School Rankings, Student Death Top September News

River Dell Seeks Answers on NJ Monthly Rankings

After falling 77 spots in NJ Monthly's list of Top High Schools in the state, the district is still waiting on a response from the magazine on what exactly caused the regional school district to drop from being ranked 27th to 104th.

After word spread that River Dell senior Rafael "Raf" Acosta died over the weekend, current and former students took to Twitter to remember a friend and peer who was known for his sense of humor.

Construction may still be months away for the former Huffman Koos site as the owners continue to await news from the state Economic Development Authority regarding financial support. In the meantime though, Route 4 - Main Street LLC has begun inking leases with Total Wine and CVS.

Eleven years have passed since the World Trade Center towers came down and River Edge lost five residents. It's been 11 months since a steel I-beam from one of the towers was brought to the borough for a First Responder's Memorial outside of borough hall - the Memorial was dedicated Tuesday afternoon as residents, friends, family and volunteers crowded together in memory.

TV cameras rolled, flashes popped, poms poms waved and a packed house stood in anticipation. This is what Friday Night Lights is supposed to look like. The glare of the spotlight proved too much for all but one figure. Bergen Catholic quarterback senior Jon Germano threw for 300 yards, four touchdowns and ran for another as the Crusaders downed host St. Anthony’s, 59-21.

With the River Dell community still processing the loss of 17-year-old Rafael Acosta, the regional Board of Education opted to postpone several major presentations and discussions until the Oct. 15 meeting which will include a Staff Retiree Recognization ceremony, information about the 2011-12 District Testing Report, the hiring of two to three teachers in core subjects to serve as tutors after school and a grade weighting policy.

Residents in New Milford and Oradell havebanded together against a proposed development along the Madison Avenue, Main Street, River Road and John D. Cecchino Drive intersections and are now seeking support from their neighbors to the north in River Edge as well.

At the same time, the New Milford Council is still considering to rezone the property. Stop Over Development (SOD) members John Desantis and John Rutledge recently discussed how the Hekemian/United Water project would affect the people of River Edge.

For years the Sgt. Walter Scott Brown American Legion has stood tall and proud on Continental Avenue - but over the past few years the building has changed from what it once was to bordering on something completely different in town.

Of the three floors inside, the basement has been hit the hardest having been ravaged by flooding when the sump pumps stopped working and plagued by mold. The flooring by the basement entrance has peeled up and water stains at least one foot high.

The first week of the 2012 fall campaigns for the River Dell Golden Hawks and Bergen Catholic Crusaders are in the record books and both football teams and the girls volleyball squad have each picked up where they left off at the end of 2011.

Bergen Catholic High School  announced this week the addition of two new teams to its Athletics Program, as the Crusader Ski and Crew teams will debut this coming school year on the varsity level. The Ski team will compete in the 2012-2013 winter season, while the Crew team will compete in the spring of 2013.

Several months ago, Joe Polaco had intended to build a pair of 2500-square-foot houses along Park Avenue but following the borough's reassessment, those plans changed and this week has requested a conditional zoning change for that property to allow duplexes on site.

Since July 2011, River Dell Board Adminstrator Thomas Bonfiglio has been wearing a second hat of Assistant Superintendent of Business  and for the next year, his title will change slightly. During Monday evening's Regional Board of Education, he was appointed as the district's Assistant Superintendent/Board Secretary for the 2012-13 year and after which point he would revert back to a Business Administrator's position only.

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