Speeding Car Crashes, New Town Manager Top News This Week

Speeding Car Goes Airborne, Strikes Three Homes on Paterson Road

A speeding car hit the lawn of a home on the corner of Paterson Road and Hunter Avenue, launching it up a hill, airborne and over a driveway with two vehicles before striking another home and overturning when it struck a third home Friday morning in Fanwood. Witnesses estimated the car, a BMW sedan, was traveling in excess of 100 miles per hour.

Scotch Plains Man Kidnapped Woman, Forced Her Into Prostitution, Police Say

Five people were arrested this week in connection with the kidnapping and prostitution of a woman out of various Woodbridge hotels and in North Carolina, police said Thursday. Ronnie Warren, 28, of Cliffwood, Carrie Schiefer, 23, of Keansburg, Willie Peters, 19, of West Keansburg, and Samantha Garcia, 20, of West Keansburg, were arrested this week at an Avenel hotel. Joel Hope, 31, of Scotch Plains, was later arrested at his girlfriend’s home in Scotch Plains, Woodbridge Police said. The arrests culminated a several-month investigation by multiple agencies into the kidnapping and prostitution of a woman, according to Sgt. Brian Murphy, of the Woodbridge Police Department Special Investigations Unit.

New Town Manager Lacks Experience, Scotch Plains Mayor Says

Scotch Plains Mayor Kevin Glover said a lack of experience is the main reason he voted against the hiring of new town manager Jerry Giaimis. "Why I voted no is because I didn’t believe he had enough experience, in my opinion, to manage the municipality," Glover told Patch. "Totaling his previous employment in Randolph and Vernon, he has approximately five years of experience. I just think that after the issue that we’ve gone through with the loss of Henry Underhill, I was hoping to have someone that would have had more experience." Glover also alluded to an unsavory article about Giaimis he read on the Internet as another reason he voted no. 

Council Members Defend New Town Manager

Scotch Plains council members Colleen Gialanella and Bo Vastine are defending the hire of new town manager Jerry Giaimis in the wake of concerns expressed by Mayor Kevin Glover. "While I am sure that we can all agree the Internet is an amazing tool, any middle school student would know that the ease in which information can be posted by anyone, for any reason, is cause for concern," writes Gialanella. "Without hesitation, Mr. Giaimis informed the Council as to the availability of this information and cautioned us on the motivation of its author. He went on to fully and appropriately address those areas specific to his personal life."

Concert Series Kickoff Postponed Due to Weather

The threat of severe weather on Thursday night, caused the Scotch Plains Cultural Arts Concert to be postponed. A makeup date is in the process of being worked on for the two bands, Hot Peas N’ Butter and Carnaby Street, that were scheduled to perform. The next concert will be next Thursday, July 18 at 7:30 p.m. featuring the popular Party Band, Funktion 11.