Free Republic

MENDHAM, NJ — New Jersey’s former governor weighed in about its current one, Mendham resident Chris Christie describing Gov. Phil Murphy as a “stubborn guy” who “doesn’t want to admit he was wrong to have the masks on for this long.”

Rick Pressl burst into the board of trustees meeting, a boyish exuberance overcoming his normally reserved temperament. The retired fire chief pulled aside Tanya Sulikowski, the executive director of the Schiff Natural Lands Trust, to show off a rusty, barely recognizable object. It was a Revolutionary War era stirrup, Pressl said, his first major find while excavating the nature preserve. He would soon have much more to show the board. This summer, he and a few students from Ridge High School, unearthed spoons, tongs, nails, horseshoes and several other historic artifacts. The group also discovered a set of four brass...

A month before her trial on sexual assault charges is to begin, an ex-Paterson teacher allegedly asked a former student to recant the allegations for the sake of her three children, according to court records. "During the conversations, Jodi Thorp told J.M. that she would go away to prison for a long time and that her children would have no one to raise them" unless the alleged victim, now 19, wrote a letter saying they had not had a sexual relationship, an investigator's sworn statement said. "She stated she would commit suicide if sent to prison." The comments attributed to...

A teacher at Mountain View Middle School in Mendham Borough left his classroom in June as a man, and plans to return to school next month as a woman. Some parents and teachers have accepted teacher Kerri McCaffrey's decision to embrace his feminine identity and undergo gender reassignment surgery. A few others have concerns about whether middle school-age children should have to deal with such issues. McCaffrey said she can't imagine why she wouldn't come back to school. "I just want to be Kerri McCaffrey, a great teacher like I've always been," said the 41-year-old language arts teacher. "I'm a...

'Passion' shakes North Jersey clergy to the core Sunday, February 29, 2004 By JOHN CHADWICK and BRIAN KLADKOSTAFF WRITERS One Catholic priest in Morris County was so appalled by Mel Gibson's "The Passion of The Christ'' that he described the film as "religious barbarism.''But a Protestant minister in Harrington Park was so moved that afterward he drove to a park, where he prayed and sat silently for almost an hour.Meanwhile, a rabbi from River Edge said the movie could bring Jews and Christians closer, despite the film's insistence that it was the Jews who pushed for the execution of...