Home Care In Barry Lakes, NJ

VERNON -- Barry Lakes homeowners will receive a special assessment this month for the $394,105 cost to rebuild the second of two dams that the state Department of Environmental Protection ordered rebuilt more than a decade ago.

The assessment, which the Township Council approved in a resolution Monday night, will total $648 per homeowner and go toward the eight-year repayment of a DEP loan whose total amount, with the 2 percent interest rate included, will come to $469,800.

The low-interest dam restoration loan was made possible by a co-borrowers agreement between the township and the Barry Lakes Community Property Owners Association, which requested the township's assistance in 2009.

Scott Ghysels, president of the association, thanked township officials Monday for their cooperation in enabling the project's completion.

"I just want to thank the council, the mayor, the business administrator, (Municipal Assessor) Lynne Schweighardt, and (former Chief Financial Officer) Elke Yetter for helping us out with the adoption of the resolution," Ghysels said. "It's been a long journey ... and here we are so many years later."

Vernon Municipal Assessor Lynne Schweighardt, in a brief presentation Monday, noted that although the township is responsible for collecting the money and facilitating the loan's repayment, the assessment is not a township tax but rather a state-mandated obligation of New Jersey's Safe Dam Act, which requires municipalities to serve as co-applicants when community lake associations undertake the repair of privately owned dams.

The terms of the Safe Dam Act are spelled out in a state statute, 58:4-12.

Barry Lakes property owners will have the option of paying the $648 assessment in full or in eight yearly installments of $81 each. The first payment will be due Aug. 28, with subsequent years' payments due the same date with a 30-day grace period allowed.

Under the assessment, and as provided for under the Safe Dam Act, those who fail to make payment by the end of the 30-day grace period will have the full remaining balance of their assessments due immediately.

The recently completed repair of the dam, which is located along Barry Drive North near Fern Lane, follows the 2016 repair of the south dam between the two lakes, located behind Lakeshore Drive and Pine Terrace.

The repair of that dam, which was financed at a cost of $375,849, was followed by an April 2016 special assessment to Barry Lakes property owners of $501.30 each. The assessment was made payable over 10 years in the amount of $50.13 annually.

Schweighardt, the tax assessor, indicated the payments due under the new assessment have been structured so that both loans will be paid off by the year 2025.

The terms of both assessments dictate that the loan repayment costs are to be divided equally among all Barry Lakes properties, of which there are about 750.

Eric Obernauer can also be contacted on Twitter: @EricObernNJH or by phone at 973-383-1213.

Six homeowners' associations in the largest and most populous municipality in Sussex County are suing a host of township officials, claiming for over a dozen years they "egregiously" underfunded what could be up to hundreds of thousands of dollars in costs for the removal of snow and other obstructions from roadways.

Officials in Vernon Township, a mountainous ski resort town home to around 25,000 residents, have since 2008 intentionally neglected their duties under state law to either provide services or reimburse costs to the communities, the private associations claim in their lawsuit filed last month in Sussex County Superior Court.

Should an association receive even partial repayment for contracting or doing their own services, payment from the township is delayed by years, according to the lawsuit.

Municipalities are required under law to reimburse private communities for various services including snow, ice and fallen tree removal or provide their own services as they would on public roadways.

"These services go to the very purpose of the existence of government in that it must ensure the health, safety and welfare of its citizens," Ronald Israel, the attorney representing the homeowner associations in the suit, said in a statement.

The six associations that contract for their own services encompass around 60 miles of roadway in the 70-square-mile exurb with nearly 3,400 homes and 100 condos: Highland Lakes, the largest private community in Vernon with 31 miles of roadway; Hidden Valley; Lake Glenwood; Lake Wallkill; Barry Lakes; and Lake Panorama.

While Israel declined to state the amount the township owes, a 2011 evaluation made at the behest of the township council by a professional engineer gives an idea of the snow plow costs for each private community per year, beginning in 2005 and ending in 2009.

In 2009, the engineer evaluated total costs for snow plow removal for just the six communities at around $644,000, with Highland Lakes alone nearly half that amount. While it is unknown what partial or even full reimbursements have been made each year by the council, the amount owed in total over the past dozen years could reach into the millions.

