At the end of February, the VPL will be in a position to lend books to you via your e-reader. About a year ago, the library decided to investigate the world of e-book lending. As a result of the partnership with ELibraryNJ (formerly ListenNJ, a service for lending audio books) we’ll have access to their library of e-books. That’s right. You will be able to download books to your Kindle or Nook from the VPL for a three-week period of time.

How will this work? While the technical details are still being worked out, the overall workings are based on the VPL being part of a consortium of libraries using this service. This means that you will be able to go to the VPL Web site and search for a title. (If you have never used its Web site for their online services before, you will need your library card to set up an online account). If that title is available, it’s yours. If it’s not available, then you can reserve it and wait until it’s available. Once available, the book is yours to read for three weeks. After those three weeks, the book disappears. If that same title is being held for someone else, you cannot renew it. If it’s not, then renewal may be possible.

As the VPL works with this new service, its popularity, function and usability will be reviewed. The results of that review will determine whether or not the ELibrary service is kept, or if the VPL builds up its own online library. As a frequenter of the library, I wondered if that success may depend on the content and titles available through ELibraryNJ.

I went to the Web site and did some searching on my own using titles and authors of books we have here at home. There are approximately 5,000 e-book titles currently part of ElibraryNJ, but I didn’t know what that would cover from a content perspective. I searched for Magic Tree House and Encyclopedia Brown as series. Books from both are on the site. I also searched by authors Stephen King, John Grisham, and Dennis Lehane. Books from all three authors are on the site as well. I even came across the Pretty Little Liars series, but don’t remember what I typed in to get that result. I also looked for picture books. This seems to be an area of content lacking from the ELibraryNJ site. Personally, I think it’s better for little kids to be in the library and considering that a picture book is more durable than an e-reader this may be a good thing. It’s important to remember that not all books are available as e-books to download. As this is a publisher’s decision, and not a library’s, the ELibraryNJ source seemed to be a good partnership for the VPL.

The full online lending services won’t be available for about another month, and we’ll have a follow up story to let you know exactly how it works and what to do. In the meantime, the VPL Web site is still, and will continue to be, available reserving printed books, renewing books, accessing several text book libraries, the entire Encyclopedia Britannica collection, and the Oxford English Dictionary. While I was researching e-book availability, I had a little contest with my daughter. She opened up the OED on her Kindle, and I accessed it from the VPL Web site. We both searched for the word caterpillar. The search functionality via the VPL website was much, much faster than on her Kindle. Guess what I’ll be using the next time we need to look up the definition or spelling of a word.

Dan DePalma with Verona cousin David Karpinski at the Timex Performance Center where the Giants practice.

The world looks very different when seen from the field after your son’s team wins the Super Bowl. Just ask Diane DePalma.

We reached her on the field at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis just after she and her husband had caught up with their son,  Dan DePalma, a member of the practice squad for the team that just won the biggest game in football. After Ahmad Bradshaw scored what would turn out to be the winning touchdown in the 21-17 game, family members started to make their way to the field. Diane DePalma says she didn’t even see the Patriots’ final effort but she did hear the noise. “We heard the cheers and we knew things were going our way,” she said.

And somehow, in all the chaos on the field, the DePalmas found their son and gave him a big hug. “He said, ‘Mom, I’m getting a Super Bowl ring’,” Diane DePalma said.

Indeed.

Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray and Verona Police Chief Douglas Huber have announced that the Essex County Prosecutor’s Major Crimes Task Force is investigating a death in Verona, NJ on Saturday, February 4, 2012.

At approximately 8:00 a.m., the Verona Police Department responded to a residence on Linden Avenue on a request for medical assistance. The arriving officers observed an unresponsive female, subsequently identified as Kellie Swanstrom, age 41, in the basement of the residence. Swanstrom, who resided in the home with her family, was pronounced dead a short time later.

Swanstrom’s body was subsequently taken to the Regional Medical Examiner’s Office in Newark. The cause of death is still pending at this time, according to Chief Assistant Prosecutor Thomas S. Fennelly, of the Prosecutor’s Homicide Unit.

What is a great event without a patriotic opening? The first “cover” of the night would come from Montclair Police Department’s Stephanie Egnazzo who delivered a mostly A capella take on the most famous from one-hit-wonder Francis Scott Key; a song that we know as “The Star Spangled Banner.” Note that it was mostly A capella, because towards the last two lines, a band in uniform were revealed behind a curtain and awoke the gods of rock in a Jimi Hendrix style salute to our great country. It was nice to see a duet between different police departments, proving that the VPD doesn’t have the only cops who rock. From there, an emcee took over and welcomed one and all to the second annual Cops And Rockers.

