Westfield Patch: Latest Articles

Letter to the Editor: Thank You to Emergency Services for Storm Work this Weekend

2010-03-15T11:10:43-04:00

Thank you for helping out all over town during storm.

2:00pm

To the Editor,

I would like to thank our Police Dept., Fire Dept., and Rescue Squad for doing such an amazing job in helping everyone during this torrential rain storm. We would be lost without you.

Betty Van Riper

Westfield, NJ

Editor's Notebook: Thoughts From a Flood Evacuation Shelter

2010-03-15T14:38:36-04:00

There are places I remember.

By John Celock

12:00pm

A couple of weeks ago during the Westfield High School student council dance-a-thon, I sat with a few teachers talking about some of the other ideas that have been proposed for programs at WHS. This included a lock-in, which was dismissed due to the insurance challenges faced by keeping students locked in all night. I remembered that it had come up when I was in high school and during that conversation at WHS, I sat there thinking what would it have been like to spend all night at a high school.

Well rather unfortunately I almost getting that experience this weekend. As I am writing this it is around 5:30 a.m. on Sunday morning and I am sitting in the lobby of Orange Avenue School in Cranford, where I went from fourth to eighth grade (I'd say I graduated from here, but we didn't have graduation, we had this thing called Class Night, but I'll save that for another column). OAS served as a flood evacuation shelter in Cranford. Yes, this weekend I was not just a journalist, but also someone evacuated due to flooding. Before I go any further, I wanted to say that luckily the flooding in my area of Cranford was not that bad. I would also like to thank all public safety personnel (in Westfield and Cranford and elsewhere) who worked this weekend.

It's interesting since even though flooding has been at the top of my mind, one thing that has been flooding back to me tonight as I sit here, is memories. The memories of being a student at OAS and this building. That time in my life. Possibly asking myself can you go home again?

Walking around the halls of this building that were accessible, I keep thinking of the Beatles song "In My Life." In the first verse, the song notes that "there are places I remember, all my life, though some have changed...." and that sums up tonight. OAS has physically not changed for the most part. Everything is still where it was back when I graduated in 1993. In some cases things looked very familiar, like the moveable wall in the gym, which has been there for over 20 years at least.

But it had also changed physically. There is new artwork on the walls, a new vibe in the building. Definitely one that made me think of myself more as a visitor than anything else. The cafeteria had been restructured with smaller tables instead of larger ones. Partially making me think, is there still the same buzz? Is it still hectic or is it calmer because of the small tables. Probably still the same, because any place where a large group of students hang out will have a loud buzz.

Another drastic change is staring out at me. The photo of Sydney, Australia, given to the school by that visiting choir back when I was in, I think, fifth grade is not there anymore. I remember the assembly where the choir sang and presented the picture and I've seen it all the time when I go vote. It's gone. Definitely for me a tangible link to something I remember from my elementary/junior high school days gone. The place had somehow changed.

But there are also some good changes that I've seen here. The Hearts for Haiti hanging on the walls, the display of New Jersey culture and icons, the signs advertising student events and the sign promoting school participation in Thursday night's United Health Care health bee at the Westfield Y. The signs promoting school events intrigued me because of the growth in the types of school events offered. There is definitely more creativity used in creating events now and I think it helps grow the school environment. Not saying that there weren't good events back when I was a student here, but some of the ideas being looked at do show a certain creativity now, which is good and bad to see. Good for the students of today, bad for the students of yesterday.

All in all, I will say I'd rather not be here tonight. I mean, who wants to leave in a potential flood? However, I will say that there have been the perks. The ability to think back to being a student here. Remembering all of it and seeing this building again from this different perspective. It's been an interesting night and I can say, I know WHS students want a lock-in, but I think it would be more interesting to see a lock-in for the alums of WHS, definitely a different type of reunion. Could be a lot of fun! But I'll leave that to the student council and Mr. Renwick to figure out.

Letter to the Editor: Slater Discusses Guidance Department Issues

2010-03-12T15:34:28-05:00

Board of Education candidate shares thoughts.

10:00am

To the Editor,

This past week I officially became the only new candidate running against three long-term Board of Education members in the April 20^th election. As I have said in previous letters and statements, I am running to help meet the challenges the Board of Education is going to face if we are to maintain our tradition of excellence. These issues range from the very complex, soon-to-be mandated cuts in state aid, to the very basic changes that are occurring within our own guidance department.

