Livingston news

The Livingston High School girls’ indoor track and field team has opened its season on a high note, with recordbreaking performances in the Essex County Relay championship.

“The work ethic of the team has been on display since the season began,” noted coach Dave Czeizinger. “Outdoor workouts had instilled focus and confidence as they grew stronger and prepared for competition. An early season outdoor event was up first, giving many athletes a taste of track for the first time, and others a chance to step back on a track and renew that fire of competition.”

On Tuesday, December 28, the team participated in the Coach Glynn Holiday Carnival and on Thursday, December 30, in the Essex County Relay championship. Both events were held at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex on Staten Island, one of the premier indoor tracks in the nation. These events marked the Lancers’ first appearance in Ocean Breeze since 2019.

Coach Glynn Carnival

After 41 years serving the town of Livingston – and, for the last 19 years, Millburn as well – Lou Anello retired, as of January 1, as the director of health and health officer of the township.

Anello had initially been planning to retire in October 2020, but postponed it because of the COVID-19 pandemic. “I didn’t want to leave the township or the department dealing with COVID,” he said.

“Unfortunately, COVID is not locked down, it isn’t going anywhere real quick. So, I put my papers in for January 2022, not realizing that it would be as bad as it is now. But there had to be a time for me to leave.”

The steadfast efforts to turn Asian American curriculum bills into state law by two local groups, the Livingston Multicultural Parents Association and the Livingston AAPI Youth Alliance, is bearing fruit.

A bill that will require public schools to teach the history and contributions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) was recently approved by both houses of the state legislature.

A6100 passed the Assembly by a vote of 74-2 on December 20; S4021 had been approved by the state Senate by 34-2 earlier in the month. The bill now heads to Governor Phil Murphy, who is expected to sign it into law before the current legislative session ends on January 11.

“New Jersey is on its way to becoming the second state in the country to mandate AAPI content in K-12 school curricula,” said Lynn Lin, a leader of the Parents Association. “The bills passed with bipartisan support.”

The Livingston Township Council held its annual organizational meeting on Sunday, January 2. The meeting, typically held at the Senior/Community Center, was instead held virtually this year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Still, hundreds of volunteers were appointed to the township’s various committees and boards, the new mayor and deputy mayor were selected.

Ed Meinhardt was sworn in as mayor for 2022. He was previously the mayor of Livingston in 2018.

“It is an honor and pleasure to become mayor for a second term of our town,” Meinhardt said. “I am energized and ready to begin again the important work we have been tasked, by you, our residents.”

Meinhardt noted that there has been nothing ordinary about the past two years, but said he looked forward to seeing residents at meetings in person as soon as it is safe to do so.

Jeff Friedman of Livingston, founder of Livingston Philanthropies, Inc. (LPI), was among those named 2021 Heroes in a recognition program created by representative Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11). The program recognizes individuals living in congressional district 11 who were “heroes during the pandemic and made a signifi cant difference in the community, but who may not have received the recognition they deserve.”

Friedman was nominated by the Tribune. According to his nomination, “Jeff, a former television producer, has spent much of his retirement helping the homeless of Essex County. Some 11 years ago, he began an informal winter coat drive, collecting coats and distributing them personally to homeless individuals at Penn Station, etc. As time went on and his coat collections continued to mount, he reached out to local urban Essex County agencies, churches, food pantries and soup kitchens, and established distribution partnerships.

During the past week, the Livingston Fire Department responded to two motor vehicle accidents, an oven fire, a downed tree, and reports of burning and gas odors.

Seven-Car Pile-Up

On Tuesday, December 21, the Fire Department responded to a seven-car accident on Route 280. The LFD performed a stand-by operation until state police arrived on the scene.

Car into Utility Pole

LANCERS LOSE TO BELLEVILLE: The Livingston High School varsity boys’ basketball team lost to the Belleville Buccaneers, 58-44, on Tuesday evening, December 21, in the LHS Fitness and Wellness Center. Shown here, Lancer forward Sam Smith, #2, hits a jump shot against Belleville. Don Schwartz Photo

The West Essex Tribune is celebrating more than six decades of showering the first baby of the new year with an assortment of gifts generously donated by our advertisers. The first baby of 2022 born to Livingston parents will be named the winner of the Tribune’s 64th annual First Baby Contest.

The rules to determine the winner are the same each year: The first baby of 2022 must be born in a nearby hospital to parents who currently reside in Livingston. The exact time of the birth must be certified in writing by the attending physician.

Entries must be received in the West Essex Tribune office by noon on Tuesday, January 4. The winner will be announced in the January 6 edition of the newspaper.

With 2021 ending with a spike of COVID-19 cases throughout the country, community and schools, Matt Block superintendent of schools, asked students and staff to safely enjoy the winter break and to get tested for COVID-19 before returning to school, which he is planning to keep full time in-person.

“We intend to keep our schools open for in-person learning as much as humanly possible,” Block said in a letter to the community that is posted on the district’s web page, www.livingston.org.

“We do not plan to pivot to remote learning as a pre-emptive mitigation measure,” he announced. “Having our students and staff in school every day is a top priority.”

Despite the uptick of cases in the district, the number of reported positive cases is a small percentage of the school population, he noted, and there has been no evidence of an outbreak in one of the schools.

The Winter Break