Community Corner

The Week in Union County: Bears, Bikers, Beating the Heat

Here's a roundup of the region's top stories from the past week.

Every week, Patch takes a look at what made headlines. Among this past week's top stories, a roamed the residential streets of Cranford and Westfield before being captured and taken back to the woods, more than 300 bikers began the 60-mileSummit may have to refund between $40,000 and $50,000 to residents who received improper parking tickets.

 

CLARK-GARWOOD

Find out what's happening in Westfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The Garwood Democrats and GOP committees announced their candidates for two borough council seats in November's election. will face

The Clark Board of Education approved

And at noon on Sunday, more than 300 motorcycle engines revved as bikers left from the Deutscher Club in Clark and embarked on the 60-mile Proceeds go to the Corporal Jason L. Dunham Scholarship Foundation, a scholarship fund that has been established to honor Dunham's service and sacrifice, and to provide funding for those Marines and Corpsmen who wish to pursue a college education at a nationally recognized and accredited institution. The ride is also named after  William J. Waterson, who remains the only Clark police officer to be killed in the line of duty when he was shot on July 4, 1971.

Find out what's happening in Westfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

 

SPRINGFIELD

An unattended cigarette came in Springfield this week. Springfield emergency services rushed to a Morris Ave. apartment, where a discarded and forgotten butt had burned a foot-wide circle through the floor and filled the building’s basement with smoke. After police evacuated the nearby shops, the fire department was able to make short work of the small, smoky blaze.

As hot as that smoldering pile of ashes was, the air outside nearly met its temperature. Springfield residents flocked to the Ice Hut and the public pool to beat the heat. Patch videographer Jeremy Kovacs to get their thoughts on . 

 

NEW PROVIDENCE

Retired head football coach Frank Bottone came together for one last game with Vinny Fuschetto, Richard Nelson and Athletic Director Rob Harmer at the MyCentralJersey.com Snapple Bowl XVIII on Thursday night at Kean University.  Fuschetto, who will continue playing football at 1-AA Marist this fall, had two touchdowns. Nelson will play football at Division 3 Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Va., this fall where he may see time as a linebacker.

After a magic show performance from Earl Hicks, "Jersey Souls" played a collection of cover songs for anyone who could stand the heat at  on Thursday night in Centennial Park. This was the third show of four in the summer concert series, presented by the New Providence Business and Professional Association. The last show in the series will be July 28, featuring a children's concert at 6:30 p.m. and the "Tim Gillis Band" at 7:30 p.m.

The New Providence Fire Department, Rescue Squad and Police Department responded to an , located in a wooded area off Division Avenue, just after 1 p.m. on Saturday, July 16. No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire is still under investigation, said Fire Chief Ralph Parlapiano. Chatham and Berkeley Heights Fire Departments were at the scene, while Fanwood and Scotch Plains Fire Departments covered any incoming calls at New Providence Fire Department.

CRANFORD

The biggest story of the week came from a little bear cub. Cranford Police and the State Division of Fish and Wildlife captured  after it was first spotted at Mountain Avenue and Birch Avenue in Westfield. The bear spent Tuesday morning touring residences of Garwood, Westfield, and Cranford before settling at the home on Orchard and Estelle Streets. At 9:30 a.m., Cranford resident Amy Owens said her dog began to bark uncontrollably. When she looked outside, she saw the cub resting on the fence in her back yard at the corner of Estelle and Orchard.

 

"The dog started going crazy, and I looked outside and the bear was just sitting on the fence,” Owens said, adding that Cranford Police arrived shortly afterwards and managed to frighten the bear into climbing a tree on Owens’ property. The bear was tranquilized and, after being secured, was transported to northern Morris County to be released.

 

In this extreme heat, nothing hits the spot like a refreshing scoop of ice cream. Local shop Vanilla Bean Creamery now boasts an award-winning flavor, after its at the 9th Annual People’s Choice in the New Jersey State Ice Cream Festival in Tom's River. Around 5,000 individuals received a small sampling of the Creamery’s ice cream, but that was enough to win them over. Owner Ralph Kopelman says he was shocked when he realized his shop entered in at the top spot. After his win, Kopelman took home a banner and a plaque, which currently hangs in his store. The year-old Vanilla Bean Creamery beat out rival ice cream shops that had been around for years. 

 

Downtown Cranford also welcomed a new establishment this week with the o. Local delicatessen Dub’s Subs officially opened for business this past weekend. Dub’s Subs, opened by Cranford resident John Wojtowicz, was named after Wojtowicz’s nickname, “Dub.” 

 

"I'm a food fanatic," he said. "I used to travel 20 miles for a good sub. I wanted a home sandwich shop."

With no plans to expand the menu beyond subs, Wojtowicz promises that his shop offers the real deal. Customers can take comfort that their sandwich of choice will be tasty and affordable, every time.

"When people come here, they'll get consistency and quality. They'll get the same sandwich every time, no matter who's working."