Vernon's attorney did not respond to a request for comment, but township council minutes over the past decade shed light that reimbursement issues between the council and the associations were a point of conflict since the 1990s.

The township was sued in 1998 by the Stonehill Property Owners Association, known as Great Gorge Village, for allegations they failed to comply with the Municipal Services Act. An appeals court affirmed a Superior Court judge's decision that the township not only failed to properly reimburse costs to the association but the judge also enhanced the reimbursement per mile owed by 50% due to the additional difficulties of the roadways.

In November 2010, the then-township attorney noted there were outstanding debts owed to several private communities from 2009 and 2010, noting, "the policy and procedures over the years have changed and good records were not kept."

As was the case with the lawsuit filed by Great Gorge, the associations believed the township was under-reimbursing and, according to Israel, "misrepresenting what the township's true costs of removing snow, ice and other obstructions" were.

The arguments by the associations claimed, like Great Gorge, that Vernon's topography was much different than across the state or even other towns nearby and that a calculation based off the "difficulty factor" of each road was inaccurate.

The township has around 38 inches of snow per year, 40% more than the state as a whole, according to the lawsuit. Due to significant elevation changes in the township, some areas may receive rain while higher elevations get ice or snow, the suit states.

The township has also failed to reimburse costs of clearing grit from roadways and fallen tree limbs, the associations claim.

The communities, Israel said, have suffered damages from the township's conduct that has impacted their finances. Each lake community collects due from their residents.

Lori Comstock can also be reached on Twitter: @LoriComstockNJH, on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/LoriComstockNJH or by phone: 973-383-1194.

By KATHY STEVENS

[email protected]

VERNON — Before his interview, Oliver showered and then preened for a while. He then was helped into a blue bowtie that brought out the color of his eyes.

The chatty fellow murmured as he waddled into the room, looking soft as down and quite dapper at the same time. It might’ve been the bowtie, or perhaps it was the colorful polka-dot diaper on his other end that gave him a neat appearance.

Oliver is the pet goose of Barry Lakes resident Leesa Beckmann. He is a Sebastopol goose with fluffy, white feathers that curl over his body. Those fancy feathers take away his ability to fly, though he is so well cared for and attached to Beckmann that a short stroll along the street by her side suits him just fine.

Though not an Easter “chick” himself, he became Beckmann’s pet due to a family Easter story.

About 41/2 years ago, Beckmann found a photograph of herself and her sister, Linda, with a duck. Neither remembered having a duck, but their mother told them that Linda had found some other children trying to drown a duck that they had gotten for Easter because they could not keep it. The duck was rescued and lived with Beckmann’s family for a while until it was given to a farm. The duck imprinted on Beckmann’s mother, following her up and down the street and waiting outside when she visited a neighbor for a cup of coffee, quacking a greeting when she came out of the house.

Beckmann was delighted by the story and decided she would get a duck for a pet. But after doing some research, she concluded a goose was the better option, of which Sebastopol geese are one of the calmest breeds.

She found Oliver at the R & B RURU Ranch in Missouri, purchasing him from Sebastopol breeder Barb Rudolph. Oliver arrived in Vernon via the U.S. Postal Service May 19, 2010, at a time in Beckmann’s life when personal and health issues caused her to need “something” that the fluffy bird provided.

“He is the best thing that ever happened to me,” she said. “It is so much more than I dreamed. It is a great bond.You don’t know the bond you can have with a duck or a goose until you have one.”

She chose the name Oliver because she liked the sound of it, and the sound of the nickname “Ollie” as well.

“Oliver just so special in his personality,” Rudolph said, noting that Oliver bonded with Beckmann from the start.

Shortly after Oliver came into her home, Beckmann heard him snapping up dandelions, and thus was born her first self-published children’s book, “Oliver’s Dandelion Wishes,” which describes in rhyme Oliver’s munching on dandelions. She has since self-published three other books: “A Million Monarchs Munching Milkweed and a Goose,” “Oliver’s Search for Miss Matilda and her Murky Mud Puddle,” and “You Can’t Potty Train a Goose!”

The first three books contain computer-manipulated photos on colorful pages. The fourth, “You Can’t Potty Train a Goose!,” is a cartoon, Beckmann’s first artwork since she graduated from Parsons New School of Design in New York City many years ago. She also writes the rhyme, which is edited by a friend, Linda Ukson, also of Vernon.

