Twp. Committee Not to Act Until March on Sale of Lot

OUR 129th YEAR – ISSUE NO. 08-2019 ONE DOLLAR (908) [email protected], February 21, 2019USPS 680020

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Congratulations to the Top 10 Sales Associates for January!

Deborah Citarella

Julie Murphy

Beth Sullivan

Sharon Steele

Patty Spinner

Cathy Lee Tomlinson

Tina Re Browning

Anne Weber

Jill Skibinsky

Colleen Berg

Courtesy of Westfield Public SchoolsMERIT SCHOLARSHIP FINALISTS...Four Westfield High School seniors haveadvanced as finalists in the 2019 National Merit Scholarship Program, having metacademic and other standards to become eligible for scholarships. The programhonors students who show exceptional academic ability and potential for successin rigorous college studies. Pictured here in September with Principal DerrickNelson are, from left to right, Madeline Reynders, Zachary Youssef, Edward Xingand Austin Chen who, at that time, had earned semi-finalist ranking.

Courtesy of Westfield Police DepartmentNEW CAPTAIN AND CHAPLAINS...At last week’s Westfield Town Council meeting, Frank Padovano, left, was sworn inas a captain in the Westfield Police Department (WPD). Also, Rabbi Douglas Sagal, second from left, and Deacon KeithGibbons, third from left, were appointed to serve as the first chaplains in the WPD. At right is Police Chief Chris Battiloro.

Courtesy of Westfield Police DepartmentCAPTAIN PADOVANO...Westfield Police Captain Frank Padovano signs pa-perwork following his swearing-in to his new rank at last week’s town councilmeeting.

Courtesy of Mercedes Fol-OkamotoANOTHER DEMOLITION...A house on Scutter Road in Westfield has beendemolished. To make room for a new home, many mature trees were cut down.

Board of Adjustment DeniesApartments on Grove Street

By MICHAEL BONACCORSOSpecially Written for The Westfield Leader

WESTFIELD – Applicant CGFRLLC was denied a two-story additionby the board of adjustment lastWednesday to construct 18 residen-tial apartments at 214 East GroveStreet.

Attorney John Schmidt told theboard the commercial building, whichis already zoned for residential apart-ments on the second floor, has beenvacant for many years. Mr. Schmidtsaid the building owner, builder RalphRapuano, is considering residentialapartments because of the building’s“economic inutility.”

“There are no offers on the table,”Mr. Rapuano said.

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Mr. Rapuano said commercialspace throughout New Jersey is be-coming “less in demand.” He said hispurchase of the building was intendedto offer office space or medical spacefor rent.

“There have been no bites in over10 years,” said Mr. Rapuano, refer-ring to purchase offers or rental of-fers.

Mr. Rapuano stated that he hasbeen paying taxes on the property anddeclaring the property as a loss “formany years.” Instead of “boardingthe windows up” or leaving the prop-erty vacant, he said he wanted torenovate the property for a desireduse for apartments.

He said providing residential units

would have a positive impact on pa-trons visiting Westfield or those pass-ing the building going towardsWestfield’s downtown business dis-trict.

Planning board member Matt Sontzstated that the applicant did not intro-duce “expert witnesses” to testify onthe building’s economic inutility. Mr.Sontz questioned the building’s rentalprice, asking if a professional realestate agent or “commercial expert”was going to testify for the applicant.

Mr. Rapuano said he had “scaleddown the project” from 20 to 18 units.Of the 18 proposed units, 13 wouldbe single-bedroom units, he said. Fiveof the units would measure less than750 square feet. Residential units inthe “0-1 Zone” are required to be atleast 750 square feet or a variance isrequired, stated Mr. Schmidt.

Mr. Rapuano sought a variance forthe five residential units (less than750 square feet) because he believedthere was “a demand for affordableunits less than 750 square feet.”

Professional planner William Hol-lows stated that the proposed resi-dential units would provide “seniorhousing, affordable housing, and ahousing resource for ‘empty nesters.’”The building would require 104 park-ing stalls for commercial use, statedMr. Hollows.

He said the “needed amount” forresidential use would be no more than34 stalls, with the applicant propos-ing 40 parking stalls to accommodatethe proposed 18 residential units.

With 13 of the units proposed asone-bedroom apartments, the park-ing demand would be less comparedto similar projects throughoutWestfield with multi-bedroom units,stated Mr. Hollows.

“The building is easily adaptablefor this use,” said Mr. Hollows, de-scribing the proposed renovations to

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DWC OKs $416,347 Budget;Discusses Master Plan

By DOMINIC A. LAGANOSpecially Written for The Westfield Leader

WESTFIELD — During its boardof directors’ meeting held Mondayevening, the Downtown WestfieldCorporation (DWC), the managemententity of the Special ImprovementDistrict (SID), formally approved itsbudget for the 2019 fiscal year with aunanimous vote.

At $416,347.12, the budget willremain “flat,” as there will be littleincrease from last year’s budget of$416,347. Businesses located in theSID pay a special tax to fund theDWC’s budget for the year.

“The directive was to keep the bud-get the same as last year,” announcedSherry Cronin, DWC executive di-rector. “It then has to be presented tothe finance committee of the WestfieldTown Council on February 27. Thecurrent operating budget and updates

to the capital budget of the town willalso be discussed.”

The town council, the body ulti-mately responsible for the DWCbudget’s final approval, incorporatesthe DWC budget into its own forstate approval. Town council mem-bers will vote on Westfield’s munici-pal budget in March after a presenta-tion to the public.

Jeffrey Christakos, newly-installedDWC vice-chairman and a longtimeresident of Westfield, commentedon this year’s budget process. “Werequire that the budget remains static.We have a fiduciary responsibility tobe prudent with our spending and sowe force ourselves to this commit-ment,” he said.

Mr. Christakos is department chair-man and accounting professor atMonmouth University and also a part-

CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

Parents Weigh in on ChangesIn Cranford School District

By ROBYN ORR-GIOFFRESpecially Written for The Westfield Leader

CRANFORD — A proposal for the“Reimagining” of the Cranford schooldistrict was introduced at the board ofeducation (BOE) meeting in Octo-ber, and since that time parents andother residents have exerted muchenergy expressing their opinions.

At the time, plan one, referred to asthe “Reimagining” of the Cranfordschool district, was put forth by Su-perintendent of Schools Scott Rubin,Ed.D., and the Cranford BOE.

Demographer Ross Haber lookedat the district and created a reportconsidering various options to real-ize the goal of full-day kindergarten.

Three meetings were planned forresidents and parents to get feed-back and have questions answered.An overwhelming response from thecommunity resulted in an additional12 meetings with a variety of oppor-tunities for community feedback andthe unveiling of nine additional plans.

While some parents, like ChristineGrace, who says she is in favor ofplans one through nine, believe thatthe BOE and the superintendent havebeen “transparent” and “receptive”during the meetings and “encourag-ing” of feedback, other parents, suchas Chris Acosta, who is in favor ofplans 8, 9 and 10, find the presenta-tions on the proposal to be more of “asales pitch.”

Parent Christine Bradley expressedfrustration following her attendanceof the meetings and noted she feltonly one “Reimagining” plan wasreally explained, commenting, “Idon’t know anything about the otherplans.”

Ms. Bradley further commentedthat she felt the meetings “promotethe pros of what a comprehensivemiddle school can do,” and do notconsider the cons.

While a number of parents are re-sistant to plans that would allow forone comprehensive middle school,Ms. Grace believes “having a tradi-tional 6-8 middle school is most im-portant.”

The issue of bussing is a bone ofcontention for some parents, like Mr.Acosta, who commented to TheWestfield Leader that bussing “goesagainst the neighborhood school en-vironment” for which Cranford isknown for.

“The town is not made for bus-sing,” Ms. Bradley likewise com-mented, observing that with only threemain thoroughfares, in town there arelikely to be traffic issues.

Mr. Acosta told The WestfieldLeader bussing “creates unnecessarymovement,” and questioned whetheror not the district had consulted withthe police and fire department, to becertain the addition of busses was arealistic possibility.

Superintendent Rubin and the boardhave made it clear that if a proposal isapproved that calls for additionalbussing, a professional traffic engi-neer will be hired and will work to-gether with a newly created CranfordTransportation Task Force to dealwith problems as they arise.

Not everyone is bothered by thenotion of bussing or other inconve-niences that may occur due to thechanges in the district.

Ms. Grace commented to TheWestfield Leader that even thoughher daily routine may change as aresult of the proposal, “improvingour school district brings benefitstown-wide for current and future gen-erations of students.”

Ms. Grace expressed concern overthe district moving ahead with full-day kindergarten prematurely.

At this time, 92 percent of districts

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Twp. Committee Not to ActUntil March on Sale of Lot


CRANFORD – The township com-mittee on Tuesday announced thatany decisions about the 83 MyrtleStreet municipal property sale willnot be made until the March govern-ing body meeting. The property de-velopment has been opposed byneighboring residents during the lastseveral workshop agenda meetings.Resident concerns prompted MayorPatrick Giblin and the township com-mittee to re-examine the property’s

relation to Cranford’s master planand the property’s relation toCranford’s affordable-housing re-quirements.

At Tuesday’s township committeemeeting the governing body unani-mously approved an ordinance in-creasing Cranford’s public pool feesfor adult membership packages andfamily membership packages. Themembership fees will increase by $5per two adult members, stated DeputyMayor Ann Dooley. Families choos-ing to purchase seasonal member-ships for a two-adult and two-chil-dren package will pay a $10 totalprice increase, stated Ms. Dooley.

The membership increases wereprompted by the rise in the minimumwage and the subsequent increasedoperational costs associated withpaying staff, Commissioner Dooleystated.

Resident Barry O’Donovan, ownerof The Kilkenny House, said hewanted to make the township com-mittee aware of a proposed New Jer-sey legislative measure which wouldgreatly “devalue” liquor licensesthroughout the state while posingpublic safety risks. Mr. O’Donovanstated that the proposed measurewould allow businesses with a “hotplate” and an establishment “no lessthan 500 square feet” to obtain a

liquor license.Mr. O’Donovan said when he ap-

plied for a liquor license, businesseswere required to have a “kitchen whichwas 500 square feet (in size),” letalone an entire establishment totaling500 square feet. The proposed legis-lation, he said, would price liquorlicense fees at $1,500 to $10,000 ayear.

He said the legislation would notonly have a negative economic im-pact on business owners who havepurchased liquor licenses at a pre-mium, but tax appeals associatedwith the businesses would decreasein assessed value, which he saidwould hurt municipalities.

Mr. O’Donovan said licenses be-ing issued in vast quantities wouldincrease alcohol consumption, pos-ing “safety risks.” He said “RaveNights,” where operators could throw“high-risk” alcohol-infused partieswith the operators making money,could become a common routine.

Mr. O’Donovan said because hisliquor license is a costly investment,the liability and responsibility thebar owner adheres to is much greaterthan a business owner who has onlyinvested $1,500 for the new pro-posed licenses.

He asked the township committee

Thursday, February 21, 2019 The Westfield Leader and The Scotch Plains – Fanwood TIMES A Watchung Communications, Inc. Publication

Westfield Leader only

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DEVELOPMENTREAL ESTATE LAND USE

Christina M. Hinke for The Westfield LeaderMORE HOUSING...At 115 Walnut Avenue in Cranford, a three-story, mixed-usedevelopment consisting of 24 residential apartments on the second and thirdfloors, and zoned for a restaurant on the ground level, is in the midst of being built.It is being erected a block away from the train station and the mixed-usedevelopment Riverfront at Cranford Station.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Apartmentsconvert the building’s second floorfor residential use.

Resident Maureen DeFalco, wholives near proposed project, said “sur-rounding residents should not bearthe burden of someone’s investmentnot working out.” Ms. DeFalco saidthe board should consider residentconcerns such as “noise increases,traffic increases, and an overall de-crease to public safety” with moreresidences.

Ms. DeFalco stated that “short-termresidents or temporary residents haveless stake” in the community.

Mr. Schmidt said the board of ad-justment “exists” to grant variancesto properties on specific conditions.He said the developer is “keeping thebuilding consistent” with the existingstructure and has scaled back theproject’s density several times.

Mr. Sontz said it was important toallow the planning board to rezonedistricts within the town.

“If the 0-1 zone has become obso-lete” it is the planning board’s job todesignate the zone’s purpose or pa-rameters, stated Mr. Sontz.

Mr. Sontz said the board of adjust-ment is charged with granting vari-ances, but “not changing a zonethrough variance.”

ner at Westfield Wealth Management.He has more than 30 years of experi-ence in accounting, tax preparationand financial planning.

Mr. Christakos described how theDWC achieves this goal of prudentspending. “The next step is eachcommittee is going to do a deepexamination of their funds to seehow the funds can be best utilized toachieve their goals, and it’s going toincorporate a multi-step process.We’re going to have RFPs (requestsfor proposals) for every expendi-ture, challenging our current spend-ing and making sure we have thebest purchasing power with whatwe have. We’re also going to makesure that the funds that we are spend-ing have the best impact by not justdoing things as we have in the past,but doing things that work best go-ing forward.

“The example that I gave beforewith 50 percent of our funds going toa specific event is a pretty goodexample of what we’re talkingabout,” Mr. Christakos said.

In other news, Westfield MayorShelley Brindle announced the re-lease of an online survey to obtainresidents’ opinions regarding the re-vision and implementation of thetown’s Master Plan, a town-wide strat-egy used to develop Westfield short-


DWC Budget

term and long-term to the benefit ofits residents and its visitors.

The survey includes questions con-cerning the vision for the town, com-mercial/mixed-use development,land use, transportation, safety, park-ing and downtown economic devel-opment.

Mayor Brindle expressed herhopes for the project. “As you mayknow, the Master Plan process hasbeen kicked off. Please, if you can,share this on social media. The morepeople that take the survey the bet-ter off we will be. A huge piece ofthis Master Plan is not only relatedto all the land-use elements youwould expect, but also the wholeparking layout, map, pricing strat-egy, those kind of things, so hope-fully through this process we canaddress that as well.”

The Master Plan survey is locatedonline at http://publicinput.com/WestfieldMP. The town also will holdpublic meetings regarding the MasterPlan. More information may be foundat http://www.westfieldnj.gov/futurewestfield.

The DWC’s next board of direc-tors’ meeting open to the generalpublic is scheduled for Monday,March 18, at 7:30 p.m. The DWCoffice is located at 105 Elm Street,on the basement level.

Towns at Different StagesOf Revaluation ProcessBy PAUL J. PEYTON

Specially Written for The Westfield Leader

REGION — Towns throughout theregion are either in the middle of therevaluation process of properties orpreparing for the process.

Fourteen Union County towns, and32 towns across New Jersey, wereidentified as in need of updated prop-erty revaluations. The state has con-centrated on towns that have not gonethrough the process in 25 years ormore. State law requires towns toconduct revaluations every 10 years.Westfield, Fanwood, Garwood,Scotch Plains and Mountainside eachhas not gone through the process inover 30 years.

Westfield is far along in the pro-cess. Property revaluation letters havebeen mailed and the informal hearingprocess is open for appointments un-til the end of February.

Residents will receive letters fromthe town’s tax assessor certifying thetax records with Union County bythe end of March, according to thetown’s website. The appeals processwill begin at the Union County levelin early March. The deadline to filean appeal with the Union CountyBoard of Taxation is Wednesday,May 1.

The revaluation process is beingconducted by Realty Appraisal Com-pany out of West New York, N.J., oneof six companies approved by thestate to conduct the revaluations. Onlyone other company listed on the statewebsite is located in North Jersey,Appraisal Systems, Inc., out ofMorristown. Realty Appraisal alsohas been hired by Fanwood andGarwood to handle their revaluations.Mountainside has contracted withAppraisal Systems, Inc.

Westfield will establish the esti-mated tax rate in June as it awaits thecertified rates from the state andcounty. Estimated property-tax bills,due Thursday, August 1, will be mailedout in late June. The municipal taxrate will be certified by July follow-ing the state and county tax rates.

The town will mail final property-tax bills by Monday, September 30,after receiving the final tax rate certi-fication from the state and the county.

“It’s important to remember thatthe purpose of a revaluation is tospread the tax burden more equitablyamong all property owners, based oncurrent market-rate property values,”said Mayor Shelley Brindle in a pressrelease issued in January of 2018.“While these new appraisals repre-sent a key step in the completion ofthe process, we’d like to remind ev-

eryone that increases in their apprais-als do not necessarily mean a similarincrease in their property taxes. Infact, the expectation is that there willbe both increases and decreases. Theother piece of the formula in calculat-ing property taxes is the tax rate,which is typically not established untilmid-year, after it is certified by thecounty.”

The last revaluation in Fanwoodwas done 32 years ago, according tothe borough’s website.

“New tax maps for the borough arecurrently being reviewed by the Stateof New Jersey. Once approved, therevaluation of properties will begin,”according to the website. “The newassessments must be completed byOctober 1, 2019 and in place for the2020 tax levy.”

“Typically, a revaluation will resultin an increase of property assessment(value), but it does not mean that allproperty taxes will increase. A com-mon misconception is that a revalua-tion is done just to increase propertytaxes. Property taxes are determinedby the municipal, county and localschool district budgets. If these bud-gets increase, but state aid does not,local property taxes will go up.

“Since market conditions changeand assessments rarely change overtime, the relationship between assess-ments and market values become moredistant and must be brought into line,”according to the Fanwood website.

Garwood will be conducting a com-plete revaluation of all properties ef-fective for the tax year 2020, accord-ing to the borough’s website.

“The revaluation is a court orderfrom the Union County Board of Taxa-tion and is approved by the director ofthe Division of Taxation,” accordingto the Garwood website.

Realty Appraisal was scheduled tohold a public forum for Garwoodresidents on Wednesday, February 20,at 7 p.m., at Lincoln School, after thisnewspaper’s press deadline.

Mountainside hired Appraisal Sys-tems, Inc. at its December boroughcouncil meeting. Scotch Plains’ re-valuation will be done in 2021.

Mountainside Mayor PaulMirabelli said in his annual address atthe January 8 reorganization meetingthat the appraisal company will pro-vide a “comprehensive public pre-sentation about all aspects of the re-valuation and will answer any resi-dent questions.”

“Once the date, time, and locationare finalized, we’ll make sure every-one knows about it well in advance,”the mayor said.

Freeholders Honor RetiringEmployees Yuska, Avery

By PAUL J. PEYTONSpecially Written for The Westfield Leader

COUNTY — The Union CountyFreeholders bid farewell last Thurs-day to two long-time employees.

Michael Yuska, director of the De-partment of Administrative Services,has been employed by the countysince August of 1999, when he washired for a position in the purchasingdepartment. He had previously beena sales and inventory manager at afamily-run business, A-1 Machine &Tool.

Mr. Yuska was promoted to direc-tor of the Division of Purchasing in2001. The division handles some 150-plus annual public bids and over17,000 annual purchase orders, “toassure that the expenditure of taxmonies is expedited in a lawful andeconomical manner,” according tohis LinkedIn page.

He became director of administra-tive services in May of 2016 afterserving for several months as actingdirector. The department includes thedivisions of motor vehicles, person-nel and labor relations, purchasing,asset management and labor compli-ance.

Mr. Yuska is relocating to Texasafter having recently been married.

“It’s always been my honor to servehere. I really felt like I was making adifference to the taxpayer, and youcan’t ask for more than that in a job,”he told the freeholders after they pre-sented him with a ceremonial resolu-tion.

Freeholder Angel Estrada said Mr.Yuska always provided answers tofreeholder questions with “no fluff;he gives it to you as it is.”

He said Mr. Yuska “made up a teamof individuals who are very knowl-edgeable and committed to the bet-terment of our taxpayers, which is socritical when it comes to purchas-ing.”

The board also approved a resolu-tion for Wayne Avery on his retire-ment after 16 years with the county.He had served as assistant director ofpublic information. He also has servedas the play-by-play announcer forKean University athletics and as as-sistant athletic director at St. Mary’sHigh School in Elizabeth. He previ-

ously served as the Elizabeth recre-ation supervisor for nearly 39 years,according to his LinkedIn account.

Mr. Avery started his career as asports director at WJDM Radio inElizabeth and later with Cablevision.

During Freeholder comments andreports, Freeholder Chris Hudakpraised Governor Phil Murphy’s sign-ing of legislation that raises NewJersey’s minimum wage to $15 by2024.

“They (Governor and legislativeleaders) should all be commendedbecause this is a great thing. ManyNew Jersey residents struggle withthe minimum wage as it currently is,and I think it is not simply as it hasbeen portrayed as some sort of gift topeople,” Mr. Hudak said. He said itis, “very hard to exist in this state andthis part of the country for less money.”

Freeholder Kimberly Palmieri-Mouded encouraged county residentsto attend one of the training sessionsfor the county’s new voting machinesbeing rolled out this election season.

“They’re really great machines.They are easy to use and efficient. Ido recommend doing a test run,” shesaid, noting they are on display at theColleen Fraser building on NorthAvenue in Westfield as well as theUnion County Courthouse.

“The tutorial is really fast and it’simportant because it is an easy ma-chine but if you haven’t been used todoing it, it would benefit you to do thetest run,” Freeholder Palmieri-Mouded said.

Freeholder Estrada, speaking re-garding the one-year anniversary ofthe mass shooting at MarjoryStoneman Douglas High School inParkland, Fla., said “Florida itself”has done “minimal” to stiffen gunlaws such as background checks.

“But we still, as a country, need tocome together and find some solutionto minimize the loss of individuals(to mass shootings),” FreeholderEstrada said.

The board approved the appoint-ments of Garwood CouncilmanRussell Graham and MountainsideCouncilman Robert W. Messler andBorough Engineer Michael Disko, Jr.to the Union County TransportationAdvisory Board.

Council Exploring Shared-Service Agreements


GARWOOD – Garwood Council-man Marc Lazarow said the boroughcouncil’s finance committee is ex-ploring several shared-services ar-rangements with neighboring townsas the 2019 municipal budget takesshape.

At last Thursday’s council meet-ing, Mr. Lazarow said the commit-tee “has been looking at opportu-nities to improve efficiencies whilecontinuing to provide top-qualityservices,” and has been “openlydiscussing” shared-services agree-ments with Cranford including a“better deal” between Garwood andCranford regarding the buildingand permit and construction de-partment.

He also reported that a similar ar-rangement for municipal courts is be-ing discussed with another, unnamedtown.

Mr. Lazarow announced that twospecial budget meetings, which willbe open to the public, will be held onTuesday, March 12, at 7 p.m., and onTuesday, March 26, at 7 p.m.

In a related budget move, PoliceChief James Wright is seeking anincrease in the fees that his depart-ment can charge utility companies tohave a police vehicle present duringany utility-related road closures. Henoted that surrounding municipali-ties charge utility companies $100per day in vehicle fees for any roadclosures while Garwood charges $50per day. The fee increase is expectedto be voted on at the boroughcouncil’s next meeting. Increasingthose fees, Councilman Lazarowsaid, will keep the borough’s feesconsistent with neighboring munici-palities and increase borough rev-enue.

Mayor Sara Todisco said NJ Tran-sit will conduct a Garwood Stationassessment regarding more one-seatrides to New York City for Garwood.She said she has been working with

the Raritan Valley Line Mayors Alli-ance, which has been pushing formore one-seat rides along the RaritanValley train corridor.

“The problem of 100-year-oldinfrastructure, which was damagedby Superstorm Sandy, that 200,000people depend on each day cannotkeep being ignored,” the mayorsaid.

She also said that if the much-discussed and long-delayed Gate-way Project to create additionalHudson River train tunnels evercomes to fruition, train capacitywould double between Newark andNew York City.

Councilwoman JenniferBlumenstock said the borough’sGreen Team will apply for a $2,000Sustainable Jersey grant to fund theinstallation of a “rain garden” at therecreation complex. She describedthe rain garden as “a garden of na-tive shrubs and flowers planted in asmall depression” that is “designedto hold and soak in rainwater run-off.”

She said rain gardens providebenefits by acting as a “natural fil-ter” for water that is headed to thesewer system and added that thepark’s entrance will “greatly ben-efit” from the run-off absorptionprocess.

Mayor Todisco said the Paperboardsite demolition will result in parts ofNorth Avenue being temporarilyclosed for safety reasons, namely theremaining building’s proximity toelectric power lines, which makesdemolition with passing vehiculartraffic unsafe.

The borough council last week alsounanimously approved a UnionCounty Infrastructure grant applica-tion for $235,000 to assist fundingthree projects: $60,000 worth of re-pairs to the municipal building andthe fire department headquarters and$175,000 for roadwork on New Streetincluding repairs to drainage basins,curbs and paving.

Candlelight Vigil to BeHeld for Ms. Crilly on Sat.

By KATE BROWNESpecially Written for The Westfield Leader

MOUNTAINSIDE — The bor-ough council began its began itsTuesday meeting with an invocationin the memory of Meghan Crilly, asecond-grade teacher at the DeerfieldElementary School who was the vic-tim of a hit and run in Linden onJanuary 20. A candlelight vigil inhonor of Ms. Crilly will be held thisSaturday, February 23, at 5 p.m. Thelocation of the vigil is dependent onthe condition of the fields and will beheld at either the Deerfield Schoolor Borough Hall. The location willbe posted on the community websiteand the sign in front of the municipalbuilding.

The council also issued two proc-lamations. The first honored LucyFromtling as the Mountainside Res-cue Squad Member of the Year. Thesecond acknowledged that March asYouth Art Month and encouraged allresidents to support art programs inlocal schools. The proclamation notesthat the skills developed through artinclude problem solving, creativity,and communication.

The council unanimously voted infavor of a resolution which wouldpermit the sale of a borough-owned lotlocated at 235 Central Avenue. The lotis significantly smaller than the mini-mum-size required for developmentunder the applicable zoning ordinance,according to borough officials. As aresult, it will be offered for sale to theresidents who own the contiguousproperties and is willing to pay thehighest price. The minimum bid forthe lot is $10,000.

There was a second reading of anordinance regarding membership re-quirements and fees for theMountainside Community Pool. Allresidents of Berkeley Heights will beinvited to join the Mountainside poolthis summer and will be offered theresident member rate. Prospectivenew members will no longer be re-quired to obtain a member sponsorand in response to resident demand anew category of membership has beenadded and is available for two adultresidents from the same home whichwill cost $325 a season.

In addition, there was a first read-ing of an ordinance to authorize abond of $625,000 to fund Infrastruc-ture improvements including thefourth phase of the storm sewer up-grade project, pothole repairs, andpaving Barton Drive and PartridgeRoad. The bond will also support thepurchase of a new sound and videosystem for the municipal courtroomand the replacement of the entiremunicipal computer system.

During the council comment por-tion of the meeting, CouncilwomanDeanna Andre acknowledged themembers of Boy Scout Troop 177who recently held their Court of Honorto commend the 126 merit badgesand 25 rank advancements and Coun-cilman Glenn Mortimer urged resi-dents of all ages to participate in themany programs offered at theMountainside library.

Gary Whyte urged residents whowish to honor John Cataldo, a long-time resident who passed away, andsupport the University ofPennsylvania’s research intoFibrodysplasia Officacans Progrssive(FOP) by making donations in Mr.Cataldo’s memory for the purchase of arobotic work station which will be used

to purify DNA and RNA from cellsamples. FOP is a rare disabling geneticcondition which causes bone to form inthe body’s connective tissues.

In other business, the governingbody voted to approve a raffle applica-tion from Benjamin Franklin Elemen-tary School in Westfield, to contribute$300 to Governor Livingston HighSchool’s Project Graduation, and toauthorize the borough’s fire depart-ment to apply for a New Jersey stateVolunteer Fire Assistance Grant.

in New Jersey have full-day kinder-garten and most likely the state willeventually mandate that all the dis-tricts have it.

“Are we shooting ourselves in thefoot?” she inquired, noting that oncelegislation mandates full-day kinder-garten that the district could be grantedfunding.

“Where is the educational proof?”Ms. Grace further commented thatfull-day kindergarten is required.

Resident and former teacher in thedistrict, Jennifer Glackin, who willhave a child enter kindergarten in2020, agrees that full-day kindergar-ten makes for an “easier transition”into first grade.

Ms. Glackin further commentedthat she is “open” to plans that allowfor all students in grades 3 through 5to be together, as she sees benefits inthe form of increased opportunitiesfor teachers to meet, an easier timeaddressing early-intervention issuesand the opportunity for “having moreeyes on the kids.”

“In order to stay current, Cranfordhas to change,” Ms. Glackin com-mented to The Westfield Leader, andadded that she hopes parents and resi-dents can “be open to new possibili-ties.”

to voice opposition and directly op-pose the legislative measure.

Resident Jim Carvalho said theplanning board awarded no bid con-tracts to the planning firm HarborConsultants. Mr. Carvalho said Har-bor Consultants was the firm over-seeing a “condemnation caper” in-volving the municipality condemn-ing downtown businesses througheminent domain. He stated thatCommissioner Mary O’Connor,who sits on the planning board, re-ceived campaign contributions fromHarbor Consultants. Without dis-closing the contributions, he saidMs. O’Connor, as a commissioner,voted to award contracts to HarborConsultants.

“In the most recent election therewas just one partisan race,” Mr.Carvalho said.

He said Harbor Consultants madecampaign donations to a “Democraticpartisan” group “working” to electCommissioner Tom Hannen, Jr.

Mr. Carvalho accused the Demo-cratic majority among the townshipcommissioners of engaging in “pay-to-play” after they awarded no bidcontracts to Harbor Consultants. Mr.Hannen and Ms. Dooley voted onapplications involving Harbor’s ex-pertise as planning board members.

Commissioner Hannen said hewanted “to correct the record,” stat-ing that no money from the localDemocratic organization was usedto finance his most recent cam-paign.

Resident and honorary memberof the Cranford Police Department,Raymond K. Schwartz, was recog-nized by the township committeebefore Tuesday’s meeting.Raymond recently lost his life to abattle with brain cancer. He was 15years old and a freshman at CranfordHigh School.

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Fred T. Rossi for The Scotch Plains-Fanwood TimesHAPPY 50TH ANNIVERSARY...Greg Natic, owner of Scotch Plains MusicCenter, is marking 50 years of running "the biggest little music store in NewJersey.”

Next Redevelopment PhaseTo Focus on E. 2nd St.By FRED T. ROSSI

Specially Written for The Scotch Plains-Fanwood Times

SCOTCH PLAINS – The down-town redevelopment committee’sdecision to designate the East SecondStreet corridor — instead of TerrillRoad — as the next phase of redevel-opment reflected members’ belief thatthe half-mile strip is a logical nextstep after the redevelopment of thecentral business district.

At its meeting last Wednesday, thecommittee voted 11 to 3 to designateEast Second Street, which contains49 properties spread over a nearlynine-acre area, for redevelopment andto ask the township council to autho-rize the planning board to look intowhether the street meets the criteriato be tagged as an Area in Need ofRedevelopment. The committee alsowill include the 1.7-acre lot formerlyoccupied by the Jade Isle restaurantas part of this phase of redevelop-ment even though the property is in-cluded in the Terrill Road phase.

Mayor Alexander Smith, backedby a majority of committee membersincluding Deputy Mayor JoshuaLosardo, also requested that the coun-cil be empowered to invoke eminentdomain on East Second Street, if nec-essary. He reiterated what he has saidnumerous times over the past twoyears that eminent domain was to beused “only in extreme situations,”pointing to a potential situation wheremany property owners are resistingselling their lots and developers arepushing to start their projects.

The committee’s time frame forevaluating the remaining six phasesof the broader downtown area wasquickened by a December court or-der that called on the township toexamine those remaining phases ofthe downtown redevelopment planand identify additional propertieswhere higher-density housing units

could be built and to have plans inplace by the middle of next year.Developers’ proposals for the rede-velopment of the first phase, centeredon the central business district, cur-rently are being evaluated by town-ship professionals.

The second phase, which runs alongPark Avenue from Front Street toRoute 22, is dominated by the Snuffy’sPantagis property, which has alreadybeen declared an Area in Need ofRedevelopment and may be devel-oped into a transit hub that wouldserve NJ Transit bus commuters andalso include housing and commercialbuildings.

The East Second Street corridor isslated for housing density of 15 unitsper acre, according to professionalplanner Katherine O’Kane of HarborConsultants, which would mean 131new housing units on the street, with26 of them being tagged as affordableunits. The 10-acre Terrill Road corri-dor between the Watchung border tothe north and the Fanwood border tothe south contains 28 properties.Mayor Smith said several of the busi-nesses on Terrill Road are, in contrastto East Second Street, relatively newand owned by national or regionalchains, including an auto parts store,an auto-service center and an Italianice restaurant, and he wondered whatincentive those owners would have tosell their properties to a developer.

Township Redevelopment Coordi-nator Thomas Strowe said there aremore properties and businesses onEast Second Street than on TerrillRoad and called East Second Street a“more walkable” thoroughfare thathas “lots of potential.” He did con-cede that the Terrill Road corridorcould benefit from the soon-to-openmovie theater and shopping center atthe former Sears Roebuck properties

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Downtown Music StoreMarks 50 Years In Business

By FRED T. ROSSISpecially Written for The Scotch Plains-Fanwood Times

SCOTCH PLAINS – What’s beendescribed as “the biggest little musicstore in New Jersey” is marking its50th anniversary this year, and GregNatic, owner of the Scotch PlainsMusic Center, says he is looking for-ward to continuing to teach the nextgeneration of musicians.

Mr. Natic was honored earlier thismonth by the township council for hisfive decades in business on Park Av-enue. Speaking to The Scotch Plains-Fanwood Times, Mr. Natic, a jazzpianist himself, described the circui-tous route that led him to Park Avenuein Scotch Plains. Prior to 1969, Mr.Natic, who grew up in Kearny, led ajazz trio that traveled throughout theUnited States, Canada and SouthAmerica and also performed forBroadway shows.

He recalled that while on the roadin the latter 1960s, several opportu-nities fell through just as he and hiswife, Mary Ellen, were starting afamily. He eventually contacted afriend who lived in Scotch Plainswho, after hearing what was going

on with Mr. Natic, urged him tocome to Scotch Plains. Mr. Natictold The Times his plan was to get themusic store up and running for fouryears and then let his wife run itwhile he resumed his pursuit of amusic career. Instead, “50 years later,here I am.”

Back in the store’s early days, Mr.Natic recalls a downtown businessdistrict different from today. He tickedoff a list of shops — ranging from anappliance center, a hardware store, achildren’s shoe store — that are longgone — as is the old municipal build-ing that was situated where the mu-nicipal parking lot is now located.“We had a pretty good retail center,”he said. He said he has a photographfrom the early 1970s of his young sonwalking down Park Avenue to WallisStationery, one of the few downtownestablishments from yesteryear —besides John’s Meat Market — that isstill in business.

After 35 years at 409 Park Avenue,the business expanded in 2003 to itspresent location directly across fromthe municipal building. “It’s a differ-

Susan M. Dougherty for The Scotch Plains-Fanwood TimesMAMMA MIA!...The Cranford Dramatic Club’s production of Mamma Mia! runs through March 2, Fridays andSaturdays, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, at 2 p.m. The theater is located at 78 Winans Avenue in Cranford.

Fred T. Rossi for The Scotch Plains-Fanwood TimesFIRE DEPARTMENT MILESTONE...Scotch Plains Mayor Alexander Smithswears in two new fire department battalion chiefs – Joseph Rodrigues and DanielBiglin – at this week's township council meeting.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

Council Okays East Second StreetRedevelopment Investigation


SCOTCH PLAINS – The town-ship council on Tuesday voted to au-thorize the planning board to under-take a study into whether the EastSecond Street corridor meets the cri-teria to be designated as an Area inNeed of Redevelopment.

The council’s action follows thedowntown redevelopmentcommittee’s decision last week todesignate the East Second Street cor-ridor — instead of Terrill Road — asthe next phase of redevelopment.Thomas Strowe, the township’s rede-velopment coordinator, explained atTuesday’s meeting that redevelop-

ment plans will be moving faster thananticipated thanks to a Decembercourt order requesting the townshipexamine the remaining six phases ofthe downtown redevelopment planand identify additional propertieswhere higher-density housing unitscould be built. Those plans must be inplace by the end of June 2020.

Developers’ proposals for the re-development of the first phase, cen-tered on the central business district,currently are being evaluated by town-ship professionals. Mr. Strowe saidthe Terrill Road property where theformer Jade Isle restaurant is locatedalso will be part of the next phase ofredevelopment.

After the planning board completesits investigation of the 49 East SecondStreet properties, it will send its reportand recommendations to the council,which could adopt the planning boardreport and then ask the downtownredevelopment committee to finalizea formal plan for any affected proper-ties, much the same process as wasfollowed in the first phase. MayorAlexander Smith also requested thatthe council be empowered to invokeeminent domain on East Second Street,if necessary. His position was sup-ported by Deputy Mayor JoshuaLosardo, who said that while the rami-fications of eminent domain are wellunderstood, its inclusion in a redevel-opment plan gives the township “le-verage” as the process moves forward.

In a related move, an ordinancesetting out the redevelopment plan fora nearly three-acre parcel of propertyon Jerusalem Road was introduced onTuesday. The development will con-sist of 18 apartment units in a three-story building, two stacked townhomesand 25 townhouse units. A detailedpresentation and a public hearing onthe ordinance will be held at thecouncil’s Tuesday, March 5 meeting.

In other business, the council alsointroduced an ordinance setting outsewer utility rates for this year. Apublic hearing will be held on March5. After a brief presentation by theSenior Citizen Housing Corporation’sMike Michalisin and Kenneth Shatten,the council gave its approval to thefacility’s 2019 budget. The councilalso approved a special use permit forthe St. Patrick’s Day event co-spon-sored by the Darby Road restaurantand the local police athletic league,taking place March 15, 16 and 17.

Township Manager Al Mirabellasaid the 2019 township budget is ex-pected to be introduced next month,

Fanwood Council Honors Judge,Swears In Three Firefighters

By KIMBERLY A. BROADWELLSpecially Written for The Scotch Plains-Fanwood Times

FANWOOD — Heartfelt and sin-cere thanks were given duringTuesday’s regular borough councilmeeting to Judge Leland McGee, alongtime Fanwood resident, for his10 years of service on the board ofSocial Justice Matters. JudgeMcGee, who was named Volunteerof the Month, received a framedcharcoal drawing of the borough’s

train station in recognition of hisservice, which is a customary prac-tice for the governing body ofFanwood.

Mayor Colleen Mahr thankedJudge McGee on behalf of the entiregoverning body and acknowledgedthe hard work and dedication dem-onstrated by Judge McGee and theother members of Social JusticeMatters, a Fanwood-Scotch Plainscommunity group that has facilitateddialogue following incidents of dis-crimination in the community. Shethanked him for all the various pro-grams, lectures and prayer servicesheld by the group over the past de-cade. In addition, she noted that themost recent Scotch Plains-FanwoodMartin Luther King, Jr. Day of Ser-vice, held January 21, was a verysuccessful event, in which the grouphad an integral part.

Upon accepting the honor, JudgeMcGee said that he was proud to bepart of such a group and that it beganin 2009 after local residents receivedsome hate mail. He stated that he andother members of the communityformed the group in an effort to bringpositive change to the community. Itwas created to help battle racism andall forms of discrimination againstpeople for their ethnicity or religiousbeliefs. He noted that there are repre-sentatives from the Scotch Plains and

Fanwood municipal governments, aswell as school administrators and rep-resentatives from the localministerium.

In other business, three currentmembers of the borough’s rescuesquad were sworn in as new mem-bers of Fanwood’s Fire Department.Fanwood Fire Chief John Piccolastood with the three new firefighters,Nicholas Tripodi, Adam Miksis andDante Clausen, as Mayor Mahrswore them in and thanked them fortheir continued service to the bor-ough.

Councilwoman Patricia Walsh, whois the council liaison to the FanwoodFire Department, noted that the de-partment received 19 calls during themonth of January. She added that onewas a joint call to a house fire inScotch Plains but that there were noinjuries.

Additionally, it was noted that Bor-ough Historian Joe Nagy, a Fanwoodresident for more than 50 years and alongtime volunteer, just celebrated his96th birthday. Last year, Mr. Nagy wasgiven an honorary “Key to the City” forall his volunteerism to the borough. Mr.Nagy also is credited with helping tostart TV35, the local Fanwood station.

The next Fanwood Council meet-ing is scheduled for Monday, March4, at 7 p.m., in Borough Hall, locatedat 75 North Martine Avenue.

Courtesy of Borough of FanwoodADVOCATE FOR JUSTICE...Judge Leland McGee, a longtime Fanwood resi-dent, at podium, is honored as Volunteer of the Month Tuesday by the borough’sgoverning body. He was recognized for his active role with Social Justice Matters.Pictured at right are Mayor Colleen Mahr and Councilman Anthony Carter.

PPPPPAAAAAGE INDEXGE INDEXGE INDEXGE INDEXGE INDEXRegional ........ 2-3Editorial ........ 4-5Police ............ 16Community ... 6-7, 16Education ...... 15

Sports ............ 9-14Real Estate .... 8-14Classifieds ..... 14A&E .............. 17-18

Scotch Plains - Fanwood Times onlyPage 8 Thursday, February 21, 2019 The Westfield Leader and The Scotch Plains – Fanwood TIMES A Watchung Communications, Inc. Publication

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DEVELOPMENTREAL ESTATE LAND USE

Affordable-Housing GroupWants to Lobby Legislators

Freeholders Honor RetiringEmployees Yuska, Avery


SCOTCH PLAINS — Thetownship’s newly-formed affordable-housing advisory committee plans athree-pronged effort to influence statelegislators about what township offi-cials feel is excessive affordable-hous-ing mandates that have been imposedon municipalities by courts in recentyears.

At the committee’s second meetingheld last Wednesday, Deputy MayorJoshua Losardo, the group’s vice-chairman, outlined some of thecommittee’s initial goals, which wereput together after consultations withits two dozen members. The first is toboost public awareness of how af-fordable housing is being imple-mented in New Jersey. In ScotchPlains’ case, a court settlement withdevelopers will result in some 450affordable-housing units, along withabout 2,500 market-rate housing units,being built over the next six years.

Mayor Alexander Smith said hewants to make certain that residentsand legislators know that, “we’re for[affordable housing], but want a rea-sonable process” for putting it intoplace. Mr. Losardo agreed, sayingthat both political parties “agreethere’s a place for affordable hous-ing; we want to get state legislators tofocus on this.”

A second aim of the committee willbe to educate the public about theissue, with a focus on the environ-mental and infrastructure impacts ofmore housing as well as the impactson the township’s first responders.The third will be to develop an actionplan that will include contacting andlobbying state legislators to enact alegislative solution that is “more town-specific” instead of a “one-size-fits-all” remedy that is being imposed bythe courts, Mr. Losardo said.

Three subcommittees will beformed to work on each of the goals,which will be announced at thecommittee’s next meeting on Wednes-day, March 13.

Mayor Smith said he remains un-sure of when all the new housing —which is slated for the downtown, theBowcraft Amusement Park, theformer Parker Gardens site and sev-eral other smaller properties — willactually be built. He pointed out thatthe Bowcraft site has been earmarkedfor housing for 20 years, adding, “I’llbelieve it when I see a shovel goinginto the ground.”

He said the chances of rolling backthe township’s current housing obli-gations are “very slim,” but said hisgoal is to “try to impact” the nextround of housing obligations so “nexttime, we don’t wind up with another450” affordable-housing units.

By PAUL J. PEYTONSpecially Written for The Scotch Plains-Fanwood Times

COUNTY — The Union CountyFreeholders bid farewell last Thurs-day to two long-time employees.

Michael Yuska, director of the De-partment of Administrative Services,has been employed by the countysince August of 1999, when he washired for a position in the purchasingdepartment. He had previously beena sales and inventory manager at afamily-run business, A-1 Machine &Tool.

Mr. Yuska was promoted to direc-tor of the Division of Purchasing in2001. The division handles some 150-plus annual public bids and over17,000 annual purchase orders, “toassure that the expenditure of taxmonies is expedited in a lawful andeconomical manner,” according tohis LinkedIn page.

He became director of administra-tive services in May of 2016 afterserving for several months as actingdirector. The department includes thedivisions of motor vehicles, person-nel and labor relations, purchasing,asset management and labor compli-ance.

Mr. Yuska is relocating to Texasafter having recently been married.

“It’s always been my honor to servehere. I really felt like I was making adifference to the taxpayer, and youcan’t ask for more than that in a job,”he told the freeholders after they pre-sented him with a ceremonial resolu-tion.