 

BERKELEY HEIGHTS

Dr. Jeanette Baubles, the chief school administrator of the Mountainside school district who tendered her resignation in mid-July, said her departure was prompted by her role becoming "unmanageable."

Keeping her language deliberately vague, Dr. Baubles said in a one-on-one interview with the Patch on Thursday morning that "working conditions for superintendents and chief school administrators has become unmanageable," which led her to consider other career options.

Dr. Baubles said that she is in the process of evaluating whether to join a family business or start a business of her own. She declined, however, to explain the nature of either business until she decides on one over the other.

Dr. Baubles resignation announcement was fairly sudden. Her notice followed quickly on the heels of the resignation of Beechwood School's principal and director of curriculum, Tom Conroy.

Berkeley Heights Looks to Restore Programs Staff Thanks to Surplus

Working from a list guided by Superintendent Judith Rattner, the Board of Education decided to restore a host of programs and staff at the board of education meeting at Columbia School on Thursday night.

Board President John Sincaglia said the district has unanticipated money from lower health costs, additional retirements, extraordinary aid, and income from a settlement between a court ruling on a tuition issue between the Berkeley Heights and Mountainside school districts.

"After the finance committee met on Tuesday night this week," Sincaglia said, "we still had more than $300,000 that we had not allocated in the 2011 budget."

In addition, the district received $426,000 in aid when the state budget adopted on June 30, meaning the district will have surplus next year of $750,000.

“There will be a significant amount of surplus,” said Sincaglia, as he introduced the list of items recommended by Superintendent Judith Rattner for restoration. “If we do all of them, it won’t use all of it.” 

Restoration deliberations included four educational program restorations, coaching positions, a technology enhancement and several safety roles.

On the education front, programs included restoring a half-hour of instructional time for kindergartners, back to three hours, a world language instructor for third grade, and stipends for the arts, technical deduction, life skills special education at Governor Livingston.

In technology, Rattner asked for the increase of network capacity to 10 megabytes from 1.5 megbytes."That will allow for better educational use for computers in the classroom," but she added, "I consider it a bandaid." She said she is working on delivering a presentation to board in October "to really look at significant changes (in technology)."

In other budget considerations, the board agreed to restore two coaching positions for supervision purposes - one for wrestling and one for spring track.

 

SUMMIT

Summit's common council created an unintended parking holiday this week when it discovered that an ordinance on the books from November 2010 was causing Municipal Court Judge Donald Bogosian to dismiss all parking tickets issued in the Deforest Avenue Shopper Lots from Nov. 2010 until now. The reason: the ordinance created paid shopper parking in Summit with no way to collect the fees. Summit could have to refund between $40,000 and $50,000, one councilman estimates.

We also caught up with the Mazariego family one year after the death of 47-year-old Abelino Mazariego, the Dabbawalla dishwasher who was brutually beaten in the Summit Promendade on July 17, 2010 and died three days later at Overlook Hospital.

 

WESTFIELD

The wilds of Sussex County came to Westfield Tuesday morning as a  was on the loose in town. Starting with a 6:30 a.m. sighting on Mountain and Birch, the bear cub proceeded to an Oak Avenue back yard to snack on berries and nuts and relax under some trees before running from the police. Heading to Cranford Avenue, the bear was scared by a small dog up a tree, attracting a crowd of spectators while police waited for state wildlife officials. The bear fled the scene, entering Garwood where he encountered a surprised congressional staffer before romping through Cranford, ending up in another tree, attracting another crowd. The five-hour adventure ended when state wildlife officials tranquilized the bear and transported him to northern Morris County.

The Westfield Board of Education voted to  on whether to use an additional $845,000 in state aid for tax relief or spending. The vote followed an hour-long debate which saw two board members fighting for the $83 per household tax rebate, while others argued for new teachers to reduce class sizes in south side elementary schools. The board voted 7-2 against the tax rebate before voting 9-0 to defer a final decision.

The Westfield Planning Board delayed testimony on the  Ferraro's Restaurant downtown. The Ferraro family proposed a new three-story restaurant at the Elm and Quimby location. The new restaurant will contain first floor family dining, second floor fine dining and third floor catering space. Opponents questioned the alcohol licenses for the new restaurant, along with parking issues. The hearing will continue on Aug. 1. Ferraro's was destroyed in a  in May.

 

SCOTCH PLAINS FANWOOD

Strings Attached, Maybe: While Scotch Plains-Fanwood School District administrators were pleased to learn last week that the district would receive $2.2 million in state aid, they are now trying to determine exactly how they can and cannot spend the additional funds. The amount given is a $770,000 increase from the approximately $1.4 million it was expected to receive.  According to a press release issued by the New Jersey Department of Education on July 12, it appears the Scotch Plains-Fanwood school district must appropriate the entire $2.2 million in aid to special education. However, Board of Education president Trip Whitehouse said district officials are trying to find out exactly how specific, or how accurate, that restriction is. For the full story, click here.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here