Oradell Hit with Regional Tax Hike, Teen Claims Spelling Bee Title and More Top Weekly News

"Perfect Storm" Causes $257 Regional Tax Hike to Oradell Residents

For the coming school year, Oradell taxpayers can expect a tax hike under the approved $30.8 million River Dell Regional School budget for 2013-14. At the same time, River Edge residents will see a reduction in their portion of the tax levy.

The $26.9 million tax levy, which comes in at the state mandated 2% tax levy cap, calls for a $257 increase to the average Oradell homeowner while River Edge taxpayers will see a $19 reduction.

After reaching the final seven competitors in 2012 at the North Jersey Spelling Bee competition, Oradell resident and River Dell Middle Schoolstudent Indrani Das returned on Thursday at the annual event and claimed the title of North Jersey's top speller.

The eighth grader won the title after correctly spelling "thalassic" which refers to smaller bodies of water such as a sea or  gulfs as opposed to a larger ocean.

Hurricane Sandy damaged a total of 95 homes in River Ege and Oradell, according to state Department of Community Affairs data reported by NJSpotlight.com.

The majority of homes sustained "minor damage," meaning costs up to $10,000 were needed although a handful of homes were struck by "major damage" with repairs ranging up to $28,000. A total of 53 homeowners and 24 renters in River Edge applied for aid, according to data from FEMA. Oradell saw 42 homeowners and eight renters apply for aid.

After an outstanding final season with the William Paterson Pioneers, first baseman Adam Derner of River Edge will now take his bat and glove out to Illinois where he joins the Frontier-league Normal Cornbelters.

Made famous by the likes of Carol Burnett and Bernadette Peters in the 1970s, the River Dell High School drama club will now put their own spin on "Once Upon a Mattress." The annual spring musical is a retelling of the classic fairytale of the Princess and the Pea and were performed Thursday through Saturday at the high school.

Borough employees in River Edge were evacuated to the public library for approximately 20 minutes on Monday morning while PSE&G investigated a reported gas odor at borough hall.

The Saint Joseph School PTO held its annual Saint Patrick/Saint Joseph Daybake sale. With Saint Patrick's Day on March 17th and Saint Joseph's Day just two days later (on the 19th), the festivities have grown to honor both saints.

River Dell High School alum Stephanie Carnevale recently earned All-American honors by finishing seventh in the 60-meter hurdles at the NCAA Championships. Carnevale, who graduated River Dell in 2010, is currently a junior at Muhlenberg College.

With a June deadline to welcome 25 senior citizens through the doors, Build with Purpose and several local volunteers spent their Saturday afternoon prepping the former St. Peter the Apostle convent for its upcoming conversion into a Senior Residence facility.

The Riverdell 7th Grade girls travel basketball team won every game within their 7th grade Navy Girls division of the Bergen Travel Basketball League for the 2012-13 season. The team has been coached by Ken McGovern since they all attended fourth grade at Oradell Public School.

From green beer to green contact lenses, residents were out at bars and restaurants throughout Bergen County this weekend celebrating St. Patrick's Day. Our Patch cameras were trolling the county to snap shots of the most fun parties.

True heroism often comes following catastrophic events and that is certainly the case following Hurricane Sandy, where brave acts are still coming to light every day. In the wake of the storm, people came together to help rescue, rebuild and even revamp the devastated areas.

One such person, River Edge resident Peter Dunsay, has spent countless hours helping put people back together, one brick, one hot shower at a time.

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