The recent resignation of WHS guidance director Colleen White, who assumed the position only last August, should be of great concern to our current Board of Education. White's resignation makes her the school district's third guidance director in three years. Clearly something is not right here, and serious questions have to be asked about what went wrong and, more importantly, what can be done going forward.

The job description for guidance director, as I understand it, is to oversee all guidance services for the Westfield school district as well as the high school guidance department. During the past week I spoke to many parents, and several expressed concern with the lack of stability in our guidance department. Some parents have even resorted to hiring guidance counselors from other towns to make sure their kids get the help they need with course selection and college planning. We can do better than that.

According to the American School Counselors Association (ASCA) the primary goal of a school counseling program is to "enhance student learning through student development." I believe the goal of school guidance counseling should be to encourage students' emotional and academic growth—to teach them how to understand themselves and the ever-changing world around them. The first step in that process is continuity in the guidance department.

Westfield has a long history of wonderful and caring guidance counselors. There are excellent men and women in all our schools who are supportive and helpful to our children every day. But it is this candidate's opinion that we need to get in front of our guidance department problem now—before we have a High School with more than 2000 students and no one offering effective guidance leadership.

In coming weeks we will no doubt be discussing budgets cuts and updates from Trenton on state aid for Westfield that could impact us for years to come. I have the financial background and experience to work through that. But at the same time, we can't lose site of the ongoing issues that are affecting our children every day. Guidance is just one such issue. We need to get it fixed. And we need to get it fixed soon. I look forward to discussing my views on this and other issues with you in coming weeks. Please feel free to contact me with your comments or specific issues you would like to see addressed at slateronboard@gmail.com or on my Facebook page SlateronBoard2010.

Mitch Slater

Candidate, Westfield Board of Education

Leiz Looks to Bring Experience to BOE Discussions

2010-03-12T17:09:36-05:00

BOE president seeks fourth term.

By John Celock

6:30am

Board of Education President Ginny Leiz said she is running for a fourth term on the Board of Education to use her experience to help move the district forward in several areas.

Leiz, the board president for the last three years, cited the need to address growing enrollment and the current fiscal situation facing the board as the areas where she can bring her experience to the table for discussion.The board is currently wrestling with several issues involving enrollment growth and the drafting of the next school budget.

"I want to apply the knowledge of the district and board membership from my nine years of experience," she said. "I want to continue to make my personal skills available to the community."

BOE enrollment projections show that the district is facing a climbing student population at the high school in the coming years. The projections show WHS to reaching the 2,000 student mark. Leiz said these numbers will bring a series of new issues which will need to be addressed.

Specifically she said the needs of a larger student population will need to be addressed, including creating more clubs and activities to connect the students to the high school, along with addressing the potential to add more classes and academic offerings to the high school. Leiz said there may be a need to add additional counseling and guidance staff to the high school in order to address the issue. The BOE discussed last week the possibility to shuffling teachers around to address the need for more faculty at the high school next year, in addition to potentially hiring more teachers.

"We will top 2,000 students at the high school and that will be a real change at the high school," Leiz said. "We need to go through the impact. We need to look at what a larger school means for small setting instruction."

To address the challenges from rising enrollment, Leiz is proposing the creation of an administrative committee to focus on the issues and make policy recommendations to the school board. She would have the study committee focus on the high school first before working on the district wide enrollment projections.

"This is something for the experts to weigh in on," Leiz said. "Parents may have some role in it. The board's role is to identify the critical needs and ask for a report to be generated."

Leiz said budget issues continue to be at the top of her list with the school district facing state caps and declining revenue through property taxes along with declining state aid. Gov. Chris Christie has announced a $196,000 cut in the remaining state aid to Westfield for this fiscal year and is expected to announce further state aid cuts in his budget address on Tuesday.

She said she would like to explore alternative revenue sources for the school system, including grants and new revenue generating programs. One program idea Leiz proposed was the creation of new preschool programs, which would allow parents to access the program at a lower tuition than the private schools and bring more revenue to the school district. She also noted the district can explore centralizing more special education programs in the district, cutting back on the amount the district pays in tuition to other districts.

Leiz said she also would like to work on lobbying the state for the possibility to receive more state aid in future years. She noted this will likely be tough.

"The misnomer that Westfield is a wealthy district is difficult to deal with," she said. "It is hard to educate the state on the breadth of demographics in this town."

