Highland Lakes-Vernon, NJ
Police & Fire
Serial Sussex County Sex Offender, 66, Arrested Twice After Judge OKs Ankle Bracelet Removal Serial Sussex County Sex Offender, 66, Arrested Twice After Judge OKs Ankle Bracelet Removal
Serial Sussex County Sex Offender, 66, Arrested Twice After Judge OKs Ankle Bracelet Removal A serial sex offender was back in jail weeks after a Sussex County judge granted approval for to remove his ankle bracelet after three years of compliance while wearing it. Richard Boydston, 66, of Vernon, was first arrested in April 2017 for luring a detective posing as a 14-year-old girl. He was arrested again the following month on accusations that he sexual assaulted three young girls for several years. Boydston was indicted in both cases and released from ail with an ankle monitor, but has not appeared in court since 2018, nor showed up on Zoom, Assistant Prosecutor Laura Nazzaro …

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by Cecilia Levine
Highland Lakes-Vernon, NJ
Police & Fire
Englewood Man, 23, Cited For Illegal Dumping At Sussex County Park Englewood Man, 23, Cited For Illegal Dumping At Sussex County Park
Englewood Man, 23, Cited For Illegal Dumping At Sussex County Park A 23-year-old Englewood man dumped a heaping pile of miscellaneous garbage at Maple Grange Park in Vernon, local authorities charged. Mike Lopez was charged with dumping on lands owned by others and littering after he left numerous items including an old couch, window shutters, wooden trunks of clothing, masonry items, cans of wood stain and other miscellaneous items on Maple Grange Park property Sunday night, Vernon police said. The trash has since been removed by the local DPW, and Lopez is scheduled to appear in court.

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by Valerie Musson
Highland Lakes-Vernon, NJ
Police & Fire
Vernon Police Officers Help Deliver Baby In Resort Bathtub Vernon Police Officers Help Deliver Baby In Resort Bathtub
Vernon Police Officers Help Deliver Baby In Resort Bathtub Several Vernon police officers jumped into action to help a woman give birth when she went into active labor at a local resort last week, authorities said. Josie Rodriguez was staying at Appalachian Hotel on Route 94 when her water broke shortly after 12:15 p.m. last Thursday, township police said on Facebook. Officers Abigail Lorenz and Colton Rembish arrived and helped Rodriguez into the bathtub. Her contractions were getting closer by the minute and soon, the baby was crowning, "making it abundantly clear the baby could not wait any longer," police said. EMTs from St. Clare’s arriv…

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by Valerie Musson
Highland Lakes-Vernon, NJ
Police & Fire
Burglars Ransack Dozen Unlocked Cars Across Vernon Burglars Ransack Dozen Unlocked Cars Across Vernon
Burglars Ransack Dozen Unlocked Cars Across Vernon Nearly a dozen vehicles in Vernon and Sussex were burglarized during late night hours Sunday, authorities said. At least 11 unlocked vehicles were entered and ransacked overnight between Sunday and Monday, Vernon police said. The vehicles were parked in driveways throughout the following areas: Glenwood Estates The Summit Settlers Notch Mayflower Estates High Ridge Estates Tompkins Court/Campbell Drive Woodland Hills Drive Pilz Court “We are asking for your help,” said police. “If you live in any of the following areas/streets and have a home video surveillance system, please check it for…

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by Valerie Musson
Highland Lakes-Vernon, NJ
News
Sussex County Officials Won't Release Details On Grad Party Linked To Teen COVID-19 Outbreak Sussex County Officials Won't Release Details On Grad Party Linked To Teen COVID-19 Outbreak
Sussex County Officials Won't Release Details On Grad Party Linked To Teen Covid-19 Outbreak A COVID-19 outbreak among six teens in Sussex County has been linked to a graduation party, according to health officials who won't release the details. According to the NJ Herald, County Health Officer Jim McDonald declined to release the date and location of the party, and wont' release the names of towns of those who tested positive. Data released by the county on Monday, however shows the following municipalities have residents who tested positive between Friday and Sunday: Byram (6), Green, Sparta (3), Vernon (3), and one each in Frankford, Hampton, Hardyston, Hopatcong, and …

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by Cecilia Levine
Highland Lakes-Vernon, NJ
News
COVID-19: Sussex County Officials Announce 3 Cases COVID-19: Sussex County Officials Announce 3 Cases
Covid-19: Sussex County Officials Announce 3 Cases Sussex County as of Wednesday afternoon was among three New Jersey counties with no COVID-19 cases. That changed hours later, when three positive cases were announced in a combined release from Sussex County Freeholder Director Sylvia Petillo and the Sussex County Division of Health. Officials are working to identify anyone the Frankford, Sparta and Vernon residents came in contact with. The patients are a 34-year-old Frankford man, 53-year-old Vernon man and an unidentified Sparta resident.  There had been 427 cases in all of New Jersey as of Wednesday afternoon, Gov. Phil…

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by Cecilia Levine
Highland Lakes-Vernon, NJ
Police & Fire
Firefighters Battle Sussex County Barn Blaze For Hours Firefighters Battle Sussex County Barn Blaze For Hours
Firefighters Battle Sussex County Barn Blaze For Hours A barn blaze that broke out in Hardyston took several hours to be extinguished. Flames were shooting out of a barn behind 215 North Church Road when firefighters arrived around 8:30 p.m. Saturday. The fire quickly climbed to a second alarm as Hardyston companies battled with assistance from Mcafee, Lafayette, Ogdensburg, Franklin, Hamburg, Vernon, Pochuck Valley, Sussex and West Milford. Firefighters stayed at the scene digging up hay until around 1 a.m., to make sure the blaze wouldn't reignite. Glenwood Pochuck EMS and St. Clares EMS also responded, although no injuries were reported.

