News

Livingston won the Essex County championship at the 2024 Essex County Mock Trial tournament, held over six weeks in January and February. The team will advance to the regional tournament to be held in New Brunswick at the end of February.

The Essex County tournament is sponsored by the Essex County Bar Association and the Essex Vicinage (part of the New Jersey state court system) and consists of 22 teams from public and private high schools in the county. Teams from Millbum, Montclair, West Orange, and other schools participated this year.

Livingston prevailed over Verona in the final round of the tournament at a trial presided over by New Jersey Supreme Court justices Ann Patterson and Michael Noreiga. Patterson has served on the New Jersey Supreme Court since 2011 and was previously the Deputy Attorney General for the State of New Jersey. Noreiga was appointed in 2023 by Governor Phil Murphy and is the first former public defender to serve on the Court.

LIVINGSTON WRESTLERS IN DISTRICT 10 TOURNAMENT: The Livingston High School wrestling team competed at the NJSIAA District 10 tournament on Saturday, February 17, in Nutley. Three wrestlers placed in the tournament earning the opportunity to advance to the Region tournament this Friday and Saturday in West Orange. The three wrestlers will need to place in the top four at their respective weight classes, to advance on to the NJSIAA State Tournament in Atlantic City from February 29 through March 1 at Boardwalk Hall. Shown here, are Joseph Jean Marie, who placed first in the 165 pound weight class; Alexander Diorio, who also placed first in his weight class at 157 pounds; and Chris Taddeo, who placed third at 138 pounds. 

The Livingston School district will open schools for a single session day on Friday, April 5, said superintendent of schools Matthew Block, in a letter sent last Thursday to the LPS community.

Due to a calculation error, this year’s Livingston Public School calendar only built in one, rather than two snow days, Block explained. With two snow days already used, the district will have to make up the one day of school to meet the State-required 180 days of school for students.

When all snow days are used, the calendar, which was approved two years ago, states that the district will begin adding days beginning with the Friday of spring break, and work backward through the spring break week as needed.

April 5 will be an early dismissal day, said Block. He acknowledged that many families have plans for the spring break, and that there will likely be an elevated absence rate that day of both students and staff.

Three individuals are facing shoplifting charges in unrelated incidents that occurred over the past week, Livingston Police said.

On Friday, February 16, Najimah Sheffield of Newark was arrested and charged with shoplifting at Macy’s in the Livingston Mall. Sheffield was apprehended by Macy’s loss prevention employees for allegedly concealing multiple items, including watches, handbags, and clothing. Sheffield was processed by the Livingston Police Department and transported to the Essex County Correctional Facility.

On Saturday, February 17, Vlad Gora of Flanders was arrested and charged with shoplifting at Nordstrom Rack. Gora was apprehended by Nordstrom Rack loss prevention employees for allegedly concealing multiple items including women’s makeup, fragrances, and accessories. He was processed by the Livingston Police Department and released on a summons with a court date.

The Livingston Police Department is continuing its long-time program of increased patrols on various township streets this week, according to Chief Gary Marshuetz.

In the upcoming week, the police will perform radar enforcement on Edgemere Road, East Cedar Street, South Orange Avenue, Baker Road, and Burnet Street. In addition, they will also address other travc safety concerns.

The enforcement on the abovenamed streets will begin on Friday, February 16, and run through the fol - lowing Friday, February 23, at which time the added patrols will move on to new areas of the township.

Enforcement on Hearthstone Ter- race, Winchester Road, Shrewsbury Drive, North Hillside Avenue, and Walnut Street will continue through Friday, February 16.

Check next week's issue of the Tribune for the newest list of streets receiving increased patrols.

A South Orange man is facing charges after he was found looking through ovce drawers at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center (CBMC), a representative for the Livingston Police said.

On Friday February 9, Quenton Hunt of South Orange was arrested for theft, possession of stolen prop - erty, and criminal trespassing at CBMC.

Hunt was found looking through ovce drawers and was in possession of a wallet that did not belong to him, according to police.

VEHICLE DESTROYED IN BLAZE: At about 6:45 a.m. on Monday, February 12, officials responded to a car fire on Laurel Avenue near Route 280. The driver of the vehicle said that she observed smoke from under the hood and, upon further inspection noticed that there was a fire in the engine compartment. The Livingston Fire Department, along with the West Orange Fire Department, arrived on the scene and extinguished the fire. No injuries were reported, however, the car was completely incinerated. The cause of the fire was not determined as of press time.

Students at Harrison School were honored on Wednesday, February 7, for raising the most funds of the dozens of participating schools in Table to Table's 2023 "Bag a Lunch, Help a Bunch" initiative.

"The power harnessed by these Harrison elementary students to be true community heroes – reduc- ing food waste, while also feeding thousands of New Jersey neighbors facing food insecurity – is nothing short of incredible," said Heather Thompson, executive director of Table to Table. "With this impressive level of community leadership, the future is truly bright."

Harrison's efforts garnered sufficient funds to rescue and deliver enough food for 14,600 healthy meals for those in need throughout Northern New Jersey. That amount, along with funds raised by the other schools, was doubled by the Bernard and Geraldine Segal Foundation.

WINTER STORM HITS LIVINGSTON: A winter storm dumped over half a foot of snow on Livingston on Tuesday, February 13. Livingston Public Schools and township non-emergency offices were closed due to the hazardous weather conditions. For its first major winter storm of the year, Livingston amassed a total of seven inches of snow. All schools and town offices reopened Wednesday morning.

During the Monday, February 5, meeting of the Township Council, the members passed a resolution naming Ketan Bhuptani to the Council. His appointment made history, as he became the first Asian American and Indian American person to ever be named to Livingston’s Council.

Bhuptani’s name was submitted by the Livingston Democratic County Committee – along with Laurence Bergmann and James McIlvaine – to replace Rosy Bagolie, who left the Council after one year to join the state Assembly.

Deputy Mayor Ed Meinhardt nominated Bhuptani, with Mayor Al Anthony seconding the nomination. The resolution was unanimously passed by the four Council members, who all spoke fondly of Bhuptani prior to the vote.

“Ketan, tonight you will make history in Livingston by being the first Council member of Asian American descent,” Council member Michael Vieira said.