Ezra Simon-Daniels, 20, of Branchburg, will undergo a second psychological evaluation after being deemed fit to stand trial.

SOMERVILLE - Ezra Simon-Daniels, who has been charged in the deaths of his grandparents, is considering an insanity defense, it was revealed during a second disposition conference in Somerset County Superior Court Friday.

Simon-Daniels, 20, has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the Feb. 13 deaths of Louis Simon, 78, and Beatrice Simon, 65, in the Branchburg home they shared with him.

Simon-Daniels has undergone a psychological evaluation by Dr. Howard Gilman, a Ridgewood-based psychiatrist, and was deemed competent to stand trial, Somerset County Superior Court Judge Robert B. Reed said on Friday.

Somerset County releases 9-1-1 call

Reed then informed Simon-Daniels that it's his decision to decide if he wants to enter an insanity plea and urged him to talk it over with his attorney, Todd Hess.

Hess told the judge that he plans to have Simon-Daniels reevaluated by another psychiatrist and then he and his client will decide how they want to proceed.

When asked if he understood the situation, Simon-Daniels told the judge he did.

Afterwards, Hess said he and his client are leaning towards an insanity defense.

Hours following the alleged murders, Simon-Daniels was arrested after making a 9-1-1 call at approximately 5:57 a.m. from the parking lot of a Hunterdon County Walmart.

Simon-Daniels is being held in the Somerset County Jail on on a $2 million bail.

The judge set April 27 as the next court date.

Marwa Koratamgullo, who was charged with child abuse and neglect in Hunterdon County, has been named the Fugitive of the Week by the Hunterdon County Prosecutor's Office.

FLEMINGTON - Marwa Koratamgullo, who was charged with child abuse and neglect in Hunterdon County, has been named the Fugitive of the Week by the Hunterdon County Prosecutor's Office.

Marwa Koratamgullo

An arrest warrant for Koratamgullo, 37, whose last known address is Staten Island, N.Y., was issued on May 12, 2014. She is described as 5-feet, 9-inches tall and weighs 255 pounds.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Lt. Mike Nugent, Detective Sgt. Ed DeFilippis, Detective Frank Modaffare or Detective Lamont Garnes of The Joint Hunterdon County Fugitive Task Force at 908-788-1129, or the local police department.

Information can also be left at online at Crime Stoppers of Hunterdon County.

Report a tip in four ways for cash rewards:

• call the tip line at 800-321-0010 (The line has no recording device)
• text HCTIPS plus your tip to: 274637 (CRIMES)
• submit online at www.crimestoppershunterdon.com by clicking on the Submit link to fill out the online form (form also in Espanol)
• download free app "Tipsubmit" by Public Engines; select Hunterdon County, submit your tip.

Darren Ader, 20, of Oxford, was arrested and charged with weapon and drug possession on Dec. 10, 2016, High Bridge police said.

HIGH BRIDGE - A 20-year-old Oxford man was arrested and charged with weapon and drug possession, police said.

Darren Ader's vehicle was stopped on Dec. 10 by Officer Jon Danberry. During the stop, Ader was allegedly found to have a BB gun without a valid firearms ID card in his possession, as well as 40 Xanex pills without a prescription, police said.

Sgt. Jared Skobo assisted in the stop and arrest. Ader was held on $15,000 bail in the Somerset County Jail pending a court appearance.

Borough police also arrested five others, including one teen, for drug possession in December.

Danberry on Dec. 14 arrested and charged Joplin Wallace 19, of Lyme, N.H., Alexander Cocolas 19, of High Bridge, and Austin Hoos 20, of High Bridge, for possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia, police said.

All three were released with pending court dates. Wallace was also issued a motor-vehicle summons for possession of drugs in a vehicle, police said.

On Dec. 9, Danberry arrested Juan Simal 18 of Glen Gardner, and took a 16-year-old male from High Bridge into protective custody during a motor-vehicle stop. Simal and the teen reportedly had less than 50 grams of marijuana and drug paraphernalia, police said.

Simal was charged with possession of drugs and possession of drug paraphernalia, and issued motor-vehicle summons for possession of drugs in a vehicle and having a loud exhaust. The teen was released to a guardian and referred to the Hunterdon County Juvenile Court.

This is the 9th-straight year the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission is jacking up rates.

Driving on the Pennsylvania Turnpike and the Northeast Extension that cuts through the Lehigh Valley will cost more starting Sunday.

The turnpike's commissioners in July approved the 6 percent hike in tolls that's going into effect at 12:01 a.m. Sunday.

They say the additional revenue will go toward infrastructure improvements on the 550-mile system, part of which is more than 75 years old, and other transportation projects in the state.

