GET OUT AND VOTE, IT'S TIME FOR CHANGE IN NJ

The most important right that you exercise as a citizen is the right to VOTE.

In Article I, the Legislative powers section of the U.S. Constitution, Congress is given the responsibility of regulating elections (Time, Place, and Manner). States have the broad authority to regulate the election process. Elections matter more than you might imagine.

As you think about, who you will vote for next week, how will you choose who to best represent your interests?  What are the qualities that make a good officeholder? Honesty? Integrity? Independence? Fearless? Intelligence?

During a recent township council meeting, the Hamilton township council questioned Mr Jeff Plunkett, Dir of Health for Hamilton, about the embattled animal shelter.  After much questioning Mr Plunkett admitted that the  Hamilton Township Animal Shelter had no standard operating procedures, conducted business for years without undergoing a routine inspection and was conducting euthanasia on a license issued by the Hamilton Township Division of Health. Initially, Mr. Plunkett stated that once the shelter was inspected by the DOH he swung into action to optimize the SOP’s for the animal shelter. As the council members questioned him further, he openly admitted that he never had any SOP’s at the shelter.  This comment about the SOP’s resonated with us.

In 2014, there was a press conference where Mr Plunkett stated he rewrote the SOPs and Congressman Chris Smith stated that he reviewed the said SOPs that were prepared by the Hamilton Dept of Health. This press conference was taped.

This comment about the SOP’s was brought up in 2014 when there was a death in the township of a 4 year old boy due to EVD68. At a town hall meeting that was chaired by Congressman Chris Smith, the Mayor of Hamilton township and Mr. Plunkett. On stage in front of the residents all three political leaders stated they had read the existing SOP’s and were updating them and training the staff in the school systems in Hamilton, Mercer County.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2k6Qc9FRfE  Dr Oz video on Eli

We made an OPRA request asking for the SOP’s that were developed and existed from 1995 to Sept 26 2014 (the day of the death of the 4 year old boy from EVD68).  The response from the Township of Hamilton was as follows:

“Mr. Plunkett has confirmed with this office, the Department of Health does not have any documentation regarding your request. This OPRA request is closed as there is no records pertaining to this request.”

No SOP’s for the schools available? How can that be? There was a nationwide epidemic going on in 40 states and over 300 cases, and the township had zero SOP’s on how to keep the schools clean and free of disease?

Congressman Chris Smith, Mayor Yaede and Jeff Plunkett all stood on a stage in front of residents of Hamilton and told them the opposite and stated that they rewrote the SOP’s once the death of the 4 year old boy in Hamilton occurred.  Congressman Chris Smith was adamant and stated numerous times during this town hall that he personally reviewed the policies that were being updated. However, we learned from the OPRA request that the SOP’s never existed prior to the death of the 4 year old boy.

Truth of the matter was, they had no policies that focused on cleaning the schools according to the results of the OPRA request.  During the press conference the nurse from the township also stated that the policies were established by Mr Plunkett and she then went to the schools to implement them, after the death of Eli.

The public’s safety has to matter. Any politician that feels they have license to lie to residents should never be given the privilege of public office.  Whether you are the Director of the Department of Health, Recreation, Senior & Veterans Services, a Congressman or a Mayor you never should openly deceive the public. Especially when it comes to public health. A child died in Hamilton from EVD68. It was a very sad occurrence that the lack of SOP’s clearly could have had a direct effect on the child. How long do the residents of NJ have to endure this shirking of responsibilities of their officials?

GET OUT AND VOTE ON TUESDAY YOUR VOTE MATTERS!!!!!

Some of the many videos on this subject below.

Video 1

https://www.facebook.com/YardvilleNJ/videos/1507110909548153/

5:30 resident talks about Plunkett being M.I.A. during overseeing of the cleaning of the schools.

7:48...timeline. Kid died on Thursday.....no action taken at schools until Monday 5pm to clean schools

8:49: Recommendations thru Div of Health with CDC, etc....

10:02....Div of health makes recommendations...even school shut downs

12:53: shares how health officer did not share with council about death of kid. He did the same with the "surprise" inspection from DOH. 

13:50 Lessons learned......obviously nothing was learned.....they did the same thing with animal shelter. 

