SCHOOL BOARD TONIGHT TO APPOINT REPLACEMENT FOR TEACHER WHO DIED

The Board of Education revealed at least part of its reason for holding a special meeting tonight.

Documents attached to the agenda, HERE, indicate the board plans to appoint a replacement for Jennifer Feinberg, the South Mountain School fourth-grade teacher who died suddenly on Nov. 7.

Rebecca Frankoski

The new teacher is Rebecca Frankoski, a Columbia High School graduate who has taught at the Ethical Community Charter School in Jersey City and Long Branch High School. 

The board also plans to appoint another replacement guidance counselor for a maternity leave, name board attorney Sidney Sayovitz as District Title IX coordinator, and approve the job description for the new special services director.

The board will also discuss other undisclosed issues in closed session that will be revealed at a later date.

Reminder that tonight's meeting is set for 7 p.m. at South Orange Middle School, 70 N. Ridgewood Road.

There will also be a public comment portion.

POST OFFICE PROJECT RESTAURATEUR: DUMPSTER CONCERNS OVERBLOWN

Tom and Jennifer Carlin

The owner of a new restaurant slated for the former Maplewood Village Post Office site says concerns about new trash dumpsters being placed in an adjacent parking lot are overblown.

"It sounds like a lot being made out of nothing," Restaurateur Tom Carlin told Maplewoodian.com about the recent debate stemming from a nine-dumpster storage unit being planned for the site. "It sounds like the people opposing it, their interests might be they don't want competition."

The comments follow recent debate at two Planning Board meetings, where the board was considering a request by developer Joe Forgione of JMF Properties to alter his original site plan for the three-story, 20-apartment, five retail space complex.

Among the changes was a request for an outdoor dumpster storage unit to house nine bins, including three currently used by Village Coffee and Mt. Fuji Sushi. The others would be used for Carlin's eatery, with a mix of trash and recycling.  

"We generate a lot of garbage and it's got to go somewhere," Carlin told Maplewoodian.com. "It's almost like saying you can't have deliveries. It's an operational thing, we expect to be a busy restaurant."

At the last Planning Board meeting, several board members raised concerns about the timing of trash pick-up and the use of space for the bins that would eliminate at least two current parking spaces. 

"I don't know what his plan was on trash," Carlin said about Forgione's original site plan. "But I have never seen a restaurant that had it inside."

The planning board delayed action on the request until its next meeting, set for Dec. 16, where it has asked Carlin to appear and answer questions. 

SCHOOL DISTRICT REVEALS DETAILS ON SPECIAL SERVICES DIRECTOR SEARCH

The school district has released its schedule for input and review as it searches for a new director of special services, as well as the person who will run the search for an outside firm.

See the timeline HERE. 

It includes an online survey accessible HERE.

The firm hired for the recruitment, Atlantic Research of Chicago, has named Leroy Nunery as the led professional to conduct the search.

See more on him HERE. 

Nunery's background includes 16 years in corporate banking and capital markets, as well as a stint with the NBA management. He is also on the board of Benchmark, a Philadelphia-area private school, and founder of an education and non-profit consulting practice, Plus Ultre.

The school board last month approved spending $7,500 on the search, with an additional $500 for travel expenses.

WAWA OPENING INVITE ISSUED FOR DEC. 16

We told you weeks ago that the new Wawa would have its grand opening on Friday, Dec. 16. at 1588 Springfield Ave.

Now its official via the invite issued today:

 

YET ANOTHER SPECIAL SCHOOL BOARD MEETING THIS WEEK

The Board of Education will hold yet another special board meeting this week, marking the fifth time in the past two months the board has met and the third special session in that time.

A notice posted on the district website Monday indicates only that the meeting is set for 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 30, and is to be held at South Orange Middle School.

As of Tuesday morning, no agenda had been released or posted and a notice had been sent to some media after an inquiry. The notice (below) states only that the board will meet at 7 p.m. in closed session first to discuss "personnel matters to be announced at a later date." It adds that a public meeting will begin at 7:30 pm. where action will be taken.

It makes no mention of what that action will be. There is also no indication if a public comment will be held as required by law. And no explanation why the meeting must be held now rather than included in the next regular meeting set for December 19.

