Community Corner

Park Dedication, Expanded Traffic Study Top Morris News

A look at the top stories from Morris Township and Morris Plains from the past week.

Nearly 200 people in the Morristown area attended the renaming of Veterans Park to the J. Robert Tracey Veterans Memorial Park on Wednesday, July 4 to honor Morristown resident and war veteran Bob Tracey. Tracey was there with his friends and family, and Morristown Mayor Tim Dougherty and Morris Township Mayor Peter Mancuso were among those in attendance.

The Morris Township approved a resolution last week to expand the ongoing traffic study on East Hanover Avenue from Speedwell Avenue to Whippany Road. The study is to determine traffic patterns and congestion in the area, and evaluate how the traffic would be impacted with the proposed redevelopment projects in Hanover Township. Township officials are asking the freeholders to the extend study from Speedwell Avenue along East Hanover Avenue back to the traffic light at Burnham Road and Stiles Avenue. Freeholder director Bill Chegwidden is planning on meeting with the the Morris Township and Morris Plains mayors next week.

On Friday morning, a truck caught on fire on Morris Avenue near Washington Avenue and Interstate 287 across from Washington Headquarters. The driver and two passengers, who were traveling to Basking Ridge to work on a construction and landscaping project, were able to escape the vehicle as soon as they saw smoke coming from it, and within minutes the whole truck was engulfed in flames. Morris Street was closed for about a half hour, and traffic was diverted for a few hours until the whole scene was cleaned up.

Find out what's happening in Morris Township-Morris Plainswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The third Dunkin' Donuts to come to Morris Plains recently opened on Wednesday, June 27, and it is only the second location in the world to have a conference room it, right after Florida. The conference room seats a maximum of eight people and can be rented for $25 per hour.

According to police, Darryll Vanwinkle, 23, of Morris Plains, was arrested on Tuesday night at a Phish Concert at Jones Beach in Theater in Wantagh, N.Y. for having 28 grams of psilocybin mushrooms in his car. He was charged with second-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, a Class A felony, and unlawful possession of marijuana. Vanwinkle was held for arraignment in Nassau County First District Court.

Find out what's happening in Morris Township-Morris Plainswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

We listed out a number of students in the area who were named to their college Dean's Lists.

Michael Conway, 19, one of the alleged bullies in the Lennon Baldwin case, is seeking to enter a pretrial intervention program, according to NJ.com. Conway is accused of making false statements to the police about an incident that took place in the Century 21 parking lot.


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