Freeholder Angel Estrada said Mr.Yuska always provided answers tofreeholder questions with “no fluff;he gives it to you as it is.”

He said Mr. Yuska “made up a teamof individuals who are very knowl-edgeable and committed to the bet-terment of our taxpayers, which is socritical when it comes to purchas-ing.”

The board also approved a resolu-tion for Wayne Avery on his retire-ment after 16 years with the county.He had served as assistant director ofpublic information. He also has servedas the play-by-play announcer forKean University athletics and as as-sistant athletic director at St. Mary’sHigh School in Elizabeth. He previ-

ously served as the Elizabeth recre-ation supervisor for nearly 39 years,according to his LinkedIn account.

Mr. Avery started his career as asports director at WJDM Radio inElizabeth and later with Cablevision.

During Freeholder comments andreports, Freeholder Chris Hudakpraised Governor Phil Murphy’s sign-ing of legislation that raises NewJersey’s minimum wage to $15 by2024.

“They (Governor and legislativeleaders) should all be commendedbecause this is a great thing. ManyNew Jersey residents struggle withthe minimum wage as it currently is,and I think it is not simply as it hasbeen portrayed as some sort of gift topeople,” Mr. Hudak said. He said itis, “very hard to exist in this state andthis part of the country for less money.”

Freeholder Kimberly Palmieri-Mouded encouraged county residentsto attend one of the training sessionsfor the county’s new voting machinesbeing rolled out this election season.

“They’re really great machines.They are easy to use and efficient. Ido recommend doing a test run,” shesaid, noting they are on display at theColleen Fraser building on NorthAvenue in Westfield as well as theUnion County Courthouse.

“The tutorial is really fast and it’simportant because it is an easy ma-chine but if you haven’t been used todoing it, it would benefit you to do thetest run,” Freeholder Palmieri-Mouded said.

Freeholder Estrada, speaking re-garding the one-year anniversary ofthe mass shooting at MarjoryStoneman Douglas High School inParkland, Fla., said “Florida itself”has done “minimal” to stiffen gunlaws such as background checks.

“But we still, as a country, need tocome together and find some solutionto minimize the loss of individuals(to mass shootings),” FreeholderEstrada said.

The board approved the appoint-ments of Garwood CouncilmanRussell Graham and MountainsideCouncilman Robert W. Messler andBorough Engineer Michael Disko, Jr.to the Union County TransportationAdvisory Board.

Towns at Different StagesOf Revaluation ProcessBy PAUL J. PEYTON

Specially Written for The Scotch Plains-Fanwood Times

REGION — Towns throughout theregion are either in the middle of therevaluation process of properties orpreparing for the process.

Fourteen Union County towns, and32 towns across New Jersey, wereidentified as in need of updated prop-erty revaluations. The state has con-centrated on towns that have not gonethrough the process in 25 years ormore. State law requires towns toconduct revaluations every 10 years.Westfield, Fanwood, Garwood,Scotch Plains and Mountainside eachhas not gone through the process inover 30 years.

Westfield is far along in the pro-cess. Property revaluation letters havebeen mailed and the informal hearingprocess is open for appointments un-til the end of February.

Residents will receive letters fromthe town’s tax assessor certifying thetax records with Union County by theend of March, according to the town’swebsite. The appeals process willbegin at the Union County level inearly March. The deadline to file anappeal with the Union County Boardof Taxation is Wednesday, May 1.

The revaluation process is beingconducted by Realty Appraisal Com-pany out of West New York, N.J., oneof six companies approved by thestate to conduct the revaluations. Onlyone other company listed on the statewebsite is located in North Jersey,Appraisal Systems, Inc., out ofMorristown. Realty Appraisal alsohas been hired by Fanwood andGarwood to handle their revaluations.Mountainside has contracted withAppraisal Systems, Inc.

Westfield will establish the esti-mated tax rate in June as it awaits thecertified rates from the state andcounty. Estimated property-tax bills,due Thursday, August 1, will bemailed out in late June. The munici-pal tax rate will be certified by Julyfollowing the state and county taxrates.

The town will mail final property-tax bills by Monday, September 30,after receiving the final tax rate certi-fication from the state and the county.

“It’s important to remember that thepurpose of a revaluation is to spreadthe tax burden more equitably amongall property owners, based on currentmarket-rate property values,” saidMayor Shelley Brindle in a press re-lease issued in January of 2018. “Whilethese new appraisals represent a keystep in the completion of the process,we’d like to remind everyone that in-creases in their appraisals do not nec-essarily mean a similar increase intheir property taxes. In fact, the expec-tation is that there will be both in-creases and decreases. The other pieceof the formula in calculating propertytaxes is the tax rate, which is typicallynot established until mid-year, after itis certified by the county.”

The last revaluation in Fanwoodwas done 32 years ago, according tothe borough’s website.

“New tax maps for the borough arecurrently being reviewed by the State

of New Jersey. Once approved, therevaluation of properties will begin,”according to the website. “The newassessments must be completed byOctober 1, 2019 and in place for the2020 tax levy.”

“Typically, a revaluation will resultin an increase of property assessment(value), but it does not mean that allproperty taxes will increase. A com-mon misconception is that a revalua-tion is done just to increase propertytaxes. Property taxes are determinedby the municipal, county and localschool district budgets. If these bud-gets increase, but state aid does not,local property taxes will go up.

“Since market conditions changeand assessments rarely change overtime, the relationship between assess-ments and market values become moredistant and must be brought into line,”according to the Fanwood website.

Garwood will be conducting a com-plete revaluation of all properties ef-fective for the tax year 2020, accord-ing to the borough’s website.

“The revaluation is a court orderfrom the Union County Board of Taxa-tion and is approved by the director ofthe Division of Taxation,” accordingto the Garwood website.

Realty Appraisal was scheduled tohold a public forum for Garwoodresidents on Wednesday, February 20,at 7 p.m., at Lincoln School, after thisnewspaper’s press deadline.

Mountainside hired Appraisal Sys-tems, Inc. at its December boroughcouncil meeting. Scotch Plains’ re-valuation will be done in 2021.

Mountainside Mayor PaulMirabelli said in his annual address atthe January 8 reorganization meetingthat the appraisal company will pro-vide a “comprehensive public pre-sentation about all aspects of the re-valuation and will answer any resi-dent questions.”

“Once the date, time, and locationare finalized, we’ll make sure every-one knows about it well in advance,”the mayor said.

Courtesy of Mercedes Fol-OkamotoANOTHER DEMOLITION...A house on Scutter Road in Westfield has beendemolished. To make room for a new home, many mature trees were cut down.

Courtesy of Borough of FanwoodVOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTERS SWORN IN...Mayor Colleen Mahr swears inthree new recruits to the Fanwood Volunteer Fire Department. They are, picturedleft to right, Nick Tripodi, Adam Miksis and Dante Clausen. Chief John Piccola,far right, looks on, as does Councilwoman Trisha Walsh. The trio will be in thenext class at the Union County Fire Academy.

ent business” now than when he firststarted out, Mr. Natic said. “We had agood retail business in the 1970s and1980s,” he recalled. “There were nomusic centers, no Amazon.” He re-members plenty of musicians comingto the store for their equipment.“We’ve always been a mom-and-popstore. Nowadays, we’re predomi-nantly a teaching studio” in additionto servicing instruments and offeringplenty of sheet music and instruc-tional books.

The secret to his success? “An in-credible amount of hard work,” Mr.Natic said. He’ll turn 74 in May, and“there’s no way I’d do it again thisway.” Up until the mid-1980s, he saidhe would supplement his family’s in-come by playing club dates, wed-

dings, bar mitzvahs and the like, somuch so that he joked, “I have verylittle recollection of my 30s and 40s.”Even his children recall him beingaway a good deal of the time backthen, he added.

The late Pat DiNizio, a ScotchPlains native and leader of TheSmithereens, was a long-time cus-tomer and friend, Mr. Natic said. MarcShaiman, a former student at theMusic Center, went on to composemusic for movies, television and the-ater and won a Grammy, an Emmyand a Tony and has been nominatedfor seven Oscars.

Mr. Natic says he has vague plansto retire at some point, but right now,“there’s no timetable. I have too manythings going on.”


Music Ctr. 50th Anniversary

Candlelight Vigil to BeHeld for Ms. Crilly on Sat.

By KATE BROWNESpecially Written for The Westfield Leader

MOUNTAINSIDE — The boroughcouncil began its began its Tuesdaymeeting with an invocation in thememory of Meghan Crilly, a second-grade teacher at the Deerfield El-ementary School who was the victimof a hit and run in Linden on January20. A candlelight vigil in honor of Ms.Crilly will be held this Saturday, Feb-ruary 23, at 5 p.m. The location of thevigil is dependent on the condition ofthe fields and will be held at either theDeerfield School or Borough Hall.The location will be posted on thecommunity website and the sign infront of the municipal building.

The council also issued two proc-lamations. The first honored LucyFromtling as the Mountainside Res-cue Squad Member of the Year.The second acknowledged thatMarch as Youth Art Month andencouraged all residents to sup-port art programs in local schools.The proclamation notes that theskills developed through art includeproblem solving, creativity, andcommunication.

The council unanimously votedin favor of a resolution which wouldpermit the sale of a borough-ownedlot located at 235 Central Avenue.The lot is significantly smaller thanthe minimum-size required for de-velopment under the applicable zon-ing ordinance, according to bor-ough officials. As a result, it will beoffered for sale to the residents whoown the contiguous properties andis willing to pay the highest price.The minimum bid for the lot is$10,000.

There was a second reading of anordinance regarding membership re-quirements and fees for theMountainside Community Pool. Allresidents of Berkeley Heights will beinvited to join the Mountainside poolthis summer and will be offered theresident member rate. Prospectivenew members will no longer be re-quired to obtain a member sponsorand in response to resident demand anew category of membership has beenadded and is available for two adultresidents from the same home whichwill cost $325 a season.

In addition, there was a first read-ing of an ordinance to authorize abond of $625,000 to fund Infra-structure improvements includingthe fourth phase of the storm sewerupgrade project, pothole repairs,and paving Barton Drive and Par-tridge Road. The bond will alsosupport the purchase of a new soundand video system for the municipalcourtroom and the replacement ofthe entire municipal computer sys-tem.

During the council comment por-tion of the meeting, CouncilwomanDeanna Andre acknowledged themembers of Boy Scout Troop 177who recently held their Court of Honor

to commend the 126 merit badgesand 25 rank advancements and Coun-cilman Glenn Mortimer urged resi-dents of all ages to participate in themany programs offered at theMountainside library.

Gary Whyte urged residents whowish to honor John Cataldo, a long-time resident who passed away, andsupport the University ofPennsylvania’s research intoFibrodysplasia Officacans Progrssive(FOP) by making donations in Mr.Cataldo’s memory for the purchaseof a robotic work station which willbe used to purify DNA and RNA fromcell samples. FOP is a rare disablinggenetic condition which causes boneto form in the body’s connective tis-sues.

In other business, the governingbody voted to approve a raffle appli-cation from Benjamin Franklin El-ementary School in Westfield, to con-tribute $300 to Governor LivingstonHigh School’s Project Graduation,and to authorize the borough’s firedepartment to apply for a New Jer-sey state Volunteer Fire AssistanceGrant.


SP Councilwith a public hearing and vote set forTuesday, April 16. He reported that heis still “fine-tuning” the numbers forthis year’s spending plan and receivingfeedback from council members as well.

The council also rejected bids forthe Brookside Park playground andrestroom improvements, with Mr.Mirabella saying all bids receivedwere “well above” what townshipengineers had estimated. He said thespecifications will be tweaked beforenew bids are requested.

At the start of the meeting, FireChief John Lestarchick introducednew officers for his department aswell as a slate of new firefighters.“We’ve been doing a great job re-cruiting,” he said before witnessingthe swearing-in of Joseph Rodriguesand Daniel Biglin as new battalionchiefs and Dennis Hercel, WilliamBowman, Robert Villegas andMichelle Weinstock as captains.Samantha Grzywacz, Emily Kilgore,Joseph Denman, Kyle Sobocinski,Christian Rosa and Austin Pencingeralso were sworn in as the department’snewest firefighters.


Redevelopmenton Route 22. Committee memberColleen Gialanella called East Sec-ond Street “the logical next step,”pointing to its streetscape and its prox-imity to residents. “What area areresidents more likely to walk to?” sheasked in comparing East SecondStreet to Terrill Road.

With the possibility that the town-ship will be successful in getting stateofficials to designate Terrill Road asa truck route and thus removing trucktraffic from Park Avenue, Police ChiefTed Conley said that if constructionwas taking place simultaneously onPark Avenue and Terrill Road, thepotential for heavy traffic on bothstreets could be problematic. He urgedleaving Terrill Road’s redevelopmentuntil after trucks and the public getused to having larger vehicles on thatroad instead of starting a major projectimmediately.

UPGRADING FRAZEE HOUSE....The Fanwood-Scotch Plains Rotary FrazeeHouse committee will present an update regarding the Frazee House restorationon Thursday, February 28, from 6 to 9 p.m. The presentation will be held at theScotch Hills Country Club, located at 820 Jerusalem Road, Scotch Plains. Thecommunity is invited to attend.

Christina M. Hinke for The Scotch Plains-Fanwood TimesMORE HOUSING...A three-story, mixed-use development consisting of 24 apart-ments and a restaurant is in the midst of being built at 115 Walnut Avenue in Cranford.

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Peek at the Week

By Paul Peyton of The Leader/Times

In Politics

Peyton's

Sweeney Won’t Post Bill toLower Public Worker Costs

Senate President Stephen Sweeney(D-3rd, Gloucester) has said he wouldnot schedule Senate Bill No. 2606 fora vote, according to a njbiz.com re-port. The legislation would eliminateChapter 78, signed by former Gover-nor Chris Christie in 2011, that re-quires public employees and retireesto field a larger share of their healthcare premiums. “Those premiums arephased in during a multi-year periodand depend on the participant’s in-come level,” according to the report.

“I will not post the bill for a votebecause the taxpayers of New Jerseydeserve the major structural reformsneeded to fix the fiscal crisis,” Sen.Sweeney said in a statement isuued tonjbiz.com. “They cannot afford it andpublic employees won’t realize anylasting benefits.”

Christie Touts Wife As’20 Candidate for Congress

Former Governor Chris Christie istouting his wife, Mary Pat Christie, asa potential challenger to freshmanCongresswoman Mikie Sherrill (D-11th, Montclair) in New Jersey’s 11thCongressional district next year, ac-cording to a New Jersey Globe report.

“Listen, the state would be incred-ibly lucky if Mary Pat Christie wouldrun for office,” Mr. Christie said, ac-cording to the report. “I’ve been try-ing to convince her that maybe sheshould run for Congress. I think shewould be fabulous.” The commentswere made during Mr. Christie’s booksigning at The Eagleton Institute ofPolitics at Rutgers University.

Van Drew Hopes Trump’sBipartisanship Is Genuine

Congressman Jeff Van Drew (D-2nd, Cape May) released the follow-ing statement in response to Presi-dent Donald Trump’s State of theUnion Address on February 5:

“I do hope President Trump’s callsfor bipartisanship are genuine, and Ialso hope he takes the actions neededto unify the country. I have alwayssaid that bipartisanship is the onlyway to move our country forward andget past the political gridlock. TheState of the Union was well done thisyear. You could feel the energy fromboth sides of the aisle. I hope ourgovernment can carry that energy for-ward to work together on the issuesthat face our country. The people ofSouth Jersey are counting on me. Thepeople of America are counting on us.”

Murphy to Vote For PermanentFracking Ban for Delaware River

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphyhas announced that he will cast a voteas the chairman of the Delaware RiverBasin Commission (DRBC) in sup-port of a watershed-wide permanentban on fracking and its associatedactivities, including a ban of waste-water storage, processing and dis-charges in the Basin, and a ban onwater exports from the watershed tofuel fracking elsewhere.

“New Jersey is reversing course(from the Christie Administration),”Gov. Murphy said at a press confer-ence on the banks of the Delaware inPhillipsburg, according to anorthjersey.com report. “Frackingputs our health and safety and thehealth and safety of our environmentin our communities at risk. It is adirect threat to our water and runscounter to our values.”

Monmouth Poll: Only 4 in 10Favor Second Term for TrumpIn the run-up to 2020, fewer than

four in 10 voters back a second term forPresident Donald Trump, a newMonmouth University Poll finds a siz-able number of Republican voters whowould like to see Mr. Trump face aPrimary challenge, but few would actu-ally vote against him. On the Demo-cratic side, voters say that they want anominee who can defeat the President,even if it means selecting someone theydon’t quite agree with on the issues.

Just under four-in-10 registeredvoters (38 percent) say that Mr. Trumpshould be re-elected in 2020. A ma-jority (57 percent) say it is time forsomeone new in the Oval Office.

According to the poll, among a pos-sible field of 19 announced and poten-tial contenders, former Vice-PresidentJoe Biden currently has the support of29 percent of Democratic voters, fol-lowed by 16 percent for Vermont Sen.Bernie Sanders and 11 percent forCalifornia Sen. Kamala Harris fol-lowed by Massachusetts Sen. Eliza-beth Warren (8 percent), former TexasCongressman Beto O’Rourke (7 per-cent), former New York Mayor MikeBloomberg (4 percent), New JerseySen. Cory Booker (4 percent), andMinnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar (2percent). The other 11 candidates askedabout in the survey receive supportfrom no more than 1 percent of Demo-cratic voters at this time.

EAGLE SCOUT ETHAN HOM... Scoutmaster Eric Deutchman delivers theEagle Scout oath to Eagle candidate Ethan Hom of Westfield at his Eagle ScoutCourt of Honor on February 11. Ethan’s Eagle Project was the construction,placement and loading of four heavy-duty shelves for the Westfield High SchoolTheater Department.

Quattrocchi to Enter RaceFor Dist. 22 Assembly Seat

REGION — Former GarwoodMayor Quattrocchi has announcedher candidacy for state Assembly inthe 22nd Legislative District.

Ms. Quattrocchi attended lastweek’s Union County RepublicanCommittee annual Lincoln Day cel-ebration at Gran Centurions inClark. Festivities included the pre-sentation of awards recognizingelected officials past and presentand outstanding volunteers for theirservice. Also in attendance wereAssembly members Jon Bramnickof Westfield and Nancy Munoz ofSummit, both seeking reelection rep-resenting the 21st Assembly Dis-trict.

District 22 includes the UnionCounty towns of Clark, Fanwood,Linden, Plainfield, Rahway, ScotchPlains, and Winfield as well as twotowns each in Somerset andMiddlesex counties. Now residing inClark, Ms. Quattrocchi held theelected office of Mayor of Garwoodfrom January of 2011 through De-cember of 2014. She has also servedas a Union County Republican StateCommitteewoman, a Garwood coun-cilwoman and Union County Domes-tic Violence Crisis Intervention TeamLeader.

Ms. Quattrocchi said she is lookingforward to meeting residents of the

22nd District in the coming months todiscuss educational issues, telecom-munication and tax problems in NewJersey. She says that the currentMurphy administration is not think-ing of what the residents can affordwhen they endeavor the raise cash tosupport their programs.

“The rain tax is an example of anoutrageous plan that will have an un-fair ‘drizzle down’ effect draining thelittle guys pocketbooks,” she says.

Patricia Quattrocchi

SAGE Prepares for 2019March for Meals

SUMMIT – City officials and mem-bers of community organizations areinvited to join SAGE Eldercare inMarch as it participates in the 17thannual March for Meals – a month-long, nationwide coming together oflocal community organizations, busi-nesses, government officials and car-ing individuals to ensure thathomebound and vulnerable olderadults are not forgotten.

Participants have included StateSenator Tom Kean Jr. (R-21st,Westfield), Summit Mayor NoraRadest, police chiefs from Summit, NewProvidence, Berkeley Heights, Spring-field and Mountainside and local gov-ernment officials and volunteers.

Established in 1966, SAGE’s Mealson Wheels is the oldest continuouslyrun home delivery meal program inNew Jersey. In 2018, approximately300 volunteers delivered more than47,000 meals to 232 people in UnionCounty (Berkeley Heights,

Mountainside, New Providence,Springfield, and Summit), Essex County(Millburn and Short Hills), and MorrisCounty (Chatham and Madison).

“The services that we provide olderadults in our area are critical; it’s not justa warm meal, but also a friendly visit,sometimes the only human contact aperson gets the whole day,” said MarianneKranz, SAGE director of Meals onWheels. “Together, we can keep olderadults living independently, healthier athome and feeling more connected totheir community as they age.”

For more information about par-ticipating in March for Meals, con-tact Ms. Kranz at (908) 598-5514 oremail: [email protected].

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BRING RESULTS

Eagle Scout Court of HonorHeld for Ethan Hom

WESTFIELD — Eagle Scout can-didate Ethan Hom, of Troop 273, asenior at Westfield High School, cel-ebrated becoming an Eagle Scout athis Eagle Court of Honor on Febru-ary 11 in front of an enthusiasticcrowd of 60 scouts, adult scout lead-ers, family members, friends andneighbors at Jefferson ElementarySchool. The speakers included theTroop Committee Chair and Ethan’sdad Ed Hom, Unit Leader StanKrieger, Scoutmaster EricDeutchman, Master of CeremoniesAlan Devitt, and Ethan.

Ethan’s Eagle Scout project wasthe construction, placement and load-ing of four heavy-duty shelves for theWestfield High School Theater De-partment in October.

Ed Hom spoke about how the scout-ing model led to continuous opportu-nities for leadership and growth. Hetold a story about how Ethan, when hewas 12 and leading a group of 11-year-old scouts in an Adirondack,called the group to order by saying,“First Years! Everyone in thisAdirondack has to pull his own weightbecause your mom isn’t here to pull itfor you. And if you can’t pull yourown weight, then get the bleep out ofthis Adirondack.”

Mr. Krieger talked about the re-turn on investment for the futureEagle Scouts in the room being 1,000times greater than the investment.He spoke about the Eagle Scouts heknew from his Scout days now doinggreat things with their lives and ca-reers.

Scoutmaster Deutchman, an EagleScout for 50 years, delivered the EagleCharge to Ethan, including the oath,“On my honor I will do my best, tomake my training an example, to makemy rank and my influence, countstrongly for better scouting, and to bea better citizen.” He also read a letter

from Mayor Shelley Brindle to Ethan,which read in part, “All of your ef-forts that culminated in this outstand-ing achievement will undoubtedlylead to other successes and accom-plishments throughout your life.”

Mr. Devitt talked about the Homsbeing at every trip, and how much funit was to have Ethan on the trips, andhow the entire time he was in thetroop Ethan was a kid and an adult.

“Ethan would make his own sling-shots, but he only used them for fun,not for mischief,” Mr. Devitt said.

One of the special moments of thenight occurred when Ethan presentedthe Eagle Advisor pin to ScoutmasterDeutchman.

Ethan talked about how hisScoutmaster made the troop thespecial place that it is, how onmany occasions ScoutmasterDeutchman stopped by his houseto sign a blue card or speak to hisfather and ended up staying for acouple of hours.

Ethan capped the night by thankingthe many people who helped him inhis scouting experience.

“Many people have asked me themost important things I have learnedfrom scouting. This question alwaysthrew me off because I have learnedso many things through scouting thatI would never had learned anywhereelse. From how to light road flares onthe side of the highway, sink kayaks,start fires with bug spray, (and) leadtroop meetings. Scouting has taughtme how to lead, fail, communicate,and learn about the outdoors,” Ethansaid.

Ethan and the troop would like tothank Gino at Home Depot ofGarwood, Westfield Lumber andHome Center, Bartell’s Farm andGarden Supply, and Hershey’s Subsand Deli for supporting his EagleScout project.



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VISITING COUNTY EMS...Freeholder Kimberly Palmieri-Mouded visits the Union County EMS headquarters inWestfield as part of her ongoing facilities tour. This life-saving service was started through the Freeholder Board in 2011during a period of time of decline in EMS service in many communities, and has since answered more 33,000 calls since itsinception. Most EMS workers are also certified Haz Mat specialists, which is a unique asset, according to county officials.Pictured, from left to right, are: EMT Patti Muench, Division of Emergency Services Director Christopher Scaturo, PublicSafety Director Andrew Moran and Freeholder Mouded.

Westfield Man Charged WithPossession of Child Porn

WESTFIELD — A Westfield manhas been arrested and charged withmultiple crimes for being in posses-sion of thousands of images and vid-eos depicting acts of child pornogra-phy, acting Union County ProsecutorMichael A. Monahan announced lastWednesday.

Gregory L. Brown, 37, of the 300block of John Street in Westfield,has been charged with first-degreepossession of child pornography withthe intent to distribute, second-de-gree possession of child pornogra-phy, and two counts of second-de-gree distribution of child pornogra-phy.

A months-long investigation bythe Prosecutor’s Office’s SpecialProsecutions Unit, prompted bymultiple tips received by the Na-tional Center for Missing and Ex-ploited Children, working throughthe New Jersey State Police InternetCrimes Against Children Task Force,resulted in the charges against Brown,according to Union County Assis-tant Prosecutor Derek Nececkas, whois prosecuting the case.

Through a thorough forensicsearch of multiple Tumblr socialmedia accounts associated withBrown and multiple electronic de-vices belonging to him, including amobile phone and a damaged tablet,in excess of 4,000 files depicting

Gregory L. Brown

various sexual acts with childrenwere recovered by the Prosecutor’sOffice’s High Tech Unit, Mr.Nececkas said.

Mr. Brown was taken into cus-tody without incident at his homeearly Wednesday morning andlodged in Union County jail pend-ing a first appearance and detentionhearing.

Convictions on first-degree crimi-nal charges are commonly punish-able by 10 to 20 years in state prison,while second-degree convictions canresult in five to 10 years.

‘Blue Alert’ System WouldProtect Police Officers

TRENTON – Acting to better pro-tect law enforcement officers in NewJersey, the Senate Law and PublicSafety Committee lastweek approvedlegislation sponsored by Senator JoeCryan (D-20th, Union) and SenatorLinda Greenstein (D-14th, Cranbury)that would establish a “Blue AlertSystem.”

The bill, S-3272, would providefor the rapid dissemination of infor-mation to facilitate the apprehensionof persons suspected of killing orseriously injuring law enforcementofficers and aid in locating an officerwho is missing.

“Law enforcement officers put theirlives on the line every day in serviceto the communities they serve and thepeople they protect,” said SenatorCryan, the former Union County sher-iff. “If they are threatened, injured orgo missing this will provide a ‘BlueAlert’ that enables others to actquickly. It could mean the differencebetween life and death in dangeroussituations.”

It would be modeled after the Am-ber and Silver Alert programs alreadyin place in New Jersey to protectchildren and senior citizens.

“The men and women ‘in blue’who help keep our communities safeshould be protected in any way pos-sible,” said Senator Greenstein, thechair of the Senate Law and Public

Safety Committee. “Given the safetyrisks faced by law enforcement offic-ers, it is only right that we create asystem that would allow for moreefficient communication to help en-sure that an individual who attacks anofficer is caught swiftly and broughtto justice.”

A Blue Alert would be activatedwhenever all of the following criteriaare met: A law enforcement officerhas been seriously injured or killed,and a suspect has not been appre-hended, or an officer is missing whileon duty under circumstances war-ranting concern for his or her safety;there is sufficient descriptive infor-mation about the suspect or the cir-cumstances surrounding an officer’sinjury, death or disappearance to in-dicate that the activation of a BlueAlert may assist in locating a suspector missing officer; and, the law en-forcement agency leading the inves-tigation requests that a Blue Alert beinitiated.

The Blue Alert System would en-able media outlets to voluntarily in-form the public of a missing law en-forcement officer, information regard-ing a person suspected of killing orinjuring a law enforcement officer orany other circumstances surroundingthe death, injury or disappearance ofa law enforcement officer within theirservice regions.

Malinowski Supports ActionTo Stop Trump DeclarationFreshman Congressman Tom

Malinowski (D-7th, Westfield) re-leased the following statement onPresident Donald Trump’s emer-gency declaration for a wall on thesouthern border:

“The Constitution says, ‘No moneyshall be drawn from the Treasury,but in consequence of the appropria-tions made by law.’ Every memberof Congress took an oath to defendthe Constitution. The President’sactions may force us to do so. Isupport the enactment of a joint reso-lution to terminate the President’semergency declaration, in accor-

dance with the process described inthe National Emergencies Act. Thisisn’t about building or stopping thewall. This is about defending theConstitution.

“As an assistant secretary ofstate, I often urged authoritariangovernments around the world notto use emergency powers to defytheir legislatures, courts, andlaws.

“It’s unthinkable that we wouldneed to do so in the United States ofAmerica, but the President has forcedour hand and I believe the Congresswill do what is right.”

Malinowski Trans.Funding Act In

In House PackageWASHINGTON, D.C. — The

spending package adopted by Congresslast week implements for Fiscal Year2019 the goals of Representative TomMalinowski’s (R-7th, Somerville) firstlegislative initiative, The Transporta-tion Funding Fairness Act.

In the Department of Transporta-tion funding provisions of the 2019spending package, now signed intolaw, Congress clarified its intent topermit state governments to countfederal transportation loans towardsa state’s share of jointly funded infra-structure projects.

He said the legislation would make iteasier for New Jersey to finance itsportion of the Gateway tunnel projectby allowing states to count federal trans-portation loans toward their share ofjointly funded infrastructure projects.The spending package codified thisclarification for 2019. Mr. Malinowski’slegislation would make it permanent.

Quijano: Gun Violence IsOur ‘Real’ Nat. EmergencyTRENTON – Responding to

President Donald Trump’s nationalemergency declaration to fund a wallalong the U.S. southern border withMexico, Assemblywoman AnnetteQuijano (D-20th, Elizabeth) re-leased the following statement lastFriday:

“Today, President Donald Trumpdeclared of a state of emergency on thesouthern border that includes direct-ing $8 billion to build a wall. I stronglybelieve this is a blatant abuse of presi-dential power. This ‘emergency’ ismanufactured, artificial, unnecessaryand obscenely expensive.

“Gun violence is the nation’s ac-tual emergency. Assaults by firearmskill 13,000 Americans every year.

There has been roughly one massshooting per year since the Colum-bine tragedy in April of 1999. Inrecent mass shootings, over 200people lost their lives at Sandy Hook,Pulse nightclub in Orlando, the churchin Sutherland Springs, the concert atMandalay Bay and Marjory StonemanDouglas High School in Parkland. Itshould be noted that none of the shoot-ers in these tragedies was an undocu-mented immigrant. They were allAmerican citizens born in the UnitedStates.

“It is for the aforementioned rea-sons that I plan to introduce a reso-lution urging the president to de-clare gun violence a national emer-gency.”

Coleman Calls Trump’sNat. Emergency ‘Misguided’

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Follow-ing reports that President Donald Trumpmay declare a national emergency inorder to build a border wall at the U.S.-Mexico border, CongresswomanBonnie Watson Coleman (D-12th, Tren-ton) issued the following statement:

“To declare a state of emergency tobuild this misguided, hate-fueled,wasteful, inefficient and ineffectivemonument to his own personal ego is,at the same time, one of the mostflagrantly lawless and inherentlyTrump-ian things this President couldattempt.

“Everyone – me, Congress, theAmerican people – know there is noemergency, and there’s no need for

the wall — it’s why the public won’tsupport it and why his own party hasbalked at paying for it. I also knowjust how ridiculous and hypocriticalhis lies about immigrants and theborder are because I had the plea-sure of spending the day with hisformer employee, Victorina Morales,last week.

“His own organization took it uponthemselves to hire and aid undocu-mented workers in getting phony pa-perwork. Now, according to the Presi-dent, they’re suddenly a pariah and athreat. If the President declares a na-tional emergency, it will be a blatantattack on the rule of law and Congressmust take him to task for it.”


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Letters to the EditorABCDICTIONOPQRSTDECEPTIONUVWXYZ

TM

DDDDDiction Deception

Letters tothe Editor

Union County FreeholdersElizabeth, New Jersey

(908) 527-4200Ed Oatman, Mgr., [email protected]

Bette Kowalski, [email protected]

Sebastian D’Elia, Public Info.(908) [email protected]

State LD-22Sen. Nicholas Scutari (D)

1514 E. Saint Georges Ave.Linden, N.J. 07036(908) 587-0404

Asm. Jim Kennedy (D)34 E. Cherry St.Rahway, N.J. 07065(732) 943-2660

Asw. Linda Carter (D)200 West 2nd St., Suite 102Plainfield, N.J. 07060(908) 561-5757

State LD-21Sen. Thomas Kean, Jr. (R)

425 North Ave. E.Westfield, N.J. 07090(908) 232-3673

Asm. Jon Bramnick (R)251 North Ave. WestWestfield, N.J. 07090(908) 232-2073

Asm. Nancy Munoz (R)57 Union Place, Suite 310Summit, N.J. 07901(908) 918-0414

LD-21 includes Westfield,Mountainside, Garwood,Summit and Cranford.

7th Congressional DistrictRepresentative Tom Malinowski (D)58 East Main St, Somerville, N.J. 08876(908) 547-3307

LD-22 includes Scotch Plains,Fanwood, Plainfield, Clark,Rahway and Linden.

[email protected], [email protected]@njleg.org, [email protected]@njleg.org, [email protected]

12th Congressional DistrictRep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D)850 Bear Tavern Road, Suite 201, Ewing, N.J. 08628(609) 883-0026[Fanwood, Plainfield and most of Scotch Plainsare in the 12th Congressional District]

[Westfield, Mountainside, Garwood, Summit and Cranfordare in the 7th Congressional District]

Jersey Shore Properties WillEventually Be Unusable

The climate emergency has arrived,as recent disastrous events indicate.Geophysicist Donald Perovich lik-ens the climate system to a rowingboat that is rocked from side to sidemore and more violently, until it fi-nally takes in water and suddenlycapsizes. ‘You can tip and then you’lljust go back. You can tip it and just goback. And then you tip it and you getto the other stable state, which isupside down.’

New Jersey has its own specialvulnerabilities to climate change. In-dependent of climate change, the NewJersey shore is subsiding — its levelis lower every year, while the sealevel is rising. Shore properties willeventually be unusable.

At the same time, New Jersey ishome to 1,500 miles of pipelines.There are many proposed new pipe-lines: the Southern Reliability Link,

the PennEast pipeline, the Pilgrimpipeline, and the Northeast SupplyEnhancement. A gas-fired power plantis planned in the Meadowlands and acompressor station in Roseland. Thereis no plan to determine if they areneeded or if they are in the publicinterest. Barbara Blumenthal of theNew Jersey Conservation Founda-tion has shown that no more pipelinesare needed to supply New Jersey withenergy, in a report analyzing the de-mand for electricity in New Jerseyand the capacity of existing pipelines.

Let’s rescue New Jersey from fur-ther destruction. Governor Murphyneeds to declare a moratorium onfossil fuel infrastructure until there isa sound plan in place to achieve hisgoal of 100 percent renewable energyby 2050.

Nancy GriffethWestfield

Freeholder Says Councilman ArenaDoesn’t Understand Property Taxes

Dear Councilman Arena: Thank youfor your response to my email.

It is evident that we all share a pas-sion for Westfield and as I have statedbefore I am looking forward to servingthe Town of Westfield, along with the20 other municipalities that make upthe great County of Union to the best ofmy abilities.

In response to your email, pleasenote that what you are proposing dem-onstrates a fundamental misunder-standing of property tax laws in theState of New Jersey and does not takeinto account both the economic andservice benefits the County of Union’sagencies within our community pro-vide.

As you are likely aware, it is illegalfor governments to tax other govern-mental buildings within their jurisdic-tion, which you are proposing. What italso ignores is the economic, employ-ment and service benefit to Westfieldfrom the various county agencies thatare located within our community.

There are approximately 300 Countyemployees (and this includes Westfieldresidents) who work in the county’svarious agencies in Westfield —amongthem are county police, our dispatchcenter, the Office of Emergency Man-agement, SWAT, the life-saving EMSservice that also serves Westfield, theMaster Gardner Program, and thecounty clerk’s Office. It is also worthnoting that three of the county parks dohave areas within Westfield (Unami,Echo Lake and Lenape). I am happy tobe serving as a residential committeemember of the Westfield Parks andRecreation Assessment Committee andhope that my input and commitment tothis committee, not only as a resident,but also as a freeholder will benefit thefuture of our parks and rec. system herein town.

In addition to the value of havingthese vital services immediately avail-able to Westfield residents, county em-ployees and the tens of thousands ofvisitors who frequent this 24/7 facilityannually make an economic contribu-tion by shopping and eating directly inthe Westfield business district, likelytotaling in the hundreds of thousands—if not more—per year to businesses,and also sparking additional employ-ment. This figure does not even in-clude the value — or convenience —of services provided to our community.

Second, as you may know, tax as-sessments are governed by state law —and any changes you are proposingmust be legislated at the state level.The freeholder board has nothing to dowith assessments, as the county’s taxassessor operates as an independentagency, following state laws.

If you’d like to make changes in theway Westfield’s taxes are assessed,you should contact your state delega-tion and offer up your suggestions forlegislation.

Third, you’ve raised the issue ofelecting freeholders by district. To myknowledge, the rules that have estab-lished the board have existed for wellover 60 years. To change this appearsto be a call for the gerrymandering ofdistricts in order to win elections forone party over another.

In fact, 18 of New Jersey’s 21 coun-ties use the popular election system,and Union County has been using thesystem for at least six decades.

Please note that freeholders repre-sent all parts of the county — andcurrently come from areas such as Lin-den, Elizabeth, Cranford, Fanwood,Westfield, and Plainfield.

We are also a diverse group, men andwomen of different faiths, race andethnicities. Although I have only beenserving the board for one month, Ialready see the benefits each memberbrings from both their personal andprofessional lives. We are a team com-mitted to serving all 500,000 plus resi-dents of this county.

We are the County of Union as awhole, and not solely the county of asuburb or an urban area. Our programsbenefit all parts of the county, with noone left behind.

In the upcoming month, the boardwill be holding our regularly sched-uled public meetings to introduce,amend and adopt the budget. Prior tothe introduction of the budget, thecounty holds regional budget hearingmeetings. As soon as I know that sched-ule I will share that with you as one istypically held in the western end of thecounty. I invite you to attend any andall of the above. This information willbe shared with the entire county and Iwill be sure to share it on my ownFreeholder Facebook page to encour-age all residents to come! Thank you,

Kim MoudedUnion County Freeholder

Atheist Proclaims, ‘We AreAll Built Of Stardust’

I read with interest last week’s let-ter “Atheists Versus God.” As an athe-ist and a scientist, I would like torespond. Science may be clever, but itis certainly not deceitful; 300 yearshave taught us that the scientificmethod is the best way to explain theworld about us, by generating ideasthat can be tested by measurementand experimentation, for acceptance,alteration, or rebuttal.

Scientists expect their ideas to bechallenged through the generation ofadditional data or differing hypoth-eses, and over time, through an itera-tive process, a truth emerges that al-lows us to understand the universe welive in, and our place in it.

We have learned about the BigBang, about the life cycle of stars andthe creation of all the elements in thatlife cycle, and the dispersion of ele-ments across space to produce plan-ets, and indeed life itself. We are allbuilt of stardust.

We have learned, because of thepower of new technologies such asDNA sequencing, that life emergedonce, and once only, on earth, andthat all living things share a commondescent. We understand how com-plexity develops from simple begin-nings over millions and millions of

years. The details of life’s family treebecome ever clearer. The science ofepigenetics does not disprove the es-sential theory of natural selection, itbuilds upon it.

We also know what we don’t know– what happened before the Big Bang;exactly how life got going (althoughthere are very good and testable ideas),etc. However, most scientists do notfeel the need of a God to fill in thegaps; rather, we accept the limitationsour current capabilities place upon usand look to coming generations ofscientists to build on our accumu-lated knowledge, as we have built onthe work of Newton, Einstein, Dar-win and so many others.

Scientists respect all life on theplanet, cherish the environment, be-lieve in the power of rational thought,and respect the contributions all ofhumanity can make to improving ourunderstanding of the world we live in.Personally, I believe those beliefsprovide a moral foundation for mylife, and for my children’s lives, and Ido not need to choose amongst abewildering variety of theist ideolo-gies to shape my worldview.

Mervyn TurnerScotch Plains

We Need MassiveMobilization, A Green

New DealPrior generations have kicked the

proverbial can down the road for toolong. Climate change is here andwe’ve got to fight it with everythingwe have. Every delay in action willcause more suffering for people, asnatural disaster grow stronger andmore frequent and our natural sys-tems collapse under the weight ofhuman impacts.

We need a massive mobilizationacross our country to meet the chal-lenge. A Green New Deal will tacklethis enormous challenge while alsoaddressing unacceptable economicinequality. We have a chance to builda much better future if we act deci-sively now to implement a GreenNew Deal.

I hope presidential candidates trulysupport and push for Rep. Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Markey’s resolution.

Lauren MorseSpringfield

Answers to last week’s arcane words.1. Soe – A large wooden vessel for

holding water2. Antephialtic – Preventing nightmare3. Tharos – A small American butterfly

having orange wings spotted with blackand white

4. Messet – A dog

Below are four arcane words, eachwith four definitions – only one is cor-rect. The others are made up. Are yousharp enough to discern this deception ofdiction?

If you can guess one correctly – goodguess. If you get two – well-read indi-vidual. If you get three – word expert. Ifyou get all four – You must have a lot offree time!

All words and correct definitionscome from the board game DictionDeception.

VANGLO1. A traveler; a wayfarer2. A ghost in Shakespeare’s MacBeth3. A type of orange4. The West Indian name for sesame

DICASTERY1. In ancient Athens, a court of justice2. The process of ornamenting plain

glass with transparent pictures3. A narration; a recital of facts4. The use of two languages

VANSIRE1. A Dutch father2. A small, weasel-like animal of Mada-

gascar3. A comon domestic pigeon, with an

inflated breast4. A confidence man; swindler

RAPPAREE1. A French swordsman2. The victim of a sexual assault3. A plunderer or robber4. A large bowl in which fat is burned

by means of a wick

A Year After Parkland Tragedy,‘Alyssa’s Law’ Will Increase Safety

Scutari Bill On Retroactive RaisesShould Also Limit Percentages

The solemn one-year anniversary last Thursday ofthe massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas HighSchool in Parkland, Fla., was observed with re-newed efforts to prevent such a horrific act fromoccurring ever again.

Despite the many mass shootings that had takenplace over a span of nearly 20 years prior to it, theParkland event left Americans from coast to coastreeling at the scope of the tragedy, in which a formerpupil at the high school fatally shot 14 students andthree staff members, while wounding 17 others.

The killing spree galvanized the public to demandaction, calling on lawmakers to prevent armed indi-viduals from gaining access to schools and otherpublic venues. Students from Marjory StonemanDouglas themselves became activists, appealing foran end to violence on school campuses. The incidentled school districts, including those within our localcommunities, to implement enhanced security pre-cautions to deter those seeking to do harm. Westfield,Scotch Plains-Fanwood, Mountainside, Cranfordand Garwood school districts, as well as those ofneighboring municipalities, continue to make safetyinitiatives a top priority.

We believe a newly-enacted state law will helpprotect students and school staff even further. Twoweeks ago, Governor Phil Murphy signed legisla-tion mandating that New Jersey’s approximately2,500 public elementary and secondary schools in-

stall silent, manually-activated “panic” alarms thatalert law enforcement concerning life-threateningor other emergency situations on school premises.

As part of the security system, schools also wouldbe equipped with an exterior red light in a “highlyvisible location above or near the front entrance or, inthe case of a school building which is not clearlyvisible from the nearest public roadway, located onthat public roadway,” as stated on njleg.state.nj.us/.

The legislation, entitled “Alyssa’s Law,” is namedfor Alyssa Alhadeff, a 14-year-old former NewJersey resident who was among those studentskilled in Parkland. It garnered strong bipartisansupport within both houses of the New JerseyLegislature before receiving Governor Murphy’ssignature on February 6.

As we join the rest of the nation in rememberingthe lives lost one year ago at Marjory StonemanDouglas High School, and the families and friendsleft behind, we applaud lawmakers for their supportof this important step in maintaining school safety.Yet the Parkland anniversary also reminds us, asparents, students, teachers and fellow members ofeach community, to continue to remain vigilant topotential threats at schools and elsewhere. We arefortunate that our schools have the benefit of so-phisticated security protocols, but the popular ad-age “if you see something, say something” can bejust as critical to violence prevention as well.

