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Crime & Safety

The Week in Review: The Top Stories in SPF

Here are the top four stories in Scotch Plains and Fanwood this week. Click the links to read the original articles and see what other readers have to say about these hot button issues.

This week, Patch readers were given the incredible opportunity to choose the name of the new Irish pub in Scotch Plains that will open its Park Avenue doors July 4 weekend. Nearly 900 have voted and more than 100 readers have added their own suggestions. The voting ends on Monday. What's your pick?

The new pub is the product of two year collaboration between 5 Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School graduates and lifelong friends. Unlike the other nightlife establishments in SPF, this location will also feature a family friendly restaurant. The crew is also overseeing the building of 8 2-bedroom apartments above the restaurant space. Don't miss the full story and the full gallery of the pub-in-progress and the nearly completed apartments! 

Find out what's happening in Scotch Plains-Fanwoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

An 18-year-old baseball player was assaulted by a local resident on Saturday, May 12 during a UCHS baseball game. Michael Bennett, 44, of Dutch Lane in Scotch Plains was arrested at the scene and charged with simple assault after he allegedly grabbed the victim by the neck and the wrist, leaving scratch marks on the victim’s neck, Scotch Plains Police Captain Brian Donnelly said. Bennett was released with a summons pending a municipal court hearing.

Find out what's happening in Scotch Plains-Fanwoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The incident has caused an uproar among local residents and readers as many discuss how the presence of foul balls in Dutch Lane and Black Birch Road yards impact the quality of local residents.

Patch brought you the story of the Union Catholich High School Baseball player who was assaulted by a Scotch Plains resident when he went to retrive a foul ball that had landed at the tree line bordering the assaulter's Dutch Lane property.

In the days following the orignal report, Patch traveled to all of the houses on Dutch Lane (the Scotch Plains street home to Michael Bennett) and Blackbirch Road that border the baseball diamond, as well as popular locations around to town to shoot video footage documenting how locals - including Fanwood Councilman Bob Manduca and a former Union Catholic baseball player - feel about this assault and the controversy surround the event. 

Four passengers including a six-year-old boy were trapped inside of a 1997 Ford Pickup truck after the driver lost control of the vehicle which flipped over on La Grande Avenue in Fanwood at 3:48 p.m. on Tuesday, May 15. 

No one was seriously injured however, the two adult male passengers attempted to flee the scene when Police discovered that they were under the influence. The driver was not under the influence, but was arrested and charged for an active warrant out of Madison. 

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