Guttenberg residents, police officers, and others received recognition from town officials during the Town Council meeting on Monday, Sept. 26. Among the honorees were two gold-medal winning residents at the 2011 New Jersey Senior Olympics.
Myra Brodsky earned gold medals in the 50 and 100-meter breast stroke, and Louise Wolkis earned gold medals in the 50, 100, and 200-meter freestyle competition.
“This is the second year that we’ve participated in this,” said Mayor Gerald Drasheff. “Next year we’ll try to encourage more people to go.”
Drasheff and the council presented both women with certificates commemorating their accomplishments.
Accompanied by her seeing-eye dog, Brodsky thanked the mayor for praising her efforts.
“I feel very honored, grateful, and humbled by this award,” said Brodsky. “We hope that next year more residents in Guttenberg will take part.”
Above and beyond
Public Safety Director Michael Caliguiro recognized Investigator Joseph Torello as Officer of the Month for August. Torello was honored after successfully dealing with an attempted break-in on the 500 block of 70th street on Aug. 11.
According to Caligiuro, Torello responded to the call of the break-in and found the suspect allegedly hiding under a parked vehicle. After attempting to pull the suspect out, Torello was allegedly assaulted.
“Officer Torello made a successful [arrest] without any harm to himself,” Caliguiro said.
The mayor and council also set aside time to honor the Palisades Emergency Residence Corporation (PERC), a Union City-based organization that deals with homelessness and poverty.
“We’re pretty fortunate here in Hudson County,” said Drasheff. “We have a lot of different groups that work behind the scenes to help all the residents throughout the county.”
On Tuesday, Aug. 9, a residential building at 70th Street was condemned after a construction worker fell three stories while repairing the building without obtaining the necessary permits. All the residents were quickly escorted to a nearby hotel, where they remained for two weeks. According to Drasheff, many of the residents had no access to food.
“We reached out to PERC and they came to our aid and provided meals for them,” said Drasheff, who said the organization volunteered their time on nights and weekends to help the residents in need.
“We know you do a lot for a lot of people around the county, and we just wanted to express our appreciation,” added Drasheff.
Other affairs
The mayor and council held a disciplinary hearing for Moon Liquors, 6906 Bergenline Ave. The store will be forced to close during two five-day periods in late October and November for allegedly serving alcohol to minors, according to town officials.
Town Attorney Charles Daglian said the penalty was stricter than normal because the store allegedly served minors twice within a short period of time.
“This is a penalty during a phase where sales would [normally] be good,” said Daglian.
In other business, the town passed a resolution to award a contract to Robert W. Wogisch Landscape, Inc. of Ringwood in the amount of $57,147, to improve the recreation field.
The town also awarded a contract to Max Adamo Construction, Inc. of Ridgefield in the amount of $18,225, to repoint the brickwork on the municipal building.
Stephen LaMarca may be reached at slamarca@hudsonreporter.com.