OBITUARIES

BY MICHAEL OLOHAN OF PASCACK PRESS

PASCACKVALLEYREGIONAL

Increasing opportunities for social and emotional learning, improving student-staff relationships, and enhancing diversity by including new content into school curriculum, such as LGBTQ+ history, were some of the recommendations heard at the June 6 Pascack Valley Regional High School District school board meeting.

The board took no action on the recommendations presented following a report on the districtʼs recent school climate survey.

Dr. Mark Russo, district supervisor of diversity, equity and inclusion, presented the results of the high schoolsʼclimate survey, along with two high school students from Pascack Hills and Pascack Valley, who presented recommendations based on survey findings.

The school climate survey, Russo previously said, was mainly used to help shape ongoing efforts related to diversity, equity and inclusion in the regional high schools.

He said, “My hope is that some of these recommendations weʼve just heard will help all of our students, and groups of students, flourish and thrive.”

During public comment, Pascack Hills Senior Rebecca Cohen said though she believed it was a law to teach LGBTQ+ history in New Jersey now, she did not learn anything about LGBTQ+ history. She suggested incorporating more topics about “race, gender, sexuality, everything like that it would make (for) a more enriched environment for the classroom.”

She said this could help “in making more identities seen and heard.”

Trustee Kelly Blundy, Woodcliff Lake, praised the students who presented recommendations, noting “wellness is very near and dear to my heart.” She said she would like to meet with them to get specific details about the climate survey. She said the survey raised topics such as coping skills, conflict resolution, trauma resolution, and working through difficulties and becoming stronger.

She said “maybe we have classes on how to get out of your comfort zone” and noted she had moved to two different middle schools as a youngster, and that may have helped her handle things better.

She told Russo that she “would love to be more involved with this.”

Trustee Michael Weaver, Montvale, said the survey data was well-presented and noted related work is happening with students and administrators in high schools.

“But I donʼt know if we as a board have done the necessary work in this area over the past year,” he said, noting he was uncertain when the boardʼs Equity Committee had met since last summer.

Weaver questioned at what point trustees would take the recommendations “and do something about it.” He noted “it would be nice to know how we as a board can support that work.”

Some Pascack Hills recommendations focused on social and emotional learning and diversity. To enhance diversity, a student committee called for more diverse representation as well as student choice in class content.

— Thereʼs much more!Read the whole story at PascackPress.com! Then sound off in Letters!

Teresa M. LATICI

Teresa M. Latici, 85, of Montvale, passed away on Saturday, June 4, 2022. Born in Bridgeport, Conn., Teresa attended the University of Connecticut where she earned her bachelorʼs and masterʼs degrees in education. She was a high school English and history teacher for many years in public and parochial schools in Connecticut and New Jersey.

Teresa was very active in her faith, serving as a Eucharistic minister. She was also very involved in Cursillo and as a member of several prayer communities. She enjoyed playing tennis, birdwatching, NYC opera, Broadway theatre, and spending her summers vacationing in Cape Cod, Mass. and Harvey Cedars, New Jersey.

Teresa is predeceased by her parents, Anthony and Rose DiNuzzo; brother James; and sister Josephine Adintori.

She is survived by her beloved husband of 62 years, Donald; her daughter Mary Azzolina, husband Paul, and granddaughter MaryAlice; her daughter Gayla Latici; and son Christopher Latici; sister Mary Ann Grygorcewicz and brotherin-law Chester; along with many nieces and nephews.

The family received guests at Becker Funeral Home, 219 Kinderkamack Road, Westwood on Tuesday, June 7. A Mass celebrating Teresaʼs life and faith was be held at R.C. Church Of The Presentation in Upper Saddle River on Wednesday, June 8 with private cremation following.

Memorial contributions can be made in Teresaʼs name to St. Jude Childrenʼs Research Hospital.

Peter HAUSCH

Peter Hausch, 84, of Westwood, passed away on Sunday, June 5, 2022. Born in Somerville, he resided in Westwood for the past 75 years. Peter graduated from Westwood High School in 1956, then served in the United States Air Force, July 1956 through July 1960. After his service, Peter joined the the New Jersey State Police, where he served for 30 years and in 1991 retired as captain.

He is predeceased by his parents, Peter and Anne Hausch, and sister, Patricia Mitchell.

He is survived by his beloved wife of 59 years, Janet; his children Anne (Robert) Kelly, Jackie (Tom) Villano, Mike (Michele) Hausch, Carol (Dieter) Wegner, Don (Erica) Hausch, Diane (George) Brahm, and Peter (Alex) Hausch; 22 grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

Peter enjoyed fishing trips to Canada, trips to Atlantic City and, most of all, spending time with his family.

The family received guests at Becker Funeral Home, 219 Kin-

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derkamack Road. Westwood on Tuesday, June 7. A celebration of Peterʼs life and faith was held at the funeral home on Wednesday, June 8. Interment at George Washington Memorial Park in Paramus.

Brian DUFFY

Brian Duffy passed away peacefully on June 1, 2022, at his home in River Vale. Beloved husband, for 60 years, to Maura Duffy. Devoted father to Deirdre, Colleen, Thomas, and Tara. Brother to Catherine. Grandfather to Maeve, Sophia, Amelia, Keira, Cathal, and Theo.

