Livingston Tribune

The Livingston Democratic County Committee has submitted three names to fill the pending vacancy on the Township Council. Laurence Bergmann, James Mcllvaine, and Ketan Bhuptani have been nominated to fill Rosy Bagolie’s seat on the Council.

The Council now has 3 0 days from the time of the submission to select one of the nominees from the list, which is done by resolution during a public meeting. The next meeting is scheduled for Monday, February 5.

The person chosen, who will be sworn in immediately following passage of the resolution at the meeting, will then serve until the next certified general election. The 2024 general election will be held on Tuesday, November 5. That election will be to fill the seat for the remainder of Bagolie’s term, which runs through the end of 2026.

GIRLS’ BASKETBALL SENIOR NIGHT: The Livingston High School varsity girls’ basketball team honored their seniors on Senior Night, Friday, January 26, prior to the Newark Tech game. Each senior was introduced with their parents, presented a floral bouquet, and photographed. Shown here are assistant coaches Natalie Pacholec and Cara Dlugo; seniors Alexa Kay, #34, Samantha Mintz, #10, Jordan Spitz, #20, Sydney Rubin, #1; senior team managers Lily Dulman and Erin Hunter; head coach Ashley Addison; and assistant coach Lauren Daughter. Don Schwartz Photo

Livingston resident Josh Commer is one of the organizers of a rally held last Friday, January 26, outside of Town Hall. The pro-Israel rally called to “Bring Them Home Now,” in reference to the hostages that were taken by Hamas on October 7,2023.

“This past Friday, we saw our community come together as one, to stand against terrorism, to stand with Israel, to stand for what is right and to stand up andunapologetically demand that we bring them home now,” Commer said. “On October 7,2023 the world changed not only in Israel but here in Livingston for so many who have direct connections to the land and people of the only democratic state in the Middle East. As days turned into weeks and weeks into months many local residents banded together into groups to support one another. From these support groups has developed a need to act.”

Mayor A1 Anthony took the stage at last week’s Meet the Mayor program, hosted by the Livingston League of Women Voters. He highlighted items that he is passionate about, including his enthusiasm to talk with residents, and inspired questions and comments from the attendees. This is Anthony’s third term as mayor, he had previously served in 2016 and 2019.

“Each January, the League presents Meet the Mayor, when Livingston residents get to know our new mayor, who will share his vision and answer questions, said Amy Ipp, copresident of the League along with Robin Weiss. The meeting was held on Zoom and may be viewed on the Livingston LWV Facebook page or at livingstonlwv.org.

Topics discussed included the new Department of Public Works garage; Open Space; pre-Council meeting talks with residents; student participation on town committees; and whether the town should make political statements.

Open Space

Erez Cohen, 41, passed away at on Wednesday, January 24.

Born and raised in Livingston, , Erez graduated Livingston High School in 2000 and Fairleigh Dickinson University in 2006 with a major in communications. He has been living in South Orange for the past seven years.

Erez was the son of Bruce Cohen and the late Margalite Cohen; brother to Yarden Cohen-Raven and her husband Scott; and uncle to Bonzai, nephew of Ephraim Lupu and Penina Leiter.

Contributions in Erez’s memory may be made to Jewish Vocational Services of MetroWest, For more information, go to jvsnj.org.

Charles (Chuck) Varney, Jr., 76, of South Royalton, Vermont, passed away peacefrilly in his home on the evening of Monday, January 15,2024.

Chuck was an Eagle Scout and his love for the outdoors carried through into his adult life. Anative of Livingston and a graduate of Iona College, Chuck worked as a substitute history teacher and later worked in sales at Johns Manville. He was also active with the Jaycees, and was always willing to lend a helping hand to those in need.

Opting for a simpler and easy going lifestyle, he relocated to Vermont, where he resided for over 40 years. Chuck enjoyed nature, hunting, fishing, gardening, and playing softball in numerous leagues. He was great with a deck of cards and could famously polish off a whole pizza or a dozen White Castle burgers on his own. He was affectionately known as The Big Kahuna or K-Man to his friends.

Yury Spektor, 79, of Livingston died on Sunday, January 28. He was the husband of Natalie Spektor, father of Marina Spektor and Vadim Spektor.

Aburial was held Tuesday, January 30, at Restland Memorial Park. Following the burial a funeral service was held at Bernheim-Apter-Kreitzman Suburban Funeral Chapel.

The Livingston Democratic County Committee has submitted three names for the pending vacancy on the Township Council. Laurence Bergmann, James McIlvaine, and Ketan Bhuptani have been nominated to fill Rosy Bagolie’s seat.

While the holiday season is the most common time for packages to be stolen – due to the uptick in deliveries and nature of what is being ordered – thefts do not stop when the calendar turns to a new year. To wit, a package was recently stolen off the front porch of a Mt. Pleasant Parkway home; the Livingston Detective Bureau continues to investigate the matter.

Package theft has, unfortunately, become a common nuisance in recent years as people more frequently than ever rely on home delivery.

FENCING TEAMS HOST MATCHES: The Lancer girls’ fencing team beat McNair Academy, 22-5, while the boys’ team won against Ferris High School 16-11. The matches were held in the auxiliary gym on Friday evening, January 26. Shown above, Lancer Valentina Zheng scores against Anshi Patel of McNair. Zheng defeated Patel 5-1 in the girls fencing match. To the left, Livingston fencer Shao Zhu moves in to score against Aarush Lal of Ferris High School. Zhu defeated Lal, 5-2 , in the boy’s match. Don Schwartz Photos