VIDEO 2

https://www.facebook.com/YardvilleNJ/videos/1507157282876849/

0:05: Nurse from Div of Health speaking. She did training of call center and schools. So SOP's made by Div of Health that according to my OPRA request were not done by the Div of Health. This is a contradictory representation of the actual facts they shared in this town hall

8:18: Jeff speaks...about samples and how he worked with State epidemiologist...

12:33...IRena states...look ahead to optimize communication.  

    -Duffy comment: As we know they did not do this. Why was the Mayor and Dir of Health not measuring this?

14:30, resident asks Plunkett how to optimize situation, Plunkett explains how Div of Health works with School nurse to implement procedures.

16:31: IRena….Plunkett talks about procedures that the states he HAS in his office.  But my OPRA request when requested he said they do not have them

Video 3

https://www.facebook.com/YardvilleNJ/videos/1507156929543551/

Please go to 1:20 minutes into this audio from a recording in 2014 as it pertained to the resident who died from EVD68. "At the request of the Board of Education, who was in contact with Jeff, the Div of Health developed and distributed precautionary measures....."  she goes on to say..."they had limited information at that time."

As you can clearly hear...this is in direct conflict with what Jeff is stating from my OPRA request. 

7:08...Jeff goes thru process again. 

13:93: Report not filed to state. Is school required? Nurse would not answer

Video 4

https://www.facebook.com/YardvilleNJ/videos/1507157159543528/

2:57" robocalls. I would suggest you listen to the entire audio

Posted by tammyduffy at 7:59 PM EDT

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WORKING TIRELESSLY, NOT!

Last week, the Hamilton Township Council questioned Mr. Plunkett, Hamilton’s Health Officer and Health Department director.  Mr. Plunkett stated that there were no standard operating procedures in place since his tenure began in 1995. That they conducted business for decades without undergoing a routine inspection and was conducting euthanasia on a license; that they issued themselves by the Hamilton Township Division of Health.

 “Any shelter, kennel, pet shop whether it is public or private, should have one inspection a year before the license is issued,” Plunkett told Hamilton Council at the Nottingham Fire Co. ballroom meeting. He confirmed the shelter had operated for many years without an annual inspection prior to the facility being inspected July 11 by West Windsor Township health officials on his request.

Plunkett said it would have been “a conflict of interest” if he or a Hamilton municipal employee self-inspected the township’s animal shelter.  But there was no conflict of interest to print their own license. He also said the shelter had no standard operating procedure or SOP, forcing him to write one up from scratch after researching the issue in recent weeks. Before Mr. Plunkett admitted to the absence of the SOP’s he stated that he was “rewriting them and updating them. Upon further questioning, he admitted they never existed.

This comment about the SOP’s was brought up in 2014 when there was a death in the township of a 4 year old boy due to EVD68. At a town hall meeting that was chaired by Congressman Chris Smith, the Mayor of Hamilton township and Mr. Plunkett. On stage in front of the residents all three political leaders stated they had read the existing SOP’s and were updating them and training the staff in the school systems in Hamilton, Mercer County.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2k6Qc9FRfE  Dr Oz video on Eli

As the Director of the Department of Health, Recreation, Senior & Veterans Services, Mr Plunkett has a lot of responsibility.  How long do the residents of Hamilton have to endure this shirking of responsibilities of their officials?

Mr Plunkett also stated that there are no requirements for ACO's or those in charge of shelters. He went on to say that there are no continuing educational requirements needed as well. Upon researching this comment, we found this to be incorrect as well. The link below demonstrates the follow statutes: (clearly none of this is being acknowledges by our Dir of Health or Public Safety Officer in the township of Hamilton, Mercer County. These regulations have been in place since 1983, prior to Mr. Plunkett's arrival in 1995. 

NJ STATUTE 4:19-15.16A - Animal Control Officers; Certification

A. The commissioner of Health shall, within 120 days after the effective date of P.L.1983, c. 525, and pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c. 410 (C. 52:14B-1 et seq.), adopt rules and regulations concerning the training and educational qualifications for the certification of animal control officers including, but not limited to, a course of study approved by the commissioner and the Police Training Commission, in consultation with the New Jersey Certified Animal Control Officers Association, which acquaints a person with...

 http://www.njcacoa.org/aco_authority.htm is a link to all the regulations. 

