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 26 ISSUE 41
A warm welcome
DECEMBER 26, 2022
PASCACK VALLEY
MOVING ON, GIVING BACK
Dorchester 5th graders out in force for Center for Food Action
HILLSDALE
LATEST
Troast, on the job for 10 months, calls out issues with mayor, council
BY MICHAEL OLOHAN OF PASCACK PRESS
Less than two months after his initial one-year contract was renewed for three years — through December 2025 — business A LS O administrator • Pizzella David Troast lauded for has resigned, service, key effective Dec. role in 16, citing “a redevelopment great divide” — Page 7 between the mayor and council “which has made managing the borough very difficult, time-consuming and stressful.” In his two-page resignation letter, which we obtained via a public records request, Troast
See LATEST on page 94
Pascack Valley shines again in Gottheimer awards; youngest recipient is Lily Polvere, 10, of Emerson
STAND TALL
BY JOHN SNYDER OF PASCACK PRESS
New to the Golden Age Social Club of Park Ridge: Bob and Elaine Mooney. SEE PAGE 8
BOROUGH ADMIN QUITS
HOMETOWN HEROES
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Fifth graders at Dorchester Elementary School in Woodcliff Lake recently partnered with The Center for Food Action in Saddle Brook to assemble more than 100 weekend snack packs for kids in need. The event is part of “Moving on, Giving Back,” which encourages the grade to get involved in community programs and outreach.
BY JOHN SNYDER OF PASCACK PRESS F YOUʼRE NOT
yet a philanthropist, let these kids be your winning example. Dorchester Elementary School in Woodcliff Lake makes a tradition of good works and giving: its fifth-grade classes in particular, which annually go above and beyond. Through the schoolʼs “Moving On, Giving Back” program, the fifth grade, set to make the leap to middle school, puts values into practice. Its theme this year: Stronger Together. As part of that work, on Saturday, Dec. 17,
the kids partnered with the Center for Food Action in Saddle Brook to assemble more than 100 weekend snack packs for families in need. According to the PFAʼs Gretchen Melman, the initiative encourages students to get involved in community programs and outreach. She told Pascack Press on Dec. 21 that the work is part of a wider hands-on project around philanthropy and fundraising, supporting the classʼs end-of-year activities. “They have a fifth-grade
5VIA GRETCHEN MELMAN
dance, thereʼs a video montage and thereʼs a contest on the theme,” she said. She lauded the studentsʼ eagerness to help CFA and said they took its mission to heart. CFA aims to “prevent hunger and homelessness and improve the lives of individuals and families living in poverty.” The organization explains, “Many children who receive free or reduced-price school meals are left without adequate nutrition when school is not in
Continued on page 20
U.S. Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) honored “local first responders, veterans, life-saving bystanders, volunteers, community leaders, and residents” during his Fifth District Hometown Heroes Ceremony, held Dec. 16 at the Fair Lawn Community Center. Gottheimer honored more than 20 residents as Fifth District Hometown Heroes “to acknowledge their dedication to helping improve the lives of their neighbors, families, and communities.” Among the heroes from Bergen and Sussex counties, Gottheimer honored: • Lauren Lopez of Montvale; • 10-year-old Liliana “Lily” Polvere of Emerson; • Martin Prince of Woodcliff Lake; • Linda Wayne of River Vale; • Michael Foti of Hillsdale; • Eugene Wilkins of River Vale; • Thomas Tully of Park Ridge; and • The DiTrani family of Emerson. “We are lucky to have so many
See HEROES on page 54
EXTRA CREDIT
B ck in time...
The Pascack Valley Regional High School District Board of Education lauded highachieving students at its regular meeting of Dec. 12. SEE PAGE 19
The venerable firehouse just razed in the Township of Washington — its replacement should serve nearly to the 22nd century — was not the town’s first. Kristin Beuscher reports. SEE PAGE 4