February 28, 2018 • www.theobserver.com • Vol. CXXX, No. 42
HIGHLIGHTS Tax time continues, and The Observer has it covered. See page 20
COVERING: BELLEVILLE • BLOOMFIELD • EAST NEWARK • HARRISON • KEARNY • LYNDHURST • NORTH ARLINGTON • NUTLEY
FORGOTTEN HERO
Forgotten Belleville Tuskegee Airman has street named in his memory By Karen Zautyk kzautyk@theobserver.com BELLEVILLE — If you drive past the intersection of Stephens and Academy streets, you will notice that a third name has been added to the street sign there. The gold lettering on a blue background reads: Leonard R. Willette Way. Placed there Saturday, Feb. 24, by the Belleville Historical Society, it honors a local man who made the supreme sacrifice in the service of his country, despite the discrimination rampant in it against members of his race.
Photos courtesy of Michael Perrone
See TUSKEGEE, Page 6
Above: the Stephens Street home once occupied by Leonard R. Willette and family. Top right: Willette’s Belleville HS yearbook from 1939. Bottom right: the new street sign at Academy and Stephens streets.
Security tightened at all Kearny schools By Kevin Canessa kc@theobserver.com KEARNY — The Feb. 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., continues to have widespread implications — not
just in the Sunshine State, but locally, as well. In response to the awful carnage that took the lives of 17 people on Valentine’s Day, Kearny Superintendent of Schools Patricia Blood
announced a series of changes aimed at beefing up security at all of the district’s schools. “The safety and security of our students and staff continues to be a top priority in the Kearny School
District,” Blood wrote in a letter to members of the community. “In light of the recent events in our nation, we are piloting a new entry door access protocol … effective Feb. 21, 2018. This See SECURITY, Page 24
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THE OBSERVER | WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2018
KEARNY FD ADDS 3 New Jersey, Coppola most recently worked as an intern with the City of Hoboken business administrator’s office. Logan, 30, a Kearny High School alum, has two connections to the KFD: His dad, Robert “Rab”, is a retired Kearny firefighter and his brother, Paul, is a current KFD member. Logan has previously worked as a carpenter’s apprentice. DeSousa, 23, is a Newark resident who graduated from St. Benedict’s Prep and has completed an undergraduate degree in criminal justice at Rutgers University. DeSousa worked previously as a de-icer at Newark Liberty International Airport and as a security guard for APG Security of South Amboy. The rookies began
By Ron Leir rleir@theobserver.com KEARNY — Three new firefighters – two with local legacies – have been added to the mix at the Kearny Fire Department. And their arrival – assuming they make it through training – places the department’s strength at 102 – the maximum permitted by town ordinance, according to Fire Chief Steven Dyl. The rookies – who were appointed by the municipal governing body Feb. 20 at a starting salary of $33,000 a year – are Adam Coppola, James Logan and Antonio DeSousa. Coppola, 22, a graduate of Hudson County Hi-Tech High School, is the son of retired Kearny Fire Capt. Gerald Coppola. A candidate for a finance degree at The College of B
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Photo by Ron Leir
Newly hired Kearny firefighters, from left, are Adam Coppola, James Logan and Antonio DeSousa.
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working last week in Kearny, starting with orientation and procedural issues, including getting instruction in CPR at Fire Headquarters with KFD training officer Capt. Joseph Mastandrea. On Monday, Feb. 27, they began the next phase – six weeks of EMT school at the Delran Emergency Squad in Burlington County. Once they get certification as a first-responder, they’ll go on to firefighter training, starting April 23, at the Middlesex Fire Academy in Sayreville. They are scheduled to complete their training by June 22, Dyl said. If all goes well, the trio
should then be ready to join their KFD colleagues for online duty. “That brings us to 102 [members],” said Dyl, although, technically, by then, he’ll be at least one member short since Capt. Artie Bloomer is due to take retirement as of June 1 and one firefighter whom the chief declined to name is eligible to leave later this year. Dyl said there is an existing state Civil Service promotion list for fire captain in Kearny which is good through Jan. 1, 2019, and Continued on the next page
Inside this edition ... Opinion....................................................................8 Food & Dining Directory.............................................12 Sports & Recreation...................................................13 Health & Wellness Directory.......................................17 Real Estate..............................................................18 Real Estate Directory................................................19 Tax Time.................................................................20 Obituaries...............................................................21 Classifieds...............................................................22 Business Directory....................................................26
THE OBSERVER | WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2018
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NEW FIREFIGHTERS Continued from previous page Firefighter Ron Protokowicz is currently ranked No. 1 on that list, according to the chief. At this point, however, the town had made no commitment to promote anyone to that rank, Dyl said. Aside from the new fire personnel, Dyl is eagerly awaiting delivery of new fire rigs – an engine and a ladder truck – by early April after the vehicles complete final inspection. Meanwhile, at the Feb. 20 meeting, the governing body made some moves on the civilian personnel front, including the appointment of Susan Evanchick to the part-time position of secretary to the construction code/zoning official, effective Feb. 21. Evanchick, a longtime administrative clerk assigned to the construction code enforcement department and Planning Board secretary, had been scheduled to retire this past Feb. 1 after 35.5 years on the job, but town business administrator Robert Smith said Evanchick “rescinded her retirement” after discussions with town officials that, he said, began “about a month ago.” The upshot of those talks, Smith said, was, “we shifted her job
responsibilities around in zoning/land use [matters]” so that, as the appointing resolution states, she’ll be handling “administrative and clerical duties related to the maintenance of construction and land use escrow accounts.” She will also continue to serve as secretary to the Planning Board but no longer as secretary to the Zoning Board of Adjustment, Smith said. “The approximately 25% of the job she had spent on zoning matters is now shifting to her construction office responsibilities.” As administrative clerk, Evanchick will continue to draw an annual base pay of $76,996 plus a yearly stipend of $11,600 – which Smith characterized as “appropriate to compensate her for her expertise.” Jonathan Szura is helping fill the zoning gap by serving as a technical assistant in land use at $43,659 a year. How unknowingly prophetic was former town B.A./Construction Code Official Michael Martello when he told The Observer last year that Evanchick’s “institutional knowledge is probably one of the best in the state. That makes her virtually irreplaceable.” The mayor and council also appointed Jack Corbett and Jane Mackesy to the part-time positions of
community youth worker, retroactive to Oct. 1, 2017, and for a period not to exceed Oct. 1, 2018. Each will collect an annual pay salary of $15,000 “while working a total of 435 hours during this period, and working approximately six to 15 hours each week as needed, but no more
than 24.5 hours in any week” in connection with a youth substance abuse prevention program funded by the Kearny Prevention Coalition Drug-Free Communities Grant. In the health department, Kristine Schweitzer Budney was appointed registered
environmental health specialist public health; Mariela Irizarry, registrar of vital statistics bilingual; and Adnelis Albizu, social service aide bilingual, all effective Feb. 21. Police Chief George King was designated as the town’s emergency management coordinator.
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