Leiz cites multiple accomplishments in her nine years of service on the board. This includes working on the selection processes for Schools Superintendent Margaret Dolan and high school principal Peter Renwick, the upgrading of Kehler Stadium with a new field house, turf field and running track, the creation of the early childhood learning center at Lincoln School, the refurbishment of the high school auditorium and the Roosevelt Intermediate School expansion project.

Leiz holds a bachelor's in mathematics and secondary education from Muhlenberg College and a master's in operational research from Columbia University. She has worked in the financial services industry as an adjunct business professor. During her BOE service, she has served on multiple committees, including finance and negotiations.

Leiz is one of four candidates for three seats on the board. Board Vice President Julia Walker and board member Richard Solomon are seeking reelection and newcomer Mitch Slater is seeking his first term. Susan Conover informed BOE election officials last week that she was withdrawing from the board race.

The board election will be held on April 20 at the same time as the school budget referendum. Board members serve three year terms and are not compensated for their service.

Photo Gallery: How to Paint Your Dragon

2010-03-14T14:12:26-04:00

Westfielders find a way to pass a rainy day.

By Vadim Rud

March 14, 2010

It's taken a few million years but giant flying lizards seem to be making a comeback. First there were those pterodactyl-lookalikes in "Avatar" testing the man-and-womanhood of blue-faced teens, and now in "How to Train Your Dragon," a brainy-but-not-brawny Viking boy has a juvenile fire-breathing dragon as a sidekick.

To promote the movie, which opens March 26, Paramount bought ads on Patch sites around the New York metro area encouraging parents to host parties where kids would learn more about the characters in "Dragon."

To pass the time on a rainy Saturday afternoon, over 50 young Westfielders and their parents descended on the Westfield Community Center on West Broad Street to make dioramas, meet new friends and get excited for the new movie. Many commented about how the program was a great way to pass a rainy chilly March Saturday.

Police Blotter: Routine Arrests Mark Week

2010-03-14T13:31:45-04:00

A look at the week in crime.

By John Celock

March 14, 2010

The Westfield Police Department focused on routine arrests in the last week. The warrant and drug arrests were combined with the arrest made for car break-ins in the Park Street neighborhood last Friday.

March 4

Chamar Cobble, 18, of Plainfield was arrested during a motor vehicle stop after police found under 50 grams of marijuana in her car.
Laura Smith-Alvaraz, 20, of Plainfield was arrested for outstanding warrants from Piscataway and Watchung. Bail was posted.

March 7

Brendon J. Romanski, 36, of Cranford was arrested on a $500 Westfield traffic warrant and a $500 Westfield criminal warrant. Bail was posted.
Peter Paoria, 35, of Maplewood was arrested on a Springfield warrant. Bail was posted.

March 8

Christopher Gallagher, 32, of Carteret was arrested after a motor vehicle stop for a $500 Newark criminal warrant.
Edward O'Connor, 30, of Clark was arrested at a motor vehicle stop on a warrant from the sheriff of Union County. He was transported to the sheriff of Union County.

Update (2:00 p.m.): Lawns and Basements Flooded Over Town, Trees Fall on Shadowlawn and North Avenue Homes, Leaks at Fire Stations

2010-03-15T11:13:52-04:00

Heavy rains and strong winds impact Westfield

By John Celock

March 13, 2010

Westfield is drying out Sunday morning after Saturday's heavy rains and strong winds caused basement and yard flooding across town, with trees falling on homes on the 800 blocks of Shadowlawn Drive and North Avenue, causing structural damage to three residences.

The town is not totally in the clear, as forecasts call for on and off rain on Sunday. Hail the size of ping pong balls was falling shortly before 9 a.m. near St. Helen's Church.

The rain, combined with the rain fall from Friday, has saturated lawns, causing yards to turn into lakes. Flooding was reported in basements on multiple streets across town, with six inches of water being reported in one Boynton Avenue home. Several basements in the Gardens are reported to be flooded. Leaks are being reported both at fire headquarters on North Avenue and at fire station two on Central Avenue.

The roof at fire headquarters has been leaking in the radio room. At station two, the roof has been leaking on to the apparatus floor and in the kitchen. Flooding has occurred in the basement of the Municipal Building, impacting the Police Department which has offices on that level.

Fire Chief Dan Kelly reported that the department, as of 10:20 p.m., had responded to 41 flooded basements, four down utility wires, four electrical fires, two carbon monoxide alarms, two hazardous material spills as a result of the flooding, two fire alarm activations, a medical call and a cooking fire.

