Sound issues inside Council Chambers solved with mics

WEST ORANGE, NJ — Listeners who thought the Jan. 19 Township Council meeting seemed easier to hear were not mistaken. After more than a year of complaints from residents upset about the sound quality inside Council Chambers, the township added two microphones to the speaker’s podium and council dais last month. Township Chief Financial Officer John […]

Water damage in RMS gym

WEST ORANGE, NJ — The volleyball round robin that had been scheduled for Jan. 29 was canceled after damage to Roosevelt Middle School Gym made the space unsafe. “The gym roof leaked, causing a small area of the gym floor to buckle,” Superintendent of Schools Jeff Rutzky told the West Orange Chronicle in a Feb. 2 […]

Wenzel crosses courtroom aisle to serve West Orange

WEST ORANGE, NJ — Mayor Robert Parisi has nominated West Orange public defender Joseph Wenzel for the position of municipal prosecutor, replacing Bryn Whittle, who recently resigned. In a Jan. 21 statement to the West Orange Chronicle, Parisi said he has asked the West Orange Township Council to approve Wenzel for the role at its Feb. […]

WO community invited to see WOHS cheerleaders before Nationals

WEST ORANGE, NJ — On Feb. 6 and 7, the West Orange High School cheerleaders will be competing at the UCA National High School Championship for the second straight year and participating in the Varsity Large Non-Tumbling and Gameday divisions. As part of the family and friends send off, the cheerleaders will hold a special final […]

WO may increase debt to add parking to Gregory School

WEST ORANGE, NJ — The West Orange Township Council approved a bond ordinance on first reading at its Jan. 19 meeting appropriating $375,000 to cover the cost of traffic and parking improvements at Gregory Elementary School. The ordinance, passed by a 4-1 vote with Councilman Joe Krakoviak voting against it, specifies that $357,140 of the total […]

Is St. Mark’s on the chopping block?

Concerned residents, architects worry for fate of historic church following New Year’s Day fire

WEST ORANGE, NJ — The engineering firm hired by the owner of the St. Mark’s Episcopal Church building inspected the remains of the fire-damaged structure and, on Jan. 22, submitted a preliminary stabilization report to the township. Township business administrator Jack Sayers said the report from the Union City-based Optimized Engineering Associates Corp., which was submitted […]

Pleasantdale students chat with WO native aboard ISS

WEST ORANGE, NJ — Pleasantdale Elementary School students made West Orange history with the experience of a lifetime: A video-chat with Capt. Scott Kelly of NASA aboard the International Space Station on Jan. 18. Pleasantdale Principal Joanne Pollara and her team spent months coordinating with NASA to set up the first-ever West Orange school chat […]

Blizzard dumps nearly 30 inches of snow on West Orange

WEST ORANGE, NJ — It was a crazy weekend. A state of emergency was declared in New Jersey, temperatures dropped and the snow forecast changed hour by hour — in most cases going up! The blizzard, which hit late at night on Jan. 22, and kept up until early morning on Jan. 24, dumped nearly 30 […]

WOHS hosts 11th annual color guard invitational this weekend

WEST ORANGE, NJ — The award-winning West Orange High School winter color guard will host its 11th annual Mid-Atlantic Indoor Competition in the Tarnoff Gymnasium at West Orange High School on Sunday, Jan. 31, beginning at noon. The competition will feature 29 performances from color guards across the state. Color Guard routines consist of high-energy coordinated […]

Classic Film Festival returns to W. Orange for 11th year

WEST ORANGE, NJ — West Orange movie lovers once again have the opportunity to experience some of the best films of yesteryear as well as intriguing new work from independent directors with the return of the West Orange Classic Film Festival and Black Maria Film Festival at the Essex Green AMC Theater. The 11th annual Classic […]