Top Stories For February 2014

Now, two or three losses in a row seems a setback for a Verona High School sports team. But on a bright October day in 1966, the Hillbillies football team lost to Madison High School 75-0, part of what became 32 consecutive losses for VHS football. Two players from the era have made a documentary about it, and their story was the top story in February.

This winter, Verona has mostly felt defeated by the unrelenting snow. But we got through the winter doldrums by reading some uplifting stories about adoption, TV celebrities and a dance our grandparents once loved.

Every month, MyVeronaNJ.com looks at what our readers have been reading, and we let you know if you have to catch up on them. Here’s what you might have missed in February 2014:

1. Remembering VHS Football’s Biggest Loss: Once upon a time, there was a Verona High School football team that lost every game for three seasons, including one 75-0 defeat. Two former players have made a documentary about it.
2. Fasano Bocce Bash On ‘Cake Boss’: Last summer, at the Anthony Fasano Bocce Bash in Verona Park, the Cake Boss‘ Buddy Valastro delivered a rather substantial bocce-style cake. The episode is finally on TV.
3. The New Sound Of Verona’s Fire Calls: For decades, you could tell exactly where a fire was in Verona by listening to the horn pattern. No longer.
4. An Idea Your Kids Will Hate: Virtual Snow Days: A former Veronan who now lives in New Hampshire tells us how that state handles days when snow cancels school.
5. Board Of Ed Approves Referendum, Goes To Voters March 11: After more than a year of planning, the Verona Board of Education approved a referendum to make critical repairs to Verona’s public schools.
6. Schools Add Half Days To Cover Snow Closings: Verona’s public schools are out of snow days. So with snow and ice predicted for tonight and a massive snow storm on the way for Sunday, they have taken back vacation days from the February break
7. HBW Learns To Swing Dance: They are masters at texting, and now they can do the triple step too. Students at H.B. Whitehorne spent a week learning about Swing dance: Its history, its music and, most of all its moves.
8. Town Council Asked To Delay Awarding Hilltop Fields Contract: Citing concerns about rising taxes and overlapping purposes, a group of residents asked the Town Council to delay awarding the construction contract for the new sports fields on Verona’s Hilltop.
9. Futerman Takes Adoption Story To ‘Good Morning America’: Verona’s Samantha Futerman was invited on the TV show to talk about the unusual story of her adoption from South Korea.
10. No Wiggle Room In 180-Day Rule: With the avalanche of snow days that we’ve had so far, it’s no small wonder that the Verona Board of Education has been getting questions about whether there’s any way around the rule that we have 180 days of school.