Each book takes six months to a year for her to complete. Her goal is to inspire children to read and write about what they are passionate about.

Oliver spread his wings when he did some “performance art” during the recent opening reception for the Sussex County Arts and Heritage Council’s exhibit “Metamorphosis”, which is on display in its Newton gallery through April 28. Four

panels from Beckmann’s “A Million Monarchs Munching Milkweed and a Goose” are in the exhibit, and Oliver attended the opening

wearing a pair of Monarch butterfly wings.

“Everybody loved him,” said council Executive Director Mary Jo Mathias. “He stole the show.”

Oliver and Beckmann have visited local schools, libraries, camps and nursing homes with his stories and pictures. “You Can’t Potty Train a Goose!” is a hit with the kindergarten and first-grade children, Beckmann said. Oliver is not potty trained, but wears colorful diaper covers designed by Beckmann that contain a

disposable diaper inside. When reading the“Potty Train”story to children, Beckmann brings a stuffed goose she also designed that is wearing the same polka-dot diaper as Oliver.

When he is not the subject of books, visiting schools and nursing homes or reveling in the attention from people who are petting him, Oliver enjoys a swim in the pool with Beckmann, snuggling in front of the TV (he likes to watch the “Ice Age” movies, Beckmann said), short strolls with Beckmann and road trips to local garage sales, where he often will come home with a new toy. In fact, one of those toys, a child-size blue Jeep, ended up in Beckmann’s photo illustrations for “Miss Matilda and the Murky Mud Puddle,” which is about Oliver’s search throughout Vernon for a Matilda the Mastodon, a prehistoric skeleton that was found in Highland Lakes in the 1950s.

A vegetarian, Oliver eats lettuce, grass and fruit in addition to a commercial poultry mix. He does not need any vaccines and is a “very hardy waterfowl,” who could live 25 years, Beckmann said. He sleeps in the bathtub on a towel with a bucket of water that he uses to preen himself in the morning. He also showers twice a day, preening for hours afterward, and has his own pillow on the floor of the livingroom.

He has four “siblings”: three Chihuahuas named Cleo, Charlie and Dunkin, and a cockatiel named Simon, making for an interesting household.

Oliver is also on Facebook (Oliver Sebastopol Goose) and is the subject of several videos on YouTube, posted by Beckmann. This gander is certainly not

camera shy.

“Leesa has done a wonderful job at training Oliver, and Oliver is a super smart little fellow. He poses for pictures for people when he see a camera. His father, Sammie, did that also. ... People do not realize just how smart geese can be,” Rudolph said in an email.

Oliver and Beckmann will be at Vernon Earthfest on Sunday, April 27, at Heaven Hill Farm in Vernon. The event is 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For more information, contact Beckmann at 973-919-6988 or by email, [email protected].

To the Editor:

Today (June 22) a hiker encountered a bear while sitting on a boulder along the Stairway to Heaven trail in Sussex County. The hiker calmly backed away as the young black bear walked past them only feet away without looking at the hikers again.

The bear encounter in Sussex County on the Stairway to Heaven trail shows that bear education works. The hikers did what they were supposed to do by calmly backing away, and we need to be doing more of that.

Even though there are only a few thousand bears there are over one-hundred thousand people living in bear country. An effective bear education program can help prevent serious injury or possible death for people either hiking or camping. Sierra Club runs almost 100 hikes every year in bear county and we have no problems because no one brings food with them during the hike and we keep our distance. It shows that education works.

New Jersey needs a real bear management plan, one that includes strong education and uses warning signs in the region, educational materials at trail heads, enforcing not feeding the bears, and garbage management. According to a report by the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife Bear Activity Report, sightings of bears dropped by 80%, and Damage and Nuisance reports dropped by 70% since 2009. Encounters with aggressive bears tied the lowest total since 2010 with two in 2017. Despite this data, there was a second phase of the bear hunt for 2019.

There needs to be warning signs in bear country with posts at all trailheads with do’s and don’ts. These will do a lot more in managing the bear population than having an unnecessary hunt. If bears start seeing houses as sources of food, we will see more bear human conflict and more problems.

