By John Soltes
Editor-in-Chief

(July 2, 2009, 4:45 p.m.) — The former head coach of the girls basketball team at St. Mary High School in Rutherford was arrested Monday, June 29, for filing fraudulent student loan applications, according to Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli.

In addition, she also paid approximately $30,000 to retain two of her players at St. Mary's, authorities said. The coach — Kerry A. Dressel, a 43-year-old from Wood-Ridge — was charged with theft by deception and identity theft.

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By Alexis Tarrazi
Senior Reporter

(July 2, 2009, 2:55 p.m.) — Kicking off the month of July with a fresh start, members of the Becton Regional Board of Education voted last night, July 1, to hire Paul J. Saxton as their new interim superintendent.

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By John Soltes
Editor-in-Chief

(July 2, 2009, 9:45 a.m.) — The Township of Lyndhurst will hold fireworks tonight, July 2, behind the Little League fields on Riverside Avenue. The rain date is tomorrow, Friday, July 3. Residents are invited to go to the park at 6 p.m. Soda, hot dogs and other refreshments will be available.

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By John Soltes
Editor-in-Chief

(July 2, 2009, 9:15 a.m.) — To better track the success and failure of older tide gates, which hold the low-lying Meadowlands ransom during heavy rains, the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission recently began implementing a new digital technology that will relay information from the flood-prone areas back to NJMC headquarters. When fully realized, these monitors will help the local area prepare for larger storms and consequential flooding.

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By Alexis Tarrazi
Senior Reporter

MORRISTOWN (July 1, 2009, 2:20 p.m.) — James Zarate, now 18, was found guilty Thursday, June 25, of helping his older brother, Jonatahan, brutally murder, dismember and attempt to throw the body of their 16-year-old neighbor over the Union Avenue bridge in Rutherford in July 2005.

James was found guilty of murder, weapons possession for unlawful purpose and unlawfully disturbing human remains to hinder his own prosecution, among other charges.

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By John Soltes
Editor-in-Chief

RUTHERFORD (July 2, 2009) — She came out from behind the curtain of the Williams Center’s old Rivoli Theatre, with each of her measured steps producing jangles from the bells strapped around her ankles. She had flowers in her hair, red markings on her feet and hands and shiny accoutrement that highlighted her traditional Indian dress.

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By Chris Neidenberg
Reporter

EAST RUTHERFORD (July 2, 2009) — Effective July 1, recycling in East Rutherford became a one-step, and much easier, process.

The new system, called “single-stream recycling,” eliminates the need for separate receptacles and recycling trucks. It also saves workers time since they no longer will have to manually separate the materials off two recycling vehicles.

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By Colleen Reynolds
Reporter

(July 2, 2009) — As Rutherford has evolved from a summer locale for prominent New Yorkers to present-day suburbia, the First Presbyterian Church has enjoyed a front-row seat to all the action.

Situated on its own triangular block made of Park Avenue, Ridge Road and East Passaic Avenue, the rural English Gothic structure is the oldest house of worship in Rutherford in terms of its charter, predating the borough itself.

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By Susan C. Moeller
Senior Reporter

RUTHERFORD (July 2, 2009) — A glance around Robert Purnell’s optometry office at 31 Park Ave. in Rutherford turns up the usual items — advertisements for glasses and contacts, the ubiquitous rack of magazines.

A second look gives clues to the bigger picture of Purnell’s life and work: certificates of recognition for public service in his hometown of Montville and commendations for civic volunteer work.

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By Alexis Tarrazi
Senior Reporter

RUTHERFORD — Once surrounded by fertile rolling hills that were populated with crops and roaming oxen, the Meadowlands Museum is now encircled with highways and booming development. But those lush hills are remembered on the inside of this local museum.

Situated at the bottom of Crane Avenue in Rutherford, the museum once served as a farmhouse in the early 1900s, before changing ownership throughout the years.

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RUTHERFORD (July 1, 2009, 10:45 a.m.) — Rutherford employees (the Police are currently exempt) have volunteered to take 10 furlough days off without pay for reasons of economy and efficiency and to assist the borough in meeting its fiduciary budget responsibilities while keeping property tax increases at a minimum.

Click the READ MORE link below for the complete press release.

By Colleen Reynolds
Reporter

RUTHERFORD (June 30, 2009, 5:30 p.m.) — The dropping of a brand-new competitive cheerleading team drew more jeers than cheers at the Rutherford Mayor and Council meeting Tuesday, June 23. The ensuing uproar put the council in the unusual position of deciding whether to endorse or disband a Rutherford Recreation Department program.

The council members chose to save the team, but not without first hearing both of the angered sides — and they were angry.

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By John Soltes
Editor-in-Chief

LYNDHURST (June 29, 2009, 2:50 p.m.) — The New Jersey Meadowlands Commission, the state entity charged with handling the zoning and planning of the 14-town wetlands district, will soon welcome new faces to its leadership. On June 18, Gov. Jon S. Corzine reappointed Commissioner Arleen Walther and decided to appoint a new slate for the other available slots.

One of the new names may be familiar to North Arlington residents: James V. Bocchino, a local Republican who unsuccessfully ran for a council seat in the borough last year.

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By Alexis Tarrazi
Senior Reporter

LYNDHURST (June 26, 2009, 1:20 p.m.) — Two Lyndhurst police officers revived a 56-year-old Wood-Ridge jogger who was found lying face down on Orient Way yesterday, June 25, at approximately 8:30 p.m. He dropped to the pavement on Orient Way near Third Street.

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(June 25, 2009, 3:25 p.m.) — This week, RADIO IRISH brings The Leader's headlines from the Meadowlands area. It's the easiest way to sit back and enjoy your favorite newspaper covering the South Bergen region. Check out the special section on North Arlington!

Click here for the exclusive radio broadcast and YouTube video.

By John Soltes
Editor-in-Chief

NORTH ARLINGTON (June 25, 2009, 9:40 a.m.) — Naturalists with the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission recently rescued a double-crested cormorant who had its neck wedged between wooden boards in an old tide gate. The rescue is the third of its kind in nine months.

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RUTHERFORD (June 24, 2009, 4:45 p.m.) — Tonight, June 24, Rutherford will play host to a community prayer at Lincoln Park for Steven Monahan, who, according to a press release, "lies in a coma since Saturday, June 13."

The prayer session will likely begin at 7 p.m. Organizers said that attendees can bring their own intentions, if they would like.

By Susan C. Moeller
Senior Reporter

RUTHERFORD (June 25, 2009, 12:50 p.m.) — The controversial Highland Cross area in Rutherford will be the future site of more low-income units than the borough was expecting, if the efforts of a housing advocacy group prove successful.

Fair Share Housing Center, a self-appointed housing watchdog group, and Linque, LLC, which owns the Highland Cross property, both allege that Rutherford’s submitted plan to the Council on Affordable Housing falls short. Officials with both entities have filed objections requesting more affordable units at Highland Cross.

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Photo and caption by John Soltes

RUTHERFORD (June 25, 2009) — Victor Victori, a local artist known for developing the art form known as multiplism, signed autographs of his new book, “God and I,” at the Rutherford Public Library Wednesday, June 17.

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