Last week State Senator Nick Scutari (D-22nd,Linden) introduced legislation to prohibit localelected officials from receiving retroactive pay raises.Mr. Scutari, who serves as chairman of the UnionCounty Democratic Committee, was angry thatMayor Derek Armstead of his hometown of Lindenhad given himself a $26,575 raise, from $73,425 to$100,000. That’s a pay hike of 36 percent. The raisewas done as part of an ordinance approved by theLinden City Council on December 18, 2018. Theraise was made retroactive to January 1, 2018, thusgiving Mayor Armstead a nice Christmas bonus over$25,000, according to a report byunionnewsdaily.com.

The report indicated that the ordinance, approvedby the Linden council in a 6-to-5 vote, also includedemployees who received raises of 2.5 percent. Fiftyof the 65 positions were crossing guards who gar-nered 50-cent-per-hour increases.

“As elected officials in the Legislature, we areprohibited from giving ourselves retroactive raisesand bonuses. No elected official should be able tocollect back pay upon salary increases; this legisla-tion extends this basic standard to all elected officesin the state,” Mr. Scutari said in a press release issuedthrough the Senate Democratic Office. “I broughtforward this piece of legislation because as publicofficials we aim to foster a climate of accountabilityin government, and to prevent politicians from pad-ding their bank accounts by paying themselves for

work they have already been paid for.”While we agree elected officials should not get

retroactive raises, shouldn’t the percentage of theraise also be subjected to the 2-percent state-im-posed cap on tax increases? The Union CountyFreeholders used to pass ordinances giving retroac-tive raises to themselves and department heads, butthey ended that practice several years ago. Increasesnow start January of the new year.

Is Sen. Scutari introducing this legislation be-cause he doesn’t support retroactive raises for poli-ticians or because Mayor Amstead supportedFanwood Mayor Colleen Mahr in her run againstMr. Scutari for Union County Democratic Commit-tee chairman? Mayor Armstead ran as Mayor Mahr’svice-chair in that election.

Plainfield Mayor Adrian Mapp garnered a $40,000raise — from $35,000 to $75,000 — last month.

Mayor Armstead claims some Union County “part-time” mayors earn $75,000, according tounionnewsdaily.com. Locally, the mayors ofWestfield and Fanwood earn $1 a year. The fivemembers of the Scotch Plains Township Council,including the mayor, each receive a $6,000 annualstipend. State legislators make $49,000.

So, while we support Sen. Scutari’s legislation, heshould amend it to limit the percentage increase towhat public workers are getting and also limit howoften mayors and/or council members and countyfreeholders can receive increases.

WEARING AWHITE DRESS

The Public DeservesAnswers

WESTFIELD -- Assembly Repub-lican Leader Jon Bramnick wants thePort Authority of NY and NJ to inves-tigate prices that vendors charge atNewark Airport for basic items, in-cluding $4 for bottled water. Vendorshave self-service and self-checkoutyet continue to have astronomicalprices on necessary items, said Asm.Bramnick (R-21st, Westfield). Trav-elers are a captive audience and thereis no competition for consumers. Abottle of water should not cost $4.


Garwood Mayor Todisco AnnouncesTrain Station Utilization Review

I am excited to announce that NJTransit has agreed to conduct an as-sessment of Garwood Station to de-termine if our ridership warrants ad-ditional train stops. Upon being sworninto the office of mayor, I hit theground running on a number of issuesand contacting NJ Transit was topamong them. On January 25, I re-ceived a response from LawrenceHamm, NJ Transit’s regional man-ager for government and communityrelations, informing me that my re-quest for additional train stops wasreceived and an assessment is under-way. While it is likely to take morethan a single request to make this areality, I will continue to lobby forbetter service, in quantity and quality,for those taking public transportationinto and out of Garwood.

It has been a number of years sincea request like this has been made, butI remain optimistic that Garwood’sservice from NJ Transit will improve,

particularly once large sites on SouthAvenue along with North Avenue arecomplete in the next two years or so.In fact, back in 2009, a memorandumof understanding was sent by NJ Tran-sit to then Mayor Dennis McCarthy,which memorialized a joint commit-ment to making mutually-beneficialadvancements. Garwood has followedthrough by advancing transit-orienteddevelopment projects, which will soonbecome more than a plan, but a real-ity. Now, we ask NJ Transit to staycommitted to its promise of scheduleenhancements.

NJ Transit is certainly facing itsshare of challenges at the presenttime. However, I am committed tobuilding a strong line of communica-tion between our two entities and willcontinue to advocate for the best in-terests of Garwood.

Sara TodiscoMayor of Garwood

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The Family Law Department of Dughi, Hewit & DomalewskiPresents

Top row standing: Jennifer L. Young, Esq., Catherine A. Manino, Esq.

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Greater Westfield Area Chamber of CommerceMarch Highlights

Ways to Improve Your Health This MarchBy Victoria Shestack Aronoff

Looking for something to do thisMarch besides feel bad that it isn’tspring yet? The Greater WestfieldArea Chamber of Commerce(GWACC) gives you some very ex-citing choices: You can learn aboutways to improve your health andwellness at the Second Health andWellness Expo; or attend one or bothof the GWACC travel nights and learnabout the amazing travel opportunityto Iceland or Greece. Research showsthat travel can increase your life ex-pectancy!

Second Annual Health andWellness Expo sponsored by TrinitasRegional Hospital will be held onSunday, March 31, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.,Union Catholic Regional HighSchool, 1600 Martine Ave. ScotchPlains. GWACC is excited to havethe Trinitas Regional Medical Centerback as the premier sponsor of thesecond Health and Wellness Expo.The inaugural event last year wel-comed over 700 attendees, and weexpect 2019 to be even better! Freeand open to the public, this expoevent will feature a host of more than40 local exhibitors including yogastudios, personal trainers, juice bars,gyms, holistic practitioners, thera-pists, life coaches, chiropractors, nu-tritionists, dentists and more. Practi-tioners will be on hand to presentinformation about their products andservices, and Trinitas will lead thehealth screenings. There will also bea fun children’s scavenger hunt andfood trucks serving healthy and tastyofferings. This is a great opportunityto learn about the health and wellnessresources in your backyard and be thebest you in 2019. This free event isopen to the public. Vendor tables arestill available. The information canbe found at https://www.gwaccnj.com/events/health-wellness-expo/.

Iceland Travel Night will be Thurs-day, Thursday, March 7, at 6 p.m,GWACC Office, 212 Lenox Ave.,Westfield. You’re invited to a specialtravel presentation by Collette Tours,

which will be discussing the high-lights of the upcoming GWACC tripto Iceland from Friday to Thursday,November 8 to 14. This seven-daytrip to the “land of fire and ice” in-cludes the rare opportunity to see thespectacular northern lights on an ex-hilarating evening cruise. Gaze at thespectacular Gullfoss waterfall – oneof the world’s most incredible cas-cades. Walk on a black volcanic sandbeach. Relax in the warm, mineral-rich water of a natural geothermalpool. Go on a walking tour of oldtown Reykjavik. And so much more!To register for this travel night, go tohttps://www.gwaccnj.com/events/iceland-travel-presentation/ or call(908) 233-3021.

Greece Travel Night at Limani’sSeafood Grill to be held on Tuesday,March 26, at 6 p.m., 235 North AvenueWest, Westfield. Come to Limani’sSeafood Grill and learn about a nine-day trip to Athens, Mykonos andSantorini. Step into history and dis-cover a place where the mythical GreekGods ruled the world. Visit the Acropo-lis and the Parthenon, travel by high-speed ferries across the Aegean Sea topicture-perfect islands, walk on beau-tiful beaches and through picturesquevillages, and eat in quaint cafes. Thistrip is cosponsored by Limani’s, whichwill also serve tasty Greek snacks atthe Travel Night while you imaginegoing on this great trip! To register, goto https://www.gwaccnj.com/events/travel-presentation-greece/ or call(908) 233-3021.

So, there you have three great thingsto do in March. If you need evenmore, GWACC has several otherMarch events including a breakfastnetworking meeting at Spencer Sav-ings Bank, Tuesday, March 5; Net-working Happy Hour atGameChanger Gym on Thursday,March 21 and a training workshop“How To Start Your Own Business”on Tuesday, March 26. See for your-self at www.gwaccnj.com/events.

Victoria Shestack Aronoff is a vol-unteer with GWACC.

Constitution of United States ofAmerica 1789 (rev. 1992)

25th AmmendmentSection 1

In case of the removal of the Presi-dent from office or of his death orresignation, the Vice President shallbecome President.

Section 2Whenever there is a vacancy in the

office of the Vice President, the Presi-dent shall nominate a Vice Presidentwho shall take office upon confirma-tion by a majority vote of both Housesof Congress.

Section 3Whenever the President transmits

to the President pro tempore of theSenate and the Speaker of the Houseof Representatives his written decla-ration that he is unable to dischargethe powers and duties of his office,and until he transmits to them a writ-ten declaration to the contrary, suchpowers and duties shall be dischargedby the Vice President as Acting Presi-dent.

Section 4Whenever the Vice President and a

majority of either the principal offic-ers of the executive departments or ofsuch other body as Congress may bylaw provide, transmit to the Presidentpro tempore of the Senate and theSpeaker of the House of Representa-tives their written declaration that thePresident is unable to discharge thepowers and duties of his office, theVice President shall immediately as-

sume the powers and duties of theoffice as Acting President.

Thereafter, when the Presidenttransmits to the President pro tem-pore of the Senate and the Speakerof the House of Representatives hiswritten declaration that no inabilityexists, he shall resume the powersand duties of his office unless theVice President and a majority ofeither the principal officers of theexecutive department or of suchother body as Congress may by lawprovide, transmit within four daysto the President pro tempore of theSenate and the Speaker of the Houseof Representatives their written dec-laration that the President is unableto discharge the powers and dutiesof his office. There upon Congressshall decide the issue, assemblingwithin forty-eight hours for thatpurpose if not in session. If theCongress, within twenty-one daysafter receipt of the latter writtendeclaration, or, if Congress is not insession, within twenty-one days af-ter Congress is required to assemble,determines by two-thirds vote ofboth Houses that the President isunable to discharge the powers andduties of his office, the Vice Presi-dent shall continue to discharge thesame as Acting President; other-wise, the President shall resume thepowers and duties of his office.

Cranford Police Dept. to BecomeC.L.E.A.R. Program Location

Chief Ryan J. Greco announcedthat as of February 1st, 2019, theCranford Police Department will takepart in Union County’s CommunityLaw Enforcement Addiction Recov-ery (C.L.E.A.R.) Program as a localC.L.E.A.R. Program Location. TheC.L.E.A.R. Program is a partnershipbetween the County of Union andPrevention Links in which law en-forcement agencies provide on-sitedrug addiction recovery services toUnion County residents seeking as-sistance.

Since June of 2017, the UnionCounty Sheriff’s Office in Elizabethand Union County Police Departmentin Westfield have been the two loca-tions where services could be found.Since its inception, the C.L.E.A.R.Program has assisted 72 individualstowards recovery. In strategizing onhow best to address the grave conse-quences of substance use disorder,Chief Ryan Greco welcomed the op-portunity to have his department par-ticipate in a program that providesanother avenue to combat the opioidproblem in Union County. In 2018,the Cranford Police Department re-sponded to 17 opiate overdose callsfor service. Three of those calls re-sulted in fatalities. “It is clear that lawenforcement cannot arrest its way outof the problem of substance abuse.Medications such as Naloxone areincredibly useful but are at best aband-aid in a time of emergency. Totruly tackle this problem, those indi-viduals facing the disease of addic-tion need to find their way to recov-ery,” Chief Greco said. Chief Grecobelieves that the innovative approachof partnering his organization’s offic-ers with Prevention Links and HighFocus Centers makes perfect sense.“I can only hope that by providing anadditional C.L.E.A.R. Program loca-tion and expanding the program hours

we will be able to assist even morepeople towards recovery.”

Coordinated by Captain GuyPatterson, 12 Cranford Police Offic-ers have received advanced substanceabuse training and will serve as facili-tators for participants. C.L.E.A.R.Program participants seeking treat-ment will be met by one of thedepartment’s specially trained offic-ers who will assist the individual andpair them with a partner agency re-covery coach. A recovery coach servesas the individual’s guide to appropri-ate treatment facilities and recoverysupport networks. C.L.E.A.R. pro-vides services at any of the programlocations Monday through Fridaybetween the hours of 9 a.m. and 5p.m. In addition to the regular busi-ness hours, the Cranford Police De-partment has created a partnershipwith local stakeholders at High FocusCenters to provide after-hours recov-ery coaching services. Collectively,these partnerships allow for theCranford Police Department to offersubstance abuse recovery assistanceservices 24 hours a day, seven days aweek. Anyone seeking substanceabuse assistance is encouraged tocome to the Cranford Police Depart-ment. For additional information,please contact Captain Patterson at(908) 709-3991.

NJCPA Urges N.J. Legislature to MakeTax Change if Cannabis is LegalizedNJ Tax Law Should Decouple from

IRS Code 280(E) - If adult-use can-nabis is legalized in New Jersey, it iscrucial that the state decouples fromthe federal law governing cannabis— Internal Revenue Code 280(E) —to have a viable cannabis industry. Asit stands, the federal provisions inIRS Code 280(E) make it impossiblefor cannabis business owners to re-ceive a tax benefit for any of theiroperating expenses due to cannabis’status as a federally-controlled sub-stance. This creates an immense chal-lenge to the cash flow of cannabisoperations in the United States. Onlyby separating New Jersey from theIRS tax law will cannabis owners beable to deduct ordinary and neces-sary expenses in the same manner astheir non-cannabis counterparts.

Though the New Jersey Society ofCertified Public Accountants(NJCPA) does not have a position onlegalizing adult-use cannabis, we un-derstand the need for the tax lawchange. The specific changes todecouple New Jersey from federal280(E) for gross income tax and cor-porate income tax calculations areunderlined in the attached document.

By not allowing cannabis ownersin New Jersey to receive this tax

benefit, it deters them from reinvest-ing the funds and growing their busi-nesses. It would also force these busi-nesses to retain cash to satisfy theirfederal tax liabilities, which would bethree times higher than a typical busi-ness tax bill, and it would create tre-mendous barriers to entry for others.On a broad level, it also runs counterto Governor Phil Murphy’s plan ofcreating sustainable tax revenues forNew Jersey.

To correct this, we are asking theNew Jersey Legislature to considerchanging the tax code to ensure asuccessful business environment, ifadult-use cannabis is indeed legalized.

New Jersey would not be alone inmaking this tax change. Many of thestates that have legalized cannabishave decoupled from 280(E). Of the10 states with a regulated, adult-usemarket, two have specificallydecoupled completely, one has spe-cifically decoupled corporations, andtwo have no state tax at the businesslevel, thus decoupling by default. Ofthose, the most advanced and devel-oped markets are those which spe-cifically decoupled, such as Colo-rado and Oregon.

Ralph Albert Thomas, ExecutiveDirector, NJCPA

N.J.’s Family Leave ExpansionBill Becomes Law

TRENTON - A bill (formerly bill A-3975) signed into law Tuesday ex-pands New Jersey’s family leave lawby expanding the length of time off,providing higher compensation forthose taking leave, covering more fam-ily members, improving job protec-tions and boosting awareness for theprogram.

“Many workers can’t afford to takefamily leave because of its low wagereplacement rates, or choose not to out offear of being retaliated against if they do.In some cases, they are unaware that thisis even an option,” said AssemblywomanQuijano (D-20th, Elizabeth), one of thebill’s sponsors. “The law will now helpworking families who need to take timeoff work to bond and care for a new child,or to care for a family member who is sickor is recovering from a violent ordeal to

do so without jeopardizing their financialsecurity.”

In 2008, New Jersey became the sec-ond state (after California) to adopt apaid family leave policy. Since then, theFamily Leave Insurance (FLI) programhas replaced over half a billion dollars inlost wages for hundreds of thousands ofstate residents who needed time off fromwork to care for a new child or sickfamily member. However, participationnumbers suggest more New Jerseyanscould be taking advantage of the pro-gram.

Since its inception, about 31,000 resi-dents have used paid family leave eachyear, which is about 12 percent of eligiblenew parents in New Jersey. Participationfor new parents has stayed relatively flat,rising to just 13 percent in 2014 from 11percent in 2010.




Library Has Graphic NovelsFor Adults, New Database

WESTFIELD – The WestfieldMemorial Library has announcedtwo major new additions to its col-lections and website: graphic nov-els for adults and a new financialdatabase. The library is located at550 East Broad Street.

Comprised of fiction and non-fic-tion titles, the graphic novel collec-tion gives adults the chance to readhistory, biography, classics, memoirsand fiction in comic-book format.

Some of the titles are “AnneFrank’s Diary,” “To Kill a Mock-ingbird,” “Anthem,” “BrokenGlory: The Final Years of Robert F.Kennedy” and “Charles Darwin’sOn the Origin of the Species.”

“Graphic novels for adults are sorich in illustration and text,” saidJen Schulze, head of Adult Servicesat the library. “They are really so-phisticated in the way they deliverstorylines, concepts, and informa-tion in a highly visual way.”

The graphic novels can be

checked out for 28 days. They arelocated at the top of the stairs on thelibrary’s second floor on shelvesoutside of the Reference Office.

As of January 25, the libraryswitched from Standard & Poor’sNet Advantage database to ValueLine Research Center Library. Aleader in finance and investmentinformation, Value Line providesDaily Market updates, stock quotesorganized by name or symbol, andfeatured articles that keep readersinformed on investing.

Library hours are 9:30 a.m. to 9p.m., Monday through Thursday;9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday and Sat-urday, and 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

For more information on libraryprograms and services, call (908)789-4090, visit the library’s website,wmlnj.org, and sign up for themonthly e-newsletter, “LibraryLoop,” or stop by the library for acopy of its award-winning, quar-terly newsletter, “Take Note.”

GARWOOD — The GarwoodHistorical Committee held its firstmeeting of the year on January 28and welcomed new members to itsgroup. In addition to CarolLombardo, chairwoman; BrucePaterson, vice-chairman; AdeleLewis, treasurer, and Chelsea BrandtRooney, secretary, other membersinclude Jennie Browne, Pat DiFabioand Helen Laucius. Mayor SaraTodisco recently appointed threenew members: Stephanie Bianco,Max Blanton and James Hart. Coun-cilman Russ Graham is council liai-son for the committee.

The Historical Committee has re-vealed plans for 2019, among themshowing off what it calls theborough’s “sweet side.” It is hopingto create a dessert recipe book inthe near future, highlighting the fa-vorite dessert recipes fromGarwood’s residents and businesses.More information will be availablein the next few weeks.

The committee also is planning arededication of a memorial plaque,which was located on a rock, behind

a fence in center field of the JamesGuerriero Baseball Field. The rockhas since been relocated to a moreprominent place near the HumenickField House so that it can be appre-ciated by all who visit the area. Thisrededication is planned for mid-April. Details will follow shortly.

When “Garwood Rocks” takesplace on Sunday, June 2, theGarwood Historical Committee willagain have a booth featuring some ofGarwood’s history. The committeeadditionally will host the HistoryRock Hunt as it has for the past twoyears. As the date gets closer, moreinformation will become available.

The committee wishes to thankall those who purchased the Series2 Holiday Ornament, the lastfundraiser of 2018 for the commit-tee. It was a great success and theHistorical Committee has plans fora third and final set, which will beavailable later in 2019.

Committee members urge resi-dents to think of the committee be-fore tossing out what might be trash,but could actually be “treasure.”The committee is always lookingfor memorabilia of Garwood, arti-facts and old photographs of theborough. Its mission is to preserveand protect Garwood’s short butrich history. The Garwood Histori-cal Committee can be reached [email protected].

Photo Credit: Seamen’s Church InstituteSPIRITUALITY AT SEA...A Seamen’s Church Institute (SCI) chaplain, left,visits with a crew member. The Trinity Episcopal Church in Cranford will holda bake sale this Sunday, February 24, after the 8 and 10 a.m. worship services, tobenefit the SCI and the mariners it serves.

Trinity Bake Sale SundayTo Aid Seamen’s Institute

CRANFORD — The Trinity Epis-copal Church will hold a bake salefundraiser this Sunday, February 24,following both the 8 a.m. and 10a.m. services, to benefit theSeamen’s Church Institute (SCI).The church also is collecting trial-size shampoo, two- to four-ouncebottles of hand lotion, lip balm, softpacks of facial tissue, packs of chew-ing gum, and microwave popcorn,for SCI’s “Christmas at Sea” pro-gram. JoAnne Bartosik, the “Christ-mas at Sea” coordinator, will speakabout SCI and the program.

“Ninety percent of everythingconsumed is brought over by con-tainer ship,” said the ReverendAndy Kruger, Trinity’s Priest-in-Charge. Trinity Episcopal Churchis located at 119 Forest Avenue,Cranford. For additional informa-tion, call (908) 276-4047. Every-one is welcome.

The SCI, founded in 1834 andaffiliated with the EpiscopalChurch, is the largest mariners’support agency in North America.It provides professional marinerswith specially-tailored education,

free legal advocacy for marinerwelfare, and pastoral care. It oper-ates Seafarer Centers in Port New-ark, the Port of Oakland, Houston,Tex., and Paducah, Ky. Its chap-lains visit more than 2,400 vesselsa year. The Seafarer Centers pro-vide mariners and port workers withInternet access and personal com-puters, International calling andcheap phone cards, recreational ac-tivities, worship and pastoral careregardless of their religious affili-ation, and free shuttles from termi-nal gates to the center and localstores. For more information aboutSCI, visit seamenschurch.org orcall (973) 589-5828.

Trinity Episcopal Church,founded in 1872, is a faith-basedfamily church that welcomes allpeople and strives to “know Christand to make the Lord known throughfaith, fellowship, and service.”

Sunday services, celebrated byReverend Kruger, are at 8 a.m. and10 a.m. For more information aboutthe Trinity Episcopal Church, call(908) 276-4047 or visi ttrinitycranford.org/

Mayor’s Wellness CampaignHighlights Upcoming EventsGARWOOD — To continue

Garwood’s Mayors Wellness Cam-paign, at the 2018 New Jersey StateLeague of Municipalities Conven-tion, then Mayor Charles Lombardosigned the New Jersey Health CareQuality Institute’s Pledge of Partici-pation. The pledge highlightsGarwood’s commitment to work to-ward and promote an active livingand healthier lifestyle for its resi-dents. This statewide MayorsWellness Campaign is supported bynearly 400 mayors throughout thestate to implement health andwellness programs.

Current Garwood Mayor SaraTodisco has appointed former MayorLombardo as the Mayors WellnessCampaign liaison. Mr. Lombardo re-cently formed a committee that cur-rently is comprised of six members,including three Garwood citizens, aprofessional personal trainer, a regis-tered dietitian and an officer from thelocal Chamber of Commerce. Theypresently are reaching out to the en-tire community of Garwood to jointheir efforts as the committee offers aseries of events, including educationalworkshops on healthy eating, activeliving and various wellness activities.

The committee will encouragehealthy living and eating habitsthrough nutritional education foradults of all ages as well as school-age children.

The first Mayor’s 3K Walk of 2019will be held on Saturday, March 23,

starting at 10 a.m., at the East Streetentrance to the park. It is anticipatedthat this walk will take place on thefourth Saturday of every month.Mayor Todisco will be this month’scelebrity walker. In the months tofollow, celebrity guest walkers willinclude the chief of police and schoolofficials, among others. Mr.Lombardo reminds participants thatit is a walk, not a run or a competition,just an opportunity to get out in thefresh air, meet one’s neighbors, andget some exercise.

Members of the Mayors WellnessCampaign met with Lincoln SchoolPrincipal Mary Emmons, Superin-tendent of Schools Teresa Quigley,Ed.D., and the Lincoln School PTA,to discuss ways that the campaigncan be integrated into the school’scurriculum and activities, offeringparents and students nutritional in-formation for families to stay ac-tive, while making healthy foodchoices.

The committee has established amonthly schedule, meeting on thesecond Monday of each month at 4p.m., in Borough Hall. Committeemembers encourage Garwood’s resi-dents to share in their mission. In thenear future, they will reach out via aFacebook page and local newspapersto bring in new members and inter-ested professionals to join them. In-terested persons are advised to con-tact the Mayors Wellness Campaignvia email at [email protected].

Historical Society to HearTalk About Redistricting

John Lesher

WESTFIELD — As part of theWestfield Historical Society’s FirstWednesday Luncheon series, John C.Lesher, Ph.D., will speak March 6 on“The Process of Redistricting and HowIt Affects Your Vote.” The event willbegin with check-in at 11:45 a.m. atthe Echo Lake Country Club, locatedat 515 Springfield Avenue, Westfield.

Mr. Lesher will explain the FederalRedistricting process which takes placeevery 10 years in the United States.This process involves the CensusCount, the apportionment of the 435seats in the House of Representativesamong the states based on the CensusCount, and the formation of districtswithin the states from which each state’sallocation of representatives are electedand sent to Congress. “Gerrymander-ing” is a term used to describe how thisprocess can become abused to redis-trict for political gain.

Mr. Lesher has worked in real es-tate development for more than 40years. He holds a Bachelor of Arts inEnglish from Scranton University, aMaster of Business Administrationfrom the Wharton School at the Uni-versity of Pennsylvania, a Master ofArts in History from Montclair StateUniversity, and a Master of Arts andPh.D. in Political Science fromRutgers University. It was at Rutgerswhere he completed his doctoral dis-sertation in 2017 evaluating the con-cept of redistricting.

Active in community affairs, Mr.Lesher serves as treasurer of theWestfield Senior Citizens HousingCorporation and as a member of theboard of trustees for the Echo LakeCountry Club. He and his wife, TinaLesher, Ed.D., have resided inWestfield for 42 years and are theparents of three children.

Those wishing to attend the lun-cheon may make a reservation byemail to

[email protected],or by calling (908) 654-1794, before11 a.m. on Friday, March 1. Attend-ees are asked to advise if there arespecial dietary needs.

The luncheon fee of $35 forWestfield Historical Society mem-bers and $40 for non-members in-cludes a three-course meal, coffee/tea and gratuity. The luncheon feeshould be paid in advance (checkpayable to Westfield Historical So-ciety) by mailing it to Westfield His-torical Society, P.O. Box 613,Westfield, N.J. 07091, or online atwestfieldhistoricalsociety.org/regis-tration/. Payments should be receivedby Friday prior to the luncheon.Westfield Historical Society mem-berships also will be available at theluncheon.

For more information on theWestfield Historical Society and itsevents, visitwestfieldhistoricalsociety.org and likethe Society on Facebook.

Garwood Hist. CommitteeHighlights Plans for 2019

Scotch Plains Library PlansMakers Day Activities

SCOTCH PLAINS — The ScotchPlains Public Library, and more than200 participating sites across NewJersey, will celebrate making, makerculture and STEAM-based (Sci-ence, Technology, Engineering,Arts, and Math) learning for all agesduring the fifth annual NJ MakersDay on Friday and Saturday, March

22 and 23.The maker movement in the United

States is not just a hobby; it is havinga significant impact on school cur-riculum development and growinglocal economies by providing ac-cess to people, information, re-sources and tools that facilitate mak-ing to a wide variety of skill levels.

Hands-on events will include a sew-ing class for adults, a littleBits Cod-ing class for middle-school students,a paper airplane workshop with 4HUnion County, and a HealthBarncooking class for children ages 5 to 8.Families will have an opportunity totake on the third annual Family MakerChallenge, in which they will create aMarshmallow Peeps diorama inspiredby a favorite story.

Online registration is required forthese events, which are open to ScotchPlains and Fanwood librarycardholders exclusively. For more in-formation, visit the Scotch Plains Pub-lic Library website, scotlib.org/makersday/.

In addition to the above events,on Saturday, from 10 a.m. to noon,the community is invited to make astress ball and explore littleBits,Makey Makeys and LEGOs on thelower level of the library. Upstairs,activities will include making a but-ton, paperback hedgehogs, origamibookmarks and straw builders, aswell as Family Storytime and Craft.From 3 to 4 p.m., the library’s book-binding machine will be availablefor making a notepad. No registra-tion is needed for these activities,but supplies are limited.

The Scotch Plains Public Libraryis located at 1927 Bartle Avenue,one block from Park Avenue in thecenter of the township.

Lantern Hill WelcomesNew Executive Director

Craig Karczmer

NEW PROVIDENCE — CraigKarczmer has been named the newexecutive director of Lan-tern Hill, an Erickson Liv-ing developed and man-aged retirement commu-nity in New Providence,N.J., effective January 7.

In his new role, he isresponsible for ongoingproject development,operations, and provid-ing vision and leader-ship for the Lantern Hillcommunity.

Mr. Karczmer joinedErickson Living in 2014and has more than 20years of experience in the senior hous-ing and health care industries. Hemost recently served as the executivedirector at Ashby Ponds, an EricksonLiving developed and managed re-tirement community in Ashburn, Va.He also served as associate executivedirector at Cedar Crest, an EricksonLiving developed and managed re-tirement community in PomptonPlains, N.J. Before joining EricksonLiving, he was part of a team taskedwith opening five assisted living andmemory care assisted living commu-nities in New Jersey.

“Craig’s proven leadership and ex-pertise in senior living services, aswell as his tremendous passion for

providing the highest quality of opera-tions and services to our residents and

employees, will play a keyrole in helping Lantern Hillcontinue to be an outstand-ing retirement destinationin Union County, New Jer-sey,” said Vice-Presidentof Regional Operations,Chris Emmett.

“It is a privilege to jointhe Lantern Hill team,”said Mr. Karczmer. “I’mtruly looking forward tobeing a part of such a spe-cial community and help-ing to provide the highestlevel of operational excel-

lence and customer service possible.”Mr. Karczmer received his Bach-

elor of Arts degree from the StateUniversity of New York at Oswegoand his Masters of Public Health CareAdministration from Long IslandUniversity.

About Lantern Hill:Lantern Hill, one of 20 continuing

care retirement communities devel-oped and managed by Erickson Liv-ing®, is situated on a scenic 26-acrecampus in New Providence, N.J. Thecommunity is located in UnionCounty and is home to 390 residents.Additional information about Lan-tern Hill can be found atLanternHillCommunity.com.

Mr. Booth to Be FetedBy WCC February 22WESTFIELD — The Westfield

Community Center (WCC) has an-nounced its Black History Month eventfor 2019 will be held on Friday, Febru-ary 22, from 7 to 11 p.m., at the center.The WCC is located at 558 West BroadStreet, Westfield. The evening willinclude food, fun and entertainmentby The Universal Sound Band, a groupspecializing in soul, rhythm and bluesand Motown standards.

Langston Booth, a 44-year em-ployee of the WCC, will be honoredat this event. Raised in Westfield,Mr. Booth attended the JuilliardSchool in New York City and servedthree and a half years in the UnitedStates Army, attaining the rank ofsergeant. He is a percussive musi-cian serving the Bethel BaptistChurch in Westfield.

Besides his primary duties at theWCC, providing janitorial and main-tenance services, he has been a bus/van driver for children and seniorcitizens, counseled youth, and taughtdrums in the Drum and Bugle Corpthat the WCC once sponsored, amongother roles.

Admission is $20. Payment may bemade in advance or at the door. Formore information, call (908) 232-4759or visit westfieldcommunitycenter.org.

SOUP’S ON...Fourth graders in Branice Moore’s class at McKinley ElementarySchool in Westfield were Soup-er Bowl champions, collecting 388 non-perishablefood items, while the entire school community collected 3,465 food items for a localfood pantry.

Area Residents Can Learn‘Wisdom of Sojourner Truth’

CRANFORD — Daisy Century,Ed.D., a historical interpreter, edu-cator, actor, author and singer, willbring to life one of the world’smost influential and accomplishedwomen when she shares the “Wis-dom of Sojourner Truth.”

All are invited to attend this pro-gram on Wednesday, March 27, at7 p.m., at the Cranford CommunityCenter. The event is sponsored bythe Friends of the Cranford PublicLibrary.

Escaping the brutality of slaveryin 1826, Isabella Baumfree took onthe name Sojourner Truth and be-gan her travels as a preacher. Be-lieving the causes of women’s rightsand abolition to be intertwined andequally important, she spoke pub-licly on suffrage, and gave her mostsignificant speech, “Ain’t I aWoman?” at the Ohio Women’sRights Convention in 1851.

Ms. Century performs historical

interpretations of the lives of bril-liant and influential women, includ-ing Harriet Tubman, BessieColeman and Madam C.J. Walker.She holds a Bachelor of Arts degreein Biology from Claflin University,a Masters in Science Education fromSouth Carolina State University andher Ed.D. from Temple University.She has inspired students in thePhiladelphia school system for morethan 20 years with her historicallyaccurate performances. Ms. Cen-tury also writes under the nameEmily Nelson, and has publishedtwo books: “Belle” and “Ms.Emmaline’s Little Book of Wit andWisdom.”

No registration is required forthis free event. The Cranford Com-munity Center is located at 220Walnut Avenue and is accessible toall. For more information aboutthe Cranford Public Library, visitcranfordlibrary.org.

Therapeutic Relationships,Like Others, Require Honesty

I N S E S S I O NI N S E S S I O NI N S E S S I O NI N S E S S I O NI N S E S S I O N

By Carol Pedro, Exec. Dir.Youth & Family Counseling Service

Our agency continues to see moreand more clients. Our collective ex-periences teach us more and moreeach day. I try to remain teachable:willing and open to new things, ideas,theories and schools of thought.

Look at the world today. So manythings change. Life is a series ofchanges. Anyone who is “really liv-ing” can surely attest to that! But,there are a few things that remainsteadfast and true, in my experience,when dealing with people personallyand professionally.

One of the most important, undeni-able qualities that must exist in anyhealthy relationship is honesty. Hon-esty is also vital in a successful thera-peutic relationship. Those clients thatare open and working in a collabora-tion with the therapist have the great-est success. Withholding basic infor-mation such as prior treatment, hos-pitalizations and medication is detri-mental to the outcome of treatment.

Sometimes, emotions, deep feel-ings of shame, such as embarrass-ment or grief associated with thishistory, keep people from disclosing.

A client may be dealing with angerand resentment toward a prior thera-pist experience or institution. Thesefeelings are very important and wouldbe greatly beneficial to explore andprocess at the beginning of a newcounseling relationship.

Mental health is as important asany other health issue. Misleading ordishonest information may potentiallyhave life-and-death consequences. Donot deny yourself the ability to healand recover and be emotionallyhealthy. It is so important to be forth-coming and honest, as best as youcan, to truly benefit from the thera-peutic process. Consider your mentaland emotional health like your physi-cal health. It is precious. Good healthis a blessing and should be cherished.Don’t forget about all of you, includ-ing your emotions. You matter!

***

Carol M. Pedro is a licensed thera-pist with Youth and Family Counsel-ing Service, 233 Prospect Street,Westfield, N.J. 07090; (908) 233-2042. Website: yfcsnj.org.

Mary Poppins Jr.On Tap at Terrill

SCOTCH PLAINS — TerrillMiddle School, located at 1301Terrill Road, Scotch Plains, willpresent Mary Poppins Jr. as itsSpring musical, featuring a cast,crew and ensemble of 88 students.

Opening night of the musical willtake place on Friday, March 1, at 7p.m., followed by performances onSaturday, March 2, at 7 p.m., andSunday, March 3, at 2 p.m. Conces-sions and candygrams will be avail-able, and there will be one 15-minuteintermission.

Tickets for this event can be pur-chased at m.bpt.me/event/4070350.Ticket prices are $10 for generaladmission; $8 for students with ID,and $6 for senior citizens. For moreinformation, contact Alexis Vegliaat (908) 447-4541 [email protected].

Singles Group PostsMarch Meetings

WESTFIELD — The SundayMorning Singles Discussion Groupmeets for lively conversation everySunday. Meeting dates for next monthinclude March 3, March 10,, March17, March 24 and March 31.

The group meets from 9 to 10 a.m.on the lower level of the First BaptistChurch of Westfield, located at 170Elm Street. This non-denominationalgroup enjoys a continental breakfastfollowed by conversation. A $2 dona-tion is requested. For more informa-tion, call (908) 686-0563.


GREENHOUSE VISIT...Greenhouse Manager Barbara Spellmeyer guides Rakeand Hoe Juniors in learning about plants and how to care for them during a recentvisit to the Union County College Kellogg Greenhouse. The Juniors, pictured fromleft to right, are: Arline Bound, Lexi Strauss, CJ Strauss and Lila Spadaro.

Rake and Hoe Juniors VisitUCC Kellogg Greenhouse

WESTFIELD — Junior membersof the Rake and Hoe Garden Club ofWestfield visited the Union CountyCollege Kellogg Greenhouse onJanuary 16.

Club members BarbaraSpellmeyer, Greenhouse manager,and Claire Minick showed the Jun-iors around the greenhouse and dis-cussed the diverse features of theplants growing there and how to carefor them. The Juniors learnt how topot up small plants and each tookhome plants to take care of in prepa-ration for submitting them to theNew Jersey State Flower Show to beheld in April.

The Rake and Hoe Garden Club is

affiliated with the Garden Club ofNew Jersey and the National GardenClub, Inc. The club meets on thesecond Wednesday of the month, atnoon, at the Scotch Hills CountryClub in Scotch Plains.

Membership is open to residents ofWestfield and surrounding towns. TheJuniors, ranging from kindergartenthrough high-school students, meetmonthly, after school during the schoolyear, to work on projects focused onflower design, gardening and commu-nity service. For more informationabout the club, call Jeanne Marie Ryanat (908) 654-0271 or visit the club’swebsite, rakeandhoe.org, or itsFacebook page.

Conservancy Invites PublicTo ‘The Frugal Gardener’

CRANFORD — The HansonPark Conservancy will present aprogram entitled “The Frugal Gar-dener” on Tuesday, March 12, at 7p.m., at the Cranford CommunityCenter. Virginia Lamb, an environ-mental educator from RutgersHome Gardeners’ School, will bethe featured speaker.

Participants will learn tips andtricks for achieving their gardendreams while staying within theirbudget. Topics covered will includegetting soil in tip-top shape, start-ing plants from cuttings and seeds,and some suggestions for plantsthat will give gardeners the best“bang” for their buck.

Ms. Lamb has more than 20 yearsof experience in recycling, wastereduction, organic gardening andschool gardening. A graduate ofStockton University, she hasworked as the recycling coordina-tor for Galloway Township and

Monmouth County, where she alsowas a Master Gardener. She hasbeen a freelance educator/consult-ant since 2000. Clients includeRutgers University, FootprintPower and many environmentalgroups, garden clubs and privatecompanies throughout the region.

Ms. Lamb is working towardsher Master of Science degree inSoil Science at the University ofMassachusetts-Amherst and liveswith her family in Maplewood.

The Cranford Community Centeris located at 220 Walnut Avenue.This program is free and open to thepublic. No registration is required,but seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis.

The presentation is sponsored bythe Hanson Park Conservancy, a non-profit corporation begun in 2004. Tolearn more, visithansonparkconservancy.com or likethe organization on Facebook.

FUMC Westfield to FeatureTheme of ‘Sowing Miracles’WESTFIELD — As a neighbor in

the community, First United Method-ist Church (FUMC) Westfield be-lieves its purpose is grounded in serv-ing, being a place of openness anddiversity, and always ensuring every-one feels welcome.

This week, FUMC cited 2Corinthians 9:6, which says, “Remem-ber this: Whoever sows sparingly willalso reap sparingly, and whoever sowsgenerously will also reap generously.”

During the month of March, thechurch will prepare to live this pur-pose with the theme “Preparing toSOW Miracles.” It asks the faithful toturn their hearts to God in order toplan better, live better and love better.

FUMC Westfield invites the com-munity to join the congregation formultiple Lenten season activities dur-ing March.

The church will observe AshWednesday on March 6 with a 6 p.m.

Family Service, a 6:30 p.m. SoupSupper for all and a 7:30 p.m. Tradi-tional Service.

On Sunday, March 24, FamilyPromise of Union County will jointhe congregation in worship. FUMCis opening its doors to those who arewithout a place to sleep. A specialblessing will occur.

The following Sunday, March 31,children and youth will lead the con-gregation in worship with a chanceldrama based on the book “The ThreeQuestions” by Jon J. Muth.

FUMC Westfield holds worshipevery Sunday at 10 a.m., with ChurchSchool for all ages at 9 a.m. and Fel-lowship Time following worship at 11a.m. The church is located at 1 EastBroad Street, Westfield. For more in-formation about FUMC Westfield, visitthe church online at fumcwestfield.org,on Facebook (FUMC Westfield) or onInstagram (fumcwestfield).

Fanwood Presb. PlansShrove Tuesday MealFANWOOD — The Fanwood

Presbyterian Church invites all to ameal of pancakes, sausages and applesauce on Shrove Tuesday, March 5.There will be continuous seating be-tween 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

The celebrations on the Tuesdaybefore Ash Wednesday and theLenten season are called many things:Mardi gras, Carnival, Fat Tuesdayor Shrove Tuesday. It is a day of fun,for eating sweet and fattening things,before the fasting of Lent.

Tickets will be available in ad-vance and at the door for $5 a personor $15 for a family. The church din-ing room is located at the corner ofMarian Avenue and McDermottPlace. Attendees are asked to parkon the street and enter through theramp door off of Marian Avenue.

For more information or to ordertickets in advance, call the churchoffice at (908) 889-8891 or [email protected].

JDAIM Shabbat SetAt Temple Emanu-ElWESTFIELD — In conjunction

with February being Jewish DisabilityAwareness, Acceptance and InclusionMonth (JDAIM), Temple Emanu-Elinvites the public to help its congrega-tion celebrate the diversity of the com-munity and create an inclusive Shabbatexperience for all on Friday, February22, starting at 5 p.m.

Author and Jewish educatorGabrielle Kaplan-Mayer will be theguest speaker. Following services,there will be a dinner and a specialprogram that Ms. Kaplan-Mayerwill facilitate. Advance signup fordinner is required. For more infor-mation and to RSVP, visit tewnj.org/jdaim-shabbat/Dinner.

The membership rate to attend is$15 for children and $25 for adults;non-member rates are $18 for chil-dren and $30 for adults. If the costof the dinner is an issue, interestedpersons are asked to speak withExecutive Director Brian Chartockat (908) 232-6770, extension no.114. All payments must be receivedin advance of the dinner.

Temple Emanu-El is located at 756East Broad Street, Westfield. The syna-gogue expresses appreciation to itsTask Force for Diversity and Inclusionand its team of staff and volunteers fororganizing this Shabbat experience,and to its Religious School Fund forhelping to underwrite costs associatedwith this evening.

Westfield Rotary Announces‘Breakfast with the Bands’

WESTFIELD — Each spring, theWestfield Rotary Club Foundation,fund-raising partner of the RotaryClub of Westfield, hosts an open housefundraiser breakfast to help supportextensive community outreach pro-grams, benefit youth, challenge hun-ger and provide grants to local non-profit social service agencies.

This year, the event, “Breakfastwith the Bands,” will be held on Sat-urday, March 2, from 8 a.m. to noon,in the Westfield High School (WHS)cafeteria, located at 550 Dorian Road.According to Liz Ensslin, the club’spresident-elect, who is chairing thebreakfast, band ensembles from WHSand the intermediate schools will per-form exclusively during a cateredbreakfast served by Rotarians withthe assistance of members of theWestfield High School Interact Club.

“Not only is ‘Breakfast with theBands’ a great morning for the high-school and intermediate-school mu-sic programs, but the students havethe satisfaction of knowing their per-formances raise funds that go directlyto benefit the community,” remarkedChris Vitale, director of bands for thehigh school. “In the past, the RotaryClub has awarded grants to supportmusic in our schools, and more re-cently, awarded a grant in support ofWestfield’s National ChampionshipMarching Band.”

The Westfield High School StageBand will kick off the breakfast at 8a.m., succeeded by the followingbands: 8:20 a.m. — WHS Jazz II;8:50 a.m. — WHS Jazz I; 9:30 a.m.— Edison Intermediate School Jazz;10 a.m. — Roosevelt IntermediateSchool (RIS) Jazz Combo; 10:30 a.m.— RIS Big Band; 11 a.m. to end —AlgoRhythm (WHS Student Combo).

Under the motto “Service AboveSelf,” Rotarians have been involved incommunity service since the club’scharter was granted by Rotary Interna-tional in 1921. To date, almost $3million has been granted to Westfield

residents graduating from high schoolto aid in funding their college educa-tions. Thousands have been awardedto local non-profit agencies. An ongo-ing project of the club raises food andfunds for the abatement of hungeramong the town’s school children atrisk through its Back Pack Program.

