The Record, Bergen County, NJ

A Peek Inside Smoke Rise [Corrected 10/03/05] ; Tour Opens Door to Exclusive Kinnelon Homes

Jean Ricker had a special reason for coming to the house tour in Smoke Rise. "I remember the day [Smoke Rise] was organized in 1947," said Ricker, who is 86 and lives in Boonton Township.

Lung Transplant Gives Woman From Fair Lawn Renewed Hope [Corrected 10/03/05] ; Last-Ditch Effort Buys Precious Time

The last time Dianne and John Farrell rode bicycles was more than 20 years ago, before they married. Now Dianne, a Fair Lawn resident, is the recipient of a new set of lungs, a last-ditch attempt to stave off the cystic fibrosis she has struggled with all her life. When she returns home - in good health, she hopes - John says he plans to buy a tandem bike so they can go outdoors, exercise and finally breathe the fresh air together.

Off Gop Ticket, but Still in the Race ; Mayor Asks Voters to Cast Absentee Ballots for Him

HAWTHORNE - Mayor Fred Criscitelli hopes that voters will reelect him on Nov. 8 - even though he was bumped from his party's ticket in the June primary. Criscitelli, a registered Republican, said this week that he's waging a campaign for reelection as an independent candidate, and asked voters to cast absentee ballots for him.

Church Provides a Haven for Gays ; Displaying Aids Memorial Quilt for Three Days

PASSAIC - A church is not the usual place for a memorial to those who have died of AIDS, but First Presbyterian Church is not a typical parish. The members of First Presbyterian, which is at Passaic Avenue and Grove Street, made a commitment a few years ago to reach out to gays and lesbians to tell them that, no matter what they have experienced at other churches, they would be welcome in their sanctuary.

Bugs Pestering Social Services Staff

ROCHELLE PARK - Bugs have bitten employees working in the Bergen County Board of Social Services offices leading the agency to hire an exterminator, officials said Thursday. The problem began last week when some employees who worked in the first-floor lobby area began to complain about bug bites, said Director Janice Roll.

Judge Says He Likely Will Rule Monday in Weinberg-Zisa Case

Lawyers for Hackensack Police Chief Ken Zisa and Assemblywoman Loretta Weinberg are expected to wrap up their cases today in the fight over a state Senate seat. Thursday's lengthy hearing centered once again on whether five disqualified votes should be opened and overturn Zisa's victory in the Sept. 15 special Democratic election for the seat, formerly held by Sen. Byron Baer, D-Englewood, who retired.

River Vale to Seek Bids for Building an Amphitheater

RIVER VALE - The township is about to begin soliciting bids for construction of an amphitheater behind the municipal building. Dubbed the Centennial Amphitheater to celebrate the township's 100-year anniversary next year, the facility is to be located between the Upper and Lower Grove baseball fields. It will accommodate up to 500 spectators and will be used for the township's summer Movies Under the Stars series, concerts of various music genres, graduations, and other events, all coordinate...

School Plan Picks Up a New Foe ; Real Estate Company Fights Clifton

CLIFTON - The school district, still a long way from receiving a zoning variance to build a school for 500 ninth-graders, faces a new opponent that could further delay the project. ProLogis, a global real estate company, joined the fight Wednesday night against the Board of Education, which is trying to convert an industrial building at 290 Brighton Road into a school that would relieve overcrowding at Clifton High School.

Haledon Seeks to Bar Residency by Sex Abusers

HALEDON - The Borough Council introduced an ordinance this week that would ban sex offenders from living near places where children gather. Several North Jersey towns are considering ordinances and Prospect Park on Sept. 12 became the first in Passaic County to pass a residency ban on sex offenders.

Upper Ringwood Remembers Man Killed in Motorcycle Crash ; Ira Mann Moved to Wanaque but Remained Popular

RINGWOOD - Upper Ringwood on Thursday mourned Ira Mann, a familiar and popular figure in the neighborhood. Mann died Wednesday night at a hospital after his motorcycle hit a car in his old neighborhood, police said.

Murder Trial Witness Sticks to Story ; Admits He Was 'Tipsy' but Says He Heard Brother's Threat

Diamond Free took the witness stand for a second day Thursday and stuck to his story that he heard his brother, Damian, threaten to kill someone in a Paterson apartment building hallway - shortly before Ramod Gilchrist was fatally stabbed there. The state's star witness testified in state Superior Court in Paterson that he was afraid there was going to be trouble in the first-floor hallway of the Alexander Hamilton complex building on the night of Oct. 4, 2003. That was the night the state al...

Honoring Victims of Aids

Speziale's Ire Over Stop of Convoy Is Misplaced

The Passaic County sheriff is in a snit. He sent a convoy of hurricane relief supplies to Louisiana, and what happened? Some deputy sheriff in Virginia had the nerve to stop the caravan for doing 100 mph. First of all, Sheriff Jerry Speziale says, they weren't doing 100; they were only doing 80. A mere 80, he might as well have said. State police in Virginia say it was 100 and the limit is 65.

Lernen German ; Westwood School Puts Families in Touch with Heritage

WESTWOOD - Let the other kids waste their Saturday mornings schlafen (sleeping) or fernsehen (watching TV). Tommy Crotser is busy lernen (learning). Tommy, 4, who attends the German Language School of Westwood, spends his Saturdays immersing himself in the German language and culture.

Heights Sets $600,000 for Playground and Parking

HASBROUCK HEIGHTS - The last piece of the new municipal complex is falling into place. The Borough Council this week introduced a measure to spend $600,000 to construct a playground and parking lot next to Borough Hall and a cul-de-sac for Central Avenue residents.

Passaic County Briefs

$4.4M is low bid for Wayne pool Wayne accepted two bids this week for a new swimming pool.

Leo Sternbach, Chemist Who Invented Valium, 97 ; Helped Establish Hoffmann-La Roche in Nutley

TRENTON - Leo Sternbach, the inventor of a revolutionary new class of tranquilizers that included Librium and Valium, considered the first blockbuster drug, has died at his Chapel Hill, N.C., home. He was 97. Sternbach, an award-winning chemist who helped the Swiss drug conglomerate Roche Group build its U.S. headquarters in Nutley after fleeing the Nazis during World War II, died after a short illness late Wednesday. His wife, Herta, sons and other relatives were at his side, according to th...

Novelist Mary Lee Settle; Founded Fiction Award

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Mary Lee Settle, novelist and founder of the PEN/Faulkner award for fiction, has died. She was 87. Ms. Settle died of lung cancer at her home in Ivy on Tuesday, said Jessica Neely, executive director of the Washington, D.C.- based PEN/Faulkner award.

Obituaries

DORIS G. PEKAREK ADAMS, 85, of Gardner, Mass., formerly of Bergenfield, died Wednesday. Arrangements: Riewerts Memorial Home, Bergenfield. KEVIN J. BEESE, 40, of Carlstadt died Wednesday. He had been a lighting technician for the band Life Speed and previously for the Flying Mueller Bros. band for 10 years. Arrangements: Kimak Funeral Home, Carlstadt.

Ribbons Mark Start of Cancer Campaign

PATERSON - The message was unmistakable: early detection, early detection, early detection. This was the urgent tone for the kickoff of Breast Cancer Awareness Month on Thursday during a ribbon-tying ceremony at City Hall.