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Pascack Valley High School

News
Hillsdale Asian-American Stars As Brand-New 'Bachelorette' Hillsdale Asian-American Stars As Brand-New 'Bachelorette'
NJ's Jenn Tran Debuts On Season 21 Of 'The Bachelorette' We've got a brand-new "Bachelorette" and she's a Bergen County babe. Jenn Tran, 26, is the first-ever Asian American to lead the ABC franchise, the 21st season of which premiered Monday night, July 8. "The Bachelorette" Jenn Tran, 26, is ready to meet her men. Disney/John Fleenor Born in Hillsdale and raised by Vietnamese immigrants, Tran graduated from Pascack Valley High School in 2016, where she played basketball and lacrosse.  Tran was featured on the last season of "The Bachelor" starring Joey Graziadei, who ultimately got engaged to Kelsey Anderson. A "bi-lingual beauty…

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by Cecilia Levine
Obituaries
Support Swells For Dying Pascack Valley Teen Support Swells For Dying Pascack Valley Teen
Support Swells For Dying Pascack Valley Teen Lamont "LJ" Alston, a 17-year-old senior at Pascack Valley High School, has been placed in hospice care after being diagnosed with osteosarcoma. LJ was diagnosed with the disease at the age of 16 in February, with recent scans having shown the cancer metastasized, according to a GoFundMe page for him and his family. The teen went into hospice two weeks ago and has faith he can defeat his cancer. His parents, Cris and Lamont, have created a bucket list for him. As of Wednesday, Dec. 20, almost $28,000 has been raised for the Alstons. This is my nephew LJ, I call him Jacob. For the last…

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by Sam Barron
Obituaries
Hundreds Turn Out For Funeral Of Former Pascack Valley HS Football Captain Devin Wolfe, 30 Hundreds Turn Out For Funeral Of Former Pascack Valley HS Football Captain Devin Wolfe, 30
Hundreds Turn Out For Funeral Of Former Pascack Valley HS Football Captain Devin Wolfe, 30 Joe Wolfe always knew his son was well-liked, but he didn't fully understand how loved he was until his funeral last week. Devin Wolfe, 30, who grew up in River Vale, died in a car accident on Long Island on Saturday, Sept. 9. His former teammates, friends from childhood, peers from college at Johnson & Wales University, coworkers, coaches, teachers, and relatives flew and drove out to Bergen County for Devin's services Thursday, Sept. 14 and Friday, Sept. 15. Seeing the nearly one thousand of them lining up for visitation at Becker Funeral Home and spilling out of pews at the funeral…

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by Cecilia Levine
News
New River Vale Police Officers Take Their Oaths New River Vale Police Officers Take Their Oaths
New River Vale Police Officers Take Their Oaths River Vale police welcomed two new alternate-route officers – both of whom had been scholastic athletes -- to their ranks. Officer Kimberly Pane grew up in River Vale and Westwood and was graduated from Montclair State University. She was a member of the Hillsdale Volunteer Ambulance Corps and a Westwood police dispatcher prior to attending the Atlantic County Police Academy. Pane had also been a goalie on the girls soccer team at Pascack Valley High School. Officer Goran Krasic, who recently worked as a public safety officer at Fairleigh Dickinson University, grew up in Maywood. He st…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Schools
COVID-19 Cripples Bergen County School District COVID-19 Cripples Bergen County School District
Covid-19 Cripples Bergen County School District COVID-19 is taking its toll on schools in Bergen County's Pascack Valley. Westwood Regional Schools announced Sunday evening that all schools in the district would transition to remote instruction. The district did not say how many people tested positive, or if any at all. Only that classes would be remote until early November. Then, an hour before classes were set to begin at Pascack Hills High School Monday morning, the school went remote and cancelled extracurricular activities. The news comes days after one case was reported at Pascack Valley High School, which switched to remote …

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by Cecilia Levine
Schools
COVID-19: More Bergen, Hudson County Schools Close Due To Positive Cases COVID-19: More Bergen, Hudson County Schools Close Due To Positive Cases
Covid-19: More Bergen, Hudson County Schools Close Due To Positive Cases Three additional schools in Bergen and Hudson counties had closed due to COVID-19 cases as of Friday. Nearly 40 "groups" were under quarantine at Garfield Middle School where a pair of teachers tested positive, school principal and Mayor Richard Rigoglioso said. The school closed after one staff member was in school Oct. 9, and the other Oct. 14. Both likely contracted the virus outside of the school, Rigoglioso said. A student at Pascack Valley High School contracted the virus over the weekend, Superintendent Erik Gundersen said. The building was closed Friday, Oct. 16, as the studen…

