WF Hall to keep fence despite violation

by Peter Rittweger/The Record-Press

Tuesday September 16, 2008, 10:10 AM

SCOTCH PLAINS -- A dispute over fencing at the Westfield Hall on South Avenue dominated the Scotch Plains Zoning Board of Adjustment's meeting last Thursday night.

The board ultimately approved the Westfield Hall congregation's application by a five-to-three margin, though several points of contention arose, in relation to the height of the fence and the fact that the congregation installed the fence without being zoned for it in their original application.

Attorney Robert Kraus was on hand representing the congregation along with Westfield Hall treasurer Jonathan Diplock. They argued that the six-foot fence is needed on site primarily for security reasons. The building is empty most of the time, Kraus said, only full during services, which are on Sunday at 6 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. and Monday and Friday nights at 7 p.m.

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SP to erect Korean War Veterans Memorial Clock

by Peter Rittweger/The Record-Press

Monday September 15, 2008, 10:09 AM

SCOTCH PLAINS -- The goal: $15,000. The project: A Korean War Veterans Memorial Clock. The current financial status: about $12,500.

Don Wussler updated the mayor and council on the financial status of the project at Tuesday night's Township Council meeting, and said they had, "as of 10:30 this morning, raised $12,355."

He said that the amount of money they had raised puts the project at good standing. The final payment has to be made by November, and he was confident that the $15,000 goal would be reached by that point.

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Televised SP Council meetings now available

by Peter Rittweger/The Record-Press

Saturday September 13, 2008, 9:09 AM

SCOTCH PLAINS -- Scotch Plains residents with Verizon FiOS were treated to a relatively tame first regular meeting Tuesday night, as Mayor Martin Marks announced that council meetings are now finally available on FiOS, on channel 22.

"We kept on Verizon for quite a while now," Marks said.

That docility may not continue as Scotch Plains enters election season, which pits Deputy Mayor Nancy Malool against Councilman Kevin Glover in the race for mayor, as Marks is not running for reelection. Tuesday night, however, involved discussions of issues absent of controversy, including a conversation about Southside field, deer reduction, police grants and traffic ordinances.

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Trailer to be removed from Prospect Street

by Peter Rittweger/The Record-Press

Friday September 12, 2008, 3:08 PM

WESTFIELD -- For two years, trailers have occupied 201 and 215 Prospect Street, much to the chagrin of some residents. But at Monday night's Board of Adjustment meeting, their voices were heard, as the board voted to deny applicant James Ward's variance request.

Ward had been requesting to extend an existing variance to keep his sales trailer for the Savannah luxury condominiums, which are located up the road, with signage on the site until December 15.

Ward presented a strong argument to retain the trailer, and even offered several compromises, including masking the trailers from the road by planting evergreen trees which would prevent residents from seeing what they had referred to as an "eyesore."

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Drag racing on Martine is safety concern in SP

by Peter Rittweger/The Record-Press

Monday September 08, 2008, 10:28 AM

SCOTCH PLAINS -- Two souped-up hunks of metal approach the start line.

Engines rev loudly, drowning out the moonlit chirps of crickets as the drivers prepare to take off -- pedal to the metal -- zero to sixty in under five seconds, speeding towards the finish line in an exhilarating, winner-takes-all drag race.

This scene sounds appropriate for a race-track, or on the silver screen in an over-the-top action film like The Fast and the Furious, though lately the scene has left the track and jumped off the screen and found its way into Scotch Plains.

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Additional money for 'quiet zone' updates discussed

by Peter Rittweger/The Record-Press

Monday September 08, 2008, 10:20 AM

WESTFIELD -- The Westfield Town Council met for their conference session Tuesday night with topics ranging from the quiet zone at the Rahway Avenue Railroad to conditions at the Lincoln School.

The council briefly discussed the "second piece" of the quiet zone ordinance, which will appropriate the sum of $75,000 to make a down payment and to authorize the issuance of bonds to complete the second piece of the project which includes safety devices such as a power out indicator and constant warning device circuitry.

Town Administrator Jim Gildea said that the town executed an agreement with Conrail on August 25 to perform the necessary work.

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Trailers at Terrill not yet ready for students

by Peter Rittweger/The Record-Press

Saturday September 06, 2008, 10:24 AM

SCOTCH PLAINS -- The "modulars" at Terrill Middle School are nearing their completion, the school board announced Thursday night, and the officials say parents will be pleasantly surprised by the quality of the units.

"They're not trailers, they're modulars," board member, Rob O'Connor, said.

Board Secretary Anthony Del Sordi said the classes will be unable to occupy the trailers for the first week of the term.

