Sussex County Awarded Federal Grant of $500K to Replace Skylands Ride Minibuses, Other Projects Underway

Jennifer Jean Miller
862-273-5379
jenniferjeanmiller@gmail.com

(Newton, NJ) The County of Sussex recently received federal grant monies to upgrade its commuter minibuses, with other projects coming to life thanks to federal funding, including revival of the Lackawanna Cut-Off Passenger Rail Project, as well as county road improvements, through the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority.

Tom Drabic, the principal transportation planner through the Sussex County Department of Engineering and Planning, credited Sussex County Freeholder Joshua Hertzberg, for his involvement and assistance in seeing these projects come to fruition. “He’s been very involved in the NJTPA,” Drabic said. He also mentioned the advocacy of State Sen. Steve Oroho, R-24th Dist. for his support of large-scale projects, with tax dollars from the State Transportation Trust Fund aiding in financing projects. “I just hope everyone understands the amount of advocating it takes to get this much work done for Sussex County,” said Hertzberg.

“I have been lucky enough to work with and learn from Tom Drabic at the county. He has been an amazing advocate of our county and continues to do a great job on all of our behalf. I’m very proud of the work we have done together, and am thankful that our District 24 Legislators, Steve Oroho, Hal Wirths and Parker Space, make sure that Sussex County isn’t left out in Trenton.”

Drabic said Sussex County’s minibus project, which was proposed and applied for by the Sussex County Department of Health and Human Services/Skylands Ride, was one of three chosen by the NJTPA for $500,000 grant funding, as part of the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) Program for Local Mobility Initiatives.

Through that program, four of the Skylands Ride minibuses used for the Skylands Connect Route, which operates Monday through Friday to Newton, Sparta, Ogdensburg, Franklin, Hamburg and Sussex Borough, will likely be replaced, Drabic said. “This Route serves a number of employment locations within the county and is used by many people going to work,” Drabic said. The federal grant, Drabic said, should cover nearly the entire project, with little to no county funds required. The new minibuses, he said, will be handicap accessible with wheelchair lifts. They will also feature upgraded COVID protections, including plexiglass enclosures for bus drivers.

One of the other longtime projects that had been previously shelved, the Roseville Tunnel design and build project on the Lackawanna Cut-off, should be reality in the next few years, Drabic said. NJ Transit advertised for Request for Qualifications of firms capable of executing the design and construction phases of this complex project.

The historic and rocky Roseville Tunnel that served the Lackawanna Cut-Off from 1911 through 1979, will require excavation, waterproof lining, a pedestrian path within the tunnel, radio systems, cameras and other upgrades, to return it to current standards for passenger rail service, Drabic said. Firms that submit a RFQ will be short-listed, Drabic added, with those groups invited to submit a full proposal, chosen at NJ Transit’s board meeting in June.

In September, Drabic said the selected firm will be given the green light to move ahead with the project. Similar processes and schedules will follow for the Hudson Farm Culvert Replacement. Highway and bridge projects are additionally slated for Sussex County, Drabic said. One is the $12.8 million, federally funded Hardyston Route 23 Safety Improvement Project, with safety, drainage and operational improvements at the northern Laceytown Road, East Shore Road and Holland Mountain Road sections. Route 15 will also be upgraded, Drabic said, with replacement of the bridge in Lafayette over the Paulins Kill River, constructed in 1915.

This project, planned for completion by 2022 with $8.2 million in federal funds, will encompass sidewalk upgrades for pedestrian safety. A resurfacing project will be underway on Route 15 in Lafayette and Frankford, from Route 94 to Ross’ Corner by Route 206 and County Route 565, as part of the NJTPA Transportation Improvement Program for 2021. This project, expected to extend the life of the highway, will also be sourced from $7.3 million in federal funds. Drabic said Sussex County residents are welcome to offer their input for the NJTPA long range transportation plan, outlining goals through Plan 2050, by completing the survey at www.NJTPA.org.

