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TRENDS AT 50 - What was the biggest story?
NORTH JERSEY - What were the 10 most memorable news stories covered by Suburban Trends during the past 50 years?
Suburban Trends is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and is asking readers for their input on the top 10 stories the newspaper has covered since 1958.
What sticks out in your mind? Is it a disaster – natural or manmade – or a juicy scandal? Perhaps it’s how a community came together in an awesome fashion.
Here are some suggestions of top Suburban Trends stories to jumpstart your memory:
Residents of Pompton Lakes surely recall the fire that tore through the Klugetown Shopping Center on Wanaque Avenue on Oct. 27, 1997.
The fire destroyed several stores more than 40 years after borough fire officials warned that the center’s lack of firewalls between the businesses would allow a fire in the attic to quickly spread to all of the stores.
“For this reason, we had a pre-plan that if there was ever a fire in the truss, we would not send people inside. We would not subject our personnel to that,” then-Fire Chief Albert Evangelista said.
More than 200 firefighters from 15 area departments helped to get the scene under control. The fire began in the attic of the Acme supermarket and took about two-and-a-half hours to devour the shopping center that housed 11 businesses.
FRG disaster
Two were killed and 17 were injured on Aug.4, 1985 when gunfire broke out at FRG Sports Complex in Oakland, which Suburban Trends covered at the time.
“We thought it was firecrackers, but then the man at the next table jumped up with a machine gun and started shooting. We laid on the ground and crawled under the table,” one family at FRG during the shooting said.
Six New York men were charged with weapons possession and two of them were charged with attempted murder for their roles in the crime. The violence was believed to be retaliation for a killing in New York during the previous week, the result of warring between factions of the Jamaican community.
Judge Crescente’s shooting
The fatal shooting of Wanaque Municipal Court Judge Joseph Crescente not only made Suburban Trends’ front page on Nov. 6, 1974, two days after the incident, but continues to influence court safety precedents today.
Wanaque resident David Vervaet, who was 19 at the time, was charged with the homicide. Authorities said that the fatal shot was fired from across Ringwood Avenue and through a window directly behind Crescente’s chair where he sat presiding over court around 8:20 that night. The bullet lodged in his back.
Floods, 1984, 2007 and 1968
Suburban Trends has covered several damaging floods over the past 50 years and continually covers flood-related issues.
Many residents would say that the flood of 1984 was the worst of the current generations’ history. Flooding damage was reported in every Suburban Trends town from West Milford down to Wayne and Lincoln Park. Nearly 600 Oakland homes, 20 Butler families, 2,650 Pequannock residents and 30 Pompton Lakes families were evacuated. The damage was estimated to cost about half a billion dollars, then-Governor Thomas Keane said.
Residents of Pompton Lakes, Pequannock and Lincoln Park might argue, however, that the flood in April 2007 was more newsworthy because it was “surprisingly” damaging along the Pompton River compared to other areas, residents said. The severe flooding occurred the year after floodgates at the Pompton Lake Dam, designed to alleviate flooding in Oakland, were completed and residents questioned the effect the gates had on flooding downstream.
Others say 1968’s was the worst. In fact, the late Ross Colletti, a public relations maestro from Pequannock, was moved to fight the good fight following this flood.
If you want to vote for any of these as top Suburban Trends stories or if you want to suggest other stories, e-mail suburbantrends@northjersey.com or send your vote to 300 Kakeout Road, Kinnelon, NJ 07405. Suburban Trends is also revisiting its sports coverage over the years with famous siblings involved in our high school sports teams.
Let us know your top stories
If you want to vote for top 10
Suburban Trends news stories or if you want to suggest other stories pertaining to our 50th anniversary, e-mail suburbantrends@northjersey.com or send to 300 Kakeout Road, Kinnelon, NJ 07405.
Suburban Trends is also seeking names of famous siblings involved in our high school sports teams since 1958. Contact Sports Editor Joseph Costello at costelloj@northjersey.com or send the information to 300 Kakeout Road, Kinnelon, NJ 07405.
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