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Emerson • Hillsdale • Montvale • Park Ridge • River Vale • Township of Washington • Westwood • Woodcliff Lake
VOLUME 23 ISSUE 46
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PA S C AC K VA L L E Y ’ S BEST H O M E TO W N N E W S PA P E R TOWNSHIP OF WASHINGTON
Skinner, mentor to a survivor, leads WTPD
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HILLSDALE
CUSTOMER
SURCHARGE TO FUND LEAD PIPE FIXES CONSIDERED BY MICHAEL OLOHAN OF PASCACK PRESS
A handful of Suez customers and public officials showed up Jan. 21 in Hackensack at an administrative law hearing to oppose a surcharge of up to 85 cents per month on 200,000 customer bills as part of a proposed plan to cover its costs—and earn a profit—to replace customersʼ lead service lines. The hearing, directed by Office of Administrative Law Judge Jacob Gertsman, offered opportunities for public input at 4:30 and 5:30 p.m. Held at One Bergen County Plaza, it was attended by five customers including two municipal officials: councilwomen from Westwood and Tenafly, who said they were speaking as Suez customers and not on behalf of their boroughs. The hearing was part of a formal process initiated in March 2019 when Suez North America filed a petition to begin a two-year pilot program to remove customer lead service lines in hopes of eliminating lead in its system. The proposed plan would charge a customer $1,000 to replace their lead line, running
See LEAD PIPES on page 414
JANUARY 27, 2020
BY JOHN SNYDER OF PASCACK PRESS
Family and friends filled and spilled out of Council Chambers on Jan. 20, there to cheer on Chief of Police Richard Skinner and Captain of Police John Calamari at their ceremonial swearings in. Special Law Enforcement Officers II sworn in with their families and friends looking on with pride were Robert Luscombe and Antonio Parisi. And young resident Alex Hammer, whom the police and fire departments have adopted as one of their own, stood with officers as a former chief for a day, looking quite at home in his Class A uniform—and confidently in remission from cancer. Skinner and Calamari formally were sworn in Dec. 2, 2019, following a brief internal search, with the promotions announced the next day. Both men are 26-year veterans of the department. Skinner was officer in charge following the Oct. 31 retirement of Chief Glenn Hooper. Members of the promotion committee were Hooper, Township Administrator Robert Tovo, and Police Director William Cicchetti, a former chief of the WTPD. This Jan. 20, Mayor Calamari had the pleasure of swearing in and congratulating his brother amid fanfare. Cicchetti, who has been with the department 50 years—a tenure he said “is coming CHIEF OF POLICE Richard Skinner with township police booster Alex Hammer, to an end soon”—thanked his committee and Mayor Calamari. a former chief for a day, at Skinner’s swearing-in ceremony Jan. 20. TOP PHOTO COURTESY KRISTA RAGUSA-HAMMER
See PROMOTIONS on page 94
PUPS TO THE RESCUE!
B ck in time...
Therapy dogs help Immaculate Heart Academy students prepare for (mostly) stress-free midterms.
Sledding and other frolics on Piermont Avenue in Hillsdale in 1907. How did you used to embrace winter? Tell us your stories. SEE PAGE 4
SEE PAGE 26