According to a news release from the commission, the most common toll for a passenger vehicle will increase from $1.16 to $1.23 for E-ZPass customers and from $1.80 to $1.95 for cash customers. The release says the most common toll for tractor-trailers will increase from $9.59 to $10.17 for E-ZPass customers and from $13.60 to $14.45 for cash customers.

For those driving passenger vehicles, getting onto the Northeast Extension at the Lehigh Valley interchange and getting off at the Mid-County interchange en route to Philadelphia will now cost $3.67 if they have E-ZPass and $5.35 if they're paying in cash, according to the turnpike's toll schedule.

Turnpike Commission Chairman Sean Logan sought to justify the hikes in a statement.

"We have a responsibility to continue to invest capital dollars to improve our aging system and make it safer for travelers; we're also obliged to fund an operating budget that must cover such costs as unpredictable winter maintenance and an annual reimbursement to PA State Police for Troop T operations," he said.

The Lehigh Valley's 14 busiest roads

This is the ninth-straight year the turnpike commission has raised tolls. The commission has previously said funding obligations will require annual toll increases of 3 to 6 percent until 2044.

The commission has in part blamed the hikes on state laws enacted in 2007 and 2013 that require revenue from tolls to fund other state transportation projects unrelated to to the turnpike. 

A complete list of the new toll rates is available here. 

Nick Falsone may be reached at nfalsone@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @nickfalsone. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.

Raritan Headwaters, based in Bedminster, has been named a River Hero by the national group American Rivers for its annual cleanup of the upper Raritan River and its tributaries.

BEDMINSTER - Raritan Headwaters has been named a River Hero by the national group American Rivers for its annual cleanup of the upper Raritan River and its tributaries.

Raritan Headwaters organized 1,347 volunteers in April 2016 for a cleanup of the North and South Branches of the Raritan River and their tributary streams. Working at 52 sites in 31 municipalities within the 470-square-mile watershed region, the volunteers removed more than 12 tons of trash, according to a news release.

For its efforts, Raritan Headwaters was given an honorable mention in the Most Volunteers Mobilized category of the 25th annual National River Cleanup recognition program. The organization was the only all-New Jersey group to be honored.

"We're thrilled to be recognized as a River Hero by American Rivers," said Angela Gorczyca, water quality manager for Raritan Headwaters and organizer of RHA's stream cleanup. "Raritan Headwaters' mission is to protect clean water in our watershed, and we're very grateful to the dedicated volunteers who help us carry out this mission."

Watchdog calls for Christie to declare drought emergency

Volunteers at the 2016 cleanup included students, Scout troops, families, churches, community clubs, environmental commissions, open space committees, residents, and businesses from throughout the watershed region.

"Over 53,000 volunteers removed more than 3.4 million pounds of trash from nearly 2,000 cleanup sites, and individuals across the country helped keep over 31,000 pieces of garbage and debris out of our waterways," American Rivers spokesman Lowell George said during the 2016 National River Cleanup.

"Without cleanup organizers and their dedicated volunteers, we'd be left with millions of pounds of trash still in our rivers."

River Hero awards were given in the categories of most river miles cleaned, most pounds of trash collected, most volunteers mobilized and most pounds of trash by fewest volunteers (known as the "Tiny but Mighty" award).

Raritan Headwaters next stream cleanup takes place on Earth Day, April 22.

"We're already working on putting together a fantastic group of volunteers," Gorczyca said.

The event will be held from 9 a.m. to noon, rain or shine, at multiple sites along the Raritan River throughout Hunterdon, Somerset and Morris counties.

Everyone with an interest in clean water is invited to participate, from individuals and families to businesses, civic organizations and church groups, at the site of their choice. Bags, gloves, T-shirts and snacks will be provided. Participants need only bring their enthusiasm.

"Wind, rain and snowmelt wash litter from the land into our local streams which could adversely impact the drinking water of nearly 1.5 million New Jersey residents," explained Gorczyca. "By cleaning up areas along waterways, volunteers play a very important role in helping to preserve water quality, not only in their neighborhoods, but all the way down to the Atlantic Ocean."

For more information, contact Gorczyca at 908-234-1852, ext. 315, email agorczyca@raritanheadwaters.org or go to www.raritanheadwaters.org/streamcleanup.

Anthony M. Verrilli, 24, of Paterson, was arrested and charged with marijuana possession after being stopped for speeding in Lambertville on Dec. 30, 2016, police said.

LAMBERTVILLE - Anthony M. Verrilli, 24, of Paterson, was arrested and charged with marijuana possession after being stopped for speeding, police said.

Officer Matt Bast reported seeing Verrilli driving at a high rate of speed near Bridge Street and Lambert Lane at 1:02 a.m. on Dec. 30.

