Livingston New Jersey news

It was confirmed this week that five Livingston Police Department vehicles, two Livingston Fire Department vehicles, and two Department of Public Works vehicles sustained damage when the remnants of Hurricane Ida ravaged Livingston on Wednesday evening, September 1.

According to Police Chief Gary Marshuetz, four LPD vehicles were damaged as a result of flooding. A marked patrol car, which had been parked at the township garage, sustained irreparable damage when Canoe Brook overflowed its banks. Three Detective Bureau vehicles which were parked in the parking lot at the Municipal Services and Police Building also sustained flooding damage because of the brook.

A fifth Police Department vehicle, a marked patrol car, was damaged when an officer responding to a call drove through flood waters near the 7-Eleven store on South Livingston Avenue.

WELCOME BACK: Livingston Public Schools superintendent Matthew Block and Mt. Pleasant Elementary School principal Lorena Dolan attended a welcome back family picnic at the school on Friday, September 24. Block and Dolan are shown here with Heritage Middle Schooler DJs Ethan Reiter and Spencer Ellenbogen.

Dr. Arthur Bogart, a Livingston resident for over 60 years, died following complications of pneumonia on September 9, 2021, at 98 years of age. He was an internist in private practice for 53 years, and on the staff of Saint Barnabas Medical Center from 1959 to 2006. He often said that he retired early, at the age of 84.

National Newspaper Week begins this Sunday and running through Saturday, October 9. The annual observance of the service that newspapers and their employees provide to their communities has been in existence since 1940; what is printed within the pages of newspapers has certainly changed since then, but the importance of the medium has not. And here at the West Essex Tribune we are proud to be one of the only remaining independent newspapers in the state, bringing our community the stories that matter to them.

Newspapers look a lot different than they did eight decades ago (and longer for us, as we have been around for 92 years and counting!), but we’re still here, and proud of it. For over nine decades, the Tribune has been tailored to our town, emphasizing the things that affect us most directly and keeping track of what is going on in the township so that our readers don’t have to.

There is a new way for students to earn a varsity letter at Livingston High School. Now starting its second year, the United Way Varsity Letter in Community Service Club recently awarded letters to 30 students who had completed at least 80 hours of community service during the first year.

The hours of service include assisting United Way “ALICE” (Asset Limited Income Constrained Employed) families and at least one school activity. In all, those 30 students volunteered over 2,000 hours to improve the lives of children, the disabled, elderly, those suffering financially, and others.

We strongly support our student athletes, and eagerly cheer them on as they compete in their various sports, competitions, and events. Each one who earns a varsity letter for their chosen sport or team should be proud of the hard work they put in to achieve it.

During a week in which the vast majority of its calls were false alarms, the Livingston Fire Department investigated reports of smoke and gas odors; responded to two calls on oven fires at the same address; and answered a mutual aid request to help extricate a man crushed uunder porcelain slabs.

Extrication

On Monday, September 20, Livingston volunteer firefighters answered a mutual aid call from the Roseland Fire Department. Fire officials went to 140 Harrison Avenue, a building owned by the Kearny-based company Porcelain Source. There they assisted in the extrication of an employee who had been crushed under 6,000 pounds of porcelain slabs.

The accident took place at about 3 p.m., and although the victim was successfully removed, he did not survive. His name was not released.

According to reports, a medevac had been on standby, and arrived at the landing zone, but was then canceled before the transportation of the patient took place.

During the period prior to the November 2 election, the West Essex Tribune will make space available to each of the Board of Education candidates, at no cost, in order for them to present their views to the public. It is our hope that this will allow the voters to make a direct comparison which will assist them in making an informed voting decision. The Tribune will not, however, accept “Letters to the Editor” from the candidates during that portion of the campaign. Nor will the Tribune publish letters of endorsement or opposition for any candidate, though we may choose to publish, in the issues before the election in October, excerpts from letters of endorsement received during the campaign.

Three candidates – Jenissa Arnette, James Calderón, and Pamela Chirls – are running for two open seats on the Board.

LANCERS SHUT OUT MOUNTAINEERS: The Livingston High School girls’ varsity volleyball team defeated the West Orange Mountaineers, 2-0, at home in the LHS Fitness and Wellness Center on Tuesday, September 14. Shown here, Lancer sophomore Elexa Bragarnik, #4, soars to score on a serve against West Orange. Last week, the Tribune inadvertently omitted the girls’ volleyball teams from our annual Fall Sports Focus section. Those pages are included elsewhere in this issue, in a cut-out format so that they can be inserted into the Focus section if desired. Don Schwartz Photo