Livingston New Jersey news

One of the topics discussed at the Five on Five meeting concerned an issue currently facing the community: a crossing guard shortage. Crossing guards tend to be older (typically, they are retirees), and much of that demographic has been slow to return to the role since the COVID pandemic closed schools in 2020.

It has become a real problem in town. Crossing guard positions all need to be filled. And with additional housing complexes expected to be built in the coming years, it is likely that there will be even more students in Livingston’s schools. With that will come more traffic, and an even stronger need for good people to help guide our children across busy roadways.

There is nothing more important than keeping our students safe traveling to and from school. So, out of necessity, Livingston’s police officers have been covering the empty posts, at the expense of everything else they would otherwise be doing.

Last week, Livingston’s Township Council and the Board of Education held a “Five on Five” joint meeting. The ten combined members of the Council and the Board, along with other township and school district officials, gathered to discuss shared business matters. This past meeting covered a wide variety of topics, ranging from how the township and schools can support what will soon be a Ukrainian “sister city” of Livingston, to how the building of housing complexes will affect the school population.

These types of meetings do not happen often, but they are invaluable to our community. The work done by both the Council and the Board helps shape the quality of life for Livingston’s residents and students. But, for most things, they are cordoned off from one another, operating almost completely independently on major decisions.

Several weeks ago, Livingston Philanthropies Inc. (LPI) founder and chief executive officer, Jeff Friedman, was contacted by Livingston resident and Newark’s University High School educator, Danielle Kelly. She informed him that the school’s varsity baseball team was short on equipment, including fielders’ gloves, batting gloves and new bats.
“I immediately contacted my partners at the West Essex Tribune for assistance with LPI’s latest ‘pop-up initiative,’” recounted Friedman. “In turn, the Tribune editorial staff instantly realized its importance and published special boxes requesting donations of unneeded baseball mitts. Once again, the extreme altruism of our Livingston neighbors turned around the special initiative quickly. LPI received and delivered some 17 name-brand mitts.”

CLEANING THE PASSAIC: Residents participated in a cleanup of Livingston’s section of the Passaic River on Saturday, April 9, organized by the Livingston Trail and Greenways committee. Shown here are residents Lindsay and Tyler Bisk, participating in the cleanup. The next cleanup is expected to take place in the fall, and the committee is hosting several guided paddles over the next few months. The next canoe and kayak trip will take place on Saturday, April 23, beginning at 10:30 a.m. at the Okner Fields canoe launch. For more information, email LivGreenTrails@gmail.com.

Boy Scout Troop 16 of Livingston recently held a Court of Honor to elevate five members to the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest rank available in Boy Scouting. The new Eagle Scouts include Henry Dagistino, Matt Ferraro, Mason Levitt, Gene Lu, and Manav Patel.

The Tribune will be featuring one of these Eagle Scouts each week.

Henry Dagistino

Henry Dagistino joined Pack 16’s Tiger Cubs at the age of seven to start his scouting journey. His most memorable trips from his Cub Scouting years were the overnight stays in a tent with his father, and the many trips the Scouts would take to various places in New Jersey. His favorite event included the Pinewood Derby, in which he won first place in 2014.

Livingston’s Township Council and Board of Education held a “Five on Five” joint meeting on Monday, April 11. The ten combined members of the Council and the Board, along with other township and school district officials, gathered at the Heritage Middle School cafeteria to discuss shared business matters.

The meeting was livestreamed and may be viewed on the Livingston Public Schools Facebook page.

Topics ranged from providing aid to Ukrainian students to discussions on traffic and a crossing guard shortage.

Friends of Chervonohrad

One week after she spoke before the Council, resident Natalia Sawka returned to discuss Friends of Chervonohrad, an organization she launched with friends and family to aid people in her Ukrainian hometown. She spoke previously about hoping to join with residents and classrooms to “sponsor” children who need tablets to access remote learning.

BOYS’ LACROSSE TEAM CRUSHES MORRISTOWN BEARD: The Livingston High School boys’ varsity lacrosse team crushed the Morristown Beard Crimson, 13-1, on Saturday, April 9, on the LHS turf. Shown here, Lancer senior captain Jace Dockx carries toward the goal against the Morristown Beard defender. Don Schwartz Photo

Eleanor “Ellie” Jengeleski died on Monday, April 4. She was 88 years old and had been a resident of Livingston for the past four years.

Mrs. Jengeleski was born in Oakdale, Pennsylvania and previously lived in Irvington and Union. She worked for the Irvington Board of Education for 25 years and retired in 2003.

Mrs. Jengeleski is survived by her three daughters, Janet, Karen and Paula, and three grandchildren, as well as her sister, Pauline Fairchild of Randolph, and her brother, John Fatula of Hazleton, Pennsylvania.

A celebration of her life was held at Higgins & Bonner Echo Lake Funeral Home in Westfield on Saturday, April 9, followed by a funeral Mass at St. James the Apostle Church in Springfield.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Salvation Army.

The Livingston High School boys’ track and field team opened its spring season at home on Wednesday, April 6, in a double dual meet against West Orange High School and Payne Technical School. The Lancers won the match-ups on the track and in the field convincingly with a score of 96-35 against the Mountaineers. With only a handful of athletes on the Payne Tech squad, the Lancers handled that team easily and won, 129-1. “Although there is always room for improvement, many solid performances were turned in by the Livingston team in the home opener,” said coach Nancy Petryna.

First up for the Lancers were cocaptain Matt Ho, Lanz Canent, and Nick Siao in the grueling 400 meter intermediate hurdles. The boys were able to help the Lancers to an early lead with Ho (60.2), L. Canent (67.6), Siao (69.3) placing first, third, and fourth. Also racing for LHS were Zack Ladesma (73.2), Karim Barakat (78.8), Duncan Phelps (80.5), and Zach Canent (83.6).

FRESHMAN LANCERS WIN: The Livingston High School freshman baseball team defeated Montclair, 8-7, on the Oval on Monday, April 4. Shown above, Zane Ginsberg beats the throw to the plate to score for the Lancers. Above, right, Lancer hurler John Harrel brings it to the plate against the Mounties. Above, center, Livingston High School freshman baseball team pitchers Jonathan Nedham and Jackson Becker combined for a perfect game against East Side on Saturday, April 2. Don Schwartz Photos