Judge's Ruling on Sex Charges, Rt. 4 Pedestrian Struck and Superintendent's Top July News

Two former Paramus Catholic employees can be charged for allegedly having sex with students on a school trip to Germany, according to a Superior Court judge's ruling on July 10. Artur Sopel of River Edge and Michael Sumulikoski of Elmwood Park were  after three teenage girls alleged that they had engaged in sexual conduct with the pair during a February trip that year. An additional girl, a former student at , came forward later stating she engaged in sexual activities with Sopel in spring of 2010. Sumulikoski has Judge James Guida's decision.

A 44-year-old Paramus man was in the intensive care unit at  following the on Rt. 4 near the River Edge/Paramus border. According to  Chief Thomas Cariddi, the incident occured around 9:12pm Wednesday when the pedestrian attempted to cross Rt. 4 from the eastbound side to the westbound side. Upon reaching the westbound side, he was struck by a vehicle and hit the windshield before being thrown to the ground.

With unanimous board approval and the approval of County Executive Superintendent Robert Gilmartin, River Edge Superintendent Dr. Tova Ben-Dov's contract with the K-6 district was approved to allow for a $3,000 base salary increase for the coming year. The raise, which brings her base salary to $177,000, is based on merit and the achievement of her 2011-12 school year goals. 

After being thrown a curveball last month with news that Principal Scott Ryan would be retiring in August prior to the start of the school year, the Oradell Board of Education announced their new administrative staff on July 19. Along with Ryan,  will also be losing the services of Assistant Principal John Norton who will be taking a similar position in a different district.

Instead the district will continue to have Thomas Santagato serve as Director of Special Education and Student Support Services and welcome four new administrators to their new positions: Anne Facendo, Superintendent/Principal; Megan Bozios, Assistant Principal; Sarah Bright, Supervisor of Instruction, K-3; and Kevin Stokes, Supervisor of Instruction, 4-6.

Despite several setbacks and complications,Oradell's Tammy Dunwoody and Glen Rock's Amy Lung fought their way through three rounds of Food Network's Cupcake Wars on July 16 before coming up just short in the end.

The two bakers from  and  competed for the opportunity to serve their cupcakes at a VIP party celebrating the release of "Private Practice" star Kate Walsh's fragrance, Billionaire Boyfriend.

While summer is in full swing, the Oradell Board of Education has been busy at work hiring additional staffing in anticipation of the 2012-13 school year. At a recent meeting, the Board hired five staff members under the recommendation of interim Superintendent Dr. Jeffrey Feiler. 

The district would bring in additional staffing for kindergarten (Adrianna Pestrichella), sixth grade (Chanel Min), special education (Rosemarie Cataldo), ESL/Basic Skills (Debra Silverstein) and a nurse's aid (Karen De Pol) for September.

After several years of legal wrangling and a, the River Dell Regional Funding fight has moved one step closer to a final resolution following two days of testimony last week before Administrative Law Judge Leslie Z. Celentano in Newark. Oradell argued to switch to an 80-20 mix formula of equalized taxes and a per-pupil charge to be implemented over a four-year span.

Under oath, representatives from 7-Eleven stated that without a monument sign on the corner of Kinderkamack Road and Van Buren Avenue, their would be shelved. The five foot and four-and-a-half inch internally light sign was debated for two hours before it was ultimately approved 6-2 by the River Edge Planning Board members.

Among the likes of legendary coaches from Bergen Catholic such as Fred Stengel, Joe Dionisio and Chris J. Donfield, head wrestling coach David Bell will become the fourth Crusaders' coach to be named to the New Jersey Scholastic Coaches Association (NJSCA) Hall of Fame.

On Tuesday, Bell along with 34 other coaches from around the state were inducted into the NJSCA Hall of Fame "Class of 2012".

Since the 1960s, the River Edge  on Main and Elizabeth Streets has been a familiar site in the downtown area. It has undergone two renovations in its over 50-year history with the borough and after July 19's approval, the Golden Arches will be reincarnated for a third time following a unanimous approval by the Planning Board.

After suffering through a horrible back injury,musician/composer Krishna Venkatesh of River Edge turned to yoga to seek relief. And from there, his love affair with the practice began, leading him to start the borough’s first hot vinyasa yoga class at , beginning Sept. 10.

For the first time in two years, the  Class of 2013 can boast three rising seniors that will head off to Division 1 schools following their final season sporting red and gold. After the news that  early this summer, fellow teammates Kyle Quiero and Rich Queen followed suite. Quiero settled on Northwestern while Queen heads to the University of Massachusetts following their final year in the red and gold.

Late Wednesday afternoon on July 25, River Edge Democratic candidate Robert Levine announced that he is dropping his campaign bid for one of the open borough council seats this November.

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