Now it was time for the music. At the start of the event, it wasn’t all about the big prize, a day in the recording studios of Verona’s Cat Eyez Studios. (Rocktec Music donated two Dean guitars for the audience raffles and instruments, fog machines and PA equipment for the stage. Amedia, another Verona-based business, donated some of its handmade cymbals and Chris Segarra of Legendery Entertainment was the emcee.) In fact, there were some bands that weren’t competing, and just wanted to share the stage with some local musicians and play in front of the crowd. Two acts; one trio and one solo act, provided the competition-free entertainment to Verona, and certainly did not disappoint.

The first non-competing group was The Incredible Folk featuring VHS sophomore Lucas Freschi on acoustic guitar alongside two older friends on banjo and fiddle. The bluegrass three-piece brought the theater back to Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry for some rather impressive picking. The first song was a cover of Arthur “Guitar Boogie” Smith and Don Reno’s “Feudin’ Banjos” (more commonly known as “Dueling Banjos”) made famous by the 1972 movie Deliverance. The next was one of the most famous country rock songs, “The Devil Went Down To Georgia” by The Charlie Daniels Band. Aside from a clutter of technically faulted sound problems, it was pleasant to have some American Roots music to start off the night.

Next was the second non-competing act, VHS senior Wes Ostrander. Wes’ drum cover of Dream Theater’s “Panic Attack” spoke true to the progressive-metal drumming of Mike Portnoy (ex-drummer of Dream Theater), and darkened the mood left by The Incredible Folk. Following a welcoming applause of appreciation for Wes’ way around the drum kit, was one of few constants of the night: polls. Yes, MyVeronaNJ.com provided the surveys that appeared on the rounded wall stage-left. If you were in attendance and were in possession of a cell phone that has text-messaging capabilities (and if not, get with the times), you were able to participate in the polling. Some questions were more important than others, like “what kind of music do you like,” would be deemed unimportant in comparison to voting for the band of your choice.

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Following a power outage, last year’s first place band took the stage in hopes to bring home the title once more. Fusion is made up of Austin Williams, Steve Wynen, Andrew Capuano, Nick Celfo and Ryan Yeates, who all attend VHSl. It was clear that Fusion had matured since winning last year’s contest. Vocalist Austin Williams seemed much more comfortable onstage and managed to translate his naturally theatrical voice into a post-punk/pop-rock style. The stringed aspect of the band all seemed to carry themselves at an appropriate pace, while drummer Ryan Yeates interpreted the drum parts very well, which contributed to a positive performance overall. They  performed their original with lyrics written by Ryan Yeates, “I Want To Be” and covers of Good Charlotte’s “The Anthem”, “Dying in your Arms” by Trivium, and “Monkey Wrench” from the Foo Fighters.

The next band was the first and only competing band without any VHS students in the group. Nonetheless, NaH shook the stage with a jagged grunge sound and held their own in the midst of bands that also played similar styles of music. Consisting of Ben Shooter, RJ Challice, and Zach Thomas, the Little Falls natives performed an original inspired by Guns n’ Roses entitled “The Best of You,” proving to be one of the stronger originals of the night. Their covers were Monster Magnet’s “Monolithic” and “The Time Warp”, from the Rocky Horror Picture Show, the latter of which got many singing and grooving along.

Up next was The Loop, displaying VHS alumni, current students, and future students. This group, like Fusion, is a staple of the current Verona youth music scene. They’ve performed a few times in the past year and have built a little bit of a fan base that made their presence known during their Cops & Rockers performance. The set began with a cover of Joan Jett’s “I Love Rock And Roll”. Band members Theresa Courter, Joey and Nick Fierro, Chris Ehrich and Chris Buneo packed a punch with their ability to cover a song and lay it down with tight execution. “Drowning in Reality”, written by vocalist Theresa Courter, was an impressive original, with lyrics dealing discussing her first semester in college. The remaining songs were “The Ocean” (Led Zeppelin) and a pop-goes-punk approach at Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance.”

Totally unexpected was an appearance by Patti Labelle’s drummer Segdrick Marsh. Though the sound system largely failed him, Segdrick managed to display his talents with a song, followed by an explanation and apology as to why he couldn’t carry on. His offer to return in the future should be embraced by those in charge, as it was great to a professional take the reins and show his skills.

