Daily Record from Morristown, New Jersey • 1

SHBJ FPft in to summer fun YANKEES TICKW Jir BgglMI SSBfWHa tep. details: tgif page 13 lb 0 local events itsnewseason YANKS TAME TIGERS SPORTS, El FRIDAY. May 27. 2005 MORRIS COUNTY'S NEWSPAPER www.dalSyrecord.com Madison bowling treasurer accused of taking $13K from leagues released the same day after posting $15,000 bail. His arrest stemmed from a 10-day investigation by local police.

On May 10, a representative from the bowling alley spoke with police after learning from Union Cen- BYJENNA M. MCKNIGHT DAILY RECORD MADISON A bowling league treasurer who fell for a so-called Canadian lottery scam was charged with embezzling nearly $13,000 from his fellow bowlers money he sent to the scam artists in hopes of claiming a half-million dollar prize. In all, Francis Thiel, 66, of Madison, wired $48,000 to the Canadian swindlers, but he never received any of the promised "win nings," police said on Thursday. "He just kept sending them money. And they kept stringing him along for months," said Detective Sgt.

Dennis Lam of the Madison Police Department. "They told him the money was tied up at the Canadian border." Beyond sending $35,000 of his own cash, police said, Thiel dipped into the bank accounts of two bowling leagues, ultimately taking $12,900, police said. The leagues play at Plaza Lanes in Madison, where Thiel is a bowling instructor. Thiel was arrested at about 5:30 a.m. last Friday on Main Street while delivering papers for the Star-Ledger a part-time job for the retiree, Lam said.

He was taken to the Morris County jail and was SEE THEFT A5 Inside MEMORIAL DAY 2005 Send in the clowns, but forget tigers Circus plays in Denville without exotic animals Fallen soldiers honored by vets VFW members remember comrades as they pay tribute by planting flags BY ELISABETH SALEMME DAILY RECORD three on Saturday on the grounds of St. Clare's Hospital on Pocono Road. The revamped show will boast a number of new acts, including an acrobatic bunch of house-cats from Russia, pony rides for children, an Asian acrobatic troupe and a high-wire motorcycle team. Spider-Man, too The circus also hopes to capitalize on the popularity of comic book-movie heroes by having performers dress up as char- BY ROB SEMAN DAILY RECORD DENVILLE The circus is in town today and tomorrow with some notable changes. No, the tigers haven't gotten smaller.

They're housecats. After years of complaints from animal rights groups alleging the Cole Brothers' Circus abused its elephants and tigers, the show this year dropped the beasts from its repertoire. The show rolled into Denville Thursday night for two shows today and Court victory for gay parents Lesbian couple wins right to have names on birth certificate. New Jersey, A3 1 $81 tax hike set for Rockaway Mayor, council defend their $5.8 million spending plan. Local, A13 Visit by Princess Di's brother Among the tea and scones at Bograd's furniture store in Riverdale Thursday was Charles, 9th Earl Spencer.

Local, A13 Fight to save Fort Monmouth New Jersey lawmakers are joining a bipartisan congressional effort to delay the ongoing round of base closures, claiming that it threatens national security in wartime. Nation, A4 Weather Warming up Partly sunny, 55 I. chance of thunderstorms Details, A20 temperatures Breakfast Lunch Dinner 52 77 76 SEE CIRCUS A5 Summer job prospects look bright for NJ. RANDOLPH Jack Sass-man, dressed sharply in his decorated Army shirt, tie and hat, is flooded with pride as he bends over and digs crisp, new American flags into the ground near the graves of fallen soldiers. But Sassman's pride is punctuated with sadness as he thinks about Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7333 member Lance Cpl.

Scott Montanio, who has served in Iraq since February. "Montanio served in Afghanistan, then came home and was excited to join the VFW, and now he's in Iraq this time," said Post 7333 Commander-elect Sassman, 59, of Randolph. "He's stationed in Fallu-jah. It's a special feeling to honor those who took the ultimate sacrifice. It's up to us to pay tribute." Four other veterans, all members of VFW Post 7333, joined Sassman on Thursday to brave the unseasonably cold weather and pay tribute to those who died serving the United States.

Leonard Labriola, Pete Knothe, Bernard Wawzyanick, John VanDuyne and Sassman traveled to cemeteries in the Randolph area to place flags at the graves of fallen soldiers. This Memorial Day, veterans are particularly cognizant of the war in Iraq, remembering that while those who died in war should be honored, those fight- i tf-y Outlook for students OlllfJ J.Od3Q jrc, r- 4 Vi' rw' better, especially at Shore, says agency BY ELISABETH SALEMME DAILY RECORD on Thursday that the outlook for summer jobs for high school and college students should be better than in previous years, especially at Jersey Shore resorts. The state's summer jobs forecast is the result of an informal survey completed in April by the Bureau of Labor Market Information. The results were broken down by region, and the outlook for Morris Index 1 1. High school students breaking for the summer and college students returning home to New Jersey may be in luck as warm weather approaches.

The state Department of Labor and Workforce Development announced JOHN BFilX DAILY RECORD Leonard Labriola of Randolph VFW Post 7333 puts flags on the graves of veterans at the Mount Freedom Church Cemetery to honor the memory of their contributions. LOCAL MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND EVENTS, A8-9 SEE FLAGS A10 SEE JOBS A5 Advice D2 Applause A20 Bridge BIO Business CI Classified Bl-20, C4 Comics D3 Crossword BIO Local A13-20 Lottery A2 Morris Life Dl Obituaries A19 Our Towns A14 Opinion All Sports El Teens Dl TV Today D4 On the Web Following 300 graduate at CCM's 36th commencement 1 fr remarks rSZ f- by CCM tl'f Aft feilk j-1 rVVr 'it id Yaw, CCM i wV'X' -f. Penelope A standst0 sSX applause Many new grads share stories of tough road toward their degrees BY SARAH N. LYNCH DAILY RECORD Today's top local stories, classified ads and more: www.dallyrecord.com V. 1 of her 4 class mates and while stillj managing to care for her children.

She also founded the CCM Gospel Chdir and became president of1 the Black Student "I went in there full-speed ahead," Smith said Thursday night. "I didn't know what I was going to do. I couldn't find a job because of my felony conviction." Now that she has turned When she was released in July 2003, the Morris-town mother of four did not waste even a second. She immediately enrolled at the County College of Morris. On Thursday evening, she was one of more than 300 students to receive their diplomas at the college's 36th commencement ceremony.

Smith set a torrid pace at CCM. She took between 18 and 21 credits per semester ence In the gym in 1 Thursday. RANDOLPH Two years ago, 35-year-old Penelope Smith was an inmate in at Danbury prison, after admitting to cheating military contractors out of $457,715 to save her WARREN WESTURA nAii.v zrrz -t 9 SEE CCM A5 fr RECORD 500 ROUTE 23 SUSSEX, NJ 1-866-373-3469 VWAV.IIPIIYUriDAI.COM.