Please be sure to let others know of these changes, especially when many are struggling as we continue to deal with COVID-19.

New for 2020  -    Veteran Property Tax Relief Legislative Changes

IMPORTANT UPDATE: If you are a veteran, service in wartime is no longer required in order to be eligible for the $250 Veterans Property Tax Deduction or as a qualification for the 100% Disabled Veteran Property Tax Exemption.

$250 Veterans Property Tax Deduction - Effective December 4, 2020, State law (P.L. 2019, c. 413) eliminates the wartime service requirement for the $250 Veterans Property Tax Deduction.

100% Disabled Veteran Property Tax Exemption - Effective December 4, 2020, State law (P.L. 2019, c. 413) eliminates the wartime service requirement for the 100% Totally and Permanently Disabled Veterans Property Tax Exemption. 

New for 2021 - Combat Pay

For Tax Year 2021 and forward, combat pay is not taxable in New Jersey (P.L. 2020, c. 93). The law excludes military pay for service in a combat zone, or for hospitalization as the result of injury while serving in a combat zone, from taxable income under the New Jersey Gross Income Tax Act.If your combat pay is exempt from federal income tax, it is exempt for New Jersey and should not be reported on a New Jersey Income Tax return (Form NJ-1040, Form NJ-1040NR).

This law is not retroactive. For Tax Year 2020 and prior, combat pay is still taxable income.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2019 Senior Freeze (Property Tax Reimbursement) UPDATE

The State budget that went into effect on October 1, 2020 fully funds the 2019 Senior Freeze program. Eligible taxpayers began receiving payments on October 15, 2020.

  • 65 or older on December 31, 2018; or
  • Actually receiving federal Social Security disability benefit payments (not benefit payments received on behalf of someone else) on or before December 31, 2018.

 The application deadline has been extended to December 31, 2020. There's still time to file.

 Eligible Applicants Now Have Until December 31st to Apply for Relief


           Six Day Firearm Deer Hunting Season              Opens Dec. 7th

Deer Safety: Tips For Avoiding A Collision

Remain alert for deer on the run. They are are pack animals, and rarely travel alone. 

Be extra cautious driving on the roads.

 

Mon., Dec. 7th is the 79th Anniversary of the    Pearl Harbor Attack.

US Flags To Fly At Half-Staff

Courtesy of
https://visitpearlharbor.org/educational-resources/importance-remembering-pearl-harbor/

The air and submarine assault on the US fleet by naval forces of the Empire of Japan plunged America headlong into World War II.

& also celebrate 75 years of peace and friendship.

Thanksgiving Day during COVID 
is very different for many.,
Have a safe & blessed Thanksgiving!

 "This year we celebrated the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower’s arrival in Cape Cod in November of 1620. 

That means this year is also the 399th anniversary of the first Thanksgiving (the famous meal shared between the Pilgrim colonists and the Wampanoag people didn’t occur until 1621). 

It goes without saying that Thanksgiving looks much different now than it did in 1621, and indeed for many of us this year will look much different than it did in 2019. One thing about Thanksgiving that has remained constant, even throughout 400 years and now through a global pandemic, is that it is a time to be grateful and celebrate the good things we have."
Quote is courtesy of Family Tree Magazine


Advice for a Happy Thanksgiving 

Be thankful that you don’t already have everything you desire. If you did, what would there be to look forward to ? 

Be thankful when you don’t know something, for it gives you a chance to learn. 

Be thankful for the difficult times. During those times you grow. 

Be thankful for your limitations, because they give you opportunities for improvement. 

Be thankful for each new challenge, because it will build your strength of character. 

Be thankful for your mistakes. They will teach you valuable lessons. 

Be thankful when you’re tired and weary, because it means you made a difference. 

It’s easy to be thankful for the good things. 

A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who also are thankful for the setbacks. 

Gratitude can turn a negative into a positive. 

Find a way to be thankful for your troubles, and they can become your blessings. 
 --Anonymous

This vicious, tree-killing insect has been found in New Jersey.

