Fourth Quarter 2005 Property Taxes are due now. For your convenience, payments are accepted at the Bowers Building, 6 West Main Street by mail, walk-in, drive-up window and front door drop box. Current taxes can also be paid online at our website, www.mendhamrij.org, for a 3% convenience fee. The Fourth Quarter interest-free grace period extends through November 10. Interest is based on the day payment is received in the office, not the postmark date.

Tax questions can be addressed by e-mail: rlauerman@mendhamnj.org, or telephone: 973-543-7152, ext. 17.

The 100th Anniversary Book Committee wants pictures of Mendham activities, structures, and people. As part of the celebration in 2006 of the centennial of the incorporation of the borough, a "coffee table" book will be published about the history, culture, and residents of Mendham. The contribution of your pictures will help with the visual portrayal of our spirited community. Wanted are photos of neighborhood events (picnics, block parties), school pictures, areas before development (open space and under construction), buildings and storefronts, streetscapes, and Labor Day parades (marchers and floats). All pictures contributed will be returned to their donors. Please send your pictures to:
Book Committee c/o Diana Callahan
Phoenix House
2 West Main Street
Mendham, NJ, 07945
Questions may be directed to Diana Callahan at the Phoenix House, 973 543-7152, ext. 20.

Clean and plentiful water is important to our families, our environment, our economy, and our quality of life.

Did you know that animal waste from pets can pollute our waters? When left on the ground, pet waste is washed by rain and melting snow into storm drains that carry it to our rivers, lakes, and drinking water.

Animal waste contains a high concentration of nutrients as well as bacteria and disease-causing microorganisms that can cause problems.

Anyone who takes your pet for walks must properly dispose of the waste by picking it up, wrapping it, and either placing it in the trash or flushing it unwrapped down the toilet.

Mendham Borough is required to enforce local pet-waste laws. Pet owners/keepers are required to immediately and properly dispose of pet waste deposited on any public or private property not owned by that person. The only exemption is for assistance animals, such as Seeing Eye dogs.

On Tuesday, November 22nd, at 7:OOPM, at Garabrant Center, on Wilson Street, Raymond Nadaskay will give a presentation on the history of the Ralston Cider Mill. Mr. Nadaskay will discuss the mill construction, the water powered transfer systems, and the production of apple cider and "tiger" apple jack, as well as the transformation of the Nesbitt grist mill built in 1848 into the Ralston Cider mill in 1908. He will conclude with a progress report on the preservation and restoration of the mill, and the goal of the Ralston Cider Mill Trustees to have a cider mill museum and education center. Everyone is welcome to attend.

For more information, contact Peggy Oswald, by phone at 973-543-7538, or by e-mail at ndnkO@patmedid.net

The Woman's Club will meet Tuesday, November 15th, at 7:30PM, in the Garabrant Center, on Wilson Street. They will have a wonderful program of interest to every woman, lola Hitt, a registered dietician and exercise physiologist, will speak on "Aging Gracefully, But Fighting IT All The Way". Club meetings are open to all women in the area, and new members are always welcome. For more information, phone Joanne Kelsey, at 973-543-4587.

The Mendhams' Senior Citizens club meets on the second and fourth Mondays of each month, at 11:OOAM, in the Garabrandt Center. Each month's meeting offers members a chance to visit and enjoy their own bag lunches (beverages and desserts are provided by the club), as they observe informative and informational programs on a wide variety of topics. In addition to the monthly gatherings, the club sponsors a number of day-long and multi-day trips.

Membership in the club is open to Mendham Borough or Township residents over age 55. Annual dues are $12. (Bus transportation for day trips is subsidized by the local governments.) The next trip planned will be:
Dec 1st "A holiday revue AT THE HUNTERDON HlLLS PLAYHOUSE."
Enjoy an original revue by talented performers, and lunch. The cost is $49/ members, $54/non-members. The last day for sign-up and payment in full is November 21st.
All trips are offered on a first-come basis; members are given priority. For more information, or registration, please phone Trip Planner, Anne Schmidt, at 973-543-4787.

The Hilltop Presbyterian and Mendham United Methodist Churches will jointly sponsor an "Alternative Gift Market" in conjunction with the Mendham Holly Trail, on December 3rd, from 10:OOAM-4:OOPM, at Hilltop House, 14 Hilltop Road. The Alternative Market will afford an opportunity to purchase gift "items" to support local and worldwide missions of our churches. There will be a wide array of gift items, ranging from a $1 brick for Morris Habitat for Humanity, to a $250 Water Buffalo for Heifer International. Other "gifts" will go to the Community Soup Kitchen, Homeless Solutions, Inc., Camps Aldersgate and John-sonburg, The Sisters of Bethany and Good Shepard( Home in Cameroon, Goodwill Rescue Mission (Newark), and Church World Service. Each "item" is represented by a specialty gift card for the person on your list, indicating where your donation went.

More traditional gifts will include items from "A Greater Gift," promoting the alleviation of poverty through fair trade. Handcrafted jewelry, Christmas ornaments, and decorative household items are just a few of the gifts available. There will also be a special table of items for children, as well as refreshments. Bring your list, and finish your shopping early!

Kathy Doyle : 973-543-5699 or Kathy@kpdoyle. com

The Friends of the Mendham Borough Library are hosting an evening of fun for families at the Mendham Health and Racquet Club on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2006 from 6:30PM-9:OOPM. There's something for everyone -supervised recreational games and a great, kid-friendly dinner for the children; round robin tennis for adults; and a special evening filled with handcrafted wines and exceptional appetizers. For advance registration info or to volunteer, please call 543-5699 or email Kathy Doyle.

The Brookside Community Club will host a Holiday Boutique on Saturday, November 19th, from 9:OOAM-3:30PM. The Club is located on Main St. in Brookside (Mendham Township), across the street from the Brookside Post Office. Crafts will include fashions to fit the American Girls and Bitty Baby dolls, Christmas floral crafts, handmade scarves, hats, purses, angel products, and Victorian Santas. There will also be bird-houses, framed vintage collectibles, pillow pockets, Auxiliary blankets, jewelry, painted titles, baby items and personalized note cards.

Some local home-based businesses will participate in the Boutique, including Longaberger Baskets, Gem'Ni Collection, The Pampered Chef, Just Joy Gifts and Accessories, and Social Graces wedding and party planning service.
Refreshments will be available. For more information please phone Social Graces, at 973-543-2145.

As you can see from this issue of The Mend-ham Messenger, we picked up a few more ads in November. While we greatly appreciate each and every advertiser, the plain fact is that current revenue is not covering the cost of printing and mailing this newsletter. We cannot continue operating on a month-to-month basis. We need to know that advertising will continue through the year. If you have been thinking about advertising now is the time to say something. Are you thinking about 6...4...3...2 ads in the next year? Please contact us so we can know whether to plan for future issues or plan to close up shop. Full contact Information is at the left. - editor

The Roseco Press
PO Box 434
Oldwick, NJ 08858
You may also telephone editor Edwin Rosenberg at 908-439-3941 with your information (fax transmissions go to the same number), OR ... use your e-mail to GetEdwin@TewksburyNJ.com