Thursday this week will be six months that Patch is live in West Orange. This past week, readers learned about ongoing burglary investigations, traffic concerns, sports losses, donations, a murder trial, a guilty verdict, "not guilty" pleas, Christmas and, now, snow. Let's take a look back.
Monday
St. Cloud Elementary School parents and administrators finally got their answer to traffic concerns from a proposed strip mall on Northfield Avenue. .
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Sometimes being a class mom is just about fun. This past Friday was one of those times. .
West Orange police are investigating two burglaries in the Gregory section of the township where thieves entered homes during the day. .
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A West Orange man pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges of sexual assault of a minor. .
Tuesday
Families at Mt. Pleasant Elementary School are showing their holiday spirit this week by helping three families who lost their belongings in a fire. .
My husband and I grew up with very different gift-giving rituals at Christmas. .
The jury in the murder trial of Kenneth Duckett continued deliberations Tuesday as they asked that testimony of key witnesses and Duckett be read back to them in court. .
West Orange High School's boys and girls basketball teams dropped to 0-2 Tuesday afternoon with losses to Orange and Irvington. .
Hundreds of student musicians and their families were ordered out of Columbia High School in Maplewood Tuesday night by Superintendent Brian Osborne and local residents were displaced after the Essex County Sheriff's Office responded to a bomb threat across from the school on Valley Street. .
Wednesday
The best television station in my house is called Bird TV. .
Maplewood police are working with the FBI to further investigate the bomb threat that caused the evacuation of Columbia High School and multiple residences and businesses on Valley Street Tuesday night, according to Maplewood Police Chief Robert Cimino. .
The jury in the murder trial of Kenneth Duckett continued deliberations Wednesday as they asked that testimony of two witnesses be read back to them in court. .
Wearing a long-sleeved button down shirt and jeans, the man accused of carjacking a West Orange Public Works truck Friday and then running down a church trustee before causing a multi-vehicle crash, pleaded not guilty Wednesday in New Jersey Superior Court. .
Thursday
West Orange police are investigating two daytime burglaries where suspects entered homes through unlocked windows. .
So far, everything looks very familiar for the West Orange High wrestling team. .
Kenneth Duckett was found guilty Thursday of murdering his ex-girlfriend Monica Paul at a Montclair YMCA as their 11-year-old daughter, Essence, sat beside her. .
Friday
Better, but not just enough for the West Orange High School boys basketball team. .
The West Orange High School wrestling team has gotten off to a 2-0 dual meet start with emphatic conquests of Cedar Grove and Millburn, and the Mountaineers aren't even at 100 percent. .
Saturday
It's Christmas. And, for many West Orange residents, that means many wonderful things, including holiday movies. .
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