This is an old video posted by the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station but is useful to help you identify them. 

"Adults feed in large congregations from August – October and are easily recognizable. Because they spend at least one month as adults before laying eggs, this could be a critical time for management. Mating and egg laying is delayed and egg laying does not occur until October. Egg masses are laid on smooth surfaces and appear like a patch of mud. They spend the winter in this stage and thus are very likely to be accidentally transported to a new location."

There is further NJ specific and detailed info about this insect and what/where to watch out for it, and how best to eradicate them at this link.



To help survey efforts, the general public should report sightings (please include the town and county where the specimen was found and attach a photograph) to slanternfly@njaes.rutgers.edu. Farmers, nurserymen and vineyardists should also report sightings to SLF-plantindustry@ag.nj.gov. 

Apple trees and grape vines are favored by it, as well as  Black Walnut & Ailanthus trees among othar hardwoods.

Spotted Lanterfly are now being seen along the river in NJ & PA.

The National Park Service has sent an alert to park volunteers that: "Spotted Lanternfly have been spotted at the following sites in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation areas:

Weygadt - Columbia, NJ.  

Kittatinny Point -  Bushkill , PA

Coppermine Area -  NJ Pahaquarry area

Camp Mohican - Blairstown, NJ

Mount Minsi [PA] Delaware Water Gap

around 739/209 area [PA]

Marie Zimmerman House  [ Above the Dingmans Ferry Bridge in PA] "

NPS also relates:

"Currently, we have been working on treating the Ailanthus (Tree of Heaven) trees in the 209 area as these are the trees that seem to be attractive to the invasive spotted lantern fly." 

Please be very alert for this invasive species. Parts of PA had been overrun by them the past 2 years. It is very easy for this insect to hitch-hike on a car or in anything that they can latch unto - if you commute to these areas or travel through them.



 

Recent Changes in Montague Township

  If you haven't been out and about town due to COVID restrictions, you may not have noticed some changes.

The biggest news if long-awaited new firehouse/community center/storm shelter is coming along and nearing completion.

Take a look at all the progress since the ground-breaking on  March 7th at:
     http://montaguefd.org/montague-fire-dept-future-home.html

For security reasons, the Montague Post Office no longer leaves its postal boxes accessible overnight.

D&B Deli in the mini-mall on Clove Road has closed down. 

On 206, there's a new store in town, DOLLAR GENERAL.
It's located at 45 Route 206 - south of Thompson Stone, just before the former Antique Shop.
     Postponed til the Fall:   Township Cleanup 
   & Paper Shredding on Fri., 9/11 only


Courtesy https://www.publicdomainpictures.net/

The Township of Montague formed 
17 years prior
to the signing of the
Declaration of Independence.

Have a safe & blessed Fourth!


Remembrance Sunday: Requiem for a Soldier

Remembrance Sunday is the day the British nation observes in Nov. to remember and honour those who have sacrificed themselves to secure and protect our freedom.
Sometimes known informally as Poppy Day ( due to the tradition of the remembrance poppy) is a the memorial day observed in Commonwealth member states since the end of the First World War to remember the members of their armed forces who have died in the line of duty.

Here in America, rather than Veterans Day, since its our day reserved to honor all living veterans, we do likewise on Memorial Day. The red poppy officially became the U.S. national emblem of remembrance in 1920 - thanks to the American Legion. So, this year, we are marking 100 years since that national tradition began.

 (Poster created by Virginia Reyes; U.S. Air Force photo/Vance Janes)

While there are no planned commemorations, one can go and while maintaining safe distancing - visit the gravestones in the local area cemeteries that mark the graves of veterans who had served our country, some during wartime.  
Some have military issue gravemarkers, others may have a flag holder that indicates when they served.
Stop by & say a "Thank you!"


Courtesy  twitter.com/NewJerseyDEP

Amidst all the Coronavirus news,
many overlooked announcing that Earth Day
last week also marked the NJDEP anniversary!