Skylands Tea Party: RECALL MURPHY rally this Saturday

Skylands Tea Party group President Bill Hayden is throwing a rally this Saturday, May 11th, at 11am, on Newton Green (Newton, Sussex County) to Recall Leftist Governor Phil Murphy.  The rally will be an opportunity for beleaguered taxpayers to make their voices heard and sign the recall petition.

Volunteer and union firefighters became the latest of Governor Murphy’s victims, when he announced that he was stealing more than $33 million in money meant to provide services for firefighters who are old and without sufficient means or who have post-traumatic stress troubles.  Murphy announced that he is stealing their money so that he and First Lady Tammy Jane Murphy (nee Macbeth) can use it to fund One Percenter fashion statements… like subsidized legal services for undocumented immigrants illegally resident in the United States.

Saturday, May 11, 2019 at 11 AM

Newton Green, Newton, NJ

For more information, visit the Skylands Tea Party at… 

https://www.facebook.com/skylandsteaparty/

For those who cannot attend, Skylands President Hayden urged fed-up taxpayers and freedom-loving citizens to join the Recall Gov. Murphy effort and volunteer by following these links…

https://m.facebook.com/RecallPhilMurphy/

https://helpsavenj.com/

Hayden added:  “Please if you can, join in the efforts and let’s not only rid us of this scourge, called Governor Murphy and the Democrats, but restore sanity to public office.”

Sussex Democrats use vigil to attack opponent

Last month, dozens of Sussex County residents met on the Green in Newton to hold a vigil in support of efforts to end opiate addiction.  Most were there for an honest, solemn purpose.  Some were there to get dirt on their neighbors.

It is no secret that Kate Matteson wants Parker Space's job.  She wants it bad enough to try to damage his business.  She wants it bad enough to try to turn a solemn vigil into a political sting operation.  While everyone else was praying to end the community's curse of opiate addiction, Matteson was trying to screw somebody over.

In a Politico column published yesterday, Democrat candidate Matteson admitted that her operatives used the vigil to try to lure her opponent into a conversation, tape it, and then use it as a kind of blackmail.  Perhaps the goal is to force Assemblyman Space out of office, much as the Left has attempted to force President Trump out of office?  This would represent a direct challenge to democracy and the will of the voters because Assemblyman Space is one of the highest vote-getters in the Legislature of either party. 

The question is this:  What kind of person would use a vigil for this purpose?  The vigil was to be a non-political gathering of concerned residents.  Who would authorize such an action?  Who would attempt to sell it to the media?

Democrat Senate candidate Jennifer Hamilton dismissed the whole affair as a personal clash between Matteson and Space, telling Politico that she believed it was about "Parker Space venting his frustration about what he perceived as an attack on his family business.  And that was the premise of the conversation. That was the build-up to that moment.  I don’t feel I need to be brought into peoples’ personal disagreements or battles with one another in terms of their personality conflicts. I think it’s clear from what we’ve seen in our local media that there is conflict between the two of them [Space and Matteson]."

As it turns out, the recording is not a very professional one and contains a number of garbled voices.  It is unclear if Assemblyman Space's is even among the voices present on the tape, while another voice (a woman's voice) apparently agrees with a negative assessment made of candidate Matteson, and still another voice repeats the phrase "elitist one-percenter" when referring to Democrat Matteson, the well-to-do-spouse of a wealthy doctor.

In the article, Matteson, who only began voting in 2016, actually tries to compare Assemblyman Space to President Trump -- fiercely attacking both in the process.  She may have only started voting last year, but she seems determined to make up for it with an extra dose of venom.

This isn't the first time candidate Matteson has used a solemn occasion for political purposes.  On September 11th, she and her running mate, Gina Trish, attended their first 9/11 observance and promptly turned it into a campaign photo opportunity.  It was rather disgusting and occasioned the remarks of many present for its gross lack of class.  Candidate Matteson might be upper class when it comes to having money, but she lacks it when it comes to manners.