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by Cecilia Levine
News
'It's About Time': South Hackensack Police Swear In First Female Officer 'It's About Time': South Hackensack Police Swear In First Female Officer
'It's About Time': South Hackensack Police Swear In First Female Officer Three new officers were sworn into the South Hackensack Police Department Monday night, including the department's first-ever female. Ashley LaGrosa, a 20-year-old Hillsdale native who comes from a family of law enforcement, was a dispatcher for the Hackensack and Hillsdale police departments. Her uncle, Robert Francaviglia, is the current police chief in Hillsdale, where her grandfather, Robert Francaviglia Sr., retired as a lieutenant. "For as long as I can remember I’ve wanted to be a police officer," LaGrosa said. "It is something I’ve always loved," she said. "I always saw the impac…

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by Cecilia Levine
Schools
BERGENFEST: Local Teens Organize Massive Bergen County Music Festival BERGENFEST: Local Teens Organize Massive Bergen County Music Festival
Bergenfest: Local Teens Organize Massive Bergen County Music Festival Hundreds of people are expected to turn out for a music festival organized by Bergen County teens. Bergenfest is a "local concert on a global mission" with Wé McDonald of NBC's "The Voice" headlining the June 29 event. Held at the Benjamin Franklin Middle School in Ridgewood, the concert is for non-profit humanitarian organization TEEEM: The Empathetic Entrepreneur Equality Mission. TEEEM raises funds and awareness toward world-wide community needs and includes students from across North Jersey. BergenfestContributed Each high school is dedicated to a particular country: Ridgewood H…

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by Cecilia Levine
Schools
Website Names Best Public NJ High Schools For Sports Website Names Best Public NJ High Schools For Sports
Website Names Best Public NJ High Schools For Sports The website Niche has released its ranking of the best public high schools for sports, with football powerhouse Wayne Hills clocking in at No. 1.  Pascack Valley High School,  River Dell and Ramapo also made the top 10.  Niche based its rankings mostly on millions of parent and student surveys, which made up 50 percent of the grade. Niche also considered factors such as the number of championships a school has earned, girls' sports participation rates, and the number of sports on offer. To view the complete list, click here. 