Maybe the most talented and the darkest act of the night, was black-metal band Angmar. Yes, they’re referencing the home of the witch king in the Lord Of The Rings. The long-hair rockers made their way back after last year’s equally stellar Cops & Rockers performance, and once again they managed to leave the crowds’ jaws wide open after they performed all three originals “Fallen, Forgotten,” “As Shadows Rise,” and “Tiamat.” Band members Conor Lawless, Brian Fong, Tyler Butkovsky and Ryan Cardoza play music that requires so much precision, and they carry it out with ease. They will bring out the heavy metal in us all and have you swinging your hair along to the music.

Moving forward was something also completely different. Feux Johnny is made up of Giancarlo Cordasco, Alex Campbell and Patrick Cichetti. This group, like Angmar had such a different sound that it really got the audience’s attention. Playing in the style of California Funk a la The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Feux Johnny covered “Can’t Stop” and “Hump De Bump” from the legendary Chili Peppers, sandwiched in between “Mrs. Cooper” (an original) and ending with Depeche Mode’s “Personal Jesus”. The comfortable and energetic stage presence and musicianship held true to the eventual crowd reaction. It was looking good for this out-of-nowhere ban when it came to results.

Showing the love of music and how close some of the bands are, bassist Nick Celfo made his second appearance of the night, this time with Where Eagles Dare, alongside Isaac Rubins, Dom Gagliano and Mike Basil. This band’s second Cops And Rockers featured two originals, “Lunch Break”, written by Isaac Rubins and a follow-up to a song from last year’s Cops & Rockers, “Bathroom Break”. They did sweet renditions of Metallica’s “Am I Evil”, and “No Remorse”. Probably the most impressive though, was a great approach at “A Passage to Bangkok” from Rush, which was the most musically demanding song all night.

To close out the contest part of the night, came Leo’s Arrow. Evan Yee, Mike Bartell, Matt Bartell, Patrick Sullivan and Torsten Kolind bring a twisted indie-rock sound to the table, and put on an energetic performance even with Evan Yee suffering from a lost voice due to previous illness in the week. Their original was “Home”, built around a guitar lick from Mike Bartell, giving a little insight into the songwriting process for this particular band. They covered Lit’s “My Own Worst Enemy”, The Flo Bots’ “Handlebars”, and “Dammit” from Blink 182.

As the night was coming near the end, it was time for the results. It was clear that every band gave it their own, and some had it together more than others did. However, it was all about the love of music and how it can provide a safe lifestyle and occupation of time for the youth, which face more and more pressure to get involved in the world of drugs and mischief. As it was announced, the crowd cheered for Feux Johnny, who came in first overall.

But wait that wasn’t all. Like last year, the final band put the “cops” in Cops and Rockers. A musical squad of Det/Sgt. (VPD) Dan Greco on guitar, Sgt. (Montclair PD) Stephanie Egnezzo and Special Deputy (VPD) Gerard DiNola on vocals, retired Sgt. (VPD) Marty Santuoso on drums, and Special Deputy (VPD) Pat Filoso on bass delivered a set that laid the law on the final moments of the show. They performed songs like The Kinks’ “You Really Got Me” and Kiss’ “Rock And Roll All Night, all in good fun.

Aside from the technical difficulties, the night was rather successful as far as turnout, performances, and behavior was concerned. In the words of the Grateful Dead, “One good ride from start to end, I’d like to take that ride again.”

Tyler Curtis attends VHS and is the author of The Shakedown Blog.

Photos © Fred Goode Productions. All rights reserved.

The wrestling match saw pins by several Verona grapplers: Nick Esposito, Billy Giuliano, Joe Cordasco, Frank Greco and Kyle Rosenberg all defeated their opponents in 2 minutes or less. The Hillbilly mat men had an 8-5-0 record after the Union City match.

In basketball, the Maroon and White boys jumped out for an early 11-6 lead in the first quarter before heading into the half ahead 23-17. Verona increased their lead to 33-24 in the third quarter behind Brian Farrell’s 15 second half points and Anthony Huber’s work underneath the basket.

Farrell, who had 21 points on the afternoon, has made a remarkable recovery from an early season back injury that limited him to the sidelines for over three weeks. Hubie’s 19 points and 10 rebounds helped the Hillbillies avenge an earlier season loss to the 7-11 Raiders. Seniors Packy Malanga and Matt Tuorto combined for four assists and two steals, and Malanga chipped in with four points. Sophomore Matt Brashchi pulled down six rebounds and had four steals and three assists.  The Hillbillies are at Columbia High School now for the second round of the Essex County Tournament.

