This is my tribute to a fallen South Orange  neighbor - May have met him as we walk and talk in our town, but none the less , it is sad to see a life lost like this. Here’s to you and we will say prayers for you and your family.

Greg Burrus

Thursday, June 26, 2008 -BY MICHAEL J. FEENEY AND JASON TSAI -STAFF WRITERS

A veteran state trooper from Essex County and an army captain from South Jersey were killed in separate attacks in Iraq this week, the Pentagon said Wednesday.

Detective Sgt. Dwayne M. Kelley, 48, a 20-year state police veteran serving with the Army Reserves, was among nine people — and one of three Americans — killed in a bomb attack in an office building in Sadr City on Tuesday.

Capt. Gregory T. Dalessio, 30, of Cherry Hill died Monday in Baghdad from wounds he suffered in a gunbattle in Salman Pak, Iraq. Dalessio was assigned to the 2nd Batallion, 6th Infantry Regiment, based at Baumholder, Germany.

Few details were available about Dalessio on Wednesday night.

Kelly, of South Orange, was a major with the civil affairs unit of the Army Reserves.

He was a member of the counterterrorism bureau and was working to restore local government in Sadr City, a former Shiite militia stronghold, officials said.

“This was his third deployment to Iraq,” said Capt. Al Della Fave, a state police spokesman. “He was there to help reconstruct the government and help build the communities.”

News of Kelley’s and Dalessio’s deaths came the same day that members of a New Jersey National Guard Unit left the Teaneck Armory for Fort Bliss, Texas, where they will begin two months of desert training before leaving for Iraq in September.

Kelley is survived by a wife and two daughters. Relatives gathered at Kelley’s South Orange home on Wednesday afternoon. A state trooper posted at the apartment complex said family members did not want to comment.

Kelley, who became a trooper in 1988, served on the state police terrorism task force, Della Fave said. Kelley began his work overseas in November, the captain said.

Della Fave said Kelley was a “tremendous tool” in Iraq, most notably because he spoke Arabic.

A rabid basketball fan, Kelley often joked that he could have played for the New York Knicks, said neighbor Shan Atkinson, 62, who had known him the past four years.

Kelley’s grandparents were full-blooded Cherokee, Atkinson said, and she often made him traditional American Indian food. He also liked Arabic food, she said, noting that she’d made grape leaves for Kelley the last time she saw him.

Atkinson said that whenever she ran into Kelley in the laundry room of the complex, he would playfully ask, “What did you cook for me today?”

“He was very nice, very friendly, always smiling,” she said.

Kelley received a valor award for his work in Guantanamo Bay assisting the FBI terrorism task force by interviewing detainees, Della Fave said. Kelley was also commended for his work in the state police’s auto theft unit.

At least 25 service members have died this month, with eight deaths coming since Friday. May’s death tally of 19 was the lowest monthly toll of the Iraq conflict.

Sadr City is a stronghold of the Mahdi Army of anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and has been plagued by power struggles between rival Shiite factions — some with close ties to the Shiite-led national government.

Internal Shiite rivalries may have been behind Tuesday’s blast inside the district council building in Sadr City. The bomb went off inside a councilman’s office ahead of an election to choose a new chairman of the council.

The Iraqi Defense Ministry spokesman suggested that Iraqi council members — and not the Americans — were the targets of the bombing.

“The presence of the American forces and embassy employees was by chance,” Defense spokesman Maj. Gen. Mohammed al-Askari said. “Chance played a role in the casualties among the Americans.”

American soldiers using trained dogs sifted through the wreckage of the office on Wednesday. A dozen people were detained for questioning, including 10 security guards.