You may recall the last special session, held last week, did not initially include a public comment portion and one was only held later in the meeting after concerns were raised by board member Johanna Wright.

Wednesday night's meeting also marks the sixth time a special board meeting has been held since July. 

UPDATE: Agenda posted HERE late Tuesday.

BURGLARY ENDING IN ARREST OF FIVE JUVENILES LEADS POLICE WEEK

From Maplewood Police:

November 26, 2016; At approximately 8:30 PM, officers responded to a home on Essex Ave on a reported burglary.  Five juveniles were located in the area, were identified as the burglars and were taken into custody.  Two females age 17 from Newark, a 15 and 17 year old male from Newark and a 17 year old male from Irvington were all arrested and charged with the burglary.

November 22, 2016; Package Theft; At approximately 2 PM, a resident of Rutgers St observed a black male in his twenties remove two packages from in front of his home.  The male possibly fled to a two door gray vehicle on Rutgers St and left the area.

November 27 , 2016; At approximately 8 AM, a male shoplifted a carton of cigarettes from the Quick Chek on Springfield Ave and fled.  The actor, Neil Payton, age 46 of Newark was located in Irvington and was taken into custody and charged with shoplifting.

The Maplewood Police Department works hard to protect the residents and their property.  We are asking that you assist us in this effort by making sure all vehicles and homes are properly secured at all times.  Thank you

MORE LIBRARY TODAY: BABY LIT TO PAJAMA TIME

Baby Lit

10:30 am – 11:00 am

Main Library * Ages Birth – 2 1/2 * Drop In
All children must be accompanied by an adult.

 

Create Space – Maplewood Library’s Makerspace is Open!

5:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Hilton Branch – Every Tuesday 5:00-8:00 pm, Thursday 5:00-8:00 pm, and Saturday 10-1 pm. Patrons can use Rhino 3D software to build a model, print an object on our 3D printer or use our new color printer or laminator.  There are also Snap Circuits, Squishy Circuits, littleBits and SparkFun kits for the kids. Raspberry Pi single board computers are also available to learn more about computer science.  More information about the Create Space…

Digital Device Clinic

5:00 pm – 7:00 pm

Get free one-on-one support for using your e-reader, tablet, smartphone, or other electronic device.  The clinics will take place during the Create Space drop-in hours. Open to adults, teens and children. 

Hilton Pajama Storytime

7:00 pm – 7:30 pm

Hilton Branch * All ages * Drop In Come to Hilton – in your pajamas if you’d like – and hear some stories. All children must be accompanied by an adult.

UNION MAN INDICTED FOR MAPLEWOOD RESIDENT'S MURDER

Yves Marcellus

A Union Township man has been indicted in connection with the fatal beating of a Maplewood man last summer.

Yves Marcellus, 25, was indicted on Nov. 23 in connection with the death of 25-year-old Matthew Murrell of Maplewood on July 5, 2016, in Union Township.

See the press release from the Union County Prosecutor's Office below:

A Union County grand jury has returned a murder indictment against a Union Township resident charged with being responsible for the fatal beating of a Maplewood man that took place this past summer, acting Union County Prosecutor Grace H. Park announced Wednesday.  

Yves Marcellus, 25, is charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of 25-year-old Matthew Murrell.

Police responded to a home on the 800 block of Salem Road in Union Township shortly before 5 a.m. on Tuesday, July 5 to find the body of Murrell in the yard. He was pronounced dead a short while later.

An intensive joint investigation involving the Union County Homicide Task Force, the Union Township Police Department, and the Union County Sheriff’s Office resulted in Marcellus being identified as a suspect in the case, and he was arrested without incident at his place of employment on Route 22 in Union several days after Murrell’s death.

Marcellus was lodged in Union County Jail, with bail set at $1 million by state Superior Court Judge Scott J. Moynihan.

Convictions on murder charges are commonly punishable by 30 years to life in state prison.  

These criminal charges are mere accusations. Each defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law

POST OFFICE PROJECT RESTAURANT LIQUOR LICENSE SOUGHT

The new restaurant slated for the former Maplewood Village Post Office project is a step closer to getting a liquor license as JMF Properties, developer of the site, formally applied to transfer a license from another entity.