There are two free information sessions available to find out more:

Tuesday, February 7, 9:30 a.m.-10:30 a.m.
Saturday, February 25, 9:30 a.m.-10:30 a.m.

The six week sessions cost $110 and the Y is offering free nursery care for children whose parents are attending.

If you have any questions, call Cynthia Garcia at the Geyer Family YMCA: 973-415-6124

The contest rules are as follows:

* Writers must be Essex County residents who are 60 years of age or older.
* Entries should be original stories focusing on a special person, a life-altering experience or a significant period in your life.
* The suggested maximum length is 1,500 words.
* Stories must be typed or legibly hand-written on 8.5-by-11 inch paper.
* Entries must have a cover page with the author’s name, date of birth, address and telephone number.
* The story title with no identifying information should appear on the first page of the story text. All identifying information about the author is removed when stories are judged by the review committee.
* Seniors may submit only one entry.
* Previously published stories may not be submitted.
* Seniors should keep a copy of the story. Entries will not be returned.
* The deadline for entries is Monday, March 19, 2012. Late entries will not be accepted.

Stories should be sent to the following:

Essex County Division of Senior Services

Attn: Legacies Contest

900 Bloomfield Avenue

Verona, NJ 07044

All writers who submit stories will be invited to the Division of Senior Services Legacies Luncheon Celebration in May 2012. Awards will be presented to the authors of the winning and honorable mention stories. These stories will be published in the Essex Advisor.

For a complete list of contest rules or for more information, please call the Essex County Division of Senior Services at 973-395-8375.

Good luck and happy writing!

Glen Ridge senior and Co-Captain Matt Lander started the night off right and fast with a goal less than a minute into the game. This would be the first of four goals that he would put in the back of the net. Lander also had two assists. Verona freshmen Jake Paganelli had a hat trick as well and an assist.

To add to the amount of different players who scored is Glen Ridge senior Max Linnett who had two goals and junior Michael Lloyd had one. This was VGR’s second defeat of Millburn this season; they scored a 9-3 victory on January 14. More importantly, this game was a game of firsts. Glen Ridge sophomore Sam Dobbs and Verona sophomore Sean Gluzberg had their first varsity goals of their career. Even with a big lead, tempers flared in the third period: Verona junior Bobby Maguire and his Millburn counterpart each got a 5-minute penalty in the closing minutes, which forced both players to leave the ice.

Verona senior goaltender Matt Brehne played the first two periods, and Glen Ridge junior Jake Biondi took over for him in the third. Verona sophomore Dylan DeCandia had four assists throughout the course of the game.

Despite VGR’s commanding offense, Millburn’s Pikus brothers—John and Philip—had a combined three goals and four assists. VGR’s next game will be played on Friday, February 10, against Roxbury at 8:30 p.m. at Codey Arena.

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Photos © Fred Goode Productions. All rights reserved.

The ambitious group was gradually reduced to just three participants in Round 10: Maxine Haralambiev, Charles Torikian, and Chloe Mathewson–all current or former Laning Avenue school students. The three continued on until Round 15 when Haralambiev misspelled her word. Torikian and Mathewson went on to battle it out for 10 more rounds, the crowd growing increasingly louder with each round. Then, in round 25, Torikian misspelled “eyewitness” and left Mathewson a chance for the win. She correctly spelled “eyewitness” and the next word, “petite”, sealing first place. Mathewson is a 4th-grade student at Laning and enjoys reading and playing piano and soccer.

Charles Torikian, Chloe Mathewson and Maxine Haralambiev

Joanna Beitenbach, co-president of the Verona Juniors, announced and moderated the event. The judges included Deputy Mayor Bob Manley, Forest Avenue School Principal Jeffrey Monacelli and Adele Spong, also a co-president of the Juniors.

Haralambiev, Torikian and Mathewson will represent Verona at a regional spelling bee on February 25 at the Franklin School Auditorium in Kearny.

All shows take place on select Saturdays and begin at 10 a.m. Tickets are $15-$20 for orchestra and box seats and $12 for mezzanine seats, and may be purchased by calling 973-376-4343, at the Paper Mill Box Office at 22 Brookside Drive in Millburn, or online.