By Andrew Segedin / Reporter

(Sept. 2, 2010) — “We’ve got another holiday to worry about. It seems Thanksgiving Day is upon us,” Charlie Brown says rather glumly to his sister Sally and friend Linus, in “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.” To which Sally, stunned and naïve, replies, “I haven’t even finished my Halloween candy.”

Such is the joke with American consumers. Independence Day sales are quickly followed by Labor Day sales and by Columbus and Veterans Day sales and so on. Back-to-school specials seem to start during the last week of June. But for local businesses dependent on holiday sales, Christmas in July is not a joke, it’s a necessary reality.

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By Chris Neidenberg / Reporter

(Sept. 2, 2010) — For members of New Jersey’s volunteer emergency ambulance squad who feel jilted over the state’s draconian reduction of the EMT Training Fund, Assemblyman Gary Schaer (D-36) remains optimistic that the vast bulk of funds will eventually be restored.

Those volunteers upset with the loss of monies, currently set aside for continuing education courses and recertification, have both political parties to blame.

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By Kyle Orlowicz / Reporter

LYNDHURST (Sept. 2, 2010) — On a recent Saturday afternoon, the Lyndhurst community pool, opened to the public since April, is bustling but tranquil. A diverse crowd of around 15 people — nowhere near capacity — shares the large pool without conflict, while parents and spent swimmers look on from the bleachers. Though it may not rival a day at the beach, the brand-new indoor facility provides an affordable daily getaway for a family or individual on a budget.

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By Ray Smith / Reporter

WALLINGTON (Sept. 2, 2010) — Municipalities throughout New Jersey are certainly not immune to budget cuts. With the development of a large municipal public safety complex in East Rutherford, some towns are wondering if cutting costs could be achieved by combining municipal courts.

At the Thursday, Aug. 26 Wallington Borough Council meeting, the five council members in attendance voted unanimously to authorize a municipal court feasibility study.

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By Andrew Segedin / Reporter

LYNDHURST (Sept. 2, 2010) — Accomplished rhythm tap dancer, and Lyndhurst resident, Andrew Nemr will perform during the eighth hour of the 45th Annual Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon this weekend, Sept. 5-6. The appearance will be Nemr’s first on the show since 2006.

As in 2006, Nemr will be performing alongside his dance group CPD Plus (Cats Paying Dues) — a group of young dancers that Nemr works with in an effort to pass along the style and history of rhythm tap as it was passed along to him.

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By John Soltes / Editor in Chief

RUTHERFORD (Aug. 26, 2010) — For motorists making their way up and down the Route 17 corridor in South Bergen, the recent lane expansions and guardrail additions have largely been welcome news. Traffic and safety, for the most part, have been improved, especially in the locations in and around the four traffic lights that dot the highway from Hasbrouck Heights to Rutherford.

But did these improvements, which help thousands of motorists on a daily basis, come at the expense of local residents and business owners?

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The information below is compiled from local police blotters, as that information is made available, and is not intended to give a full description of every criminal incident in the local area.

Burglaries

NORTH ARLINGTON — Some time between Monday, Aug. 16 at 8 p.m. and Tuesday, Aug. 17 at 1:30 p.m., a Morgan Place residence was burglarized. Police were notified after the resident returned home to find that the apartment had been broken into. The front door appeared to have been pried open. A laptop computer valued at $529 and the victim’s checkbook were reported missing. A neighbor reported seeing a black male of medium build carrying a black bag out of the building earlier in the day. An investigation is ongoing.

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By Kyle Orlowicz / Reporter

RUTHERFORD (Aug. 26, 2010) — With the national unemployment rate nearing double digits, it is becoming impossible to ignore the victims of the current economic recession in the South Bergen region. The Rev. Gregory Rupright meets with some of these fated individuals monthly at Rutherford Congregational Church to offer his support in their quest for new work. With the help of career development and placement professional Carol Anderson, Rupright’s Job Seekers Support Group offers ailing and desperate out-of-workers spiritual therapy with a mix of expert career advisement.

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By Jennifer Vazquez / Reporter

NORTH ARLINGTON (Aug. 26, 2010) — After a delay in its reopening that had local officials complaining of budgetary shortfalls, North Arlington’s trash transfer station, commonly known as the baler, is officially up and running for business as of Wednesday, Aug. 18. The baler had been closed since December 2008.

The facility’s new lease agreement between the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission and Environmental Logistic Services of Bridgewater, the company chosen to operate the transfer station, will be in effect for the next 10 years.

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By Ray Smith / Reporter

WALLINGTON (Aug. 26, 2010) — When the New Jersey Devils packed up and departed for Newark, many believed that it signaled the end of professional hockey in Bergen County. While no professional ice hockey team currently competes in the South Bergen area, one roller hockey team is making its own mark in a professional league, playing home games in Wallington.

