End to Stipends, Statues Damaged Top Local News

Cedar Grove Council to Vote on Ending Stipends

Cedar Grove Council members are sending a message to taxpayers - they are willing to work for free. 

After refusing to accept $21,000 annual stipends for the last three years, council members are planning on eliminating the stipends entirely at their Sept. 10 meeting.

Three Verona Church Statues Damaged

A man using a hammer damaged religious statues of the Virgin Mary, Jesus, and St. John Sunday on the grounds of Our Lady of the Lake Church in Verona.

The man ran with the hammer from the church grounds screaming anti-religious slurs after being discovered by a neighborhood woman, according to Verona Police Capt. Mitchell Stern.

Police Ticket Hit-And-Run Driver

A 68-year-old Lincoln Park man was stopped by police after he struck a car in Cedar Grove Friday morning and kept driving. 

Cedar Grove police said Monday Ronald F. Stica was driving north on Pompton Avenue at 11:08 a.m. when he suddenly changed lanes and hit a car near Myrtle Avenue.

Verona Council Approves New Parking Rules

Verona businesses near Grove Avenue and Park Place will finally see some parking relief thanks to a move by the township council.

Cars are now prohibited from parking overnight in municipal lots 1 & 2, a move that business owners said will help ease garbage pick up and deliveries.

Verona Looking Into State Pension Issue

A month after the state of New Jersey cited 57 communities for violating state pension laws by inappropriately paying pension benefits to part-time employees, the township of Verona is checking to see if it inadvertently violated the law. 

Town officials are seeking additional guidance about payments to three part-time employees and are awaiting clarification from the state, which they expect sometime in the next two weeks, before they proceed.

Organic Pesticides Studied for Athletic Fields

The township of Verona is studying the effectiveness of organic pesticides on township athletic fields after athletes and their families became alarmed about the use of possibly unsafe chemicals on the fields.

Verona Township Manager Joe Martin told council members Monday night he is not through studying the use of organic pesticides on township athletic fields.

Martin said he recently visited a property treated by one potential contractor and called the results “disappointing.”

Construction Expected to Snarl Bloomfield Ave.

Construction on the Bloomfield Avenue Streetscape next week will have a “significant effect” on traffic in Verona, police officials said Tuesday.

Children Help Mother's Fight Against Cancer

The family of Beverly Marcogliese is hosting a benefit Love Bev Walk at Verona Park to help their mother who is suffering from a rare and late-stage form of esophageal cancer.

When Marcogliese of North Caldwell saw her doctor in June, she was suffering from acid reflux and heartburn along with having trouble breathing.

The 52-year-old mother was put through a battery of tests by her doctor and when the diagnosis came back, she found out she was actually suffering from a rare and late-stage form of esophageal cancer.