Week in Review: Memorial Day; BOE Sets Goals and More

The Fort Lee V.F.W. hosted a Memorial Day service Monday, honoring the men and women who have given their lives for their country, those who continue to serve in the military, and also paid special tribute to the Fort Lee Fire Department for saving  the V.F.W. from sure ruin during a fire in 2007.

V.F.W. Commander James Viola unveiled a plaque dedicated to the fire department, which will forever adorn the V.F.W.'s “Wall of Fame” alongside the names and pictures of deceased members already on the wall.

“Be proud. Be proud of Fort Lee,” said Fort Lee V.F.W. Viola as he ended his speech given to crowds of people that filled a “closed-to-traffic” Center Ave. (full article) (Memorial Day photos and video)

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Four Port Authority police officers were injured early Monday morning after being hit by a suspected drunk driver on I-95 near the George Washington Bridge while they were conducting a separate stop of another suspected drunk driver, according to a Port Authority spokesman. (full article)

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When students at Fort Lee School No. 1 return to their classrooms on September 7, one thing is certain: they will have a principal. School officials have said it’s required by law that every school building must have a certified principal in the building at all times.

The question however is who that principal will be, and whether it’s Kristine Cecere, the school’s current principal whose contract was not renewed, an interim principal or someone else entirely remains very much up in the air.

One concerned parent of a kindergartener at the school and staunch supporter of Cecere is doing her part to try and save the current principal’s job, taking it upon herself to start a petition she presentet to the Fort Lee Board of Education and school administrators at Tuesday’s special public meeting. (full article)

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The Fort Lee Board of Education held a special public work session Tuesday evening, the main purpose of which was goal setting for the 2011-2012 school year.

Susan McCusker of the New Jersey School Board Association (NJSBA) guided board members through the annual process of reviewing its roles and responsibilities and broke down the results of the board’s self evaluation before helping the school board develop its district goals and board goals for the coming school year. (full articles on board's goals and self-evaluation)

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Ann Piccirillo:

"It’s true. After decades of feeding Fort Lee residents, Sally Ling’s is no more. It appears that the lease was not renewed. As of yet, we don't know if Sally intends on re-opening in Fort Lee.

The restaurant's closing is a true loss to the town. Nobody could ring in the Chinese New Year quite like Sally Ling’s, and for most kids, this was their first experience eating Chinese food. Needless to say, it was a neighborhood joint that fed us as children, and went on to feed our children. But like so many other business owners in town, Sally was forced to leave. I’m learning from family-run stores all over town that in this bad economic cycle, landlords don’t care if sales are down--rents are still going up." (full article)

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A class of Fort Lee High School students in Tony Galatioto’s Video Production class visited the Fort Lee Museum Thursday morning, getting their first look at some of the old news footage some of them will work with the Fort Lee Film Commission to digitize and archive.

In a related project, some of Galatioto’s students may soon get a chance to tape future Fort Lee Board of Education meetings.

The Fort Lee Film Commission recently donated funds for the high school to purchase two digital camcorders and associated equipment specifically to allow video students to use the equipment outside the school and gain real experience by doing things like taping meetings. Although the cameras haven’t yet been purchased, Meyers said it looks like the school board is willing to work with the film commission to make the taping of meetings happen—most likely starting in the fall. (full article)

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And our “Whiz Kids” of the week were Fort Lee Middle School students Phil Barila, Andrew Cheaz, Chelsea Denniston-Lee, Argjend Nela, Brandon Lane, Daniel Shafaat, Anthony Barkachy, Lazzarus Ciurtiza, Lenin Hernandez and Roberto Torres.

The group of mostly seventh- and one eighth-grader, whom their principal, Rosemary Giacomelli, called “the wrecking crew from room 102” in a Patch article last week, recently spent two full school days transforming Lewis F. Cole Middle School’s center-island garden from a weed-infested mess to a true garden they could truly be proud of. (full article)

The week in review appears every Sunday on Fort Lee Patch.