Verrilli was stopped at Bridge Street and Gordon's Alley and found with marijuana and a black metal grinder containing marijuana residue, police said. Verrilli was also charged with possession of drug paraphernalia and issued motor-vehicle summonses for possession of drugs in a motor vehicle and speeding.

He was released with a pending court date, police said.

Cardinal Joseph Tobin is our own Pope Francis. He replaces Myers, whose neglect has left children exposed to sexual abuse.

My mother would have cried in joy to see Cardinal Joseph Tobin take over the Newark archdiocese on Friday, and for good reason.

Think of Tobin as our own Pope Francis. At the Vatican, he was the guy who defended spunky American nuns when conservatives wanted to discipline them for questioning church orthodoxies. And in Indiana, he was vigorous in his early and public embrace of Syrian refugees, as Jesus surely would have been.

"What I find is really important in positions like mine is being able to listen," Tobin said.

Wow. That's not the kind of Catholic leader I grew up with, to put it mildly. So to the 1.2 million Catholics in the archdiocese, a hearty congratulations and fervent best wishes that Tobin is as good as he seems.

Tobin's elevation, of course, is only half the reason that Catholics are celebrating this week. The other is that Archbishop John Myers, a classic pedophile protector, is leaving.

Myers, who likes to be called "Your Grace," will retire to an opulent estate in Hunterdon County that he has used church funds to gear up just right. It has five bedrooms, a three-car garage, two elevators, a swimming pool, an indoor hot tub, three fireplaces, and a gallery so large it takes up the entire third floor. All this for a bachelor.

The money spent on this home would have gone a long way to help poor families in the archdiocese. But Myers has his priorities. Sorry, your grace, but it has to be said.

Still, it was not the greed and materialism among church leaders like Myers that broke my mother's heart: It was the abuse of children.

That scandal did nothing to shake her faith in God, but it crushed her faith in the men who run the church.

In his final months, Myers was still protecting pedophiles, and still lying about it with the careful word games of a smarmy public relations firm.

The recent case concerned Father Kevin Gugliotta, whose latest post was at the Holy Spirit Church in Union.

He was arrested in late October after police found child pornography on a computer at his vacation home in Pennsylvania. The obvious question is whether he endangered children in New Jersey during his decades as a priest in various parishes.

"There are no allegations that he may have engaged in similar activities in New Jersey," Myers said in a statement issued by his office.

So we can relax and be assured that our kids, at least, were safe. Right?

Wrong. In 2003, a father of two children came forward to report that Gugliotta had fondled him 15 years earlier, just before Gugliotta became a priest. The alleged victim testified to both police and the archdiocese, and Gugliotta was suspended.

So wasn't that fondling a "similar activity"? No, says the archdiocese: Child pornography is different than child abuse.

I asked if that word-parsing might have tricked some people into believing this priest's history was clean: "It's always possible people will interpret things the way they want to interpret them," says the archdiocese spokesman, Jim Goodness.

The story gets worse, and more infuriating.

It turns out that because this alleged abuse occurred before Gugliotta became a priest, Vatican canon law forbids the archdiocese from imposing punishment -- even if the charges are true. So in 2004, Gugliotta was reinstated as a priest.

Here's where Myers' sin becomes unforgiveable to me: He assigned Gugliotta to jobs where he had easy contact with children. For eight years Gugliotta worked with a youth group in Scotch Plains at St. Bartholomew the Apostle Parish.

"I had no idea," his supervisor, the Rev. John Paladino, told Mark Mueller of NJ Advance Media. "As a pastor, I would want to know something like that."

Eight years. How many kids in Scotch Plains were abused? How about kids in other parishes where he served - in Short Hills, Wyckoff, West Orange and Mahwah?

Why didn't Myers at least keep Gugliotta away from children?

"I can't answer that question," says Goodness, the spokesman. "He has the discretion to assign priests...He could have assigned him to something else."

Mueller has written about several cases like this over the years, cases where Myers' behavior makes you want to scream.

"I don't want his resignation," the mother of one victim told me during a protest in Newark four years ago. "I want Bishop Myers to go to jail."

So, for me, and for many Catholics, the weekend is bittersweet. Tobin might be just the man to clean up this mess, to restore some faith.

But Myers is escaping to his private Shangri-La in Hunterdon County. This enabler of horrific criminals will never be held accountable.

The church taught me to summon a spirit of forgiveness, and I try. But when it comes to Myers, I'm afraid the lesson didn't stick.

More: Tom Moran columns 

Tom Moran may be reached at tmoran@starledger.com or call (973) 836-4909. Follow him on Twitter @tomamoran. Find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook.

Dogs and cats throughout New Jersey await adoption.