The Westfield Rotary Club Foun-dation expresses special thanks to itsPlatinum Sponsors, Buttermore andFoltz Attorneys at Law andChildren’s Specialized Hospital, aswell as its partners at Rock ‘n’ Joeand Stop & Shop.

Tickets are $10 for the breakfastand performances. They are avail-able from members of the RotaryClub, the Interact Club and at thedoor on March 2. For further infor-mation, call Ms. Ensslin’s office at(908) 272-8090.

MUSIC MAKERS...Guitarist Chris Flynn, from Westfield, and electronic violin-ist Deni Bonet will perform at the Westfield Memorial Library on Saturday,March 2, at 2 p.m.

Deni Bonet and Chris FlynnTo Perform at Library

WESTFIELD — The WestfieldMemorial Library will present elec-tric violinist Deni Bonet and gui-tarist Chris Flynn on Saturday,March 2, at 2 p.m. The library islocated at 550 East Broad Street.

Ms. Bonet is a singer/songwriterand virtuoso violinist. She has astellar résumé, having performedand recorded with Cyndi Lauper,R.E.M., Sarah McLachlan andmany others. Her previous appear-ances include Carnegie Hall, TheGreat Wall of China, the UnitedNations and the White House forPresident Barack Obama.

For the past several years, Ms.Bonet has been touring in theUnited States and Europe and hasbecome an in-demand act, headlin-ing various festivals, performingarts centers, clubs, colleges andinternational venues. Her music hasbeen featured on HBO, NBC andAmerican Airlines, plus severalfilm and modern dance projects.

She was recently honored to beawarded a grant through the ArtsEnvoy Program of the United Statesgovernment to spend a month on aresidency in Africa teaching vio-lin, songwriting and rock ’n roll ata music college in Zanzibar.

Ms. Bonet has released severalCDs of her own original music, in-cluding last year’s critically-ac-claimed “Bright Shiny Objects” onZip Records/Sony-RED, which re-ceived enthusiastic reviews. PasteMagazine said it was “bound to beone of the standout records of theyear,” while Popdose Magazinecalled her playing “rich and fine andtempered and textured; the melodiesare strong and enveloping.”

Mr. Flynn hails from Westfield.The program is free and open to

Westfield Memorial Library andMURAL cardholders. MURALcardholders belong to the 40-plus li-braries that are part of the MiddlesexUnion Reciprocal Agreement Librar-ies. Interested persons are encour-aged to check the Westfield Memo-rial Library’s website, wmlnj.org, tosee if their library is a MURAL par-ticipant. To register for the programfeaturing Ms. Bonet and Mr. Flynn,visit wmlnj.org and click on the OnlineCalendar or call (908) 789-4090,option 0.

For more information on libraryprograms and services, call (908)789-4090, visit wmlnj.org and signup for the monthly e-newsletter, “Li-brary Loop,” or stop by the libraryfor a copy of its award-winning,quarterly newsletter, “Take Note.”

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Soup-Tasting to AidHistoric Area Home

KENILWORTH — The KenilworthHistorical Society will host a soup-tasting event on Thursday, March 21,from 6 to 8 p.m., at the CommunityUnited Methodist Church hall, locatedat 455 Boulevard, Kenilworth.

This popular event – “Soup’s On”– will give participants the opportu-nity to taste a variety of favorite soupsfrom local restaurants and others,along with assorted breads and des-serts. Admission is $12. Parking andthe entrance to the church hall arelocated at the rear of the building.

Advance reservations are requestedby Friday, March 15, as seating islimited. For information and/or res-ervations, call (908) 709-0434 or visitEspecially Yours Florist, located at13 North 20th Street, Kenilworth,where tickets for the event also arebeing sold.

Proceeds will benefit the KenilworthHistorical Society’s Oswald J. NitschkeHouse, a circa 1880 “living history”museum and cultural arts center, byhelping defray the cost of an elevatorthat makes all levels of the site fullyaccessible to everyone.

The Kenilworth Historical Societyis an independent, volunteer-based,non-profit, tax-exempt, 501 (c)(3) or-ganization dedicated to the research,preservation and interpretation of theOswald J. Nitschke House, local his-tory and culture.

PRESIDENTIAL VISIT...The Woman’s Club of Westfield (WCW) on February11 welcomed guest Neil Hartley, portraying President Franklin Delano Roosevelt,during a general meeting of the club. Mr. Hartley is an actor, director, spokesmanand teacher. Pictured with him, from left to right, are: WCW members JulieNardone, Pat D’Angelo, Ruth Positan and Grace Ann Meyn. America’s 32ndPresident was a lawyer, politician and businessman who served as a United StatesCongressman for two terms before going on to become President for four terms.He led the country through the Great Depression and World War II.

Knights Invite AllTo Chili Cook-Off

WESTFIELD — The WestfieldKnights of Columbus will sponsor aChili Cook-Off fundraiser to supportthe Christian Refugee Relief Fund,which provides humanitarian assis-tance to persecuted Christians in Iraqand Syria.

This family event will take placethis Sunday, February 24, beginningat 3 p.m., at the Knights of ColumbusHall, located at 2400 North Avenue,Westfield. In addition to homemadechili, hot dogs and chili dogs will beprovided for the kids. The festivitiesalso will include music and bever-ages. There is a suggested donationof $30 for adults and $15 for childrenunder age 15. All are welcome.

Those interested in entering theirchili in the Cook-off challenge areasked to email Ben Chiang [email protected].


THE WEEK IN SPORTSSee it all in color at!www.goleader.com

Sports Section Pages 9-14

Real estate agents affiliated with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage are independent contractor agents and are not employees of the Company. ©2019 Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Operated by a subsidiary of NRT LLC. Coldwell Banker and the Coldwell Banker Logo are registered service marks owned by Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC.

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Westfield East Office209 Central Avenue

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Committed to You ... and Your Goals!

Real estate agents affiliated with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage are independent contractor agents and are not employees of the Company. ©2019 Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal

Opportunity Act. Operated by a subsidiary of NRT LLC. Coldwell Banker and the Coldwell Banker Logo are registered service marks owned by Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC.

COLDWELL BANKEREX PE R I E N C E, TRU S T, RE L I A B I L I T Y SE RV I C E&

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Real estate agents affiliated with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage are independent contractor agents and are not employees of the Company. ©2018 Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage. All Rights Reserved.Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Operated by a subsidiary of NRT LLC. Coldwell Banker and the Coldwell Banker Logo are registered service marks owned by Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC.

Bernadette Houston, CRB

Cell: [email protected]

Broker / Salesperson

Once in a lifetime a home like this becomes available. Custom renovation with all the most wonderful details is whatyou will find on this .62 of an acre property located on one of Wychwood’s prettiest streets. Plenty of special featuresfor fun year round. Meticulously maintained inside and out. Gourmet kitchen with double dishwashers, ovens,refrigerator drawers and warming drawer all designed for easy at home entertaining. Kitchen opens to family roomwhich overlooks the grounds and terraced pool area. Dual home offices are perfect for at home work. Master suitewith double walk in closets has its own fireplace and access to the terrace. A perfect place to bask in the morning sunand enjoy the view. Total of 5 bedrooms and 4 full and 2 half baths. From lower level recreation room to 3rd floorsuite this Wilson School home is sure to please. Offered at $1,999,999.

OPEN HOUSE: Sunday, February 24th • 1-4pm940 Kimball Avenue, Westfield

WF’S JACOBS, GIMBLETTE, HOERLE, COMPOSTO, SIMPSON WIN; COUGARS BENCIVENGA, SMITH WIN TITLES

Blue Devils 1st, Cougars 2nd at Dist. 14 Mat ChampionshipBy DAVID B. CORBIN

Specially Written for The Westfield Leader and The Times

Two teams, Westfield and Cranford,could have been considered to be thetop contenders for the team title at theDistrict 14 Wrestling Championshipheld at Millburn High School on Feb-ruary 16. But in the end, it was the BlueDevils, who stepped forward to send10 matmen to the finals, claiming fivechampions and grabbing the crownwith a total of 231.5, while the Cou-gars sent six to the finals and claimedtwo champs to place second with atotal of 201. Voorhees (V) had twochampions and placed third at 169 andBridgewater-Raritan (Br) had threechampions and placed fourth at 120.

The top three wrestlers in eachweight class would advance to theRegion 4 Tournament, which beganwith the elimination round on Febru-ary 20. The remaining wrestlers willcompete on Friday, February 23, andSaturday, February 24. With one thirdplace (Theo Dardia — 145-lbs) theBlue Devils qualified 11 and GlenKurz was named District 14 Coach ofthe Year. The Cougars also qualified11 with five third-place finishes.

The championship bouts began atthe 106-lb class and Blue Devil fresh-man Luke Jacobs, who was seededthird, advanced to the finals with a1:09 fall in the quarterfinals and a4:26 fall over second-seeded Anthony

Bistany of St Joseph (SJ) Metuchen.Facing top-seeded Seven Rich (V),Jacobs began with a takedown butwas reversed. After receiving a pen-alty point (locking hands), Jacobsreversed Rich to take a 5-2 lead. Richreversed in the second period butJacobs escaped and added a snake-around takedown. Rich recorded areversal and a takedown in the thirdperiod but Jacobs recorded atakedown and an escape to grab thecrown with an 11-8 decision.

“The kid had really heavy hands.At first I was a little scared that I was

going to be taken down then I tookhim down and my confidence wentup from there. When he got on top ofme, he put legs on me and startedcranking on me. He almost turnedme,” described Jacobs, who added,“It feels good but I still have morework to do to place in the top-4 in theregion and go to states.”

Next was top-seeded QuinnGimblette facing Cougar WillFernandez at 113-lbs. It would be thefirst of four Westfield/Cranford show-downs for the title. Gimblette recordeda pair of falls to reach the finals as didFernandez. Gimblette began with asingle-leg front trip takedown thenafter adding a reversal in the secondperiod, he pinned Fernandez in 3:32with a double arm bar stack.

“I wrestled the kid a couple of

times before and that he was hard ontop. Once I was on top, it was kind ofhard to turn him, so I chose a differentmove this time and it worked out. It’sexciting to move on to the regions.I’m going to work my hardest,”Gimblette expressed.

At 120-lbs, Blue Devil LukeHoerle, who won the 113-lb titlelast year, began his championshipbout with Aidan Taylor (V) like itwas just another routine workout.He began with a quick takedown,let Taylor up and added a barrelroll-to-back five-point move. Sec-onds later Hoerle added a two-pointtilt to take a 9-0 lead. In period 2,using grapevine and stretcher legmoves, Taylor was in control fromthe top position until Hoerle finallymanaged to get a reversal for an 11-0 lead. Taylor did, however, rule thethird period with a takedown and atwo-point nearfall but Hoerle came

up with an 11-5 victory.“I took him down a couple of times

in the first and tilted him, which iskind of routine but I need to get pastthat in the second and third period,especially against guys with long legs.I tend to clam up on bottom and notmove as much as I should. It was hardto get out of legs,” Hoerle explained.

Cougar Pat Kalnins placed third at120-lbs when he pinned Union’s LiamGrahl in 2:36.

Blue Devil CJ Composto grabbedhis third district title when he trackeddown Hunter Rinehart (V) by 17-7major decision. Composto exerciseda variety of takedowns and added aquick three-point tilt but did get re-versed after his first takedown.

Composto explained, “When I wasgoing for the tilt, he escaped from myhips and was able to hip over me andget the reversal but I didn’t let that

KREUSSER 18 PT, 9 RB; DOBO 12 PT, 8 RB; STRAV 6 RB

Basketball Blue Devils DownGL Highlanders in UCT, 49-36

By DAVID B. CORBINSpecially Written for The Westfield Leader and The Times

Control of the boards belonged tothe second-seeded Westfield HighSchool basketball Lady Blue Devils,who also dished out 14 assists, in a49-36 victory over the GovernorLivingston Highlanders in thequarterfinal round of the UnionCounty Tournament at AL JohnsonHigh School in Clark on February 15.

Freshman Chloe Kreusser had oneof her finest all-around games for the15-7 Blue Devils, netting a game-high 18 points, and grabbing ninerebounds and three steals, while add-ing an assist. Junior Faith Dobosiewiczbecame a dominating force under theboards also with eight rebounds, whileputting in 12 points, including a pairof 3-pointers, and adding two assists,a steal and a blocked shot.

Dobosiewicz had the knack formaking herself big when it came tobattling for position under the boards.

“I do that all the time. Coach em-phasizes boxing out during practice,putting all your heart and effort. That’sall boxing out is and we do a great jobof it,” she explained.

Throughout the game Kreusser al-ways seemed to be in the right place at

CONTINUED ON PAGE 13


David B. Corbin for The Westfield Leader and The Times

WORKING THE BAR...Cougar senior AJ Bencivenga, top, sets up an arm bar inhis 152-lb title bout with Blue Devil Luke Scanlan.

photo courtesy of Caroline Miller

FIRST AT 113-LBS...Blue Devil Quinn Gimblette, top, has Cougar Will Fernandezin a double arm bar in the 113-lb title bout. Gimblette pinned Fernandez in 3:32.

photo courtesy of Caroline Miller

FIRST AT 160-LBS...Blue Devil Jordan Simpson, top, works to get a hammer lockon Cougar Ky’ell Roper in the 160-lb title bout in the District 14 Championshipin Millburn on February 16. Simpson won via 16-4 major decision.

More photos at goleader.com Ballyhoo Sports

More photos at goleader.comBallyhoo Sports


GREAT EVENING ON THE COURT...Blue Devil freshman Chloe Kreusser, No. 21, scored 18 points, grabbed ninerebounds and added three steals and an assist in the UCT victory over the Governor Livingston Highlanders.


RAIDER GIRLS FALL TO CHATHAM IN NORTH PUBLIC B

Raider Boys Top MontgomeryFor North 2, Pub. B Swim Title

Special efforts from its depth plusexpected strong showings from se-niors Josh Cohen and Alan Shao al-lowed the No. 17, top-seeded ScotchPlains-Fanwood High School boysswim team to defeat the second-seededMontgomery Cougars, 97-73, for theNJSIAA North Jersey, Section 2, Pub-lic B championship at Raritan BayYMCA on February 14. In the North2, Public girls final, the second-seeded, No. 8 Raiders lost to the top-seeded 10-3 No. 10 Chatham Cou-gars, 98-72, at the same location onFebruary 15.

To reach the title meets, the 10-3Raider boys knocked off Chatham,93-77, in the semifinal round at theFanwood-Scotch Plains “Y” on Feb-ruary 8, while Montgomery edgedRandolph, 88-82, in its semifinal. The10-2-1 Lady Raiders ended up in an85-85 deadlock with North Hunterdonin their semifinal but advanced due toa higher power point rating, whileChatham defeated Summit, 104-66,in its semifinal.

In the boys championship show-down, the Raiders won both freestyle

relays, which included going 1-2 inthe 200-free relay with Matt London,Dan Donaldson, Corey He and Cohentouching first with a time of 1:32.4,followed by Drew Burfeindt, JasonMongiovi, Mike Depaola and LucasRoute. Cohen, He, London and AidanTrenery won the 400-freestyle relayat 3:28.05. Montgomery’s EdwinLiang Gilman, Andrew Lim, LeePoirier and Matt Chen took first in the200-medley relay at 1:40.01.

Cohen placed first in the 200-freeat 1:44.26 and He took second. Cohenalso won the 500-free with a time of4:43.4, followed by He. Shao tookfirst in the 200-Individual Medley at1:56.96 and also took first in the 100-backstroke at 52.96. Montgomery’sAndrew Lim won the 100-breaststrokein 1:03.59 but Raiders Mongiovi,Donaldson and Virendra Ghate fin-ished 2-3-4. Montgomery’s Poirierwon the 50-free in 21.91 and the 100-butterfly in 51.54. Chen took first inthe 100-free at 49.23.

In the girls championship, theChatham girls, who lost only toMorristown, Mountain Lakes and the

Raiders this season, won nine of the11 events with Raiders Lily Hughes,Sofia Leonetti, Rachel Small and JuliaBonhote taking first in the 200-med-ley relay at 1:50.88 and Hughes win-ning the 100-backstroke in 57.8.

Chatham’s Sara Barrett won the200-free in 1:55.78 and the 500-freein 5:08.81. Olivia Polemeni won the50-free in 24.63 and the 100-free in53.77. Hailey Harkins won the 200IMin 2:09.55, Isabella Hoie won the100-fly in 59.37 and Erica Lizukawon the 100-breast in 1:10.11. AnyaD’Costa, Monica Lizuka, Hoie andPolemeni won the 200-free relay in1:41.09. Hoie, Barrett, Harkins andPolemeni won the 400-free relay in3:44.49.

In the Public B semifinal, TheRaider boys won six of the eight indi-vidual events against the ChathamCougars but began by winning the200-medley relay with Cohen,Mongiovi, Donaldson and Londontouching in 1:43. Cohen, London,Donaldson and Shao won the 200-free relay in 1:31.19. (There was nolisting for the 400-free relay).

Shao took first in the 200-free at1:48.23 and first in the 100-free at49.26. Cohen won the 100-butterflyin 52.19 and the 100-breast in 1:01.21.He won the 200IM in 2:06.13 and the100-backstroke in 1:00.26. ForChatham, Ethan Ding won the 50-free in 23.09 and Jim Cava won the500-free in 5:07.77.

Against North Hunterdon, the LadyRaiders won only three of the 11events but relied heavily on their depthto emerge with the victory. Bonhote,Abby Ryan, Chloe Howell andCaroline Warren took first in the 200-freestyle relay with a time of 1:42.86.Warren took first in the 100-butterflyat 59.72 and Hughes won the 100-backstroke in 59.5.

For the Lions, Aziza Ganihanova,Ashley Kolpin, Ariel Lonoff and Shan-non Hesse won the 200-medley relay in1:52.49. Ganihanova, Kolpin, AddisonSchmidt and Lonoff placed first in the400-free relay in 3:42.91. Ganihanovawon the 200-free in 1:54.98 and the100-free in 53.58. Kolpin won the200IM in 2:14.88, Schmidt won the500-free in 5:20.38, Hesse won the 50-free in 25.26 and Lonoff won the 100-breaststroke in 1:10.95.

Blue Devils Go Down FightingAgainst Top-Ranked Panthers

By J.B. RAYMONDSpecially Written for The Westfield Leader and The Times

PERTH AMBOY –Considering thefinal score, there were not manydroopy faces at the Westfield end ofthe pool after Friday’s 127-43 loss toNo. 1-ranked Bridgewater-Raritan atthe Raritan Bay YMCA. It was thefifth straight Public A North 2 sec-tional title for the Panthers, all ofthem coming against the Blue Devils.

“Although the score was a bit lop-sided, we created a fast lineup andswam many best times,” said WHScoach Steve Whittington, whose teampower-pointed 4,288, their highesttotal in his three years at the helm.

The final score was quite a turn-around from the teams’ first meeting,on Dec. 19, when WHS led at thebreak before dropping a 97-73 deci-sion.

Whittington had scoutedBridgewater’s times at their countymeet and thought there were someplaces to exploit. But those hopeswere over early. The unbeaten Pan-thers went 1-2 in the medley relay, 1-2-5 in the 200 free, 1-3-4 in the 200

individual medley and 1-2-3 in the 50free. And quicker than you could sayantidisestablishmentarianism, it was47-15 at the break. B-R added twomore 1-2-3 finishes, plus a 1-2 in the200 free relay during the second halfof the meet.

“The first meet we were just goingout there to put up some best timesand try our hardest,” WHS juniorAbby McKinney said. “We knew theywere going to be hard to beat and wecaught them off-guard. We madethem nervous. We are the only teamall year where they didn’t win withover 100 points. That’s a hugeachievement for us.”

McKinney certainly did her part.She swam a personal-best 2:10.20 inthe 200 IM to finish a close secondand is now No. 4 all-time at WHS.Then she notched her team’s lone firstplace, the 100 butterfly in 58.72, just1.2 seconds off the school record andNo. 3 all-time. She later anchored the400 free relay with a 53.40 split thatnearly pulled out first place.

“We’ve been losing to B-R in thesectional finals for a while now,”McKinney said. “But I think the com-petition has gotten a lot more intenserecently and the races are a lot closer.The B-R coach told Mr. Whittingtonthat if his team hadn’t suited up (wear-ing racing suits) that they would’vebeen in trouble and we would’ve hada shot at winning. Which is crazy, tothink we are so close to the No. 1 teamin the state.”

Another great swim for WHS wasturned in by sophomore Natalie Lee,whose second-place time in the back-stroke was 1:01.27, No. 11 all-time atWHS. She also went 1:01.65 in thebutterfly.

There was a time not that long agowhen it was Westfield endingBridgewater’s season in the state tour-nament. That happened eight times

this century, before the worm turnedin 2015.

The last time the Blue Devils beatthe Panthers was during the 2013-14regular season, a 126-44 romp underJeff Knight, who was coaching bothsquads back then.

“In my three years, our team hasbeen progressively getting better witha lot of strong swimmers,” saidMcKinney, noting an outstandingfreshman class and some strong ‘Y’Devilfish in the middle schools. “I’mvery optimistic and excited to seewhat next season holds for us. Thisyear we came close for the countychampionship title. I think I speak onbehalf of the whole team that nextyear will be the year. We are veryexcited to show everyone what we aremade of.”

Whittington agreed. “Bridgewateris a really strong team,” he said. “Butwe are getting faster year by year. It’sjust a matter of time.”

BRH2O 127 WESTFIELD 43(WESTFIELD TIMES)

200 MEDLEY RELAY: 3. (Thomp-son, Cestero, A. McKinney, Jeckell)1:51.36, 5. (Lee, Krowinska, Daniel, E.McKinney) 1:56.39; 200 FREE: 3. E.McAndrew 1:58.23, 4. McCann 1:59.75,6. Kennedy 2:03.23; 200 IM: 2. A.McKinney 2:10.20, 5. Krowinska2:18.95, 6. Daniel 2:20.04; 50 FREE: 4.Jeckell 25.36, 5. Thompson 25.44, 6. E.McKinney 25.94;

100 BUTTERFLY: 1. A. McKinney58.72, 5. Lee 1:01.65, 6. Terry 1:09.89;100 FREE: 3. McAndrew 55.07, 5.Krowinska 55.87, 6. E. McKinney 57.06;500 FREE: 4. McGann 5:28.11, 5. Heinze5:31.18, 6. Kennedy 5:38.14;

200 FREE RELAY: 3. (E. McKinney,Jeckell, Krowinska, McAndrew)1:42.20, 4. (Lui, Sullivan, Miller,Kennedy) 1:47.85; 100 BACK: 2. Lee1:01.27, 5. Thompson 1:02.20, 6.Applegarth 1:05.47; 100 BREAST: 4.Cestero 1:12.61, 5. Daniel 1:12.72, 6.Sullivan 1:13.13;

400 FREE RELAY: 2. (McCann,McAndrew, Thompson, A. McKinney)3:41.60, 4. (Bromberg, Riordan,Kennedy, Lee) 3:53.64.

PUBLIC NOTICETOWNSHIP OF SCOTCH PLAINS

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

In accordance with New Jersey LocalPublic Contracts Law and N.J.S.A. 19:44A-20.4 et. seq., the Township of Scotch Plains(“Township”), County of Union, a munici-pal corporation of the State of New Jersey,is soliciting professional services propos-als through a fair and open process. TheTownship will require the following ser-vices:

ENGINEERING SERVICESFOR DEVELOPMENT OF ATAX MAP REVISION.

Submission packages may be obtainedat the Township Clerk’s Office, (908) 3226700, during regular business hours, 9:00A.M. to 3:30 P.M., Monday through Friday,excluding holidays. Submission packagesare also available on the Township websitewww.scotchplainnj.gov.

The Township of Scotch Plains intendsto qualify persons and/or firms that (a)possess the professional, financial andadministrative capabilities to provide theproposed services, and (b) will agree towork under the compensation terms andconditions determined by the Township toprovide the greatest benefit to the taxpay-ers of SCOTCH PLAINS.

The Mayor and Council reserves theright to reject any or all submissions due toany defects or waive informalities and ac-cept any submissions that in their judg-ment will be in the best interest of theTownship. The Mayor and Council shallaward the contract or reject all submis-sions no later than 60 days from receipt ofthe same.

Sealed responses to this request forproposals must be submitted to the Town-ship of Scotch Plains, Office of the Munici-pal Clerk, 430 Park Avenue, Scotch Plains,New Jersey 07076 by NO LATER THAN10:00 A.M. local prevailing time on THURS-DAY, MARCH 21, 2019 at which time andplace responses are scheduled to beopened by the Municipal Manager or hisdesignee. Each sealed envelope contain-ing a proposal shall be plainly marked onthe outside to clearly show the specificservice for which an individual or firm issubmitting a proposal. The proposals willbe evaluated by the Mayor and Council ofthe Township of Scotch Plains and con-tracts awarded based on (1) individual orfirm experience and reputation in the field( a copy of the resume of each individualperforming the work is to be included); (2)knowledge of the Township of ScotchPlains and subject matters to be addressedunder the contract; (3) availability to ac-commodate any required meetings; (4)compensation proposal; (5) at least 2 ref-erences with address and phone number;(6) a certification that no immediate rela-tives of any principal of the firm is em-ployed by, or serve as elected officials ofthe Township of Scotch Plains; (7) anexplanation as to when each individualperforming work received his or her li-cense to practice in this State; (8) a copy ofthe firm’s Certificate of Liability Insurance;(9) a copy of the firm’s Business Registra-tion Certificate, and (10) Submission of theinformation requested in the RFP. All con-tracts pursuant to the fair and open pro-cess will be awarded by resolution andrequire a majority vote of the TownshipCouncil at a public meeting. In addition tofull compliance with N.J.S.A. 19:44A-20.4et. seq. (“Pay to Play”), individuals or firmsawarded contracts under these procedureswill be required to comply with N.J.S.A.10:5-31 and N.J.A.C. 17:27-4 (AffirmativeAction and Equal Employment Opportu-nity), 42 U.S.C. Section 12101 et. seq.(Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990),N.J.S.A. 52:25-24.2 (Disclosure of Owner-ship) and N.J.S.A. 52:32-44 (BusinessRegistration). Any questions regarding thisnotice should be directed to the Townshipof Scotch Plains, Office of the MunicipalManager, 430 Park Avenue, Scotch Plains,New Jersey 07076, (908) 322-6700.

Alexander Mirabella,Township Manager

1 T - 2/21/19, The Times Fee: $82.11


ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT

PLEASE BE ADVISED, that the ZoningBoard of Adjustment of the Township ofScotch Plains will hold a public hearing onMarch 7, 2019 at 7:30 pm., at the Munici-pal Building, 430 Park Avenue, First FloorCouncil Chambers to hear the applicationof Jon Bramnick, as authorized by theproperty owner Scotch Plains Environmen-tal Park, LLC, for property located at 1910Westfield Avenue, Block 1401, Lot 5, B-2Zone. The Applicant proposes to constructa parking lot at the aforementioned prop-erty, which is currently a vacant lot. Theproposed parking lot would serve as satel-lite parking for the Applicant’s law officeslocated at 1827 and 1838 East SecondStreet.

The proposed lot is to have 12 parkingspaces. Per Section 23-3.11d (3), B-2Business Zone and Section 23-2.3 l. (1),Regulations Applicable to All Zonesoff-street parking is permitted in this zone.However, the use of this lot as satelliteparking in conjunction with the existing lawoffices is not permitted in this zone.

Additionally, as per Section 23-2.3 l. (3)no off-street parking shall be located withina required front yard in any zone. As pro-posed, 1 of the 12 parking spaces is lo-cated in the front yard of the adjacentbuilding which fronts on Park Avenue. Thisis not permitted in this zone.

Per Section 22-6, Standards Require-ments, 22-6.2 (a) Schedules for Pave-ments, Curbing and Sidewalks, Pave-ments, curbing and sidewalks shall beinstalled as required in the “Schedules forPavements, Curbing and Sidewalks”.Types of pavements and curbing set forthin the schedule shall conform to the sizesand dimensions shown on the plats ap-proved by the Township of Scotch Plainsand filed on the office of the TownshipEngineer.

Required: ***In the B-2 Zone, the ap-proving authority shall require the installa-tion of all brick or combination of concreteand brick walkways.

Proposed: No information regarding thisitem has been provided.

The Applicant is also requesting any andall variances deemed to be necessary atthe time of the hearing, including any otherwaivers, exceptions, interpretations andother relief necessary to allow Applicant’sproposed use of the property.

All interested persons may be presentand be heard. The file pertaining to thisapplication is in the Office of the ZoningBoard of Adjustment and available for pub-lic inspection during regular office hours.

Shannon RapantSecretary to the Zoning Board

1 T - 02/21/19, The Times Fee: $55.18

PUBLIC NOTICETOWN OF WESTFIELD

BOARD OF EDUCATION

NOTICE TO BIDDERS

Sealed bids will be received by the Boardof Education of the Westfield School Dis-trict, Union County, New Jersey, at theBoard of Education, 302 Elm Street,Westfield, New Jersey, for the followingmaterials:

BID FOR:B19-04 Digital Electricity Servers

BIDS DUE:March 12, 2019 at 2:00 PM

Bids must be in strict compliance withspecifications. Specifications may be se-cured from, Purchasing Office 302 ElmStreet, Westfield, New Jersey 07090 (908)789-4407. Bids must be made on the pro-posal forms in the manner designated.Proposals must be endorsed on the out-side of the sealed envelope, with the nameof the bidder, the bidder’s address and thename of the supplies, equipment, or ser-vices for which the bid is submitted. Thebid opening process will begin on the aboveadvertised date and time. No bids shall bereceived after the time designated (N.J.S.A.18A:18A-21(b). The Board of Educationdoes not accept electronic (e-mail) sub-mission of bids.

All bidders are required to comply withthe requirements of N.J.S.A. 10:5-31 etseq., Affirmative Action Against Discrimi-nation and N.J.A.C. 17:27 et seq.

Bidding shall be in conformance with theapplicable requirements ofN.J.S.A.18A:18A-1 et.seq, pertaining tothe “Public School Contracts Law”.

Statement of Ownership Requirement:Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 52:25-24.2, Biddersshall submit a statement setting forth thenames and addresses of all persons andentities that own ten percent or more of itsstock or interest of any type at all levels ofownership.

A Non-Collusion Affidavit and a Con-tractor Questionnaire/Certification alsomust be filed with the bid. The bid packagewill also include other documents that mustbe completed and returned with the bid.Failure to comply with Instructions to Bid-ders and to complete and submit all re-quired forms, may be cause for disqualifi-cation and rejection of the bid.

All bidders shall submit with their bidpackage a copy of the New Jersey Busi-ness Registration Certificate as issued bythe Department of Treasury of the State ofNew Jersey. (N.J.S.A. 52:32-44)

The Board of Education reserves theright to reject any or all bids, pursuant toN.J.S.A. 18A:18A-18, N.J.S.A. 18A:18A-2(s), (t), (x), (y), 18A:18A:-4(a-c), andN.J.S.A. 18A:18A-22, and to waive anyinformalities.

By order of the Westfield Board of Edu-cation, Union County, New Jersey.

Dana SullivanBusiness Administrator

Board Secretary1 T - 2/21/19, The Leader Fee: $60.18

PUBLIC NOTICE PUBLIC NOTICETOWNSHIP OF SCOTCH PLAINS


PLEASE BE ADVISED, that the Zoning Board of Adjustment of the Township of ScotchPlains will hold a public hearing on March 7, 2019 at 7:30 pm., at the Municipal Building,430 Park Avenue, First Floor Council Chambers to hear the application of The Joseph’sGroup, LLC, 2015 Westfield Avenue, Block 2103, Lot 10, R-3A Zone, who is proposinga Holistic Wellness Center, with a store/café, yoga studio and demonstration kitchen, atthe aforementioned property, contrary to the following Zoning Ordinances:

Section 23-3.11, B-2 Business Zone:a. Permitted Primary Uses

2. Personal service establishments limited to the following:(m) Martial art studios, gymnastic schools, fitness centers, dance studios and schools,

performing arts centers, art schools, and the like.are permitted in the B-2 Business Zone.b. Permitted Secondary Uses

1. Off-street parking facilities for the use of customers and employees4. Apartments and offices shall be permitted on both the second and third floors

of existing and new commercial structures, with all means of ingress and egress beingseparate and distinct from the principal use(s) on the first floor of said structures. Thereshall be no mixed uses (apartments and offices) on either the second or third floors of saidstructures.

Existing/Proposed: There are 2 existing apartments on the second floor.d. Other Provisions and Requirements.

1. Truck loading and unloading facilities shall be provided on the property in otherthan the front yard area in sufficient amount to permit the transfer of goods in other thana public street.

2. Wherever a use in this zone is on a lot which abuts a residence zone, a ten footwide landscaped buffer area shall be provided adjacent to the residence zone boundaryin a manner approved by the approving authority. Such buffer area shall be suitablyplanted and maintained with landscaping materials of such species and sizes so as topreclude any detrimental effect upon the adjacent residence zone.

Two buffers should be provided (one on the nominally east side which faces MontagueAvenue; one on the nominally west side which is the interior of the subject lot).

Proposed: There are no buffers shown.3. Off-street parking space for the use of customers and employees shall be

provided as follows (this required parking may be considered to be met by an adjoiningpublic parking facility subject to the determination by the approving authority that thereis sufficient available capacity).

(b) Personal and business service establishments - one space for each 200square feet of gross floor area.

(c) Professional and business offices - one space for each 200 square feet ofgross floor area.

(f) Apartments over commercial establishments - Off-street parking facilitiesshall be provided at the rate of one and one-half spaces for each apartment unit. All off-street parking spaces shall be located behind the front building line. Parking facilitiesrequired for the commercial use shall not be deemed to satisfy this requirement.

Required: 10 parking spaces. Proposed: 10 parking spacesSection 23-2.3, Regulations Applicable to All Zonesl. Off-street parking facilities shall adhere to the following:3. No off-street parking space shall be located within a required front yard in any zone.

In the case of townhouse and garden apartment complexes, no parking spaces shall beprovided within 20 feet (30 feet for the BIA Zone) from the edge of pavement of any accessroadway. For the purpose of this requirement, residential driveways shall not beconsidered parking spaces.

Proposed: 2 parking spaces in front of the garage are in the front yard of an adjoiningproperty.

Section 23-3.4A, Para. H, R-3A Zone, Schedule of Lot, Yard and BuildingRegulations:

Existing/Proposed by Plan (+/-)Column 7:Front Yard Set-Back Minimum Required: 30 feet. 19.9 feet.Column 7a:Side Lot Set-Back Corner Lot. Minimum Required: 15 feet. 4.8 feet.Column 11:Lot Coverage (%) Maximum Allowed: 50 % 67.5%The Applicant is also requesting any and all variances deemed to be necessary at the

time of the hearing, including any other waivers, exceptions, interpretations and otherrelief necessary to allow Applicant’s proposed use of the property.

All interested persons may be present and be heard. The file pertaining to thisapplication is in the Office of the Zoning Board of Adjustment and available for publicinspection during regular office hours.


1 T - 2/21/19, The Times Fee: $122.40

The Westfield High School boysfinished first in the 4x400 at the Group4 Indoor Track Championship, as didthe Scotch Plains-Fanwood Raiderboys in their Group 3 meet at theBennett Center in Toms River on Feb-ruary 15-16. Blue Devils AJ Olson,Steve Zucker, Matt McIntyre andJacob Saltzer broke the WHS indoorrecord with a time of 3:21.11 (SeeDevils Den), while Raiders MylesSingletary, Justin Williams, KyleEstivene and Jacob Leigh won theirrace in 3:30.58.

Saltzer also finished fourth in theindividual 400 with a time of 50.48and Olson crossed 10th at 52.09.Kevin Yucetepe finished 14th in the3,200 at 9:53.68. Cooper Brennanfinished 19th in the 800 at 2:07.18and Sean Root placed 19th in the shotput with a shove of 40-6.25.

For the Raiders, Leigh also tooktop honors in the 400 with a time of50.56 and finished third in the 55 dashat 6.56. Brandon Garcia finished sec-ond in the 1,600 at 4:26.21. Estivenefinished fourth in the 55-hurdles at

7.77. Ben Fleischer crossed sixth inthe 3,200 at 9:42.2. Ian Celardo witha height of 12-0 placed 12th in thepole vault and Tyler Dvorin at 11-0placed 14th.

In Girls Group 4, Blue Devil KatieHamilton finished fourth in the 800with a time of 2:19.04 and IsabelBoufarah finished eighth at 2:21.22.Lauren Triarsi finished seventh in the55-hurdles at 8.69 and Erica Lawrenceplaced seventh in the shot put with ashove of 38-0.25. Grace Endy fin-ished 14th in the 1,600 at 5:25.77 andCaroline Collins finished 17th at5:31.32. Sarah Hacker crossed 17thin the 3,200 at 11:47.61 and SammySalz finished 20th at 11:54.61.

In Group 3 Girls, Raiders CheDashiell and Anina Dashiell both witha height of 4-10 placed 11-15, respec-tively. Julia Jackson finished 13th inthe 400 at 1:01.98. Mary Fossacecafinished 17th in the 3,200 at 12:09.95.Olivia Fletcher at 31-1.75 andCassandra Salot at 30-1.75 placed16-17 in the shot put.

WF, Raider Boys Win 4x4In Group Indoor Track

FSPY Men’s 30+ BasketballLeague Standings, Results:

Things are really starting to tightenup, as following Week 8 play in theFanwood-Scotch Plains “Y” Men’s30+ Basketball League on February10, we now find three teams tied at thetop.

Under The Radar 51, RunAsOne46: Silky smooth guard Eljay Aguillo(17 pts) calmly went 4-for-4 from thecharity stripe down the stretch, as theRadar won a close decision overRunAsOne. Capt. Clay Torres (13pts, three treys) and CV3 Chris

Vandenbrande (12 pts, four fromdowntown) were dialed in from be-yond the arc, and Greg Shea contrib-uted 9 for the victors. The Runners’balanced attack was led by diaperdandies Bryan Stitt (12) and R.B.Alverna (10), while Big Dog DougBarker and Capt. Jason Shann eachfinished with 9.

The Goonies 57, Lightning witha Splash of Thunder 50: TheGoonies, down six at the intermis-sion, clamped down on defense instanza two, holding the Lightning tojust 15 second-half points in route totheir second straight triumph. GreggCarder was his magnificent self onceagain, notching 19 pts to pace theGoons. Kevin Adams and JoeDeGennaro both tallied 9, RichDiomede and Steve Lee dropped in 6apiece, and Capt. Chris Mattina had 5in the comeback win. Warren Lowe,who poured in 35 pts (5 triples), andrunning mate Orlando Jean-Charles(11) accounted for 46 of the Thunder’s50 points.

Team 8 90, Ocho Macho 46: Team8 bounced back in a huge way from aWeek 7 setback, establishing a leagueseason-high for points in one game.Veteran Mike Ruccio tickled thetwines for 26 markers (13-16 FG),Gavin Ford netted 22, Mike Pollackregistered 14, and Rory Schulmanadded 13, as T8 cruised. Capt. BlakeSonnek-Schmelz (7) and Allen Maizes(6) helped stake Eight to a 49-19halftime advantage. Geoff Gonzales(17), Tim Gray (12), and Capt. JoeEncarnacion (11) all reached doublefigures for the Macho Men, andWestley Etheart tossed in 6.

SuperSonics 43, Draymond 42:Both squads entered the fray havingbeen unbeaten in their last five. And,the anticipated battle lived up to itshype, with the Sonics narrowly es-caping, to forge a three-way tie forfirst place with two weeks remainingin the regular season. Super soph.Brendan Ryan ran up 10, and the trioof Capt. Steve Murray, James Patrickand Joe Ruocco all ended up with 9for the streaking Sonics. Capt. JamalBerry (12) and fab frosh Taj Belfield(10) were double-digit producers forDraymond. Dave Berger and FrankVallejo ably supported with 6 each.

FSPY STANDINGS:TEAM W LDraymond 6 2SuperSonics 6 2Team 8 6 2Lightning With Splash 4 4The Goonies 4 4Under The Radar 3 5RunAsOne 2 6Ocho Macho 1 7



Probitas Verus Honos

David B. Corbin (Ridge semifinal meet) for The Westfield Leader and The Times

FOURTH IN THE 500-FREESTYLE...Blue Devil Julia McGann finished fourth in the 500-free with a time of 5:28.11 in theNorth 2, Public A Championship meet against Bridgewater-Raritan on February 15.


Area stores that carry The Westfield Leader and The Scotch Plains – Fanwood TIMES

King's Supermarket300 South Ave. (Leader)

Shoprite Supermarket563 North Ave. (Leader)

7-11 of Mountainside921 Mountain Ave. (Leader)

Westfield Tobacco & News108 Elm St. (Leader)

Baron's Drug Store243 E. Broad St. (Leader)

Krauszer's727 Central Ave. (Leader)

Westfield Mini Mart301 South Ave., W. (Leader)

7-11 of Westfield1200 South Ave., W. (Leader/Times)

Kwick Mart Food Store190 South Ave. (Times)

Scotch Hills Pharmacy1819 East 2nd St. (Times)

Mountain Deli2385 Mountain Ave. (Times)

Wallis Stationery441 Park Ave. (Leader/Times)

7-11 of Garwood309 North Ave. (Leader)

7-11 on Central Ave800 Central Ave. (Leader)

ZIMMERMAN WINS AT 195-LBS, BOWLES WINS 113-LBS

Raiders Claim 2 ChampionsAt District 16 Mat Tournament


Two state powerhouses battled itout for top honors in the District 16Wrestling Tournament held at ScotchPlains-Fanwood High School on Feb-ruary 16. When all the dust wascleared, it was the St. Peter’s Prep(SPP) Marauders that grabbed the toprung with a total of 220.5, followedclosely by the Seton Hall Prep (SHP)Pirates at 213. The Marauders claimedfive individual champions (Pat Adams— 120, Sean Rendeiro — 126, JulianTodd — 145, James Cruz — 170,Nico Colucci — 220), while the Pi-rates claimed four (Conner Decker —132, Cole Carroll — 138, Jack Wilt— 152, Niko Diakides — 285).

The Linden (L) Tigers took third at

131.5 and had two champions in AlexDorce (160) and Mike Afolabi (182).Governor Livingston (GL) took fourthat 98 and the Raiders (SPF) took fifthat 96 and had two champions withBrandon Bowles (113) and ZachZimmerman (195). The Raiders alsoqualified Alex Oslislo (182) and JoeyLarmore (106) who both took thirdfor the Region 4 Tournament. Eliza-beth (E) placed sixth with 89 pointsand had one champion in CristianLuzua (106).

Zimmerman, the top seed at 195-lbs with a 27-6 record, received a byeand was allowed to relax throughoutthe first round.

“I am very excited. I feel like I hada great year. A couple of matches Iwish I could have back but I can’t.That’s OK! I feel like I am getting hotnow and getting ready for districts,regions and, hopefully, AC,”Zimmerman said.

Zimmerman, however, was keep-ing a close eye on several unfamiliarfaces at the tournament.

“Seton Hall and St. Peter’s Prep!You have one or two teams in the top20. They don’t really have a weak kid,so you have to get ready to go againstanybody. I am just going to go in therewith an open mind. Read and react.That’s the way you got to wrestle,”Zimmerman said.

Zimmerman did what he had to dowith a 3-2 win over Sean MacLaney(SPP) in the semifinals then a 3-2victory over Nour Sayed (E) for thetitle.

Bowles also received a bye thenpinned Jakov Zamora (E) in 1:58 toadvance to the 113-lb championshipbout where he earned a 5-3 tiebreakervictory over Felix Lettini (SPP).

At 182-lbs, Oslislo took Marc Pretto

(SPP) to the mat with a double-legtakedown in his quarterfinal bout thenafter a bit of a scramble, clamped himin cradle midway through the firstperiod to advance to the semifinals.

“I wanted to get to my offense early,wake up a little, get the blood flow-ing, so I set him up and took a double.I finished it pretty well. I have beenworking on it all season. He foughthard though. He was flat on his backand flipped me over out of bounds.You got to give him credit for that. Iworked my offense on top. Waited forthe right time and locked up the cradle.I waited until his leg was up and Iwaited until he moved his head theslightest and I went for it,” Oslislodescribed.

Oslislo knew he had his work cut

out for him when he had to face Afolabiin the semis.

