West Essex Tribune

Walter Reiling, 87, of West Caldwell, formerly of Livingston, passed away peacefully on Sunday, October 3.

Wally was a gregarious, loving, generous, family man. Born in the Bronx, New York, where he grew up, he started working at the young age of 12 and helped support his family after his father died. Wally went on to have an extremely successful career in the toy industry. He founded two companies and was involved in the creation of some iconic toys over his 50-year career.

Wally was predeceased by Susan, his wife of almost 50 years. He is survived by his three children, Beth, Joseph, and Jill; their wonderful spouses, Amy, Drew, and Joe; and the light of his life, his five grandchildren, Eden, Lucas, Hannah, Cooper, and Sybella.

Jason C. Nedza of Livingston, New Jersey, age 46, passed away suddenly on Saturday, September 25, 2021. A Mass of Christian Burial was offered at St. Philomena Church, Livingston, New Jersey, on Tuesday, October 5, 2021. Interment followed at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, East Hanover, New Jersey. The family received their friends at Quinn-Hopping Funeral Home, 145 East Mt. Pleasant Avenue, Livingston, New Jersey, on Monday, October 4.

Jason, also known to many as “Jay Bird,” was a Mortgage Banker with American Mortgage Company in Livingston, New Jersey. Jason was predeceased by his parents, Alice A. Scheper and Andrew F. Nedza. He is survived by his brother, Jude and his wife, Stacy Nedza; his uncle, William and his wife, Mary Gayle Scheper; 12 cousins; and an “uncountable” amount of friends.

At nearly every Livingston Township Council meeting for the past year, much time has been devoted to the passage of ordinances that establish inclusionary development zones in town. Almost uniformly, these ordinances seek to establish overlay districts that would permit housing to be built in the area. Inclusionary zoning requires a given share of new construction to be affordable housing. Public hearings for these ordinances tend to be drawn out, as they, understandably, attract residents who neighbor the proposed zone and would be directly affected by the changes.

Livingston Township’s third and final Electronics Recycling and Paper Shredding event of 2021 will be held on Saturday, October 9, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event will be held in the rear parking lot of the Senior/ Community Center at 204 Hillside Avenue.

Collection events give residents a convenient way to safely dispose of TVs, computers, monitors, and other electronics which, by law, cannot be disposed of in curbside trash because they contain hazardous metals that pollute groundwater.

Residents can also bring fluorescent bulbs and rechargeable NiCad, lithium and SLA batteries for collection at the event. For safety, early drop-off is not permitted for bulbs or batteries; residents are asked to not leave these in the pre-event drop-off. Ordinary alkaline batteries should go in household trash.

In announcing Livingston Philanthropies’ largest merchandise donation in its history, founder and director Jeff Friedman, a 60-plus year resident of Livingston, recounted, “I never know what the next email or phone call will bring. Then, just a few days ago, it happened. I received an email at njhomeless@aol.com from a philanthropic Livingston shoe manufacturer. ‘Back in 2017, we donated about 200 pairs of shoes to your organization. It’s that time of year again. I have a bunch of shoes (brand new) that I would like to donate,’ he wrote to me.

The Livingston High School boys’ varsity soccer team is off to a 5-2 start. The Lancers kicked off the season by defeating the Millburn Millers, 1-0. Senior Noah Fisher scored in the second half off an assist by junior Andrew Pessoa to give the Lancers the victory. Logan Paredes made five saves in goal for the shutout victory.

The team then traveled to West Orange to take on the number tworanked team in the state, Seton Hall Prep School, and came away on the short end of a 2-0 loss. The Lancers played well and held their own, but a goal on a corner kick, along with a penalty kick goal in the second half, doomed the visiting team.

Winning Streak

The Lancers then went on a fourgame winning streak, beginning with an away victory over Bloomfield, thanks to two goals by junior Charlie Grossman. Senior Jared Fiske assisted on both goals.

Several follow-up investigations by Livingston detectives led to criminal charges relating to vehicles that were stolen earlier this year.

On July 17, an Elmwood Drive resident reported that their Mercedes had been burglarized and phone chargers were stolen.

Detective Michael Spano processed the car and located several fingerprints. A fingerprint comparison led to the identification of a 17-year-old male from Newark. The same male had been arrested in Livingston for car burglary in 2020. The teen was charged on juvenile complaints with burglary and theft.

On August 17, Livingston Police took reports of car burglaries on Wynnewood Road and Stratford Drive. Video from the Wynnewood Road incident shows the suspect arrived in a BMW that had been stolen from Verona. The suspect entered the victim’s Audi in an attempt to steal it.

The Livingston Township Council held hearings, at its Monday, September 27, meeting, for several ordinances to establish inclusionary development zones for affordable housing. In all, the Council passed four ordinances after final hearings, carried one, and denied another. Residents expressed their concerns with the projects during several of the hearings.

The meeting was held virtually and may be viewed on the Livingston Township, NJ Facebook page.

Ordinance Held

During the past week, the Livingston volunteer Fire Department responded to a truck that had become entangled with a tree branch, several instances of downed wires, and three downed trees.

Truck Entangled

On Wednesday, September 22, firefighters went to the intersection of Shrewsbury Drive and East Mt. Pleasant Avenue after a tractor trailer struck a large tree branch, which then got wedged between the cab and the trailer. The branch was cut away and the truck freed.

Truck into Wires

The following day, Thursday, September 23, a garbage truck struck overhead service lines for DeSesa Engineering at 83 Dorsa Avenue. Upon arrival, fire officials found that a wire had fallen to the ground but was not burning. Jersey Central Power and Light (JCP&L) personnel cut the electrical power to the line so the truck could be removed.

Trees Down

A repast will be held for Edward Vincent O’Donnell at 10 a.m. on Friday, October 1. It will take place at St. Philomena’s Church.

A lunch will follow at the Shillelagh Club, 648 Prospect Avenue in West Orange, from noon to 4 p.m.

O’Donnell died as a result of COVID-19 on February 8, 2021.