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by Carolyne Volpe Curley / Carolyne@WestEssexNOW.com Published 9:22pm Hover over Photos to see Locations and Photo Credit Click on Photo to Enlarge  Big Piece Road at Dell Court, Fairfield PHOTO: Mark Andrew Bilhuber  WEST ESSEX, NJ - Late Tuesday afternoon, West Essex was slammed with a storm so strong that many have questioned if we had a tornado come through the area. While some areas of New York did see tornados touch down, West Essex experienced a brief, but incredibly powerful, Squall with Whole Gale, Category 10, 66mph Winds, which was followed up by equally damaging Thunderstorms. The violently intense onset was reported by NOAA's Fairfield Weather Station as a Squall - which they define as a "sudden violent gust of wind or a localized storm" - and it began in West Essex at 4:44pm, followed by Thunderstorms which continued until 6:01pm. In this very short period of time, the Winds, Lightning, and Rain caused a huge amount of damage around the West Essex area. What follows is a timeline of incidents chronicled as they were reported (not as they occured) to which Police, Fire and DPW crews responded and worked tirelessly to clean up for days: Tuesday, May 15 4:44pm
4:46pm
4:49pm
4:50pm
4:51pm
4:55pm
 Stewart Road, Essex Fells PHOTO: Carolyne Volpe Curley 5pm
5:02pm
5:04pm
 Grandview Avenue by Sunset Drive, North Caldwell PHOTO: Carolyne Volpe Curley 5:11pm
5:14pm
 Cedars Road near Washburn Place, Caldwell PHOTO: Chris Wysocki 5:16pm
 Campbell Road at Bodkin Road, Fairfield PHOTO: Bonnie Kamochi 5:18pm
5:24pm
 Passaic Avenue across from Essex County Airport, Fairfield PHOTO: Carolyne Volpe Curley  Passaic Avenue across from Essex County Airport, Fairfield PHOTO: Fiona Curley 5:27pm
5:31pm
 Williamsburg Drive, Roseland PHOTO: Michele Madia Valeriani 5:32pm
5:33pm
5:35pm
5:36pm
5:37pm
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5:44pm
Police begin welfare checks of residences, including homes where children are on their own. 5:45pm
5:48pm
5:51pm
5:52pm
5:55pm
 Roseland Methodist Church, Eagle Rock Avenue PHOTO: Carolyne Volpe Curley  Roseland Methodist Church, Eagle Rock Avenue PHOTO: Carolyne Volpe Curley 5:59pm Roseland: Eagle Rock Avenue, Methodist Church
 Midvale Avenue near Esposito Drive, Fairfield PHOTO: Mark Andrew Bilhuber 6:04pm
6:08pm
6:12pm
6:14pm
6:16pm
6:20pm
 Hamilton Drive South by Woodland Place, North Caldwell PHOTO: Lisa Margolis Goldstein 6:22pm
6:25pm
 Alan Drive, Fairfield PHOTO: Lisa Pitera Pasternak 6:26pm
 Gazebo from lower deck landed upside down on upper deck, Lane Avenue, Caldwell PHOTO: Janna Smith 6:29pm
6:30pm
6:39pm
6:41pm
7:02pm
 Kennedy Drive, Fairfield PHOTO: Fairfield Police 7:06pm
7:23pm
7:31pm
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8:04pm
8:12pm
8:18pm
By the end of the Storm, over 90 streets which included hundreds of residents, were without power:
by Carolyne Volpe Curley / Carolyne@WestEssexNOW.com Published 10:30pm WEST CALDWELL, NJ - On Saturday, Feb. 24, West Caldwell Police and police from the surrounding West Essex community responded immediately to James Caldwell High School on reports of an individual possibly at the school with a gun. What follows is a timeline of events which eventually led to the arrest of former student Michael Schmitt, 18, of West Caldwell.  Michael Schmitt Saturday, Feb. 24, 2018 2:16pm
2:17pm
2:23pm
2:48pm
2:55pm
2:58pm
2:59pm
3pm
West Caldwell Police Chief Gerard Paris then released the following statement: West Caldwell Police was notified  Michael Schmitt PHOTO: Essex County Jail On Sunday, afternoon, Paris then stated the following information about Saturday's incident:
The following notice was then sent out to parents from the school administration: Dear JCHS Students and Parents/Guardians, I know many of you have been waiting for additional details regarding yesterday's lockdown and tomorrow's school procedures. I have been in close contact with the West Caldwell Police and here is some of the information that I now have permission to share with you.