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by Paul Milo
News
Pascack Valley High School Teacher Springs Into Action To Save Choking Student Pascack Valley High School Teacher Springs Into Action To Save Choking Student
Pascack Valley High School Teacher Springs Into Action To Save Choking Student Julianne Downes was teaching her culinary arts students at Pascack Valley High School how to prepare chicken when she noticed something wasn't right. One of the students on March 13 was having trouble breathing and couldn't speak.  That's when Downes jumped into action -- remembering the CPR training the teachers recently had -- and gave her student the heimlich maneuver, the district said in a release. It took nearly 20 times Downes said, but finally, the chicken came out and the student began breathing and required no further medical attention. The district's superintende…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Want To Protect Your Kids From Online Dangers? Bergen Prosecutor's Detectives Show You How Want To Protect Your Kids From Online Dangers? Bergen Prosecutor's Detectives Show You How
Want To Protect Your Kids From Online Dangers? Bergen Prosecutor's Detectives Show You How Do you know what your kids are up to online? Are you worried about Internet predators? How about cyberbullying? Parents who are concerned about dangers that lurk online can attend an in-depth Internet safety presentation by the Bergen County prosecutor’s Cyber Crimes Unit at Pascack Valley High School on March 20. “Staying Safe in Cyberspace – Internet Safety for Parents” is a comprehensive examination of today’s Internet and the dangers that lurk inside chat rooms, instant messages, e-mail and blogs,” Acting Bergen County Prosecutor Dennis Calo said. “This is for parents only – no ch…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Lifestyle
When Tragedy Strikes, Montvale Family Unites: This Time, Cancer When Tragedy Strikes, Montvale Family Unites: This Time, Cancer
When Tragedy Strikes, Montvale Family Unites: This Time, Cancer A Montvale family still coming to terms with the sudden and tragic death of their father and husband is now facing even more adversity: Cancer. Eight years after 56-year-old Michael Murphy was killed by his business partner, his son, Justin Wilson, was diagnosed with leukemia. More than $39,000 had been raised as of Thursday morning on a GoFundMe for Wilson, launched by his sister, Caitlin Murphy. "Through all of our losses, we try to maintain a positive attitude," said Murphy, a math teacher at Pascack Valley High School. "My dad would want to be here with Justin, but we know he is there…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Swastika Carved Next To Star Of David In Ridgewood HS Girls Bathroom Stall Swastika Carved Next To Star Of David In Ridgewood HS Girls Bathroom Stall
Swastika Carved Next To Star Of David In Ridgewood HS Girls Bathroom Stall Ridgewood High School became the latest target of hate symbols when someone carved a swastika next to a Star of David in a girls' bathroom stall, authorities said. Although he found Monday night's discoveries “shocking and disturbing,” Schools Supt. Daniel Fishbein said, “I am proud to say that it was a student who discovered the graffiti -- which was small in size and not easily visible -- and reported it.” “While it seems to follow a copycat pattern of recent instances of swastikas found on the campuses of other schools in our Bergen County area," Fishbein said, "in no way does the repeat…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Swastikas, Racist Graffiti Spread From Pascack Valley HS To Hills Swastikas, Racist Graffiti Spread From Pascack Valley HS To Hills
Swastikas, Racist Graffiti Spread From Pascack Valley HS To Hills A recent rash of hate symbols that have confounded officials and angered parents have spread from Pascack Valley High School to Pascack Hills. This time, swastikas and a racial slur against black were found Friday in a bathroom at Pascack Hills High in Montvale, Schools Supt. P. Erik Gundersen confirmed.It marks the first such recent incident at PHHS, joining three in less than two months at PVHS. Gundersen, finding himself having to address the troubling issue yet again, said district officials have two specific objectives -- educating the public and making sure whoever was respo…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
UPDATE: More Hateful Symbols Reported Found At Pascack Valley High School UPDATE: More Hateful Symbols Reported Found At Pascack Valley High School
Update: More Hateful Symbols Reported Found At Pascack Valley High School UPDATE: A recent rash of hate symbols that have confounded officials and angered parents have spread from Pascack Valley High School to Pascack Hills. https://pascackvalley.dailyvoice.com/police-fire/swastikas-racist-graffiti-spread-from-pascack-valley-hs-to-hills/745334/ ****** ORIGINAL STORY: As calls for healing intensified, more symbols of hate were found at Pascack Valley High School -- for what is now the third time in less than two months, officials said. Students said homophobic and racial slurs were drawn on plaques honoring former high school players on one of the baseball …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
2nd Discovery Of Swastikas At Pascack Valley HS In 6 Weeks Comes At Particularly Troubling Time 2nd Discovery Of Swastikas At Pascack Valley HS In 6 Weeks Comes At Particularly Troubling Time
2nd Discovery Of Swastikas At Pascack Valley HS In 6 Weeks Comes At Particularly Troubling Time Although some suspect the work of ignorant delinquents, the discovery of swastikas for the second time in six weeks at Pascack Valley High School comes at a time that most say makes it particularly troubling. Most notably, there was the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting – the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in U.S. history – by a man who authorities said posted Nazi symbols online. Before that, there were the five swastikas found drawn in shaving cream outside Jewish homes on a Haworth street on Halloween morning. And there was a recent report that incidents of swastika painting have increased t…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Obituaries
Marissa Harmon Of Hillsdale, 23, Remembered As Animal Lover Marissa Harmon Of Hillsdale, 23, Remembered As Animal Lover
Marissa Harmon Of Hillsdale, 23, Remembered As Animal Lover Marissa Harmon of Hillsdale died on May 16. She was 23 years old. Marissa was an animal lover, tending devoutly to her dear cats, Smokey, Bandit and Snooks. She graduated from Pascack Valley High School and most recently worked as an inventory manager for Jack Daniel's Audi in Upper Saddle River. Visitation is Monday, May 21 from 2 to 4 p.m. ad 7 to 9 p.m. at the Becker Funeral Home in Westwood. A Celebration of Marissa's life will be held during the evening calling hours with private cremation to follow. Marissa is survived by her mother, Heather; grandparents Robert and Patricia; siblin…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
WHAT YOU THINK: Should All Bergen Schools Have Armed Guards? WHAT YOU THINK: Should All Bergen Schools Have Armed Guards?
What YOU Think: Should All Bergen Schools Have Armed Guards? Two regional high schools in Bergen County -- Northern and Pascack Valley -- have recently hired off-duty police officers for protection.  Lodi’s has eight retired police officers with active shooter training patrolling its schools. So do Lodi and Mahwah. Local police and experts elsewhere say that schools are best protected from shooters by public safety professionals. Opponents say armed guards in combat gear frighten youngsters. Others question what the cost will do to their taxes. What do you think?