The history of pet photography goes back quite a bit further than the founding of icanhas.cheezburger.com. And for the record, I have both a dog and a cat, so don't read anything into which I talk about first.

courtesy of mashable.com 

The photo at right has long been accepted as the oldest photograph to show a human being. Taken in Paris in 1838 by Louis Daguerre, the scene captures a man having his shoes shined in the lower-left portion.

But Amanda Uren notes on mashable.com that modern researchers believe they've also located a child and a dog on the opposite side of the street. They have not yet been able to determine if he was leashed or being properly curbed ... yet.

courtesy of i09.com 

Cats weren't too far behind. Cyriaque Lamar states on i09.com that "the progenitor of shameless cat pictures was probably English photographer Harry Pointer (1822-1889), who snapped approximately 200 photos of his perplexed, albeit jovial, Brighton Cats. Pointer began his career shooting naturalistic photos of cats, but he realized in the 1870s that coaxing felines into ludicrous poses was an exercise in delicious absurdity."

"Pointer often arranged his cats in unusual poses that mimicked human activities -- a cat riding a tricycle, cats roller-skating and even a cat taking a photograph. Pointer increased the commercial potential of his cat pictures by adding a written greeting such as "A Happy New Year" or "Very many happy returns of the day."

Had the internet existed in Pointer's day, he would've been a very wealthy man.

Here's a gallery of pets in need of adoption in New Jersey. More homeless pets can be seen by clicking here and here.

Greg Hatala may be reached at ghatala@starledger.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregHatala. Find Greg Hatala on Facebook.

Winter weather advisory issued for four counties in northern and western New Jersey.

The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory for four counties in northern and western New Jersey, with light snow and freezing rain expected to fall in the region on Tuesday.

Areas shaded in purple are under a winter weather advisory from late Tuesday morning through Tuesday night. (National Weather Service)  

The advisory is effective from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday in Morris and Hunterdon counties, and 11 a.m. Tuesday through 2 a.m. Wednesday in Sussex and Warren counties, as well as in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania.

Light snow could fall in the late morning or early afternoon, but light freezing rain is expected to develop in the late afternoon and early evening as temperatures drop, the weather service said.

Up to an inch of snow is forecast, along with a trace of ice -- enough to cause slick road conditions, according to the weather service.

Temp drops to 8 below zero in 1 N.J. town

In its advisory, the weather service says motorists should drive with caution and should "be prepared for slippery roads and limited visibilities."

Temperatures are forecast to hover around 30 degrees during the day on Tuesday, before rising above the freezing mark Tuesday night. 

On Saturday, this region of the state received only small amounts of snow from a coastal storm that dropped heavy snow over large sections of southern and central New Jersey.

Assemblyman said police are under siege like never before and deserve to be honored if their municipality feels its appropriate.

FLEMINGTON - A New Jersey assemblyman plans to challenge a recent federal determination that painting blue lines on roads to show support for law enforcement poses a safety danger to drivers.

Assemblyman Erik Peterson (R-Hunterdon) said he plans to file a resolution as early as Tuesday to petition the federal government to allow the blue lines to be painted between double yellow lines near municipal buildings.

The U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration issued a letter Dec. 8, after many New Jersey towns had the blue lines, saying the practice is unsafe and towns should find another way to honor law enforcement.

"It's not like they're trying to paint all of their roads that way," said Peterson. "I feel a municipality should be able to honor their police if they feel it's appropriate.

"I'm pretty sure nobody is going to be confused driving down Main Street and they see a blue line between the two yellow lines that they're going to think there is handicap parking somewhere."

How do you feel about painted blue lines on roadways? Vote in our poll.

Peterson, a Flemington resident, said the first time he saw the blue line he wasn't distracted or confused. He said it reminded him that police are under siege nationwide like they haven't been for "as long as I can remember."

"The blue line would remind people that the police are here to protect us," said Peterson. "Everyone wants them to show up when they call but they too have families and put their live on the line whenever the answer a call. They never know what to expect."

Assemblyman Jon M. Bramnick (R-Union) is co-sponsoring the resolution. Assemblywoman Nancy F. Munoz (R-Union) has also voiced her support, said Peterson.

"Technically, the FHA may be right but that's a bureaucratic response," said Bramnick. "Now, we're talking about a legislative response. Lawmakers do what the public wants in my opinion. The response from the federal government came from transportation and its interpretation of the regulation or law.

"We're saying fine. Let's just change the regulation or law. We want to support each municipalities discretion. If they feel it's good for their police officers driving the streets everyday to see that blue line, maybe it'll pump them up a little bit knowing the community has their back."