“Last year I lost to him in overtime.He got a lot better, I got a lot better. Itshould be a great match. Lookingforward to it. I know he’s a strong kid.I don’t want to tie up with him. He willtake probably some doubles, so I gotto look out for that. He’s a footballplayer too. I feel like the first takedown

is going to win the match,” Oslisloguessed.

Afolabi did manage to stick Oslisloin the third period to advance to thetitle bout where he pinned ZachMerlino (SHP) in 5:29. Oslislo quicklyregrouped and pinned Jacob Quandt(GL) in 3:11 to advance to the re-gions.

Larmore pinned Andrew Ciraco(GL) in 3:48 then lost to Luzua by fallin the 106-lb semifinals. Larmore thenpinned North Plainfield’s (NP) NickSanchez in 49 seconds to earn his tripto the regions.

GL’s David Vill placed second at132-lbs after losing 5-4 to Decker.Conner Vill (GL) also took secondafter being defeated 15-5 by Todd at145-lbs. Highlander Harrison Kelly

took third at 126-lbs whenhe beat Luis Marquez(Iselin Kennedy — IK) 12-6. Greg Friedenberg (GL)pinned Ken Romero (NP)in 1:36 to place third at152-lbs and Joe Scalorograbbed a 4-2 sudden vic-tory over David Lee (IK)for third at 160-lbs.Linden’s Krystian Pasekplaced second at 285-lbswhen he was pinned in 3:13by Diakides (SHP). StefanoDel Valle (L) took third at138-lbs and John Ojeda (L)beat GL’s Andre Stepien, 8-5, for third place at 120-lbs

CHAMPIONSHIPS:106: — Luzua (E) d JoeSciarrone (SHP) 6-3113: — Bowles (SPF) dLettini (SPP) 5-3 TB120: — Adams (SPP) dLawrence Melchionda (SHP)3-0126: — Rendeiro (SPP) pDean Musialowic (SHP) :50132: — Decker (SHP) d Vill(GL) 5-4138: — Carroll (SHP) d AlexLeon (SPP) 7-1145: — Todd (SPP) md Vill

(GL) 15-5152: — Wilt (SHP) d Tom Kellner (SPP)6-5160: — Dorce (L) p Roger Diaz (SPP)2:45170: — Cruz (SPP) d Mike Massa (SHP)6-2182: — Afolabi (L) p Merlino (SHP) 5:29195: — Zimmerman (SPF) d Sayed (E)3-2220: — Colucci (SPP) p Jon Guardado(NP) 1:20285: — Diakides (SHP) p Pasek (L) 3:13

Single Size: 10 Weeks $275 • Double Size: 10 Weeks $425 • Call Jeff at 908-232-4407 • email Ad PDF to [email protected]

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Blue Devil Icemen Ice SummitIn McInnis Cup TournamentFor the second time in two seasons

the Westfield High School boys var-sity ice hockey team defeated theirrival Summit High School Hilltoppersto capture an elusive title. Last year itwas a 3-2 upset in the Union CountyChampionship. This year the BlueDevils capped an exciting McInnisCup tournament run by outlasting theHilltoppers in a wild 6-5 final.

The road to the McInnis Cup titlewas not an easy one for Westfield.The unranked Blue Devils had to over-come the Montclair Kimberly Acad-

emy (MKA) Cougars (ranked 20 inthe state) in the semifinals and theSummit Hilltoppers (No. 16) in thefinals.

The challenge seemed daunting, butthe unranked boys with the blue “W”sweaters were motivated. “We’ve hada good regular season” said seniorcaptain CJ Duffy (OK, 3-5), but headded, “we really wanted to bring

some hardware back to Dubfield na-tion.”

In the semifinals, the Blue Devilsskated past the Cougars, 5-1. Whilethe score may seem like Westfieldabsolutely bundled MKA, the gamewas close throughout. Westfield hadto rely on a strong performance fromDuffy against the high-powered MKAattack. The offense was fueled bynine different Blue Devils. Goal scor-ers were seniors Alex Park, JohnHumiston and Anthony Oliveri, alongwith sophomore Brendan Kotiga and

freshman Thomas Conrod. Assistswere handed out by senior TommyDuffy, juniors Will Gamba and TrevorTanella, and freshman Matt Beke.Humiston and Park had an appleapiece.

Making the finals meant anotherchapter in the Summit/Westfield ri-valry. Coming into the game Summithad defeated Westfield in six of seven

contests over the past two seasons.The Blue Devils were keenly awarethat a championship dogpile wouldrequire defeating an old nemesis.

From the drop of the puck the firstperiod belonged to Westfield. Twogoals by Oliveri and one each fromHumiston and junior Nick Forno ledthe Blue Devils to an opening framelead of 4-1. The boys were buzzing.

The Hilltoppers came out in thesecond period and seized control ofthe game with four unanswered goalsto take a 5-4 lead. Showing resilience

Westfield struck back quickly on agoal from Tanella and eventually tookthe lead for good on an absolute snipefrom Humiston.

The senior netminder combinationof Duffy and Zack Peterson, who wassuperb in relief of Duffy and earnedthe blue hardhat player of the gameaward, fended off the Summit offenseto secure the McInnis Cup. The cham-pionship dogpile around the cup wasearned and completed.

Next up, the Blue Devils hope tomake some noise in the state group Bplayoffs as the number three seed.Westfield’s record stands at 15-5-3.

Follow the WHS boys ice hockeyteams on Twitter @westfieldpuck foran informative and entertaining takeon the season’s activities. Fans canalso visit WHSpuck on FaceBookand Instagram. See the website for upto date team schedules atwww.westfieldhockey.com.

Rahway Beats CougarsIn UCT Boys B-Ball

The 10th-seeded Rahway HighSchool boys basketball team defeatedthe 15th-seeded Cranford Cougars,52-45, in the first round of the UnionCounty Tournament in Rahway onFebruary 9. Mike Watson (3 3-point-ers), Zion Pendleton (8 free throws)and Tahlee Bailey each scored 10points for the Indians.

Hunter Goff led the Cougars with21 points, including two 3-pointersand Jeremy Ruka sank nine points,pulled nine rebounds and had threeblocks. Cole Blazek had sevenpoints and a pair of steals. ArjunPetgrave had seven rebounds andfour points and Joe Carrea had sevenrebounds and two points. KevinDonovan had three assists, five re-bounds and two points.

The Westfield High School boysbasketball team dropped a 74-70shooting battle to the 19-2 New Provi-dence Pioneers in a regular-seasongame in New Providence on February11. Two days later the 9-13, 12th-seeded Blue Devils lost to the fifth-seeded Union Catholic Vikings, 76-68, in the second round of the UnionCounty Tournament in Scotch Plains.

Griffin Rooney led the Blue Devilswith 18 points, which included trip 3-pointers and five free throws, to gowith three rebounds and a steal againstthe Pioneers. Colin Freer put up 15points, including a 3-pointer, andadded two steals and three rebounds.Jake Walsh sank 13 points, includingtrip 3-pointers and Matt Crowley hadnine points, an assist and a rebound.Mike Kane had eight points with two3-pointers and added two rebounds.Hank Shapiro had four points, fiverebounds, three assists and a block.Sebastian Ferrero sank a 3-pointer,Tommy McGuire had two assists, tworebounds and a block, and DeclanMcCauley had a rebound and sank afree throw.

Point guard Sean Dillon led thePioneers with 18 points, including

two 3-pointers, 15 assists and fivesteals. Brian Kelly had 13 points,including trip 3-pointers, and addedfour assists and five rebounds to gowith a pair of blocks and a pair ofsteals. Rich Wawzycki banged in 15points, including trip 3-pointers, andadded two assists. Dylan Bedder had12 points, 10 rebounds, five assistsand two blocks. Greg Meyers sank 12points, including two 3-pointers, andadded three assists.

Against the Vikings, Rooney sank20 points, including four 3-pointers.Freer had 11 points, including two 3-pointers, and Crowley netted 10 points.Walsh nailed trip 3-pointers for ninepoints and Ferrero bucketed sevenpoints, including a 3-pointer. McGuirehad four points and Shapiro had threepoints, while Kane and AndrewEchausse each scored two points.

Jaheim Tanksley led the Vikingswith 25 points, including trip 3-point-ers. Matt Tracey bucketed 17 points,including a 3-pointer, and GiovanniPhillip put in 15 points.Westfield 14 20 15 21 70New Providence 27 16 14 17 74

Westfield 18 14 14 22 68Union Catholic 21 19 12 24 76

Blue Devils Fall to Vikings,Pioneers in Boys Basketball



ADVANCING TO THE SEMIFINALS...Raider Alex Oslislo, top, pinned Marc Pretto (St. Peter’s Prep) in the first periodto advance to the 182-lb semifinals at the District 16 Tournament in Scotch Plains on February 16. Oslislo placed third.

Photo courtesy of Brett Howard

McINNIS CUP CHAMPIONS...The Blue Devil Icemen defeated the Summit Hilltoppers, 6-5, to claim the McInnis CupChampionship last weekend. The Blue Devil icemen were stellar throughout the entire tournament.


CHAMPION AT 160-LBS...Linden Tiger Alex Dorce, top, recorded a tech fall and two pinsto claim the 160-lb crown at the District 16 Tournament in Scotch Plains on February 16.


Blue Devils Down Highlanders in UCT, 49-36CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9

Devil’s Den

By BRUCE JOHNSONSpecially Written for The Westfield Leader and The Times

When Did the‘Goat’Become the G.O.A.T.?

Back in the day, being a goat wasjust about the worst thing you couldcall an athlete. If somebody was thegoat – or choke artist, maybe gagger– it meant they had done something tocause their team to lose, most likelylate in the game: struck out with thebases loaded in the last inning, misseda free throw or a lay-up late in a game,had a last-second field goal hit thegoal post.

It shouldn’t surprise anybody. Whitesocks on athletes have been replacedwith black socks, a flipped-up collaron your Lacoste tennis shirt is coolnow and no longer a “greaser” look,and wearing your baseball hat back-ward is “in” while wearing caps thenormal way is “old school.”

Times change, and so has the con-notation of the word “goat.”

A recent Super Bowl issue of SportsIllustrated had a cover with a pictureof Tom Brady and “G.O.A.T.” as thebanner headline. No longer does itinfer a horrible play; now it’s an acro-nym for ‘greatest of all time.’ (As akid in the 1960s, the only time goatwas a good thing was when it was Earl‘The Goat’ Manigault, a basketballlegend on the Rucker playground inHarlem.)

G.O.A.T. apparently goes hand-in-hand with the New England Patriots’Brady and Bill Belichick, who areboth now in every discussion aboutthe greatest quarterback and greatestcoach of all time.

That’s undoubtedly because mostof the people doing the discussinghave either never heard of or haveforgotten Otto Graham and PaulBrown.

My father might have been Cleve-land Browns’ greatest fan ever; every

Is Otto Graham the G.O.A.T.?August in the late 1940s and into themid-‘50s, our family would pack upand drive west to Hiram College toattend the Browns’ preseason camp. Igrew up a San Francisco 49ers fan,but was well aware of Graham andBrown. They were the quarterbackand coach of the Cleveland Browns,who in their first 10 years of existencewon seven league championships –four in the All-American FootballConference (1946-47-48-49) andthree in the National Football League(1950, 1954-55). They lost in theNFL championship game in 1951 and1952 and were merely Eastern Divi-sion champs in 1953.

Until somebody wins eight of 10,Graham and Brown will always bemy G.O.A.T.s for professional foot-ball.

One thing the G.O.A.T. is great stufffor is bar arguments; sadly, in a way,because – since the Jolly Trolley wasleveled – there are no longer any goodbars in Westfield to have those argu-ments. Who was WHS’s best athleticteam ever: the ’77 football team? ’70?’61? ’47? Was it even a football team?How about the swim teams from themid-1960s that won national titles?The 1973 wrestling team? the 1986-88boys tennis teams? or 2007-10? The1988-89 girls soccer teams? How aboutthe 1924 girls basketball team?

And individually, who was WHS’sG.O.A.T. quarterback, or linebacker,or softball pitcher, etc.? Or who wasthe G.O.A.T. among WHS’s athletes,in any sport? My answer has alwaysbeen Chris Campbell, and the debateshould end there.

If only for one night we could argueabout G.O.A.T. teams and players untilthey rang the bell for last call, andthen continue the discussion up NorthAvenue at the White Diamond – an-other of my personal G.O.A.T.s.

But that was yesterday, andyesterday’s gone.

HISTORIC MILE RELAYThe foursome of Ajay Olsen (52.1),

Steve Zucker (51.9), Matt McIntyre(51.9) and Jake Saltzer (49.9) wonthe state Group 4 mile relay and brokethe school’s indoor record at Friday’sstate Indoor Track group champion-ships in Toms River. They finished in3:26.11, .47 of a second ahead ofElizabeth.

The last time WHS won the statemile relay indoors was in 1934, 85years ago. Captain Bill Clark, GriggsSmith, Art Fischer and Hall of FamerWellington Ross comprised that four-some in a race at Newark’s 113thRegiment Armory.

It was the school’s first indoor relaychampion since 1997, when AbdallahSimaika, Ryan Stefiuk, (current coach)Chris Tafelski and Mike Krug won

the two-mile.The most recent individual indoor

champions were Group 4 pole vaultking Peter Fagan in 2013, and Meetof Champions high jump winnerAdam Bergo in 2008.

After winning sectional titles a weekearlier, seniors Lauren Triarsi andErica Lawrence were seventh in the55-meter low hurdles and shot put,respectively.

BACK ON TOPThe WHS wrestling team, compet-

ing in District 14 for the first time,had five individual champions, fiverunners-up and one third-place finishto win the school’s 27th district title,and first since 2013. Luke Jacobs,Quinn Gimblette, Luke Hoerle (hissecond), CJ Composto (his third) andJordan Simpson were the individualtitlists, giving WHS 199 districtchamps in its history.

The Blue Devils topped countychampion Cranford 231½-201, help-ing Glen Kurz win district Coach ofthe Year.

The five individual champions werethe most ever for Kurz, who coachedfour winners in both 2003 and 2013.Former head and current assistantcoach Don MacDonald coached fivechampions twice, in 1984 and 1993.The school record is nine, in 1967and 1973, under coach Gary Kehler.

With two wins each last Saturday,Composto improved his career recordto 99-9 and Hoerle climbed to 97-15.The juniors could become the fourthand fifth members of WHS’s 100-Win Club this weekend at the Region4 tournament in Union.

FOURTH TIME’S A CHARMAfter losing three times to Summit,

WHS (15-5-3) finally knocked offthe Hilltoppers, 6-5 in the McGinnisCup final on Saturday night at CodeyArena, West Orange. Two goals eachby John Humiston and AnthonyOliveri turned the trick.

CLOSING INJackie Knapp had 19 points last

Saturday as the third-seeded Tuftswomen’s basketball team (23-2) beatWilliams 75-51 in the quarterfinalround of the NESCAC Tournament.The senior now has 984 career points.Freshman Molly Ryan, who is secondonly to Knapp in minutes played thiswinter, added nine points and has 170this season.

Next up: second-seeded Amherstin a Saturday semifinal at Bowdoin.The Ephs are one of the two teams tobeat Tufts this year.

ON THIS DATE1958: The WHS boys swim team,

powered by Hall of Famer TerryBentley’s wins in the 100 butterflyand 100 freestyle, and Jay Pierson’sdouble in the 100 backstroke and 150individual medley, won the first ofwhat would eventually become 42consecutive Union County champi-onships.

AROUND THIS DATEFeb. 20, 1959: Heavyweight Gene

Barron’s pin sealed WHS’s 36-12victory over Scotch Plains in the firstwresting match between the rivals.Doug Wight (98), Skip Sims (106),Charles Wister (115), Dennis Powers(130), Gerry Luebeck (168) and DaveMartin (178) also won for the Devils.

Feb. 22, 1964: Harvey Gerber wonthe 100 butterfly and the WHS swimteam swept the relays to capture theirfirst Eastern Interscholastics title atLawrenceville School.

Feb. 23, 1973: With nine individualchampions – Dave Brown, PaulBockus, Stan Warne, Mark Dennis,Rich Gottlick, Dan Morash, ChrisCampbell, Walt Heiniger, PeteShearer – WHS’s wrestling team cap-tured the District 15 championship.

Feb. 23, 2003: WHS’s AdamWendel, the 12th seed after earning awild card after a seventh-place finishat the Group 4 meet, won the Meet ofChampions high jump with a leap of6 feet, 6 inches.

Feb. 23, 2013: WHS swept thePublic A boys and girls state titles, theice hockey team won the UnionCounty Tournament and the wres-tling team won the District 11 crown.

PUBLIC NOTICESUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY

UNION COUNTYCHANCERY DIVISION

DOCKET NO. F-017207-18FILE NO: 51333-738

CIVIL ACTIONORDER SETTING TIME, PLACE AND

AMOUNT OF REDEMPTION

CFT SERVICES, LLC AS CUS-TODIAN FOR PHOENIXFUNDING, INC.;PLAINTIFF(S) VS. JEAN ABELCRAMER, HER HEIRS, DEVI-SEES AND PERSONAL REP-RESENTATIVES AND THEIROR ANY OF THEIR SUCCES-SORS IN RIGHT, TITLE ANDINTEREST; JOHN DOE, HUS-BAND OF JEAN ABELCRAMER, SAID NAME JOHNDOE BEING FICTITIOUS;STATE OF NEW JERSEY;PAUL CRAMER; PETERCRAMER; DENISE CRAMER;DEFENDANT(S)

THIS MATTER being opened to the courtby Goldenberg, Mackler, Sayegh, Mintz,Pfeffer, Bonchi & Gill, A Professional Cor-poration, Attorneys for Plaintiff, and it ap-pearing that default has been enteredagainst the defendants, JEAN ABELCRAMER, her heirs, devisees and per-sonal representatives, and their or any oftheir successors in right, title and interest;JOHN DOE, Husband of Jean Abel Cramer,said name John Doe being fictitious;STATE OF NEW JERSEY; PAULCRAMER; PETER CRAMER [TENANT#1]; DENISE CRAMER [TENANT #2]; thatplaintiff has produced before this court taxsale certificate #15-00249, certified to be atrue copy, which certificate is dated June14,2016, and is of record in the UnionCounty Clerk’s Office on August 9, 2016, inBook 14133 of Mortgages, page 9, asinstrument 3626201, which covers Block10, Lot 857. By assignment dated May 12,2017, said tax sale certificate was as-signed to plaintiff, which assignment wasrecorded in the Union County Clerk’s Of-fice on June 6, 2017, in book 1435 ofassignments, page 163, as instrument3169756. Said certificate, and its assign-ment, have been marked Exhibit P-1 onthe part of the plaintiff. More than two yearshave elapsed since the sale of said landsby the City of Elizabeth, and the lands havenot been redeemed from the tax sale; thatplaintiff has produced before this court itsCertification showing that there is due onsaid tax sale certificate, together with sub-sequent taxes and interest, the sum of$47,762.02 as of November 30, 2018; and

IT IS on this 13th day of February, 2019,ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that theamount required to redeem the premisesreferred to in the aforementioned tax salecertificate is the sum of $47,762.02 whichincludes the amount due on said tax salecertificate, subsequent taxes and interest

as of November 30, 2018, together withcosts duly taxed in the sum of $1,580.37.An exact redemption amount must be ob-tained from the municipal tax collector;and

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the15th day of April, 2019, during normaloffice hours, at the office of the Tax Collec-tor of the City of Elizabeth, 50 Winfield-Scott Plaza, Elizabeth, New Jersey, beand the same is hereby fixed as the timeand place for the redemption of the saidlands as described in the Amended Com-plaint and making up the premises con-cerning which the Amended Complaint isfiled, and that thereupon the defendantwho redeems shall be entitled to the certifi-cate of tax sale duly endorsed for cancel-lation; and

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that in de-fault of the said defendants paying to theTax Collector of the City of Elizabeth, andthe plaintiff, the said sum, interest andcosts aforesaid, the said defendants standabsolutely debarred and foreclosed of andfrom all right and equity of redemption on,in and to said lands and premises andevery part thereof, and the plaintiff shallhave an absolute and indefeasible interestof inheritance in fee simple, to said landsand premises. Anything to the contrarynotwithstanding, redemption shall be per-mitted up until the entry of final judgmentincluding the whole of the last date uponwhich judgment is entered; and

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that if theaddresses of the defendants are not known,a copy of this Order or Notice thereofdirected to such defendants shall be pub-lished in the Westfield Leader, a newspa-per circulating in Union County, at leastone time, not less than ten days prior to thedate fixed for redemption by this Order;and

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a copyof this Order or a Notice thereof be servedupon the defendants, whose addressesare known, by mailing to each of them sucha copy or notice not later than ten daysprior to the date fixed for redemption of thelands and premises by this Order; and

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a copyof this Order be delivered to the Tax Col-lector of the City of Elizabeth, and that saidTax Collector of the City of Elizabeth certifyto this Court whether the premises were orwere not redeemed from the plaintiff’s taxsale certificate in accordance with the termsof this Order.

Hon. Katherine Dupuis, P.J.Ch.Respectfully Recommended

R.1:34-6 Office of ForeclosureKEITH A. BONCHI, ESQUIREKAB032321983GOLDENBERG, MACKLER, SAYEGH,MINTZ, PFEFFER, BONCHI & GILLA Professional Corporation660 New Road, First FloorNorthfield, New Jersey 08225(609) 646-0222Attorneys for Plaintiff1 T - 2/21/19, The Leader Fee: $116.79

PUBLIC NOTICE

the right time to gather the rebounds.Kreusser responded humbly. “If itwasn’t for everyone boxing out, Iwouldn’t be able to go and get thoserebounds, especially [Sam] Stravach.She has amazing box outs.”

Stravach indeed was bad medicineto the 16-6 Lady Highlanders but shewas very good medicine to her team-mates. Not only did she grab six re-bounds and score seven points but shealso had three steals, two assists andblocked two shots.

“Stravach is a very consistentplayer. She plays with her heart allthe time. Even in practice, she’s anall-in player, really good at boxingout, really good at getting reboundsand very consistent with her points,”Dobosiewicz said.

Stravach’s efforts seemed to becontagious. “Her energy allows me togain a lot of energy. Her toughness,her boxing out is amazing. It’s allabout toughness and she’s really goodat that,” Kreusser emphasized.

The Blue Devils won the first quar-ter, 12-7, and six of the points were setup with two assists from junior AliLisanti (3 points, 3 assists, block) andone from Charlotte Dursee (3 points,3 assists, 2 steals). Freshman GraceKlag (7 rebounds, block, assist) addeda driving lay-up and Kreusser added aput-back and converted a steal to alay-up.

Interestingly, the Blue Devils wereexpecting Skyler Dowling and PaigePhillips to be the biggest scoringthreats at the time but it was GiaCiccimarro who scored all seven ofthe Highlanders’ points.

“Our main focus was on 15(Phillips) and 30 (Dowling), so wekind of let 12 (Ciccimarro) play alittle bit but when she showed herworth, we started to put more pres-sure on her, which stopped her togetting only like three points in thesecond half,” Dobosiewicz explained.

“In the beginning, we were not ex-pecting her to make that many shots.Throughout the game we were mov-ing our defense to stop her in thesecond half. She played well,”Kreusser said.

All 12 of Westfield’s points in thesecond quarter came as a result ofassists and Kreusser set up the finalone with a nice pass to Dursee, whosank her 3-pointer to make the score24-17 at the half.

Kreusser’s answer was simple.“When you see someone else you gotto give it to them. You don’t want to bethat selfish and I just give it to otherswho are open. They take the shot andmake it. I get the assist.”

“We are a very selfless team. Coachalways talks about moving the ball,shift our defense and there’s alwaysan open play every time,”Dobosiewicz added.

Dobosiewicz (Dursee assist) initi-ated the third quarter with her first 3-pointer then hit her second three(Stravach assist) four minutes later.Westfield won the quarter, 15-12, withStravach putting up five and Kreussersinking four. Ciccimarro, Phillips andDowling (8 points), who hit a freethrow, all sank 3-pointers and FionnaKerr (10 points) added two points.

Kerr scored six of the Highlanders’seven points in the fourth quarter butKreusser hit the Blue Devils’ firstfour points and Dobosiewicz put intheir final six thanks to assists fromLily Maz (2 points, 2 assists) and aninbound pass from Caroline Dwyer(2 points).

What was very noticeable in thegame was that the Highlanders werecompeting with only seven players.

“I was surprised when I was look-ing over when they were warming upand only saw seven girls. We wereable to tire them out and they had totake out some of their good playersfrom time-to-time and that’s always

tough to get a lot of points and re-bounds,” Kreusser recalled.

“Their main players, 30 (Dowling)and 15 (Phillips), played the wholegame, so credit to them. I think bytiring them out, moving the ball, shift-ing their defense, it really tired themout. I think that really helped us get alot of points in, get a lot of steals,”Dobosiewicz said.

Next the Blue Devils would facethird-seeded Roselle Catholic, 61-37,winners over Cranford, on February20 in the semifinals in Rahway.Gov. Livingston 7 10 12 7 36Westfield 12 12 15 10 49


COUNTY OF UNION

AKE NOTICE That pursuant to Resolution No. 98-05, adopted by the TownshipCounsel of the Township of Scotch Plains on May 10, 2005, that the undersigned willexpose for sale at Public Auction, in accordance with Title 39:10A-1, at the times andlocations specified below, the following motor vehicles which came into the possessionof the Scotch Plains Police Department through abandonment or failure of owners toclaim same.

All the vehicles on the following lists are offered in strictly “as is” condition, with norepresentation as to condition or fitness for any particular purpose. Minimum bid for eachvehicle will be all towing and storage fees due to the towing agency.

Purchase must be made by cash or certified check. A 10% deposit must be given attime of auction. Balance must be paid by 4:00 p.m. the same day.

The public auction shall be held on Monday Feb 25, 2019 in accordance with the lawsof the State of New Jersey pertaining thereto.

The following vehicle may be examined at Ace Towing 1509 Front Street, ScotchPlains, New Jersey at 8:30 am. Public Auction will commence at 8:45 am.

MAKE YEAR VIN NO. MINIMUM BIDNISSAN 1999 JN8AR05Y0XW318737 $2,865.00

Bozena Lacina, RMCTownship Clerk

1 T - 2/21/19, The Times Fee: $41.82


COUNTY OF UNION

AKE NOTICE That pursuant to Resolution No. 98-05, adopted by the TownshipCounsel of the Township of Scotch Plains on May 10, 2005, that the undersigned willexpose for sale at Public Auction, in accordance with Title 39:10A-1, at the times andlocations specified below, the following motor vehicles which came into the possessionof the Scotch Plains Police Department through abandonment or failure of owners toclaim same.

All the vehicles on the following lists are offered in strictly “as is” condition, with norepresentation as to condition or fitness for any particular purpose. Minimum bid for eachvehicle will be all towing and storage fees due to the towing agency.

Purchase must be made by cash or certified check. A 10% deposit must be given attime of auction. Balance must be paid by 4:00 p.m. the same day.

The public auction shall be held on Monday Feb 25, 2019 in accordance with the lawsof the State of New Jersey pertaining thereto.

The following vehicle may be examined at Ace Towing 1509 Front Street, ScotchPlains, New Jersey at 8:30 am. Public Auction will commence at 8:45 am.

MAKE YEAR VIN NO. MINIMUM BIDCHEV 2006 2G1WN161769291234 $3,005.00

Bozena Lacina, RMCTownship Clerk

1 T - 2/21/19, The Times Fee: $41.82

Devilfish Strong at ScarletJunior-Senior Championship

Twenty-four Westfield Area ‘Y’Devilfish swimmers competed at the2019 Scarlet Junior-Senior StateChampionship meet, held at RutgersUniversity on February 1-3. Theyposted strong results, with many ath-letes attaining Top-16 finishes.Bridget Thomas made a National cutin the 1,000 Free with a 10:26.76, andMatt Swenson bested his ownWestfield “Y” record in the 1,650(16:51.67) Free. Clare Logan tookfirst in two events.

TOP-16 DEVILFISH:GIRLS 11-12: Isabella Giacobbe

(14th 100 Back); Clare Logan (1st100 Free, 50 Back, 2nd 200 Back);Catherine Ritter (11th 50 Free)

BOYS 11-12: Will Heinze (4th 200Back); Cole Sharkey (5th 500 Free,13th 200 IM, 16th 200 Free); Logan

Swenson (10th 50 Free); JD Twilley(8th 50 Breast, 13th 100 Breast, 14th100 Free)

GIRLS 13-14: Emily Constable(4th 100 Breast); Lauren Lane (7th200 Back, 9th 500 Free, 11th 400 IM)

BOYS 13-14: Will Crall (7th 200Breast, 8th 100 Breast, 15th 200 IM);Colin Kavanagh (3rd 100 Free, 4th 100Back, 100 Breast, 200 IM, 8th 50 Free);Billy Maguire (10th 200 Back, 15th100 Back); Carsen Sharkey (12th 1650Free, 13th 200 Fly); Matt Swenson(2nd 200 Fly, 4th 1650 Free, 9th 200Breast); Christian Tedesco (11th 100and 200 Breast, 13th 100 Free); TJWalsh (10th 1,650 Free, 400 IM)

GIRLS 15-18: Emma Heinze (2nd1,650 Free); Julia McGann (8th 200Back, 15th 100 Free); Bridget Tho-mas (3rd 1,000 Free, 8th 100 Free)

The second-seeded Westfield HighSchool girls basketball team over-whelmed the AL Johnson Crusaders,62-29, in the second round of theUnion County Tournament inWestfield on February 13. Junior AliLisanti (3 3-pointers, 4 assists, 2 steals,block) and freshman Grace Klag (9rebounds, 2 steals) each scored 11points for the 14-7 Blue Devils.

Sam Stravach (5 rebounds, 2 blocks,steal) and Caroline Dwyer (2 3-point-ers, 2 assist, steal) each netted 10points. Faith Dobosiewicz (3-pointer)had nine points, four steals, three as-sists, two rebounds and a block. EmmaPietrewicz (assist, rebound) nailed a

3-pointer. Charlotte Dursee had fourpoints, three assists, two steals and arebound. Chloe Kreusser had twopoints, five rebounds, four steals andan assist. Lily Maz had two steals, anassist and a rebound. Sam Lefterishad two points and a steal, and MaryMcHugh had an assist and a block.

Bailey Rosenmeier led the 9-12Crusaders with nine points, whileChelsea Kessock and DominkaKosiek each scored six points. PeytonCollings scored four points. Lily Gulland Angela Aromondo each scoredtwo points.AL Johnson 8 6 12 3 29Westfield 14 8 23 17 62

Blue Devils Rap ALJ In UCT Girls Hoops



NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, that theZoning Board of Adjustment of the Town-ship of Scotch Plains will hold a publichearing on March 7, 2019 at 7:30 pm, atthe Municipal Building, 430 Park Avenue,First Floor Council Chambers to hear theapplication for a Temporary OperatingPermit for Archana Parmar and ChandraSarkar, 1630 Raritan Road, Block 14001,Lot 3, R-1 Zone who propose to retain ten(10) shipping containers at the rear of theaforementioned property contrary to thefollowing section of the Zoning Ordinance:

Section 23-3.5, R-1 Residential Zone:The placement and/or storage of cargotype containers not normally used in theoperation of a single family residence in asingle family zone is prohibited…

Permission for a period of one (1) year,if granted, is pursuant to Section 23-4.3allowing for temporary permission to re-tain ten (10) shipping containers.

All interested persons may be presentand be heard. The file pertaining to thisapplication is in the Office of the ZoningBoard of Adjustment and available for pub-lic inspection during regular office hours.


1 T - 2/21/19, The Times Fee: $28.05

PUBLIC NOTICEBOROUGH OF GARWOODBOARD OF EDUCATION

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that theGarwood Public Schools Proposed Bud-get meeting will take place on March 19 atthe regular scheduled board meeting.

The meeting will be held in the cafeteriaand begin promptly at 7:00 pm.

Debi LeBrun,SBA/BS

1 T - 2/21/19, The Leader Fee: $11.22


READY TO MAKE A PASS...Blue Devil Charlotte Dursee, No. 5, prepares to pass the ball in the Union County Tournamentquarterfinal game against the Governor Livingston Highlanders at AL Johnson High School in Clark on February 15. Thesecond-seeded Lady Blue Devils defeated the Highlanders, 49-36, to advance to the semis and play Roselle Catholic.


TOUGH TO GET AROUND...Blue Devil senior Sam Stravach, No. 22, was verytough defensively and grabbed six rebounds to go with three steals, two blocks, twoassists and seven points in the UCT victory over the GL Highlanders.


COLDWELL BANKEREX PE R I E N C E, TRU S T, RE L I A B I L I T Y SE RV I C E&

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Real estate agents affiliated with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage are independent contractor agents and are not employees of the Company. ©2019 Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage. All Rights Reserved.Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Operated by a subsidiary of NRT LLC. Coldwell Banker and the Coldwell Banker Logo are registered service marks owned by Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC.

Betty Lynch, ABR, SRESBroker / Sales AssociateCell: 908-419-5141Email: [email protected]: 862-345-2871www.BettyLynchRealtor.com

WESTFIELD. New Construction ... Coming Fall of 2019!Another custom home by Prominent Properties. Sought afteropen floor plan designed for a relaxed lifestyle. The kitchenboasting a center island, fine quality cabinetry and top brandappliances, opens to a family room complete with a gas burningfireplace. A first floor bedroom is just one of the convenientfeatures of this magnificent home. The master bedroom suitefeatures his & her walk in closets and a luxurious spa type bath.A finished third level with full bath offers total privacy for guests.On the lower level is a recreation room, full bath plus plenty ofstorage space. A total of 6 bedrooms and 6 1/2 baths makesthis an opportunity not to be missed. Time to make personalchoices. Washington School ... A Must See! $1,550,000.

FANWOOD. Located in a sought after location, this Arts &Crafts style, Colonial Cape features both charm and updatesthroughout the years. An oversized (.29 acre) property offersroom for future expansion. Minutes to vibrant downtownFanwood with both bus and train transportation to NYC. Apicture perfect living room boasting a large bay window and awood burning fireplace is flanked by a family room. The familyroom features fine wood paneling and a slider to the fencedrear yard. The formal dining room, with a stained glass wall issure to bring compliments from all. The modern kitchen withgarden window, granite counter tops, stainless steel appliancesand a wall of pantry cabinets. 4 bedrooms, 2 full baths andincredible storage space in the finished recreation roomcompletes the picture. Quick occupancy! $569,000.

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Panther Swim Boys Too MuchFor Devils in Sectional Final

By J.B. RAYMONDSpecially Written for The Westfield Leader and The Times

PERTH AMBOY – There was notmuch that Jeff Knight could do. Atthis point in time, Bridgewater-Raritanhas become what Westfield used tobe: the team to beat in boys swim-ming. And no amount of strategy orlineup switching could change that.

“It was tough sledding,” the 13-year coach said last Thursday, afterhis Blue Devils had dropped a 107-63decision to the once-beaten Panthersin the Public A, North 2 champion-ship at the Raritan Valley YMCA.“But I’m really proud of the effort.The kids competed throughout themeet. It shows what they’re made of.”

Westfield (9-4) won only threeevents – senior Zach Youssef captur-ing the 100-yard butterfly in 54.02,classmate Tommy Brennan taking the100 breaststroke in a lifetime best59.04 and freshman Seth Camacho

leading a 1-2 finish in the 500 freewith classmate Matt Swenson in4:52.92.

In fact, other than the final event,the 400 free relay, where the four-some that swam a 3:21 at countiesfinished in 3:34, most of the Devils’times were season bests, or just off.The problem was where those timeswould normally be a winning or get-ting second place, against B-R theywere getting thirds and fourths.

Still, there were no long faces as theteam headed into the night for the busride home.

“It’s been a worthwhile experience,”senior Cooper Prieto said, after gettinga second (22.32 in the 50) and third(50.88 in the 100) and swimming ontwo second-place relays. “We won twocounty titles in my three years.”

The others in a six-man senior classare Tim McGann, Tomas Moore andColby Chen.

Prieto’s three years on the team –he had quit swimming in seventhgrade, but returned to the sport as asophomore – have seen him develop

into an outstanding sprinter. He re-turned to the sport after WHS’s statechampionship season in 2016. That2017 season ended in controversywhen Bridgewater won the sectionaltitle after a WHS swimmer was dis-qualified for an early start on whatwould have been the meet-clinchinganchor leg of the final relay. That85½-84½ loss was followed last Feb-ruary by a 102-68 loss to B-R in thesectional final. The Panthers have nowbeaten WHS six straight times, threein the regular season and three in thepost-season.

“We’ve graduated some crazy goodswimmers the last couple of years,and most of them are still swimmingin college,” Prieto said. “We have asmall senior class and only four ofthem swim (year-round) for the ‘Y’.I’m really proud of the team … but weaspired for more.”

Brennan has blossomed after he

also missed his freshman year be-cause his family was living in Japan.As a sophomore in 2017, he was notin the county or sectional final lineup.But now he is one of the bestbreaststrokers in school history. He’sone of just 10 Blue Devils to break aminute and his time last Thursday wasthe eighth-fastest in WHS annals.

“Sophomore year I wasn’t evencontemplating breaking a minute,” hesaid. “Then I started emulating (WHSrecord holder) Steve Warren (’18).He pushed me. My time dropped to1:01 last year. It’s crazy to think about,really.”

In addition to being pushed byWarren, Brennan had another moti-vation.

“The idea of winning the state titlealways motivated me,” the 2019Union County breaststroke championsaid. “I wanted a (championship) ring.The idea was just so appealing. Evenas we were graduating those greatclasses, and having less and less depth,even if you’re overmatched, you haveto give it everything. (Thursday) I

think the meet was over (decided)before my breaststroke swim. But theidea (of winning) pushed me.

“A lot of people didn’t think we’dbe that much this year. So it was niceto prove everybody wrong. We are amuch better team than people ex-pected us to be. It (stinks) that I’mgraduating and we didn’t win a statetitle. But the team is in a great direc-tion, especially the freshman class.”

That class includes three top-of-the-line studs in Roan Baker, Camachoand Swenson, plus Billy Maguire,Jack Young and TJ Walsh.

“My hat’s off to Bridgewater ...they’re a great team,” Brennan said.“And (Union County champion) Sum-mit too. We had so many personalbests at counties. We could’ve won.That really (stunk). But Jeff told usthat we had lost more than 50 percentof our scoring from the seniors whograduated last year.”

Like Brennan, Prieto sees goodthings in the future for WHS swim-ming.

“I give a lot of credit to this fresh-man class … they are determined,” hesaid. “I’m happy with the year wehad. We competed. No regrets.”BRIDGEWATER 107, WESTFIELD 63

(Westfield times)200 MEDLEY RELAY: 2. (Baker,

Brennan, Youssef, Prieto) 1:37.14, 5.(Camacho, Altman, Young, Maimon)1:45.68; 200 free: 3. Swenson 1:52.99,5. McGann 1:54.87, 6. Maguire 1:58.63;200 IM: 3. Baker 1:59.51, 5. Veres2:05.08, 6. Chen 2:17.0; 50 free: 2.Prieto 22.32, 5. Kronheimer 22.89, Wil-liams 23.40;

100 BUTTERFLY: 1. Youssef 54.02,5. Moore 57.54, 6. Young 59.80; 100free: 2. Baker 49.96, 3. Prieto 50.88, 5.Kronheimer 51.25; 500 free: 1.Camacho 4:52.92, 2. Swenson 4:56.01,6. Walsh 5:12.20; 200 free relay: 2.(Prieto, Baker, Youssef, Kronheimer)1:31.70, 4. (Williams, Altman, Swenson,Moore) 1:35.72;

100 BACK: 3. McGann 57.01, 4.Camacho 57.47, 5. Maguire 1 .96; 100breast: 1. Brennan 59.04, 2. Veres1:01.31, 6. Altman 1:05.39; 400 freerelay: 3. (Youssef, Kronheimer,McGann, Moore) 3:34.72, 4. (Williams,Swenson, Walsh, Camacho) 3:34.96.

PRINGLE 9 RBs, 4 BLK; TORETTA 18 PTs, SPEER 13 PTs

Lady Cougar Cagers Awaken;Bite Bears in UCT OT, 64-58


Finding themselves in a shocking38-31 hole entering the fourth quar-ter, the sixth-seeded Cranford HighSchool girls basketball team reacheddown deeply in the fourth quarter toknot the score in regulation then cameup with a number of big plays inovertime to eliminate the BrearleyBears, 64-58, in the second round ofthe Union County Tournament inCranford on February 13. Seniors KCPringle, Lauren Williamson and OliviaSpeer appeared to take it up anothernotch to set up the majority of thosekey plays in the fourth quarter and inovertime.

The Cougars did get a 14-9 jump onthe 17-5 Bears in the first quarter withthe help of a pair of 3-pointers fromSpeer, who finished with 13 points,including two 3-pointers, and anotherfrom junior Gianna Toretta, whowould finish with a team-leading 18points, which included four 3-point-ers and six free throws. MicaelaEtlinger, who led all scorers with 28

points, scored five of the Bears’ pointsin the quarter. Etlinger would finishthe game with five 3-pointers.

But it was the second quarter wherethe Cougars seemed to be pushing ittoo hard driving to the basket result-ing in many missed lay-ups. The Bearswon the quarter 9-6 to trail the Cou-gars, 20-18, at the half. On an assistfrom Ellie Rokicki (6 points, 2 re-bounds), Williamson (12 points, 3assists, 3 steals, 4 rebounds) sank heronly 3-pointer of the game in thequarter.

“I think we were getting a littlefrantic looking at the scoreboard. Wewanted to make sure we got our shotsin but that prevented us from scor-ing,” Williamson explained.

The third quarter, however, turnedout to be a disaster for the Cougars asthe Bears sank the first seven points tograb a 25-20 lead before a timeoutwas called with 5:25 on the clock. TheCougars seemed rattled and the Bearswon the quarter 20-11 to take a 38-31lead into the fourth quarter. Etlingerand Paige Middleton held the big

hands for the Bears with 10 points andseven points, respectively.

“Coach always tells us, ‘we hadruns, they have runs.’ They just gotlucky in the third quarter, had the runbut we cut it off to get back in the endof the quarter and the start of thefourth,” Speer said.

“We just had to get it done. It wassink or swim. We didn’t have an op-tion. We just had to put our head downand work,” Pringle added.

“We weren’t talking as much. Oncewe started to communicate, we wereable to get our shots in, get our de-fense back into the game,” Williamsonsaid.

Middleton would also prove to be ahazard under the boards and finishedwith double digits in rebounds.

As to her strategy handlingMiddleton, Pringle explained, “TodayI was just reminding myself to box herout. That was my biggest threat. Myintent was to box her out and let the ballhit the ground if it needed to or just gether out of the equation so our team can


Cougar Matman SmithAthlete of the Week:Dean Smith, a senior captain on

the varsity wrestling team, capturedthe District 14 Championship at the132-lb. weight class this past week-end. He has amassed a 22-7 recordthis season and advanced to the Re-gion 4 Wrestling Tournament.

Blue Devils First, Cougars 2nd at District 14CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9

distract me and got right back to him.I knew he liked big moves but I got abunch of single legs in mainly with re-attacks.”

The second Westfield/Cranfordshowdown came at 132-lbs. BlueDevil Jeremy Silber (seeded 4th) wonhis first bout by decision then knockedoff top-seeded Tyler Haynes ofMetuchen (M), 9-5. Cougar DeanSmith (3rd seed) won by fall thenknocked off second-seeded JoeDelusant (V). After a scoreless firstperiod, Smith’s escape and takedownin the second period was enough todefeat Silber, 3-1. Smith also edgedSilber at the county tournament.

“It was a close one at the countiesbut I knew what to expect from him. I

tried to control the match. I don’tthink I really left any room for error.He liked to go upper shots with me. Iknew I had to go low. That’s whereI’m comfortable. That’s where I gotmy takedown,” said Smith, whoadded, “It’s my first time placing top-3 in districts, first time going to re-gions. I’m excited.”

Cougar Conor Halpin faced top-seeded, 32-0 Matt Sacco (Br) for the145-lb title and fell short, 5-0. Previ-ously Halpin recorded a pin in thequarterfinals and an 11-2 major deci-sion in the semis.

The third Cranford/Westfield show-down came at 152-lbs. Cougar AJBencivenga gave Blue Devil LukeScanlan a clinic featuring a number of

Fireman’s takedown-to-back movesto seize a 20-3, 3:36 tech fall for thetitle. Bencivenga reached the finalswith a fall in six seconds and anotherin 31 seconds. Scanlan also recordeda pair of falls.