In 2014, a 4-year-old Hamilton boy died from EVD68. There was a nationwide epidemic occuring for numerous months prior to the death of the young boy. The virus was prevalent in 40 states and over 300 confirmed cases, prior to the cases in Hamilton. Yet, the Hamilton township health department did zero preventive measures in the schools or in the township to optimize awareness of the epidemic. At a press conference for the death of the boy, Mayor Yaede said, "I have never heard of EVD68 and neither has my staff."  

How is that possible? As the director of Public Safety it should be a strategic imperative that the Mayor and Mr. Plunkett be aware of any and all epidemics occuring in the nation to be proactive for the residents in the town.  However, they are completely unaware. At that same press conference Mr. Plunkett stated that he "updated the SOP's as it pertained to cleaning the schools and awareness as it pertained to hand washing."

On Oct 10^th we OPRA'd the SOP's from Jan 1 2000 to Sept 26 2014 from the department of health, as it pertains to cleaning and health in the township school systems. We still await the information. We have also sent an additional OPRA request for the annual reports that are prepared by the Hamilton township Division of Health. The only report that is available on line is dated Jan 15, 2015. A few months after the death due to EVD68.

Mr. Plunkett used the same phrase at the EVD68 town hall meeting in 2014; " we are updating the SOP's", where a child died in the township from EVD68. Did the SOP’s in the school systems even exist prior to the 2014 death of a 4-year-old resident? What did Congressman Chris Smith, the Mayor and Mr. Plunkett actually review to update prior to the death in 2014 from EVD68?  Did the political leadership all hide the fact that the SOP’s never existed?  The results of the OPRA request will demonstrate the truth.  The same phrase was used by Plunkett at the shelter meeting and turned out the SOP’s never existed. Below is a link to the only annual report available on line. We have OPRA’d all the reports and await a response with this information.

http://www.hamiltonnj.com/filestorage/228428/228430/229525/252291/Health_2014_Annual_Report.pdf

There appears to be a very frightening pattern of behavior with Mr. Plunkett.  The leadership also seems to be turning a blind eye to it for decades. There needs to be accountability for all of this. The residents and the animals of the township deserve better. The public safety is at risk due to the lack of accountability of the leadership. Our Public safety director, Health Director, the Mayor, and the Congressman may have some tough questions to respond to in the near future. This could cause the Congressman to lose his election if it turns out that there was a wink and a nod given to the absence of SOP’s in 2014. 

The mayor of the township has been quite silent during the entire animal shelter exposure. Yet, she states in the past she works tirelessly for the animals. At the beginning of the exposure she vehemently denied the early accusations and shamed the people who did their best to give light of day to the truth and banned the whistle blowers from shelter access. The fact that things are improving now is the same as saying too late. The leadership’s deflections and distractions away from the truth resulted in the unwarranted suffering, poor treatment and death of thousands of animals.

We are thankful there is a process to get to the truth. It’s called OPRA. (Open Public Records Act). The New Jersey Open Public Records Act (OPRA) gives New Jersey citizens (See Harry Scheeler, Jr. v. Burlington Twp; GRC Complaint No 2015-93 Ruling) greater access to public inspection and duplication of disclosable government records through the filing of an OPRA Request.  New Jersey citizens have access to government records except for those documents that fall under defined exclusions. Under OPRA, the Hamilton Township Clerk has been designated as the official Custodian of Records.

http://www.hamiltonnj.com/content/228309/228373/229245/default.aspx

 What else are the leaders closing their eyes to?

Posted by tammyduffy at 8:58 AM EDT

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It's Time To March Again!!

We are outraged. We are organized. They forgot that 5 million women lit the world on fire two years ago. On January 19, 2019, we’re going to remind them when we flood the streets of Washington, D.C., and with sister marches in cities across the globe. Save the date: The #WomensWave is coming, and we’re sweeping the world forward with us.

Sign Up at this link below! WOMEN HAVE TO MATTER! When they do not, societies cannot flourish.  

 https://www.womensmarch.com/2019

Posted by tammyduffy at 5:29 PM EDT

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Learn About Malbec, The Popular Red Wine

Malbec is a wine that seemingly came out of nowhere over the past ten years and quickly has become one of the most popular red wines on the American market. It is a red wine that is a crowd-pleaser and easy to drink, with a ton of juicy fruit flavors. The wine has become so popular it’s actually hard to think of a time when the wine wasn’t everywhere, but its growth in popularity is actually very recent.