The application, filed last month, states that Gladstone at Maplewood LLC, the entity formed to build the Clarus project on the former post office site, is seeking to transfer state liquor license 0711-33-020-005. That license is currently held by the former owners of the B. Hathaway Meeting Place on Springfield Avenue.

Gladstone at Maplewood is co-owned by JMF Properties and car dealer Steven Kalafer.

Tom Carlin, a Gladstone restaurant owner and Maplewood resident who is planning to open the new restaurant in the Clarus project, said Gladstone at Maplewood will later transfer the license to him. He would not reveal the price to be paid.

WHO SHOULD BE SCHOOL BOARD PRESIDENT?

Now that the school board election is over, we wanted to find out who you think should be school board president in 2017?

Each year the board chooses one of their own to lead. For the past year it has been Elizabeth Baker.

Should she continue? Or should someone else take the helm? The board will decide at their first meeting in 2017.

Cast your free, anonymous vote below. Results in two weeks.

Create your own user feedback survey

JOB HUNTING HELP AT LIBRARY TODAY

Northern NJ Professionals in Transition

10:00 am – 12:00 pm

Hilton Branch – Navigating from Opportunity to Accomplishment
Jason DeMeo, Partner with will New York Life, will cover the following milestones along the candidate’s journey, including

• Getting Started/Preparation
• Resumes
• Communication Strategy
• Networking
• The Interview
• Social Media, including an interactive demo

Network with other professionals who are currently unemployed or looking for new career opportunities. Meetings alternate between guest speakers and career workshops. Programs are free and open to the public. Subscribe to the group here.

ONE MAPLEWOODIAN REMEMBERS LIFE UNDER CASTRO

Bob and Carmen Perez

When word of Fidel Castro's death broke on Saturday, Carmen Perez thought back to life in Cuba during her teen years.  

And how glad, and scared, she was to leave.

The Maplewood resident, who lived in Cuba until she was 20, said memories included relatives being jailed after the Bay of Pigs for no reason at all. 

"It was horrible, it was horrible," she told Maplewoodian.com about life under the dictator just hours after his death. "I remember my father and my uncle were put in jail. They were just people in the community and they thought that they should be put away."

Perez said she was able to leave the country after 20 years to go to Spain, then to the United States where she initially lived with two cousins in Westchester County, N.Y.   

"They would take people by trucks and take them out of town," she recalled about the post-Bay of Pigs treatment. 

"When you are 20 years old and you leave parents behind, you don't know if you will see them," Perez explained. "It is a very, very sad story. Those who think Castro was a great thing, they are wrong." She said of Fidel and his brother, Raul, "They were butchers and dictators who would kill anyone."

She later added, "I don't celebrate anyone dying, it reminds us what we went through. In a way, I am glad because of what our parents went through and their hope was to go back to Cuba. Families were destroyed, I had relatives all over the world. We hope that things will change"

Her husband, Angel "Bob" Perez -- a former Township Committee candidate -- is the son of two former Cuban citizens who emigrated to the United States. He said many of his family and friends were harmed by Castro's actions.

"I hardly know of any Cuban family that was not torn apart by this butcher," he said of Castro. "He destroyed the culture, the fabric of a nation and families. I don't know of anyone who can say a good word about that man."

ROTARY CLUB CHRISTMAS SALE IS ON!

The Maplewood Rotary Club Christmas Tree sale is on.

The trees went up Saturday at the Maplewood Pool on Boyden Avenue. Sales are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on weeknights.

So stop by and pick one out for a good cause: local charities.

FIVE OPEN HOUSES TODAY

Not a big selection on this Thanksgiving weekend, but still worth a venture out.

So find your next home or just see what the market is offering.

Full list HERE.

DICKENS VILLAGE IS TAKING SHAPE

The final touches being put on Dickens Village in Maplewood Village on Saturday, including decorating the holiday tree.

The festivities begin next week. See that schedule HERE. 

