According to the North Bergen Police Facebook page, the search for Shirlene Quigley is over.

“She is safe and at a medical facility which location is undisclosed at this time. North Bergen Police Detectives have contacted her father and he is in route from Los Angeles to reunite with his daughter,” writes the North Bergen Police Department.

Quigley’s father has been contacted and he is en route to reunite with his daughter. This case went viral as pop star, Rihanna, who employed Quigley as a dancer, pleaded for the communities help.

Mayor Nicholas J. Sacco announced today that the North Bergen School District has reached an agreement with the County of Hudson to move forward with plans to open a new North Bergen High School at the current High Tech High School campus, which will be vacated after the school’s new campus in Secaucus is completed. The new North Bergen High School is planned to open for the 2019-2020 school year and its opening will significantly increase classroom space throughout the school system.

“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for North Bergen students and taxpayers to finally bring a new high school to our community and do it in a fiscally responsible way,” said Mayor Sacco, who also serves as a State Senator. “I am so proud to announce this wonderful news for our community and look forward to the day when we will cut the ribbon on a brand new North Bergen High School.”

As part of the district’s plans, the current High Tech High School building will become home to the district’s 10th, 11th and 12th grade students, while the current NBHS building will house 7th, 8th and 9th graders. Currently 7th and 8th graders are housed in their local neighborhood elementary schools.

The plan will reduce the number of students at the current North Bergen High School by more than 25%, from 2,450 to 1,800. This will be accomplished without erecting an entirely new school building, an undertaking that could cost as much as $150 million according to district estimates.

The current North Bergen High School was designed to accommodate 1,800 students, but the district has added additional classrooms over the years to meet a rising enrollment. It now houses 2,450 students on a split schedule basis. Under the new plan its student population would return to the 1,800 it was originally built to hold.

HCST will maintain a presence in the building after regular school hours for its Adult School program and HCST continuing to manage its existing student transportation facility at the site.

“Utilizing this building and bringing a new high school to a community that desperately needs it is exactly the kind of government partnership that we pride ourselves on,” said Hudson County Executive Tom DeGise. “We are very pleased to partner with North Bergen on this ambitious project and look forward to seeing it come to fruition.”

When North Bergen native, Amber Crespo, received the heart breaking news that her mother was diagnosed with Stage 1 breast cancer, she promised to do everything in her power to raise awareness.

Crespo, who graduated from North Bergen high school in 2007, reached out to Dr. Fernando Uribe, who is a local educator and philanthropist.

Dr. Fernando Uribe has hosted “A Professor’s Quest To Save Breasts” every October since 2008. The event’s objective is to raise funds to battle breast cancer and so far Uribe has managed to raise $23,443 for the American Cancer Society.

The event is a date auction made possible by volunteers.

“When I discovered Dr. Uribe’s event – I thought to myself, this is a great opportunity to give back,” says Amber Crespo who will be one of the participants that attendees may “bid” on in support of Breast Cancer. “I even got my beautiful friend Shazia (of North Bergen) to participate with me”

HudPost asked Crespo what the perfect date would be – “A concert- Kanye, if we’re getting specific,” and advised her future date to dress to impress.

The event is this Friday – October 21st starting 8:00 PM at Son Cubano in West New York. Interested in going? RSVP on the events page.

In addition, a raffle will be held and tickets are only $2. Winners have the possibility of one of the following prizes;

• A dinner for 2 courtesy of Park & Orchard

• 5 personal training session courtesy of Kaeos Englewood

• Free membership for 1 month courtesy of UFC GYM

• A beautiful travel blanket courtesy of the American Cancer Society

• 2 hour session courtesy of Gun For Hire, LLC

• 1 hour deep-tissue massage courtesy of Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa – Livingston, NJ

• 20 yoga sessions courtesy of Gypsy Yogis

• $100 gift card courtesy of Rumba Cubana

• $100 gift card courtesy of Cavalinos Restaurant

A town’s recycling rate is measured by comparing the amount of recycled materials to the total quantity of waste materials collected — which includes both garbage and recyclables.

Secaucus leads the pack by a wide margin in Hudson County. The municipality with the next best recycling rate is North Bergen (50 percent), and even that is high compared to surrounding towns and cities: Bayonne (26 percent), Jersey City (11 percent), Hoboken (22 percent), and Union City (5 percent).

Read more at NJ.com

North Bergen is shocked and saddened of the sudden passing of one its own, Stacy Antonia Tavares. The community has come together on social media to remember Stacy’s life.

“Stacy was taken from us way too soon. A woman with a beautiful smile, full of laughter, she can light up a dark room,” writes Ariel Alonso.

Stacy was recently engaged to her boyfriend less than a month ago.

“Manny was the one she loved the most thanks for making her happy for accepting her as she was,” writes Vanessa Tavares.

Stacy’s services will be held on Friday, October 14, 2016 at 4pm at 2501 New York Ave. Union city, New Jersey.