Staff Writer William Lamb contributed to this article, which includes material from The Associated Press. E-mail: feeney@northjersey.com and tsai@northjersey.com

Newsrecord of South Orange Maplewood - June 26 2008 Page 12

SOMS Students ‘Respect, Reflect and Remember’ By Jenna Nierstedt Staff Writer While many South Orange Mid­dle School students were still a twinkle in their fathers’ eyes, Euge­nie Mukeshimana was running for her life from Rwandan political officials who wanted her dead. In early April 1994, Mukeshi­mana was a 23- year- old wife and soon- to- be mother when a mass genocide erupted in her native Rwanda. Mukeshimana was forced to separate from her husband and go into hiding, squeezing herself underneath a neighbor’s bed, where she was barely able to move, eat or shower for an entire month. Mukeshimana lived to tell her story, visiting South Orange Middle School students June 19 for the school’s first “ Respect, Reflect and Remember” event, designed to share with students personal narra­tives of individuals who have over­come great challenges and obstacles in their lives.
“ This is the most amazing pro­gram our school and town have ever seen,” said sixth- grade language arts teacher Melissa Williams. “ It brought the whole school together, with everyone wearing the same T­shirts, and there was a presence. It was so quiet during the presenta­tions, you could hear a pin drop.” Led by eighth- grade science teacher Louis Cicenia, the program featured 60 individual visitors, many of whom were from the local area, speaking on topics ranging from discrimination and war to physical disabilities and traumatic life experiences.
“ What I wanted them to take away from it was the motivation to go out and do something, to change the way they act and feel and to understand that they do have the ability to make a difference,” Cice­nia said. Noting feedback from students the following day of school, Cice­nia said many seemed both unaware and shocked by life outside their South Orange and Maplewood bor­ders. “ I wish there was a way to make them understand how they really are the luckiest,” Mukeshimana said amid tears following one of her presentations. “ Their teachers, par­ents, priests, rabbis — they’re not going to talk about how hard other people’s lives are. So I will, to let the kids know how blessed they are. It’s my small contribution.” Having lost her husband, father and sister to the genocide, Mukeshi­mana wanted to illuminate the gift of family. She also stressed educa­tion as an important and special privilege. Speakers at the event included a Title IX advocate from Costa Rica, Sept. 11 survivors, a homosexual businessman, a TIME Magazine senior reporter from Washington, D. C., a Doctors Without Borders volunteer and a victim of gang vio­lence from Irvington. “ I learned that, no matter what situation you’re in, you can help others learn from your own experi­ences,” said eighth- grader Hayley Livingston. Cicenia, who was inspired to bring the program to South Orange Middle School after seeing it in Montvale, said student volunteers played a big role in coordinating the program, taking ownership of the fundraising aspect. The program, which cost about $ 15,000, was funded by parent and local business donations, as well as an October 2007 “ Run for Charac­ter” fundraiser. “ They stepped up to a level of responsibility I don’t remember having as a middle school student,” Williams said, noting students arrived at 6: 45 a. m. the day of the event to help prepare. Eighth- grader Sammi Greene, events chairperson for the school’s Martin Luther King Jr. Club that sponsored the program, said she was happy to see the day run smoothly. “ For a program this big, the logistics can be impossible, but it ran with minimal confusion,” she said. “ It’s like my little baby.” As a student of the diverse South Orange- Maplewood School Dis­trict, eighth- grader Amber Alston said she felt students could learn most from the talks by striving to break down stereotypes and bound­aries. “ The program is teaching us to understand the challenges people have overcome to get to where they are today,” she said. “ A lot of kids don’t realize how what they say can hurt others.” The idea for “ Respect, Reflect and Remember” developed out of a New Jersey program established by Vernon middle school teacher Ver­noy Paolini. The original program, “ Peace Day,” was started eight years ago to teach students the importance of tolerance. “ This is the first time I think that students have gone home and told their parents about a full day of school and couldn’t shut up about it,” Cicenia said.

Sunday April 27th, 2008 3 - 5 PM

Light Buffet, followed by Talk on Stained Glass in the US

By Jimmy Ma, Professional Stained Glass Restoration Artist,

Owner of Studio Ma’s Glass and Art Studio

At 166 Ralston Ave in South Orange NJ 07079

Free and Open to the Public

Information visit SOUTH ORANGE HISTORICAL AND PRESERVATION SOCIETY WWW.SOHPS.ORG

Posted by TechOSS

A Place to Feel Homey While Staying Hip

By DAVE CALDWELL

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/02/realestate/02livi.html?st=cse&sq=south+orange&scp=1

GASLIGHTS line the streets of South Orange, casting an old-fashioned gauzy glow. But this township of about 16,000 residents is stirring from its slumber as a cozy bedroom suburb and becoming more hip.

