Every week Patch takes a look back at the headlines that made news in Union County towns. Read on for the region's top stories.
Clark-Garwood
Find out what's happening in Summitwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Johnson went many years without a marching band when enthusiasm waned and enrollment in the program declined. When Rachel Bollaro came aboard as band director at ALJ a few years ago, her goal was to change that. She founded a small “pep band” to play in the stands at varsity football games, then a small marching band, and this year created a band that was more than ready to face the judges.
As Friendly's declared bankruptcy this week, Haiback assured us that the Clark store is not amongst the 63 locations the company will close and tells us that he actually has plans to renovate here and in his New Providence store.
Find out what's happening in Summitwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Cranford
, who visted the campus to kick off Hispanic Heritage Month by addressing the students during an assembly. In his first visit to the college, the 57-year-old U.S. senator began his speech by speaking in Spanish to the enthusiastic crowd, many of whom wore bright, red T-shirts welcoming him to UCC.
"We are a nation of immigrants whose stories are the fabric of this (country)," Menendez said.
Kindergarten at the Bradford School in Montclair is about what the students want, not what they need. Under the leadership of teacher , a Cranford resident, her students have the opportunity to learn about philosophy, civics, animals and even the Wild West. Through her alternative teaching methods and ability to use humanities to engage her students, Cahill was named the 2011 Teacher of the Year by the New Jersey Council for the Humanities. The Teacher of the Year Award is bestowed annually on an elementary, middle, or high school teacher who understands the complexity, value and richness of the humanities, including such subjects as history, literature, comparative religion, world cultures and ethics, and whose approach to humanities education is interdisciplinary and creative.
Twenty-two-year-old , son of Cranford High School teacher Joyce Delpopolo, went 5-0 to win gold at the GB World Cup.He has his sights set on the 2012 US Olympic team.
New Providence
The undefeated New Providence varsity football team Thursday night in Mid-State 39 Conference-East C Division action at Lieder Field. Senior running back scored four of his team’s six first half touchdowns. On those carries alone, Barletta rushed for 192 yards. The Pioneers led 35-0 before Brearley scored on a 29-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Max Schindler to senior tight end Anthony Tancs with 1:09 left in the second quarter. New Providence answered when Barletta scored his fourth touchdown on a 64-yard run with 24 seconds left.
During the halftime ceremony, Emile “Bo” Cattano and the Cattano family were honored, in addition to former head football coach Frank Bottone. New Providence High School was also honored by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association and sponsor ShopRite as the Most Outstanding Athletic Program for Group 1 schools for being disqualification free for the 2010-2011 school year. This is the eighth year that ShopRite and the NJSIAA are recognizing high school programs for outstanding sportsmanship.
Springfield
Springfield residents are up in arms about the removal of basketball hoops from Springfield parks. But officials say they were removed because of citizen concerns in the first place. Recently, basketball hoops were taken down at several township parks. Officials say the move was prompted by complaints of residents living nearby the parks and playgrounds. The controversial move has garnered an unprecedented number of comments on .
Meanwhile, partially homegrown heavy metal group is making noise on the local music scene. The members of the talented trio are all high school age, but play with the skill and confidence of seasoned metal veterans. Their 15-year-old drummer is a Dayton student and a wildman on the set.
Summit
This week offered there opinions about Gov. Christie's decision to stay out of the race for president in 2012. Although his popularity has crossed party lines for some, supporters say his decision to remain New Jersey governor is the right one.
The Summit girl's volleyball team is now 9-1 after back-to-back victories this week against and .
Summit Police Lt. Robert Weck was by Mayor Jordan Glatt. The 23-year veteran takes over the position vacated just a few months ago by Robert Lucid, who went on to lead security at Drew University.
Kent Place School hosted on Friday. The drill involved a mock chemical spill and campus shooting incident. Public safety agencies from all over Union County participated in the 3-hour event that took a year to plan.
Scotch Plains
The Raiders hold the top spot in the Union County Tournament on Thursday night. The tournament starts Oct. 13. For the full list of seeds, click here.
Berkeley Heights-Mountainside
As of this school year, Mountainside no longer offers courtesy student busing unless parents purchase a subscription to pay for it. The change is one to save the school district money, which Board of Education Secretary W. Daniel Saragnese outlined at last week's BOE meeting.
The cost-saving measure is one of several being considered this year.
Before the start of the 2011-2012 school year, courtesy bus rides were for students who live within walking distance of the school and wanted to hitch a ride on the bus on a cold day or if their parents couldn't get them to school due to busy work schedules. Now, that system is subscription-only in order to save the school district money. The exact amount that would be charged to parents was not discussed at the meeting.
Saragnese explained how he constructed the new program. “In July, we projected 250 riders at the elementary school level and 250 riders at the high school level. We estimated the cost per pupil at the elementary school level at $451.73 (per year) and the cost per day at $242.00 (for all 250 riders). At the high school level, the cost per pupil was estimated at $497.07 (a year) with the cost per day being $266.00 (for the 250 students),” he noted.
Saragnese assured the Board as well that he tried to act as fairly as possible when making changes.
“I want to promise you that in any instance that we could stretch this part of the budget and classify someone as a statutory rider, we erred on the side of the family. We had 169 statutory riders at the K–8 level even though the old database quoted 105,” Saragnese explained.
Saragnese went on to illustrate the Board’s concern for Mountainside families. “The cost of helping those families sacrificed $30,875.00 in projected subscription busing. It was the right thing to do,” he said.
