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November 7, 2012 The Gazette
Democrats
Take Council Seats In Prospect Park
by Tom Nobile
Democrats Samir Hayek and Richard Esquiche easily won the
two, three-years seats on the council by beating Republicans Karl
Hoffman and Nabil Rehim in the Prospect Park Council election on Nov.
6. Hayek is an incumbent.
Esquiche (1,250 votes) and Hayek (1,237) beat Hoffman (332)
and Rehim (295).
November 7, 2012 The Gazette
Incumbents win seats on the Prospect Park
BOE
by Tom Nobile
Three incumbents won the three, three-year seats up for
grabs on the Prospect Park Board of Education on Nov. 6.
Stephen Miller (451 votes), Albert Demarest (405) and Jose
Enrique Pantoja (380) beat challengers Jabed Khan (282), Thomas Magura
(233), Belkis Drexler (198) and Maria Emma Anderson (194).
Demarest is retired after nearly four decades with the
Prospect Park Police Department of Communication. A 36-year resident,
Demarest has served on the Board of Education for the past 33 years,
sitting on the finance and negotiations committees. He is the current
board president.
What struck Demarest to run initially was the untidy state
of many of the school playgrounds. Broken glass and other debris were
in his view making child play areas unsafe.
During his tenure Prospect Park Elementary Schools have seen
improvements, more recently in upgrades to state-of-the-art computer
equipment and added classrooms for 3 and 4 year olds.
Although well under the 2 percent levy cap for the school
budget, Demarest said there is still work to do in securing less waste
in the system.
"We're not a community that has money to give. I'm not going
to lie to the public. If we don't need it we won't take it," he said.
Going forward, the superintendent and the school board are
working to purchase new textbooks for each grade in the coming year.
May 10, 2012 The Record Young bear
captured in Prospect Park
by Matthew Mcgrath A wayward young black bear, likely in search of food and new territory, found itself on Thursday in a residential backyard in this densely developed borough -- with the law on his heels. The bear climbed a tree when authorities arrived. Police captured the 18-month-old male black bear – an adolescent in human terms – behind a North 9th Street house Thursday morning, authorities said. The young bruin was tranquilized and eventually was removed to be taken to the woods. “Kids are kids are kids no matter what species they are,” said Tracy Leaver, a bear rehabilitator with the nonprofit Woodlands Wildlife Refuge in Hunterdon County. Every spring mother bears expel their yearling cubs from their dens after hibernation to make room for a new litter, she said. The newly homeless young bears must find food and stomping grounds for the first time in their lives. Sometimes, they end up in unlikely places – such as a busy community like Prospect Park. “It’s like a teenager who has lost both parents and has no home,” Leaver said, noting that because of an early spring, this year’s newly independent young bears are in a bind. There’s little food for bears this time of year, mostly skunk cabbage and grasses, she said. Berries, nuts and other food won’t be available until later in the summer. During food shortages, bears are drawn to populated places where they can find garbage cans and pet food left outside, Leaver said. The appearance of a bear in a neighborhood clearly sets off alarms. Leaver advised people not to panic when they encounter a bear, but to “just let the bear move on.” “Bears are just as distressed by people as people are of them,” she said. “It’s the oh-my-God factor: Who are you and what are you doing here.” The captured bear had climbed a tree when authorities arrived. State fish and wildlife officers tranquilized and tagged the bear, which weighed 184 pounds. He was taken to the Wildcat Ridge Wildlife Management Area in Rockaway Township, authorities said. Staff writer Marlene Naanes contributed to this report. April 19, 2012 Hawthorne Press Manchester Regional School District Results In Prospect Park, John VanderMolen was uncontested for a single seat representing the municipality. He was re-elected with 127 votes. Vander Molen of Prospect Park is married with four children who graduated from Manchester Regional High School. Vander Molen retired last July, but has served on local school boards for a total of 37 years with 17 years on the Manchester Regional Board of Education and 20 years on the Prospect Park Board of Education. He has served as president and vice-president of these boards. The regional budget passed 489 to 456. It was adopted in Prospect Park 127 to 43; in Haledon 139 to 98 but failed in North Haledon 223 to 295. The $17 million budget for Manchester Regional has a local tax levy of $10.1 million among the three municipalities and relatively static state and federal aid. Most notably, the budget slashes special education by $60,000, bilingual education by $80,000 and library services by $47,000. February 1, 2012 The Gazette Wing named in honor of late Prospect Park School superintendent by Justin Zaremba Prospect Park School 1 dedicated a new wing of pre-school classrooms last Saturday in honor of the late Superintendent Dr. James Barriale. The new wing of the school is located on the North 10th St. side of the building and has four pre-school classrooms with accompanying bathrooms, an office area, and a small group instruction area on two floors, said Superintendent Allison Angermeyer. New boilers and a generator were also included in the construction of the project so the school could function as a community center during emergencies. The dedication was originally scheduled for Jan. 21, but delayed until Jan. 28 due to concerns about weather conditions. Angermeyer said the wing would be named after Barriale because he spearheaded the $1.5 million project, which began in June 2010. Most of the costs of the project were paid for by state grants which funded projects focused on improving facilities for children with special needs. Barriale passed away suddenly in November of 2010. He became superintendent in 2002 after first serving as principal. Barriale previously served as an English as a Second Language teacher at Manchester Regional High School until he was hired in 1982 as vice principal of Prospect Park School District. He was promoted to principal later that year following the death of Superintendent Ernest Oaks. . |
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