NEWTON, NJ—The Town of Newton, along with county officials, the public and even Smokey The Bear, cut the ribbon unveiling the 1.6 miles extension that is now proudly hosted by the town.

“The picturesque Sussex Branch Trail is built on the former line of the Erie Lackawanna Railroad. The Town of Newton now proudly hosts a 1.6 miles extension that invites you to walk, bike, horseback, or even cross-country ski during the winter months," Town Manager Thomas S. Russo Jr. said.

Emcee for the ceremony, Russo thanked all those at the ribbon cutting including Mayor Matthew Dickson, Deputy Mayor Jason Schlaffer, Councilwoman Michelle Teets, Councilman John-Paul Couce, as well as County Commissioner Director Dawn Fantasia and County Commissioner Chris Carney, Bill Foelsch, Chairman of the NJ Trails Council, Newton Police Department Chief Steve VanNieuwland, Eagle Scout Nathan Brottman from Boy Scout Troop 180 and Town Planner, Jessica Caldwell.

SIGNUPSCRIPT

Russo announced the partners from outside organizations that made the new trailhead possible: Brandee Chapman, State Trails Coordinator, NJDEP Green Acres, Cory Stoner, Town and Project Engineer, Josh Osowski, Regional Superintendent, North Region, State Park Service, Martin Grossman, President of the Paulinskill Valley Trail Committee, and Nathaniel Sajdak, Walkill Rivershed Director.

Russo acknowledged "This important outdoor recreation project would not have happened without:

The leadership and efforts of out amazing Department of Public Works, who deserve a round of applause right now for the work they have done over the years.
The financial support of Thorlabs, our fantastic community partner, who supports so much of the work we do and that happens throughout the town.
Brandee Chapman and Green Acres, for their leadership and financial support for so many years on this project.
Cory Stoner and our engineers at Harold Pellow’s Office.
Deb Danielson and her administrative efforts for not just today, but throughout the project."

Dickson and Schlaffer both said a few words about the trail.**BULLSEYE

“As we mark the completion of this portion of the Rail Trail. This project has been many years in the making and it is a culmination of hard work and dedication by many, many people. I just want to take a brief moment to acknowledge some of these efforts. The vision of the prior town councils and the current town council for understanding the importance of these types of projects and what they bring to the community.

"Mr. Russo and his staff at Town Hall, for their tireless work. Our town engineer Cory Stoner and all the staff at Harold Pellow for overseeing the project to completion. Alex Cable and Thorlabs for their donation and continued commitment to the Town of Newton and all that they do.

"I want to thank Eagle Scout Nathan Brottman, your project brought a nice touch to the trail.**STANDARD

"To every single DPW worker, the Town of Newton’s DPW is top-notch, and I know you guys have been working tirelessly on this project, so thank you. I know the completed rail trail is going to be enjoyed by Newton residents and visitors for many years to come and thank you all for coming.”

Schlaffer told a story about how his family roots are tied to the Town of Newton so much so that his great-grandfather would meet up with his great-grandmother, who lived in Branchville, by meeting her on this very trail.

“The local rail trails are the embodiment of the county motto- people and nature together. What once was a vein of commerce and societal connections, now is a place of meditative natural appreciation for citizens to more easily lead the active, outdoor lifestyle that is so indicative of our area. I grew up enjoying all the branches of the trails here. My family has a long and intimate connection to this particular stretch of trail. My great-grandfather would walk this trail to meet his then girlfriend, my future great-grandmother, nearly every single day, when he lived here in Newton, and she lived in Branchville. Once again, this former rail bed will connect two communities and be enjoyed by countless others, and we couldn’t be more proud of this project.”**BULLSEYE

County Commissioner Director Fantasia addressed the group.

“I don’t have quite as romantic of a story as Mr. Schlaffer, but I did use to live right there on Hampton Street about 20 years ago and I remember saying I wish we had more pedestrian traffic. Being of mom of young kids at the time, so this is such a priority. It is part of a much larger project and funding is tenuous from the state right now.

"To tell you what is happening at the county level right now, we were pretty confident that we received the funding that was needed to complete the project in its entirety and then we were told by the state that they were pulling back the availability of some of those funds.

"So now we’re back at the table to fight to complete the entire line, but this 1.6 miles really sets the tone for how hard we’re willing to work as a municipality and as a county, and again we need your support, the support from the public to use their voice to reach out to ensure that we get the state funding. Thank you all for coming, this is a really good celebration.”

Finally, Foelsch, Chairman of the NJ Trails Council said a few words before all those who were involved stood behind Mayor Dickson to cut the ribbon.

“Congratulations. On behalf of the NJ Trails Council, which is an advisory board for both the department of environmental protection and transportation, I am very happy to be here. It is great to be able to come out to these events and see these connections putting our trail service across the county together.

"We represent a funding stream from National Trails program which was able to provide two grants to the Town of Newton to be able to put this trail in place in 2009 and 2014. We hope to have our recreational trails program funding streams back in operation very soon. This is a micro cause of one of the great connections because it is a regional trail system, Sussex Branch Trail, go for miles and miles, but these neighboring sections we’re missing, and I really credit the Town of Newton, they did a great job, not only the department of public works but our Eagle Scout for making the amenities here.

"These are the types of things that connect the community to these regional trails systems. The other thing I want to credit today is to see some young people out here today, who are here to hopefully walk the trail and appreciate the trail for the next generation going forward. We need to get more young people out on our trails systems, get our neighbors out on our trail systems. I do congratulate you on those efforts today.”

In addition to the 1.6 miles extension being unveiled, Nathan Brottman’s leadership project was mentioned by Mayor Dickson. Brottman created the Sussex Branch Trail Gateway as his Eagle Scout project, which included planting trees, installing a bench and adding an identification sign for the trail.

Brottman was in attendance in his Eagle Scout uniform. A proclamation for his project, time, and earned Eagle Scout status, was read during the September 27 town council meeting.