Malbec was born in France  where it was primarily used as a blending grape in the country’s famous Bordeaux blend. While the grape had excellent potential to be made into the pure Malbec wine we know today, only the French region of Cahors did so, and until recently that wine rarely made its way outside of the country.

The main reason for Malbec’s failure to rise in stature and make it outside of France, like Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir, was its susceptibility to disease and rot. The roots of the Malbec vines did not respond well to a French climate, rotting easily, and a winemaker could very easily lose an entire crop just before they were ready to harvest. These weak characteristics caused many winemakers to avoid planting too much of the grape, for fear of giving up precious land to fruit that could easily die, and therefore planted just enough to add to a blend if the grape did indeed survive the growing season.

Nevertheless, in the mid-nineteenth century, when a group of Argentine winemakers consulted French agronomist Michel Pouget for his thoughts on a grape they should plant in order to improve the quality of Argentine wine, the grape he recommended was Malbec! These Argentines took vine cuttings from France and brought them back to Argentina, primarily planting them in the wine region of Mendoza. In the hot high-altitude of the region, the Malbec vines thrived, exhibiting none of the weaknesses they had in France. This caused many winemakers to believe Malbec was a grape that had truly belonged in Argentina all along.

For almost 100 years after being planted, Malbec remained a wine consumed inside Argentina, with very little being exported. As the wine remained inside the country it continued to get better and better, but American consumers still had very little knowledge of it. Then, in the early 2000s, economies around the world began to see trouble, which caused prices to rise, including the price of wine made in Europe and the U.S. Many Americans started seeking an affordable delicious alternative and thus Malbec’s time had arrived.

According to Letite Teague of The Wall Street Journal, Malbec took off in the U.S. due to its populist appeal. It was a wine not discovered by sommeliers, but by regular wine drinkers seeking a wine that was both delicious and affordable. The wine’s popularity spread via word of mouth, not wine lists, and to this day is still found more in people’s homes than in restaurants.

With the explosion of Argentine Malbec has come other regions now producing the wine, including Chile, as well as Cahors, the region in France that had been producing the wine all along, and now finally found a demand outside of its tiny region.

What makes Malbec so popular is how easy it is to drink and how well it goes with or without food. Some people love to call Malbec a working man’s Merlot, as the wine has many of the same characteristics that make Merlot easy to drink, with an added spice and acidity that makes it seem less polished. Malbec is the guy who rides the Harley to Merlot’s guy that drives the Vespa.

If you’re serving red wine to a diverse crowd, Malbec is always a safe, crowd-pleasing bet.

Posted by tammyduffy at 6:59 PM EDT

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                     South Jersey women knitting 'knockers'

for breast cancer survivors

Volunteers have distributed more than 100 pairs of prosthetic breasts since December.

The complaints are not unusual, nor do they vary too much.

Prosthetic breasts provide an important resource to many women who have had mastectomies. But they tend to be uncomfortable.

"Typically, when women go to a fitting place or a medical supply store, it's a heavy, breast-shaped, silicon form that goes into the bra," said Dr. Kristin Brill, program director for The Janet Knowles Breast Cancer Center at Cooper University Hospital's MD Anderson Cancer Center. 

"It's meant to go up against the skin, so it doesn't move around a lot. It tends to be heavy and hot."

Now, South Jersey women have an alternative, thanks to a group of 25 volunteers who are busy knitting and crotcheting hand-stitched prosthetic breasts, affectionately dubbed "Knitted Knockers." 

The group has distributed more than 100 pairs of Knitted Knockers since December to South Jersey hospitals, including those in the Cooper and Virtua health systems, according to co-chair Denise Weinberg.

Filled with Pol-Fil, the Knockers are softer than standard prosthetics and can be worn inside a traditional bra. They come in a variety of sizes and colors.

"Some people are dissatisfied (with standard prosthetics) because they're heavy, or sweaty in the summer, or they're expensive," Weinberg said. "Clearly, these knockers are light. They're washable and they're free."

The South Jersey volunteers are an affiliate of the national Knitted Knockers nonprofit founded in Washington in 2011. The volunteers are funded by the Saltzman Foundation Life Long Learning Institute in Cherry Hill. 

