\u201cThese ani-
mals, they need
us, they\u2019re help-
less,\u201d she con-
cludes. \u201cI do
what I can.
I\u2019d love to
do more.\u201d

Slowly they come out through the trees- a family of black and white cats. The mother cat approaches first, but sees the vulture flying near by. She waits patiently for the hunting bird to leave. Soon father cat and sev- eral kittens join her and they eat the food.

For the past four years, Ferretti, a Mount Olive township employee, has been caring for stray cats that she had seen near her work place. The cats are current- ly located on the property of the Mount Olive Community Bible Church on Flanders-Drakestown Road.

\u201cIf they\u2019re there in front of me, I\u2019m not going to walk away from them,\u201d says Ferretti, 44, of Long Valley. \u201cI love animals. It\u2019s been in me forever.\u201d

Ferretti, who had lived in Budd Lake for 12 years, noticed a cat with kittens and started feeding them about four years ago. She had called the town\u2019s animal control officer to help her trap them with hopes that they would be put in a pound and adopted out.

She had learned later that the town\u2019s policy is to place feral cats in a holding place, try to adopt out the kittens, and after seven days euthanize any remaining ones.

Two more feral cats eventually made camp in that same location and had three different litters over the years. Instead of having those removed, Ferretti took it

upon herself to feed the colony everyday, provide shelters to protect them from harsh conditions and even capture to neuter.

\u201cEveryone just loves them,\u201d she says about the cats. \u201cEveryone adores watching them. The kids love watching them. The older people come in and give me food. They say \u2018my cats wont eat this; give this

the New Jersey Primaries. He has served as mayor of Bogota in Bergen County for about a dozen years, having been re-elected twice, and has created an impressive record of public service. His Taxpayer Protection Act mandated a public vote for any new municipal debt or public employee contracts that exceed the rate of inflation. He kept spending flat during his entire tenure in office. His was the first town in New Jersey to pass a ballot initia- tive restricting Eminent Domain.

I had the chance to speak with Mayor Lonegan recently about his plans for the state should he be elected. He answered my

Question: You have made some pretty enticing campaign promises. You've talked about overturning the new regulations on small business owners in New Jersey. You've pledged to appeal the 7% sales tax and roll back taxes like the tire tax and the cell phone tax. Can you elaborate on this?

Answer: The key to cutting taxes is in cutting the size the size of government. New Jersey has had the fastest growing state government in the nation over the past decade. And we have a staggering budget, so we need to cut the size of state govern- ment and spending down to a reasonable level. If I have my way, even beyond that,

\u25a0\ue000Handwriting & Phonics
\u25a0\ue000Simple Addition & Subtraction
\u25a0\ue000Coin Recognition & Values

April was Autism Awareness Month, so each class at the Chester M. Stephens Elementary School learned about autism and how we can be friends and get along with people who have autism. Students from Mrs. Emily Edwards' second grade class shared some facts about autism with their second grade friends using speeches and a chant! Staff members were allowed to wear jeans for this particular Rainbow Connection Friday if they donat- ed $5 to Autism Speaks. Happily they raised $350 for this worthy cause. It was indeed a school-wide Rainbow Connection that shed some light on a serious topic.