Democrats rally with wiccan symbol on flag

The flag carried by Sussex County Democrat at a recent rally in Newton Green suggests that these seven religious entities have equal standing and should be recognized as cultural equals in America.  Taken together, it is a stunning vision of what some believe the "new" America should be:

First, comes the Islamic crescent, on the ascent. 

Second, is the eastern symbol of peace.

Third, represents gender equality.

Fourth, is the Star of David.

Fifth, is the Wiccan symbol.  The pagan worship of Satan.

Sixth, is the Ying and Yang of Chinese Philosophy.

Seventh, is the Christian Cross.

Curiously, with all the debate going on about flags and "evil" it is interesting to note that the 12th principle of the 13 principles of Wicca deals with the rejection of "the concept of absolute evil."

Gas-Tax Repeal Rally a No Show

If the gas-tax repeal is Senator Tom Kean Jr.'s plan to save the endangered liberals in his caucus, it totally crapped the bed on Saturday when the kick-off rally to a series of rallies across the state was cancelled and a pro-Senator Steve Oroho rally popped up in its place.  The repeal is being pushed by "Red Shirt" movement leader Bill Spadea, cultural leftist Senator Kip Bateman, and the petroleum lobby. 

Slated for Newton Green on Saturday, October 22nd (11am-2pm), the rally was organized with support from the petroleum lobby by people claiming to represent the Tea Party and other groups.  The run-up to the rally benefitted from paid advertising and media coverage, including a front page story on the New Jersey Herald the day before.  Organizers claimed that the response had been huge and claimed to had lined up a dozen speakers -- including 5th District congressional candidate Michael J. Cino. 

Cino, has attacked conservative Congressman Scott Garrett and the Republican majority in Congress for its "traitorous" votes.  Cino runs a group known as the "Red Dogs" who are described as a sort of vanguard in the "rebellion against the establishment."  We don't know if there is a relationship between the "Red Shirts" and the "Red Dogs."

The morning of the rally was rainy and the forecast called for a light drizzle.  The rally was set expressly "rain or shine" but was canceled a couple hours before it was scheduled to begin "due to weather."

Having explicitly described the rally as "public" in its advertisements, gas-tax-repeal organizers became concerned when they heard that people who didn't agree with them were thinking of attending their public meeting.  The gas-tax repealers asked the police to intervene to "segregate" the rally.  The gas-tax-repeal camp was asked about the criteria they intended to use to "segregate" members of the public at a public rally.  They wouldn't provide a criteria.

A building trades union representing thousands of families in Northwest New Jersey stepped in and obtained  its own permit, which lay outside Newton Green.  But in the end, it wasn't necessary, because with Newton Green vacated by the gas-tax-repeal organizers of the advertised public rally, the people who they had attempted to keep out had the Green to themselves.    

So at 11am on Saturday morning -- instead of the gas-tax-repeal rally that was advertised -- 250 people showed up in support of the Tax Restructuring plan passed by the Legislature and signed into law by Governor Chris Christie.  They came to support conservative Republican Steve Oroho, who has been under attack by the Legislature's two most liberal Republicans -- Kip Bateman and Jennifer Beck -- and they came to combat the lies put out by the petroleum lobby that the 23-cent increase applies to home heating oil and baby ointment and polyester clothing.  All lies designed to frighten people and to inflame hatred and even violence.

The facts, as provided by the Office of Legislative Services, are that nothing new is taxed and that all the exemptions that were in place remain in place. This means the increase does not apply to home heating oil or baby ointment or polyester clothing.  In fact, the law now INCREASES the number of exempt products.  We will discuss these additional exemptions in detail in an upcoming column.