A performing-arts center with five movie screens and a stage for live performances opened 16 months ago, and restaurants and boutiques have opened near standbys like Bunny’s Pizzeria and Cryan’s Beef & Ale House.

Two and a half years ago, Matt and Jennifer Glass bought an 80-year-old five-bedroom Tudor in this Essex County community for a reason familiar to many new parents: they thought it would be a better place to rear their children than New York, where they had lived for more than a decade.

But the township proved so inviting that they went a step further, moving their event-production company from New York into a renovated third-floor office in South Orange, a seven-minute walk from their house. That prompted some of their employees to move to the area.

“We don’t feel like we’re in a stale suburb,” said Mr. Glass, who did not want to disclose how much he had paid for his house but described it as less than the price of a two-bedroom apartment in New York.

South Orange is home to Little League dads and soccer moms who hustle to the New Jersey Transit Morristown Line’s express train every morning, but it also has a lively arts community and is regarded as a cultural and social melting pot. (One of the first same-sex civil unions in New Jersey was performed in South Orange in February 2007.)

The village president, Douglas Newman, and his slate on the board of trustees were elected last spring on a promise to enhance development already under way downtown with an overarching municipal plan. That way, he said, “we can be more in the driver’s seat with the next steps we take.”

Construction has begun on a residential and retail project on Vose Avenue, two blocks from the train station. A long-closed ShopRite supermarket adjacent to the project has been sold and renovated, and a gourmet market is expected soon. There are also plans to build a residential and retail building near the train trestle that crosses South Orange Avenue, in a lot once used as a car dealership.

Because nearly 90 percent of the tax base is residential, taxes are hefty. Properties recently underwent reassessments, a topic much discussed on the community message board, maplewood.southorangevillage.com.

But when taken together with its convenience to commuters, South Orange’s eclectic charm and cultural assets have made it appealing to those who do not want to feel as if they were hibernating at night.

“It’s a diverse community, and we wanted a neighborhood where every single house did not look like it was made from a cookie cutter,” said Barry Zack, a recent retiree who moved into a three-bedroom 1950s ranch in January 2007.

WHAT YOU’LL FIND

South Orange occupies about 2.8 square miles and is about 15 miles due west of Manhattan. Seton Hall University, at the eastern edge of the township, lies near the Vailsburg section of Newark. The handsome Montrose neighborhood, settled more than a century ago by wealthy families from New York and Newark, is north of campus.

The New Jersey Transit railroad tracks bisect the township from north to south, with South Orange Avenue, the main thoroughfare, running from east to west. The train station on South Orange Avenue marks the center of the commercial district. Village Hall, built in the 1890s, looms two blocks east.

Despite grumbling from some residents, public parking rates recently doubled, to 50 cents per hour, with a parking enforcement truck making the rounds. There is a Starbucks at the station, and those who make a dash inside without feeding the meters are said to be risking a “$30 cup of coffee.”

Signs on Interstate 280 often lump the township into a region known as “the Oranges,” with Orange, East Orange and West Orange. But South Orange has a decidedly different feel: less urban than Orange and East Orange, but less spread out than West Orange.

WHAT YOU’LL PAY

The median home sale price was $552,000 in 2007, versus $620,000 a year earlier, according to the West Essex Board of Realtors.

Among the 112 houses on the market is a four-bedroom 1928 colonial near Seton Hall, for $399,000; a restored six-bedroom 1892 colonial within walking distance of the station, reduced in price to $999,000 from $1.195 million; and a renovated 133-year-old six-bedroom house, for $1.8 million.

As for taxes, an 85-year-old four-bedroom listed at $485,000 carried a bill of $10,507 last year. The bill over the same period for a 93-year-old six-bedroom listed at $899,000 was $19,041.