After the Parkland shooting, Detective Mazzeo and I decided to meet with every student to review our security procedures and answer questions. We planned to meet tomorrow to develop a schedule because I wanted these meeting to be with relatively small groups to make sure all students are heard. We still plan to have these security meetings, but if any student would like to speak with either of us sooner, please see me or send an email. I know that despite the assurances of the West Caldwell Police, some students are still nervous about coming to school tomorrow, I hope this additional information makes most of you feel more comfortable and secure. Certainly, the police presence tomorrow will make it one of the safest days to come to school. As I mentioned in my email on Saturday, I regret that our students had to experience this lockdown, but I am proud of the actions of our students, faculty, administrators, and the West Caldwell Police. Please contact me with any questions. Sincerely, Jim Devlin Principal James Caldwell High School 973-228-6981 While the investigation continues, West Caldwell Police are asking anyone who has information about this matter to contact them at:
973-226-4114. by Carolyne Volpe Curley / Carolyne@WestEssexNOW.com Published 6:10am  Credit: Carolyne Volpe Curley WEST ESSEX, NJ - After a string of recent incidents, area police are reminding residents to lock their cars, and remove all valuable items from vehicles left unattended.
Wednesday / Thursday - Nov. 4/5
Friday / Saturday - Oct. 30/31
Sunday / Monday - Oct. 25/26
Thursday / Friday - Oct 22/23
by Carolyne Volpe Curley / Carolyne@WestEssexNOW.com Published 11:50am  Credit: Allison Freeman NORTH CALDWELL, NJ - On Wednesday afternoon, reports began circling around West Essex High School that a student was set to pull-off a possibly dangerous violent act tomorrow at the school's Pep Rally. According to North Caldwell Police Chief Mark Deuer, his department immediately began an investigation which ultimately concluded that the threat was unfounded. In an interview with West Essex Now, Deuer described that he and his officers worked through the night and into this morning investigating students, their families, their homes and additionally had three K-9 dogs searching the school's lockers for any and all weapons. A full team of officers were in place this morning at the school for student arrivals, will be there during after-school departures and and will be on hand tomorrow at the Pep Rally. "After a long and exhuastive investigation, Assisting North Caldwell in the investigation were officers from the Essex Fells Police, Fairfield Police and Roseland Police departments and members of the Essex County Sheriffs Office. Further Information
North Caldwell Police Department Police Chief Mark Deuer 136 Gould Avenue North Caldwell, NJ 07006 973-226-0800
Published 4:40pm  Credit: John Foley  Credit: John Foley WEST ESSEX, NJ - Late Saturday night, the National Weather Service issued a Freezing Rain Advisory for northeast New Jersey warning of hazardous travel conditions through Sunday morning. The Advisory was expected to be in effect from 3am until 8am Sunday morning, but it was gradually extended until 1pm Sunday afternoon. "Light freezing rain and drizzle will make Reports began to come into West Essex Now by early morning saying the roads were extremely hazardous. "Black ice everywhere from Bloomfield to West Caldwell. By 8:30am, about 10 vehicles were already disabled along Mountain Avenue and there were numerous accidents occurring throughout the area. Area police and surrounding towns used their emergency alert systems within the next ten minutes to warn their residents to remain at home and they would continue to do so throughout the morning.