"Some groups are just knitting and sending them to a central location for distribution," Weinberg said of other affiliate groups. "We're knitting and trying to keep them in South Jersey, because our funding is coming from South Jersey. And we live in South Jersey."

'WE'LL KEEP KNITTING THEM'

The Knockers have been a hit with patients at MD Anderson Cancer Center, Brill said.

"I wasn't really sure how popular they'd be, or how well they wore," Brill said. "We offer this to put into the post-mastectomy camisole or post-mastectomy bra. It seems to make them comfortable and they're happy with them."

Some women even request different pairs for daytime and nighttime use, Brill said. 

"I would say in a month, we're probably giving out at least 20," she said.

And the group has no intention of slowing down. Weinberg guessed the group's members have another 100 pairs ready to be distributed.

"Once our knitters start knitting them, it's hard to get them to stop," Weinberg said. "As long as we keep feeding them yarn, we'll keep knitting them." 

Posted by tammyduffy at 3:19 PM EDT

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 When Is Enough Is Enough?

Falsifying documents” is a type of white-collar crime. It involves altering, changing, or modifying a document for the purpose of deceiving another person. It can also involve the passing along of copies of documents that are known to be false. In many states, falsifying a document is a crime punishable as a felony.

Punishment for forgery of symbols is a class A misdemeanor. This is the most serious misdemeanors and is punishable by up to a year of jail time and up to a $2,000 fine. Forgery of financial or official documents is a class C or D felony and subject to up to 10-year prison sentence and fines up to $10,000.

There was an OPRA request made as it pertained to the inspection status of the Hamilton animal shelter in Mercer County NJ. This request was sent to the Hamilton Clerk’s office on Sept 6, 2018.  See request below:

 To:      bcalderone@hamiltonnj.com; EGore@hamiltonnj.com

Subject: OPRA Request

1.   All the Shelter licenses for the Animal Shelter from 2012 to 2018.

2.   All Local Health Inspections for the Animal Shelter from 2012 to 2017.

3.   All Certificates of local inspections for the Animal Shelter from 2012 to 2018.

Please send these documents to this email within 7 days as required by law.

Response from Clerk’s office….

In reference to your OPRA request, please be advised per the Hamilton Township Department of Health has no responsive records.

Thank you,

'EiCeen (]ore, 'R;MC, C:MC, :M:MC

:Municipa[ cCerk,

How can this be, no records of inspections when the rules state…

Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.8 (a), operators of kennels, pet shops, shelters and pounds (animal facilities) must apply annually to the municipality for a license, and each license issued shall expire on June 30th of each year. Facilities that serve multiple functions (e.g., a kennel that also serves as a pound) should be licensed for each function that they perform. Prior to issuance of a license, local health department staff shall inspect the facility to ensure that the operation complies with all laws, rules, and municipal ordinances, including building code and zoning requirements. Specifically, the facility shall be evaluated to ensure that it is in compliance with the State rules governing the sanitary operation of animal facilities,

N.J.A.C.  8:23A-1.1 through 1.13. A copy of the satisfactory inspection report issued by the local health department should accompany the licensure application. Before any new construction or renovation, blueprint plans shall be submitted to the local health department for review and approval. Facility licenses are not transferrable upon sale of a business, or to another facility operated by the same owner.

Is the Township leadership saying with their response to this OPRA request that the shelter has not been inspected by our health inspector in at least 7+ years?  For Hamilton township to obtain a shelter license, the shelter is required to perform an annual health inspection. A recent turtle that was rescued from the shelter, who resided there for 5 years; the rescuing resident could not obtain any paperwork on the turtle from the shelter. She was told the turtle was male. When she took it to the vet after rescuing it, she quickly learned it was female. Female turtles even without the presence of a male turtle will annually lay eggs. When the resident called the shelter after the vet asked her to call them to understand her egg laying history, she learned the shelter never saw any eggs. The eggs are not small, they are the size of a robin’s egg. The turtle is a Red Ear Slider.

There is currently an investigation being performed by Councilman Rick Tighe and Councilwoman Ileana Schirmer that focuses on the failing animal Shelter.

Questions for the investigators could be….

1.      Did the Hamilton Township health Inspector knowingly and willingly made a conscious decision to not perform any of the required annual inspections. These inspections are required by law. (ie. NJAC 8:23A. 2)

2.     Did the Hamilton township health inspector knowingly and willingly falsely sign a Shelter License on May 21, 2018 and posted it in the Shelter, so it would be available for the WW health inspection which he coordinated?

