latest news from Livingston

Three members of the Livingston Police Department attended the funerals of two New York City officers killed in the line of duty. NYPD officers Jason Rivera, 22, and Wilbert Mora, 27, were shot while responding to a domestic violence incident on Friday, January 21. Rivera died shortly after being shot, and his funeral was held January 28. Mora succumbed to his injuries on January 25, and his funeral took place on February 2.

Livingston Police Officer Todd Compesi attended the service for Rivera, while Sgt. Jose Antunes and Sgt. Michael Herbert attended

Mora’s funeral.

The Livingston Board of Education, at its February 8 meeting, honored AAPI Youth Alliance students, and heard a review of the district’s comprehensive financial report.

AAPI Students Honored

The Board invited the members of the Livingston Asian American Pacific Islanders Youth Alliance (AAPI) to discuss their work in advocating for the passage of the New Jersey legislative bills S4021 and A6100, which mandate that students learn about Asian American history and contributions. Livingston AAPI was the only student group to work toward this goal.

Students described how they sent emails and spoke to administrators, legislators, and government and education committees, relating their experiences as Asian-American students and the need for AAPI contributions to become part of schools’ history curricula. They also thanked the Board of Education for its support.

The Livingston Lancer ice hockey team continued its undefeated season in conference play by defeating 11th ranked Westfield and Montclair in their final two games. The team finished divisional play in first place.

The Lancers beat Montclair, 4-0, with goals by Zack Silva, Dillon Schultz and two by Danny Grossbard. Assists by Silva, Spencer Solomon, Alex Selvin, Egor Tarasyuk, and Brett Conklin helped lead the offense. Once again standout defense by Andrew Qian, Jace Dockx, Brett Conklin and Alex Selvin kept Montclair off the scoreboard. Justinas Sanders had 25 saves.

The Lancers took the ice Saturday night against Westfield with the

(Continued from Page A-1) division title on the line. Grossbard opened the scoring with a power play goal, assisted by Qian and Austin Vecchio. Dillon Schultz netted the next two, including a shorthanded goal assisted by Austin Vecchio.

Carole Ann McCarthy (nee Ott) 80, died Sunday, December 26, 2021. Funeral services were held Wednesday, December 29, at the Quinn-Hopping Funeral Home of Livingston. A Mass of Christian Burial was offered at St. Philomena Church, Livingston, on Thursday, December 30, followed by interment at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, East Hanover.

Mrs. McCarthy was born and raised in Newark. She attended St. Ann’s grade school in Newark, and graduated from East Orange High School, class of 1959. She worked at Oppenheim-Collins, Prudential Insurance Company in Newark, then Resistoflex in Roseland before marrying her husband, Paul J. McCarthy, in 1961. They settled in Livingston in 1966, where they raised their five children.

Rosalyn “Roz” Bendit died peacefully in her sleep at the Cogir Memory Care residence in San Rafael, California in the early morning of January 9, 2022. She was 91 years old.

Roz was born on September 30, 1930 in Newark, New Jersey, the daughter of Russian Jewish immigrants Anna Katz Rosenbaum and Max Katz. She spent her early years in Freehold, New Jersey, moved to Newark for one year, and then her family moved to Kearny where she lived until her marriage. Roz attended Kearny High School and then went on to Rutgers University in Newark where she earned a B.A. in psychology. She was quite an active student during her college years, earning the honor of being selected for Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities. During college, Roz was involved in the psychology club, the Tarbut Society and was assistant editor of the college yearbook.

Over the past two weeks, the Livingston High School girls’ track and field team has traveled to the New York City Armory, a world renowned indoor track facility, to compete. “The Armory has a fast, banked track and provides a memorable experience for all athletes of all levels,” notes coach Dave Czeizinger. “As the season nears its end, moving closer to the state championship, the first of these competitions was the Metropolitan Invitational on January 26. The Invitational provided an opportunity at the freshman, novice and varsity levels and included talent from over 50 schools in the New Jersey-New York region. For many of the athletes, this was their last meet of the season.”

The second event, the Varsity Classic, also saw competitors from 50 schools competing in what is primarily “a tune-up for the Sections on Sunday, February 13. This competition sees the best in varsity level with three relay events included in the meet.”

Metropolitan Invitational

TUNNEL TO TOWERS DONATION: Livingston UNICO members Matt Ladolcetta, Michael Stolfi and Mary Beth Picini presented a check to Tunnel to Towers Foundation founder Frank Siller at the Foundation’s offices on Staten Island on Friday, February 4. UNICO sponsored a successful Casino Night fundraising event, with the majority of the proceeds going to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, whose mission is to support the families of fallen first responders and “wounded warriors.”

AAPI YOUTH INTERVIEWED: CBS News correspondent Cindy Hsu interviewed members of the Livingston Asian American Pacific Islanders (AAPI) Youth Alliance at Livingston High School. The students discussed their work in advocating for New Jersey legislative bills S4021 and A6100, which mandate that students learn about Asian American history and contributions. The segment aired last week. Shown with Hsu are Eric Dalangin, Hannah Mattam, Hannah Kim, Russell Fan and Eshaan Mahajan.

This past Saturday, for the second consecutive year, a township-sanctioned Black Lives Matter banner was raised in Livingston. It will hang at the corner of South Livingston Avenue and Northfield Road for the duration of Black History Month. Its unveiling was one of several events scheduled by the Livingston Committee for Diversity and Inclusion to commemorate the month.

Additionally, LCDI member Simone Anthony-Brown is hosting an “African American Artist” series on the group’s Facebook page (Facebook.com/LCDINJ). The final two parts of this series will be held on the last two Mondays of the month, February 21 and 28, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Artists Sam Gilliam and Varnette Honeywood will be featured, while Synthia St. James was highlighted earlier this month.

At the February 1 Board of Education meeting, members discussed sending a letter to the state Department of Education, Governor Phil Murphy, and local legislators, concerning the potential for the district to have flexible remote learning days to help offset snow days and other emergency needs in a tight school calendar.

A state bill is in its very early stages, which, if drafted and passed, could give districts the ability to declare remote days (or provide the option to attend school remotely on a given day) at the discretion of the local Boards of Education and district superintendents.

While most of the Livingston Board was in support of sending the letter, member Sam Messer expressed concerns about students having fewer than 180 days of in-person instruction, saying that children learn best in school.