Founded on the first Earth Day in 1970, the New Jersey DEP protects the Garden State’s air, lands, water, and natural and historic resources.

But they, and the National Park Service, cannot do this without each of us assisting. 
or within the 

Visit NJDEP's Earth Day & Birthday page 
 filled with virtual activities, environmental lessons and tours of beloved state parks & historic sites: Things to View and Do at Home!

A social distancing flyer issued by the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife 


Montague Township has now has
 20 confirmed COVID-19 cases.

No one should be going out anywhere that the minimum of being 6 feet apart cannot be maintained without some sort of face shield covering their nose and mouth -  if over the age of 2. 

A scarf or bandana will do!

Just because you may not feel ill, 
does not mean you are not a carrier!

This includes entering a Post Office!


CORONAVIRUS info & assorted links


Sussex County COVID 19 posts all the daily NJ updates
 and local county information.

All NJ stores are now required to have customers to have on a face covering and limit the # allowed in. 
One should do this at any location where maintaining a 6 foot distance apart many be difficult, such as at our Post Office. 
Do everything to help us see a downturn in the # of cases locally!

Sussex County 4/14 has an updated Food Pantry listing for April.

Montague Township Elementary teachers offer evening taped storybook readings school nights at 6PM.

Sussex County Fairgrounds has posted that they currently are not certain if the NJ State Fair will be able to occur this year.
Their Facebook site includes these links:
4/14 - children : games for different grade levels 
 4/9  -  No sewing machine?  A way to make a face mask using a bandana.
 4/4  -  videos and coloring pages for kids from John Deere.

 NPS Northeast Museum Services Center has a few story hours taped - see VIDEOS.
Virtual Tour: Wallace House Historic Site
The largest home built in New Jersey during the Revolutionary War.


Self-Quarantined and Bored?
During the present COVID-19 pandemic 
it is critical people listen to medical experts 
and abide by the recommended "social distancing" rules.
 If self-quarantining has you bored : 
Garden State Legacy archives hold nearly 250 articles on New Jersey history - or, take a virtual museum tour of Treasured Artifacts of the Garden State!
‌
Telling Her Stories: Fascinating Women History Forgot
Holding a free virtual workshop on woman suffrage with the National Women’s History Project on Thursday April 16 at 7 p.m. EDT / 4 p.m. PDT.
AND ALSO  offers 
home-view versions of:
Pickets & Persistence: War Service & Woman Suffrage,
Remembering the Ladies: From Patriots in Petticoats to Presidential Candidates and Reclaiming Our Voice, 
New Jersey’s Role in the Fight for Woman Suffrage.  
In commemoration of the centennial of woman suffrage and in light of the COVID-19 stay-at-home order keeping many families cooped up and is affecting many family’s finances,  book Remembering the Ladies is being made available as a free e-book from which you can print and color pages. 

Looking for ideas for reading, math, science, history, art, theater, music, magic and fun for kids in your life during this time of COVID-19?  Check out her family learning guide. 


Clipping from Evening Gazette Oct. 11th, 
 during 1918 Epidemic

Almost 102 years years later,
we are experiencing similar restrictions.
The Parish of St. Thomas the Apostle 
is live streaming today's Mass at 11AM

go to


or

3/27/20  Notification

Montague's Branch is now open for Drive-Thru ONLY!


The Montague Post Office is not doing business transactions directly at the counter, so please limit one person inside the Post Office space with others waiting outside - keeping 3 feet apart.

There is now a case in Montague,
and the total # in Sussex County has risen!

3/27            One death reported in Sussex County. 
 Ages of those confirmed range from 19 - 82 years of age.

The Sussex County Division of Health is urging residents to continue monitoring their health and exercise good habits.
  • Wash your hands regularly for 20 seconds, with soap and water or alcohol-based hand rub especially after you have been in a public place, or after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.
  • Cover your nose and mouth with a disposable tissue or flexed elbow when you cough or sneeze.
  • Avoid close contact (minimum 3 feet) with people - 6 feet is ideal - in home if anyone is ill, or when out.
  • Stay home and self-isolate from others in the household if you feel unwell.

