Video Helps ID Creators Of Swastika Found On Grounds Of Westwood School, Superintendent Says Video Helps ID Creators Of Swastika Found On Grounds Of Westwood School, Superintendent Says
Video Helps ID Creators Of Swastika Found On Grounds Of Westwood School, Superintendent Says Police investigating the discovery of a swastika on the grounds of a K-5 school in Westwood are reviewing video evidence, the district superintendent said. The symbol of hate was "created with twigs" and "was about one foot long by one foot wide," Westwood Regional Schools Supt. Jill Mortimer wrote in an email to parents on Monday, March 13. School officials immediately reported it to police, then worked with them to identify those responsible, Mortimer said. "There was video evidence," she added. Principals at other schools in the districts checked their grounds and didn't find anything …
Fund Launched For Children Of Deceased Retired Washington Township Detective Fund Launched For Children Of Deceased Retired Washington Township Detective
Fund Launched For Children Of Deceased Retired Washington Township Detective As the time for final goodbyes nears, many of those who knew and loved retired Washington Township Police Officer and U.S. Marine Corps veteran Heather Castronova are trying to do what they can for her two children. Toward that end, Laura Padilla has launched a GoFundMe campaign. Castronova, 44, died unexpectedly at her home in Allendale on Feb. 8, apparently as the result of a medical condition, those who knew her said. The Hackensack-born-and-bred Heather Cumming served in the Marines in Okinawa, Japan, as well as at Twenty Nine Palms, CA and Quantico, VA. She began a public service car…
Westwood Man, 76, Jailed On Disturbing Human Remains Charges After Sister, 70, Is Found Dead Westwood Man, 76, Jailed On Disturbing Human Remains Charges After Sister, 70, Is Found Dead
Westwood Man, 76, Jailed On Disturbing Human Remains Charges After Sister, 70, Is Found Dead UPDATE: The 76-year-old brother of a Westwood woman whose body was found at least a week after she died was arrested on related charges. Joan Winter, 70, formerly of Yonkers and Hartsdale, NY, and her brother Mark, 76, had lived together for several years in what had been their late mother's Kennedy Terrace home on a quiet cul-de-sac near Washington Avenue, those who knew them said. Two friends who’d gone to the house looking for Joan said Mark told them she’d gone, a source with direct knowledge of the discovery said. Westwood police went to the home to conduct a welfare check around 1 p.…
GRISLY FIND: 70-Something Westwood Woman Was Dead At Least A Week, Responders Say GRISLY FIND: 70-Something Westwood Woman Was Dead At Least A Week, Responders Say
Grisly Find: 70-Something Westwood Woman Was Dead At Least A Week, Responders Say UPDATE: The 76-year-old brother of a Westwood woman whose body was found at least a week after she died was arrested on related charges. Joan Winter, 70, formerly of Yonkers and Hartsdale, NY, and her brother Mark, 76, had lived together for several years in what had been their late mother's Kennedy Terrace home on a quiet cul-de-sac near Washington Avenue, those who knew them said. Two friends who’d gone to the house looking for Joan said Mark told them she’d gone, a source with direct knowledge of the discovery said. Westwood police went to the home to conduct a welfare check around 1 p…
Arrangements Finalized For Heather Castronova Arrangements Finalized For Heather Castronova
Arrangements Finalized For Heather Castronova Funeral arrangements have been finalized for retired Washington Township detective and mom of two Heather Castronova. Visitation will begin at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 19 at the Becker Funeral Home in Westwood. A celebration of life will be at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 21, at the funeral home. Inurnment will be at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 21 at George Washington Memorial Park. A former US Marine, Castronova died due to unknown medical circumstances, the department said on Wednesday, Feb. 8.  Click here for the full Daily Voice tribute for Heather Castronova. Heather Castronova.Township …
'Rising Star Chef' Behind New Montclair Restaurant Pasta Ramen 'Rising Star Chef' Behind New Montclair Restaurant Pasta Ramen
'Rising Star Chef' Behind New Montclair Restaurant Pasta Ramen An acclaimed chef who earned the James Beard Foundation's Rising Star Award is behind a Japanese-style Italian ramen restaurant opening imminently in Montclair. Originally launched as a pop-up, PastaRAMEN is opening its first-ever brick-and-mortar restaurant at 6 S. Fullerton Ave. on Saturday, Jan. 28, the business confirmed. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Pasta Ramen (@pasta__ramen) “We know you have all been waiting and we appreciate all the love and support,” reads the post. The owner/chef behind the eatery is Robbie Felice…
