Livingston news

Martin Rinaldi of Livingston died December 22. Private services will be held under the direction of Shook’s Cedar Grove Funeral Home in Cedar Grove. Memories and condolences may be shared at shookscedargrove.com.

Kevin Drake of Wilmot, New Hampshire, formerly of Livingston, died at his home on December 22, at the age of 70, following a brief hospitalization.

Mr. Drake was bom on May 21, 1953 and graduated from Livingston High School in 1971. He later moved to New London, New Hampshire and had a career as a process control specialist with Yokogawa.

Mr. Drake was predeceased by his wife of 38 years, Carol O’Brien Drake. He is survived by his daughters, Larissa Ragazzo and her husband, Robert, and Ashley McCarthy and her husband, Sean; his brothers. Lawrence Drake Jr. and his wife, Joan Jacobs, Roger Drake and his wife, Jennifer; his mother-in-law, Catherine O’Brien; his sisters-inlaw, Mary-Kay O’Brien, Laurie O ’ Brien Smith, and Teresa O ’ Brien; and two grandchildren.

Gloria Flores David, age 86, passed away peacefully in her sleep at Kelly House in Evansville, WI on December 20, 2023. Gloria lived previously on Mounthaven Drive in Livingston, NJ for 45 years, in the same house where she raised her family and where she stayed after her husband passed away.

She was born in Pampanga, Philippines on March 27, 1937 and her earliest memories were of the Japanese occupation during WWII. Gloria graduated from Centro Escolar University in Manila in 1959 with a degree in education and she taught home economics at a public school for several years.

She moved to the United States in 1973 and worked as an accounting clerk for Drake’s Bakery, Exxon, SPX, Atlantic Design, and Burrelles, before retiring in 1998 when her first grandchild was born.

The Livingston Township Council held its final regular meeting of the year on Monday, December 18. To start the meeting, each Council member thanked their respective spouses for helping them to serve in their positions.

“We couldn ’t do what we do for the community (without our spouses),” Mayor Michael Vieria said, “and this is our way of saying ‘thank you.’” Each spouse was given flowers and a gift card to their favorite restaurant.

Livingston Fire Department president Tom Cooney also addressed the Council. He has been working on creating a book documenting the history of the Department, and while digging through ledger books, he found the original 1938 rendering of Monument Park at the Oval. At the meeting, he gifted the Council the framed document, to be hung in Town Hall.

THANKING THEIR TEACHERS: Livingston High School’s National Merit Semifinalists presented books to their favorite teachers during the Tuesday, December 12, Board of Education meeting. Shown here are LHS student Samuel Liang and biology teacher Paul Raiz. Liang gave Raiz a copy of “When Breath Becomes Air” by Paul Kalanithi.

During its last meeting of2023, the Livingston Planning Board approved Devan Partners LLC’s site plan to convert the automotive repair facility at 505 South Livingston Avenue into a dental office. It also marked Peter Klein’s final meeting before retiring from the Planning Board at the end of the year. Klein had served as a Board member since 1996.

Four witnesses spoke at the applicant’s initial November 21 hearing, supporting requests for variances related to the building’s size, signage placement, and extension of back parking spaces. However, a vote was delayed so the applicant could address the Board’s concerns, including the lack of a garbage plan and front signage length.

A large coastal storm that dropped up to nine inches of rain on South Carolina barrelled up the east coast Sunday afternoon, December 17, into Monday, December 18, leaving significant flooding, damage and power outages in its wake. In Livingston, the storm dropped a total of 4.26 inches, according to reports.

Western Essex County was among the harder-hit areas. A total of 4.85 was recorded at Caldwell Airport, while Verona got 4.83 inches, Cedar Grove, 4.8 inches, and West Caldwell, 4.51 inches.

Most of Morris County received over four inches of rain, with Long Valley recording 5.88 inches, and Butler, five inches.

In contrast, much of Bergen, Camden, Cape May, and Ocean Counties recorded “only” two to three inches of rain, although Estell Manor in Atlantic County got 5.05 inches.

40 Incidents in Town

Livingston Police officers responded to multiple attempted residential burglaries and a pharmacy burglary in the past week.

Pharmacy Burglary

At 9 a.m. on Monday, December 18, Livingston officers responded to Livingston Pharmacy on East Mt. Pleasant Avenue on a report of a burglary at the store.

Officers arrived and were met by store staff, who said that when they entered the store, they found the front door ajar and medications and cash missing. The front door appeared to have been pried open and the store was ransacked. Medicine and cash were confirmed to have been stolen.

The Livingston Detective Bureau is investigating the matter.

Attempted Residential Burglaries At4:55 a.m. on Thursday, December 14, Livingston officers responded to an East Cedar Street residence on a report of several suspects attempting to enter the home.

Livingston’s Temple Beth Shalom was one of about a dozen synagogues that received a bomb threat this past Sunday, December 17. The threat was ultimately determined to be unfounded.

Specifically, at 8:39 a.m., Livingston Police was notified of an email that had been sent to Temple Beth Shalom claiming that there were multiple explosives in the building that would be going off in a few hours.

Livingston officers responded to the scene and evacuated the temple. A check of the building was performed with the assistance of the Essex County sheriff’s office Bomb and K-9 Unit, and the temple was found to be clear of any explosive devices.

Police determined that the email had been sent to numerous temples statewide and throughout the country – synagogues in more than a dozen states received a total of more than 200 threats – and no credible threat was found.

On Thursday, December 14, the Livingston High School bowling team defeated Millbum. Bowling coach Griff Hughes also won his 300th career match that day.

The team started off with captain Rishabh Sinha’s 192 bowling score. Captain Gabe Shulman scored a 215, and Victoria Cheng’s 175 helped the team to a 868-792 pin victory.

During the second game, the Lancers struggled with spares, but managed a 780-737 win behind Aidan Reyes’ 180 bowl. The Lancers unfortunately did not win game three, and were defeated 819-763, but won the overall match 5 -2. Parker Shulman rolled a 147 in the loss.

On the junior varsity lanes, the Lancers were defeated by Millbum. Lancer Abhiman Chandin scored a 71, 88, and 106, while Douglas Coppola bowled a 100,92, and 113.

Sungi Shariff’s 155 was the high score of the game for the Lancers, and Prakhar Samaiya’s scores of 125, 154, and 117 earned him the high series of 396.