3.     During the press conference at the shelter the Hamilton township health inspector stated he thought inspecting the Shelter was a conflict of interest, so he had West Windsor inspect our shelter.  If this is the case, why was this not done every year and why is there no record of that.

The Hamilton animal shelter needs an overall in its leadership, there is no question about that.  The animals in the shelter deserve better treatment than they are getting at the shelter.

Let’s continue with the turtle that was at the shelter. The resident who rescued this turtle had to go through quite the ordeal to get the turtle.  During the Clear the Shelter Saturday, the resident went to the shelter to see what she could do to help the animals. The news by that time was quite public on the failing shelters upkeep in the local newspapers and TV. The resident was really concerned. It was shared with her that the shelter had 2 snakes and a turtle at the shelter. She asked to see the turtle. The snakes were on display in the kitten room.  The turtle was in the back portion of the shelter, adjacent to the Animal Control officer’s office.  The animal control officer stated that they change the water every three months and showed the resident what foods the turtle was being fed. The resident stated that she would adopt the turtle. She went to Petco and obtained an aquarium double the size of the one at the shelter.  The ACO gave the resident his card and said she could call the shelter that day, Saturday, or even Sunday. They would respond and let her take the turtle.

But, this was not the case. The resident tried contacting the shelter via phone, text on Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday morning all to no avail. No return calls or return text message to the ACO and his team. She finally learned from an employee at the shelter who’s name was Anthony who said, “ I think you may need a permit for the turtle.”  The resident thought it was odd that the shelter did not know this for sure and asked for the contact info to learn about the permits. She then contacted the NJ Wildlife and Fish sector of the state and got a 9-page regulation document and the application for the permit. The State was extremely helpful and expeditiously sent the info.

Upon, filling out the permit application, the application stated, the applicant has the responsibility to ensure that their county and or municipality does not have an ordinance on the books that inhibits having an exotic pet.

The resident’s heart sank. Will she not be able to save this turtle from a continued life of squalor at the shelter? She contacted shelter, HAMSTAT, the Director of Public Health for the township, and the Director of Land Use in Hamilton. What she learned was interesting. No one knew if there was an ordinance on the books prohibiting an exotic pet.  How can this level of incompetence exist in a town she wondered?

Lack of appropriate water level for the turtle. 3 month water changes

That evening, there was a Council meeting on the animal shelter. The turtle rescuer attended the meeting to see if the council could help her. When it became her turn, she got up and presented what you just read above. As she presented the body language of the council was interesting. They were no doubt embarrassed, shaking their heads that this level of silliness existed in their town.   The resident asked this question,” It is not reasonable to expect the ACO, after 40 years of employment, should have known the rules on the permit. Even if he read one word a day of the 9-page regulation in NJ on exotic pets, he could have memorized the document after 40 years.”  When the resident finished her presentation, the business administrator asked for her cell phone number, so he could address this issue by the next day. They did, the resident picked up the turtle the next day and brought her home.  She had already made an appointment for the turtle to get a checkup from NorthStar vets in Robbinsville, NJ.

As she left with the turtle she could smell how bad the turtle smelled in the box she carried. Over a two-day period with the same level of filtration what existed at the shelter in her aquarium the water was filthy and smelled horrible. So, it was unthinkable that the shelter, with the level of filtration demonstrated in this photo, only changed the water every three months. The resident doubled the filtration, (which she learned from the vet that for turtles the filtration in the tank must be double if not triple the size of the actual tank to create a safe and clean environment for the animal).  Even, with doubling the filtration, she still does week water changes. It’s unthinkable what the Hamilton shelter was doing, ever 3 months for water changes. The noxious levels in the tank for the turtle are unthinkable. This turtle is a survivor and living an amazing life now with the new resident.  

Where does the accountability exist for all of this?  Why was the Director of Public Health for the town allowed to ignore his duties? It would appear he willfully ignored the regulations as did his staff, the DOH inspection and other information that has surfaced has shown this.

Where is the accountability? The State of NJ cannot allow this to continue.  Every one of the people involved from leadership in the town to the township employees who created this environment must be held accountable. The animals deserve a better place and atmosphere. Falsifying government records is a felony. If that is what happened, there needs to be full accountability for those who performed those actions. The dereliction of duties at the shelter were mentioned by the DOH in their inspection, but also what has surfaced after that inspection from OPRA requests.

