Headed for Maine, She Still Needs Your Support a Mwnoriol Smrv'k* in Honor of the Victims of Th* Sent

AN UNUKELY SOUND A SAINTLY WIN Thm Kb&nor Mountain Trio St. luk0 nefttty claimed m» St. Bart's Mmn't Softball Summmr wilt bring it* uniqum bbnd of Lmagum Championship. For moro klmzmmr and bluograss to th* on mm tmam, and for a look at Fanwood Memorial Library on VWttfwJd and Scotch Plain* $*pt. 16. So« Community Lifm, Fanwood high school football PagmB-1. squads, smm Sports, Pagm C- F. 50c«nts VtBB Vol. 22, No. 36 Serving Westfield, Scotch Plains and Fanwood Friday, September 7, 200i SEPTEMBER 11 SERVICES Headed for Maine, she still needs your support A mwnoriol smrv'K* in honor of the victims of th* Sent. 11, cells. harden. For more than 15 years after 2001 attack* will b» held of 7 p.m. TuMdoyatWMlfWd't9/n THE CHRONICLE The procedure being diagnosed with the disease in Memorial, located at th* corner of North Avwnua and East Brood IB grueling and 1990, she led a healthy, active life, but Start acroM from the First United NWhodist Church. Next Monday, Michelle Marron- could last over a in January 2006 her condition began In addition. Union County has invited families of In* 60 coun- Meyerhoff will depart her Cranford month, but it to worsen. Now, she is on oxygen 24 ty residents who war* kilted in In* attack on th« World Trad* home for a hospital in Maine. There, may also save hours a day, she is mostly confined to Canter to light a candU in thair mamory from 6-8 p.m. Tuasday if all goes well, she will begin prepa- her life. Marron- her house, and her life is at stake. at the count/* September 11 Memorial, located in Echo Lake rations for a procedure known as an Meyerhoff suf- "It's real cut and dry," said Barbara Pork in Mountainside. Candles wiH be available for family m autologpus stem cell transplant, in fers from sclero- O'Desky, a member of Marron- which healthy stem cells will be har- derma, a rare Meyerhoff's graduating class at bers, and flowers and other n lemm obifio may be disptoyeo MARRON- There will be no ceremonies or speeches at the county event. vested from her bone marrow, her and chronic Westfield High School "If she doesn't This time wiN be set aside for quiet reflection,'' said Freeholder immune system will be wiped out, auto-immune MEYERHOFF have (the treatment), she'll die." Chairwoman Bette Jane Kowafski. The county's memorial will and the stem cells will be returned to disease in which the body's immune While Marron-Meyerhoff and her remain open to the public during this time. her body, where they will stimulate system turns on itself and causes con- the production of functioning blood nective tissues and internal organs to (Continued on page A-2) 4 indicted New faces on the first day of school Work will begin after alleged Saturday on two swindle of downtown lots elderly man THE RECORD-PRESS WESTFIELD — Work is slated to THE RECORD-PRESS begin Saturday, Sept. 8 on improvements Four Elizabeth residents to municipal parking lots 1 and 8, which have been indicted in con- means downtown shoppers and employ- nection with the swindling ees may need to find new spaces to park of an elderly Westfield resi- over the next two months. dent, according to authori- Work on the lots -ill include installa- ties at the Union County tion of drainage p«i>' and granite block Prosecutor's Office. curbing, as well as lighting improvements Named in the indictment and asphalt resurfacing, according to a are Janet Garcia; her construction notice circulated by the daughter, Jacqueline Engineering Department. The two lots Garcia; her son, Richard are located adjacent to each other Garcia, and Richard's girl- between Prospect and Elm Streets, just friend, Lucia Heinz. They south of the Trader Joe's store. are charged with draining The construction will be staged, but the 88-year-old man's bank while it is ongoing the lots will be account of hundreds of unavailable. Town Engineer K.en Marsh thousands of dollars over told the Town Council Tuesday that work the course of a year after is likely to last four to five weeks in Lot 1 Richard Garcia allegedly on Prospect Street, and then about anoth- befriended the man, who is er three weeks in Lot 8 on Elm Street. legally blind, and gained The entire project, including new sign age access to his bank accounts and additional pay stations, should be and personal property. complete by November. Richard Garcia and Eliminating the barriers between the Heinz face counts of theft, PHOTO BY LORRE KORECKY two lots will create about five additional theft by deception and con- Summer break's over, kids! Students in Westfield began the 2007-2008 school year on Wednesday. spaces, alleviate congestion and improve spiracy to commit