Wednesday, 13 October 2021
www.TheObserver.com
Vol. CXXXIV, No. 23
ON THE INSIDE Belleville Fire Department deploys bicycle squad for special events. See Page 5
BELLEVILLE • BLOOMFIELD • EAST NEWARK • HARRISON • KEARNY • LYNDHURST • NORTH ARLINGTON • NUTLEY
Kearny’s Patricia Blood is one Super Super She’s been selected top school leader by administrators’ association for North Jersey region By Kevin A. Canessa Jr. kc@theobserver.com
K
earny has what you might call a super super…intendent of schools. That’s because Patricia “Patte” Blood has been selected the New Jersey Association of School Administrators’ 2022 Superintendent of the Year for North Jersey, joining Scott R. Rocco, chief education officer for the Hamilton Township School District, Mercer County, from Central Jersey and Brian B. Brotschul, chief education officer, Delran Township Public Schools,
from South Jersey, as the other regional nominees. Later this year, one of the three will be chosen the superintendent of the year for the entire state. The three Regional Superintendents of the Year will be introduced to the Garden State and the educational community later this month in an NJASA YouTube video. The state winner becomes New Jersey’s nominee for National Superintendent of the Year, with that winner to be announced in February 2022. MORE ABOUT OUR SUPER SUPER Blood has been an educator for many
Lyndhurst buys old gas station on Pine Street to create library parking lot
years, and has been at the helm of the Kearny School District since 2014. Her career, bookended in Kearny, started in 1977 when she was hired to teach English and performing arts at Kearny High School. After she obtained tenure in 1983, her plan was to step back and go part-time — she and her late husband, Joseph E. Blood were just starting a family. But, as fate would have it, Jules L. DiSerafino, the long-time principal at Kearny HS, coaxed her into full-time work. See BLOOD, Page 17
Patricia ‘Patte’ Blood
SAME STORY, DIFFERENT WITTPENN
This property at the intersection of Pine Street and Valley Brook Avenue will soon be converted to a parking lot for the Lyndhurst Public Library. (Google Street View).
By Kevin A. Canessa Jr. kc@theobserver.com
P
roperty at the northwest corner of Pine Street and Valley Brook Avenue in Lyndhurst, once a thriving gas depot, will be converted into a parking lot for patrons of the Lyndhurst Public Library, Evelyn Pezzolla, a member of the township’s Library Board of Trustees, told The Observer. Pezzolla says she hopes work may be performed soon and the lot opened for business before the end of the
current calendar year. “It was vacant and a perfect spot for library patrons to park,” Pezzolla said. “Too often, there isn’t enough space for people to park. This will alleviate that problem a great deal.” Pezzolla says the township paid for the property, which also had a home on it. But the township didn’t need that part of the property, so the parcel was split and sold separately. Another investor bought the home, she said. See LOT, Page 8
Well, the new Wittpenn Bridge did, as expected, open Friday, Oct. 1. But, maybe not as expected, traffic was still a nightmare as motorists got used to new traffic patterns and as some of the tertiary roads remained closed — on the Kearny and Jersey City sides of the span. We’ll keep you updated as more secondary roads open and as patterns change further. With thanks to Bobby Sansone, of Effective Alarms, for snapping this photo while he was stuck in abysmal traffic last week.
INSIDE THIS WEEK’S EDITION Opinion ......................................... Page 6 Obituaries .................................. Page 12 Sports .......................................... Page 9
Real Estate ................................. Page 15
Health & Wellness Directory ............ Page 10 Classifieds............................ Pages 18-19