What does it take to remove a health inspector who does not care about public health to be fired from their job? A death? Well, there have been innumerable due to this inspector’s leadership and the lack of leadership of the Mayor. The Hamilton residents and the animals in the shelter deserve better.

If this article has gotten to your heart…send a letter/complaint, maybe that will help invoke positive change. I sent my letter, we hope you will as well. Thank you!

The Public Health Licensing and Examination Board acts as an advisor to the Commissioner of Health for all matters related to the practice of public health, including disciplinary authority. The Board’s mission is to ensure that only qualified individuals enter the profession of public health, they provide services within the profession’s practice standards and that they maintain their competence through continuing education.

If you believe that any Health Officer or Registered Environmental Health Specialist has acted unprofessionally, you may submit a written complaint to the Complaint Unit. The Board requires that all complaints be in writing and signed. You may mail your letter and any supporting documents to:

PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTER TO:

New Jersey Department of Health

Office of Local Public Health

Licensure, Compliance and Enforcement Program

PO Box 360

Trenton, NJ  08625-0360

Posted by tammyduffy at 9:35 AM EDT

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 The Leicester Longwool Sheep

is Coming Out of Extinction

The Leicester Longwool is one of the “luster longwool” breeds, so designated for the sheen and brilliance of their wool. The sheep appear to shine just after shearing, when the clean wool next to their skin catches the sunlight and makes them glisten for a few days before the dust and dirt of their environment catches up to them and the glow is hidden for another year.

The Leicester Longwool breed is also known as the English Leicester (pronounced lester). The breed was developed in England in the mid 1700s by innovative breeder Robert Bakewell, the first to use modern selection techniques to improve livestock breeds. Bakewell transformed a coarse, large boned, slow growing animal into one that grew rapidly for market and produced a higher quality fleece.

News of Bakewell’s ideas reached the colonies before the American Revolution and so intrigued George Washington that he made reference to them in several letters. Washington was particularly interested in Bakewell’s sheep, writing that he made the “choice of good rams from the English Leicester breed” for his own flock. In 1837, the agriculturist Youatt wrote that, “within little more than half a century the New Leicester had spread themselves to every part of the United Kingdom and to Europe and America.”

The Leicester Longwool was highly prized in America, especially for its use in crossbreeding to improve “native” stock. During the 1800s, however, the breed lost favor to the Merino and other fine wool breeds. After 1900, the Leicester Longwool fell into decline and was likely extinct in the United States during the 1930s or 1940s. A very small population remained in Canada. In 1990, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, a historic site in Virginia, reestablished the breed in North America by importing sheep from Australia. Several conservation flocks have now been established, and the population of Leicester Longwool sheep in North America is increasing. This is important, given that the breed remains rare globally.

Leicester Longwools are medium to large sheep, weighing 180–250 pounds. The fleece is heavy, curly, soft handling, and lustrous with a spiral tipped staple up to eight inches. Fleeces weigh from eleven to fifteen pounds, occasionally up to twenty pounds. Leicesters are eager grazers, making good use of abundant pasture. When mixed flocks of Merinos and Leicesters are driven along road sides in Australia, all of the Merinos have their heads up, watching what is going on, while the Leicesters are busy with their heads down, chomping down the succulent roadside grasses. Leicesters are docile and easy to handle, but they do not care for herding dogs. Herding with dogs is likely to result in the whole flock proceeding to the barn backwards – facing down the dog!

The Leicester Longwool has been of great historic and genetic value, having a part in the founding or improving of many other breeds, including the Border Leicester and the Corriedale. While distinguished by its past, this breed’s future is far from secure, and it is a conservation priority.

 Depressed wool prices, desire for leaner carcasses, decline in consumption of mutton and the popularity of new breeds of sheep caused the Leicester Longwool numbers to decline and disappear in the 20th century in the USA.

In 1990, 10 purebred Longwools from Tasmania where brought to America in an attempt to revive the species.  There are now 1000 Longwools in the USA currently.   This incredibly rare species that are only found in Great Britian, New Zealand, Australia and now again in the USA. 