Michael Auer, a 20-year South Orange resident who is an agent for Coldwell Banker in Short Hills, described South Orange as having some virtues that keep drawing buyers.”You still have an influx of people who move out there for the train lines,” Mr. Auer said. “That gives these transit towns a break over the surrounding communities.”

Nancy Gould, a broker for Keller Williams in Maplewood who lives in South Orange, said that lower interest rates were helping, and that she had recently been involved in a multiple-bid sale. “The redevelopment has helped the agents show off the area in a nice light,” she said.

WHAT TO DO

This is the season to see the sledders and snowboarders flocking to Floods Hill, not far from the Baird Community Center - which used to be a clubhouse for a surrounding golf course and is now the hub of the village’s extensive recreation and cultural affairs program.

On spring and summer evenings, there always seem to be several baseball games being played on the diamonds that surround the center, which also offers tennis courts and a public swimming pool. (An annual pool badge is $20 per individual resident.) The Pierro Gallery on the center’s second floor features work by, but not limited to, area artists.

At the western edge of town is South Mountain Reservation, a 2,000-plus-acre preserve overseen by the county. Mr. Zack, among others, enjoys going four or five times a week during good weather to enjoy its trails.

THE SCHOOLS

The School District of South Orange and Maplewood has 6,100 students in one high school, two middle schools and seven elementary schools. According to the district, 46 percent of students are white, 46 percent black, 4 percent Hispanic and 3 percent Asian.

The student body numbers 1,865 at Columbia High School, an 80-year-old Collegiate Gothic building that sits a block from the South Orange border. Of the 462 graduates last year, 77 percent went to four-year colleges, and 14 percent went to two-year colleges, according to school authorities.

SAT averages of 2007 graduates who took the test in their junior year were 553 in reading, 563 in math and 558 in writing, versus 495, 510 and 495 statewide. The school had two National Merit Scholars and offered 21 advanced-placement courses.

South Orange proper has three primary schools. Some students attend South Mountain Annex in kindergarten and first grade, then South Mountain Elementary from second to fifth grade. The Board of Education mandates that classes in the district number no more than 22 in kindergarten and 26 in fourth and fifth grades.

THE COMMUTE

South Orange’s train station is on New Jersey Transit’s Morristown line. On weekdays there are 24 Midtown Direct trains to Pennsylvania Station; depending on the number of stops, the trip takes 30 to 40 minutes. In addition, 38 trains run daily to Hoboken and PATH trains. Each line charges $154 for a monthly pass.

Commuter permits for three municipal parking lots cost $270 a year, when they can be had. The township is taking applications, but the wait is classified as indefinite. Another lot, owned by New Jersey Transit, costs $840 a year. Three jitney lines run through the township. The fare is $1; an annual pass is $150.

THE HISTORY

Robert Treat, the founder of Newark, bought land that included South Orange from the Lenape Indians in 1666. The first English settlers built homes in the ensuing 10 years. The Old Stone House, a portion of it believed to predate the Revolutionary War, stands near Grove Park, adjacent to Seton Hall.

The village, originally Chestnut Hills, gets its name from a 17th-century English king, William III of Orange.

In 1968, according to a group called the World Flying Disc Federation (wfdf.org), Columbia High School was the birthplace of Ultimate Frisbee.

“The time and circumstances under which the name South Orange originated will probably never be known,” wrote historian William H Shaw in 1884, “and we are obliged to fall back on a tradition, that Mr Nathan Squier first used the name in an advertisement offering wood for sale” in 1795.^[5]

Of 566 municipalities statewide, South Orange is one of only four villages in New Jersey; the others are Loch Arbour, Ridgefield Park and Ridgewood.

South Orange Village dates back to May 4, 1869, when it was formed within South Orange Township (Now Maplewood). On March 4, 1904, the Village of South Orange was created by an act of the New Jersey Legislature and separated from South Orange Township.^[6] In November, 1977, South Orange voters passed a new Charter for South Orange and changed its name to The Township of South Orange Village. The change was intended to allow South Orange to qualify for a pool of federal aid allocated to Townships that allowed townships to receive as much as double the revenue-sharing aid per capita received by the four other types of New Jersey municipalities - borough, city, town or village.^[7]