Clark Kara Alongi Investigation Ongoing, State Police Release Her 911 CallThere are still more questions than answers when it comes to Kara Alongi, the 16-year-old Arthur L. Johnson junior who tweeted "There is somone in my hour ecall 911" before leaving her home voluntarily on Sept 30. Alongi was found two days later when she called 911 from a rest stop near exit 1 on the Turpike. In that call (which Patch recently obtained from State Police), Alongi maintains she had been abducted, stating a black man forced her from her home. Clark Police are still investigating where Alongi went and why…

CLARK Clark celebrated Memorial Day with its annual parade down Westfield Avenue, and four Clark veterans shared their war stories with us. On Tuesday, Clark Police Chief Denis Connell retired after 37 years.  In school news, Johnson alum and IBM general manager Phil Guido came back to the high school on Wednesday to share his success story and let the students have a crack at beating the company's famous artificial intelligence system, Watson, in a game of Jeopardy. And on Thursday, the Clark Board of Ed. approved Mike Mancino, a Johnson football assistant coach and Johnson head softball …

Each week, Patch takes a look back at the news in Union County. Among the top stories last week a New Providence school has been selected as a national school of character, Westfield's battling a 911 system that's on the verge of breakdown and Cranford Cougars captured their second straight crown in the baseball finals.   New Providence Students and staff learned late last week that Salt Brook Elementary School has been selected as a National School of Character, along with 37 other public schools, three charter schools, two private schools and one school district from across the nation. …

Each week, Patch takes a look back at the news in Union County for the past week. Among the top stories, the head football coach in Clark was not rehired, teachers of the year were honored in Berkeley Heights and Westfield still works to recover from the major fire at Ferraro's Restaurant.   Clark-Garwood It was a big week in Clark.  News spread quickly regarding the school board's decision not to rehire head football coach and gym teacher Nick Gregorio, police found animal remains and what appeared to be some sort ritual site behind the former Hungarian Club building on Old Raritan Road, at …

Each week, Patch takes a look back at the news in Union County for the past week. Among the top stories,  the cause of a six-alarm fire at Ferraro's Restaurant in Westfield remains unclear, car burglaries are under investigation in Cranford and boards of education across the county reorganize. Westfield A six-alarm fire gutted Ferraro's Restaurant in downtown Westfield in the pre-dawn hours of Thursday. Agencies from across the county assisted. The fire, the origin of which remains under investigation, started at midnight and caused the evacuation of apartments above the restaurant. One …

Each week, Patch takes a look back at the news in Union County for the past week. Among the top stories,  municipal budgets passed in Mountainside and Clark, a football legend was honored in New Providence and a mayor was remembered in Summit. Berkeley Heights-Mountainside Mountainside Borough Council approved the 2011 municipal budget at the April 19th meeting. Taxes will increase $128.88 for the average-assessed property.  The total budget will increase $383,757.25. The council also approved the second reading of an ordinance creating a cap bank. Mayor Paul N. Mirabelli outlined changes …

BERKELEY HEIGHTS Burst pipe forces students to move. Mountain Park School in Berkeley Heights was closed Tuesday after a pipe burst during the overnight hours, flooding the basement with four feet of water. Students have been temporarily transferred to the three other elementary schools in the township. According to school superintendent Judith Rattner, second-grade students were assigned to McMillan, third-graders to Woodruff, while fourth- and fifth-grade students taking class at the middle school. The hope is that Mountain Park school can be re-opened Monday with all students and faculty …

It's been a busy week around Union County. From public meetings on power lines to discussions about school budgets and police activity, here is a look at the week that was in Union County. Berkeley Heights PSE&G held its fourth and final public information workshop on Thursday regarding its North Central Reliability Project that will require the installation of new monopoles and higher-voltage electrical lines from West Orange to Roseland, then down through Berkeley Heights to Edison. The last workshop, which was held at L’Affaire Fine Catering in Mountainside, was intended for the public to …

The week was dominated by news that Cranford man Bill Parisio was arrested on charges of first-degree homicide in the death of his girlfriend, Pamela Schmidt. Schmidt's body was found in the basement of the Parisio family's Greaves Street home on Sunday afternoon. Parisio was in Union County Superior Court Friday for his first appearance. He remains held in Union County Jail on $400,000 bail. No new court dates have been scheduled. Parisio has been linked to use of a drug known as "bath salts," a drug that mimics the "high" users get from methamphetamine. The active ingredient in the drug, …

This week, in a scenario not even writers for the long lamented Sopranos could have even conceived, seven county residents were among 130 people arrested in the “largest mob takedown in U.S. history.” That news topped the countywide events commemorating the 25th anniversary of Martin Luther King Day. Take a look back at what went on in our communities before you face the week ahead: BERKELEY HEIGHTS/MOUNTAINSIDE School District Begins Budget Talks  The Berkeley Heights school board gathered Thursday night to begin the process of trimming its 2011-12 budget to cope with the financial …

Each Sunday, Patch.com will provide a quick look at news from the past week in the other Union County towns covered by the Patch network. It’s a way to connect with friends and neighbors and see that, while the zip codes may change, we share many of the same successes and challenges. So, from snowstorms to rush to deal with superintendents’ contracts in order to beat Governor Chris Christie’s Feb. 7 deadline to cap salaries, quirky features to sports coverage, here’s a look at what made the news last week. So take a look back before you face the week ahead: BERKELEY HEIGHTS/MOUNTAINSIDENew …