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By Chris Neidenberg / Reporter

HASBROUCK HEIGHTS (Aug. 26, 2010) — While the traditional Labor Day weekend is a time of rest and relaxation for many, it’s anything but for Bob Ciavaglia and other volunteers preparing the borough’s pledge center for the 45th-annual Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon.

It’s a major responsibility. The site, local Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4591 hall off 513 Springfield Ave., handles most pledges called in by viewers from the New York area tuned to WWOR during the nearly 24-hour event.

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By Andrew Segedin / Reporter

EAST RUTHERFORD (Aug. 26, 2010) — Window browsing down Park Avenue in East Rutherford, one may have no idea what to make of it — a predominantly empty store front with a collection of drums, crystal bowls, chimes and synthesizers lining the back — nothing but open space in between. Most may very well shrug and walk on, but for those who step inside the Self Awareness & Transformation Center they’re in for as unique an experience as they’re likely to find anywhere in the area.

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By Andrew Segedin / Reporter

RUTHERFORD (Aug. 26, 2010) — Standing tall with his long, bushy beard, Bob Joerger looks like a man who may have been called on to protect a castle in a past life. At first, he appears rather out of place — roaming through the hallway of the Rutherford Cooperative Day Nursery into the gymnasium of the Presbyterian Church with paint splattered over his clothes. With his faithful dog “Bo” (short for “Roshambo”) at his side, he laughs heartily while revealing what he’s working on. A castle — roughly 15 feet high — made entirely out of cardboard boxes.

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By Jennifer Vazquez / Reporter

NORTH ARLINGTON (Aug. 26, 2010) — The North Arlington Borough Council officially approved a bond ordinance  to the tune of almost $1 million on Thursday, Aug. 19. The measure will aid the borough with a wide range of improvements, upgrades and equipment.

At first, the passing of the bond was in jeopardy.  Councilman Steve Tanelli abstained from voting until further discussion and a closer look at the improvements listed under the bond. Councilman Mark Yampaglia turned down the ordinance by voting ‘no.’

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The information below is compiled from local police blotters, as that information is made available, and is not intended to give a full description of every criminal incident in the local area.

Body found

LYNDHURST — The body of a 49-year-old North Arlington female was found at the Riverside County Park in Lyndhurst on the Passaic River bank Sunday, Aug. 15. The woman had been reported missing earlier in the day by a man who identified himself as her boyfriend and told police that he had last spoken to the woman at the park on Saturday, according to police. The cause of death is unknown. An autopsy will be performed. The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Homicide Squad was at the scene to investigate.

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By Chris Neidenberg / Reporter

EAST RUTHERFORD (Aug. 19, 2010) — Seriously underperforming students, failing to maintain certain academic standards, can expect a longer school day for at least some of the 2010-11 school year.

The concept is called “academic probation,” and affected students will eventually have to attend an extra ninth “tutoring” period, starting at 2:30 p.m. It will last 27 minutes.

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By Jennifer Vazquez / Reporter

NORTH ARLINGTON (Aug. 19, 2010) — The Borough of North Arlington held a public hearing Monday, Aug. 9 to gather suggestions from the public regarding the redevelopment of Porete Avenue.

Though the crowd in attendance was not a large one, high-profile ideas were introduced, including one presented by Matthew Linda, the regional vice president of marketing for WSI Management, LLC. Linda said his company has an interest in buying the now-vacant garbage transfer station once administered by the Bergen County Utilities Authority.

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By Chris Neidenberg / Reporter

EAST RUTHERFORD (Aug. 19, 2010) — Some residents, already stung by high estimated tax bills issued for the proposed 2010 budget, complained recently that last year’s revaluation results only add to the pain. About 50 East Rutherford residents, predominantly an elderly audience, bemoaned the revaluation and proposed spending plan during an Aug. 10 special meeting lasting about an hour.

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By Andrew Segedin / Reporter

RUTHERFORD (Aug. 19, 2010) — It isn’t unusual for grade school students, curious of cultures different from their own, to exchange letters with a pen pal from another country. What is unusual is for those letters to continue more than 50 years later.

Such is the case with Carol Hughes of Rutherford who, as a student at West New York Public School 5, began writing letters to Jean Rolfe, a former student at Ashford County Grammar School in Kent, United Kingdom, in 1959. Since those first letters, Hughes estimates that they’ve written each other about once every month or so — never going more than two or three months without correspondence.

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By Susan C. Moeller / Senior Reporter

LYNDHURST (Aug. 19, 2010) — Residents are concerned about rising taxes in Lyndhurst. A standing-room-only crowd of more than 80 people attended the township’s board of commissioners’ meeting Tuesday, Aug. 10; several came to the microphone to protest their third quarter tax bills.

“There’s a lot of people that are on a fixed income, and they get this increase, and they just can’t pay it … they just can’t,” one man came to the microphone to say.

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