Westwood, Meet Your New Superintendent Dr. Patrick McQueeney Westwood, Meet Your New Superintendent Dr. Patrick McQueeney
Westwood, Meet Your New Superintendent Dr. Patrick McQueeney The Westwood Regional Public School District has appointed a new superintendent. Dr. Patrick McQueeney, who has been serving as the leader of Wanaque schools since 2021, will helm the Westwood Regional School District (WWRSD) come November. The move was approved at the Thursday, Sept. 26 WWRSD Board of Ed (BoE) meeting. The nine-member board voted 8-0, with one abstention, to execute a contract with McQueeney, asking him to take the lead as soon as possible, but no later than Nov. 27. His five-year contract will begin on Nov. 1. McQueeney submitted his resignation to Wanaque on Friday…
Rutgers Student Fighting To Register Young Voters: 'Your Voice Does Matter' Rutgers Student Fighting To Register Young Voters: 'Your Voice Does Matter'
Rutgers Student Fighting To Register Young Voters: 'Your Voice Does Matter' A Rutgers University student from Hasbrouck Heights is on a mission to get young adults registered to vote in time for the 2024 Presidential election. Alejandra Afanador, 19, spent the summer as an "RU Voting Ambassador," according to Rutgers Today. The sophomore political science major will keep volunteering through Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 5. The honors college student on a pre-law track said she wants to motivate 18-to-29-year-olds to vote and become politically active. "I've simply come to realize that there is such disillusionment in the government and this is across the pol…
Grieving Family Of Lititz Lawyer Dead By Suicide Raises Staggering Amount Of Money Grieving Family Of Lititz Lawyer Dead By Suicide Raises Staggering Amount Of Money
Grieving Family Of Lititz Lawyer Dead By Suicide Raises Staggering Amount Of Money An accomplished lawyer who was "beacon of kindness and generosity" has passed away, but where his light once shone, his community has started a fire. More than $21,000 had been raised in less than 24 hours on a GoFundMe for the family of William "Bill" J. Zee, 50, who was born in New Jersey and had been living in Lititz. A UPenn PhD candidate and former assistant dean at Rutgers University, and a beloved father, Bill was found dead in the PA Game Land located near US 322 and Pumping Station Road in Elizabeth Township, according to Chief Deputy Coroner Eric Bieber as Daily Voi…
Man Exposed Himself To Woman On Rutgers Bus, Police Say Man Exposed Himself To Woman On Rutgers Bus, Police Say
Man Exposed Himself To Woman On Rutgers Bus, Police Say Rutgers University police were looking for a man who flashed a woman on a bus, authorities said. The woman "affiliated" with Rutgers reported the incident happened at around 3:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 23, the university's police department said in a community message. The victim was standing on a bus running on the Livingston Campus in Piscataway. The woman said the man exposed his genitals, "intentionally maintaining direct contact with her clothed buttocks." She confronted the man and he immediately got off the bus on Rockafeller Road. The victim wasn't injured during the incident. …
Rutgers President To Resign At End Of School Year After Historic, Turbulent Tenure Rutgers President To Resign At End Of School Year After Historic, Turbulent Tenure
Rutgers President To Resign At End Of School Year After Historic, Turbulent Tenure Jonathan Holloway will resign as president of Rutgers University at the end of the 2024-25 academic year, the school announced. The university's 21st president will step down after finishing his fifth year in office on Monday, June 30, 2025, Rutgers said in a news release on Tuesday, Sept. 17. The U.S. historian plans to take a sabbatical during the 2025-26 year for research projects before joining the Rutgers faculty full time. In a letter to the Rutgers community, Holloway said he made the decision to resign on his own and believes it's how he can best help the university. "Serving as th…
Bride-To-Be Goes Viral In Search For NJ Mother's Wedding Dress Bride-To-Be Goes Viral In Search For NJ Mother's Wedding Dress
Bride-To-Be Goes Viral In Search For NJ Mother's Wedding Dress For 30 years, Samantha Pereira's mother had been preserving her wedding dress in a box in her house. The bride-to-be, a Rutgers grad formerly of Union Township, explained that she had planned on trying it on for her own wedding. But when Pereira took the dress out of the box last month, she and her mother discovered that someone else's dress was inside. "My mother was heartbroken and tears when she finally opened up her wedding dress which she had preserved for 30 years so I can try on for my wedding," Pereira captioned a video shared to Facebook and TikTok. "When we opened up the box we …