 Credit: John Foley Over the next hour, Eagle Rock Avenue, Bloomfield Avenue, Passaic Avenue, Eisenhower Parkway and Route 280 were all closed completely or intermittently as accidents arose. Vehicles were reported to have collided into each other, hit poles, gone onto lawns and spun around onto oncoming traffic. There were countless injuries and multiple airbags deployed; in general, drivers were proving it was unsafe for any but emergency vehicles to be out on the road. Pedestrians were equally affected; falls with injuries from icy stairs, sidewalks, parking lots and driveways were reported all over the area.  Credit: John Foley So many accidents happened in such a short period of time that First Responders resorted to the rare practice of "triaging" - which usually happens during extreme emergencies when large amounts of wounded or ill patients are assigned degrees of urgency. By 9am, Roseland and West Essex First Aid EMTs were responding to emergencies all over the area, while at the same time their emergency vehicles were attempting to circumvent the dangerous roads to transport patients to local hospitals and trauma centers in Newark. All available EMTs were asked to report for duty and mutual aid from Wayne was also requested. This is only a sampling of accidents which occurred throughout the region:
Reports of abandoned cars left where they had crashed came in from all over. By 11:30am, there were so many accidents and disabled vehicles along Eagle Rock Avenue that residents were opening their homes to shelter people as they waited for assistance. Local religious organizations including St. Peter's Church in Essex Fells, LifeSource Church in West Caldwell and Our Lady of the Lake in Verona canceled morning prayer services or afternoon gatherings.  Credit: NJ EMS The ice storm affected everyone in the Metropolitan Area. Governor Chris Christie announced that speed restrictions of 35-45mph were in effect on the NJ Turnpike by 9:15am. NJ Transit and DeCamp buses were all cancelled until the afternoon due to the icy road conditions. At 1:30pm, the mutual aid agreement between New York City and NJ was activated and those EMT teams, which were available, waited at the Hudson Tunnel to assist with the City's backlog of 911 calls.
At 1pm, the Freezing Rain Advisory was cancelled while NOAA then issued a Flood Warning which was in effect until 6pm Sunday afternoon. Briefly, thundershowers came into the area adding to the day's weather challenges. All the roads in the area were open by 1:45pm. The roads remain wet and temperatures will continue below freezing tonight. At 5:50pm, there was an accident, with injuries, on Grandview Avenue, in North Caldwell.
Published 9:30am  Credit: Kathy Pigott ROSELAND, NJ - Early Monday morning, West Essex area police participated in a combined effort to catch a suspect wanted for stealing a car in Parsippany. It began around 1:15am when the NJ State Police announced that two cars had been stolen out of Parsippany; a car matching one of the descriptions was found crashed and abandoned in Roseland near the Route 280 / Eisenhower Parkway ramp. Roseland officers alerted the State Police that the car had been found and began a foot pursuit of a suspect who was believed to be dressed in dark clothing. As officers canvassed the wooded area, mutual aid was requested from police of the area towns including East Hanover, Essex Fells, Fairfield, North Caldwell and West Caldwell. Officers from West Caldwell were searching the streets and wooded areas of Passaic Avenue while the other towns centered on the backyards and woods near Cooper Avenue, Glen Avenue and all around Pitcairn Drive. By 1:52am, an Essex County Sheriff's Office canine unit had arrived to assist with the search. During this time period, Fairfield Police Officer Frank Tracey was patrolling the streets along Passaic Avenue. According to Fairfield Officer in Charge Anthony Manna, Tracey came across a gold colored Ford Explorer, coming out of the Stonegate condos. "Officer Tracey observed that the vehicle was occupied  After Tracey located the suspects at about 2:20am, officers from West Caldwell arrived to assist. The occupant of the backseat was arrested and turned out to be a teen, 17-years old, out of East Orange. The Parsippany Police responded to the scene to investigate further and by 2:50am, all units had cleared the scene.
Livingston Police Announce Six Residential Daytime Burglaries Occurred over the Past Month11/26/2014
Published 11:22am  LIVINGSTON, NJ - The Livingston Police Department announced on Wednesday that six daytime residential burglaries occurred over the past month in their town, including one yesterday on Tuscan Road. They are seeking the public's assistance to take notice of any suspicious vehicles parked on streets in their vicinity. Burglaries
Anyone who notices a suspicious vehicle is asked to write down the license plate and contact police. The Livingston Police Department can be reached at 973-992-3000. "We are asking for your assistance. Further Information
Livingston Police Department Chief Craig M. Handschuch 333 South Livingston Avenue Livingston, New Jersey 07039 973-992-3000
by Carolyne Volpe Curley / Carolyne@WestEssexNOW.com Published 12:29pm  Credit: Carolyne Volpe Curley CALDWELL, NJ - Police from Caldwell, Fairfield, North Caldwell, Verona and West Caldwell are seeking an individual wanted for a possible armed robbery which occurred around noon, today. As of 12:53pm, the male was last seen on the second deck of the Caldwell Community Center parking lot.
