Playground Renovations Concern Some Neighbors

Updated playground equipment is coming to Mt. Tabor park, but some historic trees are gone—and residents are not pleased.

Some residents of Parsippany's Mt. Tabor neighborhood are gearing up for a fight. Township Parks and Forestry Superintendent James Walsh told Patch that his crews are about to start an effort to upgrade what he called "the old, outdated" playground in Mt. Tabor Park on Country Club Road. "The new structure will have four different slides, a large climbing boulder, platforms, etc.," said Walsh. "Also new swing sets are being installed as well as a carousel and several interactive panels." He said the project will start next week and should be completed within 10 days, weather permitting. According to Walsh, the work is being done to bring the playground into compliance with the 2007 Playground Code to ensure safety standards. For some …

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Bess the Dog, Longtime Township Employee, Dies

For a decade until her retirement, the English border collie worked for Parsippany, keeping gaggles of geese away from golf courses, parks and schools.

Parsippany is saying farewell to a devoted former employee that served the township's Parks and Forestry Department with distinction from 2000-2010. According to the Daily Record, Bess, a border collie whose job was to geese away from public grassy areas such as parks and schools, was euthanized Monday at the age of 14 due to "internal issues." The town decided to hire a dog to deal with the goose problem to save money—Bess' remuneration was all the food she could eat. A popular daily visitor to Parks and Forestry even after she retired due to old age three years ago, she lived at the end with Joe Drury, the department's supervisor. Mayor James Barberio and other town officials are mourning the canine. The mayor told the Record Bess was a…

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Joe Drury

4:51 pm on Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Thank You Bess will Be Miss very Much   more ›

Scouts Prepare for Arbor Day

A 40-year Parks and Forestry Department tradition continues

Boy Scout Troop 72 and Cub Scout Packs 177, 215 and 218 joined together with the township's Parks and Forestry Department to continue a longstanding Parsippany Arbor Day tradition. In 1972, then-Parks Director Joseph Jannarone Sr. introduced an idea: presenting every third grader in town with his or her very own tree seedling. Over the passing decades, many trees in this town—a national Tree City USA since 1975—have grown from the plantings made by local school children. For 2012, the tradition continued as the scouts gathered Thursday evening at the Parks and Forestry building on Knoll Road to prepare pine tree seedlings, which will be distributed to third graders Friday. Parks and Forestry Director James Walsh helped the kids work and …

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Dispatches: The Changing American Dream

Miracle Pear Tree May Soon Be a Thing of the Past

Parsippany's historic landscape is getting a facelift in the interest of public safety.

The new year will bring a change to the landscape of Parsippany-Troy Hills. In 1976, the town earned the Arbor Day Foundation honor of being designated a Tree City USA, thanks to the thousands of neat and picturesque Bradford pear trees lining many of its streets. But now, after the damage caused by and to many of the arboreal hybrids during last year's late summer floods and surprise October snowstorm, the municipal Parks and Forestry department is beginning to bring down many of the Bradfords in the interest of public safety. "We're still cleaning up and getting rid of hanging branches right now," Parks and Forestry Superintendent James Walsh said. "The next step is to assess the damage of the trees. … This is going to take some time, a …

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