FIFTY CENTS 232-4407
Scotch Plains – Fanwood THE TIMES
OUR 39th YEAR – ISSUE NO. 49-98 Published Every Thursday USPS 485200
Periodical – Postage Paid at Scotch Plains, N.J. Thursday, December 3, 1998
of of of of of
— Serving Scotch Plains and Fanwood Since 1959 —
Bank Heist Suspect Killed After Firing On Police Officers
Teen Charged With First Degree Murder in Shooting Of New Brunswick Resident in Club Malibu Parking Lot
Teachers Converge On School Bd. Over Frustration in Talks By SUSAN M. DYCKMAN
Specially Written for The Times
Hundreds of Scotch PlainsFanwood Education Association (SPFEA) members converged upon the November 24 regular meeting of the Scotch Plains-Fanwood Board of Education.
Members’ silence was broken as a dozen teachers spoke at length about
their dissatisfaction with the board, the prolonged negotiating process and parents’ reaction to the union job action.
SPFEA members, who assembled at Park Middle School, were escorted to board offices in a caravan of cars by three Scotch Plains’ police officers.
Prior to public comment, Board Vice President Theresa Larkin read a prepared statement. She indicated the board shares “the common thread of frustration” running through some of the letters received by the board from the community.
“We have worked hard to offer a fair contract to the SPFEA. They have rejected our offer,” read Mrs. Larkin. “Not only that, but even though we have publicly released information there are still inaccurate rumors about our proposal.”
She indicated that the board “never proposed taking away columns on the salary guide...and also proposed a net increase in the number of steps on the salary guides...” contrary to published reports.
Mrs. Larkin also stated that the “157 teachers who would ‘only’ get a raise, not an increment (under the board’s proposed contract), have an average salary of $71,154.”
She also revealed that the board’s professional negotiator uncovered a $20,000 error in calculating the value of the 1997-1998 salary guides. This results in a lower base cost for the board. The consequence is a net value of 11 percent for the board’s threeyear proposal, instead of the 10.9 percent previously reported.
The board’s offer stands at 3.8 percent, 3.6 percent and 3.6 percent (1998-2001) with no changes in medical benefits.
When offered the floor, the SPFEA wasted no time in lining up at the microphone.
Betty Rivera, a reading recovery and basic skills teacher at Coles Elementary School, said, “I trust some (letters) were in support of teachers.” She referenced the “accolades” Scotch Plains-Fanwood teachers had re
School Officials Reveal Improved Financial Numbers Over 1997 By SUSAN M. DYCKMAN
Specially Written for The Times
It was musical chairs during the November 24 regular meeting of the Scotch Plains-Fanwood Board of Education as proceedings shifted from the board room to the multipurpose room of Evergreen Elementary School to accommodate the hundreds of the Scotch Plains-Fanwood Education Association (SPFEA) members in attendance.
Following comments from the board and SPFEA members on the contract stalemate, the meeting reconvened in the board room with only a handful of residents in the audience.
There, the auditing firm of Barre and Cannone of Springfield deliv
ered a positive report for the fiscal year which ended on June 30. The firm was hired this year as new auditors for the district.
The report showed an undesignated fund balance of $440,000 at June 30, compared to a zero balance on June 30, 1997. The account is commonly referred to as “free balance.”
A year ago, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Carol B. Choye attributed the zero balance situation to increased tuition costs, the modular classrooms (now in place at School One, Evergreen and Coles Schools), heightened insurance assessments
and additional appropriations. The administration then implemented a fine-tooth review of expenditures at all levels to determine where cost savings could be found.
Business Administrator and Board Secretary Matthew A. Clarke was quick to point out, however, that $417,000 of the undesignated funds were generated from the district’s claims fund account because it was “a good year” in terms of health benefit claims.
He indicated that prudent use of these funds would be to keep them in
David B. Corbin for The Times
AN ANNUAL TRADITION...Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School senior linebacker Scott Paterson, No. 54, checks a Union High School receiver during Saturday’s game in Union while the Raiders’ junior tackle, Dan Loomis, backs up the play. The game was postponed by rain on Thanksgiving Day. The Farmers edged the Raiders, 21-20. For details, please see Page 15.
Township Receives $250,000 Grant to Complete Road Work By SONIA V. OWCHARIW
Specially Written for The Times
Scotch Plains Township Council members announced on November 24 that they received a letter from Governor Christine Todd Whitman awarding Scotch Plains with a grant at $250,000 from the state’s Transportation Trust Fund.
This brings the total of grants received by the township in 1998 to $1,259,000, according to Republican Mayor Joan Papen. She challenged the next council, the first Democratically controlled council since the Watergate years, to surpass that amount.