According to Caldwell Police Chief James Bongiorno, the department received a call at 12:06pm regarding an armed robbery that took place in the Caldwell Community Center Parking Lot. Police met with the victim who gave a full description of the suspect. The suspect reportedly displayed a silver handgun and told the victim to give him everything he had. The victim turned over his wallet and cell phone. He was told to "go about his business" and walked away from the black male and walked in directly to Borough Hall where the incident was reported. The victim was not physically harmed during the robbery. Further information If anyone witnessed anything or has any information to share please contact the Caldwell Police Department Detective Bureau at 973-226-2602. Description
Area schools have experienced lockdowns and area grammar schools that have noon / early dismissals both have police standing by. Caldwell-West Caldwell Schools did not have a lockdown. Reportedly the following schools were on lockdown:
Published 4:16pm  Credit: Carolyne Volpe Curley WEST CALDWELL, NJ - The West Caldwell Police investigated the theft of two vehicles, Wednesday, from the storage area for Globe Motor Car Company at 880 Bloomfield Avenue, West Caldwell. The cars were stolen from the location at about 4:10pm. The two drivers were said to be African-American, and were dropped off by a third driver who was operating a Porsche. The cars stolen were:
All three cars left the storage area together. It was reported that the car trunks were open and the vehicles had no license plates. The cars were last seen driving first on Bloomfield Avenue and then turning right on Passaic Avenue east, headed towards Route 280 in Roseland. No further information is available from police at this time.  WEST CALDWELL, NJ - Ermal Rustemlliu, owner of Tri-State Construction in West Caldwell was cited, Wednesday, for noncompliance with the state's home improvement contractor's codes. The business primarily does work with commercial and residential painting, construction and remodeling, roofing repair and replacement. Tri-State was cited for not being registered with the state, while continuing to solicit home improvement work. The New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs has been cracking down on non-compliant home improvement contractors and on Wednesday issued Notices of Violation to 26 contractors, including Tri-State Construction. The state is seeking a total of $251,602 in civil penalties and consumer restitution, based on complaints and referrals by consumers across New Jersey. “The great majority of New Jersey’s registered home improvement contractors are proud to provide honest, quality service to their clients,” All but three of the contractors cited today have been directed to pay a total of $153,582 in restitution to consumers. The restitution amounts range from $200 to $27,400, and represent the amounts allegedly owed to consumers due to the performance of shoddy work, or the failure to start and/or finish work for which consumers had pre-paid. In addition, the Division is citing all 26 contractors for various violations of New Jersey’s Contractors’ Registration Act. For example, 16 are cited for soliciting home improvement work despite having failed to register with the Division, as required by law. Others are cited for violations such as failure to provide consumers with detailed, written contracts, which are required by law for all home improvement contracts costing more than $500. The State has assessed a total of $97,750 in civil penalties against the 26 contractors, in addition to the assessed consumer restitution. “Including the contractors we’re citing today, thus far in 2014, Today’s action follows the Division’s July 16 announcement of Notices of Violation to 68 home improvement contractors, seeking a total of $1,046,978 in consumer restitution and $276,250 in civil penalties. Home improvement complaints are typically the largest consumer complaint category the Division of Consumer Affairs receives each year, as was the case in 2013, when the Division received 1,434 consumer complaints about home improvement contractors. Each of the contractors received a Notice of Violation. They have the opportunity to contest the alleged violation, or the opportunity to correct the violation by desisting from any practices in violation of the law, paying a civil penalty and/or consumer restitution where required, and submitting an application for registration, if not registered. OCT. 1 CITATIONS The full list of those cited today are as follows: Unregistered businesses
Registered Businesses Cited for Other Violations
Tips for Consumers, When Hiring a Contractor
Investigators Joseph Iasso, Loretta Creggett, Michelle Davis, Michael Meola and Waiman Yee, led by Supervising Investigator Jen Micco of the Division of Consumer Affairs Office of Consumer Protection, conducted these investigations. Deputy Attorneys General from the Consumer Fraud Prosecution Section within the Division of Law represented the State in these actions. Further Information Consumers who believe they have been cheated or scammed by a business, or suspect any other form of consumer abuse, can file a complaint online with the State Division of Consumer Affairs or by calling 1-800-242-5846 or 973-504-6200. The Division will continue to take such actions against allegedly unregistered and/or otherwise non-compliant home improvement contractors throughout the year, and will announce them on a quarterly basis, in order to protect and inform New Jersey’s consumers.
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