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WF schools welcome 40 new teachers for '08-09

by Peter Rittweger/The Record-Press

Friday September 05, 2008, 3:23 PM

WESTFIELD -- The Westfield Board of Education welcomed back what Superintendent Margaret Dolan called its largest number of students in 30 years at their Tuesday night meeting.

The board discussed changes students, teachers, parents and faculty would see during the coming school term, as school doors open on Wednesday, September 3.

As of August 26, 6,245 students were enrolled in Westfield Public Schools, which was in line with the board's actual projected increases. Grades one, three and five account for more than 1,500 of that number, with upwards of 500 students in each of those grades.

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Richards named new vice principal of Terrill

by Peter Rittweger/The Record-Press

Friday September 05, 2008, 12:21 PM

SCOTCH PLAINS -- The Scotch Plains-Fanwood school board announced that they have appointed a new vice principal for Terrill Middle School during their August 28 meeting.

Kimberly Richards will join the Scotch Plains-Fanwood team at Terrill after 15 years of teaching experience in the Morris Township school district. She most recently served as a "teacher leader", going into other classrooms rooms to observe the teachers and then coach them on how to better their teaching skills.

"She loves middle school," Superintendent, Margaret Hayes, said.

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Westfield's sidewalk sale a success

by The Record-Press

Wednesday September 03, 2008, 12:09 PM

Rt. 22 bridge to be replaced by NJTPA project

by Peter Rittweger/The Record-Press

Tuesday September 02, 2008, 2:17 PM

SCOTCH PLAINS -- The bridge over Route 22 in Scotch Plains linking Park Avenue with Bonnie Burn Road in Watchung will be replaced as part of a plan by the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority's (NJTPA) road and bridge projects for Somerset County.

According to a report by the NJTPA, the project will totally replace the existing bridge, providing three 12-foot lanes in the northbound direction and two 12-foot lanes in the southbound direction of Park Avenue between the intersections of Bonnie Burn Road and Sunset Place.

The intersection of Park Avenue and New Providence Road with Bonnie Burn Road will be reconfigured as well for improved intersection traffic flow, the report reads.

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SP Municipal Manger Tom Atkins says 'goodbye'

by Peter Rittweger/The Record-Press

Sunday August 31, 2008, 10:15 AM

SCOTCH PLAINS -- The era of the "Rain Man" comes to a close this week, as Municipal Manager Tom Atkins officially retired after 28 years of service to the township.

"Rain Man" is a nickname Mayor Martin Marks, who worked with Atkins for 12 years, bestowed on the Municipal Manager, thanks to his encyclopedic knowledge of the township.

Mayor Marks wrote in the Spring/Summer edition of the Scotch Plains Messenger that he can "easily recite family relationships, street addresses, phone numbers and even birthdays of the hundreds, if not thousands of our residents both current and past."

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Residents' vehicles vandalized; gas stolen

by Peter Rittweger/The Record-Press

Saturday August 30, 2008, 11:12 AM

LINDEN -- Truck drivers from both Westfield and Scotch Plains had diesel fuel stolen from the tanks of their trucks which were parked overnight in Linden as part of a 160 gallon siphoning that also victimized a truck belonging to a Linden driver last Tuesday night.

Linden Police Chief Michael Boyle said that the thefts occurred on McKinley Street near Pennsylvania Avenue in an industrial area that permits overnight parking for trucks.

He said the drivers parked their trucks and drove their cars home, only to return the next morning to find fuel missing. The fuel was valued at around $700, he said.

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FW contemplates suing Cingular over cell tower

by Peter Rittweger/The Record-Press

Friday August 29, 2008, 3:11 PM

FANWOOD -- Layoffs and an amended budget weren't the only developments to come out of the recent Fanwood Borough Council meeting.

At last week's special meeting, former Councilman David Pickering brought up the borough-owned cell tower located next to borough hall and questioned what sort of revenue stream the borough had been realizing from it.

Borough Attorney Dennis Estes informed Pickering and the rest of the public that they had previously reached an agreement for the usage of the communications tower with Cingular Wireless.

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Wilson and Lance call Stender 'tax scofflaw'

by Peter Rittweger/The Record-Press

Friday August 29, 2008, 10:14 AM

TRENTON -- In a statement released Monday, New Jersey Republican State Chairman Tom Wilson called 7th Congressional District candidate, Linda Stender (D-Fanwood), out on being a "serial tax scofflaw."

Wilson said that in the past three years, Stender racked up almost $90,000 in unpaid federal, state and property taxes. Additionally, he stated that she had to be threatened with foreclosure eight times to get her to pay her taxes.

In response to the accusations, Stender denied ever being faced with foreclosure on her home in and called Wilson's statements a "new low for the Republican attack machine."

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