DURAND-HEDDEN SHOP SMALL SATURDAY TODAY

Shop small and support local history programs at Durand-Hedden this weekend
Our charming Country Store will be open from 12noon to 5pm this Saturday and Sunday, 11/23 and 11/24
 
Just walk up the driveway of 523 Ridgewood Road for a unique and old-fashioned shopping experience. Find historic-themed treasures: early American children’s games, books and toys, facsimile documents, quill pens and ink, historic cook books, cookie molds, reproduction ceramics, hiking sticks and more. The hard-to-find original Doors of Maplewood poster, Smile, the history of Olympic Park, the new acid-free reproduction of the charming 1931 map of Maplewood, local honey and Original 1910 Chocolate Fudge Sauce will also be available.

About Durand-Hedden House & Garden
Durand-Hedden House is dedicated to telling the history of the development of Maplewood and the surrounding area in new and engaging ways. It is located in Grasmere Park at 523 Ridgewood Road in Maplewood. The Country Store features unique books, maps, and gifts of historical interest, and is open on weekends from noon to 5:00pm. For more information or to arrange group tours call 973-763-7712. You can also visit our website at durandhedden.org and find us on Facebook and Twitter.

SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY TODAY - SEE THE DEALS IN MAPLEWOOD

From Springfield Avenue Partnership and Maplewood Village Alliance:



Remember to support local businesses on Small Business Saturday, November 26, and throughout the Holiday season. Supporting local businesses supports the community. Did you know that if you spend $100 at a local business, roughly $68 stays in your local economy. So, if everyone buys at least one Holiday gift or meal at their favorite local, independently owned businesses we can help keep our business districts thriving.

Enjoy these special Small Business Saturday savings at select stores and restaurants on Springfield Avenue and Maplewood Village in Maplewood. It’s their way of thanking their loyal customers for supporting them throughout the year. #SmallBizSat

FINAL LEAF PICK-UPS COMING

There are only two weeks left for leaf pick-up.

See the final weeks and which sections are slated for collection below:

Week of 11/28/16...........................Section: 5,6,1

Week of 12/05/16...........................Section: 2,3,4

And if you are unsure which section you are now in, see the map HERE.

GET MAPSOPOLY AND HELP CHS MIDNIGHT MADNESS

A fun way to raise money for Columbia High School Midnight Madness and get a great gift for the holidays.

HELP OUT BACK PACK PALS WITH YOUR DONATION

POLICE AND FIRE UNIONS DONATE TURKEY DINNERS

From Maplewood Fire Department:

Seventeen Maplewood families are being provided with a full Thanksgiving dinner and will have the opportunity to enjoy the holiday season thanks to the generous donation of food from FMBA Local 25, the Maplewood Firefighter’s Union, PBA Local 44, the Maplewood Police Union, and the Stop & Shop of South Orange. 

The FMBA and PBA both provided the funds to purchase items such as canned cranberry sauce, stuffing, rice, pie, cake & corn muffin mix, pasta, and bottles of apple cider. The Stop & Shop, with the help of store manager Joe Heiser, donated all of the turkeys and Stop & Shop gift cards. 

The items were gathered by Stop & Shop employees, and picked up and delivered to town hall by members of FMBA Local 25 and PBA Local 44. Once the food was delivered, the Thanksgiving baskets were assembled and distributed to the families to enjoy on Thanksgiving.

MAPLEWOOD RECEIVES PEDESTRIAN SAFETY AWARD

From Maplewood Township:

 The North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA) recognized the Township of Maplewood for its “vital contribution to making pedestrian safety a priority in the community.” The Township received the award for “implementing the Street Smart NJ Pedestrian Safety Education Campaign, and in doing so contributing to the goal of making New Jersey safer for pedestrians.” Maplewood is one of 40 municipalities in the state to launch the Campaign. 

"We are grateful for the recognition for our efforts so far and know that our work to advance pedestrian safety is not over. We intend to do more over the next year,” said Mayor Vic De Luca. 

On October 24^th, over 80 residents attended a Traffic and Pedestrian Safety Summit to discuss ways to slow traffic and increase the safety of pedestrians. The three tiered approach the Township is taking includes education, enforcement, and engineering & design. The Police Department and Departments of Engineering and Public Works are moving forward on a number of pedestrian safety initiatives.

