Emerson • Hillsdale • Montvale • Park Ridge • River Vale • Township of Washington • Westwood • Woodcliff Lake
PA S C AC K VA L L E Y ’ S H O M E TO W N N E W S PA P E R
VOLUME 27 ISSUE 29
OCTOBER 2, 2023
CHANGING THE STATEWIDE HONOR FOR GAME FOR GOOD CELEBRATE LIGHT SHOW WESTWOOD
HILLSDALE
DEMAREST FARMS
FUNDRAISER FOR LAYLA
Valleyʼs Livvy Dunne owns her way forward
Halloween spectacular Oct. 12; local girl, 7, kicking cancerʼs butt
Demarest Farms is gearing up for its Halloween and holiday light shows — Orchard of Lights is the stateʼs largest such labor of love — and you can get a sneak peek at the Halloween spectacle at a fundraising event on Thursday, Oct. 12. All proceeds go to Layla Balestra a local third-grader battling Ewing sarcoma. Demarest Farms, at 244 Wiermus Road, says “Join us during the most spooky time of year and experience the amazingly spooktacular Halloween Light Show. Take your vehicle on a guided tour through 32 acres of brilliant Halloween light displays, and enjoy our farm fresh goodies in our retail farm market. On her GoFundMe, Laylaʼs Cancer Battle, Alana Capogrosso and Jennifer Balestra say “Anyone who knows Layla knows that she lights up every room she walks into. At just 7 years old, our beautiful girl was diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma. What started as knee pain ended in the dreaded words ʻyour child has cancer.ʼ “Over the next year, Layla will be going through chemotherapy and multiple surgeries on her way to recovery. She is truly blessed to have the strongest support system and community behind her. “As the Balestra family endures one of the hardest battles of their lives, we would like to
See DEMAREST on page 204
T
Making all the right moves! Local student-athlete Livvy Dunne, left, and LSU hoopster Angel Reese on the cover of October’s “Sports Illustrated,” their second appearance in the publication. At right, part of the conversation on Dunne’s Instagram.
BY MICHAEL OLOHAN OF PASCACK PRESS
WENTY-YEAR-OLD
Pascack Valley native Olivia Dunne, a former USA National team member and a standout Tiger gymnast at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, graces the October 2023 “Sports Illustrated” cover as a trailblazer. Senior Dunne and LSU bas-
ketball star Angel Reese share the spotlight on the October SI “Money Issue” that focuses on rising money in college sports, due to athletes being able to profit from the use of their name, image or likeness while in college. Both Dunne and Reese appeared in SIʼs swimsuit issue earlier this year, so Octoberʼs issue marks the second appearance for both this year.
5LIVVY DUNNE INSTAGRAM
Dunne, the highest-earning endorser in womenʼs collegiate sports, boasts more than 8 million enthusiastic followers on Twitter, now “X,” and nearly 4.5 million on Instagram. Sheʼs ranked No. 3 with a valuation of $3.2 million on the On3ʼs “Name, Image and Likeness” Top 100 List. She trails only Bronny James (LeBron Jamesʼ son) and Shedeur Sanders
Continued on page 3
WESTWOOD More props: DNJ ʻTools of the Tradeʼ excellence award sings praises of Music on the Avenues
Downtown New Jersey will celebrate initiatives that have made a significant impact on downtown economic development in New Jersey during a luncheon awards ceremony at the 2023 New Jersey Downtown Conference on Thursday, Oct. 19 at The Vogel in downtown Red Bank. Among the initiaitives being honored: Music on the Avenues, Westwoodʼs summer series of more than 35 musical performances across 14 weekends that allows the community to engage and connect. The program was reimagined in 2023 by partnering with the BIZhub committee (the local business information-sharing network weʼve been delighted to cover in these pages) to recognize local businesses as sponsors of the art community. (Based on the success of Music on the Avenues and the organization's other arts projects and programs, Celebrate Westwood launched the ArtsHub Committee to foster the expansion of the Westwood creative arts community.) Each year, Downtown New Jersey (DNJ) recognizes New
See STATEWIDE on page 324
GRIDIRON KIDS
B ck in time...
Fun centered on the New York Jets game Sunday, Sept. 24, where after tailgating and the pro game, local kids had 20 minutes to scrimmage on the MetLife field. PAGE 21
A new high school in Westwood? A new world of automobiles, flying machines, moving pictures, and electric light was full of opportunities. Education was said key to seizing them. PAGE 4