Mayor Papen will finish her term as mayor through the end of December and will not be returning to the council next year.
The transportation grant will be used to complete road paving on Raritan Road. The Fund enables com
munities to address and maintain their transportation needs without increasing property taxes.
“The completion of this project will demonstrate the successful partnership that exists between local and state governments,” Governor Whitman stated in a letter to the council.
In other business, Fanwood and Scotch Plains will participate in a “shared” police matron service as part of an Interlocal Services Agreement. Currently, there are no female officers on the Fanwood force, said Councilman Robert Johnston.
This service will involve the transportation of female prisoners by a female officer. In addition, Mayor Papen added, “shared services are a way to keep taxes down.”
The borough will pay $22.75 per hour for the service.
In past business, Councilwomanelect Geri M. Samuels submitted a
resolution to council members requesting that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reroute airplanes out over the Atlantic Ocean after take-off from Newark International Airport in order to reduce noise pollution over Scotch Plains township.
Ocean routing has been supported by citizens groups seeking noise relief in Union County. The FAA instead instituted routing where airplanes gain altitude over industrial areas before returning over residential areas. Recent information, though, has indicated that pilots have not been flying those routes due to poorly written flight instructions by the FAA.
Republican Council members decided to hold off on the resolution until Councilwoman-elect Samuels
Township Prepares For Holiday Celebration
By FRED ROSSI
Specially Written for The Times
Scotch Plains will welcome in the holiday season at its “Old Fashioned Holiday Fun” celebration this Sunday, December 6, from noon to 5 p.m.
Among the planned activities are horse-drawn wagon rides, raffles, live entertainment, the lighting of the Christmas tree and, of course, an appearance by Santa Claus.
From 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. on the Village Green, live entertainment will be provided by the Oratorio Singers from the New Apostolic Church in Plainfield and the Scotch PlainsFanwood High School Chorus.
The Merchant Holiday Wall Contest will award raffle prizes ranging from free dinners and dry cleaning to free haircuts and eye care. There will be flyers available with a map of local merchants. To be eligible for the drawing, all one
needs to do is visit the 10 to 15 businesses in the township who validate their flyers. No purchase is necessary.
There will also be an Open House at the Historic Osborn Cannonball House Museum on Front Street, with food and refreshments available.
Rides on two horse-drawn wagons will be offered for $2 per person. Children under 2 can ride for free. The wagon rides will be going around town from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m.
Other attractions for the kids include a petting zoo and face painting.
The township’s Christmas tree will be lit at 5 p.m. on the Village Green, followed by Santa’s arrival on a fire truck at the Gazebo.
The day’s events are being organized by the Scotch Plains Business and Professional Association and the Scotch Plains Parks and Recreation Commission.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
By SUZETTE STALKER
Specially Written by The Times
A man suspected in the armed robbery of a Fanwood bank two weeks ago, who was also wanted in connection with a Baltimore homicide and the shootings of two Plainfield police officers, was killed November 25 at the Scotch Plains-Mountainside border of Route 22 after opening fire on several officers.
The suspect, identified as Michael Terrance Howard, 20, of Plainfield, fired two handguns at the officers as they attempted to approach his Mazda minivan at the highway intersection
with Glenside Avenue at 1:30 a.m., Union County Prosecutor Thomas V. Manahan confirmed at a press conference later that day.
Mr. Manahan said police returned fire, striking the suspect several times. He added that Howard was airlifted to University Hospital in Newark, where he was pronounced dead a short time later.
The incident capped what Mr. Manahan described as a “violent, one-man crime wave spanning a twoweek period.” He revealed the suspect was convicted at age 14 in Elizabeth for robbing a man at knifepoint and then stabbing him, for which Howard was incarcerated and later released on probation.
An arrest warrant for Howard was issued November 14 for the murder of Raymond M. Wallace, 19, in Baltimore. Authorities believe Howard shot Wallace twice with a .32 caliber handgun after the victim threw an egg at the suspect’s father’s car.
Three days later, law enforcement officials maintain, Howard robbed the First Savings Bank on South Avenue in Fanwood at gun point of more than $6,000 — the first time a bank heist is known to have occurred in that community.
The next incident occurred November 20, authorities said, when Howard allegedly pulled a .32 caliber handgun on Tyre Fort on Arlington Avenue in Plainfield during a dispute. Mr. Fort was not injured, according to Mr. Manahan.