“I wanted to get six but a tech wasgood enough. It was pretty quick too.It was a pretty good day. I pinned thekid in my first match in six seconds,next match was 31 seconds. I’m roll-ing pretty nicely into the regions,”Bencivenga expressed.

The final Westfield/Cranford show-down came next at 160-lbs betweenBlue Devil Jordan Simpson, who re-corded a fall and a tech fall to advanceto the finals, and Ky’ell Roper, whorecorded a fall and a major decision.Simpson was on the ball with severaldouble-leg football tackles, spin-be-hind takedowns and a nearfall to earna 16-4 major decision and the crown.

The most intense bout of the eveningmay have been played out betweentop-seeded, 30-2, Brett MacMath (Br)and second-seeded Blue Devil TimMiller at 182-lbs. Both recorded apair of falls to advance to the finals.MacMath began with a back-triptakedown. Miller escaped. MacMathanswered with a step through fronttrip takedown and Miller escaped.But in the second period, Miller es-



David B. Corbin (Ridge semifinal meet) for The Westfield Leader and The Times

FIRST IN THE 100-BUTTERFLY...Blue Devil Zach Youssef placed first in the 100-butterfly in 54.02 in the North 2, PublicA Championship meet against Bridgewater-Raritan on February 14.


GETTING THE TAKEDOWN...Blue Devil Brendan Loder gets a takedown in his195-lb semifinal bout against Nick Cordero of Bridgewater-Raritan.


LUNGING FOR THE BALL....Cougar senior Lauren Williamson, No. 10, makes a valiant effort to get possession in thethrilling UCT game against the Brearley Bears in Cranford on February 13. The Cougars beat the Bears, 64-58, in overtime.


Blue Devils First, Cougars 2nd at District 14CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13

Lady Cougar Cagers Bite Bears in UCT, 64-58CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13

PUBLIC NOTICETOWN OF WESTFIELD

BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT

Notice is hereby given that the WestfieldBoard of Adjustment adopted resolutionsat its meeting on February 13, 2019, for thefollowing applications decided upon at themeeting held on January 14, 2019.

Brett Kahn, 606 Benson Place. Appli-cant sought approval to construct a firstand second floor addition and a two-cargarage contrary to Section 11.09E5,11.09E7, and 11.09E13 of the Land UseOrdinance to allow a front yard setback of29.5 feet where the Ordinance requires aminimum front yard setback of 30.1 feet; toallow a rear yard setback of 22 feet wherethe Ordinance requires a minimum rearyard setback of 35 feet; to allow a walllength of 28 feet where the Ordinanceallows a maximum continuous wall lengthof 25 feet. Application approved with con-ditions.

Lori Spector, 132 Marlboro Street.Applicant sought approval to construct anaddition contrary to Section 11.09E6 and12.04F1 of the Land Use Ordinance toallow a side yard setback of 8 feet wherethe Ordinance requires a minimum sideyard setback of 10 feet; to allow a buildingcoverage of 20.07% where the Ordinanceallows a maximum building coverage of20%. Application approved with conditions.

Jacqueline Stelling, 146 Harrison Av-enue. Applicant sought approval to con-struct an open front porch contrary to Sec-tion 11.09E6 and 11.09E14 of the LandUse Ordinance to allow a side yard set-back of 5.6 feet where the Ordinance re-quires a minimum side yard setback of 10feet; to allow no garage where the Ordi-nance requires a one-car garage. Applica-tion approved with conditions.

Robert Rossitto, 817 Lenape Trail.Applicant sought approval to construct anaddition contrary to Section 11.04E6 of theLand Use Ordinance to allow a side yardsetback of 11.88 feet to the house and 9.13feet to the chimney where the Land UseOrdinance requires a minimum side yardsetback of 15 feet. Application approvedwith conditions.

Raymond & Gail Mooney, 815Dartmoor. Applicants sought approval toinstall a fence contrary to Section 12.07Cof the Land Use Ordinance to allow a fenceheight of 6 feet where the Ordinance al-lows a maximum fence height of 4 feet.

Marcus Acord, 835 Wallberg Avenue.

Applicant sought approval to construct apatio contrary to Section 12.04G & 13.02D5of the Land Use Ordinance to allow an allimprovement coverage of 42.3% (7,484square feet) where the Ordinance allows amaximum all improvement coverage of40% (7,076 square feet); to allow a 4-footportion of open fencing where the Ordi-nance requires a pool be enclosed by a 6-foot solid fence. Application approved withconditions.

Devin Clarke, 529 Wychwood Road.Applicant sought approval to construct anaddition and retain a one-car garage con-trary to Section 11.06E14 of the Land UseOrdinance to allow a one car garage wherethe Ordinance requires a two-car garage.Application approved with conditions.

Kenneth & Donna Pace, 638 KimballAvenue. Applicants sought approval toconstruct an addition contrary to Section12.04F1, 12.04F3, and 11.09E14 of theLand Use Ordinance to allow a buildingcoverage of 22.2% where the Ordinanceallows a maximum building coverage of20%; to allow a building coverage withporch of 24.7% where the Ordinance al-lows a maximum building coverage with aporch of 24%; to allow no garage wherethe Ordinance requires a one-car garage.Application approved with conditions.

Matthew Strycharz, 120 MarlboroStreet. Applicant sought approval to con-struct an addition contrary to Section11.09E6, 11.09E13, and 11.09E14 of theLand Use Ordinance to allow a side yardsetback of 8.1 feet and 9.5 feet where theOrdinance requires a minimum side yardsetback of 10 feet; to allow a continuouswall length of + 35 feet where the Ordi-nance allows a maximum continuous walllength of 25 feet; to allow no garage wherethe Ordinance requires a one-car garage.Application approved with conditions.

Jamie Keim, 35 Azalea Trail. Applicantsought approval to construct a front porchaddition contrary to Section 12.03D of theLand Use Ordinance to allow a front yardsetback of 37 feet 2 inches where theOrdinance requires a minimum front yardsetback of 39.74 feet. Application approvedwith conditions.

Plans and applications are on file in theoffice of the Town Engineer, 959 NorthAvenue West, Westfield, New Jersey andmay be seen Monday through Friday from8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Linda JacusBoard Secretary

1 T - 2/21/19, The Leader Fee: $100.98

PUBLIC NOTICE

get the rebound.”Pringle, who had been effective

under the boards all game and wouldfinish with nine rebounds and fourblocked shots, also got into the assistsact in the fourth quarter as did Speerand Williamson, resulting in a 19-12run to tie the score 50-50 to forceovertime. With assists from Speerand Pringle, Toretta hit a pair of 3-pointers and added three free throws,the final two being clutch at the end ofthe quarter to tie the score. ElizabethMcCaffery (10 points, 2 blocks, 2steals, rebound) hit her first 3-pointerand Williamson sank a pair of freethrows and a lay-up.

“Once we start working as a teamand really start cutting and movingand seeing each other, we get a lotmore opportunities, which really helpsus out,” Pringle said.

“I know that they started reallyheavily guarding me, so it was obvi-

ous that Lauren was making backdoorcuts and was wide open. Me andLauren love doing the long passes.When she’s open, I will give to herright away. It’s not just me, it’s who-ever makes the best play. We weredoing our cuts, we were doing every-thing possible. We wanted to win thisgame and we needed to win thisgame,” Speer expressed.

“I think it’s super important to getassists because it builds our offense,”Williamson added.

“We had some good quarters, wehad some bad quarters. That’s how itgoes sometimes. We didn’t stop. Wedidn’t let it bring us down. Our of-fense wasn’t there. Our defense keptus in this game and we kept workinguntil our shots fell. We didn’t giveup,” Speer expressed.

Free throws did come into play inregulation as the Cougars sank nineof 13, while the Bears fared a littlebetter at 11 of 13. But the overtimeperiod was even bigger as the Cou-gars would go 8-for-8 from the line.

“Coach makes us shoot 75 to 100foul shots every single practice, so Ithink that helps a lot. Even in pressur-ized games, we always make them,”Williamson said.

The overtime period began withMcCaffery, assisted by Williamson,sinking a 2-pointer. Hannah Bondalobanged a 3-pointer to put the Bears upby one. Speer answered with a put-back lay-up. Bear Tahijah Kelley wasfouled and sank the first of her twofree throws. When she missed thesecond one, Williamson grabbed the

rebound, was fouled and sank both.Etlinger gave the Bears a 57-56

lead with 2:21 remaining when shewas fouled while sinking a 2-pointerand made the free throw. Then Speerwas fouled and made both free throwsto put the Cougars back on top.

“The crowd was there too. Theywere ‘hepping’ us up. We were reallymotivated by them and I thought likeI need to nail these two,” Speer re-called.

Next, Pringle made a great stealunder the Bears’ board and fired longto Williamson, who assistedMcCaffery on a lay-up for a 60-57lead with 1:12 left.

“Whenever someone does one goodthing, you want to build up on that. Soif I get a steal then I see Lauren get itand go up to Liz, it’s exciting to see uscapitalize on every opportunity,”Pringle explained.

Toretta followed with a pair of freethrows. After Brearley’s SofiaLospinoso missed the second of hertwo free throws, Pringle grabbed therebound with 5.1 remaining and wasquickly fouled. Pringle sank both freethrows to seal the deal.

“It was helpful because we werealready up by four and it would be atwo possession game even if I missedthem both, so that takes a little pres-sure off. Just to send them home withthat was a great way to end the game,”Pringle said.Brearley 9 9 20 12 8 58Cranford 14 6 11 19 14 64

PUBLIC NOTICEUNION COUNTY BOARD

OF CHOSEN FREEHOLDERSNOTICE OF CONTRACT AWARD

Date Adopted: 2/14/19Public Notice is hereby given that the

Union County Board of Chosen Freehold-ers has awarded a contract without com-petitive bidding as an extraordinaryunspecifiable service pursuant to N.J.S.A.40A:11-5(1)(a) (11). This contract and theresolution authorizing it is available forpublic inspection in the Office of the Clerkof the Board.

RESOLUTION NO: 2019-121AWARDED TO: Great American As-

surance Company, Cincinnati, OhioSERVICE: to obtain the Equine Mortal-

ity PolicyPERIOD: February 24, 2019-February

23, 2020COSTS: in an amount not to exceed

$2,117.00James E. Pellettiere, RMC, QPA, Clerk

of the Board Chosen Freeholders1 T - 2/21/19, The Leader Fee: $22.44




Union County Board of Chosen Freehold-ers has awarded a contract without com-petitive bidding as an Professionalservicepursuant to N.J.S.A. 40A:11-5(1)(a)(i). This contract and the resolution autho-rizing it is available for public inspection inthe Office of the Clerk of the Board.

RESOLUTION NO: 2019-110amending (Resolution No. 2018-1090)

AWARDED TO: Practitioners/Psychi-atric

SERVICES TO: for providing additionalprofessional psychiatric medical servicesto patients of Cornerstone BehavioralHealth Hospital of Union County

James E. Pellettiere, RMC, QPA, Clerkof the Board Chosen Freeholders

1 T - 2/21/19, The Leader Fee: $20.91

CLASSIFIEDS

caped to make the score, 4-3, thenmentally rattled MacMath when hepulled off a far-leg takedown that wasjust outside the circle. MacMath es-caped in the third period but was justwarding off Miller’s attacks, result-ing in a penalty point. MacMath calledfor an injury (exhaustion) timeout sohe could put two-and-two together.After his rest, MacMath managed tohold onto a 5-4 decision.

The 195-lb title bout between top-seeded Blue Devil Brendan Loderand second-seeded SebastianIakouchevitch (AL Johnson) turnedout to be the lowest scoring bout ofthe evening. After a scoreless first

period, Iakouchevitch escaped thenmanaged to control Loder through-out the entire third period to win 1-0.Loder had reached the finals with apair of falls. Iakouchevitch recordeda fall then beat Cougar Zach Blevins,5-0, in the semis. Blevins went on toplace third with a 5:42 fall over NickCordero (Br).

Cougar Matt Doran recorded a falland a 9-3 decision to advance to the220-lb title bout to face Sam Huff(V), who recorded a first-periodtakedown then caught Doran late inthe second period at 3:43. In the finaltitle bout, returning state champ LewisFernandes (V) used a single-leg grape-vine and a chin hook to pin Blue

Devil sophomore Jon Heard in 27seconds. In the semis, Heard pinnedDylan Glassberg (Br) in 4:20.

After getting upset, 15-13, byDerek Zelesnick (SJ) in the 138-lbsemis, Cougar Jack Korzeneski re-grouped to grab a 14-4 major deci-sion over Jackson Barry (Millburn).Zelesnick went on to win the title.Cougar Justin Alpaugh-McLeanplaced third at 182-lbs with a 2:23fall over Liam Haggerty (Millburn).Cougar Evan Kanterman placed thirdat 170-lbs when he defeated JaridKufczynski (Bayonne), 11-8.

CHAMPIONSHIP BOUTS:106: — Jacobs W d Rich V 11-8113: — Gimblette W p Fernandez C3:32120: — Hoerle W d Taylor V 11-5126: — Composto W md Rinehart V 17-7132: — Smith C d Silber W 3-1138: — Zelesnick SJ p Erin Rivera B:34145: — Sacco Br d Halpin C 5-0152: — Bencivenga C tf Scanlan W 20-3 3:36160: — Simpson W md Roper C 16-4170: — Winchock Br d Matt BrandnerV 8-1182: — MacMath Br d Miller W 5-4195: — Iakouchevitch J d Loder W 1-0220: — Huff V p Doran C 3:43285: — Fernandes V p Heard W :27

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PUBLIC NOTICESUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY

CHANCERY DIVISIONUNION COUNTY

DOCKET NO. F-36793-14FILE NO. 17-02067

NOTICE TO ABSENT DEFENDANTS

STATE OF NEW JERSEY TO:CORNEL A MENDS-COLE,HIS HEIRS, DEVISEES ANDPERSONAL REPRESENTA-TIVES, AND HIS, THEIRS, ORANY OF THEIR SUCCES-SORS IN RIGHT, TITLE ANDINTEREST; CORNELIAMENDS-COLE BURKE, INDI-VIDUALLY AND AS ADMIN-ISTRATRIX OF THE ESTATEOF CORNEL A MENDS-COLE;CORNEL MENDS-COLE,HEIR

YOU ARE HEREBY summoned and re-quired to serve upon Leopold & Associ-ates, PLLC, Attorneys for Plaintiff, whoseaddress is 80 Business Park Drive, Suite110, Armonk, New York 10504, an an-swer to the Complaint and Amendment toComplaint filed in a civil action in whichMTGLQ INVESTORS, L.P. is plaintiff andCORNEL A MENDS-COLE, HIS HEIRS,DEVISEES AND PERSONAL REPRE-SENTATIVES, AND HIS, THEIRS, OR ANYOF THEIR SUCCESSORS IN RIGHT,TITLE AND INTEREST; ET ALS. are de-fendants, pending in the Superior Court ofNew Jersey, Chancery Division, BurlingtonCounty, and bearing Docket number F-36793-14, within 35 days after 02/21/2019,exclusive of such date or if published after02/21/2019, 35 days after the actual dateof publication, exclusive of such date. Ifyou fail to do so, judgment by default maybe rendered against you for the relief de-manded in the Complaint and Amendmentto Complaint. You shall file your answerand proof of service in duplicate with theClerk of the Superior Court, Hughes Jus-tice Complex, CN-971, Trenton, New Jer-sey, 08625, together with your check in thesum of $175.00 representing the filing feein accordance with the rules of Civil Prac-

tice and Procedure.This action has been instituted for the

purpose of (1) foreclosing a mortgage dated04/26/2004, made by CORNEL A MENDS-COLE as mortgagor, to MORTGAGEELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYS-TEMS, INC. AS NOMINEE FOR FIRSTMAGNUS FINANCIAL CORPORATIONrecorded on 06/09/2004 in Book 10704, ofmortgages for UNION County, page 0979,and (2) to recover possession of, andconcerns premises commonly known as24-28 EMMA STREET, PLAINFIELD,NEW JERSEY 07063, Lot 21, Block 220.

If you are unable to obtain an attorney,you may communicate with the New Jer-sey Bar Association by calling 732-249-5000. You may also contact the LawyerReferral Service of the County of venue bycalling 201-488-0044. If you cannot affordan attorney, you may communicate withthe Legal Services Office of the County ofvenue by calling 201-488-0032.

YOU, CORNEL A MENDS-COLE, HISHEIRS, DEVISEES AND PERSONALREPRESENTATIVES AND HIS, THEIROR ANY OF THEIR SUCCESSORS INRIGHT, TITLE AND INTEREST,CORNELIA MENDS-COLE BURKE, INDI-VIDUALLY AND AS ADMINISTRATRIXOF THE ESTATE OF CORNEL A MENDS-COLE, AND CORNEL MENDS-COLE,HEIR, are made a defendant because youare the heirs of CORNEL A MENDS-COLE,the original obligor, mortgagor and recordowner of the mortgaged premises, whopassed away on 07/18/2017, and becauseyou may have an ownership interest in themortgaged premises and for any lien, claimor interest you may have in to or againstthe mortgaged premises.

This is an attempt to collect a debt, andany information obtained will be used forthat purpose.

DATED: 02/21/2019MICHELLE M. SMITH, CLERK

SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEYLeopold & Associates, PLLC80 Business Park Drive, Suite 110Armonk, NY 10504(914) 219-57871 T - 2/21/19, The Leader Fee: $84.66

PUBLIC NOTICE


PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVENthat the following Ordinance was passedon first reading by the Township Council ofthe Township of Scotch Plains, County ofUnion, New Jersey on the 19th of February2019, and that said Ordinance will be con-sidered for final adoption at a meeting ofthe said Township Council to be held in theCouncil Chambers, 430 Park Avenue, onthe 5th day of March 2019 at 7:00 p.m., atwhich time and place a public hearing willbe held prior to final passage of said Ordi-nance and all interested persons will begiven an opportunity to be heard concern-ing the same. Copies of said Ordinancecan be obtained from the Township Clerk’sOffice at any time prior to final adoption atno cost to any member of the generalpublic who requests same.

ORDINANCE 2019-1

ORDINANCE AMENDINGSECTION 23-9 ENTITLED“REDEVELOPMENT PLANS”TO RENUMBER SUBSEC-TION 23-9.1 ENTITLED“PARKER GREENHOUSEREDEVELOPMENT PLAN(BLOCK 12001, LOTS 4, 5, 6,7 & 24)” AND ALSO ADOPT-ING A REDEVELOPMENTPLAN FOR AN “AREA INNEED OF REDEVELOP-MENT” KNOWN AS THE“JERUSALEM ROAD REDE-VELOPMENT AREA” CON-SISTING OF BLOCK 6201,LOTS 13, 16.02 AND A POR-TION OF THE VACATED VANORDEN PLACE RIGHT-OF-WAY AS SHOWN ON THE TAXMAP OF THE TOWNSHIP OFSCOTCH PLAINS IN ACCOR-DANCE WITH N.J.S.A.40A:12A-7, AND SUPPLE-MENTING AND AMENDINGCHAPTER XXIII ENTITLED“ZONING” BY THE AMEND-MENT OF SUBSECTION 23-3.2 ENTITLED “ZONINGMAP”, AND BY THE ADDI-TION OF A NEW SUBSEC-TION 23-9.2 ENTITLED“JERUSALEM ROAD REDE-VELOPMENT PLAN (BLOCK6201, LOTS 13, 16.02 AND APORTION OF THE VACATEDVAN ORDEN PLACE RIGHT-OF-WAY)”.

ORDINANCE 2019-2

ORDINANCE AMENDINGCHAPTER XII ENTITLED“SEWER AND WATER” RE-GARDING ANNUAL SERVICECHARGE RATES FOR RESI-DENTIAL AND NON-RESI-DENTIAL PROPERTIES.

BOZENA LACINA, RMCMunicipal Clerk

1 T - 2/21/19, Times Fee: $60.18

FREELANCERS WANTEDStrong, detail-oriented writerswith professional demeanorneeded to cover localgovernment meetings. Must beable to meet deadlines, knowhow to write a lead, and takean active interest in their beatsin order to develop newsstories. Please emailresume and clips to:

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DEYCI’S CLEANING SERVICES

BABY SITTERS NEEDED

Do you love children? ThePresbyterian Church in Westfield,140 Mountain Avenue, needs childcare baby sitters on Sunday's from9-11:15 a.m. Some extendedtimes for meetings and lunchesmay be included. The rate is $15.per hour. A substantial backgroundcheck will be done at the church’sexpense. For information and aninterview, call Christine Treger at

(908) 233-0301, ext. 38

TOWNHOUSE FOR SALE

Immaculate 3BR 3½ bath end unittownhome with private park-likesetting in gated Park Place,Springfield. Rare first floor masterbedroom suite & laundry room,with oak floors throughout. Vaultedceilings, updated bathrooms, &modern kitchen with stainlessappliances. Sliders to deck andwalkout to patio.Two spaciousrooms plus full bath in fully finishedbasement with separate storage.Close to NYC transportation.Outdoor pool and tennis courts foryour enjoyment. Mortgageapproved buyers only. $489,000.

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HELP WANTED

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RESOLUTION NO: 2019-124AWARDED TO: Travelers Insurance

Company, Morristown, New JerseySERVICE: to obtain a Public Official

Bond for Julie OrigliatoPERIOD: February 10, 2019-February

9, 2020COSTS: in the amount of $942.00James E. Pellettiere, RMC, QPA, Clerk





Union County Board of Chosen Freehold-ers has awarded a contract without com-petitive bidding as an Professionalservicepursuant to N.J.S.A. 40A:11-5(1)(a)(i). This contract and the resolution autho-rizing it is available for public inspection inthe Office of the Clerk of the Board.

RESOLUTION NO: 2019-119AWARDED TO: The Institute for Fo-

rensic Psychology, Oakland, New Jer-sey

SERVICES TO: to provide Psychologi-cal Evaluation Services to the Departmentof Administrative Services9Division ofPersonnel), the Department of Corrections,and the Union County Prosecutor

PERIOD: February 14, 2019- Decem-ber 31, 2019

COSTS: in a total amount not to exceed$ 81,000.00


1 T - 2/21/19, The Leader Fee: $24.48





RESOLUTION NO: 2019-133amending (Resolution No. 2017-115)AWARDED TO: Groundwork Eliza-

bethSERVICE: Grants for the Administration

and implementation of the Union CountyMeans Green Community Garden

PERIOD: January 1, 2019-December31, 2019

COSTS: in the amount not to exceed$50,000.00


1 T - 2/21/19, The Leader Fee: $23.97





RESOLUTION NO: 2019-125AWARDED TO: Travelers Insurance

Company, Morristown, New JerseySERVICE: to renew a Public Official

Bond for Anthony UgoaruPERIOD: March 9, 2019-March 8, 2020COSTS: in the amount not to exceed

$756.00James E. Pellettiere, RMC, QPA, Clerk






RESOLUTION NO: 2019-112AWARDED TO: Various AgenciesSERVICE: to deliver services to Union

County residents 60 years of age or olderand/or their caregivers

PERIOD: January 1, 2019-December31, 2019

COSTS: in the amount not to exceed$4,626,165.00.


1 T - 2/21/19, The Leader Fee: $22.44


NOTICE OFTOWNSHIP COUNCIL QUORUM

New Jersey RedevelopmentAuthority Training Session

PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVENthat a quorum of the members of the ScotchPlains Township Council, will be in atten-dance for a Redevelopment Training Insti-tute presented by the New Jersey Rede-velopment Authority on March 4, 2019from 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. at the ScotchPlains Municipal Building Township Coun-cil Chambers, 430 Park Avenue, ScotchPlains, New Jersey 07076.

No formal action will be taken by theTownship Council at this training session.

BOZENA LACINAMunicipal Clerk

1 T - 02/21/19, The Times Fee: $18.87


BATTLING AT 132-LBS...Cougar Dean Smith, right, defeated Blue Devil Jer-emy Silber, 3-1, for the 132-lb crown at the District 14 Tournament.


ALL EYES ON THE BALL...The Cranford Cougars, white uniforms, and the Brearley Bears keep their eyes on the ballduring the Union County Tournament second round game at Cranford on February 13. The Cougars won in OT, 64-58.


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Spreading Kindness inWestfield Public Schools

WESTFIELD — On any given daythroughout the school year, in any ofthe 10 schools in the Westfield PublicSchool District, there are coat drivesand food drives and collections ofeveryday items for communities inneed. There are Two Lunch Thurs-days and Extra Lunch Wednesdayswhere students bring an extra lunchand meet to make sandwiches, donat-ing the lunches and sandwiches tofood pantries and homeless shelters.There are dance-a-thons and math-a-thons and many other initiatives toraise money for pediatric cancer re-search and other charitable causes.

And whether observing KindnessMonth or taking The Great KindnessChallenge or encouraging RandomActs of Kindness, there’s a commontheme taking place this month andlast across the district.

“You are ambassadors of kindnessand respect,” said Wilson PrincipalJoseph Malanga at the closing cer-emony for the Month of Hope onFebruary 1, when, as part of a fullassembly agenda, he recognized 20students he had quietly observed do-ing something kind. Each week duringthe Month of Hope in January, Wilsonstudents, parents and staff focused ona particular need, collecting gentlyused sports equipments one week, non-perishable food items another, makingsandwiches for St. Joseph Social Ser-vice Center in Elizabeth, gathering petfood and treats for abandoned animalsat the Linden Animal Shelter, and rais-ing $11,696 for St. Jude Children’sResearch Hospital.

Fourth graders in Branice Moore’sclass at McKinley were Soup-er Bowlchampions, collecting 388 non-per-ishable food items while the entireschool community collected 3,465food items – on average 10 items perstudent – for a local food pantry.

“McKinley loves participating inthis food drive because we get to helpothers,” said principal Marc Biunno.

Jefferson School kicked off TheGreat Kindness Challenge with anassembly focusing on the 6 Pillars ofCharacter – trustworthiness, respect,responsibility, fairness, caring, andcitizenship. At Franklin School, whichhas participated in the kindness chal-lenge for the past several years, sec-ond graders created themed basketsfor Westfield’s first responders andother public service providers as partof grade level kindness activities.

Tamaques teachers are conductingindividual lessons on kindness as theschool prepares to kick off its 2019Reading Marathon this month, hav-ing raised $17,046 last year for fami-lies in need. Washington School andothers are celebrating the 100th dayof school by partnering with volun-teers at “Connect for Community,” aprogram created to demonstrate tochildren what 100 cents can buy.

“The basic premise of the programis asking each child to bring in onepersonal hygiene product that we useevery day,” said Washington Princi-pal Andrew Perry. “Many of theseitems, such as soap, toothpaste, de-odorant, dishwashing liquid and toi-let paper, are not covered by govern-ment assistance programs yet are ne-cessities in life.”

The Good Vibes Tribe at EdisonIntermediate School recently made1,000 origami peace cranes forChildren’s Specialized Hospital, whilevisitors to Roosevelt IntermediateSchool were greeted by a large bulle-tin board declaring such Random Actsof Kindness as “invite someone new tosit at your lunch table,” “give a class-mate a pencil or pen,” and “let some-one go ahead of you in line.” Membersof the RIS Looming our Love (LOL)Club met to loom and knit caps forbabies and adults in cancer units atValley Hospital in Ridgewood.

“The club made a goal to donate200 hats this year and we’ve alreadymade over 120,” said LOL Club advi-sor Carine Helwig in mid-January.

The Community Service Club,Baking a Difference, Operation Smileand other service-oriented clubs atWestfield High School raise moneyand awareness year-round.

“It is impossible to name every com-munity service effort, every act of kind-ness, every demonstration of goodcharacter taking place in our schools,”said Superintendent Margaret Dolan,Ed.D. “We are truly fortunate to havestudents, parents, and staff who be-lieve strongly in making a difference.”

In March, Westfield Public Schoolswill observe its 2nd Annual Commu-nity Service Day, a district-wide coor-dinated effort organized by school Par-ent Teacher Organizations (PTOs)where families take part in plannedactivities in support of homeless shel-ters, fighting hunger campaigns, seniorcitizens, rescue animal organizationsand others in need of charitable help.

Honor RollPark Middle School - 2nd Marking Period

Grade 8 DistinguishedHonor Roll

Hasan Ali, Naa Dei Ashie, AbigailBalagot, Grace Beirne, Riley Bhatia,Lily Camacho, Cara Checchio,Kendall Chiang, Samuel Chichester,Disha Debnath, Ivana Delgado-Arvelo, Madison Diaz, OliviaEckstine, Carter Fallon, Emma Fang,Lily Friebely, Sophia Gallo, GraceGerminder, Justin Koizumi, LuciaLaumbach, Gavin Lesnevich, AllisonLesser, Ava Mach, ShehzadMadraswalla, Dylan Mathew, EllaMauer, Meagan Migliaccio, DanielleMost, Alicia Murphy, MatthewMurray, Denys Muryn, JessicaNavarro, Emma Nobile, SarahPaolella, Ella Platts, Zoe Quraishi,Katherine Ramalho, VikramRavishankar, Jordana Reisberg, Mor-gan Ritter, Catherine Rodrigues,Emma Schramm, Andrew Smith,Dominic Souza, Alicia Valenciano,Bianca Valente, Jayleen Velez,Gabriella Virga, Christina Wang,Margaret Whitney, GeorgiaWilliamson, Andy Zhu, MattinglyZullo

Grade 8 Regular HonorRoll

Jason Abate, Alyssa Barbossa, An-drew Bartley, Ryan Baumgartner,Stephan Baumgartner, Jenai Berry,Elisa Bianco, Ava Billotto, IsabellaBlake, Morgan Boone, Kylie Byers,Orencia Casimiro, Claire Cassidy,Ryan Cawley, Nicholas Champagne,Helena Chan, Alexandra Chouinard,Zachary Chung, Mia Cutaia, SyonaDalvi, Rushil Damania, AnandaDaniel, Joseph DeSantis, TheresaDeVall, Madeline DiSalvo, MatthewDolowy, Julia Encarnacion, OliviaEncarnacion, Jack Fallo, ShaylinFarley, Matthew Fela, Sean Ferrone,Emmet Fynes, Thomas Gain, EllaGoldstein, Zachary Gray, Jessica Gui,Paige Hagman, Annie Hansen, TrevorHeadrick, Leah Herb, CamilaHernandez, Maximilian Ho, EmilyHomer, Khan Lagemann, MatthewLaurenzano, Wesley Lewis, DanielMahr, Mikayla Mari, Kaelan Mattos,Thomas Metzger, Ava Niemczyk,Alden Nyamiaka, Daniel O’Brien,Katelyn Oser, Nefeli Pappas, DylanPatel, Jay Patel, Zachary Redling,Peter Reilly, Kady Rettino, MireilleSilva, Leila Simeon, Jay Slack, BrianaTalmadge, Hazel Thurman, AnthonyTittanegro, Gianna Tucker, KetevanVepkhvadze, Lauren Verrastro,Isabelle Verrico, Morgan Virgil, MayaViscardi-Carelse, Elijah Ware, DylanYoung


Haley Acevedo, Hannah Alber,Sarah Alnasseri, Sana Anand, HannahBaik, Alex Baker, Anastasia Berk,Karina Borysiak, Isabella Capati,Callie Capriglione, Grace Carter,

Dominique Chitty, AnthonyChrisostomides, Tara Cino, EmilyCuccurullo, Lauren Cunningham,Cole Darmarajah, JosephDeFrancesco, Mia Delaney, Eliza-beth Diamond, Emma Dougherty,Abigail Elliott, Ava Fazio, ValeriaFigueroa Rodriguez, Lily Friedman,Julia Friedrichs, Lily Gaulin,Alessandra Gialanella, David Gomez,Olivia Gomez, Samantha Hagopian,Ian Hobbs, Elorie Howell, NematIddisah, Carolyn Joe, Emily Juckes,Kyle Karyczak, Erin Kennedy, Gra-ham Kois, Nathan Korner, RobertLambert, Sairah Llano, MadelinePaik, Sairam Pantham, Jacob Pinsky,Fatima Qamar, Gokul Ramanan,Elijah Rodriguez, Gianna Rojas, Sh-annon Rooney, Amelie Rousseau,Raquel Sanisidro, Michael Schmidt,Chloe Schunke, Ryan Serio, HeatherSherman, Maisie Shimko, AryanSingh, Gianluca Skirde, DylanSoriano, Anastasia Stellakis, KellyStewart, Grace Sweeney, ZuzannaSzewc, Janeli Tenecota Villa, MariaVitoroulis, Michael Wojcik, DarionYau, Emma Zheng


Justin Abadir, Alexander Allegra,Eva Austin, Keira Baerson, SophiaBansagi, Brian Bartley, AmandaBaylock, Charles Becker, HanaBerisha, Gwendolyn Boylan, LilyCantwell, Matthew Capozzolo, JadenCarpien, Elizabeth Chern, ColeChludzinski, Joshua Citarella, TaylorClement, Isabella Colon, GraceConklin, Joss Coppock-Huegel,Isabella Cucci, Tia Culjak, KristinaDecker, Nathaniel Dematteo, BiancaDeVizio, Ethan Diamond, SpencerDoran, Andrew Dreyer, AllisonEggert, Luke Ellison, JulianneFriedson, Matan Goldstein, MaVictoria Gonzales, Marissa Gregov,Abigail Griffiths, Mackenzie Harmer,Sean Harris, Jacob Hathcock, HopeHausle, Angelina Holden, Ethan Holt,Ian Hopkins, Zoe Hopkins, KyleHunter, Brian Huszcza, DietrichJahnke, Aiden Jasul, Valerie Kelly,Aadi Kenwar, Danielle Kramer, SaraLehman, Isabelle Li, AlexanderLiverance, Kelsie Lubalin, JenalysLugo, Joshua Madarasz, LaurenMcNulty, Giao Nguyen Dao, TiffanyNguyen, Michelle Nikolaev, PhilipJoseph Nitro, Maxine Novello,Jasmyn Nunez, Alexander Patino,Paige Peneno, Chance Perez, Tho-mas Perez, Sequoia Pilgrim, Ander-son Pollack, Grace Price, Ryan Quino-

nes, Gonzalo Ramos, DianeResnicoff, Sebastian Roman Gaud,Anthony Romano, KatherineRomanyshyn, Aidan Route, ErinRyan, Audrey Saccento, AnthonyScuorzo, Boushi Siva, SamSponheimer, Noah Tamayo, LindsayTrela, Sherly Velez, Olivia Vella,Emma Lee Vieira, Evelyn Villar,Mackenzie Virgil, Jennifer Walsh,Chase Waxman, Meya Williams,Rebecca Wofsy, Sara Wollman,Youssef Yacub, Sergiy Yurchenko,Rachel Ziegler


Elizabeth Baglien, MorganBarbossa, Matteo Barcellona, CaitlinBellistri, Michael Bellistri, AbigailBender, David Bolivar, Emma Boris,Grace Bottomly, Isobel Bruce, EmmaCarinhas, Grace Cawley, HannahCharnock, Ethan Cukrow, EmilyDeGaetano, Olivia DiSalvo,McKenna Dwyer, Thomas Eisner,Camryn Evans, Amelia Fallon, JuliaFarin, Julia Ferguson, DylanFitzgerald, Samantha Friscia, TylerGlynn, Jeff Gui, Sofia Heta, MaryKatherine Hoffman, Clarke Hunter,Blake Jackson, Sean Johnston,Caitlin Keough, Elizabeth Koizumi,Sophia Labazzo, Isabella LaFerrera,Alexa LaRosa, Emily Laudman,Daniel Laurenzano, Darrien Lee,Nathaniel Leversee, Elana Lewis,Madeline Marcovecchio, EnisaMarku, Chelsea Martin, Ryan Mauer,Emily McCall, Wyatt Mendolia,Caitlyn Meyers, Kayla Mohabir,Nicholas Mongold, Matthew Mui,Thomas Mui, Christopher Murphy,Daniel Murphy, Kayla Murray, SofiaMurray, Jacob Ocana, Joslyn Odim,Mizuki Parker, Hanna Pearce,Samuel Perone, Shawn Poliseo, ZoePsathas, Meredith Reilly, MadelineRichter, Audrey Ricks, Fabian Ro-man Gaud, Sophia Seith, SophiaShapiro, Asher Silva, Emily Skara,

Angel Skolar, Hannah Spieler, JackSponheimer, Jada Sripada, IsabellaStepien, Saanvi Suresh, CooperTamase, North Thurman, AngelinaValente, Isaiah Williams, Jia Xue,Riley Yau, Torre Zullo


Grace Abadir, Christopher Abate,Ethan Afir, Araoluwa Akinwunmi,Brandon Au, Christian Bates, SamuelBeirne, Juliette Besson, Lily Bishop,Arianna Blake, AvaGraceBozetarnik, Ella Butters, DavidCamba, Nicholas Cammarano,Michael Cantwell, Adriana Cardi-nal, Olivia Castucci, Antonio CerchioSaggese, Jenna Cerchio, EmmaChan, Varun Chauhan, LinxiangChen, Isabella Cocca, CarolinaConklin, Raya Crisafulli, SavannaDiana, Isabella DiFiore, CarinaDiLollo, Elisabeth Dolowy, JulianaDoran, Ysabella Fernandez, JakeFezza, Lydia Flagg, Dylan Fountain,Victoria Gain, Max Gal, BraedanGalway, Lindsay Gold, MariaGonzalez, Vania Gonzalez, LukeHahn, Christopher Harris, EvanHayeck, Maggie Hayes, ShaneHickey, Tristan Huber, AdelieHunsaker, Olivia Hunsinger, LilyKalafat, Grayson Kelly, Louis Kelly,Aditya Khandelwal, Paul Kole-Emmanuel, Annabel Koseoglu, RyanLahetta, James Lama, ThomasLevine, Jackson Lorenzetti, AvaMartini, Anaya Mateo, Krish Mathur,Grayce Mattos, Joshua Matty, Jack-son Mazzola, Samantha Mingoia,Lucas Mirzwa, Lorelei Morrison,Emily Nguyen, Goro Obara, NicolePapadakis, Frederick Parchman,Luca Passucci, Evan Phillips, Chris-topher Plenca, Kalli Preston, SeanPrice, Victoria Prizgar, BakhtawarQamar, Gabriella Quiceno, RyanRicci, Isabella Rocha, HannahRosenthal, Timothy Ryder, AndrewSaccento, Sonya Shah, AndrewSicinski, Gianna Silva, Shreya Singh,Tristan Sirmans, Phillip Snair, Ben-jamin Thomas, Rocco Trainor, Tay-lor Tsin, David Tsvayberg, SamuelValera, Xavier Vega, Gianna Walker-Talbot, Ryan Watt, Meredith White,Erik Widhiatmodjo, LoganWilliamson, Tiffany Yang, SophiaZambrio, Maria Zelener, LukeZimmerman, Thomas Zimmerman

Mrs. Francis Is NamedBPS Teacher of the Year

A-PLUS TEACHER...Brookside Place Elementary (BPS) School KindergartenTeacher Anne Marie Francis is named the BPS Classroom Teacher of the Year.

CRANFORD—Brookside PlaceElementary School (BPS) is pleasedto announce that Anne Marie Francishas been selected as the ClassroomTeacher of the Year from nomina-tions made by the school communityas part of the New Jersey Departmentof Education 2018-19 Governor’sEducator of the Year Program.

Mrs. Francis has served theCranford school district for 20 years,with 11 of those years teaching kin-dergarten at BPS. She has also taughtgrades 4 through 8 as both a class-room and gifted and talented teacher,grades K to 8 as a character educationcoordinator and grades 9 though 12as a service learning coordinator.

She was a kindergartener herselfwhen she decided she’d one day emu-late her kindergarten teacher and sitaround a circle, teachingkindergarteners. “I feel that teachingchose me!” Mrs. Francis said. “It’s allI ever wanted to be.”

Before the start of every day, shesaid, she reads to herself a page-longdoctrine she has compiled entitled“This is What I Believe,” which listsstatements of positivity to guide herteaching philosphies. “I believe I canmake the biggest difference in a child’sability to learn. I believe all childrenare filled with curiosity and it is myresponsibility to illuminate their pathto discovery,” she said.

In her cheerful kindergarten class-room, Mrs. Francis said she createsan environment for learning based

upon those beliefs and what she haslearned in life to “create a place thatis nurturing, safe, inviting, reward-ing, stimulating, loving and fun!”

She is very humbled by her nomi-nation as the BPS Classroom Teacherof the Year. “I believe that the BPSstaff is a truly exceptional group ofprofessionals who collaborativelypush each individual along to reachtheir full potential. This honor be-longs to all of us,” Mrs. Francis said.

The Governor’s Educator of theYear Program highlights educationalinnovation, student achievement, therewards of teaching, and importantservices outside the classroom envi-ronment that lead to student success.Further, it seeks to attract public at-tention to the positive aspects of oureducational system. For more infor-mation, please visit: http://www.state.nj.us/education/educators/rpr/recognition/educators/geoy/.

KIND KIDS...Franklin School second graders created themed baskets forWestfield’s first responders and other public service providers as part of grade-level kindness activities.

Children of HolocaustSurvivors Visit EIS StudentsWESTFIELD — Eighth graders at

Edison Intermediate School (EIS)recently heard compelling, and some-times emotional, accounts from agroup comprised of children of Holo-caust survivors who shared facts, pho-tographs and a common message thathate cannot be tolerated anywhere.

“The Holocaust was the systematicmurder of 6-million Jews and otherpopulations,” said Lydia Fogelmanto a class of eighth graders. “We arehere now to tell you the stories of ourmothers and how they survived.”

Fogelman was one of six membersof the Second/Third Generation Ho-locaust Survivors Group to visitEdison to share their family stories ofloss and survival. The group was co-founded by Claire Bornstein, RitaGeller and Faye Bodenstein at Con-gregation Beth Israel in Scotch Plainsin 2015 and includes members fromthroughout the area.

“The group’s objectives are to sharestories, provide support, to learn evenmore about our history and, most im-portantly, to create opportunities forHolocaust education in our schools,synagogues and community,” saidBarbara Simon, whose maternal andpaternal grandparents, an uncle, andthree aunts were among her familymembers to die during the Holocaust.

Ms. Simon said the visit to Edisonwas the group’s first experience speak-ing in a school. “We hope to con-tinue,” she said. “Our goal is to instillour ‘be an Upstander, not a bystander’philosophy. We hope the studentsunderstood the message that we can-

not change the past but they shouldparticipate in the future. We wish toinstill confidence in the kids to notonly be able to recognize hate, but toalso feel empowered to realize thatstaying quiet should not be an option.Hate is not okay.”

Joining Simon and Fogelman inspeaking to three eighth grade lan-guage arts classes were ClaireBornstein, Rita Geller, DebraFeldman and Gila Glassel.

“Edison’s eighth grade languagearts classes are currently involved ina social justice book club unit. Stu-dents are reading a number of booksthat deal with the themes of preju-dice, righteous individuals, bravery,and morality,” said principal Mat-thew Bolton. “We are incredibly for-tunate to have members of the Sec-ond/third Generation Holocaust Sur-vivors Group share their compellingstories of sadness and survival withour students.”

EIS students will also hear from aHolocaust survivor who will visit theschool next month, Mr. Bolton said.

“The teaching of the Holocaust andgenocide has been part of the K-12curriculum in Westfield PublicSchools for more than two decades,with a multidisciplinary, age-appro-priate approach at all grade levels,”said Superintendent Margaret Dolan,Ed.D. “This visit by members of Con-gregation Beth Israel and other pre-sentations on the Holocaust provideimportant real-life context to class-room experiences at our intermediateand high schools.”

LEADING THE WAY...The Education Enrichment Foundation of Scotch Plains-Fanwood hosted their annual Leadership Training Conference (LTC 100) onFebruary 2. Over 100 student delegates, recommended by the faculty of Park andTerrill Middle Schools and St. Bartholomew’s Academy (grades 5-8), participatedin this event that develops, reinforces and promotes leadership skills. The del-egates learned leadership skills through class work and hands-on activities, suchas Effective Communication, Speaking with Ease/Public Speaking, Elected toLead Everyone and T.E.A.M Time! (Together Everyone Achieves More). LTC100 takes some of the best features of the New Jersey Association of StudentCouncils four-day LTC program held in the summer and condenses them into aone-day program for the Scotch Plains-Fanwood students.