Bears will change from a nuisance bear to an aggressive bear and will be put down. This will justify the hunt. Whether there is a hunt or not, there’s no real management plan in place. The black bear is a symbol that we still have wild places left in the state and that we haven’t completely given over to sprawl. We need Governor Murphy to create a real education and keep his commitment to put a moratorium on the hunt.

Jeff Tittel, Director

New Jersey Sierra Club

Looking for a place for your kids to run around all day while you’re at work or doing chores? Why not summer camp? While summer camps may have been on a slight pause the past several years they seem to be back and better than ever this summer.

Some of these camps have even already begun but can take campers halfway through the summer, or even make an exception. Not sure which camp to choose? Here are a few of the top in New Jersey.

Located in Warren, Camp River Bend has been running since 1962. Activities range between swimming, field sports, rock climbing, pedal carts and river activities. If you have children who aren’t quite sure what their favorite summer activities are, this place will help them figure it out. They also have a day-trippers program where children can opt to take trips every day and go on adventures nearby.

Harbor Hills sits on a massive plot of land in Mendham and is unique compared to other camps due to its international staff. Many of the counselors are from the U.K. or Australia and come to America for the summer to experience American culture. The camp is sport-heavy, so if your child is looking to run around all day it’s the perfect spot. There’s also horseback riding, which not many other camps offer.

Lake activities are never-ending at Willow Lake, located in Hopatcong. Between water sports, ziplines, and rope towers this camp is a dream come true for adventurous children. They also have a day trip program where campers can go to sports games, waterparks and other summer spots.

Spring Lake in Ringwood has racked up numerous awards since its opening back in 1989. Among normal camp activities, they also have leadership programs for children above 8th grade who are interested in counselor positions but are still campers at heart.

Over at Sussex County lives Jeff Lake Day Camp, where several sessions are offered for campers for the summer. Jeff Lake has been operating for over 60 years and has a wide variety of programs depending on what your child is interested in doing for the summer. The camp is best known for its massive lake where campers can partake in several activities they would not be able to try elsewhere.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Judi Franco only.

You can now listen to Dennis & Judi — On Demand! Hear New Jersey’s favorite best friends anytime, anywhere and any day of the week. Download the Dennis & Judi show wherever you get podcasts, on our free app, or listen right now.

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One of the Top 50 Candy stores in the US is right here in Jersey

Black River Candy Shoppe in Chester New Jersey was selected in Food Network Magazine's “America’s 50 Best Candy Stores” a couple of years back and the story went viral online earlier this year.

I decided to take a trip down there for myself to see what they had to offer. Right, when you walk in you feel like you are Charlie about to take over the chocolate factory. Black River Candy Shoppe is a cute little candy shop offering hundreds of different types of candy.

They have old-school childhood candy as well as an incredible selection of newer candy varieties. Candy is displayed in old whiskey barrels, and a lot of their candy is sold in bulk by the pound. It is located in downtown Chester right off of Main Street. Check out the photos from my recent visit:

These are the best hiking spots in New Jersey

A trip to New Jersey doesn't have to be all about the beach. Our state has some incredible trails, waterfalls, and lakes to enjoy.

From the Pine Barrens to the Appalachian Trail to the hidden gems of New Jersey, you have plenty of options for a great hike. Hiking is such a great way to spend time outdoors and enjoy nature, plus it's a great workout.

Before you go out on the trails and explore some of our listeners' suggestions, I have some tips on hiking etiquette from the American Hiking Society.

If you are going downhill and run into an uphill hiker, step to the side and give the uphill hiker space. A hiker going uphill has the right of way unless they stop to catch their breath.

Always stay on the trail, you may see side paths, unless they are marked as an official trail, steer clear of them. By going off-trail you may cause damage to the ecosystems around the trail, the plants, and wildlife that live there.

You also do not want to disturb the wildlife you encounter, just keep your distance from the wildlife and continue hiking.

Bicyclists should yield to hikers and horses. Hikers should also yield to horses, but I’m not sure how many horses you will encounter on the trails in New Jersey.

If you are thinking of bringing your dog on your hike, they should be leashed, and make sure to clean up all pet waste.

Lastly, be mindful of the weather, if the trail is too muddy, it's probably best to save your hike for another day.

I asked our listeners for their suggestions of the best hiking spots in New Jersey, check out their suggestions: