Most Viewed 2018

Lackawanna Cutoff project may be moving forward, 1,244 views
New Jersey Transit's plan to build a new train station in Andover and restore commuter rail service to southern Sussex County, was said to at last be back on track, according to township officials. The Andover Township Committee, at its meeting on Monday, April 9, delivered the much-anticipated news about the proposed Lackawanna Cutoff rail station. Township Attorney Fred Semrau announced that months of negotiations led to a tentative agreement between the township and the owners of Hudson Farms to provide access to a culvert which sits on Hudson Farms' property. Mayor McGovern said that this development signaled the removal of the last obstacle in New Jersey Transit's plan to restore rail service on the Port Morris Line. Township representatives undertook the talks with Hudson Farms at the behest of NJ Transit, in what Semrau called “an unusual case of the town interceding for the state,” as he applauded the efforts of all those involved. John Ursin, attorney for Hudson Farms, confirmed that a tentative agreement to address the culvert issue had been reached. "My client never wished to be in the middle of this New Jersey Transit project," Ursin said. "We have trying to see how best we could cooperate with the other parties."
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Troubled waters at Cranberry Lake, 902 views
On Labor Day weekend the Cranberry Lake Community Club brought its season to a close on Labor Day weekend under a cloud of controversy stemming from its declaration that all Cranberry Lake residents must take up mandatory membership. The club has told residents that beginning in 2019, they will collect dues in accordance with New Jersey State P.L. 2107, Chapter 106, which governs the regulations of “common interest community associations”; this code was amended by the state in 2017.
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Modern Farmer will rise on old farmland, 2,023 views
Steve Scro relishes a challenge. He's the owner of The Mohawk House and he's opening another restaurant and bar, just a couple of miles from his already successful establishment. The building's architect is Steve's cousin, Michael Scro, and aim give a nod to Sussex County history, with a unique look.
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Priest finds life in death, 871 views
When Steven Cagno died of a heroin overdose in 2016, the silver lining of his passing was that his sister, Molly Cagno, became determined to do something pro-recovery in his memory. At a support group, she told Father Robert about what happened, and he had a “crazy” idea that she could get a group together to go to Panama to build a church. They raised the needed $15,000 and it was particularly poignant because Father Robert himself was a recovered alcoholic.
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Family holds event to raise funds to fight mother's cancer, 847 views
Despite noticing something wasn't quite right, Tammy Gresik Insinga put off going to the doctor. Even though she works in the medical field, she was caught unaware that the symptoms she was ignoring were actually symptoms of cancer. Her family came to the rescue with a fundraiser to help her foot the bills, while she awaited results of her treatment. A Beef & Beer fundraiser was held on July 7, 2018 at the Andover Borough Fire Department to help cover Tammy's expenses as she undergoes treatment for Stage III colorectal cancer, and community showed up to rally around the family.
Read the story: Family holds event to raise funds to fight mother's cancer

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Sheik Fall, a Renaissance man from Byram, is dead, 788 views
One of this year's most read stories was recounting the life of Sheik Fall. He was known for bringing together members of the arts and music communities, whether forming drum circles or showcasing paintings. He was an accomplished drummer, musician, and artist. He was from Senegal and as close friend and fellow percussionist Dewey Ribustello said, "we lost one of the nicest people in the world."
Read the story: Sheik Fall, a Renaissance man from Byram, is dead

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Salmon caught in Lake Aeroflex breaks record, 781 views
On Saturday, June 2, at Lake Aeroflex, Mhay Rodriguez of Northvale caught what turns out to be the largest landlocked salmon caught in New Jersey. The previous record was an eight pound salmon caught more than 50 years ago. Palmier has been fishing since she was six years old.
Read the story: almon caught in Lake Aeroflex breaks record

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Bomb threat at Sussex Tech spurs evacuation, 638 views
Sussex County Technical School on North Church Road in Sparta in February 2018 was evacuated and bomb-sniffing dogs were brought in, due to a bomb threat, authorities said. 11 a.m. Nothing harmful was found, but police took precautions just in case. Lt. John Lamon, public affairs officer for Sparta police, said the threat was detected by a student in the lavatory around 11 a.m. "A student saw writing on a bathroom stall," Lamon said. "The writing said, 'Bomb goes off at 12:15 today.'" About 800 students attend from throughout the county.
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Congressman tours areas affected by storms, outages, 514 views
Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ5) came to Green Township in March 2018 after a devastating storm, and declared it Groundhog Day. It was a reference to the movie in which a weatherman feels he keeps reliving the same day. He said it in recognition of the fact that residents over and over and over again feel that when there's a storm, the power goes out, and stays out. “We are all frustrated with the response of the power companies and utilities to the storm damage and the outages,” the Congressman told firefighters, residents and municipal officials gathered at the Green Township Fire House. “There are still people without power, without heat, without running water. The situation is unacceptable. There…appears to be no strategy... It's like Groundhog Day.” It's further like Groundhog Day to some county residents and officials because Jersey Central Power & Light, seemed to have turned a deaf ear to complaints about poor response times after previous storms. “You would have thought they would have learned their lesson after Sandy,” Green Township Mayor Daniel Conkling said. “Apparently not.”
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Sussex County dogs getting sick despite vaccines, 477 views
This story starts out with a dog's sneeze. After a Pet Spa employee realized the other dogs started to sneeze too, they realized the illness was spreading. The Pet Spa ended up emailing and messaging more than 240 local veterinarians and kennels to give them a heads up about the outbreak.
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Local veterinarian honored posthumously, 446 views
This brief, but much-read story was in recognition of an award in honor of Michael Ramieri, a Sparta resident who owned Advanced Veterinary Care in Franklin, and who died suddenly, at age 44.
Read the story: Local veterinarian honored posthumously