Saturday's crowd -- numbering more than 250 -- was made up largely of trade union members and their families, but many local Republicans turned out, including two Sussex County Freeholders and several local elected officials and GOP municipal leaders.  About a dozen Pro-Life activists were present as well as that many grassroots Second-Amendment campaigners.  About a half dozen people attended who were drawn by the newspaper coverage. 

Three speakers addressed the crowd.  Rev. Greg Quinlan of the Center for Garden State Families reminded those present that Senator Oroho is a leader in the fight to preserve traditional values in New Jersey and America.  He added that those who want to drive Senator Oroho out of office are followers of the two most culturally left-wing members of the GOP in the Legislature and that earlier this week the two had celebrated the deaths of millions of unborn children by honoring the racist memory of eugenicist Margaret Sanger and her Planned Parenthood organization. 

Economics professor Murray Sabrin explained how the gas tax is a user tax and that this is a moral form of taxation.  The gathering was reminded that President Ronald Reagan, the founder of the modern conservative movement, favored user taxes and used the gas tax to fund road and bridge construction in America.  Sabrin went on to remind the audience that those "Red Shirts" who are trying to make the gas tax the big issue of 2017 are doing so to deflect attention away from the real problem tax in New Jersey -- the property tax -- which is a driver of the state's highest in America foreclosure rate.  Those who say the gas tax is the problem do so to support the Abbott-system of spending the state revenue from income taxes.

Finally, a union leader from Sussex County reminded the rally that "this was supposed to be their (the petroleum lobby's) rally" and that they had been there to spread lies about the Tax Restructuring plan and hatred for Senator Oroho.  He went on to thank the working men and women present from Sussex, Warren, and Morris counties and the thousands of union families they represent who live, work, and vote in the 24th Legislative District.  He promised that they would be back again and again and again and again, door-to-door, to carry the message to EVERY household in the 24th District.

The event was topped off with two announcements:  First, that Franklin Mayor Nick Giordano, who had been moved to oppose Senator Oroho after listening to the propaganda of "Red Shirt" lies, had written a letter endorsing the Senator and the Tax Restructuring plan.  And second, that the Senator's youngest daughter had safely delivered a child.  Steve Oroho's new grandson.

Is the Tea Party anti-First Amendment?

Earlier this week the Skylands Tea Party ran a paid advertisement in the New Jersey Herald inviting members of the public to attend a rally on Saturday, October 22nd.  It was accompanied by a press release, which formed the basis of the following NJ Herald story:

Rally planned for Newton Green Saturday in wake of gas tax hike

New Jersey Herald: Oct. 17, 2016 12:01 am

NEWTON -- The Skylands Tea Party and New Jersey Taxpayers' Association will hold a rally on Saturday, Oct. 22, at the Newton Green to demand a forensic audit of NJ Transit, the Transportation Trust Fund and Port Authority in response to the approved 23-cent gas tax hike signed by Gov. Chris Christie on Friday and set to take effect Nov. 1.

"We, the people of New Jersey, have been overtaxed and poorly governed for far too long," states a joint news release submitted by Harvey Roseff, vice president of the NJTA.

"The increased gas tax, one of the largest tax increases to ever hit the family, was a bridge too far and is unconscionable. Tax policy can't fix management problems -- the problem festers and grows."

The public event is scheduled to run 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

"We are inviting friends and families to stand tall and ask for low-cost, efficient government to become the governing priority," states the event announcement.

http://www.njherald.com/20161017/rally-planned-for-newton-green-saturday-in-wake-of-gas-tax-hike

This was followed by an email from the Skylands Tea Party on October 18, 2016:

"We the People of this Garden State are staging a protest on Saturday, October 22nd.  It will be held at the Newton Green on the corner of Route 94 and Spring Street, beginning at 11:00 AM and ending at 1:00 PM."

That's an open invitation to a public meeting on public property.

But when some of the organizers of the rally found out that folks who don't necessarily share their point of view were thinking of taking them up on the offer, they flipped.  Sources claim they went to the Newton mayor's office with their concerns. 

