Spring Flushing Alert from Water Department

The Bloomfield Water Department along with Bloomfield Fire will begin the Spring Flushing of the fire hydrants thoughout the township starting today April 22nd through may 11th.

The purpose of this program is to flush water mains, removing accumulated sediments in the lines and to operate, lubricate and test fire hydrants to insure adequate fire protection.

 There may be some unavoidable discoloration of water and some loss of pressure during flushing in your area. This will be temporary and should cease upon completion of the program. If you experience discolored water, open the cold water faucets on the lowest floor of the house and allow the water to run until it clears.

 Discolored or cloudy water is potable, but not desirable to use. Residents are reminded to make sure that their water is running clear before washing laundry.

Rec Director Michael Sceurman to Speak at BNAC Meeting on Saturday

Bloomfield Parks & Recreation and its partners produce a large number of year round and seasonal programs for residents of all ages from toddlers to Seniors. Michael will discuss his role in planning programs that appeal to as many residents as possible including the Memorial Day Parade and summer concerts.  Many of the events are televised on WBMA-TV. In addition, the Rec Center also provides Special Needs programs and shuttle buses to Hoboken and Manhattan.

The Bloomfield Neighborhood Association Committee meets bi-monthly in the Police Building conference room 2nd floor. All are welcome at the april 27th meeting which begins at 10AM.

A Scary Tradition on Broad Street

Barely 24 hours after two bombs cut the Boston Marathon short, a caravan of about 11 police cars sped up Broad Street with sirens screaming. Some residents called town hall to see what the emergency was. Others queried neighbors on at least two of Bloomfield's Facebook forums. On one of them, Councilman Michael Venezia explained it succinctly: 

"It is tradition for retiring police officers to get a send off with police cars escorting them to their house or out of Bloomfield. Captain Decker lives off a Broad Street and after 37-years of service to the township retired yesterday."  

          

Captain Decker certainly earned the recognition of his peers for his long and distinguished career with the BPD.  But, to many, the lack of notification made it seem  like yelling "Fire!" In a crowded neighborhood rather than a theater. The timing couldn't have been worse. Many elderly and infirm within earshot may have been unintentionally terrorized. 

 Here's what a number of residents had to say about the high speed retirement party:

 Are you kidding me? All that noise, sirens, lights, RACING DOWN EFFING BROAD STREET AT 3 PM because someone retired? UnbeEFFINGlievable....If that's the truth someone should be held accountable for the apprehension and fear all of those sirens and racing police cars cause local residents and moms picking up their kids from local grammar schools today - a day after the Boston Marathon bombing.....At 3 PM, speeding up Broad Street past a grammar school when the children were being let out?? What a dangerous & sophomoric thing to do! I don't care if it is a tradition...they certainly should have shown better judgement. Especially considering the incident the day before in Boston. What the hell were they thinking?!....OK, they "escort" the guy home...the rest was completely unnecessary and potentially dangerous, especially with the racing police cars and the time of day. Many local moms were in a panic and ran to their childrens' schools to pick them up....Seriously, NO ONE IN TOWN HALL has a clue. What happened yesterday was in very bad taste and very bad judgement.....it would have been disturbing enough on any day but the day after the Boston bombing a few people asked if we were under attack. It was a completely thoughtless and reckless thing to do. Thank God no one was hit by one of those cars...... Racing at any time on Bloomfield Ave is not good. Too many pedestrians, too much traffic... ....It did look like an escort but it was over the top!!! And scary after yesterday's Boston bombing.... completely unnecessary.Does anyone in town hall have any common sense? It scared the hell out of some local moms who were on their way to pick their kids up from grammar schools.... I was already at the school waiting to pick up my kids when they raced by and I almost ran in early and grab them... scared the CR*P out of me! ....that is that one thing that has kept me out of local poltiics is exactlty this kind of crap. You have to promote from within. What if there is an opening for Chief, and there is a GREAT candidate, from Louisville, or Philly or LA who wants the job....NOPE...we have to stay with outdated and inbred protectionism, known as Civil Service. The result is this "frat house" nonsense.....'Does anyone in town hall have any common sense?' You're serious when you ask that?"

Clarks Pond Cleanup this Sunday

From Lois Ross and The Friends of Clarks Pond:

The Friends of Clark's Pond and theThird River will have their 18th annual clean-up at Clark's Pond Nature Preserve on Sunday April 14 from 1 - 4pm. We will provide gloves and trash bags. Please wear old shoes or boots because it will be muddy. Meet behind the middle school by the footbridge. We will have certificates available for anyone who needs community service hours. C'mon out for the community, open space, and sights and sounds of Spring.

The beautiful yellow "Lesser Celandine" flowers that blanket the preserve will be in full bloom -- and the red-winged blackbirds will be calling out to greet you!

Please spread the word....and hope to see you all there.

Game On!

Besides being the first day of baseball season -- and April Fools day, t's the deadline for filing for township offices for candidates belonging to the two major parties. 

From the Bloomfield Clerk's Office: 

Republican Mayor: Russell Mollica and Richard Galioto, Sr. 

Republican Council at Large: Sharon Soon, Carol Humphreys, Robert Goworek

Democrat Mayor: Michael J. Venezia
Council at Large: Wartyna “Nina” Davis, Joseph Lopez, Carlos M. Pomares

2nd Slate: Democrats
Council at Large: Kevin Lindahl, Russell Youngblood, Chris Diguilio

The Bloomfield Patch has information on all the candidates,

It"s still not certain whether or not Mayor Ray McCarthy plans to run as an Independent candidate.The final deadline for filing for the November election is June 4.