theft, all Above, one of the many new teachers In the district, Laurie Smedley, gets to know the students in her traffic flow, said Sherry Cronin, director of which are second degree second grade class at Tamaques Elementary School. Westfield has added about 30 more elementary of the Downtown Westfield Corporation. charges, said Assistant students this year, plus 48 new staff members district-wide. For a full list of all the new teachers and The project also calls for improved land- Prosecutor Ann Rubin. administrators, see the story on Page A-3. scaping, and when it is complete users All four of the suspects will be able to refill their Smart Cards at face additional charges of thefl, conspiracy to commit Light at end of the tunnel, but no 'quiet zone' yet (Continued on page A-2) theft and theft by failure to Town may encounter backlog for purchase of eqiupment have been working for years to make required disposition, silence the whistles. In a major which means they allegedly By GREG MARX to go into effect at the freight raraiil step, the Federal Railroad Critics are angered did not move the victim's THE RECORD-PRESS grade crossing on Rahway Administration recently updated money to its intended place. Avenue near Lamberts Mill its Web site to include data pro- Attorneys for the suspects WESTFIELD — Though the Road. Dozens of trains come vided by the town. That paved by FAA's decision maintain their clients are town has gotten farther than through the site a day, and con- the way for installation of safety Legal challenges planned over noise innocent. any other municipality in its ductors are required by federal equipment that will allow the The two rounds of efforts to establish a "quiet zone" safety guidelines to sound their trains to pass through in silence. By GREG MARX charges, Rubin explained, at a railroad grade crossing, whistle each time, creating what "Essentially, our quiet zone THE RECORD-PRKSS pertain to alleged thefts there are still a few hurdles left Mayor Andy Skibitsky called "a has been approved by the FRA, that occurred before and to cross. huge quality-of-life issue" for which is huge," Councilman Jim The Federal Aviation Administration after the Garcias obtained The "quiet zone," more than a neighborhood residents. issued a final decision for a redesign of power of attorney over the decade in the making, is slated Local residents and officials (Continued on page A-2) the New York, New Jersey and man's funds on March 6, Philadelphia metropolitan area airspace 2007. The alleged thefts on Wednesday, drawing criticism from the began in April 2006 and state's U.S. senators and legal challenges continued until the folio-w- Willow Grove members support Heifer Project from opponents. ing March. Over the weekend of After reviewing a number of options A total of more than Aug. 3, Willow Grove for use of the airspace, the agency opted $350,000 was allegedly Presbyterian Church in for a model known as the "Integrated stolen, Rubin said, but the Scotch Plains sent a Airspace Alternative Variation with banks where the funds were Integrated Control Complex," which deposited have returned group of 10 youths and involves adjusting the flight headings more than $218,000. The adults to the Heifer and fanning out departing planes in an Office of the Public Project International's effort to reduce delays at New York-area Guardian has been appoint- Overlook Farm in airports. Locally, critics say, the change ed to oversee the affairs of Massachusetts. The could -mean more departures from the Westfield man, who is Heifer Project provides Newark Liberty Airport traveling over now in a Cranford nursing livestock to families liv- Union County. home. He reportedly intend- ing in poverty around The decision was announced one day ed to leave his assets to the the world; the animals after a new report by the U.S. Bureau of Salvation Army. offer a source of food Transportation which identified Newark, The suspects were and income. Members Kennedy and LaGuardia airports as arrested in May after Helen of the Willow Grove among the most delayed in the nation. Rentoulis, co-owner of group stayed overnight In a statement, the agency said the Vicki's Diner, where the eld- in a "Global Village" redesign "is expected to reduce delays, erly gentleman was a regu- area that replicated liv- fuel consumption, aircraft emissions and lar customer, became suspi- ing conditions in noise." cious and alerted authori- Thailand and Mexico, "This new concept in airspace design ties. If the Garcias and where they experienced will help us handle the rapidly growing Heinz are convicted, Rubin some of the daily challenges to the Heifer Project.

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