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Sports
COVID-19 UPDATE: NCAA Tournament Cancelled COVID-19 UPDATE: NCAA Tournament Cancelled
Covid-19 Update: NCAA Tournament Cancelled The NCAA on Thursday canceled its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments to prevent the spread of COVID-19, President Mark Emmert announced Thursday. "Today, NCAA president Mark Emmert and the board of governors canceled the Division I men's and women's 2020 basketball tournaments, as well as all remaining winter and spring NCAA championships," the NCAA announced. "This decision is based on the evolving COVID-19 public health threat, our ability to ensure the events do not contribute to the spread of the pandemic, and the impracticality of hosting such events at any time during this academ…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Schools
St. Mary High In Elizabeth Closing Down After Fundraising Falls Short St. Mary High In Elizabeth Closing Down After Fundraising Falls Short
St. Mary High In Elizabeth Closing Down After Fundraising Falls Short Alumni and students of the nearly 90-year-old school tried to save it, but it's now official: St. Mary of the Assumption High School in Elizabeth is closing its doors for good.  In June, the Archdiocese of Newark announced that the school was facing a shortfall of $2 million and would be forced to shut down. Other Catholic schools in recent years have also faced closure but managed to keep their doors open thanks to vigorous fundraising efforts.  St. Mary alumni, students and friends of the school tried that approach, launching a GoFundMe campaign for the school, whose small stude…

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by Paul Milo
Sports
Former Hoops Standout At Elizabeth's St. Mary High Drowns In N.Y. Former Hoops Standout At Elizabeth's St. Mary High Drowns In N.Y.
Former Hoops Standout At Elizabeth's St. Mary High Drowns In N.Y. Calistus Anyichie, a star player on the basketball team for St. Mary of the Assumption High School in Elizabeth, drowned Sunday at a state park in Ithaca, New York, authorities there said. The 19-year-old was a rising sophomore at SUNY Binghamton, where he had made his mark on the court and in the classroom. “There is no blueprint for how to deal with such a painful loss,” Binghamton basketball head coach Tommy Dempsey said on Twitter. “We all loved Calistus so much. He was such a special young man. We are devastated.” The Ithaca Fire Department and other agencies were dispatched to Upper…

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by Paul Milo
Police & Fire
Teaneck High School Basketball Coach 'Made Out' With Underage Girls, Authorities Charge Teaneck High School Basketball Coach 'Made Out' With Underage Girls, Authorities Charge
Teaneck High School Basketball Coach 'Made Out' With Underage Girls, Authorities Charge A first-year Teaneck High School boys basketball coach repeatedly had improper physical contact with two underage girls, said authorities who arrested him. Marcelle Williams, 37, “engaged in [the] acts with two juveniles between the ages of 16 and 18 years on numerous occasions in Teaneck since November,” Acting Bergen County Prosecutor Dennis Calo said Tuesday. The acts were described as "making out" with each girl, according to a law enforcement official. Members of Calo’s Special Victims Unit investigated along with Teaneck police after the local department received a tip, then cha…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Obituaries
Pizzeria Owner Kyle Phillipy Of Cliffside Park Was Doting Dad, Passionate Chef Pizzeria Owner Kyle Phillipy Of Cliffside Park Was Doting Dad, Passionate Chef
Pizzeria Owner Kyle Phillipy Of Cliffside Park Was Doting Dad, Passionate Chef Kyle Phillipy of Cliffside Park died on Feb. 23. He was 43 years old. Born in Jersey City, Phillipy had a passion for cooking and owned Termini Pizzeria in West New York for 21 years, his obituary says. Phillipy also coached basketball for Our Lady of Grace in Fairview.  He was remembered as a "doting dad" who cared about his family and his job. A funeral service was held on Feb. 27. Entombment was at Fairview Mausoleum. Phillipy is predeceased by his father, Danny Phillipy. He is survived by his wife, Josephine Phillipy; children Massimo, Luca and Sophia; mom Ca…

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by Cecilia Levine
Schools
Crimestoppers V. Hackensack Middle Schoolers: Slam Dunk For Awareness Crimestoppers V. Hackensack Middle Schoolers: Slam Dunk For Awareness
Crimestoppers V. Hackensack Middle Schoolers: Slam Dunk For Awareness HACKENSACK, N.J. -- Hackensack police will play the city's middle school students in a community awareness basketball game this Thursday. There will also be a free-throw shooting contest with prizes that include a mountain bike, assorting sporting goods and gift certificates. Crimes Stoppers of Bergenfield, Englewood, Teaneck, Hackensack and Bogota are staging the game -- aided by donations from city citizens, merchants and Hackensack Local PBA #9 -- at the middle school on Union Street. The Crime Stoppers group helps authorities investigate and solve crime in the five municipalities it se…

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by Jerry DeMarco