First off, I want to wish you all a very Happy New Year! 2004 is almost upon us and I'm really looking forward to it.

Next, I announced Council's Department Appointments for next year. It was a really tough decision, but I think everyone will work to the best of their ability as they were elected to do.

Director of Public Property - Councilwoman Esther Kutzman
Director of Public Safety - Councilman Ed Hanics
Director of Public Works - Councilman Bob Gara
Director of Health & Welfare - Councilwoman Klara Tarsi
Director of Administration - Councilman Mike Savary
Director of Finance - Councilwoman Carol Schwar

We also have Deputy Directors again for the first time in over 4 years. Everything will be listed on the website along with a January 2004 calendar in a few days!

Tomorrow at 12 Noon is our re-organization meeting and I will be getting sworn in along with Councilman Savary and Councilwoman Tarsi for our new terms. Everyone is invited to attend.

Stay Safe!

I want to wish everyone all the best this Holiday Season. Please take care of yourselves.

First off, I apologize for the lack of updates here in the blog. The past week has been quite crazy. I'm definitely done with Christmas Cards and I think I'm done shopping.

Anyway, I'm having a real tough time with next year's director appointments. Each councilmember is in charge of a different department and they serve as the 'director' of that department. I will say Alpha has and has had very dedicated Councilmembers. Each one has a different background but we are all there for the borough and we try to do what's best. This is going to be one of the most difficult decisions I'm going to make, but whoever said anything in life is easy. When I do make up my mind, I will make sure the new appointments will be posted here after I announce my intentions to each councilperson.

Well, I hope most of you are all ready for the holidays. That's all for now.

Today was another eventful day. My mom's car battery died, so she took my car to the malls this morning. So, I got stuck with the '88 Cadillac. This car sounds like a 747 taking off at full speed. It's such a low rider and I felt like Boss Hogg from the 'Dukes of Hazzard' riding around in it.

I had a meeting with our Municipal Clerk Laurie Courter and Councilwoman Klara Tarsi to finish going over the critique for the updated code (ordinance) book. I am so relieved that is over with, but it was definitely something that was needed to be done. It's been over 30 years since the book has been updated!

At 9am, I made my way up to Alpha Public School for a performance by the George Street Playhouse Touring Theatre. It was a play titled 'In Between' and it was for the 5th - 8th Graders. The play addressed such issues as bullying, violence and peer pressure. I definitely thought it was an excellent performance and showed the students some great ways to resolve conflict in their everyday lives. The group that put on the performance was brought to Alpha by the new Cultural Enrichment Program at the school. The people behind this; Colleen Beviss, Kristen Korbobo and the numerous businesses that have made it a reality, deserve a lot of credit and a HUGE THANK YOU!

At 2:30pm, I had an interview with Sally Goldenberg from 'The Star Ledger'. We talked about everything that happened in my 1st term and what I hope to accomplish in my 2nd term. It was a great interview and I'm looking forward to the article!

Later in the day, at 7pm, I had a meeting with the citizen's pool committee. This group is definitely a dedicated bunch. They wanted to sit down and discuss a few issues with me. Granted, I didn't have their support in this past election, but I listened to their concerns and will take everything they had to say into consideration.

I'm planning on doing some more shopping and starting my Christmas cards tomorrow.

I had an eventful day today. My dad called me late in the morning and put Mr. Jack Joyce (The People's Choice) on the phone. He wanted to meet for lunch and since I haven't seen Jack in such a long time, I didn't have to think twice. For those of you that don't know Jack, he used to live in Alpha and is a former chairman of the Warren County Democratic Committee. When I first decided to run for Mayor, he actually tried to talk me into running for council instead. He let me know off the bat that it would be a tough road ahead. Win or lose, I was ready for the experience. I guess you can say he encouraged me by discouraging me. My motto in life is 'NO REGRETS' and I definitely don't regret running for Mayor. I am truly blessed to be in the position that I am in. It is definitely an honor and I thank the Residents of Alpha for putting their trust in me for 4 more years. Anyway, Jack and I had a good chat and I'm glad that I got to see him.

I started doing some Christmas shopping today. I hit the Lehigh Valley Mall and after 3 hours of shopping, I bought one gift. I have no idea what to get anyone this year. Oh well, I'm sure I'll find some great stuff in the days and weeks ahead. The clock is ticking though.

When I got home from the mall, I found out that Gore was going to be endorsing Dean for President. I was a bit shocked. I didn't think Gore would endorse anyone this early in the game, but Dean definitely has the momentum now. I wonder what Joe Lieberman is thinking!?

The site is almost at 100%. I want to thank Oleg, the site admin, for getting the site back on its feet! Thanks Oleg!

The calendar feature along with new photos will be up in another day or two.

As for this feature, the BLOG, I got the idea from a good friend of mine that is running for Congress down in Louisiana. Thanks Kyle!

Also, thanks to Frankie, the webmaster of AlphaFD.org, for continuing to link this site while it was down. Like I said, we'll be back at 100% in few days!

*Council's Re-Organization Meeting will be held on New Year's Day (Jan. 1st, 2004) at 12 Noon. Councilman Michael Savary, Councilwoman Klara Tarsi and I will be sworn in for our new terms. Please join us!*