Dec. 4, 2013 Edition of The Observer

Page 1

December 4, 2013 • www.theobserver.com • Vol CXXVI, No. 28

COVERING: BELLEVILLE • BLOOMFIELD

Santa will help light tree

Finding the ‘joy’ of life

Kearny will kick off the holiday season this Thursday, Dec. 5, from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., with the annual KUEZ Holiday Tree Lighting Festival outside Town Hall on Kearny Ave. Please note: Kearny Ave. will be closed between Liberty St. and Quincy Ave. throughout the event. The evening will open with a concert on the steps of Town Hall featuring the Washington School Chorus (under the direction of Scott Burzynski); Franklin School Chorus (under the direction of Denise Mitchell); West Hudson Arts & Theater Co. Singers; Kearny High School Brass Ensemble (under the direction of Ed Garguilo), and a preview of W.H.A.T.’s March production of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” At 6:30 p.m., Santa arrives to help Mayor Alberto G. Santos and members of the Town Council light the Kearny Holiday Tree. “Santa’s arrival is certainly one of the highlights of the night,” said Kearny Urban Enterprise Zone coordinator John Peneda. “You can feel the excitement of the children build as we approach that moment when he steps out the front doors of Town Hall and joins the mayor to light our tree.” The festivities then move immediately to Town Hall see TREE page

• EAST NEWARK • HARRISON • KEARNY • LYNDHURST • NORTH ARLINGTON • NUTLEY

13

Photo courtesy Grace United Methodist Church, inset photo by Karen Zautyk

The initial “Recovering Joy” service last month. Inset: Pastor Nicholas J. Connolly

By Karen Zautyk Observer Correspondent KEARNY – his Sunday, Dec. 8, at 9:30 a.m., Grace United Methodist Church, 380 Kearny Ave., will be holding its new celebratory service

T

with the theme “Recovering Joy.” Regular services continue to be held on the other Sundays, but the second Sunday of each month is now focused not only on prayer and but also “healing, singing and

laughter.” In other words: joy. From the interview we had recently with Grace Church Pastor Nicholas J. Connolly, we think he is the perfect person for such a ministry, considering we spent a great deal of time laughing. (Not at his work! Rather, at your cor-

respondent’s initial discomfort when she learned she was interviewing a former Jesuit. In my mind, Jesuits are the intellectual ecclesiastical equivalent of astrophysicists. Some of them

More intrigue behind the blue wall By Ron Leir Observer Correspondent

NUTLEY – Another police superior has lodged a legal beef against Mayor/Public Safety Commissioner Alphonse Petracco and the police union continues to vent its displeasure with

the internal workings of the department. Police Sgt. Christopher Lamond, a 21-year member of the force, has allleged in a lawsuit filed Oct. 15 against the township and Petracco that for the past two years, “and strictly for reasons of politics, malice, self aggrandizement

and vicious intent, [he] has been subjected to ridicule, harassment, retaliation, civil rights violations and purposeful abuse ….” And Nutley PBA Local 33 President Gerard Tusa, in a Nov. 12 letter to the township commissioners, griped that, “… here we are [following Chief

201-991-1300 KEARNY OFFICE 213 Kearny Ave, Kearny, New Jersey

C21Semiaokearny@Century21.com

see CHURCH page

10

John Holland’s retirement Nov. 1] … without a permanent chief and without a clear line of communication on what the command structure is in the police department. “This has led to low morale, dysfunction within the departsee COPS page

16

201-460-8000 LYNDHURST OFFICE Semiao & Associates www.Century21Semiao.com

TO SEECENTURY OUR AD THIS PLEASEMOBILE! TURN TO PAGE 24 23 21WEEK, HAS GONE

761 Ridge Road, Lyndhurst, New Jersey

C21Semiao@Century21.com

Get CENTURY 21 Real Estate Mobile App. Visit http://87778.mobi/c21


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.