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by Jerry DeMarco
Schools
Bergen, Passaic Schools Among Best In NJ: New State Rating Bergen, Passaic Schools Among Best In NJ: New State Rating
Bergen, Passaic Schools Among Best In NJ: New State Rating The State Department of Education has published a rating of each public high school on a scale from 1 to 100. According to NJ.com, here are three important facts you should know before analyzing the data: They depend greatly on graduation rate and standardized test scores Some superintendents say the data is misleading and oversimplified Students who skipped the PARCC test counted as if they flunked, hurting the rates The rating is based on graduation rate (50 percent), PARCC test proficiency (35 percent) and chronic absenteeism (15 percent). The highest scoring school (97.47) is Dr. Rona…

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by Cecilia Levine
Obituaries
Pascack Valley High Grads Mourn Classmate Shanon Pasternak, 20 Pascack Valley High Grads Mourn Classmate Shanon Pasternak, 20
Pascack Valley High Grads Mourn Classmate Shanon Pasternak, 20 HILLSDALE, N.J. -- Pascack Valley High School graduate Shanon Pasternak died on Jan. 21. He was 20 years old and had been living in Clifton. His former classmates from PVHS have raised more than $3,600 on Shanon's memory, to be donated to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. He was born on Nov. 26, 1997 in the New York Catskills, where he lived until he was six years old.  He spent his school years in Hillsdale, where he graduated from Pascack Valley High School. Shanon was then accepted by S.U.N.Y. New Paltz, where he was attending college.  Shanon was a great lover of the out…

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by Cecilia Levine
Neighbors
Hillsdale Native's Documentary Shines Spotlight On Women In Hollywood Hillsdale Native's Documentary Shines Spotlight On Women In Hollywood
Hillsdale Native's Documentary Shines Spotlight On Women In Hollywood BERGEN COUNTY, N.J. -- A Pascack Valley High school grad is behind a new documentary about women filmmakers and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's investigation of hiring practices in Hollywood. "Half the Picture," by Hillsdale native Amy Adrion, is being screened at the Sundance Film Festival taking place Thursday, Jan. l8 to 28, according to NorthJersey.com. The Bergen County native, who now lives in  Los Angeles,  produced the film with her husband, David Harris. The concept grew out of her own frustrations after graduating from UCLA film school in 2009. Adrion inte…

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by Jeanne Muchnick
Police & Fire
Ignore Your Bag While Shopping? Hillsdale Police Have A Surprise For You Ignore Your Bag While Shopping? Hillsdale Police Have A Surprise For You
Ignore Your Bag While Shopping? Hillsdale Police Have A Surprise For You HILLSDALE, N.J. – Shoppers in Hillsdale who leave their handbags, pocketbooks and purses unattended could be in for a surprise. Those who don’t have them stolen could find a postcard’s been secretly slipped into their bag. “You may see Hillsdale Police Officers lurking around ShopRite, Kings, Walgreens or any other shopping area in Hillsdale,” Detective Bill Diedtrich said Wednesday. “Except this time, they are looking for unattended bags and crimes of opportunity. “If the officers sees an inattentive person, he or she will slip a postcard sized card in their purse without being seen.” Po…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Sports
3-Pointer Makes Memorable 1,000 For AHA Senior 3-Pointer Makes Memorable 1,000 For AHA Senior
3-Pointer Makes Memorable 1,000 For AHA Senior DEMAREST, N.J. — The three-point shot hasn't always come easy to Academy of the Holy Angels varsity athlete Elena Pulanco. But the senior hit her 1,000th high school career point with a three last month, against Old Tappan in the Joe Poli Holiday Tournament. The shot temporarily halted the first quarter while those present at the game, hosted by Pascack Valley High School, recognized her achievement. It was the final game of the year. "When I hit my first three-pointer and I heard the announcer acknowledge my 1,000 point milestone, it actually felt like a surprise," Pulanco of En…

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by Cecilia Levine