“[Stacy was] my soul mate- at 5 years old I made my first friend. She was my biggest supporter, she was my happiness as I could never even fathom being sad when she was around. She gave the most amazing hugs. She had the most infectious laugh God there was nothing like that laugh,” writes Chanel Ketchum.

Freeholder Anthony Vainieri revealed a 5 year plan to restore James J. Braddock park. The plan includes includes ideas such as digital way finding signage, resurfacing the playgrounds and fields, and one that is getting much attention – the possibility of utilizing the pond for boat rentals.

The county will explore the option of boat rentals once “the electrical issue have been corrected” and the “area is safe”.

“Today I had a meeting with county officials within the parks division and engineers to lay out plans for James J. Braddock Park. These improvements will be on a priority list starting with the most important,” says Hudson County Freeholder Anthony Vainieri. “If all projects listed on our plan are to be completed, we’re looking close to 5 years or more. Also providing funds would be available.”

When pressed about the likelihood of boat rentals Freeholder Vainieri wrote “That’s a [might]. I’m trying!”

“The county wouldn’t pay a cent for this, on the contrary, make money off of whoever leases the building from the county that operates boat rentals. The county law department and administration will go through the legal part of who gets awarded a contract”The county wouldn’t pay a cent for this, on the contrary, make money off of whoever leases the building from the county that operates boat rentals. The county law department and administration will go through the legal part of who gets awarded a contract. [but] I’m not in those discussions at all,”,” says Freeholder Vainieri.

Boat rentals are nothing new to James J. Braddock park’s history. The pictures below are of the boats that once occupied Woodcliff Lake.

This plans comes a month after the Freeholder blasted New Jersey Governor Chris Christie for shutting down construction projects via the Transportation Trust Fund.

“As always, when our Governor can’t get his way in Trenton, he holds us all hostages, unless your name is Trump. Due to his order of all road repairs be stopped immediately, until he gets his way, the paving in Braddock Park is on hold. So our roads will remain in disrepair until he gets his way,” Vainieri wrote. “This also affects the entire stretch of Park Ave in North Bergen. Call the Governor and demand we fix our roads! You can call him at the Trump campaign, cause he’s never in New Jersey.”

When North Bergen residents, Jeannette Sanchez and mother Maria Sanchez experienced the heart breaking event of losing their loved one to suicide, they decided it would not go in vain.

“My brother died to suicide on March 12, 2012. Like many families out there we didn’t recognize the signs of depression and mental health issues,” says Jeannette Sanchez.

Last year Maria and Jeannette teamed up with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) to host the first ‘NB Out of the Darkness’ community walk that drew over 225 people from the community and raised over $10,000. The walk is held in memory of those who lost their lives to suicide. Funds come from groups of people or “teams” that walk in memory those impacted. The Sanchez family walks as “Team Carpe Diem” in honor of the late Jorge A. Sanchez.

“Community walks are proof that when people work together, they can make big changes in our world,” says Maria Sanchez, co-coordinator of the walk.

“When we were faced with the traumatic loss of my brother we were desperately looking for a group or people that could help up go through the process of grieving and explaining this complex situation to my youngest brother which was 10 years old at the time of [my brother’s] death. That’s when we noticed that what we were looking for wasn’t necessarily offered within our community,” says Jeanette Sanchez.

The Sanchez family hopes to encourage others to volunteer to host support group for those dealing with suicidal thoughts. Resources for bereaved families and friends to sit together, share stories, and seek guidance are said to be scarce.

“We hope that we can save a life by creating a space where people do not feel alone and can access the necessary resources if they are in need of help. We also think it’s important for families that have experienced these traumatic losses to see that they are not alone,” says Jeanette.

This year’s 2nd annual “North Bergen Out of the Darkness Walk” will be held on September 18th at James J. Braddock Park. Participants will meet at the Ascolese football field at 1:00 PM.

“It feels amazing to work side by side not only with each other but with our family and friends that help us pull off this event. This event would not be possible without the help of the town of North Bergen, sponsors, and the families that come out each year,” says mother and daughter.

Click here to register for the annual walk.

Those who want to volunteer may contact Maria Sanchez and Jeannette Sanchez 917-755-4877 or 201-978-1115

nboutofthedarkness@gmail.com

Article Correction: In an earlier edit of this article it was said that the walk is held in name of Jorge Sanchez, however, the walk in held in honor of all those who have been impacted by suicide.

North Bergen’s 3 designated cooling centers will be operational this coming week due to the forecast high

temperatures.

Centers will run from Wednesday 8/10 thru Sunday 8/14. Hours will be 9am – 5pm daily at all locations except for Sunday.

On Sunday 8/14 only the Recreation Center location will be open at the Uptown Library, 8411 Bergenline Ave., Downtown library, 2123 Kennedy Blvd., and Recreation Center, 6300 Meadowview Ave.

The NB Emergency Relief department was established to assist residents that have been temporarily or permanently displaced with food, clothing, or additional resources.

The department is coordinated by Aimee Focaraccio. Should residents have any further questions or families in need, they may contact Ms. Focaraccio at 201-392-0229 or afocaraccio@northbergen.org