Columns/Opinions

If our family can manage to avoid the onslaught of preschool-related illnesses long enough, I think that I’m in for one of the best holiday seasons of my life. My boys are now three-and-a-half years old, the perfect age to experience what makes the holidays such a special time.

When you contemplate having kids, it’s natural to think about the great memories you hope to share as a family. For me, that included playing sports, family vacations, and trips to the movies. But more than anything, I thought about experiencing the holidays with them. It has been magical to share my favorite time of the year with my boys these past few years, and, if the last month is any indication, this has the potential to be the best year yet.

The overdevelopment of Livingston in recent years has become an unavoidable topic of discussion. As more and more construction commences in town, or is proposed to be built, it directly affects a greater number of residents. This includes some people that had no idea they even had anything to be concerned about before a builder took a look at a nearby property and decided they wanted to do more with it.

As everyone knows by now, the former Bottle King property at 45 South Livingston Avenue has been the most recent lightning rod, but it was not the first and will likely not be the last. For proof, one needs to look no further than recent Planning Board meetings, where 39 West Northfield Road, formerly home to New York Sports Club, has been a topic of discussion. The developer is proposing turning that existing building into a two-story Summit Health medical office.

Tomorrow, Friday, November 10, there will be a Veterans Day luncheon held from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Livingston Senior Community Center. There will also be a ceremony held in memory of the late Murray Sklar, a Marine Corps veteran of the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa, at Temple Beth Shalom at 11 a.m. on Sunday, November 12. We encourage the community to attend these meaningful events and thank our local veterans who have served. We extend our gratitude to our veterans for supporting us, and we should all do what we can to return the favor.

In contrast to Memorial Day, which honors those military personnel who gave their lives in service to our country, Veterans Day pays tribute to all who have served in the military, past and present.

Election Day is next Tuesday, November 7, and this year’s ballot features two worthy candidates – Fang Gong and Harsh Raju – vying for one open seat on Livingston’s Board of Education. We thank both of these candidates for their willingness to contribute to our community. As past and current members can attest, being part of the Board of Education necessitates a huge time commitment and is a major responsibility. Board members help to shape our town. It can also be quite the thankless job, at times, so we are grateful to see two residents step up to make a difference in Livingston. Both stay-at-home parents who have children in the district’s elementary schools, we applaud Raju and Gong for their willingness to commit themselves to this position.

With Halloween just a few days away there is plenty to do in town to commemorate the spooky season.

On Friday, October 27, and Saturday, October 28, from 5 to 8:30 p.m., a haunted walk will be held at the Livingston Senior/ Community Center. There will be an early walk for young children, followed by a spookier one for the older crowd.

After the weekend’s festivities, Halloween proper comes on Tuesday, and the Northland Recreation Complex will host a Trunk or Treat event from 4 to 6:30 p.m. Participants can hand out candy and decorate their vehicles for Trunk or Treat, while youngsters are invited to walk from vehicle to vehicle in the parking lot collecting treats.

Last week, the Livingston Fire Department lost Frank Leck, its longest active member since Charlie Schilling’s passing nearly four years ago. At the time of his death on October 18, Mr. Leck had been serving with the LFD for 64 years, and was an active member up to the day he died. His loss hurts not only the Fire Department, but the entire community, and marks the end of an era.

Mr. Leck joined the Fire Department in August of 1959, at the age of 17. He became a full firefighter in 1963, and was assigned to the Northfield Station. Over the decades, he rose through the ranks, from firefighter to Warden (a position which no longer exists), Lieutenant, and Captain, and was Deputy Fire Chief from 1997 to 1999.

We are just a few weeks from Election Day, on Tuesday, November 7, and campaigns are beginning to accelerate, from the local level on up the chain. This means that voters are learning more about the candidates for whom they are tasked with casting a vote. It stands to reason that the more information citizens have prior to selecting their candidate, the more informed that selection should be.

Here in Livingston, for example, we have one local race this year, for a seat on the school district’s Board of Education. As we have progressed through this election season, the two candidates – Harsh Raju and Fang Gong – have participated in a debate, submitted weekly responses to questions in this newspaper, and been out and about speaking to residents in town. Together, the community, surely, collectively knows more about these two individuals than they did just one month earlier.

In recent months, the main topic of conversation in town has centered on proposed development at the Bottle King property. If the developer is permitted to go forward with the plan, there will be 240 rental units, in addition to retail stores, built on the property. Residents have brought up several concerns, one of which was increased traffic to an already congested area of town, along South Livingston Avenue and Mt. Pleasant Avenue.

These residents are correct, of course. Anyone who has driven that stretch of town during the busiest parts of the day are familiar with its problems. It can take several green lights just to cross Mt. Pleasant Avenue, as traffic regularly backs up for blocks. If someone tries to make a left turn off of South Livingston into a business or onto a side street, one of the two extremely narrow lanes on either side of the roadway quickly backs up. And making left turns onto South Livingston Avenue? Forget about it. Do not even try.

There is less than a month before Election Day on Tuesday, November 7, and this year’s ballot will feature one contested Livingston race. Two candidates, Fang Gong and Harsh Raju, are vying for one open seat on the Livingston Public Schools Board of Education.

Next week, Sunday, October 1, through Saturday, October 7, is National Newspaper Week. The annual observance of the service that newspapers and their employees provide to their communities has been in existence since 1940; what is printed within the pages of newspapers has certainly changed since then, but the importance of the medium has not. And here at the West Essex Tribune, we are proud to be one of the only remaining independent newspapers in the state, bringing our community the stories that matter to them.