Born on April 30, 1939, in East Harlem, N.Y., Brian lived in Closter for 44 years before moving to River Vale in 2013.

Brianʼs career as a CPA in Manhattan spanned 55 years. He retired from PKD OʼConnor Davies in 2016.

His many friends and colleagues were invited to attend a memorial gathering on Wednesday, June 8. A Mass celebrating Brianʼs life was held on Thursday, June 9 at St. Pius X R.C. Church in Old Tappan, followed by interment at George Washington Memorial Park in Paramus.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Alzheimerʼs Foundation of America (www.alzfdn.org).

Arno SIREL

Arno Sirel, 76, of Woodcliff Lake passed away suddenly on May 21, 2022. He was born in Estonia on Jan. 11, 1946 to Helmi (née Pillau) and August Sirel. Beloved husband of the late Carol (née Gondek) Sirel. Brother of Lida, Raul, and the late John. Brother-in-law of the late Francine (George) Bellinghiere, the late Danny (Alice) Gondek, Randy (Linda) Gondek, Susan (Bruce) Brown, Brian (Lori) Gondek and Bruce (the late Susan) Gondek. Cousin of Reet Hayden. Uncle of many nieces and nephews. Arno served in the United States Army and operated a thriving landscape company, A&D Landscaping Inc., as well as a professional tree service, Tree Time. He was well regarded in the community and will be missed by so many. Funeral services were private. Arrangements by Robert Spearing Funeral Home Inc., 155 Kinderkamack Road, Park Ridge. rsfhi.com

Alex T. CERRATO

Alex T. Cerrato, 89, of Park Ridge passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loving family, on Wednesday, June 1, 2022. He is survived by his beloved wife Jane Cerrato (née Cambria) of 60 years and their children Alex Cerrato and his wife, Beth, and Connie Amicucci and her husband, John.

He is predeceased by his daughter Rosemarie Vasoll.He was the cherished grandpa of John Alex Amicucci and his fiance, Erin; Harrison Amicucci; Jannal Vasoll; Luke Amicucci; Ben Cerrato; and Cole Cerrato. A veteran, he proudly served his country in the Korean War. Alex was a softball umpire for 45 years. A love of his was to coach young athletes, beginning with his own children, then his grandchildren, and lastly with the Park Ridge Recreation football Owls.

Visitation was Sunday June 5 and Monday, June 6 at Robert Spearing Funeral Home, 155 Kinderkamack Road, Park Ridge with funeral Mass on Tuesday, June 7 at the Roman Catholic Church of the Presentation in Upper Saddle River. In lieu of flowers, a donation may be made to the Scleroderma Research Foundation, srfcure.org.

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bers and advisory members who are residents. The group notes itʼs “a cross-section of the community, with each member providing diverse experiences and unique skills.” 2022 members are Ruta Fiorino, assistant chair Yana Mermel, secretary Ron Miller, chair Gia Schneider, Elizabeth Callahan, Cherry Ying Zhu, councilman Frank Pizzella, rec rep Debbie Szabo, health board nurse Marguerite Deppert, ambulance representative Laszlo Horvath, police Sgt. Adam Hampton, fire department rep Lt. Barry Peterson, and school board rep Nicole Klas.

Schneider told Pascack Press on June 2, “It went really well! We had a lot of participants this year, a lot of new and returning artists.”She estimated the number at two dozen and said they brought “a multitude of submissions.”

She said word of mouth was effective, and “the committee has been making a lot of relationships.”

“A lot of our participants were older, which was nice. It wasnʼt just school-age children. We had people from all over, as far as Lyndhurst.”

Schneider said the committee is aiming for a fall event as well. “It just depends on what kind of feedback we get from our outreach.”

Two of the participating artists made a particularly huge impression, Schneider said: Lisa Gonzalez and Generoso Del Regno, who receive services from Adler Aphasia Center. Aphasia is a language disorder that usually results from a brain injury such as a stroke, brain tumor, accident, or infection.

While aphasia can affect oneʼs ability to speak, read, and write, it does not affect intellect

Gonzalez wrote Pascack Press June 7, “I had my stroke in 2015. I started painting afterward. It was a way to help me communicate. I never took lessons. I taught myself. My husband bought me art supplies and motivated me to paint.”

She said, “I loved being in the show. It was fantastic. I am going to do it again next year. Being in the art show made me feel like a star.”

Del Regno conveyed to Pascack Press that he suffered a stroke in 2005 and had always had artistic abilities. Before his stroke he owned a tile and granite company, making mosaics and designing tiles for display inside and outside homes.

He also was a semi-professional soccer player in Germany and served in the military in Italy for four years. He paints at home and at Adler Aphasia Center.

Asked how it was for him to participate in Hillsdaleʼs Access for All Committeeʼs 2nd Annual Art Show, he said he was excited to show his paintings. “Felt very proud.”