Christiano of CF EarnsDean’s List at LehighCRANFORD — Luke Christiano,

of Cranford, was named to the Dean’sList at Lehigh University in the Fall2018 semester.

Dean’s List status is awarded tostudents who earned a scholastic av-erage of 3.6 or better while carryingat least 12 hours of regularly gradedcourses.

More Education next page

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PUBLIC NOTICE PUBLIC NOTICETOWNSHIP OF CRANFORDCRANFORD, NEW JERSEY

ORDINANCE 2019-02

AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND THE CODE OF THE TOWNSHIP OFCRANFORD, CHAPTER 306 PARKS AND RECREATION, ARTICLE III:COMMUNITY POOLS, SECTION 306-10 POOL MEMBERSHIP FEES.

WHEREAS, the Township Committee of the Township of Cranford has identifiedincreased costs associated with operating and maintaining the Township’s communitypool and such increase in operations shall be reflected in an increase in Pool MembershipFees as described herein in Section 306-10 of the Township Code; and

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the Township Committee of the Townshipof Cranford as follows:

Chapter 306 PARKS AND RECREATION:Article III: Community PoolsSection 306-10 Pool Membership Fees.

is hereby amended as follows:

A. Summer pool fees shall be as follows:

(1) Residents:(a) Individual: $255 $260(b) Two Adults: $305 $310(c) Adult and Child: $305 $310(d) Two Adults and Child: $330 $340(e) Adult and two or more children: $330 $340(f) Two adults and two or more children: $355 $365(g) Additional child-care provider: $180 $185(h) Senior Citizen (age 65): $65 $70(i) Senior citizen and spouse: $215 $220

(2) Nonresidents:(a) Individual: $435 $445(b) Two adults: $560 $570(c) Adult and Child: $560 $570(d) Two adults and child: $585 $595(e) Adult and two or more children: $585 $595(f) Two adults and two or more children: $635 $645(g) Additional child-care provider (for adult or child): $280 $285(h) Senior citizen (age 65): $240 $245(i) Senior citizen and spouse: $415 $425

(3) .……

(4) …….

B. Winter Pool Fees……….

(1)…(4)…..

C. Annual pool fees shall be as follows:

(1) Residents:(a) Individual: $460 $470(b) Two Adults (same address): $560 $570(c) One adult and one child: $560 $570(d) Two adults and one child: $585 $600(e) One adult and two or more children: $585 $600(f) Two adults and two or more children: $635 $650(g) Additional child care provider (for adult or child): $230 $235(h) Senior Citizen (age 65): $165 $175(i) Senior Citizen and spouse: $390 $400

(2) Nonresidents:(a) Individuals: $660 $675(b) Two adults (same address): $890 $905(c) One adult and one child: $890 $905(d) Two adults and one child: $915 $930(e) One adult and two or more children: $915 $930(f) Two adults and two or more children: $940 $955(g) Additional child care provider (for adult or child): $385 $390(h) Senior Citizen (age 65): $465 $470(i) Senior Citizen and spouse: $740 $750

(3) …….

(4) …….

D. ……....

E. ………

F. ………

G. ………

H. ………

EXPLANATION – Matter struck through thus in the above Ordinance is notenacted and is intended to be omitted in the law. Matter underlined thus is newmatter.

NOTICE OF PENDING ORDINANCE

The foregoing ordinance was introduced and approved on first reading at a meeting ofthe Township Committee of the Township of Cranford, New Jersey on Tuesday, February19, 2019 and will be further considered for final passage after public hearing to be heldat the Municipal Building, 8 Springfield Avenue, Cranford, New Jersey on Tuesday, March5, 2019 at 7:30 PM or as soon thereafter as this matter can be reached. All personsinterested will be given the opportunity to be heard concerning such ordinance. Copiesof Ordinance 2019-02 are available in the office of the Township Clerk, CranfordMunicipal Building, 8 Springfield Avenue, Cranford, New Jersey, during the hours of 8a.m. and 4:30 p.m.

Patricia DonahueMunicipal Clerk

1 T - 2/21/19, The Leader Fee: $161.16

Coles ‘Souper Bowl’Donates to Pantry

SCOTCH PLAINS — J.A. ColesElementary School students in ScotchPlains shared their own Super Bowlexcitement by participating in their an-nual “Soup-er Bowl”. Each year thisPTA-sponsored event is a big “win” forour students and local food pantries.

Bins decorated with the two SuperBowl teams are placed in the mainlobby of school for two weeks. Stu-dents “choose’ which team they thinkwill win the actual Super Bowl byplacing donated canned food into theteam of choice.

The big winner of the Coles “Soup-er Bowl” was the Rams collecting140 canned goods! In total studentsdonated 187 cans of food, which willbe donated a local pantry to help ourneighbors in need.

The Coles Kids Care program, spon-sored by the JA Coles PTA, continuesto give back to those in need in ourcommunity throughout the school year!

GIFT OF HOPE...The Wilson Elementary School community in Westfield raised$11,696 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital during the school’s “Month ofHope” in January. Pictured with Wilson first-grade teacher Marie Morris are twoof her students, Jonah Diamant and Devlin Rowan.

SHERIFF’S SALESHERIFF’S FILE NO.: CH-19000142

SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEYCHANCERY DIVISION

UNION COUNTYDOCKET NO. F-011877-10

Plaintiff: U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIA-TION, AS TRUSTEE, SUCCESSOR ININTERTEST TO WACHOVIA BANK, NATIONALASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE FOR BANK OFAMERICA FUNDING CORPORATION MORT-GAGE PASS-THROUGH CERTIFICATES, SE-RIES 2005-H

VS.Defendant: ROBERTO SIA; FELICITAS L. SIA,

H/WSale Date: 03/20/2019Writ of Execution: 08/22/2018By virtue of the above-stated writ of execution

to me directed I shall expose for sale by publicvendue, at the Union County Administration Build-ing, 1st Floor, 10 Elizabethtown Plaza, Eliza-beth, New Jersey on Wednesday, at two o’clockin the afternoon of said day. All successful bid-ders must have 20% of their bid available in cashor certified check at the conclusion of the sales.

The judgment amount is: ***Eight HundredTwelve Thousand Two Hundred Seventeen and29/100*** $812,217.29.

The property to be sold is located in Town ofWestfield in the County of Union, and State ofNew Jersey.

Commonly known as 39 Carol Road, Westfield,New Jersey 07090.

Tax Lot No. 26, Block 1904.Dimensions of Lot: (Approximately) 100 feet

by 120 feet.Nearest Cross Street: Sunset Avenue.Total Upset: ***Eight Hundred Forty-One Thou-

sand Three Hundred Seventy-Six and 19/100***$841,376.19 together with lawful interest andcosts.

Surplus Money: If after the sale and satisfac-tion of the mortgage debt, including costs andexpenses, there remains any surplus money, themoney will be deposited into the Superior CourtTrust Fund and any person claiming the surplus,or any part thereof, may file a motion pursuant toCourt Rules 4:64-3 and 4:57-2 stating the natureand extent of that person’s claim and asking foran order directing payment of the surplus money.The Sheriff or other person conducting the salewill have information regarding the surplus, ifany.

There is a full legal description on file in theUnion County Sheriff’s Office.

The Sheriff reserves the right to adjourn thissale for any length of time without further adver-tisement.

Peter CorvelliSheriff

Attorney:KML LAW GROUP, P.C.216 HADDON AVENUESUITE 406WESTMONT NEW JERSEY 08108(215) 627-13224 T - 02/21, 02/28, 03/07& 03/14/19 Fee: $169.32




Plaintiff: DEUTSCHE BANK NATIONALTRUST COMPANY, AS TRUSTEE, FOR THEWAMU MORTGAGE PASS-THROUGH CER-TIFICATES, SERIES 2004-AR10

VS.Defendant: TIMOTHY J. SCHETELICH AND

LAURA E. SCHETELICH, HUSBAND AND WIFE;UNITED STATES OF AMERICA; STATE OFNEW JERSEY

Sale Date: 03/06/2019Writ of Execution: 10/05/2018By virtue of the above-stated writ of execution


The judgment amount is: ***Six Hundred Sev-enty-Seven Thousand Seven Hundred Thirtyand 10/100*** $677,730.10.

The property to be sold is located in SCOTCHPLAINS TOWNSHIP, County of UNION andState of New Jersey.

Commonly known as: 2426 HILL ROAD,SCOTCH PLAINS, NEW JERSEY 07076.

Tax Lot No. 4, in Block No. 7703.Dimension of Lot Approximately: 0.233.Nearest Cross Street: MARLBORO ROAD.BEGINNING AT A POINT marked by an iron

pipe found in the southeasterly sideline of HillRoad, said point being 254.60 feet in a northeast-erly direction from a point of curve in the south-easterly sideline of Hill Road, said curve leadinginto the northerly sideline of Marlboro Road:

PRIOR LIENS/ENCUMBRANCESTaxes Open with Penalty: $5,215.00.Sewer Open with Penalty: $522.24.TOTAL AS OF November 29, 2018: $5,737.24.Total Upset: ***Six Hundred Ninety-Nine Thou-

sand Nine Hundred Eighty-Seven and 13/100***$699,987.13 together with lawful interest andcosts.





Attorney:FEIN, SUCH, KAHN & SHEPARD, PC7 CENTURY DRIVESUITE 201PARSIPPANY, NEW JERSEY 07054(973) 538-47004 T - 02/07, 02/14, 02/21& 02/28/19 Fee: $189.72




Plaintiff: CHRISTIANA TRUST A DIVISIONOF WILMINGTON SAVINGS FUND SOCIETY,FSB, D/B/A CHRISTIANA TRUST, NOT INDI-VIDUALLY BUT AS TRUSTEE FOR PRETIUMMORTGAGE ACQUISITION TRUST

VS.Defendant: BRUCE M. MORAN; DANIELLE

H. MORAN; WELLS FARGO BANK, N.A., ASTRUSTEE FOR IRWIN HOME EQUITY LOANTRUST 2007-1

Sale Date: 03/13/2019Writ of Execution: 11/27/2018By virtue of the above-stated writ of execution


The judgment amount is: ***Four HundredFifty-Six Thousand One Hundred Six and 30/100*** $456,106.30.

PROPERTY TO BE SOLD IS LOCATED [N:Township of Scotch Plains, County of Union, inthe State of New Jersey

PREMISES COMMONLY KNOWN AS: 2338Redwood Road, Scotch Plains, New Jersey07076.

TAX LOT # 16, BLOCK # 6901.APPROXIMATE DIMENSIONS: 000.315 AC.NEAREST CROSS STREET: Muir Terrace.*Also subject to subsequent taxes, water and

sewer plus interest through date of payoff.Total Upset: ***Four Hundred Seventy-Four

Thousand Two Hundred Thirty and 76/100***$474,230.76 together with lawful interest andcosts.





Attorney:PARKER MC CAYPO BOX 50549000 MIDATLANTIC DRIVESUITE 300MOUNT LAUREL, NEW JERSEY 08054(856) 810-58154 T - 02/14, 02/21, 02/28& 03/07/19 Fee: $177.48




Plaintiff: NATIONSTAR MORTGAGE LLC D/B/A CHAMPION MORTGAGE COMPANY

VS.Defendant: JOHN A. FUSCO, AND UNITED

STATES OF AMERICASale Date: 03/20/2019Writ of Execution: 04/10/2017By virtue of the above-stated writ of execution


The judgment amount is: ***Three HundredEighty-Eight Thousand Ninety-Six and 49/100***$388,096.49.

The property to be sold is located in the Bor-ough of Mountainside.

In the County of Union and the State of NewJersey.

Premises commonly known as: 222 CentralAvenue.

Block: 5.20 (f/k/a 5.T), Lot: 62.Dimensions of Lot (approximately): 000.973

ACNearest Cross Street: Poplar Avenue.Subject to: Taxes current as of 3/30/2018.Sale subject to subsequent taxes, utilities,

liens and interest since 3/30/2018Total Upset: ***Four Hundred Fifteen Thou-

sand Six Hundred Twenty-Nine and 34/100***$415,629.34 together with lawful interest andcosts.





Attorney:MCCABE, WEISBERG & CONWAY, P.C.216 HADDON AVENUESUITE 201WESTMONT NEW JERSEY 08108(856) 858-70804 T - 02/21, 02/28, 03/07& 03/14/19 Fee: $167.28

Counselor to Speak AboutMood Disorders, Drug Abuse

AREA — The Depression and Bi-polar Support Alliance (DBSA) willfeature Kimberlee Karpack at its nextmonthly meeting on Wednesdayevening, February 27. Ms. Karpackworks with children, adolescents andadults with issues ranging from mooddisorders to personality disorders,psychiatric issues, substance abuse,depression, anxiety, relationship is-sues and grief work.

A Licensed Professional Counse-lor and Licensed Clinical Alcoholand Drug Counselor, Ms. Karpackhas worked in the field since 1994,in private practice. She has workedat both St. Clare’s Hospital inBoonton in the Alcohol, ChemicalDependency and Outpatient DuallyDiagnosed Programs as well as withSunrise House Foundation in theAdult and Adolescent SubstanceAbuse Programs. Her practice is inMountain Lakes.

Her talk will be entitled “Identi-fying Relapse Triggers and Estab-lishing Coping Strategies.” Ms.Karpack will take questions fromthe audience on this topic as well ason all subjects.

These educational meetings of theDBSA take place at the facilities of

the Morristown Unitarian Fellow-ship, located at 21 NormandyHeights Road (about one block eastof the Morris Museum) inMorristown. Doors open at 7:30p.m. The public is invited; a nomi-nal donation is requested from non-members if possible. Free literatureis available to all attendees and thereis an extensive lending library ofeducational CDs, audiotapes, DVDsand videotapes, also free. In case ofhazardous weather, call (973) 994-1143 after 6 p.m. for cancellationinformation.

In addition to the lecture series,peer group support sessions led byexperienced facilitators are held ev-ery Tuesday evening of the month,also using the facilities of theMorristown Unitarian Fellowshipin Morristown, at 7:30 p.m. Sepa-rate groups for young adults areheld every Tuesday evening andseparate groups for friends and fam-ily are offered periodically. All arealways welcome.

To learn more about the supportgroup and to view links to othersources of helpful information, visitthe website of the Depression andBipolar Support Alliance/MorristownArea at dbsanewjersey.org/morristownarea. For further local in-formation, call (973) 994-1143.

WESTFIELDWednesday, February 6, Howard

Starkes, Jr., 55, of Plainfield was ar-rested at the Somerset County jail onseveral outstanding confirmed war-rants. The warrants included aWestfield traffic warrant, in theamount of $839; a Westfield criminalwarrant, in the amount of $500; aMount Olive criminal warrant, in theamount of $1,000, and a Piscatawaycriminal warrant, in the amount of$500. He was transported to policeheadquarters, processed and held inlieu of bail.

Sunday, February 10, NikitaHemans, 20, of Orange was arrestedand charged with possession of a con-trolled dangerous substance (CDS)under 50 grams (marijuana) pursuantto a motor vehicle stop on SpringfieldAvenue. She was transported to po-lice headquarters, where she was pro-cessed and released on a summonswith a municipal court date of Febru-ary 26.

SCOTCH PLAINSTuesday, February 12, a resident of

Flanders Avenue reported that theirmotor vehicle was burglarized over-night. The resident observed a tallblack male enter the vehicle and thenflee the area. Officers were unable tolocate the suspect. The matter is un-der investigation.

Wednesday, February 13, a resi-dent of Mountain Avenue reported anincident of fraud. Someone opened acellular account in the victim’s name.The matter is under investigation.

Wednesday, February 13, a resi-dent of Martine Avenue reported thattheir motor vehicle was the target ofcriminal mischief that occurred dur-ing the overnight hours.

Friday, February 15, Dallas K.Stokes, 20, of Scotch Plains was ar-rested and charged with theft follow-ing a police investigation. Stokes wastransported to police headquarters andprocessed.

Saturday, February 16, a residentof Inverness Drive reported an inci-dent of criminal mischief. The homehad been hit with numerous eggs thenight prior, which caused damage tothe siding. The matter is under inves-tigation.

Saturday, February 16, Andre L.Davis, 32, of Elizabeth was arrestedand charged with unlawful posses-sion of a firearm and terroristic threatsduring a disturbance at a home onRichmond Street. Davis was trans-ported to police headquarters, pro-cessed and transported to the UnionCounty jail.

Sunday, February 17, Miguel A.Perez-Monterrosa, 30, of Dunellenwas arrested during a motor vehiclestop and charged with driving underthe influence. He was transported topolice headquarters and processed.

Sunday, February 17, David T.Drake, 26, of Newark was arrestedduring a motor vehicle stop andcharged with possession of drug para-phernalia. He was transported to po-lice headquarters and processed.

FANWOODWednesday, February 13, an of-

ficer arrested an individual in Pater-son on an outstanding fraud warrantissued in Fanwood. The individualwas processed and turned over to theUnion County Corrections Depart-ment in Elizabeth pending his courthearing. He was identified as MiguelOrtiz, 20, of Paterson.

Thursday, February 14, an officermade a motor vehicle stop at SouthAvenue and 4th Street for a motorvehicle violation. A check of the driver

showed an active warrant out ofPlainfield. The driver was arrested,processed, posted bail and released.He was identified as Ruben Morel-Cabrera, 35, of Plainfield.

Friday, February 15, an officermade a motor vehicle stop at East 2ndStreet and Terrill Road for a motorvehicle violation. A check of the drivershowed an active warrant out ofBloomfield. The driver was arrested,processed, posted bail and released.He was identified as Jamil Abdallah,56, of Bloomfield.

Saturday, February 16, an officermade a motor vehicle stop at NorthMartine and Pleasant Avenues for amotor vehicle violation. A check ofthe passenger showed active warrantsout of Watchung and Clark. The pas-senger was arrested, processed andturned over to the Watchung PoliceDepartment. He was identified as KyleHarvin, 42, of Westfield.

CRANFORDTuesday, February 5, Deshawn

Claiborne, 26, of East Orange wasarrested and charged with possessionof less than 50 grams of marijuanaand possession of drug paraphernaliafollowing a motor vehicle stop atLincoln Avenue East and MeekerStreet for not signaling a turn.Claiborne was processed and pro-vided with a municipal court appear-ance date. In addition, he was issuedmotor vehicle summonses for failingto signal a turn and possession of acontrolled dangerous substance in amotor vehicle.

Friday, February 8, Dale Tapps, Jr.,28, of Edgewater Park was arrestedand charged with possession of pre-scription legend drugs, possession ofless than 50 grams of marijuana andpossession of drug paraphernalia fol-lowing a motor vehicle stop onYarmouth Road near Munsee Drivefor suspicious activity. Following aninvestigation at the scene, Tapps wasarrested for suspected Hydrocodoneand marijuana found in his posses-

sion. He was processed and providedwith a state Superior Court appear-ance date.

Saturday, February 9, DejaJohnson, 22, of Linden was arrestedand charged with driving while in-toxicated (DWI) following a motorvehicle stop at South Avenue Eastand Centennial Avenue for erraticdriving. Johnson was processed andprovided with a municipal court ap-pearance date. In addition, she wasissued motor vehicle summonses forcareless driving, failure to maintainher lane and no valid insurance cardin her possession.

Saturday, February 9, Shavar Ward,32, of Plainfield was arrested andcharged with possession of prescrip-tion legend drugs after police re-sponded to Hayes Street on a callregarding a disabled motor vehicle.Following an investigation at thescene, Ward was arrested after policefound suspected Percocet inside thevehicle. Ward was processed and pro-vided with a municipal court appear-ance date.

Monday, February 11, KendallWozniak, 18, of Matawan was ar-rested and charged with possessionof less than 50 grams of marijuanaand possession of drug paraphernaliafollowing a motor vehicle stop onNorth Avenue East for unclear plates.Wozniak was processed and providedwith a municipal court appearancedate. In addition, she was issued mo-tor vehicle summonses for unclearplates and possession of a controlleddangerous substance in a motor ve-hicle.

Tuesday, February 12, Taylor Har-ris, 23, of Fords was arrested andcharged with possession of less than50 grams of marijuana and posses-sion of drug paraphernalia followinga motor vehicle stop at Raritan Roadand Coleman Avenue for an inoper-able headlamp. Harris was processedand provided with a municipal courtappearance date. In addition, she wasissued motor vehicle summonses formaintenance of lamps, tinted win-dows and possession of a controlleddangerous substance in a motor ve-hicle.

THE MONTESSORI SCHOOL

Christopher Academy

Accredited by the American Montessori Societywith non-traditional Montessori age groupings

www.christopheracademy.com

Admissions Open HousesPlease join us for our

Kindly RSVP to respective campus

March 79:30 a.m.

Westfield Campus510 Hillcrest Avenue

908-233-7447

March 129:30 a.m.

Scotch Plains Campus1390 Terrill Road

908-322-4652

Westfield Rotary ClubSeeks Grant Applicants

WESTFIELD — Michael Miller,Rotary Club of Westfield Commu-nity Service Grants chairperson,has announced that Rotary grantapplications are now being ac-cepted for consideration.

Non-profit organizations may re-ceive a copy of the official applica-tion directly from the Rotary websiteat westfieldrotary.com/, by [email protected] or by call-ing Mr. Miller at (908) 518-5404.

To be considered for a WestfieldRotary Club Community ServiceGrant, local non-profit organiza-tions must complete and submit theofficial grant application before theMonday, April 15 deadline. The Ro-tary Club, in accordance with itsgoal of community service, is mostinterested in providing grants forprograms that directly serve peoplein the community.

As part of the decision process,the Grants Committee reviews thesimple one-page application form toreceive a clear understanding of theway in which the funds are used.

Grants will not be awarded for capi-tal improvements or operating funds.

Rotary is a community serviceorganization comprised of businessand professional men and womenwho live or work in the Westfieldarea. The Rotary Club of Westfieldmeets every Tuesday, at 12:15 p.m.,for lunch at the Westfield Area Y.Prospective members and guestsare welcome to join members atany of the club’s weekly meetings.For additional information, [email protected]/ or visitthe website at westfieldrotary.com/.



ADS PLACED IN

THE LEADER/TIMES

BRING RESULTS

Hist. Soc. to LookAt Elizabeth LibraryCRANFORD — The Union County

Historical Society will feature a pro-gram at its next meeting entitled “His-tory Lives at the Elizabeth PublicLibrary.” It will take place on Sunday,March 3, at 2 p.m., at the HansonHouse. The Hanson House is locatedat 38 Springfield Avenue, Cranford.

Aimee Fernandez-Puente, super-visor of the Local History and Spe-cial Collections Department at thelibrary, will be the guest speaker. Shewill describe and explain the scopeand content of the collection and howit is available to those researchingElizabeth and Union County history.All are invited.


THE JAMES WARD MANSION

www.jameswardmansion.com

Have your Sweet 16 Party at The James Ward Mansion!

“Make Our Mansion Your Mansion”

Sweet Sixteen

SPFHS Repertory TheatrePresents Mamma Mia!

SCOTCH PLAINS – The ScotchPlains-Fanwood High School (SPFHS)Repertory Theatre has announced itwill present this year’s production ofthe Broadway hit musical Mamma Mia!This jukebox musical is told throughthe effervescent and enchanting musicof ABBA. It has become a theatricalphenomenon, with audiences aroundthe world dancing in their seats.

Performances will be held at SPFHS,located at 667 Westfield Road in ScotchPlains, on Friday, March 8, Saturday,March 9, Thursday, March 14, Friday,March 15, and Saturday, March 16 at7:30 p.m. There will also be a matineeon Sunday, March 10 at 2 p.m.

The story takes place on a smallGreek island where Sophie dreams ofa perfect wedding — walking downthe aisle with her father by her side.But how can that happen if the bride-to-be doesn’t even know who herfather is? Upon sneaking a peek in hermother’s diary from the 70’s, Sophiediscovers three paternal possibilities:Sam, Bill, and Harry. She is so con-vinced that she’ll know who her truefather is when she sees him, she se-cretly invites all three to the wedding.Yet when the trio arrives, the onlything clear is that finding her dad isgoing to be far more of a challengethan she could have imagined!

Her mother, Donna, is a fiercelyindependent hotelier up to her ears inboth debt and last-minute details asshe preps for her daughter’s big day.She has no idea what her determineddaughter has in store for them both.Donna’s dearest friends, Rosie andTanya, are also on the guest list. Whenthey arrive on the island, they bringfond memories of their days togethersinging in a group called Donna andthe Dynamos. A hilarious reunion en-

sues; but when the spot light fades,Donna is left to face the pieces of thepast she’s tried to forget over the lasttwo decades. Meanwhile, Sophie isso caught up in finding her dad shethat she doesn’t realize she is losingher fiancé, Sky. Who will escortSophie to the altar and who will bethere to say, “I do?”

This production of Mamma Mia!involves over 100 students, includingthe crew and live pit orchestra. The castare under the masterful direction ofMorgan Knight (Director) and Jan Allen(Musical Director, Producer). Whenasked about the upcoming shows, Mr.Knight replied, “We proudly invite thecommunity to join our incredible stu-dent performers as they bring the musicof ABBA to life on the SPFHS stage. Acommunity production for all ages,Mamma Mia! is an event you and yourfamily won’t want to miss. Join us for anevening of music, dance, celebration,and platform shoes!”

The Union County Board of ChosenFreeholders, through the Open SpaceRecreation and Historic PreservationTrust Fund, and Chairman Grenados’s2018 Moving Union County Forward-Union County Plant a Seed Initiativeselected the SPFHS Repertory Theatreto receive a grant for this year’s produc-tion. Their generosity and supporthelped to make this show possible.

Tickets are now on sale for MammaMia! at https://mammamiaspfhs.brownpapertickets.comand are $13 for students and seniorcitizens, $15 for adults. All tickets forthe performance on Thursday, March14 are only $10. Senior citizens with“Gold Cards” may contact KathleenSheehy at [email protected] make arrangements for discountedtickets.

CHS to Present Broadway’sHello, Dolly! March 8-10

CRANFORD — Cranford HighSchool (CHS) Performing Arts De-partment has announced it willpresent Hello, Dolly! on March 8through March 10. The musicalHello, Dolly! first appeared onBroadway in 1964 and has been re-vived four times, most recently in2017 with Bette Midler. The originalproduction with Carol Channing won10 Tony Awards, a record held fordecades. Hello, Dolly! with book byMichael Stewart and lyrics and mu-sic by Jerry Herman, is based onThorton Wilder’s 1955 play TheMatchmaker.

The story follows the life of DollyLevi (Nora Sullivan) as she travelsto Yonkers, N.Y. in pursuit of findinga match for the well-known half-a-millionaire Horace Vandergelder(Noah Wohlsen). Along the way, sheinteracts with many other charactersincluding Horace’s employees,Cornelius Hackl (Daniel Klimko) andBarnaby Tucker (Max Wisnefski);New York widow and hat shop owner,Irene Molloy (Katrina Wischusen)and her assistant Minnie Fay (RoseMichetti); and young artist AmbroseKemper (Andrew Gordon), who isinterested in marrying Horace’sniece, Ermengarde (Erin Blake).Other notable roles include Ernestina

Money (Katie Manhardt), RudolfReisenweber (Matthew Mallick),Judge (Elizabeth Molfetto), and Mrs.Rose (Melanie Gabel). The ensembleof Hello, Dolly! consists of 33 stu-dents who add drama, singing andexcitement to each scene.

Hello, Dolly! will be performed inthe CHS auditorium on March 8, 9and 10. The dress rehearsal on March7 at 7:30 p.m. will be free admissionfor senior citizens. The performanceson March 8 and 9 will be at 7:30 p.m.with the matinee on March 10 at 2p.m. Tickets can be ordered in ad-vance online at chs.booktix.com for$15, but they are also available at thedoor. Student rush tickets will alsobe available for $10 only at the doorfor each performance with a validstudent ID. The Cranford PublicSchools permitted items policy willbe in effect for all three perfor-mances; large bags and purses willnot be allowed into the auditorium.For additional information aboutHello, Dolly! at CHS, please contactElizabeth Sheehan([email protected]) orErica Morreale([email protected]), orcall (908) 709-6272. “Put On YourSunday Clothes” and come see Hello,Dolly! at CHS.

Westfield Education Fund toScreen Documentary Feb. 27

WESTFIELD — On Wednesday,February 27, Westfield EducationFund (WEF), a non-profit that aimsto be a driver for innovation in theWestfield Public Schools, is hosting afilm screening of the compelling docu-mentary “Most Likely to Succeed.”Directed by acclaimed documentar-ian Greg Whiteley, the film has beenan official selection of two dozen ofthe world’s top film festivals, includ-ing Sundance, Tribeca, and AFIDOCS. The film highlights an inno-vative school in California where stu-dents are engaged in meaningfulproject-based learning and are devel-oping skills essential for success inthe 21st century, such as critical think-ing, problem solving, collaborationand communication. It also raisesquestions about the purpose of edu-cation and may challenge assump-tions that some parents hold aboutwhat is most important in education.(View the trailer at https://teddintersmith.com/mltsfilm/.)

The film was developed to stimu-late community discussion about edu-cation, and WEF hopes that this eventsparks dialogue about the purpose ofschool and how our community canbe a leader in innovative learningapproaches. A goal of the event is togive the audience new ideas aboutwhat meaningful and engaging stu-dent learning can look like and tocultivate an interest in bringing moreof these opportunities to the childrenin our community. Hopefully, educa-tors who attend the event will alsofeel inspired to experiment with newinstructional practices in their class-rooms.

After the screening, a panel discus-sion featuring some of Westfield’sinnovative educators will be moder-ated by Mayor Shelley Brindle. Pan-elists include Matt Bolton, Ed.D.,principal of Edison IntermediateSchool; Laura Doyle, engineering and

design teacher at Westfield HighSchool; Mary Montes, 1st gradeteacher at Tamaques ElementarySchool and 2018 Westfield Teacherof the Year, and Brian Baldwin, ph.d.,professor of science education, NJCenter for Science, Technology, andMathematics at Kean University. Pan-elists will react to the film, shareinnovative practices and programsbeing implemented in their schools,and reflect on what ideas from thefilm have relevance for Westfield.

The documentary screening andpanel will take place at Edison Inter-mediate School, located at 800Rahway Avenue, Westfield, at 7:30p.m. and doors will open at 7 p.m.Tickets are $10 and can be purchasedat https://westfieldedfund.org/film.WEF would like to acknowledge thegenerous contributions of its spon-sors, including the JCC of CentralNew Jersey and RBC Wealth Man-agement, which have made this eventpossible.

About Westfield Education Fund(WEF): Through this event, WEFhopes to raise awareness about theorganization and invigorate the com-munity around its purpose. WEF isrun by a board of directors com-prised of Westfield parent volun-teers and was established in 1991 bycommunity members, in partnershipwith the school district and board ofeducation. It supports innovativeprojects that strengthen and enrichstudents’ academic experience butfall beyond the school district bud-get. Most of the district’s budget isallocated to critical fixed costs suchas salaries, transportation, suppliesand maintenance. Discretionaryspending is limited and little remainsto support innovation. WEF fills thiscritical gap.

Additional information about WEFis available atwww.westfieldedfund.org.

In one fun number, “Gimme!Gimme! Gimme!” Sophie and herbridesmaid gal pals Ali (CaitCrowley) and Lisa (Remi Presky)have a ball.

Some of the best dancing of thenight (by choreographer PhilSolomon) takes place at the end ofAct I in “Voulez-Vous” where thewhole company gets to break out.Perhaps it’s the club atmospherewith spectacular lighting by NikMarmo that provides abandon forthe actors. Whatever, they broughtit in that number in dancing like noone is watching.

In the second act, the likely can-didates of Sophie’s dad get a chancein the spotlight. Sam (MichaelDooley), Bill (James Lopez) andHarry (Mark Smith), all with smoothvoices, get to sing to Donna orSophie in poignant or upbeat num-bers.

A truly memorable song is “DoesYour Mother Know?” where Pep-per (Zach Mazouat) comes on toTanya. Ms. Sblendorio belts out herresponse to the young man in anadorably provocative way. And bythe way, in that swimsuit and sarongoutfit, she looks like a true bodybuilder!

More ear-to-ear smiles are pro-vided by Rosie and Bill in “Take a

Chance On Me.”The most powerful number, vo-

cally, is “The Winner Takes it All”where Ms. Feiler pours out her heart.Then her character’s song “Slip-ping Through My Fingers” offersthe most heartfelt moment in theshow as she helps her daughter getready for her wedding. Through thatsong, we hear the emotions goingthrough Donna’s mind as her onlychild is about to do something shenever did.

The encore bows are spectacularespecially because of the over-the-top costuming (by Zach Mazouatand Cathy Cohane).

Music Director HowardWhitmore has assembled a terrificband of six, and four pit singerswho, along with a strong ensemble,offer backup to the leads.

If the body language of the sixwildly enthusiastic high school girlssitting in front of me on openingnight is any indication, this produc-tion is a hit. It’s a high energy, feelgood show with local celebrity guestactors at certain performances.

Mamma Mia! runs through March2, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m.For tickets, call the theater at (908)276-7611 or go to their website atcdctheatre.org. CDC is located at 78Winans Avenue, Cranford.

CARE PACKAGE...Members of the Looming our Love (LOL) Club at RooseveltIntermediate School in Westfield meet to loom and knit caps for babies and adultsin hospital cancer units.

HELLO DOLLY...Cranford High School (CHS) Performing Arts Departmenthas announced it will present Hello, Dolly! on March 8 through March 10.


CDC Presents Mamma Mia!


NJFO Presents Tosca

Transcendence Marks A NewEra for St. Paul’s

By MICHAEL ROSINSpecially Written for The Westfield Leader and The Times

WESTFIELD — On Saturday, Febru-ary 9, Saint Paul’s confidently presentedits next musical chapter, which also ush-ered in an entirely new era for the church.In a concert titled “Transcendence,” MarkHyczko, St. Paul’s new music director,produced a program that attempted to“reframe classical music.” It is a part ofthe new Steeple Concert Series at St.Paul’s, an initiative supported (in part) bythe time-honored Friends of Musicat St.Paul’s Westfield, but vastly different fromthe type of concerts the patron group hassupported over the years. Resolved in itstraditional repertoire, St. Paul’s legend-ary Spring Concerts have historically pro-vided high quality performances of thegreat choral masterworks. Charles Banks,the music director of St. Paul’s for over30 years, retired last year, presenting hisfinal concert in May. During his three-decade tenure at the Episcopal parish,one can discover that he programmedmany eighteenth-, nineteenth-, and twen-tieth-century standards for chorus, solo-ists (vocal and organ) and orchestra. TheSpring Concert series has never known adifferent director—as Charles Banks haspresented all 32 of them (25 of them madepossible by the Friends of Music since itsfounding in 1993).

Mr. Hyczko had big shoes to fill whenhe succeeded Mr. Banks in October 2018.In addition to the multifaceted musician-ship, there is the unique challenge ofmaintaining the fine art tradition at thechurch, while initiating a whole new iden-tity and approach to program; and I dobelieve Mr. Hyczko delivered brilliantly.The program of “Transcendence” wascomprised entirely of music from a wholenew generation, yet still “serious” classi-cal music and still very much accessible.Written centuries after the music that theSt. Paul’s concert series is accustomed to(including a twenty-first century pieceand another work of a living composer),the music is from a modern sphere knownas “minimalism;” more specifically “holyminimalism” (a term which is sometimesconsidered pejorative, as Mr. Hyczkoastutely recognized). What qualifies thissubgenre are the sacred connections andinspirations from older forms and prac-tices. The first piece on the program (theNorth American premiere) wasMahashakti by John Tavener. Deeplyconnected in impetus and inspiration wasthe last piece on the program, calledTabula Rasa by the most famous com-poser of said genre, Arvo Pärt. BothTavener and Pärt experienced deep com-fort when they discovered the OrthodoxChristian faith, and thus dedicated theirmusic to such faith. The practice of orderand symmetry, akin to Religious chantand Baroque practices, is abound in theirmusic. Just as the Baroque masterpieceswere conceived with gothic sanctuaryacoustics in mind, so too were the workson this concert. It presents a marvelousnext installment for St. Paul’s concertseries, as it is still music of the church, ofreverence—of faith. Similarly, HenrykGórecki’s Harpsichord Concertowas, themiddle work performed. The harpsichord,considered practically defunct in the late1700s, found a revival during the late

twentieth- / early twenty-first-century.This classic three-movement form, withstring orchestra accompaniment, was abaroque standard and Górecki’s homageis an organic evolution from the earlydays of St. Paul’s Spring concerts (Theclassic Bach Harpsichord Concertos -No. 1 in D minor and No. 5 in F minor,performed in 1992 and 1997, respec-tively).

Mr. Hyczko and the St. Paul’s musicministry could have attempted the cur-rently trendy and uninspired “quick-fix”approach that seems to be popular today:programming fusion concerts of pop andclassical music, or incorporating extra-musical elements (electronics and othermedia) in an attempt to reach a new agebracket. The musical heritage at St. Paul’sis far too sacred (no pun intended) andartistic, and Mr. Hyczko is aware of that.His “reframing classical music” ideacomes from his work with the performingorchestra, the New Brunswick ChamberOrchestra. A group he has directed andconducted since 2012, Mr. Hyczko hascommitted much of their work to per-forming the masterpieces of tomorrowand music by living composers.

Mr. Hyczko’s approachable tone,spending ample time to talk to the audi-ence casually about the music, was arefreshing concert perk. Although thisconcert as a whole exposes a culture thatthe St. Paul’s audiences may need moretime to properly digest (minimalist workstypically go without applause for almosta minute after they’re finished), it is safeto say Mr. Hyczko, the NBCO, St. Paul’sMusic and their new Steeple ConcertSeries, did indeed “transcend” the old eraand bring us into a new one, maintainingthe high-quality music, musicianship andleadership that we’ve all come to expectfrom concerts at St. Paul’s Westfield.

For more information, visitwww.steepleconcerts.org or the Parishwebsite at https://stpaulswestfield.org.

Michael Rosin for The Westfield Leader and The TimesTRANSCENDENT...On Saturday, February 9, Saint Paul’s presented its nextmusical chapter, in a concert titled Transcendence, produced by St. Paul’s newmusic director, Mark Hyczko.

The role of the menacing policechief Scarpia, determined to possessTosca and thwart Cavaradossi, is per-formed by Todd Thomas. Recognizedby opera companies and critics alikeas one of the true baritones gracingstages today, Mr. Thomas recentlymade his Opera Shanghai debut in thetitle role in Wagner’s Der fliegendeHolländer, and returned to OperaOmaha as Tonio/Alvio in I Pagliacci/Cavalleria Rusticana. Other recentengagements have included returns toLyric Opera of Chicago as Monteronein Rigoletto, the title role of Verdi’sFalstaff and Sharpless in MadamaButterfly with Manitoba Opera.

“We are thrilled to be joined by thesefabulous singers,” continued MaestroWroe. “Each of them is a star who hasalready graced the stages of concerthalls and opera houses across the world.With their outstanding technique andartistic interpretation of this, Puccini’smost poignant work, I predict that therewill not be a dry eye in the house!”

Sung in Italian with Englishsupertitles, Tosca will be brought to life

with costumes, sophisticated stagingand colorful design by Stage DirectorMaria Todaro. A versatile artist and artentrepreneur, Ms. Todaro is an estab-lished and recognized stage director,stunt artist, writer and conductor.

A free pre-concert lecture will bepresented at 6 p.m. prior to the perfor-mance by Michael Rosin. Mr. Rosin’sdiscussions are an engaging way tolearn about Puccini’s magnificent op-era and the music makers on offer.

Tosca, The Joseph T. DeAlessandroMemorial Opera Concert, is presented inpartnership with Ray Catena of Unionand has been made possible through ad-ditional generous support of Marty Jeiven,the NJ State Council on the Arts and theGeraldine R. Dodge Foundation.

Tosca will be presented on Febru-ary 23 at The Presbyterian Church inWestfield and on February 24, at 3p.m., at Drew University in Madison.

Tickets for both concerts ($30-$76,students under 18 $15) are availableonline at www.njfestivalorchestra.orgor by calling (908) 232-9400.

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OPEN24 HOURS


New Jersey Festival OrchestraPresents Famous Puccini Opera

WESTFIELD — The year is 1800.Rome. Europe is in a state of flux afterthe French Revolution. A man has es-caped from prison. A painter is in love.The drama—where politics, religion,love, jealously, violence, and revengeall collide during one fateful 24-hourperiod—unfolds in style from Puccini’s

pen. Tosca, opera’s most tempestuousthriller, comes alive in Westfield onSaturday, February 23, at 7 p.m. as NewJersey Festival Orchestra (NJFO) andaward-winning soloists perform thisbreathtaking masterpiece in its full glory.

“This year we wanted to go big andfamous once again with our annualopera, so we chose Tosca, the quintes-sential Puccini thriller and one of themost popular operas in the entire reper-

toire,” said NJFO Music Director DavidWroe.

“Puccini’s powerful score with in-credible arias, duets, ensembles andchoral scenes illuminates the tensedrama at every step, giving numerousopportunities for both our orchestraand our guest principals to shine,” he

added.Singing the title role of fiery prima

donna Floria Tosca is award-winningsoprano Jenny Schuler, who has earnedpraise in recent seasons for her power-ful vocalism and compelling stage art-istry. Ms. Schuler recently joined Indi-ana University as a guest artist in thetitle role of Ariadne auf Naxos, as wellas debuting the comic role of Berta in IlBarbiere di Siviglia with Sugar Creek

Opera, both to rapturous reviews.Lauded for his distinctive timbre and

magnetic stage presence, tenor KirkDougherty makes his NJFO debut inthe role of revolutionary artist MarioCavaradossi. With a sound combiningclarity, strength and integrity, Mr.Dougherty is one of the most exciting

voices entering the opera circuit today.He recently performed the role of Dukeof Mantua in Rigoletto with Opera LasVegas, Edgardo in Lucia diLammermoor with Bob Jones Univer-sity, Tamino in Die Zauberflöte withGlacier Symphony as part of their Fes-tival Amadeus and Pinkerton inMadama Butterfly with Wichita GrandOpera.

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CDC’s Musical Mamma Mia!Brings ABBA Songs to Life

By SUSAN MYRILL DOUGHERTYSpecially Written for The Westfield Leader and The Times

CRANFORD -- There are mo-ments in every musical that arestand-outs. Either a striking visualis a picture that creeps back intoone’s mind, or perhaps it’s themelody of a certain song that re-plays like an ear worm days afterthe live theatre experience is over.Thanks to strong direction, terrificcasting and loads of talent, CranfordDramatic Club’s(CDC) productionof Mamma Mia! provides many ofthose memorable moments.

The story line is simple: 20-year-old Sophie (Lindsay Maron) is get-ting married and has invited to herwedding three men whom she sus-pects might be her father. Sophie

has read her mother’s diary, invitedthese three strangers to the impend-ing nuptials, unbeknown to mom.All three show up, as do the twofemale backup singers, who, longago, performed in Donna’s trio. Thewhole show revolves aroundSophie’s search for truth, but alongthe way, her mother Donna (MandyFeiler) finds out what she wants inlife.

Director Sean Eugene Loughsmartly has the lovely Sophie walkdown the aisle at the top of the showsinging, “I Have a Dream.” Hercrystal-clear, bell-like tones set themood of youthful longing for an-swers about her background. Sheand her fiercely independent motherlive on a tiny Greek island and run

a cozy hotel, a great set by MarcChandler.

Donna’s friends Rosie (DonnaFarone) and Tanya (MichelleSblendorio) reminisce with Donnaand have plenty of fun singing,“Money, Money, Money” and“Dancing Queen.”

British playwright CatherineJohnson took the popular songs ofABBA, a 1970’s disco-era Swedishpop group, and patchworked a storyaround them. Sometimes it works,sometimes it stretches our credu-lity. Who cares about plausibilitywhen it comes to weddings andABBA songs? There are fairy talemoments that border on hokey, butthe energy is unstoppable.

HIGH ENERGY MUSICAL...Cranford Dramatic Club’s production of Mamma Mia! is “a high energy, feel good show withlocal celebrity guest actors at certain performances.” The musical runs through March 2, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 19 CONTINUED ON PAGE 19

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PRINGLE PULLS 9 RBs, ADDS 4 BLOCKS; TORETTA SINKS 18 POINTS, SPEER NETS 13 POINTS

Lady Cougar Cagers Awaken; Bite Bears in UCT OT, 64-58By DAVID B. CORBIN

Specially Written for The Westfield Leader and The Times

Finding themselves in a shock-ing 38-31 hole entering thefourth quarter, the sixth-seededCranford High School girls bas-ketball team reached downdeeply in the fourth quarter toknot the score in regulation thencame up with a number of bigplays in overtime to eliminatethe Brearley Bears, 64-58, inthe second round of the UnionCounty Tournament in Cranfordon February 13. Seniors KCPringle, Lauren Williamson and

Olivia Speer appeared to take itup another notch to set up themajority of those key plays inthe fourth quarter and in over-time.

