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The transition back to working in a shared space has had its challenges, said library director Amy Babcock Landry, “but we are working hard to do our best, navigate the unknowns, keep everyone safe, and serve the to pull a tracto Anton Friday at 635 respon community.” A Bu SUBSCRIBE

Serving Clients Online

The library closed to the public, due to COVID-19, at noon on Friday, March 13. Its numerous digital and virtual services remained available, and staffers transitioned to serving clients on YouTube, Zoom and other The online platforms.

The library offered tutorials to walk seniors and other patrons through the Libby, Hoopla and RBdigital apps, so they have all they need from home, Landry continued. “We look forward to providing them with the materials they know and love.”

The morning of August 12, prior to the evening’s Board of Education meeting, Governor Phil Murphy announced that districts might be allowed to offer only all-remote learning.

To do so, a district will need to meet certain criteria and show the state Department of Education why all-remote learning was necessary. Until then, Murphy had required all school districts to offer some form of in-person learning.

How that announcement might impact the district’s reopening plan was on the minds of the Board members and meeting attendees on August 12. Answers, however, were not forthcoming.

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This week, Livingston High School held their new teacher orientation for the upcoming school year while outside

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At the Monday, August 17, meeting of the Livingston Township Council, members discussed the response to tropical storm Isaias, which left many residents without power for several days. Four ordinances were also proposed and several resolutions were passed during the meeting, which was once again held online and may be viewed at the Livingston Township, NJ Facebook page.

At the start of the meeting, the Council moved to a closed session to discuss matters on the agenda. Later in the meeting, during public comment, Justin Alpert of 56 Amherst Place questioned the abundance of closed session items, specifically asking for broad details about the potential tax deal with Saint Barnabas Medical Center and why discussions about a social justice committee must be held behind closed doors.

Township clean-up efforts in the wake of Tropical Storm Isaias last Tuesday, August 4, began in earnest on Monday, August 10, said Mike Anello, superintendent of Public Works.

Anello explained that in the days immediately after the storm, Department of Public Works (DPW) crews focused on clearing trees that had come down, and cleaning up “hot spots” where power lines were down so Public Service Electric and Gas (PSE&G) could access the areas to make repairs.

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Five hens now call an old playground in Livingston their home, after Ivan Bolanos and his daughter, Dana, built a chicken coop using parts of the old set, during the COVID-19 quarantine this spring.

Confined at home, Dana was able to fulfill her childhood dream for a pet that would be hers alone – since Timmy, the family dog, is, well, a shared family pet. Her parents charged her with looking into what she wanted and how she would take care of it.

The 15-year-old researched everything she could find about chickens, from what they eat to which breeds are good for the local weather, and presented the information to her parents.

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The Livingston Public Schools reopening plan for the upcoming academic year was the sole item on the agenda at the Board of Education meeting on Monday, August 10.

Following a presentation of the plan, which had been released last week, both the Board and community members (most if not all of whom were parents of current students) made comments and asked questions about the plan, which is described in a separate article in this week’s Tribune.

The nearly four-hour meeting was held virtually via Zoom and shown live on Facebook. At one point, superintendent Matthew Block said that 600 people were watching.

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As the new school year is set to begin amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, families will need to choose whether their children will begin the school year fully or partially remote, according to the district.

The selection needs to be made by Monday, August 17, and there will likely be a process in place to later change the initial choice. The first day of school is Tuesday, September 8.

Students in the all-virtual model will receive both synchronous lessons delivered by the teacher, and asynchronous online lessons. They will be able to connect with their classmates remotely.

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The Livingston Township Council, at its virtual meeting on Monday evening, August 3, passed a law concerning the 9/11 Memorial Garden, appointed a Blue Ribbon committee for redevelopment of the Livingston mall, discussed sidewalks, and approved a number of resolutions.

At the start of the meeting, recent Livingston High School graduate Andrew Depasquale was given a citation from the Council, commending him for being one of two Essex County students to win a Comcast Leaders and Achievers Scholarship - one of two in Essex County to get the award.

Talks on the social justice committee being developed in town were expected to be finalized in closed session.

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A 20-year-old man saved his neighbor, an eight-year-old girl, from a fox attack on Wednesday, according to the Livingston Police Department.

Officers were called to a Deal Lane home around 4:45 p.m. for a report of an animal bite, and arrived to find that an eight-year-old girl had been bitten several times by a fox.

The girl, Dylan Dratch, had been playing near the shed of a Springbrook Road home when the fox attacked her.

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