As far as safety issues are concerned, Bramnick said anyone who sees a blue line between two yellow lines and thinks it gives them the authority to drive on the other side of the road into oncoming traffic, they shouldn't be driving.

In its Dec. 8 letter to the Somerset County Engineering Division, the Highway Administration said the painting of blue lines could put "the road user at risk due to misinterpretation of its meaning."

It added that the use of blue lines "as part of centerline markings does not comply with the provisions of the MUTCD (Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways)" and blue paint should only be used to mark handicapped parking spaces.

A state Senate would create a three-year Tiny Home Pilot Program in three areas of the state - north, central and south - to award grants for the construction of homes of 300 square feet or less, with the homes going to very-low income families and individuals.

Forget McMansions, with their six bedrooms, sky-lit dens and oversized garages. The state's future may lie in so-called "tiny houses."

Already a favorite among millennials and trend-spotting baby boomers, the single-room homes are the focus of a bill, now moving through the state Legislature, that just could be the answer for New Jersey's poor and homeless.

Or one answer, anyway.

Senate Bill 2110 would create a three-year Tiny Home Pilot Program in three areas of the state - north, central and south - to award grants for the construction of homes of 300 square feet or less, with the homes going to very-low income families and individuals.

"They're comfortable accommodations, and really provide housing opportunities for lower-income families that cost less money than the rents that they're paying now, and also may be able to take some people off the streets," says Sen. Raymond Lesniak (D-20th) a cosponsor of the bill with Brian Stack (D-33rd).

Tiny homes for the homeless. Why not? | Editorial

It's a creative solution, certainly, given that more than 3.5 million people experience homelessness in this country every year.

As Lesniak and Stack envision it, the Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency in the Department of Community Affairs will select three municipalities to participate, and will also oversee the grant application.

Any municipality chosen to take part will receive two credits toward fulfilling its fair-share housing obligation for each tiny home unit built within its borders.

The estimated $5 million for the undertaking would come from federal sources or other sources for the duration of the pilot program.

It's encouraging that support for the venture comes from such diverse quarters as the New Jersey State League of Municipalities and the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey, a housing advocacy group.

If there's one hang-up, it's in municipal zoning codes, which typically establish minimum square-footage requirements for new homes - requirements these miniscule residents would obviously not meet. A little bit of tweaking and a lot of flexibility on the part of city elders would be needed to make the program work.

You'd also face the age-old NIMBY mentality: Not in my back yard.

We've already seen it happen in Tuckerton, where officials rejected a proposal for a 24-unit tiny home development last year - including 10 micro houses for homeless vets - when residents of two nearby developments turned up their noses.

But these are manageable problems, we hope. Given the need for more affordable houses in this most unaffordable of states, we hope legislators and city planners think big. And by big, we mean tiny.

Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook.

Which N.J. natives put in the best performances of the postseason?

The New Jersey state Department of Health has a new social media campaign about the rise of sexually-transmitted diseases.

A pair of dramatic statistics should act as a wake-up call for anyone who is young and sexually active -- or who loves someone who is.

Health officials say half of all sexually active people in the state will grapple with a sexually transmitted disease by the age of 25, as rates of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis soar around the country.

Left undiagnosed, these diseases put others at risk and often lead to a host of related health problems such as infertility.

Meanwhile, roughly 37,000 people in New Jersey are living with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, and one in eight of them don't know they're carrying the disease.

Make that one in two under the age of 24.

The alarming statistics certainly made the state Department of Health sit up and pay attention, and officials are turning to social media in a campaign designed to raise awareness of the plague, encourage residents to get tested, and help link patients with the proper treatments -- or, better yet, the proper preventive measures.

#Teens: Protect yourself -- get the facts about #STDs with this info: https://t.co/umqqy34W8J #KnowTheFactsFirst pic.twitter.com/E066IF12bi

-- CDC STD (@CDCSTD) January 10, 2017

In addition, the department has added search tools to its website to readily connect users with the appropriate services, and has sent educational materials to public health agencies throughout the state.

The public health campaign, which piggybacks the national Centers for Disease Controls STD awareness campaign, comes at an urgent time.

As NJSpotlight reports, the rate of STDs is on the increase nationwide, even as the Garden State is seeing a higher incidence of HIV diagnoses than neighboring states.

"Our hope is that (this reality) will encourage health-care providers, parents and educators to talk frankly and openly to adolescents about how they can get STDs and how to prevent them," said Doona Leusner, Department of Health communications director.

Amen to that.

The key to all of this is the prevention piece, which is highlighting in campaigns on Facebook and Twitter.

The outreach program is spreading the word about PrEP services -- short for pre-exposure prophylaxis -- a treatment approved by the federal government in 2012 to protect users against HIV. The potentially life-saving treatment pairs a daily dose of medicine with education and screening; trials have shown that it can cut HIV transmission in half.