Suspicious Object Briefly Clears Westwood Shopping Plaza Suspicious Object Briefly Clears Westwood Shopping Plaza
Suspicious Object Briefly Clears Westwood Shopping Plaza What turned out to be a harmless homemade lighter cleared a Bergen County shopping plaza mid-Wednesday afternoon. The lighter, found in a clothing shipment at T.J. Maxx in Westwood, "may have accidentally been placed or fallen into the shipment at a warehouse prior to delivery," borough Police Chief Michael Pontillo said. The call came in at 2:51 p.m. Jan. 11. It brought Pontillo's officers, borough firefighters and the Bergen County Bomb Squad to the Westwood Plaza on Broadway, which includes a K-Mart, a a Wine Mart, a UPS store and an all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant, among other busines…
'Was That An Earthquake?' North Jersey Asks 'Was That An Earthquake?' North Jersey Asks
'Was That An Earthquake?' North Jersey Asks "What was that?" was the question that rumbled through a large swath of North Jersey and into New York State early Wednesday afternoon. Mine blasting? A sonic boom? Seneca guns? Unconfirmed reports of an earthquake or "seismic-like event" stretched from Newton and Sparta in Sussex County to as far east as the Palisades in Alpine beginning at 12:52 p.m. Jan. 11.  There were similar calls in several southern New York State counties, as well as in the Poconos in Pennsylvania. All are basically in the area of the Ramapo Fault Line. The longest and oldest in the Northeast -- at 185 m…
Bail Reform Was Once This Bergen Serial Burglar's Friend — Not Anymore: Authorities Bail Reform Was Once This Bergen Serial Burglar's Friend — Not Anymore: Authorities
Bail Reform Was Once This Bergen Serial Burglar's Friend — Not Anymore: Authorities Charges continue to mount against a one-man crime wave – and onetime bail reform poster boy – whom judges have kept held in the Bergen County Jail since mid-October. Police in Glen Rock and Wyckoff became the latest to charge Nicola Torres, 40, of Passaic, with commercial burglaries in their towns. That makes more than a dozen municipal police departments in four New Jersey counties just this year alone. Torres has a criminal record that stretches back more than 15 years, mostly for business break-ins. More recently, the 6-foot-2-inch, 240-pound felon has been repeatedly arrested and the…
Notorious NJ Serial Killer To Plead Guilty To Murders Of Five Long Island Women: Report Notorious NJ Serial Killer To Plead Guilty To Murders Of Five Long Island Women: Report
Notorious NJ Serial Killer To Plead Guilty To Murders Of Five Long Island Women: Report The number of brutal murder confessions continues to mount for imprisoned New Jersey serial killer Richard Cottingham, who reportedly is scheduled to plead guilty to five more killings, all of women on Long Island. Cottingham, now 76, has been serving multiple life sentences in South Woods State Prison in Bridgeton, NJ, for more than four decades for killing six Garden State women between 1967 and 1980. He's spent a considerable part of that time lately claiming he's committed several other killings. “For a long time now I have been trying to understand the darkness that enveloped my soul…
Bergen County Cafe Closing After 16 Years Bergen County Cafe Closing After 16 Years
Bergen County Cafe Closing After 16 Years A popular Bergen County cafe is closing its doors for good after what the owners call “16 wonderful years.” Jack’s Cafe made the announcement on its Facebook page on Monday, Nov. 28, stating that its last day open would be Saturday, Dec. 10. “THANK YOU WESTWOOD AND GOODBYE!” reads the post. “It is with a heavy heart, that after an amazing 16 years, Risa and I are announcing the closing of Jack's Cafe.” Known for its fresh, never frozen breakfast, lunch, and dinner specialties and its BYOB policy, Jack’s Cafe has long been considered a staple in the heart of Westwood. Cooking for a d…
Four Suffer Smoke Inhalation In Overnight Old Tappan House Fire Four Suffer Smoke Inhalation In Overnight Old Tappan House Fire
Four Suffer Smoke Inhalation In Overnight Old Tappan House Fire Four people were hospitalized for smoke inhalation from an overnight house fire in Old Tappan, responders said. The blaze in the $1 million home at the end of a cul-de-sac on Parker Place broke out in the kitchen around 2:45 a.m. It immediately went to a second alarm on arrival, with a third alarm called roughly 20 minutes later. Old Tappan firefighters were met with heavy smoke at the Parker Place fire.OLD TAPPAN FD The Parker Place house fire in Old Tappan before dawn Saturday, Nov. 19 quickly went to three alarms.WOODCLIFF LAKE FD Firefighters had the blaze knocked down and under…