Do not touch your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands!!

Keep up with the latest information and updates at

Pike County, PA has 23 cases & is also under stay-at-home.
Orange Cty NY jumped to 756 confirmed cases  - 3 deaths.

Sandyston (as of Thursday) and Montague ( Friday's report) now each have one individual diagnosed with the COVID-19.

Our county had 47   -  but increased at last report to 72. 

Stay safe & follow ALL the guidelines.

 
                  CORONAVIRUS 

        NJ Governor's updated declaration 
 includes mandating 8 p.m. closure of non-essential retail,   recreational, and entertainment businesses.
           https://nj.gov/infobank/eo/056murphy/pdf/EO-104.pdf

             Also check these sites for frequent updates:

If you haven't recently been 
on Clove Rd.
 near the Township Building  -  
you may have missed seeing this:

Courtesy of MVFD website

You can keep track of the progress at
Skip ahead to 4:46 to see one of the original members 
of the Fire Dept., Jim Carpenter, join the groundbreaking.

About Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

There are simple everyday preventive actions to help prevent the spread of respiratory viruses: includes the current flu and should the Coronavirus virus spread.

There is a wise old saying attributed to Benjamin Franklin :
 An ounce of prevention 
 is worth a pound of cure!

These include
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick - and if you are feeling ill, avoid close contact with others.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. [ Children are taught to wash hands the amount of time to sing the alphabet!]                                                                                     Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol if soap and water are not available.

If you are sick, to keep from spreading respiratory illness to others, you should
 • Stay home when you are sick.
 • Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash. Lack a tissue, cough or sneeze into your elbow.. so you don't touch things with a germ filled hand.
 • Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.

Everyone is encouraged to remain alert to reports of a US break-out  occurring and to be aware of the information posted at:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/downloads/2019-ncov-factsheet.pdf

IS TODAY's HOLIDAY 
PRESIDENTS’ DAY 
OR 
WASHINGTON’S BIRTHDAY?

Although this holiday is most often referred to as “Presidents’ Day” - the observed federal holiday is officially  referred to as “Washington’s Birthday.”

For those who may prefer watching a visual presentation over having to read about - an excellent portrayal, about the man who would become this nation's 1st President, is being shown on the History Channel [Cablevision's channel # 47].

Episode 2 is tonight - Episode 3 runs tomorrow.

If you missed last night's initial episode,
it can be viewed at the History Channel. 
 "Loyal Subject" runs 1 hr 24 min.
The other episodes will post online after the TV segments air.

BTW President George Washington offered the 
very first State of the Union address in 1790.

1790 is the year when Montague's Foster-Armstrong House 
on River Rd. is believed to have been erected.



The Best of Ronald Reagan



Today marks 109 years since Ronald Reagan was born.

Prior to his presidency, he was a Hollywood actor 
and union leader before serving as the 33rd governor 
of California from 1967 to 1975.
Read more »

Fox Calls

Hearing unusual noises at night...
one that sounds almost like a hoarse crow?

Foxes scream and bark to communicate.  This becomes more common during mating season, which is at its peak in January. 

During this period in particular, 
foxes will scream at each other as a territory warning.

                                           New Year
Then & Now

1920 - The Roaring Twenties!
Courtesy  adventuresinatlanta.com
 "The new Town Committee met in their office at the Brick House on January 1, 1920 and organized by electing George Westbrook, Chairman. Jacob McCarty was appointed temporary treasurer.
The other members of the committee are Samuel A. Nunn and John Middleton and William Hartrim, town clerk. "
                         The Evening Gazette,  JANUARY 7, 1920

2020

Courtesy   Pixabay

      As of Re-organization, the Mayor for 2020 is Rich Innella and the Deputy Mayor is Fred Merusi. Committee-persons are Gene Crawford, Toni-Lu Martin, and George Zitone.



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