Last year, the state kicked off a pilot program to coordinate PrEP services in hard-hit communities. The program was later expanded to include hospitals, federally qualified health centers and other facilities.

Nonprofit such as Planned Parenthood are also helping to promote access to these services -- all the more reason to encourage lawmakers to support these efforts.

Doctors, too, have a critical role to play. Health Commissioner Cathleen D. Bennett reminds physicians to make HIV or STD screening a part of a routine physical exam.

Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook.

After shocking Phillipsburg last Saturday night, Cranford makes the biggest move up in the NJ.com Top 20 wrestling rankings this week. Click through the slideshow to see how high the Courgars climbed.

At Delaware Valley Regional High School, only a few close friends know that sophomore Madison Scott has a budding art business with more than 11,000 followers on Instagram.

ALEXANDRIA TWP. - At Delaware Valley Regional High School, only a few close friends know that Madison Scott, a sophomore from Holland Township, has a budding art business with more than 11,000 followers on Instagram.

Sarah Ruppert, who teaches the Intro to Drawing class, says that when Madison "is not quietly smiling and listening to the random art-room banter, she can be found with a fine-tip Micron marker in hand, slowly creating another lavish line illustration. Madison has a knack for radial symmetry. Creating original designs without a plan, she fills negative spaces with smooth line mandala-like designs."

Madison is a private person, who enjoys "getting lost in the lines and patterns" that she puts on paper. But when it comes to monetizing her reveries, Madison is wide-awake.

Among her most recent accomplishments is the sale of five designs for $175 for inclusion in "The Power of Positive Coloring." It's a coloring book for grownups, with 50 images accompanied by motivational words. It will become available from Amazon in February for $9.99.

"I am really excited to see her work in print," says Ruppert. "As with anyone that is skilled at their craft, Madison spends hours honed in on her ink and lines. It takes practice, lots of practice."

A couple months ago, she came in third in Seton Hall University's Pirates Pitch high school entrepreneur competition. Vying with more than 250 teens from seven countries, Madison was one of the 10 finalists chosen to pitch their ideas to a panel of judges. If she decides to attend Seton Hall, a $4,000 scholarship awaits her.

Del Val High names its Teacher of the Year

Last spring she was one of two winners of the Central Jersey Association of Women Business Owners' young entrepreneur awards.

She started an Instagram account in 2014, and challenges herself to post a new design each week. Many of her followers are fellow artists, but some of them are simply fans of her designs.

A visit to her website, MadisonsDesigns.com, shows why the judges were so impressed.

"My ultimate goal is to turn Madison's Designs into a brand name and become a well-known designer," Madison says. Toward that end, she aims to keep the artwork flowing, pausing every so often to shake the money tree.

A link to Society6 reveals that several of Madison's designs are available on a wide variety of items, including wall clocks, shower curtains, tote bags, stationery, laptop sleeves, iPhone skins, and of course, T-shirts. Those designs include her wolf, an antlered buck, an elephant, and more.

The site also gives an aerial view of a cake she decorated. It's one of her mandalas, all right, but executed with tubes of brightly colored sugar gels. For logistical reasons, this fragile kind of handiwork hasn't yet been enjoyed beyond her family circle.

Madison's custom-design sideline, also accessible via the website, has brought her a dozen commissions. One client wanted a design for a simple paisley arm tattoo, for which Madison charged $25 - installation not included. Another customer asked for a wolf design, which Madison made for $40. She retained the copyright, so she can continue to market the image.

Madison supplements her e-commerce efforts with one that dates back more than 1,000 years - taking some of her merchandise into actual marketplaces as she did at the recent PTA Holiday Vendor & Craft Fair in Bethlehem Township. In between peddling her own Christmas ornaments and note cards, she embellishes the arms and hands of willing customers with her designs, using henna dye.

Catherine Lent of Frenchtown taught her that technique.

Madison's introduction to the mandala art form that she has embraced so enthusiastically was made by Holland Township School art teacher Lorraine Najjar in grades 5 and 6. Najjar's successor, Megan Whipple, gave further encouragement and instruction.

Now at Del Val, Ruppert is introducing Madison to other techniques and media, but so far she hasn't tried any art forms that she likes half as much as her mandalas

She did expand her horizons though, with Ruppert's technical assistance, by creating an ornate map of the world that soaked up 20 hours of the young artist's in-the-zone time. "She created a flat representation of the earth," says Ruppert, "filling the oceans with floating shapes, flowers, leaves, and flowing lines."

