Here are some of the headlines from the towns around Verona this week:
Eight different police departments converged on West Essex High School on Tuesday after the North Caldwell police were tipped that a female student had possibly brought a gun inside the school. Police removed the student from the school, and, after searching her belongings, locker and the classroom in which she had been found, said they had not found a gun. The student was taken to St. Clare’s Hospital in Denville for evaluation, the police said.
Google has put out the word that it wants trial locations for its planned ultra-high speed broadband service and Montclair is applying.
New Jersey Transit is planning on raising fares for the first time in three years, and it’s making up for lost time. NewJerseyNewsrom.com says the hike will be a whopping 25%.
Glen Ridge is laying off two police officers to help it close part of its $500,000 budget gap. Baristanet says the town had asked the police department to come up with $200,000 in cuts. The department says it offered a plan, which included cutting overtime and postponing the purchase of new vehicles, but the town rejected the offer.
A large bear turned up in a backyard in Wayne, and apparently killed a dog. Sadly, the bear, who reportedly had caused problems in Wayne twice before, was later put down by the state Department of Environmental Protection.
And finally, although Verona has used up all its snow days, at least we built some into the school calendar. Many districts didn’t–or didn’t build enough, and now they are scrambling to cut the spring breaks or add days at the end of the year. The Star Ledger says that Tom’s River schools, which have been closed six days for snow, have put Easter Monday back on the calendar as a school day and extended the school year through June 24.