Posted by tammyduffy at 7:56 PM EDT

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The Loss Of The Leaders

Ever worked with someone who rarely responded to requests for input or approval, even when you needed a response to move your own work forward? Working with unresponsive colleagues can be incredibly frustrating and can stymy your own productivity if you don’t find a way to work around them. When one has to work around them, you end up doing their work for them, creating a horrible work life balance. 

During a recent performance review an employee was told, “I need to give you feedback that you do not need to contact people more than once on an issue. Going to them 6 times over the course of a month will not get them to react.”  The employee’s response was, “So you are telling me to remain silent and not have any expectation that others do not respond even after 6 times?  Why is there no concern for the people who are consistently unresponsive?”  The managers response, “You need to learn how not to care.”

In companies where leadership does not care and only worry about manageing up, these are companies set for large fallure. This is a company who has a broken corporate culture. Unresponsiveness is rude. Unresponsiveness bottlenecks decisions. Unresponsiveness wastes time and money. And the biggest of all, unresponsiveness causes good employees to leave and laws to be broken.

Unfortunately, this happens all the time. Just over a month ago a company procured a part for stock replenishment. The repairable part arrived in terrible condition. The new vendor they were testing has been unresponsive. They never reply to emails, their receptionist sent the company to voicemail, and the vendor never picked up their cell phone. They just do not care. The sad part is he's the owner.

Allowing members of your team to be unresponsive allows them to become less connected to their responsibilities. Any manager or leader that allows this should not be in their position. They are more concerned with managing up than managing the team.

But here’s how we can stop the unresponsive epidemic:

Let me just start off with a quick disclaimer. If you’re in sales and have an established client who needs you, being unresponsive is absolutely ridiculous.

No matter how mad they made you, no matter what’s going on at work or at home, you smile and reply as soon as you can. There is no other option.

If you cannot smile and reply, you just don’t care, and you shouldn’t be in sales. If you do not have the ability to be responsive, you should not be in sales either.  It’s as simple as that.

Posted by tammyduffy at 8:11 AM EDT

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Elbrus Denali Climbs To New Altitudes

Five years ago a Red Eye Slider turtle (seen above) was found at a hoarder house along with some snakes and other pets. The Animal Control in Hamilton Control took her to the shelter and there she lived until August  22, 2018. She lived there for 5 years in very shallow water. The control officer thought she was a he. A trip to NorthStar vets, brought the conclusion that she was a girl. It was the first time in her life ever being seen by a vet. The shelter had zero paperwork on her, even after her 5 year stint at the shelter. 

We have a house of rescues. Two dogs and now a RES turtle. They all have been rescued from horrible atmospheres. Each on has their memories of moments of their pas; t that reveal themselves at certain moments. All we can do as the rescuer;  is to console, love and have a high level of patience to help them.  Give them the love they never had. 

The love these animals all have to give is more than any other human can ever give you. Whether witnessed in the form of  interspecies friendships or foster parenting, compassion knows no bounds with animals. The relationships we foster with our companion animals also teaches us how to be compassionate as it forces to look beyond our needs and imagine those of another who is vastly different from ourselves. Compassion is all based in being able to understand the feeling of another. 

Animals have enemies too, but but at the end of the day, having each other's back is the key to survival.  Humans can learn a lot from the animal kingdom. The daily grind of work, no matter what you do, can put you in an atmosphere filled with slaying, back stabbing, lack of integrity, and loads of shenanigans. Animals know how to push through this way better than any human. They live lightly. 

It pretty much goes without saying that humans do not know how to live lightly.   In the wild, animals learn to live within their means – which for the most part means their natual environment. Animals live in tune with the planet and use its resources as needed. Learning to be attuned to our surroundings and how to live without causing mass destruction to our environment would serve humans well. 

Humans....act like the animals around you and you will be a better person for it. Our newly adopted turtle is named Elbrus Denali....after two of the 7 summits in the world. Her owner is a mountain climber and has gone up 4 of the 7 summits. Mt. Elbrus iin Russia is her next  climb in 2019.

Poetically, Elbrus has climbed her own summits at the shelter the past 5 years. She now only has to summit her basking perch to feel the heat on her back.  She is now set to zen out, get lots of love and pet care of the best vets in town, NorthStar Vets.   

Posted by tammyduffy at 4:17 PM EDT

Updated: Sunday, 26 August 2018 4:21 PM EDT

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