Photo courtesy of NJTPA (left to right: David Antonio, Principal Planner, Essex County; Maplewood Police Chief Robert Cimino; NJTPA Executive Director Mary K. Murphy; Maplewood Mayor Victor De Luca; Essex County Engineer Sanjeev Varghese).

NEARLY ONE IN FIVE MAPLEWOOD HOMES DO NOT SPEAK ENGLISH

A great Star-Ledger report on towns with non-English speaking majorities found that nearly one in five Maplewood homes do not speak English at home.

The report, found HERE, was focused on towns with mostly non-English speaking families. But it revealed that 18.5% of Maplewood families do not speak English at home.

While our Township did not fall into the 44 New Jersey towns where most speak another language at home, it offers a great reminder of how diverse we are.

LIBRARY CLOSES EARLY TODAY AND THANKSGIVING

From Maplewood Library:

In celebration of Thanksgiving, both the Main Library and Hilton Branch will close at 1pm on today, and remain closed on Thursday, Nov. 24th and Friday, Nov. 25th. Both buildings will resume normal hours on Saturday, Nov. 26th.

THEFTS, BURGLARY AND SHOPLIFTING MARK POLICE WEEK

From Maplewood Police today:

November 14, 2016: Burglary; During the morning hours a home on Broadview Ave was entered.  Jewelry was reported stolen from the home.

November 18, 2016; Burglary; During the daytime hours a home on Yale St was forcibly entered.  Jewelry was reportedly stolen.

November 18, 2016; Shoplifting; At approximately 8 PM officers responded to the Dollar Tree on Springfield Ave on a reported shoplifter.  Following their investigation, 47 year old Derrick Kendrick of Newark was taken into custody and charged with shoplifting.

November 19, 2016; Theft; At approximately 8:15 PM, a tire was stolen off of a vehicle parked in a lot on the 1400 Block of Springfield Ave.

November 20, 2016; Theft from Vehicle; During the overnight hours, two unsecured vehicles parked in a driveway on Ball Terr were entered and an older model ipod was stolen from inside one of them.

SCHOOL BOARD MEETING TREADS ON ILLEGAL

The Board of Education came close to an apparent illegal meeting on Monday night as they failed to schedule a public comment time during the special meeting to review the latest Strategic Plan action plans. 

Shortly after the meeting began, Board Member Johanna Wright took issue with the fact that no public comment had been scheduled on the agenda, citing a state statute that forbids such a meeting without a public comment portion.

"It's not legal in New Jersey to preclude the public from speaking at public meetings according to citation 10:4-12," Wright said. "At anytime you are having a public meeting or governmental meeting, you are allowed to have a public speaks before or after .. you are going to have an illegal meeting" 

See that portion of the statute HERE and below:

N.J.S.A. 10:4-12. Meetings open to public; exclusion of public; subject matter of discussion

a. Except as provided by subsection b. of this section all meetings of public bodies shall be open to the public at all times. Nothing in this act shall be construed to limit the discretion of a public body to permit, prohibit or regulate the active participation of the public at any meeting, except that a municipal governing body and a board of education shall be required to set aside a portion of every meeting of the municipal governing body or board of education, the length of the portion to be determined by the municipal governing body or board of education, for public comment on any governmental or school district issue that a member of the public feels may be of concern to the residents of the municipality or school district.

But Board President Elizabeth Baker, herself an attorney, disagreed.

"With all due respect, the agenda has been posted for several days, no comments have been submitted by any member of the board to me or the administration regarding the agenda or the meeting, counsel approved our bylaws and the agenda for the meeting," Baker said. "The purpose of tonight's meeting is to listen with open minds, open ears and open hearts. We have to be respectful even though we disagree."

Making the matter more difficult was the fact that no board attorney was present at the meeting, an odd situation for regular or special sessions of the board.

"Why are we going against the statute?" Wright said to Baker. "You are an attorney and you understand the Sunshine laws."

Baker responded by saying, "no action is being taken tonight, this is purely to listen."

But later in the meeting, after the presentations, Baker changed her mind and chose to hold a public comment portion, noting, "We don't have the benefit of having counsel here with us tonight so out of respect for Ms. Wright's point and an abundance of caution, and as you know I am very committed to following the law, we are going to have a brief public speaks section." 