On November 24, the suspect wounded Plainfield Police Officer Anthony Hoofatt after he pulled his vehicle alongside the officer’s patrol
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INDEX INDEX INDEX INDEX INDEX
Business ........ Page 23 County .......... Page 2 Editorial ........ Page 4
Mountainside Page 3 Obituary ........ Page 13 Religious ....... Page 12
Social ............ Page 6 Sports ............ Page 15
Suzette F. Stalker for The Times
HOMICIDE UPDATE…Union County Prosecutor Thomas V. Manahan, left, and Scotch Plains Police Chief Thomas F. O’Brien discuss the arrest of a suspect Tuesday for the murder of a man in the Club Malibu parking lot last Friday. By SUZETTE F. STALKER
Specially Written for The Times
A Somerset man has been charged with fatally shooting a New Brunswick resident just after Thanksgiving outside a popular Scotch Plains nightclub, authorities revealed during a briefing Tuesday afternoon at township police headquarters.
Karwin Brown, 19, of Somerset was arrested without incident at his home at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday on a first degree murder charge in the death of Trishawn M. Moody, also 19, who was shot twice in the parking lot of Club Malibu on Terrill Road early last Friday morning, officials stated.
During the briefing, Union County Prosecutor Thomas V. Manahan and
Scotch Plains Police Chief Thomas F. O’Brien said investigators believe the shooting stemmed from an incident in September during which Brown was reportedly stabbed by Mr. Moody.
The shooting victim was among more than 50 people waiting that
evening to be admitted to the club, which had reached its capacity, authorities said. Officials allege a chance encounter between the suspect and Mr. Moody outside the establishment led to a confrontation which culminated in gunfire, Mr. Manahan said.
The victim, who authorities ascertain was shot with a .380-caliber
semi-automatic handgun, was transported by Mercy 6 to Muhlenberg Regional Medical Center in Plainfield, where he was pronounced dead a short time later. The handgun had not been recovered as of press time.
At about the same time as Mr. Moody was found in the parking lot, another 19-year-old male, also believed to be from the New Brunswick area, was spotted by a Plainfield police unit running along Terrill Road with a gunshot wound to the upper body, law enforcement officials confirmed.
That man was taken to Robert Wood Johnson-University Hospital in New
Brunswick, where he underwent emergency surgery later that morning. He was listed in satisfactory condition this week, said officials, who described him as a potential witness and are therefore withholding his identity and hometown. He has not been charged with anything in connection with the case, Mr. Manahan said.
An autopsy revealed Mr. Moody died from a gunshot wound to the back, which severed his aorta. A second bullet struck him in the right shoulder, the Prosecutor added. The suspect is believed to have left the scene in a vehicle after the shooting
Township Council Reviews Pact With Resolve Counseling Center By SONIA V. OWCHARIW
Specially Written for The Times
During their Tuesday night conference session, members of the Scotch Plains Township Council discussed a renewal contract with Resolve Community Counseling Center, Inc., commencing in 1999, which will be implemented in conjunction with the local Employee Assistance
Program (EAP). Located in Scotch Plains, Resolve Community Counseling Inc. offers any township employee who is having a personal or job performance problem the opportunity to receive counseling, assistance and guidance.
“It is a way for our employees to receive confidential care if necessary,” stated Thomas E. Atkins,
Township Manager. Resolve is a private, non-profit youth and family counseling agency specializing in the assessment and treatment of personal problems. It is a United Way Member Agency.
The agency’s clinical staff is comprised of professionally-trained counselors with master’s degrees in social work, counseling and psychology; a licensed clinical psychologist, psychiatrist, and a certified alcoholism counselor.
In other council business, Mr. Atkins read a memorandum from Scotch Plains Chief of Police Thomas F. O’Brien recommending an addition be made to township ordinances which would prohibit motorists from making a left turn at 302 Park Avenue between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.
According to Mr. Atkins, a resolution would be necessary to put this measure into effect, and at present, no course of action has been decided on the proposal.
“A concurring County resolution would also be needed, and copies of both would be forwarded to the Department of Transportation,” stated a memo from the Scotch Plains Police Department addressed to Mr. Atkins.
In other business, a meeting was scheduled for Wednesday, December 16, to discuss the township’s sanitary sewer system with Killam Associates, consulting engineers from Millburn.
Scotch Plains is among those municipalities within the Rahway Valley Sewerage Authority (RVSA). Each town is allowed “flowrights,” according to information supplied by
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Police Probe Mountainside
Shooting By SUSAN M. DYCKMAN
Specially Written for The Times
The Mountainside Police Department is continuing its investigation of a shooting which occurred early Sunday morning, November 28, in the 200 block of Evergreen Court.
Police officers responded at 2:18 a.m. to a 911 report of shots fired. At the scene, officers discovered two 29year old females with injuries.
One woman declined medical attention; the other woman was transported to Overlook Hospital in Summit where she was treated and released.
Officers also found a 29-year old male, Eugene Pavolick, suffering
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