Meredith Gemeiner, support group facilitator and outreach manager for Adler Aphasia Center, told Pascack Press that the center is a post-rehabilitative therapeutic program that addresses the long term needs of people with aphasia and their families through a variety of innovative group-based activities.

“Typically, when someone is diagnosed with aphasia, they will receive individual speech therapy, in both in-patient and outpatient settings. Due to insurance limitations, people are often discharged from individual therapy just a few months after acquiring their aphasia,” she said.

The Adler Aphasia Center is a non-profit organization with full-service facilities based in Maywood, West Orange, and Toms River. It offers smaller Aphasia Communication Groups in nine other locations throughout the state and one virtual group for state residents..

For his part, library director Dave Franz said it was a pleasure to have the boroughʼs Access for All group enjoy the library.

“Itʼs great to be open and be useful again. We have a meeting room and we lined the walls — itʼs open to any artist or collectors. We like to have an exhibit in there every month — we had some sculpture and 3-D artworks in our display cases. As far as I could tell everyone really enjoyed it.”

The library has a new exhibit in place: paintings by Jeanne Beusser of Paramus — and a collection of dolls in the exhibit cases.

Franz said the library also displayed Hillsdaleʼs Access for All Committeeʼs first annual art show banner — a really huge item showing off last yearʼs works — inside the library.

He said “Weʼre trying to get people back to the library. Foot traffic is down. People are still hesitant, what with Covid. Weʼre giving out tote bags — weʼre trying to lure people back to using the library.”

He said of the falloff, which is affecting all libraries in our area, “Thatʼs OK. It turned out 10% of everyone who had used library card last year were downloading our ebooks and audio books. So even though people were not coming into the library theyʼre still utilizing the resources that we provide. So I thought that was pretty cool.”

As for the art show, he said it was a natural fit for the space. “Itʼs a small town so I attend meetings all the time and the organizers had asked if they could exhibit at the library. The library was happy to host the event — and any other artist in the area.”

Letters:

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lature has made available to qualifying property owners.

However, there are far more residents and business owners adversely impacted by preventable flood events who do not qualify for these programs and who will necessarily remain in harmʼs way. S-790 and A4100 are their best hope at relief.

Additionally, and closer to home, we support Senator Holly Schepisiʼs letter of June 3, 2022, urging Gov. Murphy to immediately order Veolia to roll back the water level at the Woodcliff Lake Reservoir from “Summer” mode of 95 feet, to “Winter” mode of 91 feet until further notice.

That action, although temporary, would immediately reduce the threat of recurring flood problems downstream as our towns experienced on Saturday May 29, and then again on Thursday June 2. It will take pressure off the earthen dam at Oradell Reservoir which routinely spills over with the runoff coming from up north.

These latest discrete flood events, both occurring within less that one week of each other, illustrate why the Woodcliff Lake Reservoir must be held at the lower elevation of 91 feet by executive order, until the Senate and Assembly bills can advance, and the regulatory regimes governing the water utilities catch up with reality. Our flood-weary residents and business owners deserve no less.

Sincerely,

Terry Maguire,

Executive director, Pascack Valley Mayors Association — undersigned

Mayor Danielle DePaola

Borough of Emerson

Mayor John Ruocco

Borough of Hillsdale

Mayor Michael Ghassali

Borough of Montvale

Mayor John M. Kramer

Borough of Old Tappan

Mayor Dianne Didio

Borough of Oradell

Mayor Keith Misciagna

Borough of Park Ridge

Mayor Glen Jasionowski

Township of River Vale

Mayor Peter Calamari

Township of Washington

Mayor Ray Arroyo

Borough of Westwood

Mayor Carlos Rendo

Borough of Woodcliff Lake Artists, friends, and family at the Hillsdale Free Public Library for the borough Access For All Committee’s Second Annual ‘Spring is in the Air’ Art Show. (Courtesy photos)

EMERSON

Chamber’s Third Annual Car Show roars June 18

Save the date for the Emerson Chamber of Commerceʼs Third Annual Car Show. Proceeds support local charities and Emerson High School scholarships.

The event is June 18 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Stop and Shop parking lot, Kinderkamack Road.

Classic and exotic cars, trucks, and motorcycles are welcome. All makes and models. Trophies in all classes.

Spectators:Adults, $5; under 12 free. Car registration: $20 pre-registration, $25 day of show, $50 vendor spots.

Chamber president Giovanni Mazzei told Pascack Press on April 22, “The three platinum sponsorships have been taken by Richʼs Automotive Specialist, Liberty Subaru and Valley Body & Fender. The Emerson Dairy Queen has also generously taken a gold sponsorship. Again, we are so grateful for the businesses and the community.”

Mazzei added, “We continue to work out the logistics, and are planning a May meeting as we speak. There are a lot of people working behind the scenes and there is a strong partnership developing between The Emerson Borough and Chamber. Thank you Mayor Danielle DiPaola and Councilwoman Jill McGuire for helping us move together in lockstep. We are so strong working together to benefit our community!”

For more information and vendor spots visit Emerson Chamber of Commerce on Facebook or call Giovanni Mazzei at (201) 248-6193, Dan OʼBrien at (201) 376-6496, or Laura Lichult at (201) 785-6661.