The Cougars did get a 14-9jump on the 17-5 Bears in thefirst quarter with the help of apair of 3-pointers from Speer,who finished with 13 points, in-cluding two 3-pointers, and an-other from junior Gianna Toretta,who would finish with a team-leading 18 points, which includedfour 3-pointers and six freethrows. Micaela Etlinger, who led

all scorers with 28 points, scoredfive of the Bears’ points in thequarter. Etlinger would finish thegame with five 3-pointers.

But it was the second quarterwhere the Cougars seemed to bepushing it too hard driving to thebasket resulting in many missedlay-ups. The Bears won the quar-ter 9-6 to trail the Cougars, 20-18, at the half. On an assist fromEllie Rokicki (6 points, 2 re-bounds), Williamson (12 points,3 assists, 3 steals, 4 rebounds)sank her only 3-pointer of thegame in the quarter.

“I think we were getting alittle frantic looking at thescoreboard. We wanted to makesure we got our shots in butthat prevented us from scor-

ing,” Williamson explained.The third quarter, however,

turned out to be a disaster for theCougars as the Bears sank thefirst seven points to grab a 25-20lead before a timeout was calledwith 5:25 on the clock. The Cou-gars seemed rattled and theBears won the quarter 20-11 totake a 38-31 lead into the fourthquarter. Etlinger and PaigeMiddleton held the big hands forthe Bears with 10 points andseven points, respectively.

“Coach always tells us, ‘we hadruns, they have runs.’ They justgot lucky in the third quarter,had the run but we cut it off to getback in the end of the quarterand the start of the fourth,” Speersaid.

“We just had to get it done. Itwas sink or swim. We didn’t have

an option. We just had to put ourhead down and work,” Pringleadded.

“We weren’t talking as much.Once we started to communi-cate, we were able to get ourshots in, get our defense backinto the game,” Williamson said.

Middleton would also prove tobe a hazard under the boardsand finished with double digits inrebounds.

As to her strategy handlingMiddleton, Pringle explained, “To-day I was just reminding myselfto box her out. That was mybiggest threat. My intent was tobox her out and let the ball hit theground if it needed to or just gether out of the equation so ourteam can get the rebound.”

Pringle, who had been effectiveCONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

Story on page 13

of The Westfield Leader

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goleader.com/ballyhoounder the boards all game andwould finish with nine reboundsand four blocked shots, also gotinto the assists act in the fourthquarter as did Speer andWilliamson, resulting in a 19-12run to tie the score 50-50 toforce overtime. With assists fromSpeer and Pringle, Toretta hit apair of 3-pointers and added threefree throws, the final two beingclutch at the end of the quarterto tie the score. ElizabethMcCaffery (10 points, 2 blocks, 2steals, rebound) hit her first 3-pointer and Williamson sank apair of free throws and a lay-up.

“Once we start working as ateam and really start cutting andmoving and seeing each other,we get a lot more opportunities,which really helps us out,” Pringlesaid.

“I know that they started really

heavily guarding me, so it wasobvious that Lauren was makingbackdoor cuts and was wide open.Me and Lauren love doing thelong passes. When she’s open, Iwill give to her right away. It’snot just me, it’s whoever makesthe best play. We were doing ourcuts, we were doing everythingpossible. We wanted to win thisgame and we needed to win thisgame,” Speer expressed.

“I think it’s super important toget assists because it builds ouroffense,” Williamson added.

“We had some good quarters,we had some bad quarters. That’show it goes sometimes. We didn’tstop. We didn’t let it bring usdown. Our offense wasn’t there.Our defense kept us in this gameand we kept working until ourshots fell. We didn’t give up,”Speer expressed.

Free throws did come into playin regulation as the Cougars sanknine of 13, while the Bears fareda little better at 11 of 13. But the

overtime period was even biggeras the Cougars would go 8-for-8from the line.

“Coach makes us shoot 75 to100 foul shots every single prac-tice, so I think that helps a lot.Even in pressurized games, wealways make them,” Williamsonsaid.

The overtime period began withMcCaffery, assisted byWilliamson, sinking a 2-pointer.Hannah Bondalo banged a 3-pointer to put the Bears up byone. Speer answered with a put-back lay-up. Bear Tahijah Kelleywas fouled and sank the first ofher two free throws. When shemissed the second one,Williamson grabbed the rebound,was fouled and sank both.

Etlinger gave the Bears a 57-56 lead with 2:21 remaining whenshe was fouled while sinking a 2-pointer and made the free throw.Then Speer was fouled and madeboth free throws to put the Cou-gars back on top.

“The crowd was there too. They

were ‘hepping’ us up. We werereally motivated by them and Ithought like I need to nail thesetwo,” Speer recalled.

Next, Pringle made a great stealunder the Bears’ board and fired

long to Williamson, who assistedMcCaffery on a lay-up for a 60-57 lead with 1:12 left.

“Whenever someone does onegood thing, you want to build upon that. So if I get a steal then Isee Lauren get it and go up to Liz,it’s exciting to see us capitalizeon every opportunity,” Pringleexplained.

Toretta followed with a pair offree throws. After Brearley’s SofiaLospinoso missed the second ofher two free throws, Pringlegrabbed the rebound with 5.1remaining and was quickly fouled.Pringle sank both free throws toseal the deal.

“It was helpful because we werealready up by four and it wouldbe a two possession game evenif I missed them both, so thattakes a little pressure off. Just tosend them home with that was agreat way to end the game,”Pringle said.Brearley 9 9 20 12 8 58Cranford 14 6 11 19 14 64

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Lady Cougars Awaken; Bite Brearley Bears in Union County Toutney Overtime, 64-58

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Blue Devils Win District 14 Mat Tourney, Claim 5 Champs; Cougars 2nd, 2 Champs

more photos next pageStory on page 9


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photo by Caroline Miller

photo by Caroline Miller


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WF Blue Devils Down GL Highlander Girls in UCT Basketball Quarterfinals, 49-36

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Scotch Plains-Fanwood Raiders Claim 2 Champs at District 16 Wrestling Tournament

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Twp. Committee Not to ActUntil March on Sale of Lot


CRANFORD – The townshipcommittee on Tuesday an-nounced that any decisions aboutthe 83 Myrtle Street municipalproperty sale will not be madeuntil the March governing bodymeeting. The property develop-ment has been opposed by neigh-boring residents during the lastseveral workshop agenda meet-ings. Resident concernsprompted Mayor Patrick Giblinand the township committee tore-examine the property’s rela-tion to Cranford’s master planand the property’s relation toCranford’s affordable-housing re-quirements.

At Tuesday’s township commit-tee meeting the governing bodyunanimously approved an ordi-nance increasing Cranford’s pub-lic pool fees for adult member-ship packages and family mem-bership packages. The member-ship fees will increase by $5 pertwo adult members, statedDeputy Mayor Ann Dooley. Fami-lies choosing to purchase sea-sonal memberships for a two-adult and two-children packagewill pay a $10 total price in-crease, stated Ms. Dooley.

The membership increaseswere prompted by the rise in theminimum wage and the subse-quent increased operational costsassociated with paying staff,Commissioner Dooley stated.

Resident Barry O’Donovan,

owner of The Kilkenny House,said he wanted to make the town-ship committee aware of a pro-posed New Jersey legislativemeasure which would greatly“devalue” liquor licenses through-out the state while posing publicsafety risks. Mr. O’Donovanstated that the proposed mea-sure would allow businesses witha “hot plate” and an establish-ment “no less than 500 squarefeet” to obtain a liquor license.

Mr. O’Donovan said when heapplied for a liquor license, busi-nesses were required to have a“kitchen which was 500 squarefeet (in size),” let alone an entireestablishment totaling 500square feet. The proposed legis-lation, he said, would price liquorlicense fees at $1,500 to $10,000a year.

He said the legislation wouldnot only have a negative eco-nomic impact on business own-ers who have purchased liquorlicenses at a premium, but taxappeals associated with the busi-nesses would decrease in as-sessed value, which he said wouldhurt municipalities.

Mr. O’Donovan said licenses be-ing issued in vast quantities wouldincrease alcohol consumption,posing “safety risks.” He said“Rave Nights,” where operatorscould throw “high-risk” alcohol-infused parties with the opera-tors making money, could be-come a common routine.

Mr. O’Donovan said because

his liquor license is a costly in-vestment, the liability and re-sponsibility the bar owner ad-heres to is much greater than abusiness owner who has onlyinvested $1,500 for the new pro-posed licenses.

He asked the township com-mittee to voice opposition anddirectly oppose the legislativemeasure.

Resident Jim Carvalho said theplanning board awarded no bidcontracts to the planning firmHarbor Consultants. Mr. Carvalhosaid Harbor Consultants was thefirm overseeing a “condemna-tion caper” involving the munici-pality condemning downtownbusinesses through eminent do-main. He stated that Commis-sioner Mary O’Connor, who sitson the planning board, receivedcampaign contributions from Har-bor Consultants. Without disclos-ing the contributions, he said Ms.O’Connor, as a commissioner,voted to award contracts to Har-bor Consultants.

“In the most recent electionthere was just one partisan race,”Mr. Carvalho said.

He said Harbor Consultantsmade campaign donations to a“Democratic partisan” group“working” to elect CommissionerTom Hannen, Jr.

Mr. Carvalho accused theDemocratic majority among thetownship commissioners of en-gaging in “pay-to-play” after they

Parents Weigh in on ChangesIn Cranford School District

By ROBYN ORR-GIOFFRESpecially Written for The Westfield Leader

CRANFORD — A proposal forthe “Reimagining” of the Cranfordschool district was introduced atthe board of education (BOE)meeting in October, and sincethat time parents and other resi-dents have exerted much energyexpressing their opinions.

At the time, plan one, referredto as the “Reimagining” of theCranford school district, was putforth by Superintendent ofSchools Scott Rubin, Ed.D., andthe Cranford BOE.

Demographer Ross Haberlooked at the district and createda report considering various op-tions to realize the goal of full-day kindergarten.

Three meetings were plannedfor residents and parents to getfeedback and have questions an-swered. An overwhelming re-sponse from the community re-sulted in an additional 12 meet-ings with a variety of opportuni-ties for community feedback andthe unveiling of nine additionalplans.

Christina M. Hinke for The Westfield LeaderMORE HOUSING...At 115 Walnut Avenue in Cranford, a three-story, mixed-use development consisting of 24 residential apartments on the second and thirdfloors, and zoned for a restaurant on the ground level, is in the midst of beingbuilt. It is being erected a block away from the train station and the mixed-usedevelopment Riverfront at Cranford Station.

CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE


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Council Exploring Shared-Service Agreements


GARWOOD – Garwood Coun-cilman Marc Lazarow said theborough council’s finance com-mittee is exploring severalshared-services arrangementswith neighboring towns as the2019 municipal budget takesshape.

At last Thursday’s councilmeeting, Mr. Lazarow said thecommittee “has been looking atopportunities to improve effi-ciencies while continuing to pro-vide top-quality services,” andhas been “openly discussing”shared-services agreementswith Cranford including a “bet-ter deal” between Garwood andCranford regarding the buildingand permit and construction de-partment.

He also reported that a similararrangement for municipalcourts is being discussed withanother, unnamed town.

Mr. Lazarow announced thattwo special budget meetings,which will be open to the public,will be held on Tuesday, March

12, at 7 p.m., and on Tuesday,March 26, at 7 p.m.

In a related budget move, Po-lice Chief James Wright is seek-ing an increase in the fees thathis department can charge util-ity companies to have a policevehicle present during any util-ity-related road closures. Henoted that surrounding munici-palities charge utility compa-nies $100 per day in vehicle feesfor any road closures whileGarwood charges $50 per day.The fee increase is expected tobe voted on at the boroughcouncil’s next meeting. Increas-ing those fees, CouncilmanLazarow said, will keep theborough’s fees consistent withneighboring municipalities andincrease borough revenue.

Mayor Sara Todisco said NJTransit will conduct a GarwoodStation assessment regardingmore one-seat rides to New YorkCity for Garwood. She said shehas been working with theRaritan Valley Line Mayors Alli-ance, which has been pushingfor more one-seat rides alongthe Raritan Valley train corri-dor.

“The problem of 100-year-oldinfrastructure, which was dam-aged by Superstorm Sandy, that200,000 people depend on eachday cannot keep being ignored,”the mayor said.

She also said that if the much-discussed and long-delayedGateway Project to create addi-tional Hudson River train tunnelsever comes to fruition, train ca-

While some parents, like Chris-tine Grace, who says she is infavor of plans one through nine,believe that the BOE and thesuperintendent have been “trans-parent” and “receptive” duringthe meetings and “encouraging”of feedback, other parents, suchas Chris Acosta, who is in favor ofplans 8, 9 and 10, find the pre-sentations on the proposal to bemore of “a sales pitch.”

Parent Christine Bradley ex-pressed frustration following herattendance of the meetings andnoted she felt only one“Reimagining” plan was reallyexplained, commenting, “I don’tknow anything about the otherplans.”

Ms. Bradley further commentedthat she felt the meetings “pro-

mote the pros of what a compre-hensive middle school can do,”and do not consider the cons.

While a number of parents areresistant to plans that would al-low for one comprehensivemiddle school, Ms. Grace be-lieves “having a traditional 6-8middle school is most important.”

The issue of bussing is a boneof contention for some parents,like Mr. Acosta, who commentedto The Westfield Leader that bus-sing “goes against the neighbor-hood school environment” forwhich Cranford is known for.

“The town is not made for bus-sing,” Ms. Bradley likewise com-mented, observing that with onlythree main thoroughfares, intown there are likely to be trafficissues.

Mr. Acosta told The WestfieldLeader bussing “creates unnec-essary movement,” and ques-tioned whether or not the districthad consulted with the policeand fire department, to be cer-tain the addition of busses was arealistic possibility.

Superintendent Rubin and theboard have made it clear that if aproposal is approved that callsfor additional bussing, a profes-sional traffic engineer will be hiredand will work together with anewly created Cranford Trans-portation Task Force to deal withproblems as they arise.

Not everyone is bothered bythe notion of bussing or otherinconveniences that may occurdue to the changes in the dis-trict.

Ms. Grace commented to TheWestfield Leader that eventhough her daily routine may

change as a result of the pro-posal, “improving our school dis-trict brings benefits town-widefor current and future genera-tions of students.”

Ms. Grace expressed concernover the district moving aheadwith full-day kindergarten pre-maturely.

At this time, 92 percent of dis-tricts in New Jersey have full-daykindergarten and most likely thestate will eventually mandate thatall the districts have it.

“Are we shooting ourselves inthe foot?” she inquired, notingthat once legislation mandatesfull-day kindergarten that thedistrict could be granted fund-ing.

“Where is the educationalproof?” Ms. Grace further com-mented that full-day kindergar-ten is required.

Resident and former teacher inthe district, Jennifer Glackin, whowill have a child enter kindergar-ten in 2020, agrees that full-daykindergarten makes for an “easiertransition” into first grade.

Ms. Glackin further commentedthat she is “open” to plans thatallow for all students in grades 3through 5 to be together, as shesees benefits in the form of in-creased opportunities for teach-ers to meet, an easier time ad-dressing early-intervention is-sues and the opportunity for “hav-ing more eyes on the kids.”

“In order to stay current,Cranford has to change,” Ms.Glackin commented to TheWestfield Leader, and added thatshe hopes parents and residentscan “be open to new possibili-ties.”

awarded no bid contracts to Har-bor Consultants. Mr. Hannen andMs. Dooley voted on applicationsinvolving Harbor’s expertise asplanning board members.

Commissioner Hannen said hewanted “to correct the record,”stating that no money from thelocal Democratic organizationwas used to finance his mostrecent campaign.

Resident and honorary mem-ber of the Cranford Police De-partment, Raymond K. Schwartz,was recognized by the townshipcommittee before Tuesday’smeeting. Raymond recently losthis life to a battle with braincancer. He was 15 years old anda freshman at Cranford HighSchool.

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Cranford Police Dept. to BecomeC.L.E.A.R. Program Location

Chief Ryan J. Greco announcedthat as of February 1st, 2019,the Cranford Police Departmentwill take part in Union County’sCommunity Law Enforcement Ad-diction Recovery (C.L.E.A.R.)Program as a local C.L.E.A.R.Program Location. The C.L.E.A.R.Program is a partnership betweenthe County of Union and Preven-tion Links in which law enforce-ment agencies provide on-sitedrug addiction recovery servicesto Union County residents seek-ing assistance.

Since June of 2017, the UnionCounty Sheriff’s Office in Eliza-beth and Union County PoliceDepartment in Westfield havebeen the two locations whereservices could be found. Since itsinception, the C.L.E.A.R. Programhas assisted 72 individuals to-wards recovery. In strategizingon how best to address the graveconsequences of substance usedisorder, Chief Ryan Greco wel-comed the opportunity to havehis department participate in aprogram that provides another

avenue to combat the opioidproblem in Union County. In2018, the Cranford Police De-partment responded to 17 opi-ate overdose calls for service.Three of those calls resulted infatalities. “It is clear that lawenforcement cannot arrest itsway out of the problem of sub-stance abuse. Medications suchas Naloxone are incredibly usefulbut are at best a band-aid in atime of emergency. To truly tacklethis problem, those individualsfacing the disease of addictionneed to find their way to recov-ery,” Chief Greco said. ChiefGreco believes that the innova-tive approach of partnering hisorganization’s officers with Pre-vention Links and High FocusCenters makes perfect sense. “Ican only hope that by providingan additional C.L.E.A.R. Programlocation and expanding the pro-gram hours we will be able toassist even more people towardsrecovery.”

Coordinated by Captain GuyPatterson, 12 Cranford Police Of-ficers have received advancedsubstance abuse training and willserve as facilitators for partici-pants. C.L.E.A.R. Program par-ticipants seeking treatment willbe met by one of the department’sspecially trained officers who willassist the individual and pair themwith a partner agency recoverycoach. A recovery coach servesas the individual’s guide to ap-propriate treatment facilities andrecovery support networks.C.L.E.A.R. provides services at


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pacity would double betweenNewark and New York City.

Councilwoman JenniferBlumenstock said the borough’sGreen Team will apply for a$2,000 Sustainable Jersey grantto fund the installation of a “raingarden” at the recreation com-plex. She described the rain gar-den as “a garden of native shrubsand flowers planted in a smalldepression” that is “designed tohold and soak in rainwater run-off.”

She said rain gardens providebenefits by acting as a “naturalfilter” for water that is headed tothe sewer system and added thatthe park’s entrance will “greatlybenefit” from the run-off absorp-tion process.

Mayor Todisco said the Paper-board site demolition will resultin parts of North Avenue beingtemporarily closed for safety rea-sons, namely the remainingbuilding’s proximity to electricpower lines, which makes demo-lition with passing vehicular traf-fic unsafe.

The borough council last weekalso unanimously approved aUnion County Infrastructuregrant application for $235,000to assist funding three projects:$60,000 worth of repairs to themunicipal building and the firedepartment headquarters and$175,000 for roadwork on NewStreet including repairs to drain-age basins, curbs and paving.

Mayor’s Wellness CampaignHighlights Upcoming EventsGARWOOD — To continue

Garwood’s Mayors Wellness Cam-paign, at the 2018 New JerseyState League of MunicipalitiesConvention, then Mayor CharlesLombardo signed the New JerseyHealth Care Quality Institute’sPledge of Participation. Thepledge highlights Garwood’scommitment to work toward andpromote an active living andhealthier lifestyle for its residents.This statewide Mayors WellnessCampaign is supported by nearly400 mayors throughout the stateto implement health and wellnessprograms.

Current Garwood Mayor SaraTodisco has appointed formerMayor Lombardo as the MayorsWellness Campaign liaison. Mr.Lombardo recently formed a com-mittee that currently is comprisedof six members, including threeGarwood citizens, a professionalpersonal trainer, a registered di-etitian and an officer from thelocal Chamber of Commerce.They presently are reaching outto the entire community ofGarwood to join their efforts asthe committee offers a series ofevents, including educationalworkshops on healthy eating,active living and various wellnessactivities.

The committee will encouragehealthy living and eating habitsthrough nutritional education foradults of all ages as well as school-age children.

The first Mayor’s 3K Walk of2019 will be held on Saturday,March 23, starting at 10 a.m., at

the East Street entrance to thepark. It is anticipated that thiswalk will take place on the fourthSaturday of every month. MayorTodisco will be this month’s ce-lebrity walker. In the months tofollow, celebrity guest walkerswill include the chief of police andschool officials, among others.Mr. Lombardo reminds partici-pants that it is a walk, not a runor a competition, just an oppor-tunity to get out in the fresh air,meet one’s neighbors, and getsome exercise.

Members of the MayorsWellness Campaign met with Lin-coln School Principal MaryEmmons, Superintendent ofSchools Teresa Quigley, Ed.D.,and the Lincoln School PTA, todiscuss ways that the campaigncan be integrated into the school’scurriculum and activities, offer-ing parents and students nutri-tional information for families tostay active, while making healthyfood choices.

The committee has establisheda monthly schedule, meeting onthe second Monday of eachmonth at 4 p.m., in BoroughHall. Committee members en-courage Garwood’s residents toshare in their mission. In thenear future, they will reach outvia a Facebook page and localnewspapers to bring in newmembers and interested pro-fessionals to join them. Inter-ested persons are advised tocontact the Mayors WellnessCampaign via email [email protected]. CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE


Council ExploringShared Services



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CRANFORD — The Trinity Epis-copal Church will hold a bakesale fundraiser this Sunday, Feb-ruary 24, following both the 8a.m. and 10 a.m. services, tobenefit the Seamen’s Church In-stitute (SCI). The church also iscollecting trial-size shampoo,two- to four-ounce bottles of handlotion, lip balm, soft packs offacial tissue, packs of chewinggum, and microwave popcorn,for SCI’s “Christmas at Sea” pro-gram. JoAnne Bartosik, the“Christmas at Sea” coordinator,will speak about SCI and theprogram.

“Ninety percent of everythingconsumed is brought over bycontainer ship,” said the Rever-end Andy Kruger, Trinity’s Priest-in-Charge. Trinity EpiscopalChurch is located at 119 ForestAvenue, Cranford. For additionalinformation, call (908) 276-4047.Everyone is welcome.

The SCI, founded in 1834 andaffiliated with the EpiscopalChurch, is the largest mariners’support agency in NorthAmerica. It provides profes-sional mariners with specially-tailored education, free legaladvocacy for mariner welfare,and pastoral care. It operatesSeafarer Centers in Port New-ark, the Port of Oakland, Hous-ton, Tex., and Paducah, Ky. Itschaplains visit more than 2,400vessels a year. The Seafarer

Centers provide mariners andport workers with Internet ac-cess and personal computers,International calling and cheapphone cards, recreational ac-tivities, worship and pastoralcare regardless of their reli-gious affi l iation, and freeshuttles from terminal gates tothe center and local stores. Formore information about SCI,visit seamenschurch.org or call(973) 589-5828.

Photo Credit: Seamen’s Church InstituteSPIRITUALITY AT SEA...A Seamen’s Church Institute (SCI) chaplain, left,visits with a crew member. The Trinity Episcopal Church in Cranford will holda bake sale this Sunday, February 24, after the 8 and 10 a.m. worship services,to benefit the SCI and the mariners it serves.

any of the program locationsMonday through Friday betweenthe hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Inaddition to the regular businesshours, the Cranford Police De-partment has created a partner-ship with local stakeholders atHigh Focus Centers to provideafter-hours recovery coachingservices. Collectively, these part-nerships allow for the CranfordPolice Department to offer sub-stance abuse recovery assistanceservices 24 hours a day, sevendays a week. Anyone seekingsubstance abuse assistance isencouraged to come to theCranford Police Department. Foradditional information, pleasecontact Captain Patterson at(908) 709-3991.

Cranford Police toBecome C.L.E.A.R.

Trinity Episcopal Church,founded in 1872, is a faith-basedfamily church that welcomes allpeople and strives to “know Christand to make the Lord knownthrough faith, fellowship, and ser-vice.”

Sunday services, celebrated byReverend Kruger, are at 8 a.m.and 10 a.m. For more informa-tion about the Trinity EpiscopalChurch, call (908) 276-4047 orvisit trinitycranford.org/

Trinity Episcopal Bake Sale SundayTo Aid Seamen’s Church Institute


Lindabury, McCormick, Estabrook & Cooper, P.C.908-233-6800 • www.lindabury.com

Local Letter to the EditorGarwood Mayor Todisco Announces

Train Station Utilization ReviewI am excited to announce that

NJ Transit has agreed to conductan assessment of Garwood Sta-tion to determine if our ridershipwarrants additional train stops.Upon being sworn into the officeof mayor, I hit the ground runningon a number of issues and con-tacting NJ Transit was top amongthem. On January 25, I receiveda response from Lawrence Hamm,NJ Transit’s regional manager forgovernment and community re-lations, informing me that my

request for additional train stopswas received and an assessmentis underway. While it is likely totake more than a single requestto make this a reality, I will con-tinue to lobby for better service,in quantity and quality, for thosetaking public transportation intoand out of Garwood.

It has been a number of yearssince a request like this has beenmade, but I remain optimisticthat Garwood’s service from NJTransit will improve, particularlyonce large sites on South Avenuealong with North Avenue are com-plete in the next two years or so.In fact, back in 2009, a memo-randum of understanding wassent by NJ Transit to then MayorDennis McCarthy, which memo-rialized a joint commitment tomaking mutually-beneficial ad-vancements. Garwood has fol-lowed through by advancing tran-sit-oriented developmentprojects, which will soon becomemore than a plan, but a reality.Now, we ask NJ Transit to staycommitted to its promise ofschedule enhancements.

NJ Transit is certainly facing itsshare of challenges at the presenttime. However, I am committedto building a strong line of com-munication between our two en-tities and will continue to advo-cate for the best interests ofGarwood.

Sara TodiscoMayor of Garwood


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Legal Newspaper for Union County, Cranford


Nelson C. Espeland, Allstate Insurance Agent908-233-6300

GARWOOD — The GarwoodHistorical Committee held itsfirst meeting of the year onJanuary 28 and welcomed newmembers to its group. In addi-tion to Carol Lombardo, chair-woman; Bruce Paterson, vice-chairman; Adele Lewis, trea-surer, and Chelsea BrandtRooney, secretary, other mem-bers include Jennie Browne, PatDiFabio and Helen Laucius.Mayor Sara Todisco recently ap-pointed three new members:Stephanie Bianco, Max Blantonand James Hart. CouncilmanRuss Graham is council liaisonfor the committee.

The Historical Committee hasrevealed plans for 2019, amongthem showing off what it callsthe borough’s “sweet side.” It ishoping to create a dessert recipebook in the near future, high-lighting the favorite dessert reci-pes from Garwood’s residentsand businesses. More informa-tion will be available in the nextfew weeks.

The committee also is plan-ning a rededication of a memo-rial plaque, which was locatedon a rock, behind a fence incenter field of the JamesGuerriero Baseball Field. Therock has since been relocatedto a more prominent place nearthe Humenick Field House sothat it can be appreciated by all

who visit the area. This rededi-cation is planned for mid-April.Details will follow shortly.

When “Garwood Rocks” takesplace on Sunday, June 2, theGarwood Historical Committeewill again have a booth featur-ing some of Garwood’s history.The committee additionally willhost the History Rock Hunt as ithas for the past two years. Asthe date gets closer, more in-formation will become available.

The committee wishes to thankall those who purchased theSeries 2 Holiday Ornament, thelast fundraiser of 2018 for thecommittee. It was a great suc-cess and the Historical Commit-tee has plans for a third andfinal set, which will be availablelater in 2019.

Committee members urgeresidents to think of the com-mittee before tossing out whatmight be trash, but could actu-ally be “treasure.” The commit-tee is always looking for memo-rabilia of Garwood, artifacts andold photographs of the borough.Its mission is to preserve andprotect Garwood’s short but richhistory. The Garwood HistoricalCommittee can be reached [email protected].

Garwood Hist. CommitteeHighlights Plans for 2019

Area Residents Can Learn‘Wisdom of Sojourner Truth’CRANFORD — Daisy Century,

Ed.D., a historical interpreter,educator, actor, author andsinger, will bring to life one of theworld’s most influential and ac-complished women when sheshares the “Wisdom of SojournerTruth.”

All are invited to attend thisprogram on Wednesday, March27, at 7 p.m., at the CranfordCommunity Center. The event issponsored by the Friends of theCranford Public Library.

Escaping the brutality of sla-very in 1826, Isabella Baumfreetook on the name Sojourner Truthand began her travels as apreacher. Believing the causesof women’s rights and abolitionto be intertwined and equallyimportant, she spoke publicly onsuffrage, and gave her most sig-nificant speech, “Ain’t I aWoman?” at the Ohio Women’sRights Convention in 1851.

Ms. Century performs histori-cal interpretations of the lives ofbrilliant and influential women,including Harriet Tubman, BessieColeman and Madam C.J. Walker.She holds a Bachelor of Arts de-gree in Biology from Claflin Uni-versity, a Masters in Science Edu-cation from South Carolina StateUniversity and her Ed.D. fromTemple University. She has in-spired students in the Philadel-phia school system for more than20 years with her historically ac-

curate performances. Ms. Cen-tury also writes under the nameEmily Nelson, and has publishedtwo books: “Belle” and “Ms.Emmaline’s Little Book of Witand Wisdom.”

No registration is required forthis free event. The CranfordCommunity Center is located at220 Walnut Avenue and is acces-sible to all. For more informationabout the Cranford Public Library,visit cranfordlibrary.org.

Hist. Soc. to LookAt Elizabeth LibraryCRANFORD — The Union

County Historical Society willfeature a program at its nextmeeting entitled “History Livesat the Elizabeth Public Library.”It will take place on Sunday,March 3, at 2 p.m., at theHanson House. The HansonHouse is located at 38 Spring-field Avenue, Cranford.

Aimee Fernandez-Puente, su-pervisor of the Local Historyand Special Collections Depart-ment at the library, will be theguest speaker. She will de-scribe and explain the scopeand content of the collectionand how it is available to thoseresearching Elizabeth andUnion County history. All areinvited.

Soup-Tasting to AidHistoric Area Home

KENILWORTH — The KenilworthHistorical Society will host a soup-tasting event on Thursday, March21, from 6 to 8 p.m., at theCommunity United MethodistChurch hall, located at 455 Bou-levard, Kenilworth.

This popular event – “Soup’sOn” – will give participants theopportunity to taste a variety offavorite soups from local restau-rants and others, along with as-sorted breads and desserts. Ad-mission is $12. Parking and theentrance to the church hall arelocated at the rear of the build-ing.

Advance reservations are re-quested by Friday, March 15, asseating is limited. For informa-tion and/or reservations, call(908) 709-0434 or visit Espe-cially Yours Florist, located at 13North 20th Street, Kenilworth,where tickets for the event alsoare being sold.

Proceeds will benefit theKenilworth Historical Society’sOswald J. Nitschke House, a circa1880 “living history” museum andcultural arts center, by helpingdefray the cost of an elevatorthat makes all levels of the sitefully accessible to everyone.

The Kenilworth Historical Soci-ety is an independent, volun-teer-based, non-profit, tax-ex-empt, 501 (c)(3) organizationdedicated to the research, pres-ervation and interpretation of theOswald J. Nitschke House, localhistory and culture.


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Conservancy Invites PublicTo ‘The Frugal Gardener’

CRANFORD — The Hanson ParkConservancy will present a pro-gram entitled “The Frugal Gar-dener” on Tuesday, March 12, at7 p.m., at the Cranford Commu-nity Center. Virginia Lamb, anenvironmental educator fromRutgers Home Gardeners’ School,will be the featured speaker.

Participants will learn tips andtricks for achieving their gardendreams while staying within theirbudget. Topics covered will in-clude getting soil in tip-top shape,starting plants from cuttings andseeds, and some suggestions forplants that will give gardenersthe best “bang” for their buck.

Ms. Lamb has more than 20years of experience in recycling,waste reduction, organic garden-ing and school gardening. Agraduate of Stockton University,she has worked as the recyclingcoordinator for Galloway Town-ship and Monmouth County,

where she also was a MasterGardener. She has been afreelance educator/consultantsince 2000. Clients includeRutgers University, FootprintPower and many environmentalgroups, garden clubs and privatecompanies throughout the region.

Ms. Lamb is working towardsher Master of Science degree inSoil Science at the University ofMassachusetts-Amherst and liveswith her family in Maplewood.

The Cranford Community Cen-ter is located at 220 Walnut Av-enue. This program is free andopen to the public. No registra-tion is required, but seating isavailable on a first-come, first-served basis.

The presentation is sponsoredby the Hanson Park Conservancy,a non-profit corporation begun in2004. To learn more, visithansonparkconservancy.com orlike the organization on Facebook.


James Ward Mansion908-389-0014 • www.jameswardmansion.com

CRANFORDTuesday, February 5, Deshawn

Claiborne, 26, of East Orangewas arrested and charged withpossession of less than 50 gramsof marijuana and possession ofdrug paraphernalia following amotor vehicle stop at LincolnAvenue East and Meeker Streetfor not signaling a turn. Claibornewas processed and provided witha municipal court appearancedate. In addition, he was issuedmotor vehicle summonses forfailing to signal a turn and pos-session of a controlled danger-ous substance in a motor vehicle.

Friday, February 8, Dale Tapps,Jr., 28, of Edgewater Park wasarrested and charged with pos-session of prescription legenddrugs, possession of less than 50grams of marijuana and posses-sion of drug paraphernalia fol-lowing a motor vehicle stop onYarmouth Road near MunseeDrive for suspicious activity. Fol-lowing an investigation at the

scene, Tapps was arrested forsuspected Hydrocodone andmarijuana found in his posses-sion. He was processed and pro-vided with a state Superior Courtappearance date.

Saturday, February 9, DejaJohnson, 22, of Linden was ar-rested and charged with drivingwhile intoxicated (DWI) follow-ing a motor vehicle stop at SouthAvenue East and Centennial Av-enue for erratic driving. Johnsonwas processed and provided witha municipal court appearancedate. In addition, she was issuedmotor vehicle summonses forcareless driving, failure to main-tain her lane and no valid insur-ance card in her possession.

Saturday, February 9, ShavarWard, 32, of Plainfield was ar-rested and charged with posses-sion of prescription legend drugsafter police responded to HayesStreet on a call regarding a dis-abled motor vehicle. Followingan investigation at the scene,Ward was arrested after policefound suspected Percocet insidethe vehicle. Ward was processedand provided with a municipal

court appearance date.Monday, February 11, Kendall

Wozniak, 18, of Matawan wasarrested and charged with pos-session of less than 50 grams ofmarijuana and possession of drugparaphernalia following a motorvehicle stop on North AvenueEast for unclear plates. Wozniakwas processed and provided witha municipal court appearancedate. In addition, she was issuedmotor vehicle summonses forunclear plates and possession ofa controlled dangerous substancein a motor vehicle.

Tuesday, February 12, TaylorHarris, 23, of Fords was arrestedand charged with possession ofless than 50 grams of marijuanaand possession of drug parapher-nalia following a motor vehicle stopat Raritan Road and Coleman Av-enue for an inoperable headlamp.Harris was processed and pro-vided with a municipal court ap-pearance date. In addition, shewas issued motor vehicle sum-monses for maintenance of lamps,tinted windows and possession ofa controlled dangerous substancein a motor vehicle.

CRANFORD — Cranford HighSchool (CHS) Performing Arts De-partment has announced it willpresent Hello, Dolly! on March 8through March 10. The musicalHello, Dolly! first appeared onBroadway in 1964 and has beenrevived four times, most recentlyin 2017 with Bette Midler. Theoriginal production with CarolChanning won 10 Tony Awards, arecord held for decades. Hello,Dolly! with book by MichaelStewart and lyrics and music byJerry Herman, is based on

Thorton Wilder’s 1955 play TheMatchmaker.

The story follows the life ofDolly Levi (Nora Sullivan) as shetravels to Yonkers, N.Y. in pur-suit of finding a match for thewell-known half-a-millionaireHorace Vandergelder (NoahWohlsen). Along the way, sheinteracts with many other char-acters including Horace’s employ-ees, Cornelius Hackl (DanielKlimko) and Barnaby Tucker (MaxWisnefski); New York widow andhat shop owner, Irene Molloy

(Katrina Wischusen) and her as-sistant Minnie Fay (RoseMichetti); and young artistAmbrose Kemper (Andrew Gor-don), who is interested in marry-ing Horace’s niece, Ermengarde(Erin Blake). Other notable rolesinclude Ernestina Money (KatieManhardt), Rudolf Reisenweber(Matthew Mallick), Judge (Eliza-beth Molfetto), and Mrs. Rose(Melanie Gabel). The ensembleof Hello, Dolly! consists of 33students who add drama, sing-ing and excitement to each scene.

Hello, Dolly! will be performedin the CHS auditorium on March8, 9 and 10. The dress rehearsalon March 7 at 7:30 p.m. will befree admission for senior citi-zens. The performances onMarch 8 and 9 will be at 7:30p.m. with the matinee on March10 at 2 p.m. Tickets can beordered in advance online atchs.booktix.com for $15, butthey are also available at thedoor. Student rush tickets willalso be available for $10 only atthe door for each performance

with a valid student ID. TheCranford Public Schools permit-ted items policy will be in effectfor all three performances; largebags and purses will not be al-lowed into the auditorium. Foradditional information aboutHello, Dolly! at CHS, please con-tact Elizabeth Sheehan([email protected])or Erica Morreale([email protected]),or call (908) 709-6272. “Put OnYour Sunday Clothes” and comesee Hello, Dolly! at CHS.

Cranford High School to Present Broadway’s Hello, Dolly! March 8-10

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CRANFORD—Brookside PlaceElementary School (BPS) ispleased to announce that AnneMarie Francis has been selectedas the Classroom Teacher of theYear from nominations made bythe school community as part ofthe New Jersey Department ofEducation 2018-19 Governor’sEducator of the Year Program.

Mrs. Francis has served theCranford school district for 20years, with 11 of those yearsteaching kindergarten at BPS.She has also taught grades 4through 8 as both a classroomand gifted and talented teacher,grades K to 8 as a charactereducation coordinator and grades9 though 12 as a service learningcoordinator.

She was a kindergartener her-self when she decided she’d oneday emulate her kindergartenteacher and sit around a circle,teaching kindergarteners. “I feelthat teaching chose me!” Mrs.Francis said. “It’s all I ever wantedto be.”

Before the start of every day,

she said, she reads to herself apage-long doctrine she has com-piled entitled “This is What I Be-lieve,” which lists statements ofpositivity to guide her teachingphilosphies. “I believe I can makethe biggest difference in a child’sability to learn. I believe all chil-dren are filled with curiosity andit is my responsibility to illumi-nate their path to discovery,”she said.

In her cheerful kindergartenclassroom, Mrs. Francis said shecreates an environment for learn-ing based upon those beliefs andwhat she has learned in life to“create a place that is nurturing,safe, inviting, rewarding, stimu-lating, loving and fun!”

She is very humbled by hernomination as the BPS Class-room Teacher of the Year. “Ibelieve that the BPS staff is atruly exceptional group of pro-fessionals who collaborativelypush each individual along toreach their full potential. Thishonor belongs to all of us,” Mrs.Francis said.

The Governor’s Educator of theYear Program highlights educa-tional innovation, studentachievement, the rewards ofteaching, and important servicesoutside the classroom environ-ment that lead to student suc-cess. Further, it seeks to attractpublic attention to the positiveaspects of our educational sys-tem. For more information, pleasevisit: http://www.state.nj.us/education/educators/rpr/recogni-tion/educators/geoy/.

Christiano of CF EarnsDean’s List at LehighCRANFORD — Luke Christiano,

of Cranford, was named to theDean’s List at Lehigh Universityin the Fall 2018 semester.

Dean’s List status is awarded tostudents who earned a scholas-tic average of 3.6 or better whilecarrying at least 12 hours of regu-larly graded courses.


Richard J. Kaplow, Esq. Attorney at Law908-232-8787 • www.kaplowlaw.com

CDC’s Musical Mamma Mia!Brings ABBA Songs to Life

By SUSAN MYRILL DOUGHERTYSpecially Written for The Westfield Leader and The Times

CRANFORD -- There are mo-ments in every musical that arestand-outs. Either a striking vi-sual is a picture that creeps backinto one’s mind, or perhaps it’sthe melody of a certain song thatreplays like an ear worm daysafter the live theatre experienceis over. Thanks to strong direc-tion, terrific casting and loads oftalent, Cranford DramaticClub’s(CDC) production ofMamma Mia! provides many ofthose memorable moments.

The story line is simple: 20-year-old Sophie (Lindsay Maron)is getting married and has invitedto her wedding three men whomshe suspects might be her father.Sophie has read her mother’s di-ary, invited these three strangersto the impending nuptials, unbe-known to mom. All three show up,as do the two female backup sing-ers, who, long ago, performed inDonna’s trio. The whole show re-volves around Sophie’s search fortruth, but along the way, hermother Donna (Mandy Feiler) findsout what she wants in life.

Director Sean Eugene Loughsmartly has the lovely Sophie walkdown the aisle at the top of theshow singing, “I Have a Dream.”Her crystal-clear, bell-like tonesset the mood of youthful longingfor answers about her background.She and her fiercely independentmother live on a tiny Greek islandand run a cozy hotel, a great setby Marc Chandler.

Donna’s friends Rosie (Donna

Farone) and Tanya (MichelleSblendorio) reminisce with Donnaand have plenty of fun singing,“Money, Money, Money” and“Dancing Queen.”

British playwright CatherineJohnson took the popular songs ofABBA, a 1970’s disco-era Swedishpop group, and patchworked astory around them. Sometimes itworks, sometimes it stretches ourcredulity. Who cares about plausi-bility when it comes to weddingsand ABBA songs? There are fairytale moments that border on hokey,but the energy is unstoppable.

In one fun number, “Gimme!Gimme! Gimme!” Sophie and herbridesmaid gal pals Ali (CaitCrowley) and Lisa (Remi Presky)have a ball.

Some of the best dancing of thenight (by choreographer PhilSolomon) takes place at the endof Act I in “Voulez-Vous” wherethe whole company gets to breakout. Perhaps it’s the club atmo-sphere with spectacular lightingby Nik Marmo that provides aban-don for the actors. Whatever, theybrought it in that number in danc-ing like no one is watching.

In the second act, the likelycandidates of Sophie’s dad get achance in the spotlight. Sam(Michael Dooley), Bill (JamesLopez) and Harry (Mark Smith),all with smooth voices, get to singto Donna or Sophie in poignant orupbeat numbers.

A truly memorable song is “DoesYour Mother Know?” where Pep-per (Zach Mazouat) comes on toTanya. Ms. Sblendorio belts out

her response to the young man inan adorably provocative way. Andby the way, in that swimsuit andsarong outfit, she looks like a truebody builder!

More ear-to-ear smiles are pro-vided by Rosie and Bill in “Take aChance On Me.”

The most powerful number, vo-cally, is “The Winner Takes it All”where Ms. Feiler pours out herheart. Then her character’s song“Slipping Through My Fingers”offers the most heartfelt momentin the show as she helps herdaughter get ready for her wed-ding. Through that song, we hearthe emotions going throughDonna’s mind as her only child isabout to do something she neverdid.

The encore bows are spectacu-lar especially because of the over-the-top costuming (by ZachMazouat and Cathy Cohane).

Music Director Howard Whitmorehas assembled a terrific band ofsix, and four pit singers who,along with a strong ensemble,offer backup to the leads.

If the body language of the sixwildly enthusiastic high school girlssitting in front of me on openingnight is any indication, this pro-duction is a hit. It’s a high energy,feel good show with local celeb-rity guest actors at certain perfor-mances.

Mamma Mia! runs through March2, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m.For tickets, call the theater at (908)276-7611 or go to their website atcdctheatre.org. CDC is located at78 Winans Avenue, Cranford.

Mrs. Francis Is NamedBPS Teacher of the Year

Twp. Committee Not to Act Until March on Sale of Lot

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Transcript of Twp. Committee Not to Act Until March on Sale of Lot