Kelly said that in the overnight hours, the department responded to the fallen trees on North Avenue, along with 35 basement flooding calls. The department is continuing to respond to basement flooding requests during the course of Sunday.

The fallen trees are the second and third fallen trees on houses this year. During the second February snow storm, a tree fell on a house on Embree Crescent, causing damage to the siding and the roof. The damage to the Embree Crescent house was not as extensive as being reported to the Shadowlawn and North Avenue houses.

The Shadowlawn house was draped in blue tarps Sunday morning to prevent rain from entering the damaged areas of the house. Large parts of the tree, from the next door neighbor's front yard, were spread on both lawns. The base of the tree was attached to a large patch of ground which was uprooted when it fell.

Street flooding started in the afternoon with several intersections turning into ponds.The intersection of St. Marks Avenue and South Euclid Avenue was hard hit. Flooding was reported along Lamberts Mill Road on the south side of town during the early evening hours. The Rahway Avenue railroad crossing on the town line with Clark, across from St. Helen's, was blocked off for part of Saturday evening due to flooding.

The storm has particularly hit Union County hard, with several neighboring communities reporting street flooding. Part of Route 22 in Scotch Plains has been closed and in Cranford, flooding is occurring in several neighborhoods. Cranford residents were advised in the afternoon to move their cars to higher ground.

Cranford instituted a voluntary evacuation around midnight, with residents going to an evacuation center and an area hotel. Cranford reported street flooding, including several disabled cars in a neighborhood adjacent to the Washington School neighborhood.

Student Viewpoint: Hannah Bass Reflects on Temple Washington Trip

2010-03-12T11:56:44-05:00

WHS student talks about her experience lobbying Congress.

March 13, 2010

Editor's Note: Temple Emanu-El organized a trip earlier this year for a group of Westfield students to travel to Washington to participate in the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism trip to DC. During the trip, students had the opportunity to present issues to the offices of U.S. Sens. Frank Lautenberg (D-Edgewater) and Robert Menendez (D-Hoboken) and Rep. Leonard Lance (R-Hunterdon County). Westfield Patch is publishing some of the students' viewpoints on important national issues and their trip to Washington. This is from Hannah Bass.

On the confirmation class trip organized by Temple Emanu-El and the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, I was able to meet many other Jewish Reform teenagers while right outside our nation's capitol. After our Friday night service, we had an outstanding presentation on homelessness. It was extremely interesting to hear from people who experienced homelessness first hand and how they didn't choose to be homeless, and how a life can be turned around in an instant. It was also interesting to hear that not everyone gets back on their feet, and that they may need help from the government or family. The speakers provided the group with many breath taking facts about how serious the problem of homelessness is.

Homelessness was only one of the topics we discussed. We participated in lobbying on numerous topics on Capitol Hill. As a classified student at Westfield High School, I felt that it was important for me to learn about and to lobby for the Disabilities Act. After learning about the issue, we wrote out a speech that we would share with our congressional representative.

After an early wake-up and packing, all of the students gathered in our appropriate clothing and headed to Capitol Hill. After a short ride and a lot of walking, we took a few pictures and entered the building to lobby our representatives on issues that matter to us.

As all of the Temple Emanu-El students shared their speeches, we learned more about various issues. I was amazed at the success of this trip and would love to attend another trip like this in the future. Thank you to all of the staff of this trip - it wouldn't have possible without your help.

Photo Gallery: United HealthCare Annual Health Bee

2010-03-12T11:43:28-05:00

Students compete in annual health bee.

By Vadim Rud

March 13, 2010

The Bauer Family Branch of the Westfield YMCA was packed Thursday night as students competed to see who knew the most on health.

Sponsored by the Y and United Health Care, the bee featured teams of students from Westfield, Cranford and Mountainside answering questions about health issues. A large crowd gathered to cheer on their friends and enjoy the night.

Mixed Results for Restaurant Week 2010

2010-03-11T15:27:10-05:00

Local diners are pleased with the great deals, but restauranteurs express differing opinions about the 2nd annual promotion.

By Cindy Loh

March 12, 2010

Restaurant Week 2010 in Westfield finally came to a close on March 4 after being extended an extra week due to the blizzard that blanketed much of New Jersey in several feet of snow. The promotion, which began on February 21, was the follow-up to the town's inaugural event held last fall.

