Codey announces teen suicide initiative at LMS

WEST ORANGE, NJ — State Sen. Richard Codey held a press conference at Liberty Middle School on May 9 in an effort to address the serious issue of teen suicide and to assist school employees in identifying at-risk students. Codey and his wife Mary Jo — a teacher for more than 40 years, 15 years […]

WOCC honors top community members

WEST ORANGE, NJ — The West Orange Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual Community Awards Dinner at the Wilshire Grand Hotel on May 9, honoring the hotel as the Business of the Year in addition to handing out awards for Educator of the Year, Police Officers of the Year and Firefighters of the Year. Philip […]

Washington remembers Byrne, Villarosa

WEST ORANGE, NJ — Washington Elementary School celebrated Arbor Day on April 27 by planting two trees on the school playground — one dedicated to Gov. Brendan Byrne, a West Orange native who attended the school as a child and who died earlier this year, and one dedicated to Patricia Villarosa, a first-grade teacher who […]

Holocaust assembly at RMS features story of Anne Frank

WEST ORANGE, NJ — The annual Holocaust assembly at Roosevelt Middle School on April 18 featured a special performance highlighting the life and death of Anne Frank. Presented by the award-winning educational acting company “Living Voices,” “Through the Eyes of a Friend” provided a young teen’s vantage point of the Nazi occupation of Holland and […]

BOE may raise tax levy by 1.67 percent

WEST ORANGE, NJ — The West Orange Board of Education unanimously passed the 2018-2019 preliminary budget at its special meeting on Monday, April 9, at Liberty Middle School, after receiving an extension from the county to submit the budget for approval. The previous county deadline was March 29. The preliminary operating budget is a total […]

Community mourns death of beloved teacher

WEST ORANGE, NJ — The West Orange School District is mourning the loss of Washington Elementary School first-grade teacher Patricia Villarosa, who died March 9 from injuries she sustained after being struck by a car Feb. 26 on Pleasant Valley Way while on her way to a board of education meeting. Both a teacher and […]

Sleeping Redwood student found aboard bus in depot

WEST ORANGE, NJ — Following a busing snafu, an elementary school child was driven to the bus depot instead of school Friday, March 16. A bus driver employed by the Hunterdon County Education Service Commission, which performs certain busing duties for West Orange, reportedly failed to perform the mandatory inspection of his bus after delivering […]

WOSD, WOPD hold school safety forum

WEST ORANGE, NJ — The community came together on Feb. 28 in the West Orange High School Auditorium to discuss safety and security in the town’s schools with Superintendent Jeffrey Rutzky and a panel of West Orange police officers. The open forum saw residents, parents and district employees share their thoughts and ideas about how […]