Jonathan Busch, a partner with The Busch Law Group of Metuchen -- which represents 18 school boards in nine counties -- said the law is clear on public comment at all such meetings.

"As a matter of law, all public school boards are required to set aside at least one portion of their meetings for public comment," he said in an interview. "The courts have held that pursuant to the open public meetings act public entities should be as forthcoming with the public as possible."

It is unclear if holding the public comment was enough to counter possible claims of illegal activity given that the agenda did not include it and attendees who originally showed up were told there would be no public comment at first. 

"It does potentially raise some concern for a public entity to tell its community that there won't be public comment when in fact there ultimately is," Busch added.

GOP TC CANDIDATE PLANS 2017 RUN AFTER 2016 LOSS

Republican Mike Summersgill turned the Township Committee race this year into a true two-person battle as he conducted extensive outreach and spent some real money in his campaign against Democrat Frank McGehee.

Although he lost, 8,654 to 2,009, even McGehee and others in Township politics credit him with offering more than the usual GOP place-holder campaign in Maplewood. 

And he is apparently not finished, posting on his Facebook page that he plans to run again in 2017.

He stated, in part:

The best part of running for Township Committee is there is an election every year. While I'd rather be doing the job, instead of running for it, I look forward to running again next year. I'll continue to champion the issues that were raised this year and welcome any other ideas. 

See the entire post HERE.

If Summersgill runs again next year he will be able to seek one of two seats up for grabs as Mayor Vic Deluca and incumbent India Larrier are both facing re-election. It is likely Deluca will run again, but Larrier's status remains unknown.

Stay tuned!

SCHOOL BOARD REVEALS STRATEGIC "ACTION PLANS," BUT FEW SPECIFICS

The Board of Education on Monday night revealed the "action plans" for its Strategic Plan that was developed through several planning committees during the past year.

The action plans included few specifics, but offered a range of broad-based approaches for issues ranging from curriculum to student support and engagement to professional development and communications. 

Among the few specifics were plans for peer-mentoring, a community storehouse for locally donated supplies, a program for local experts to volunteer time, a CHS internship program with local businesses, and communications outreach to "under-representative" groups.

See the entire presentation document HERE.

The new buzzword for the plan was "deliverables," which the district defined as a service or improvement the plan is aimed at providing. It included no cost estimates for any of the specific programs or revenue sources to pay for them.

TREE REMOVAL PARKING LOT CLOSURE TODAY

From Maplewood Police:

Advisory: The western portion of Municipal Lot #4 will be closed from Baker St. past Lenox Pl. on 11/22/16 due to tree removal.

SPECIAL SCHOOL BOARD MEETING ON STRATEGIC PLAN ACTIONS TONIGHT

The Board of Education plans to meet tonight in a special session to reveal the "action plans" of the district's Strategic Plan.

This would apparently be the specific steps to be taken to implement the plan that was first revealed last spring. You may recall the plan was formulated with input from Soarpoint Associates, which has strong past ties to Superintendent John Ramos, and was hired earlier this year at a cost of $13,500.

See the 15-page plan HERE.

See the full agenda for tonight's meeting HERE. 

The meeting is set for 7 p.m. in the Columbia High School auditorium.

It also includes a public comment portion, so feel free to ask a question, give them a piece of your mind, or just a pat on the back.

Remember, they work for you!

FINAL FARMERS MARKET OF THE YEAR TODAY

The final Maplewood Farmers Market of the year is set for today from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Indiana Street and Springfield Avenue.

So come by and get some goodies for Thanksgiving.

ROAD CLOSURES FROM CONSTRUCTION, TREE DOWN

From Maplewood Police:

Highland Avenue Road Closure, between Plymouth Pl. & Elmwood Avenue due to construction. 

Wyoming Avenue will be closed from Curtis Pl to Hickory Dr., due to emergency tree condition.

CHS BASEBALL COACH SEARCH COMMITTEE WANTED FISCHETTI AGAIN

Joe Fischetti

A search committee created by the Columbia High School athletic director to find a new baseball coach initially recommended troubled former coach Joe Fischetti, but that idea was nixed by Superintendent John Ramos.

