Livingston New Jersey news

Last Friday, Livingston experienced its first significant snowfall of the season, and it surely will not be the last, so let us offer a friendly reminder to shovel your sidewalks.

After every major snowstorm, there are dozens of homeowners throughout town who do not clear their sidewalks. As a result, individuals trying to safely walk or jog around Livingston (including children walking to school) are put in unnecessarily dangerous situations, forced to walk in a lane of traffic on one of the town’s busiest roadways, for example.

We do understand that shoveling is difficult for some of our residents, but those residents still miraculously find a way to get their driveways cleared! Whether homeowners take care of the snow themselves, have friends or family lend a hand, or they pay someone to clear the area, the driveways get done, and so should the sidewalks.

Many years ago, when the Board of Education announced plans to close schools in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday, we strenuously objected. We believed – and continue to do so – that our students could learn more about Dr. King and his ideals in school than they would having a day off.

But then, some time ago, one of our readers, Patricia Idrobo, came up with the idea of creating “A Day On, Not A Day Off.” She organized many community groups and mobilized a cadre of kids to go to the high school cafeteria to perform a variety of community services and it was a great success. The cafeteria was filled with tables at which people were working on behalf of others. It was a joy to see, and helped to demonstrate to our children the lessons Dr. King taught. At the end of the collection, there was also a brief educational component which helped to teach Dr. King’s ideals.

Livingston Philanthropies Inc. (LPI) is currently offering assistance to local fire victims. “We have just learned about an increase in the number of winter fire victims who lose everything,” explains Jeff Friedman, LPI founder and director. Among the items they need are suitcases.
Amina Bey, executive director at LPI’s longtime distribution partner Newark Emergency Services for Families (NESF), told Friedman, “Fire victims are forced to move around to temporary shelters and housing. We give them family clothing, but they have nothing to put it in.
“In the winter, we get more fire victims who need suitcases, along with other homeless residents. We also do more deliveries to, and pick-ups for the seniors. If you're in position to procure rolling suitcases and carts, that would be a blessing.”

FRESHMAN GIRLS DEFEAT KEARNY: The Livingston High School girls’ freshman basketball team played in the Kearny Invitational Tournament on Tuesday and Wednesday, December 28 and 29. The Lancers crushed the home team, 44-9 the first day of play, and 45-4 subsequently. Noted parent Cirla Yaari, “During their time off from school, these freshman girls kept each other in a ‘bubble’ to make sure their first tournament was able to take place in their first year of high school. They kept practicing and kept healthy and won their first trophy as a freshman team.” Shown here, the team includes, standing, Mia Viola, Olivia Bender, Ihina Shukla, coach Ashley Addison, Melanie Yaari, Lexi Viola, and Kylie Torine; sitting are Samantha Stecklow, Jordyn Fersko, and Ellie Kaplan. Cirla Yarri Photo

Dolores Maglio died on December 18 in Sun City, Florida.

Born in Orange to Louis and Mary (Perrotti) Melchionne, Mrs. Maglio was a 1966 graduate of Livingston High School and was employed as a medical transcriptionist at the former St. Mary’s Hospital in Orange and at Medical Resources in West Orange. In 2007, she moved to Ruskin, Florida.

Mrs. Maglio was predeceased by her brother, Anthony Melchionne. She is survived by her husband of 52 years, Frank Sr.; her children, Maria, Frank Jr. (Lindsay), and Cherilyn (Anthony) Ventola; her sisters, Rosie (Ernest) Viviani and Camille Amato; and her grandchild.

A funeral Mass was offered at St. Philomena’s Church on Wednesday, January 5. Donations in Mrs. Maglio’s name may be made to the American Kidney Fund or to Saint Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.

Deborah Gill, formerly of Livingston, died on December 15 at Community Medical Center in Toms River. She was 70 years old.

Born in Newark in 1951, Ms. Gill grew up in Livingston and graduated from Livingston High School. She later resided in Wharton and Manchester.

She earned associate’s degrees from Chamberlayne Junior College in Boston and the County College of Morris, and worked for Chubb Insurance Company for 30 years. She was also a photographer for local newspapers.

Surviving are her brother, David; and her nephews, James (Shumaila) and Thomas.

A memorial service will take place at the Quinn-Hopping Funeral Home on Saturday, January 8. Visitation will be from 9 to 10:30 a.m., with the service beginning at 10:30 a.m.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations in Ms. Gill’s memory to the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, or the Alzheimer’s Association.

John F. Schaedel, 75, who grew up in Livingston, died on December 30. He most recently resided in Springfield.

Mr. Schaedel was educated at St. Philomena’s School and the Delbarton School. He attended Scranton University and received his MBA from New York University.

He was vice president and chief auditing officer at Tiffany and Company for over 30 years.

He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Patricia (Dengel) Schaedel; his two daughters, Jennifer Leigh and Laura Elizabeth; his son-in-law, Kai Olson-Sawyer; and his three granddaughters. He is also survived by his seven siblings, Joan Schaedel, Tom Schaedel (Denise), Geoff Schaedel, Gene Schaedel (Nancy), Garry Schaedel (Patty), James Schaedel (Steve) and Philip Schaedel (Barbara).

A Mass of Christian burial was celebrated at St. James the Apostle Church in Springfield on Tuesday, January 4.

Dear Editor:

I read with interest the well thought-out letter from Keith Covan-Rodriguez a few weeks ago and fully expected letters of praise and support to appear in the weeks that followed. I know that everyone was busy with holiday and end-of-year preparations, and even more time is being devoted to avoidance of the COVID virus. But this young person and the group of students show wisdom beyond their years and should be taken seriously by the Board of Education and administration and the entire community.

We are in the midst of our second (or third, depending on how one frames March of 2020) pandemic winter. Due in large part to the highly contagious omicron variant of COVID-19, cases are higher than they have ever been on a local and national level. Hospitalizations in New Jersey have reached a point they haven’t seen since May of 2020, with daily case records being broken with each new update.

While there was optimism that we would be further along in the pandemic’s cycle at this point, instead, it feels like more of the same; that we are repeating ourselves; that little, if any progress has been made. But that is simply untrue.

As we embark on a new year, there is much to look forward to in town. We hope to see the return of many annual celebrations in 2022, including the Memorial Day Parade and the Fourth of July fireworks. We also eagerly anticipate the progress and conclusion of some business matters that have been topics of discussion in recent years.

We are long overdue on building the new Department of Public Works building. The current building has been in disarray for years and is undersized. Last year, this led to issues during a snow storm that forced schools to close for a day, as we did not have space to house an adequate salt supply. This land on Industrial Parkway was selected as the location of the new DPW facility years ago. Though we understand that COVID-19, costs of materials, and supply chain issues have delayed construction, the fact of the matter remains that another year has passed without a new building. We hope to see a groundbreaking come this spring.