Livingston Tribune

I have always had a thing for elephants. Growing up, my favorite Disney movie was Dumbo. The story of a bullied baby elephant overcoming adversity really resonated with me (plus, this was one of the few Disney movies in which the hero’s mom or dad not get killed in some horrible way, leaving him or her tragically orphaned. You can’t beat it!) As a child, many of my makebelieve games involved elephants (being them, being with them, riding on them, you name it), and any zoo visit had to include long periods of time at the elephant enclosure.

Elsie B. Richelieu, age 98, a lifelong resident of Livingston, New Jersey, passed away peacefully at home on Wednesday, November 10, 2021.

A memorial gathering will be held at Quinn-Hopping Funeral Home, 145 East Mt. Pleasant Avenue Livingston, New Jersey, on Friday, November 26, 2021, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., with a memorial service at 12:30 p.m.

Elsie served in the U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps during World War II, caring for sick and wounded servicemen and their families. She was a valued member of the community, receiving a proclamation honoring her in 2015. Elsie participated in Soup Kitchen, Interfaith Hospitality, CROP Hunger Walks and other outreach programs.

The Livingston Planning Board, at its conference meeting on Tuesday evening, November 16, discussed two zoning-related matters referred to the Board by the Township Council.

Inclusionary Zone

The Council requested a review of an ordinance to establish a new inclusionary development zone, designated as the “R-5L Residence Overlay District,” to determine whether it is consistent with the township’s master plan. The ordinance, which concerns lots located on more than three acres of land along Passaic Avenue and Volker Lane, has been discussed during Council meetings for several months. It has been amended several times, and the latest iteration was re-introduced at the Council’s November 8 meeting.

Livingston Public School administrators described the district’s general plans for utilizing $1,560,000 in American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds at the November 9 Board of Education meeting.

The Board will be asked to approve submission of the plan to the state when it meets on Tuesday, November 23, at 7 p.m.

The COVID relief funds are aimed at helping schools open safely, operate safely, and address learning loss resulting from COVID-19. The monies may be spent over the next three years, until 2024.

A condition of the grant, noted

Board president Samantha Messer, is community outreach and how the plan involves stakeholders.

The “general tenets of what we’ve come up with” are posted on the district website, said superintendent of schools Matthew Block, along with a link for viewers to provide feedback. The plan may be viewed at www. livingston.org.

Technology and HVAC

RUNNERS-UP IN STATE CHAMPIONSHIP: The Livingston High School girls’ varsity soccer team defeated West Orange, 3-0, in the semi-finals of the state play-offs, played Tuesday, November 9, at home on the LHS turf. The Lancers then traveled to Ridgewood on Friday, November 12, only to be defeated by the Maroons in the finals, 1-0. The Lancers finished their season with a record of 13 wins, nine losses, and two ties. The season was highlighted by runner-up finishes in the Essex County Tournament and the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 1 Group 4 State Play-offs. Shown here, clockwise from top left, Lancers Jadyn Liebman, Kelly Lyons, Katherine Riccardi, Ceci Freschi and Kylie Prendergast celebrate Emma Rosenberg’s goal; Lancer left wing Isabella DiIanni beats the West Orange defender to the ball during a Lancer scoring charge; Lancer Avery Reiman works the ball through two West Orange defenders during the state play-off game on the turf. Don Schwartz Photos

The Livingston High School theater department’s production of “The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood” will open this Thursday and run through Sunday. Performance dates are Thursday and Friday, November 18 and 19, at 7 p.m.; Saturday, November 20, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.; and Sunday, November 21, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. The show will be simultaneously livestreamed during the 7 p.m. performances on both November 19 and 20.

Directing the play will be theater arts teacher Scott Patteson. The play is being produced by special arrangement with the Dramatic Publishing Company of Woodstock, Illinois. The show, written by Middletown,

Thirty-two years ago, a young Englishman named Paul Sales found himself stranded at Newark Airport and taken in overnight by a kindly Livingston family. Now, three decades later, he is seeking to reconnect with them. The problem is, he cannot remember their surname, and the contact information has been lost for many years. He is hoping the Tribune’s readers can help him track down them down.

Sales, then 23 or 24, was at the time “going through my wanderlust backpacking stage,” he recalls. “By circumstances that are too long too explain, I found myself stranded and unable to get a flight back to London until the following day. It seemed like a rough 24 hours in Newark Airport was ahead of me until I could get a Virgin Atlantic flight home. It was at this point some true guardian angels came into the situation.”

During the past week, the Livingston volunteer Fire Department responded to a car fire, two motor vehicle accidents, a stalled elevator, and four reports of smoke.

Car Fire

On Tuesday, November 9, the LFD responded to the scene of a car on fire on Route 280 westbound at exit 6. The car was fully involved by the time firefighters from both the Livingston and Roseland Departments arrived. The fire was extinguished without incident, and no injuries were reported.

Motor Vehicle Accidents

Livingston firefighters also responded to two motor vehicle accidents. On Tuesday, November 9, a car hit a utility pole at the intersection of Shrewsbury Drive and North Baums Court, snapping the pole in half. The battery cable was disconnected and the car was towed from the scene. Public Service Electric and Gas (PSE&G) was notified.

By Jeff Friedman
Editor’s Note: Livingston resident Jeff Friedman, founder and director of Livingston Philanthropies, Inc. (LPI), explains, in his own words how his charity works to aid the homeless of Essex County.
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Not too long ago, before the unfortunate pandemic that won’t really go away, conditions for the homeless and very poor were beyond challenging. Cue the pandemic and then send in the worst inflation seen in a decade. The result for families living below the poverty line or folks existing out on the streets is not surprising… their heartache has progressed in sync from terrible to worse and finally worst. Life is a nightmare for populations with no means at all.

Physical and organizational aspects of the proposed new athletic turf field to be located at “the pit” behind the LHS football field and near Littel People’s Park were discussed Tuesday evening, November 9, at the Livingston Board of Education meeting.

Business administrator Steven Robinson responded to questions that the Board had posed at the October 19 meeting.

While the Board has not yet committed to the project, Robinson said, “The game plan would be to go out to bid in December or January.”

If the process is successful, the bid could be awarded in February, and construction could take place between May and November.

He also said that the impact of lighting on the immediate neighbors would be minimal.