The committee then recommended James Whalen, a Denville physical education teacher and former West Essex High School assistant baseball coach, who was officially appointed earlier this week.

Drew Dix, the newly appointed president of the CHS Baseball Boosters, said he was part of the committee formed by Athletic Director Larry Busichio that included parents and administrators.

Drew Dix

He said they were asked to interview six finalists for the position, which was vacated at the end of last season after the school board chose to open the position to new applicants.

That choice followed more than two years of complaints and investigations into claims of harassment, intimidation and bullying (HIB) by Fischetti, which resulted in an internal review finding that such actions occurred. 

The district also hired an outside investigator, at a cost of $5,000, to review the evidence, but have yet to disclose his findings. A lawsuit by former CHS baseball player David DeFranco was also filed and is still working its way through the courts.

Dix said the search that formally began in late August was halted for about a month in late September, but the Boosters were given no reason. On Nov. 7, he said Busichio told the committee the search was back on and the group interviewed the six finalists that day. 

Among the finalists was Fischetti, who remains a physical education teacher at CHS, and his former assistant, Matthew Becht.

"I'm a Joe Fischetti guy, Joe and Matt put us in a different direction, two straight conference championships," Dix said. "We evaluated them and we recommended Joe. It was not unanimous." 

He said Ramos received the recommendation of Fischetti, but rejected it. "We went with James." 

Dix replaced former Boosters president Bill Krais in September after he stepped down. Krais is among a long list of defendants named in the lawsuit.  

Dix said the parents will work with Whalen and believe he will be a great coach.

"I think it's tough, but I think the way the program heals is to put the focus back on the kids where it has not been, it's been on whatever the board's motivation is," Dix said. "To get the coach together with the kids as soon as possible, we are hoping to do that the next couple of weeks."

School district officials and Busichio did not respond to requests for comment.

SCHOOL TOY DRIVE IS ON

IS POST OFFICE SITE DEVELOPER JOINING TRUMP'S CABINET?

Joseph Forgione, the developer of the Clarus project now being built on the site of the former Maplewood Village Post Office, is reportedly being considered for a cabinet post in the Trump Administration.

New York Post's Page Six reported Sunday:

New Jersey real estate developer Joseph Forgione, a Democrat who raised money for Trump, is said to be the leading pick for secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Forgione, whose parents emigrated from Italy and who holds dual citizenship, is friendly with Ivanka Trump’s father-in-law, Charles Kushner.

Forgione is the owner of JMF Properties, which is constructing the three-story, 20-apartment, five-retail space building in Maplewood Village.

Forgione did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report Sunday.

COOKBOOK HISTORY AT DURAND-HEDDEN TODAY

SOMA GEARING UP FOR BIG DC MARCH

The election of Donald Trump as president has sparked a string of protests, some still ongoing and including local residents.

Among the biggest is the Womens March set for Jan. 21, 2017, the day after Trump is inaugurated.

Those wishing to catch a ride on a bus from South Orange Maplewood can do so at Letskidaddle.com HERE.

Among those planning to attend is our own Mayor Vic Deluca, who mentioned it at the last Township Committee meeting.

11 OPEN HOUSES TODAY

We know it's windy and cold out, but the local real estate world is offering some great deals.

So find your next home, or just see what the market is offering.

Full list HERE.

WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH MONDAY

From the National Weather Service:

... WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM EST MONDAY... * WINDS... WEST 20 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH. * TIMING... THROUGH MONDAY. THE STRONGEST WINDS ARE EXPECTED DURING THE DAYLIGHT HOURS EACH DAY. * IMPACTS... STRONG WINDS MAY BLOW DOWN LIMBS... TREES... AND POWER LINES. SCATTERED POWER OUTAGES ARE EXPECTED. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... A WIND ADVISORY IS ISSUED WHEN SUSTAINED WINDS OF 31 TO 39 MPH... OR GUSTS OF 46 TO 57 MPH... ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. WINDS THIS STRONG CAN MAKE DRIVING DIFFICULT... ESPECIALLY FOR HIGH PROFILE VEHICLES. USE EXTRA CAUTION