We don't know what action the Mayor, a political ally of Assemblyperson Gail Phoebus, took.  What we do know is that a Newton police officer called people and suggested that they do not belong at the rally.  We don't know why these people were targeted or who gave their names to the police.  What is clear is that these people do not share the Tea Party's point of view.

How is that for silencing the opposition?  How is that for bullying the First Amendment? 

Anyone who uses armed government officers to eliminate the presence of opposing viewpoints, inconvenient as they may be, is nothing more than an old-fashioned Fascist.  Speech should be met with speech, ideas with ideas, not by men with guns.

Of course, we can understand the concerns some in the Tea Party might have for what some of their members might do to anyone at the rally who holds a different opinion.  Tea Party members have been going overboard using violent and pornographic images and language on social media to describe anyone who disagrees with them -- like this charming Tea Party member from Sussex County:

"All 545 sitting in DC right now are guilty of treason. And all those living who have sat over the past 2 decades, since the signing of NAFTA are, too. That is our reality, they should all be indicted, dragged out in chains, the evidence a matter of congressional record and unimpeachable. And all should be subject to all the consequences the law provides up to the firing squad."

If the Tea Party allows its members to behave this way then they should take responsibility for them.  They should not seek to protect them from any alternative opinion that might result in them going off their meds.  And they certainly should not be involving armed government officers in what should be a civilized, human-to-human exchange of ideas.

Now they're attacking Garrett for the gas tax

The anger-driven, screw-them-all cacophony of the Tea Party is now costing embattled conservative Republican Congressman Scott Garrett votes.

Facebook post:  "Didn't Garrett support the gas tax?  Really hurts Sussex County residents."

How misinformed!  But these are the kinds of conclusions drawn when you are functioning on high-octane hate.  Facts don't matter.  All that matters is rage and targets for that rage.

Scott Garrett is a Sussex County native who has represented New Jersey’s fifth congressional district since 2003.  This year, he’s locked in the most difficult race he's ever faced.  Garrett is an unabashed social conservative with an almost perfect conservative voting record.

The American Conservative Union rated him 100 percent last year. His lifetime ACU rating is 99.38.  Garrett is a founding member of the House Freedom Caucus and has the support of the Club for Growth.

Still, many in the Tea Party find him suspect because he didn't rise from their ranks and his politics predates 2009 -- Year Zero for the Tea Party.  Unlike many Tea Party leaders, Congressman Garrett is an old-fashioned conservative gentleman who eschews the kind of foul-language on display from Tea Party Facebook warriors and at Tea Party rallies.  He is definitely out of step with the movement's manner of communicating. 

This has earned Garrett problems from the Tea Party in the past.  He was challenged in a Republican primary by a Tea Party member who will be playing a big part at the October 22nd Rally on Newton Green.  Despite his 99.38 lifetime rating from the American Conservative Union, that Tea Party leader described Garrett as a far-left liberal.  Violence and threats have been directed at the Congressman's office.

In the past, the Tea Party has often let their emotions get the better of them.  At times, they behave as if they are disconnected from our shared reality, rejecting fact for feeling.  Too often, violence is on their lips.  They fail to forgive long time allies and friends, and instead heap the most vicious invective on them.  Here is a chilling post, by a Tea Party leader from Sussex County, that expresses the kind of desires that can grow when you fail to keep hold of your humanity, humility, and common decency:

"All 545 sitting in DC right now are guilty of treason. And all those living who have sat over the past 2 decades, since the signing of NAFTA are, too. That is our reality, they should all be indicted, dragged out in chains, the evidence a matter of congressional record and unimpeachable. And all should be subject to all the consequences the law provides up to the firing squad."

What this Tea Party leader is describing is a lynching.  Let's hope that's not what happens on the 22nd.  People don't need any more reasons to vote for our mutual opponents.

Bill Spadea... you have a lot to answer for.