The Record, Bergen County, NJ

House Fire in Wayne Displaces Family of 4

WAYNE - A family of four was displaced Thursday after a morning fire severely damaged their home, police said. The occupants of the two-story house on Riverside Drive were treated for smoke inhalation at St. Joseph's Wayne Hospital, said police Lt. Dennis Paylo.

'Witness' to Burglary Is Arrested As Suspect ; Waldwick Man Also Held On Drug Charges

RIVER EDGE - He claimed to be a "concerned citizen" checking why his neighbor's alarm was ringing, but police weren't buying the story. And instead of a New Year's Eve reward, a 42-year-old Waldwick man was arrested on burglary and drug charges.

Like Political Phoenix, Larouche Rises to Run Again

HACKENSACK - There are no storefront banners or stump speeches here. There's not even a sign on the door. But inside a second- floor River Street office, a group of eager campaign workers are trying to get Lyndon LaRouche elected president. The perennial candidate, who has run for the Democratic nomination in every presidential election since 1980, is waging his underdog campaign in the New York-New Jersey region from a Hackensack office building.

Towns Set '04 Lineups ; W. Milford's New Gop Majority Moves to Undo Green Acres Sale; Passaic Roundup: Municipal Reorganizations

A new era dawned in West Milford on New Year's Day as a Republican mayor and all-GOP council took office - the township's first partisan government in more than three decades - and immediately got down to business. Elsewhere in Passaic County, Thursday's annual reorganizations reflected continuity and modest adjustments.

Towns Set '04 Lineups ; Joyous Republicans Celebrate 'the Rebuilding of Norwood'; Bergen Roundup: Municipal Reorganizations

The euphoria from November's election continued to sweep through Norwood like an autumn breeze Thursday as two decades of Democratic leadership formally came to an end at one of Bergen County's most festive New Year's Day reorganizations. A smiling, ebullient Michael Kaplan, a councilman until Thursday, moved a few chairs to his right on the governing dais to become mayor shortly after Assemblyman John E. Rooney administered the oath of office to the cheers and applause of nearly 100 well-wis...

Financial Woes Force Moose to Limit Charities ; with Income Off, Robbery Loss, Clifton Lodge has Less to Give

CLIFTON - The Moose lodge, known for lifting spirits with its charity, could use a boost itself these days: It has been forced to scale back donations because of low fund-raiser results and a robbery. Last year, Clifton Moose Lodge 657 gave more than $100,000 to the community in money it raised. The Moose are members of a fraternal service organization dedicated to charitable contributions to the people in society who need them. This year, the Moose have managed to raise $40,000 and have had ...

Paterson Man, 31, Accused of Assaulting Sheriff's Officer

PATERSON - Passaic County sheriff's officers arrested a city man Thursday after he allegedly rammed his car into a cruiser and injured an officer during a scuffle that followed. Lee A. McFadden, 31, was charged with aggravated assault, eluding police, possession of a controlled dangerous substance with intent to distribute it within 1,000 feet of a school, driving while intoxicated, and several motor vehicle violations, police said.

Pigeon Auction to Benefit Girl Battling Cancer

LYNDHURST - The Lyndhurst Homing Pigeon Club will hold an auction Sunday at 20 Stuyvesant Ave. to raise money for a 10-year-old girl battling a rare cancer. All money collected will go to the Erin Smith Recovery Fund. She has neuroblastoma, a childhood cancer that attacks the nervous system.

The Beak Looks Familiar

Evelyn S. Blackwood, 97, of Cowles Publishing Family ; N.J. Native Was a Public Health Nurse in Her Early Years

SPOKANE, Wash. - Evelyn Stacey Blackwood, a member of a prominent Spokane family and mother-in-law of former New York Times Publisher Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, has died at 97. Mrs. Blackwood, who died Saturday, had lived in Spokane since 1994. She was the grandmother of Stacey Cowles, publisher of The Spokesman-Review newspaper here, and Elizabeth Allison Cowles, who runs KHQ-TV of Spokane. The family is involved in many other business and philanthropic enterprises.

Imam Omar Aziz, at 71; Muslim Leader in North Jersey

JERSEY CITY - Imam Omar Aziz, an influential Muslim leader known throughout New Jersey, was killed when his car was struck by a tractor-trailer in Kearny on Tuesday. Mr. Aziz, 71, was the leader of the Masjid Al-Inman mosque in Jersey City and headed the Council of Imams for northern New Jersey. He also served as a chaplain at the Hudson County Jail.

Obituaries

LAWRENCE R. ASKLING, 86, of Pompton Plains died Wednesday. Before retiring in 1975, he was an employment supervisor for AT&T Corp., New York City. He also was a member of the Telephone Pioneers of America. He was an Army veteran of World War II and a member of American Legion Post 450, Pequannock. Arrangements: M. John Scanlan Funeral Home, Pompton Plains. JULIA MAHONCHAK BERGAMESCA, 93, of Duxbury, Mass., formerly of Jersey City, died Tuesday. She was a member of Saints Peter and Paul Russia...