Livingston community

WATER MAIN WORK ON MOUNTHAVEN DRIVE: On Tuesday, April 9, the Township was working on a water main on Mounthaven Drive, near the intersection at Spring Road. Residents were warned of possible traffic delays and potential interruptions to their water access. Shown here, the excavators dug up a portion of the sidewalk and yards adjacent to Mounthaven Drive in order to access the water main. With a ladder, workers were able to physically get into the ground in order to fix the broken water main.

New Jersey was the epicenter of a 4.8 magnitude earthquake that affected a large portion of the northeast on Friday, April 5.

The initial earthquake occurred at about 10:23 a.m. near Califon, New Jersey.

No injuries were reported in Livingston related to the quake and several subsequent aftershocks, one of which reached 4.0 on the Richter scale.

Livingston Public School officials noted that a thorough inspection was done of all district buildings and that there was no damage seen to any of them.

In all, about 42 million people experienced the earthquake last Friday; it reached as far south as Washington, D.C. and as far north as the New York-Canada border.

This past week, the Livingston Fire Department responded to a number of calls relating to fallen trees and power outages. They also assisted with a resident stuck in their home’s elevator and responded to a call about an odor. Additionally, LFD was called to the scene of a vehicle fire.

Vehicle Fire

On Tuesday morning, April 9, a vehicle fire occurred at the intersection of Walnut Street and Route 10. A contractor truck with an attached trailer caught on fire, seemingly due to a hydraulic oil leak.

When the LFD arrived, the vehicle’s engine and passenger compartments were engulfed in flames.

No injuries were reported. The fire was extinguished and the burned vehicle was removed by a towing company.

Power Outages and Downed Trees

On Wednesday, April 3, the fire department responded to a series of calls following a storm.

VARSITY LACROSSE TEAM WINS TWO, LOSES ONE: The Lancers defeated Cranford, 16-2, on Tuesday, April 2, and Madison, 9-8, on Thursday, April 4, both on the road. Livingston returned home on Saturday, April 6, only to be defeated by Kinnelon, 12-4.Shown here, Lancer junior mid-fielder Sam Goldstein, #16, carries the ball to a Lancer goal.

The Livingston High School softball team opened the season on April 1, and its record currently stands at 3-2.

The team scored victories against Super Essex Conference American Division teams West Essex (6-2), Montclair (8-0), and Cedar Grove (6-1). The Lancers lost against two teams from Somerset County, North Hunterdon (3-2) and Watchung Hills (5-0).

On Monday, after the solar eclipse passed, Cedar Grove, ranked third in the state, traveled to the Oval for a 5 p.m. game. Senior pitcher Sophia Mount, who will pitch at Villanova next year, got the leadoff hitter to ground out, and then struck out the next two hitters. Mount was dominant all day, as she finished with 13 strikeouts, while giving up only three hits and walking four batters.

My husband Ray and I recently purchased a condo in Florida, fulfilling a long-time dream of mine: becoming a “snowbird” and escaping these cold northern winters. As of March 12, we are the proud owners of a villa in Venice, on the west coast of Florida.

Our big new purchase – our first in real estate in over 30 years – evoked a much wider variety of feelings than just the simple “jumping up and down with joy” that I had anticipated.

First there was surprised disbelief: “Is this really true? Did we finally do it? I can’t believe we finally did it…” I had been dreaming about this for so long that, now that it has finally come to pass, I’m still trying to wrap my head around it.

Then there was mild terror: “Holy cow, what did we just do?Are we out of our minds?” For the first several days, we looked at the numbers on paper, and our elation was tempered with a certain degree of queasiness.

Last week, Livingston Public Schools superintendent Matthew Block announced that he will resign from his position at the end of the school year to take another superintendent job in an upstate New York school district.

Superintendent Block began his tenure in Livingston during a tumultuous period. After just a few months on the job, the school district was the victim of a ransomware attack, where hackers broke into the network and took data hostage from Livingston’s schools. Just as that mess was cleaned up, the COVID pandemic hit. The next few years in school involved a lot of difficult planning and conversations around remote schooling, masking, budgetary issues, staffing, absences and more. It was, to put it lightly, an unenviable time to be in that role and he handled it well, given the once-in-a-lifetime circumstances.

Dolores Acquaviva (née Friscia) of Livingston died on Friday, March 29. Bom and raised in Newark, she moved to Livingston in 1960.

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated at St. Philomena Church in Livingston on Wednesday, April 3. Interment followed at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in East Hanover. The family received friends at Quinn-Hopping Funeral Home in Livingston on Tuesday, April 2.

Mrs. Acquaviva was predeceased by her husband, Eugene Acquaviva; her daughter, Rosalie Pennington; and her son-in-laws, Fred DeCorte and George Pennington. She is survived by her daughter Annette DeCorte, four grandchildren, four great-grandchildren and two greatgreat grandchildren.

Alberto Pietrobon, 91, died on Wednesday, March 27, in Livingston. Born in Riese Pio X Treviso, Italy, he immigrated to the United States in 1956. He moved to West Orange in 1961. In 1963, Mr. Pietrobon opened his business, JoPell Home Improvements, where he worked until his retirement.

Mr.Pietrobon was predeceased by seven siblings. He is survived by his wife of 67 years, Maria; his daughters, Rosemarie Pietrobon, Gelsomina Pietrobon, and Bruna Amato (Carmine); as well as his grandchildren.

Visitation was held on Wednesday, April 3 at the Quinn-Hopping Funeral Home in Livingston. Funeral mass was offered on Thursday, April 4 at St. Joseph Church in West Orange. The mass was followed by entombment at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in East Hanover.

Selma Paitchel, longtime resident of Livingston, passed peacefully on Monday, March 25, surrounded by family.  Born April 1, 1927, Selma was the beloved daughter of the late Max D.