"Madison keeps getting better at controlling her line quality and fluidity. Her lines move like water over the page. The designs draw you in, fill the page, and make you smile. It is a happy kind of art, meditative in its repetition and patterns," the teacher says.

The article was submitted by Rick Epstein.

Catherine Baka, 21, of Lebanon, was issued two motor-vehicle summons following an accident that happened on Jan. 5, 2017, in Clinton Township, police said.

CLINTON TWP. - A 21-year-old Lebanon woman was issued two motor-vehicle summons following a Route 31 accident that happened on Thursday, police said.

Catherine Baka was issued summonses for failure to observe a traffic signal and careless driving following the accident that happened at approximately 10:05 p.m. at the intersection of Route 31 and Allerton Road, police said.

An investigation determined that a 2015 Honda CRV driven by a 55-year-old Flemington resident was travelling south on Route 31 when it was struck by Baka's 2013 Volkswagen Jetta. Baka was on Allerton Road, travelling across Route 31, police said.

Baka and her passenger, a 19-year-old Clinton Township resident, were transported to Hunterdon Medical Center in Raritan Township for treatment of injuries, according to police.

The Flemington woman, along with a Flemington boy, 9, who was a passenger in her car, suffered apparent minor injuries as well.

Both vehicles sustained heavy damage and both had to be towed from the scene, police said.

The Borough Council will continue holding meetings at the Historic Flemington Courthouse on Main Street through the end of March.

FLEMINGTON - The Borough Council will continue holding meetings at the Historic Flemington Courthouse on Main Street through the end of March.

The council moved meetings to the courthouse in October as attendance at meetings rose as people turned out to comment on the proposed redevelopment of the Union Hotel and property surrounding it.

Mayor Phil Greiner during his annual mayor's message delivered during the Jan. 3 reorganization meeting, criticized those from outside the borough repeatedly speaking against redevelopment at council meetings. Some who have spoken object to a proposal to demolish the Union Hotel as part of current project.

"No change comes without some risk and some debate," Greiner said. "That debate is part of a democracy. We have welcomed the debate, and every single person who wanted to speak has done so, some more than 20 times. I do believe that folks who do not live in the borough, once they have had their say, should step back.

"The people of Flemington must decide their own future. Our residents do not go into other towns to force their meetings out of their town hall, file expensive lawsuits over technicalities, and set up panels to interview their candidates for local office and tell their residents how they should vote. We expect the same courtesy."

After March, meetings will resume to be held at Borough Hall, 38 Park Ave. Meetings are held at 7 p.m. on the second and fourth Mondays of the month. The next is being held Jan. 23. There will be only one meeting in November and December, on Nov. 20 and Dec. 11.

The borough's Community Partnership board of trustees has also announced its 2017 meetings. Some months the partnership, which manages the borough's special improvement district, will meet twice in one day, once at 8:30 a.m. and again at 6:30 p.m.

Except for an upcoming Jan. 19 meeting, the partnership's meetings take place at the Chamber of Commerce offices at the Reading-Large House, 119 Main St.

The morning meeting is for the trustee board, where action is taken. Stakeholders meetings, for business and property owners located within the district, are held in the evening. Official action is not taken at these meetings.

The first meeting of the new year takes place in the Community Room of the Flemington Free Library, 118 Main St., at 8:30 a.m. on Jan. 19.

Morning meetings take place:

• Feb. 20
• March 20
• April 17
• May 15
• June 19
• July 17
• Aug. 21
• Sept. 18
• Oct. 16
• Nov. 20
• Dec. 18

Evening meetings will be held:

• March 20
• June 19
• Sept. 18
• Dec. 18

A New Year's Day pickup by an ride sharing driver ended with passengers being arrested for marijuana and underage alcohol possession, and the driver ticketed, Clinton Township police said.

Correction: Uber confirmed on Jan. 10, 2017, that while James Sapp IV has taken on fares using the app in the past, he was not doing so on Jan. 1, 2017, or in the days preceding his ticket.

CLINTON TWP. - A New Year's Day pickup by a driver using a ride-sharing app ended with passengers being arrested for marijuana and underage alcohol possession, and the driver ticketed, police said.

An officer pulled over a 2016 Nissan Rogue on Center Street near Route 31 at 12:45 a.m. on Jan. 1 because it was speeding.

The driver, James Sapp IV, 48, of Morristown, had five people, some sitting on the laps of others, in his vehicle, police said. 

Sapp reportedly told the officer he was an independent contractor using Uber and did not realize he would be giving so many passengers a ride when first contacted. A representative of Uber confirmed Tuesday that while Sapp had used the app to pick up riders in the past, he was not using it in the days leading up to his ticket, nor on the day he received it.

The officer who stopped Sapp's vehicle could smell alcohol and marijuana, police said, and found multiple open containers of alcohol. A search also produced a small amount of marijuana, according to police.