This year's culinary celebration featured 23 Westfield establishments, several of which had also participated last year. Most restaurants offered a two-course lunch menu for the low, low price of $10—a veritable steal for customers—, as well as a two-course dinner for $20. Some restaurants, such as Splash of Thai, went even further than that and featured a three-course lunch for $10. The price structure was reduced from 2009's Restaurant Week offerings in order to attract diners who are more cost-conscious than ever.

Local residents and those of surrounding towns took advantage of the prix-fixe deals, but feedback was mixed from restaurant owners. Some saw no change in business, some struggled to find the slim margin of profit resulting from slashed prices, and others reported definite increases in traffic—particularly during lunchtime.

Timothy Boyle, owner of 16 Prospect Wine Bar & Bistro, and Sonny Acquaviva, owner of Acquaviva della fonti, are two return participants to the event who reported positive experience both years.

"Restaurant Week 2010 went well," Boyle said. "We like doing it. It exposes us to people who might not normally come in. The weather was more difficult this year than last, but overall I think traffic was about the same both years. It's a great deal, especially the $10 lunch. Our entrees start at $10, so from a customer perspective it's a great opportunity because you get two courses. Restaurant Week has definitely helped pick up our lunch business, as well."

Acquaviva added, "I do think we had more customers come in because of the promotion, although there wasn't much difference between this year and last year—even with the reduced prices. We saw a boost in traffic for lunch especially."

Lisa Bertone-Marvin, owner of Rockn' Joe Coffeehouse + Bistro, felt business actually improved from last year and credited the up-tick to lower prices and more exposure and awareness of the event. Rockn' Joe's Restaurant Week special featured a two-course lunch with latte for $10, and a three-course dinner for $15.

"This year's Restaurant Week was great," commented Bertone-Marvin. "We had a lot of people come in asking to see our Restaurant Week menus, and it was a very good two weeks for us as a result. Our lunch business is always strong, but it definitely was even bigger and busier than usual. The best thing about it is we saw a lot of new faces, which is 100 times better this go-around. Last year, people didn't seem to know about Restaurant Week. This time, people were asking specifically for it. There seemed to be a lot more awareness this time around."

Some past participants, especially higher-end restauranteurs, who did not feel the promotion benefitted their business elected not to join the promotion again. Xocolatz Restaurant & Grill had a similar experience this year, but for the exact opposite reason. The popular establishment offered a 3-course dinner special for $20.

"Actually for us, Restaurant Week has been both a bad and a good thing," said Dee Murley, manager of Xocolatz. "It didn't do us any great favors. Our lunches are priced under $10 anyway, so we were struggling to give away a lot of food for under $10. People seemed to be going to the expensive restaurants and trying that for Restaurant Week, instead of coming here. But hopefully they'll try those places out and realize that they can get the same deal every day at Xocolatz. Also, we were also not supposed to be scheduled to run the promotion on the weekend or to extend it another week after the snowstorm, but we were mistakenly included in it. We had customers who turned out asking for the promotion after we had ended it, and we honored it anyway. For people who want to save money anyway, we hope they will just come to Xocolatz. The deals are everyday here, so Restaurant Week doesn't really apply to us."

Cool Vines, a wine merchant featuring off-the-beaten path brands, found a way to generate more buzz about its "Restaurant Row"-themed wines by offering a 10-percent discount in conjunction with Westfield's Restaurant Week event.

"At Cool Vines, we have something in the store called "Restaurant Row," in which we feature wines that pair well with the cuisine of specific restaurants in the area," said Damon O'Gara, manager. "We rotate it regularly, and I think Restaurant Week helped to promote that for us in particular. We saw a good amount of traffic. A significant part of our business is determined by the weather, and last week was horrible due to the weather. The town was wonderful in extending Restaurant Week. It would have been a shame if customers couldn't really take advantage of the event. Last Saturday the store was extremely busy, and I believe a lot of this traffic is especially because of Restaurant Week."

Regardless of whether or not their businesses flourished, virtually all restauranteurs polled were pleased to support the town-wide event and were eager to help attract customers and bring more business to Westfield. Diners were universally satisfied as well, especially with the week-long extension. Many cited that they were given "a lot of food for not a lot of money," and that they did visit restaurants they "normally would not have" or "more often than" they would have.

The numbers are still being crunched as to whether or not the promotion will net out positively, but one thing's for sure: Restaurant Week 2010 certainly gave locals a delicious, affordable reason to dig out from the snow and dine out.