Sunday, May 5, 2013
The hard-to-reach fire in the woods took crews over five hours to fight, authorities said
The Mahwah Fire Department and crews from several surrounding towns spent over five hours Friday night fighting a truck fire that spread to a wooded area between Stag Hill and the boy scout camp off Route 202, fire officials said over the weekend. According to Fire Chief Ed Garza, a truck that had likely gone off-roading and was left in the “middle of the two mountains,” started burning Friday night sometime before 5 p.m. Neighbors in the area and workers currently working on the Tennessee Gas Pipeline expansion project in the area reported smoke, but because of the location of the fire, it took firefighters about half an hour to find, and get to, the fire, he said. “It was pretty bad, difficult to get to,” Garza said. Firefighters and …
Friday, May 3, 2013
Local legislators host discussion on public safety, gun violence prevention featuring guest speaker from the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.
Continuing with the ongoing discussion on public safety and gun violence prevention, local state legislators invite the public to attend a special screening of a film based on a survivor of the Virginia Tech massacre and a post-film discussion at Bergen Community College on May 7. “Living for 32,” is a portrait of Colin Goddard, his account of the terror he and his classmates endured and his journey in telling his story to America. On that horrific day, April 16, 2007, a gunman entered Norris Hall education building on the campus of Virginia Tech killing 32 and wounding 17 in a mere 11 minutes. “Living for 32 will help to illustrate the harsh reality we face as a result of senseless acts of gun violence taking place all over America,” …
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Suburban heroin abuse at "epidemic" level, according to county prosecutor
More than 100 people face charges in a drug investigation prompted by a "stunning increase" in heroin overdose deaths across Bergen County, Prosecutor John L. Molinelli said Thursday. The approximately 120 arrests ranged from drug traffickers moving the heroin between Trenton and Paterson to dozens of buyers from leafy North Jersey communities, Molinelli said. Last year, Bergen logged 28 overdose deaths, a more than 100 percent jump over the prior year. At a press conference in Hackensack, Molinelli displayed photos of the 90 alleged buyers nabbed over the four-month operation. In publicizing the arrests of buyers, Molinelli said he sought to deter others from purchasing drugs. "The 28 that died in 2012 could easily have been on this list…
Reward for information leading to capture of Joanne Chesimard, convicted in 1973 killing of state trooper, totals $2 million.
The most wanted woman in New Jersey history is now the first woman on the FBI's fugitive terrorist list. Joanne Chesimard, convicted of a murdering a state trooper in 1973, was added to the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorist list Thursday on the 40-year anniversary of the trooper's death. The FBI Newark Division held a press conference Thursday to announce the addition of Chesimard's name and the collaboration between federal and state law enforcement agencies in upping the reward for information that leads to her arrest to $2 million. Chesimard is the first woman on the Most Wanted Terrorist List. Chesimard, who is now known as Assata Shakur, has been living under political asylum in Cuba since she broke out of a Hunterdon County prison during a…
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Six people allegedly found in possession of various drugs including heroin, ecstasy and prescription drugs were arrested on new charges during the sweep, police said
Two dozen people were arrested in a large-scale warrant sweep targeting locals who either failed to appear in municipal court or did not pay outstanding fines, Mahwah police said Tuesday. In the course of the sweep, conducted over the weekend, six people were arrested on new narcotics charges and 38 outstanding warrants were cleared, police said. According to police, the warrants served also netted $13,344 in outstanding bail. “These outstanding warrants underscore the number of individuals who are arrested in our jurisdiction who either fail to appear in court when directed or fail to make partial payments of fines,” Mahwah Police Chief Jim Batelli said Tuesday. “In many cases these individuals had moved to other areas or lived transient…
The weeklong training was prompted by the Newtown shooting, Boston bombing and other recent tragedies, officials said
In light of recent tragedies like the bombing at the Boston Marathon and shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT, Mahwah Library employees said they found themselves asking questions about how they might handle an emergency situation. “It’s not a nice topic that people want to think or talk about,” Allison Moonitz, Mahwah’s Supervising Librarian, said. “But this is a public building. Anyone can walk in.” Before the Boston bombing had even occurred, Moonitz and Library Director Kurt Hadeler started planning emergency response training sessions for the library’s staff. “It’s not just about an active shooter situation,” Moonitz, who spearheaded the effort, said. “It’s any sort of emergency – a fire, a flood, if a patron has a …
Friday, April 26, 2013
The five-company township department is made of entirely of trained volunteer members
- POLICE & FIRE
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Friday, April 26
The Mahwah Fire Department is looking for volunteers. “The fire department is always looking for a few good men and women who want to give back to the community,” Fire Chief Ed Garza said of the all-volunteer organization. The FD, which is made up of five companies spread throughout the township, recently re-released a recruitment video that gives residents a look at what it is like to serve. Volunteers can begin their fire department careers as young as age 14, on the junior squad. Adult members are given free schooling and training. See the above video, visit one of the fire department locations Wednesday nights at 7:30 p.m., or go to the township website for more information. Or, interested volunteers can contact: Submit your questions …
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Plan to attack New York City collapsed after carjacked vehicle ran low on gas, police commissioner says.
The Boston Marathon bombers hatched a last-minute plot to detonate their remaining explosives in New York City's Times Square, but the scheme fell apart when they realized that their carjacked SUV was low on gas, city officials said Thursday. Although surviving terrorist Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, first told authorities that he and his brother, Tamerlan, planned to "party" in New York City after the Marathon bombings, more questioning revealed that the pair wanted to attack Manhattan last Thursday night, according to NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly. “We don’t know if we would have been able to stop the terrorists, had they arrived here from Boston, we’re just thankful we didn’t have to find out that answer," New York City Mayor Michael R. …
Police used DNA swabbed from bottles of iced tea left in burglarized cars to identify a Mahwah man they said stole thousands of dollars from the parked cars last year
A DNA test has led to the arrest of a 21-year-old Mahwah man who allegedly stole thousands of dollars worth of cash and merchandise from several cars parked around residential neighborhoods in the Cragmere section of Mahwah last Spring, police said Thursday. Last May, police investigated the reported burglaries of cash, GPS devices, purses, jewelry, wallets, sunglasses, phone charges, credit cards and drivers licenses from cars parked near Cragmere homes, Police Chief Jim Batelli said Thursday. The cars were parked both in the streets outside the homes and in driveways, and were likely left unlocked, police said. In two of the burglarized cars, police recovered glass bottles of iced tea that the car owners said did not belong to them, …
Event Saturday is part of the National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day
A federal drug take-back program that has yielded significant collections of unwanted medications in the township before is happening again this Saturday. From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., locals can drop off “potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs” at the Mahwah Police Station as part of the Drug Enforcement Agency’s National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day. Saturday marks the fourth time Mahwah has participated in the take-back. According to Police Chief Jim Batelli, each time the PD participates, “the amount of prescription drugs turned in increases.” According to the DEA, the Take-Back Day last September collected 244 tons of prescription drugs at over 5,200 participating stations across the country. The agency’s …
Andy Schmidt
9:19 am on Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Hi Regenbogen - absolutely. I'm not referring to indiviuals who use their devices on land designated by the owners, or leased from the owners, for that purpose. I'm taking about everyone who uses their devices (yes, and horses) in the Ramapo Mountains on county or state land (or township land) where their uses is EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN. There are signs all over the place - and I find their tracks … more ›