Janvier Raymundo, 19, of Flemington, and Brandon Pirog, 18, of Jackson, were arrested and charged with underage possession and consumption of an alcoholic beverage, consumption of an alcoholic beverage in a motor vehicle and failure to wear seatbelt. Pirog was also charged with being under the influence of a controlled dangerous substance.

Alexander Luciano, 20, of Bridgewater Township, was charged with possession of under 50 grams of marijuana, being under the influence of a controlled dangerous substance and failure to wear seatbelt.

All three were released on their own recognizance pending a hearing in municipal court.

A 16-year-old Raritan girl, a 17-year-old Bridgewater girl and an 18-year-old Bridgewater girl were all released without charges.

Sapp was issued a motor-vehicle summons for allowing too many passengers to ride in his vehicle.

Readington Township Patrolman Pat Brown arrested Luis Arturo Nunez, 22, from Chambersburg, Pa., and Johnny Manuel Loarte, 19, from Reading, Pa., at 10:45 a.m. on Jan. 3, 2017, charging both with drug possession, police said.

READINGTON TWP. - Patrolman Pat Brown arrested Luis Arturo Nunez, 22, from Chambersburg, Pa., and Johnny Manuel Loarte, 19, from Reading, Pa., at 10:45 a.m. on Jan. 3, charging both with drug possession, police said.

Their vehicle was stopped on Route 22. A search located marijuana and paraphernalia both in the vehicle and on Loarte, who was charged with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, possession of under 50 grams of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and obstruction of justice, according to police.

Nunez was charged with possession of under 50 grams of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia, police said. He was issued motor-vehicle summons for driving without headlights on when they are required and possession of a controlled dangerous substance in a motor vehicle.

Loarte was released pending a hearing in Hunterdon County Superior Court in Flemington. Nunez was released pending an appearance in municipal court, police said.

In the letter, the DEP spells out several concerns about the pipeline's environmental impact.

TRENTON --PennEast has completed less than 35 percent of the required environmental surveys of a proposed pipeline's route due to lack of access, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection said in a December letter.

"When these required surveys are completed by PennEast, and upon review by the DEP, it is possible that the route may need to be additionally altered in order to minimize temporary and permanent environmental impacts, as required by New Jersey laws and regulations," the Dec. 20 letter said.

Completed surveys are required before the DEP initiates any review of the permit applications, the agency said in the letter, which was filed in the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's environmental impact statement or EIS.  

The final EIS on the project is expected next month.

In the letter, the DEP lays out several concerns about the pipeline's environmental impact, from protection of species to streams along the pipeline's right-of-way.

In one section the letter cited the state's Office of Natural Lands Management own study of the pipeline route, which discovered six documented rare plant species and 25 rare plant presences on the route.

And the DEP suggests, "Desktop surveys are not acceptable substitutes of the field surveys described in (state protocols),"

"We're encouraged that NJDEP is holding FERC accountable, by continuing to take a critical look at FERC's federal review of PennEast," Tom Gilbert, campaign director at New Jersey Conservation Foundation and ReThink Energy NJ, said Tuesday.

"NJ DEP has again pointed to extensive missing data and analyses required for FERC's review the project. A long uphill battle lies ahead for PennEast when it is subject to NJ DEP's review under stricter state laws," Gilbert said.

PennEast Pipeline blasts ratepayer advocate's assessment

PennEast spokeswoman Patricia Kornick said Tuesday the 35 percent number in the DEP letter is not accurate.

"PennEast has approximately 61 percent total survey access and is pleased with the progress it continues to make working directly with landowners," Kornick said.

PennEast has conducted engineering studies and desktop analyses to complement the on-the-ground surveys it has conducted with landowner permission.

"While on-the-ground surveys are important in helping to determine the best route, they are most significant in that they enable landowners to share directly with PennEast their property-specific concerns," Kornick said.

Kornick also said that FERC had already determined, following a July 2016 draft version of the EIS, that the PennEast Pipeline Project can be built while minimizing impact on the environment.  

And at the end of September 2016, based in large part on input from landowners and regulatory agencies, PennEast announced 33 route modifications, Kornick reiterated.

"Those modifications reflect PennEast's continued effort to reduce impact on endangered species and wetlands and address concerns shared through constructive feedback provided by landowners and regulators," Kornick said.

The 110-mile, 36-inch-diameter natural gas pipeline will go from Pennsylvania to New Jersey, through Hunterdon and Mercer counties before ending at a location in Hopewell Township. A connector pipeline, also 36 inches in diameter, will link it to an existing compressor in West Amwell.

Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@kevintshea. Find NJ.com on Facebook.