Bone Marrow Drive, Judgments Against Assemblyman, Hillsdale Apartments Top This Week's News

Bone Marrow Donor Drive Draws 200 Residents

A donor drive at the Westwood Community Center Sunday drew more than 200 residents who had their cheeks swabbed to see if they are a match for Hillsdale mom Karen Takla-Farag, who requires a bone marrow transplant.

It will take six to eight weeks before it is known if one of the potential donors is a match, Hillsdale Councilman Frank Pizzella told Patch.

Judgments Against Assemblyman Schroeder Exceed $13M

Plaintiffs suing State Assemblyman Robert Schroeder have been awarded a total of more than $13 million by judges in New Jersey, court records show.

There were 14 judgments filed against Schroeder since February of last year, totalling $13,079,841.40 owed to different plaintiffs.

Developer Plans New Hillsdale Apartment Building

Another developer has submitted plans to build a new apartment building near downtown Hillsdale.

Jeanne Marie Associates has proposed to build a three-story, 57-unit apartment building on Patterson Street next to the PSE&G substation. The property is currently unoccupied.

Washington Twp. Council Approves PBA Agreement

Washington Township officials and police have completed a new PBA contract which will last through December 31, 2014.

The new contract eliminates terminal leave as of December 31, 2011, according to Mayor Janet Sobkowicz. Officers who have leave saved from before that time will still receive it, but they will not be able to accumulate any more.

Westwood High Student Paper Moves Online

Journalism students at Westwood Regional High School have begun publishing their work online, mirroring major media outlets and the jobs the student reporters may one day hold.

The Westwood Cardinal Chronicle, the school's newspaper, stopped its print edition and moved online in November, according to journalism teacher and publication advisor Eileen Nagle.

Building Flaws Cause Thermostat Quarrel in Washington Twp. Government

Disagreements over thermostat settings in theWashington Township Municipal Complex may be the result of problems with the building itself, officials said.

During their meeting this week, Councilman Joe D'Urso and Council Vice President Fred Goetz said municipal employees had come to them about the temperature being set uncomfortably low in the township's government offices.

Sobkowicz said she had previously found some thermostats in the building had been set to as high as 87 degrees, so she had ordered all of them to be set at 65 or 68 degrees. Sobkowicz allowed the thermostats to be raised slightly higher recently because of the recent coldsnap.

Washington Twp. Mayor Explains Civilian Dispatching Plan

Washington Township Mayor Janet Sobkowicz explained a plan for how the township's emergency dispatching will operate in the future during a council meeting Monday night.

The dispatch, which is used for the township's police, firefighters, EMTs and DPW, will have three full-time civilian dispatchers on weekdays and two or three part-time dispatchers on weekends, Sobkowicz said. One of the full-time dispatchers would act as the "lead" and be responsible for training and scheduling the others.

The civilian dispatchers will replace police officers, who make more money per hour working on the dispatch desk. Officials previously said no police would lose their jobs because of the plan.