Glen Rock's Top Stories of 2011

The year 2011 brought with it considerable excitement to Glen Rock. Unexpected storms proved a massive challenge for the local government and citizens alike, while tough budgets forced out many long-time custodians and teachers assistants in the district.

Meanwhile, Game On Glen Rock! continued to pick up steam as it eyes a 2014 completion date for revitalizing Faber Field, and Republican council incumbents were again selected by voters as representatives.

There was also a sprinkling of a few bizzarre crimes in the homestretch.

Here are ten of the top stories Glen Rock Patch reported in 2011.

A strong challenge from Mark McCullough wasn't enough to unseat incumbent Mayor John van Keuren in October, who won reelection by about 250 votes. The two-term mayor will be a fixture at the dais for another few years. He'll have familiar company – incumbents Pamela Biggs and Art Pazan motored past challenger Howard Fox.

John Arlotta, the former assistant principal for academic affairs at Cranford High School, replaced outgoing principal James McCarthy in July.

Schools Superintendent David Verducci said that he and Director of Curriculum and Instruction Kathy Regan received more than 50 applications for the position and narrowed the field down to 10, which were then interviewed by a screening committee.

McCarthy, principal of  since 2001, announced in February that he would be stepping down to take over as principal of St. Peter Academy in River Edge.

It was a big year for the turf-roots resident group that has pledged to improve athletic facilities in Glen Rock without taxpayer burden. The group's chairman, Michael Stewart, said in March it selected a turf manufacturer and later rolled out complete plans to redo Faber Field. 

The  includes two baseball diamonds sharing space with a lined field, another dedicated soccer-type  with eleven field lights, an expanded parking lot beside the Recycling and Compost Center and a seating area that will be another source of revenue for the group if all goes according to plan.

The resident-led group hopes to complete the  by February of 2014. The upcoming year , Stewart told the council in December.

Following a lengthy investigation, police raided a S. Broad St. home and say they found guns and large quantities of drugs. Three teens from Ridgewood were arrested, along with two juveniles from Glen Rock were arrested following the raid, which police say yielded a .32 caliber handgun, $1,000, cocaine and 40 lbs. of drugs.

A former RHS graduate, Mark Miller, 21, was arrested on drugs and weapons possession. A Glen Rock man, 38-year-old Corey McCoy, faced drug charges as well and was on parole for manslaughter.

The Glen Rock Board of Education adopted a $41.5 M school budget for 2011-2012, but that isn't why it was controversial. It was what wasn't in the budget that drew fire from teachers – over  for outsourcing. 

A former council member, T among six other candidates after member Anita Kalra suddenly resigned.

Activity fees were also enacted for the first time in Glen Rock. The average homeowner's school taxes rose $281.

Three ex-employees of Glen Rock Savings Bank were charged with defrauding customers out of significant sums of money.

The schemes were carried out by a bank vice president, a branch manager and a teller between July 2010 and June 2011 and netted the trio about $62,000 from customer accounts, Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli said. 

The bank said in a statement it made restitution to return stolen money.

Unlike Irene, the freak October snowstorm did not spare the borough. Trees cracked and snapped, power was out for nearly a week and the bill dropped on residents for cleanup costs will total over $40,000. 

Resilient Rockers, having had Halloween largely shut down and schools closed, threw their own alternate version of Oct. 31. The numerous downed branches did – as was the case with several other towns nearby – hamper leaf collection efforts. 

When police found two unconscious parties in a vehicle idling in someone's lawn, they didn't expect what they say they found.

Christina Imperato, 25, of Washington Township, was charged with drunk driving in a school zone, careless driving, refusal to submit to a breath test and failure to wear a seat belt. She apparently thought the lawn was a driveway, GRPD Cpt. Jonathan Miller said. Both Imperato and boyfriend 32-year-old Julius Lacewell, the passenger, were covered in vomit, feces and urine, police said.

Imperato and Lacewell were out on bail for their alleged role in the death of a 31-year-old Guatemalan immigrant in Passaic. Authorities say the man had been robbed, beaten and left on the roadside in Passaic when a vehicle Lacewell was driving ran him over and fled the scene, Passaic County prosecutors allege.

 Upper Saddle River Man Charged In Ridgewood, Glen Rock Luring Attempts

Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli announced authorities caught a man law enforcement personnel believe attempted to lure 13 young girls, including several from Glen Rock over the fall of 2011.

Sacham Achian, 26, of Upper Saddle River, has been charged with six counts of luring, a second degree charge, and six counts of endangering the welfare of a child, a third degree charge. Authorities say he offered girls aged 10-14 $1,000 to perform explicit sexual acts.

Hurricane Irene whirled through Glen Rock in late August with high winds and heavy rains, causing flooding and knocking down trees that took out power and shut down roads.

A massive tree fell, reportedly in the early morning hours of Sunday, one resident said, shutting down Maple and Ackerman avenues. All in all though, there were few calls for the ambulance crew and a firefighter commented that the town "was spared."