Board Trustees Resign, Mansion Sale Postponed and More Top December's News

Two Regional Board Trustees Resign Within Hours of Each Other

With one year remaining in their three-year terms, River Dell Board of Education members Michael Chakansky and Dorothea Durand, both of Oradell, resigned from their respective posts on Monday evening within an hour of one another. Both trustees were elected in 2010.

A 30-year-old River Edge resident is now facing charges of second-degree assault after striking a Paramus man who was attempting to help a motor vehicle crash victim. Gregory Komporlis was charged on Dec. 14 with driving while under the influence and placing Farbod Fallah in critical condition at HUMC after the Forest Avenue accident. Fallah had exited his vehicle on Forest Avenue to assist 21-year-old Rebecca Wright, also of Paramus, who had crashed her Volkswagen Jetta into a utility pole. Wright is also suspected of driving while under the influence.

Plans to install 11 roadway stanchions along Kinderkamack Road and Midland Avenue should be completed by the end of the year in River Edge as borough officials look to make the main thoroughfaires safer to pedestrians.

The crosswalk pedestrian stanctions would be located where Kinderkamack Road meets with: Midland Avenue, Lincoln Avenue, Continental Avenue, Madison Avenue, Voorhis Avenue, Howland Avenue, Reservoir Avenue, Main Street and Grand Avenue. Additional stanchions would be placed at the intersections of Midland Avenue and Bogert Road and Midland Avenue and Myrtle Avenue.

With heavy retirement around the corner, theRiver Edge Police Department had something to celebrate as Dumont-native Vincent Ariano became the department's third rookie of the year. He was officially sworn in on Dec. 3.

Ariano will join fellow rookie patrol officers Renata Sanches and Anthony Roman who were both hired in February as the newest members of the River Edge Police Department.

All during the final week of classes in December, students and faculty members along with parents will see an increased police presence at the Regional High School as law enforcement investigates a potential threat that was discovered in a school restroom, one day before the . 

The alleged threat, indicated that a student would come to class on Friday, Dec. 21 with the intention of violence. Several parents contacted Patch stating that the alleged threat included the use of a firearm.

For the third time in two months, the Blauvelt Mansion's mortgage sale has yet again been postponed. The $3.7 million foreclosure sale was initially scheduled for this afternoon, but according to the Bergen County Sheriff's Office Foreclosure Sale Listings, the auction has now been rescheduled for January 4.

For years the redevelopment of the southern portion of River Edge has hinged on two projects - Huffman Koos and a Transit Village. And while progress is slowly moving forward with the proposed trio of retail buildings by Total Wine, the Villege has suffered yet another setback following a lack of responses that meet NJ Transit's strict criteria.

Borough redevelopment attorney Francis Regan recently sat down with NJ Transit and appeared before the governing body stating that Transit is interested in meeting in the future. He was joined by borough planner Paul Phillips.

Bergen Catholic's quest for a Non Public Group 4 state title will continue after the third-seeded Cruasders fell in a tight match to Paramus Catholic on Dec. 7.

Mayor Joseph L. Murray Jr. announced at the December 11 council meeting that the ordinance concerning a new Verizon cell phone tower to be placed in Memorial Woods would come to an end right along with 2012.

According to Murray, the ordinance had to be abandoned as the planning board had not completed its review, but there is a possibility it could resurface in 2013.

Over the past three years, crime statistics in the River Dell area have continued to drop off in Oradell, but this year River Edge saw a slight uptick in its reported incidents. The New Jersey State Police released its 2011 Uniform Crime Report on Friday with statewide criminal reportsrising 3-percent from 2010 to 2011.

According to the report, Oradell had 50 reported incidents in 2011, down from the prior year's 82 reports while River Edge had two additional incidents this past year for a total 110 reports. 

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