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by Cecilia Levine
Highland Lakes-Vernon, NJ
Lifestyle
Sussex County Chef Talks Action Park Fatalities While Eating Crazy Spicy Wings On 'Hot Ones' Sussex County Chef Talks Action Park Fatalities While Eating Crazy Spicy Wings On 'Hot Ones'
Sussex County Chef Talks Action Park Fatalities While Eating Crazy Spicy Wings On 'Hot Ones' A "Bon Appetit" chef and Sussex County native paid homage to his hometown while eating spicy wings on a viral YouTube show. BA Test Kitchen Manager Brad Leone kept his cool in between bites of scorching hot sauce-slathered wings on the the "Hot Ones" Thanksgiving special.  After host Sean Evans asked him about growing up in a part of New Jersey that he apparently described as being "better known for its lush forests than fist pumping," the conversation inevitably turned to Action Park. The water and amusement park in Vernon, infamously nicknamed "Accident Park," opened in 19…

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by Cecilia Levine
Highland Lakes-Vernon, NJ
News
Report: Iraqi Man Accused Of Taking Nude Photos Of Sleeping Teen Asks Judge For Jail Release Report: Iraqi Man Accused Of Taking Nude Photos Of Sleeping Teen Asks Judge For Jail Release
Report: Iraqi Man Accused Of Taking Nude Photos Of Sleeping Teen Asks Judge For Jail Release An Iraqi man living in Vernon who in October was accused of taking nude photos of a sleeping 15-year-old girl and texting them to her 13-year-old sister wrote a letter to the courts asking a judge to release him from jail, a new report said. Samer Saleh was arrested Oct. 17 and on Oct. 23, ordered by Judge Thomas J. Critchley held in jail pending the disposition of his case. Saleh appeared before Critchley on Monday with his attorney Thomas Militano, who said he was filing a motion to reconsider Saleh's pretrial detention, the NJHerald said. Assistant Prosecutor Sahil Kabse said he wa…

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by Cecilia Levine
Highland Lakes-Vernon, NJ
News
Last Weekend Was So Cold That Mountain Creek Had Earliest Opening Ever Last Weekend Was So Cold That Mountain Creek Had Earliest Opening Ever
Last Weekend Was So Cold That Mountain Creek Had Earliest Opening Ever The frigid temperatures served some skiers and snow boarders well at Mountain Creek. The Vernon resort cranked out some fresh powder to open one slope last Saturday and Sunday (both days a high of 38 degrees), the earliest opening in Mountain Creek history. The weekend event was best suited for freestyle skiers and snow boarders who are "more inclined to appreciate terrain park features," Mountain Creek Resort's director of sales and marketing, Evan Kovach, told NJ.com. The resort turned on snow-making machines last Tuesday night, the news outlet reported. By Thursday afternoon, nearly 2 …

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by Cecilia Levine
Newburgh, NY
Police & Fire
REPORT: Orange County Newlyweds Don't Remember 'Graphic, Upsetting' Assault REPORT: Orange County Newlyweds Don't Remember 'Graphic, Upsetting' Assault
Report: Orange County Newlyweds Don't Remember 'Graphic, Upsetting' Assault A pair of newlyweds claimed no memory of a crash and subsequent assault last month in northern New Jersey, according to a recent report. Allan and Stephanie Grosso of Pine Bush, N.Y., were headed home from Oktoberfest at Mountain Creek on Sept. 21 when the incident occurred outside of a Vernon business, the NJ Herald reports. Stephanie Grosso said she had no memory of being beaten and tossed into traffic and suspected someone may have dropped something in her drink while testifying Monday in Newton before Superior Court Judge Thomas J. Critchley. Critchely, however, called the inciden…

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by Cecilia Levine
Paramus, NJ
News
Wasps Released In Delaware Water Gap Will Kill Beetle Found Eating North Jersey's Ash Trees Wasps Released In Delaware Water Gap Will Kill Beetle Found Eating North Jersey's Ash Trees
Wasps Released In Delaware Water Gap Will Kill Beetle Found Eating North Jersey's Ash Trees Several species of small wasps that attack the eggs of a tree-eating beetle found in North Jersey were released last weekend within the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, according to a recent report. The adult and pupae wasps are native to Asian areas where the emerald ash borer (beetles) are from. The Asian-native emerald ash borer beetles attack ash trees and have been detected in parts of New Jersey, as well as across the U.S. This year, the EAB has been detected in the following areas of New Jersey, according to the state's agricultural department: BERGEN: Glen Rock CAMDEN…

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by Cecilia Levine