Teen Killed In Boating Accident Was Rising Rutgers Freshman Teen Killed In Boating Accident Was Rising Rutgers Freshman
Teen Killed In Boating Accident Was Rising Rutgers Freshman More information has come to light about the 18-year-old Wayne resident killed in a boating accident over the weekend in Harvey Cedars. Zeina Mahafzah was days away from beginning her freshman year at Rutgers University, as classes start on Tuesday, Sept. 2. According to university spokeswoman Dory Devlin, Zeina was enrolled in the School of Arts and Sciences–Newark. "The Rutgers-Newark community is devastated by the news of Zeina’s passing, and we are sending our support to the Mahafzah family during this incredibly difficult time," Devlin said. In a post shared to Faceboo…
Victorious Treats: Toms River Wrestler Celebrates Olympic Bronze At Hometown Donut Shop Victorious Treats: Toms River Wrestler Celebrates Olympic Bronze At Hometown Donut Shop
Victorious Treats: Toms River Wrestler Celebrates Olympic Bronze At Hometown Donut Shop For Sebastian Rivera of Toms River, the only thing that tastes as sweet as an Olympic medal might be donuts from a hometown shop. The former Rutgers University wrestler won a bronze medal representing Puerto Rico at the 2024 Summer Olympics. He was back in Toms River less than two days after his final match in Paris to pick up some treats at Ob-Co's Donuts. The Fischer Boulevard shop posted a Facebook picture on Tuesday, Aug. 13 of Rivera posing with his bronze medal and a box of donuts. "Congratulations, NJ local, Sebastian Rivera, for winning the bronze in wrestling for Puerto Rico!…
Buzzer-Beater Takedown Makes Sebastian Rivera First Rutgers Wrestler To Medal At Olympics Buzzer-Beater Takedown Makes Sebastian Rivera First Rutgers Wrestler To Medal At Olympics
Buzzer-Beater Takedown Makes Sebastian Rivera First Rutgers Wrestler To Medal At Olympics Sebastian Rivera is going down in Rutgers University history. The Toms River native, who finished his final Scarlet Knight season as a grad student with a 30-1 record, became the university's first grappler to medal at the Olympic games. Rivera took home a bronze in the 65kg freestyle for Puerto Rico with a buzzer-beater takedown of Mongolia's Tulga Tumur-Ochir on Sunday, Aug. 11. Click here for a breakdown of Rivera's Olympic run from Rutgers Athletics and here to watch his buzzer-beater takedown.
Former Bridgwater Officer, West Milford Special Officer Thomas Dinan Dies Former Bridgwater Officer, West Milford Special Officer Thomas Dinan Dies
Former Bridgwater Officer, West Milford Special Officer Thomas Dinan Dies Thomas Dinan, a police officer in West Milford, died on Tuesday, July 30, 10 days after his 66th birthday, the department announced. Dinan joined the West Milford Police Department in June 2018 as a Class II special officer, assisting with traffic details, township events, prisoner watches and transports and court security, police said. Prior to joining West Milford, Dinan spent 27 years in the Bridgewater Police Department, rising to the rank of lieutenant, before retiring in 2015 after serving as patrol officer, narcotics investigator, bias crimes officer and counterterrorism liaison, pol…
New Brunswick Man Pleads Guilty In Shooting Near Rutgers Campus: Prosecutor New Brunswick Man Pleads Guilty In Shooting Near Rutgers Campus: Prosecutor
New Brunswick Man Pleads Guilty In Shooting Near Rutgers Campus: Prosecutor A 20-year-old New Brunswick man has pleaded guilty in connection with an April shooting near the Rutgers University campus, authorities said. Christian Farmer pleaded guilty to first-degree attempted murder and a weapons offense on Wednesday, July 24, according to Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone and Chief Vincent Sabo of the New Brunswick Police Department. Two people were injured in the shooting and three others were charged as accomplices, they said. On April 5, at approximately 2 a.m., authorities responded to 66 Easton Avenue following a report of a shooting. Upon…
Firefighter Injured In Rutgers Barn Blaze Firefighter Injured In Rutgers Barn Blaze
Firefighter Injured In Rutgers Barn Blaze A firefighter was injured battling a fire in a storage barn at Rutgers University in North Brunswick, authorities said. The fire broke out at about 7 p.m. on Thursday, July 11 at the Horticultural Farm property at Rutgers Gardens, according to a university spokeswoman. The building was unoccupied at the time, she said. The fire was contained to the barn with assistance from local fire departments.  One firefighter received treatment at a local hospital for non-life-threatening injuries, the spokeswoman said. Rutgers Gardens spans 180 acres off of Route 1. The farm conducts research …