mark Hontz’s daughter who is back from doing an overseas stint as an exchange student.

 

 

Michael Strada was introduced by Incoming President Carl.  Mike began his talk by discussing the fact that they are in the process of getting a new trained K-9 for their staff.  He explained the different training courses each dog must go through and then get trained with their human partner.  It apparently takes a lot of time and training before each dog can be certified and then join a specific police department.

 

Another topic Mike talked about was the status of the county jail.  It is no longer used for holding prisoners.  It was designed to accommodate roughly 80 inmates, but was up to over 200 at one time.  In 2017, there were 50 prisoners and 80 plus guards, which did not make financial sense. 

 

He explored different alternatives and found out that Morris County would house our prisoners, with the rate currently being $110 / prisoner / night.  The county originally had a three year contract, but found it to be so financially advantageous that they just recently signed a 20-year contract, with built-in small annual increases each year.  This makes budgeting much easier.  The only thing that has to be done is transport specific prisoners from Morristown to Newton for certain required court appearances.  A total of 16 corrections officers are responsible for transportation of prisoners.

 

Mike said that he plans on building a pole barn out close to the county communications facility at the old Homestead Complex in Frankford.  This is where prisoners will be taken from Morristown and held until they have to come before a judge.  By doing this, it will completely free up the old jail from any use by the Sheriff’s office and thus allow the Freeholders to do whatever they want with the structure.  One rumor is that a group of investors were toying with the idea of turning the structure into a bed and breakfast.  (Editor’s Note – just think of all of the names each suite could be called).