Wednesday, 4 November 2020
www.TheObserver.com
Vol. CXXXIII, No. 26
MORE ON THE INSIDE Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office investigating death of infant on Oct. 25 See Page 4
BELLEVILLE • BLOOMFIELD • EAST NEWARK • HARRISON • KEARNY • LYNDHURST • NORTH ARLINGTON • NUTLEY
Belleville School Board Trustee Jacho arrested on drunken-driving charges By Kevin Canessa kc@theobserver.com
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police report and dashcam video of the Oct. 21, 2020, arrest of Belleville School Board Trustee Erika Jacho reveals a disturbing picture of the trustee’s behavior as police officers did their best to keep her calm and perform their duties. The Observer made several calls to the Belleville Police Department and sent several email requests for copies of the report but we were unsuccessful. However, on the morning of Wednesday, Oct. 28, we received a PDF copy of the arrest report and a copy of the dashcam video from a
concerned citizen. According to the police report: It all began when an off-duty Belleville officer reportedly spotted a woman sitting, slumped over the steering wheel, inside a running
Mercury mini-van that was parked in front of Michael’s Roscommon House at 531 Joralemon St., on Oct. 21, at 51 minutes past midnight. (It should be noted up front that it was determined she had not been a patron at Mi-
Kearny seeks input from residents & businesses on 2020 Master Plan By Kevin Canessa kc@theobserver.com
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he Town of Kearny wants — and needs — your input on its 2020 Municipal Master Plan. And if you participate in the town’s survey, you could walk away with a $100 gift card to your favorite Kearny business. The town’s Business Administrator Stephen Marks is handling the survey. Municipalities in New Jersey are required to update
their comprehensive master plan every decade to guide land use and zoning decisions and regulations as well as to guide capital improvements and infrastructure investments. “The best community planning efforts have a robust community planning process which includes public opinion surveys, stakeholder interviews, focus groups and even community meetings or ‘charrettes,’” Marks said. “While it is challenging to conduct public meetings
during a pandemic/public health emergency, the Town of Kearny is making its best effort to solicit public input. “In addition to a public opinion survey, the Town of Kearny will be following up with stakeholder interviews of local elected and appointed officials, local business owners and community leaders, and those who are active in local civic, community, cultural, recreational and religious groups, clubs and organizations.” See SURVEYS, Page 16
chael’s that night.) The off-duty Belleville officer, who reportedly first noticed Jacho asleep at the wheel, brought with him an off-duty Kearny police officer, to try to help the woman. The Kearny officer then opened the driver’s side door to the vehicle to turn it off — and remove the keys — for the safety of all in the area. Both said they were concerned because she “tried to drive off,” according to the report. Police were then dispatched to the area where they first ran a registration check of the vehicle, which reportedly came back to Jacho’s Ralph See JACHO, Page 19
UNICO honors Columbus
Photo by Barbara B. Goldberg
Kearny UNICO members along with Kearny Mayor Alberto Santos and members of the Town Council honored Christopher Columbus on Oct. 10. Chapter President Annamarie Latushko spoke as did Kearny Mayor Alberto Santos and Michael Perrone, president of the Belleville Historical Society. Perrone restored the statue in 2019.
HONOR YOUR THIS VETERANS DAY
See Page 14
