Former Bloomfield teacher sentenced for pornography

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — Former Bloomfield School District teacher Nicholas Schumacher, 30, was sentenced in Morris County Superior Court on Friday, Sept. 16, to three years in prison for distribution of child pornography. Schumacher taught music at Berkeley and Franklin elementary schools and lived in Randolph. His sentence was part of a plea agreement. Although the distribution […]

Murray runs for seat on school board

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — The Independent Press is continuing its profiling of Bloomfield Board of Education candidates in the November elections. Profiled already were incumbents Shane Berger and Jill Fischman, and challengers Djanna Hill-Tall, Laura Izurieta, Lillian Mancheno and Ben Morse. All are running for three open three-year seats. Not yet profiled are challengers Catherine Bumpus and […]

Seniors cut off from shopping, but town promises help

Seniors cut off from shopping, but town promises help

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — A stalled Essex County road project in Bloomfield was making life more difficult for senior citizens living in Kinder Towers, but that problem might be lessened due to the intercession of 1st Ward Councilman Elias Chalet. The road project is the replacement of the Hoover Avenue bridge which crosses over the Third River, […]

Walk raises $8,000 for pediatric cancer research

Walk raises $8,000 for pediatric cancer research

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — Bloomfield held its first walk to raise money for pediatric cancer research on Sunday, Sept. 18. It was called “Go for Gold for Pediatric Cancer” and was a trip of 3 miles that started at the Bloomfield Oakeside Cultural Center, on Belleville Avenue. A total of 194 men, women and children, and four […]

Good weather, good fun at yard sale

GLEN RIDGE, NJ — The Friends of the Glen Ridge Public Library held its first townwide yard sale on Saturday, Sept. 17. More than 133 homeowners were registered, and each had paid $10 to sell items their children had outgrown and they had almost forgotten. } “I’m selling everything I bought at other garage sales,” said […]

College merges three buildings for a CAT center

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — Bloomfield College had a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday, Sept. 8, for the school’s new Center for Technology and Creativity. The facility will bring together both old and new creative disciplines, including painting, game development, music technology, student performances and special-effects filming. The center is itself a combination of the old and new and […]

Except for the heat, first day of school was OK

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — The school bell rang last week to officially end summer vacation for Bloomfield elementary school children. On Wednesday, Sept 7, girls and boys were at their desks again after a schoolyard regaling to friends of a summertime exploit or the surprise from seeing someone 3 inches taller. Then, into the building and getting […]

Big interest payments for town in station lawsuit

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — A Newark Superior Court trial decision in June set the price Bloomfield must pay for the historic train station property on Lackawanna Place, but that price is increasing because of interest payments. The 5-1 jury verdict, by a six-member jury, determined that the township, which condemned the property and holds title to it, […]

Media center opens at Brookdale Elementary

Media center opens at Brookdale Elementary

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — Brookdale Elementary School unveiled a new media center with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday, Sept. 9. The center is tucked away on the basement level. Last year it had been on the first floor but that area is now two first-grade classrooms. “This is not an isolation,” Principal Joseph Fleres said of the […]