By Chris Sykes, Staff Writer

Fresh off his annual State of the State Address in Trenton, Gov. Christopher Christie came to Irvington last week to hold his first ever town hall meeting in an urban area at Christian Love Baptist Church on Lyons Avenue.

“It was the second strangest venue for us since I delivered the State of the State Address,” Christie said on Jan. 19. “Yesterday I was at a mall in Voorhees. Today I’m at a church that epitomizes what a church should be at its…

By Chris Sykes, Staff Writer

On Saturday, the Irvington Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Committee held its 27th annual Legacy of a Dream commemorative tribute to the life and work of the iconic civil rights leader and human rights champion.

The Jan. 14 event once again took place in the Irvington High School auditorium. The guest speaker was Pastor Jerry Smith of Christian Pentecostal Church and this year the 2012 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Award was presented to…

The Irvington High School girls’ indoor track and field team made history.

The Lady Blue Knights, under head coach Marvin Hawkins, won their first state championship in school history as they tied for first place overall at the state Group 3 Relays last Sunday Jan. 15 at the Bennett Center in Toms River.

The girls tied with Mendham and West Windsor-Plainsboro North for first place in the team standings with 26 points apiece, based on the top-six finishes in each event.

Janaya…

By Chris Sykes, Staff Writer

The questions and controversy surrounding the hiring of ex-Irvington Board of Education President Paul Inman to be the Irvington Public Schools district’s new facilities manager does not seem to be going away anytime soon.

Inman stepped down from his board position last year, opting not to run for re-election. Last week at the Irvington NAACP chapter’s monthly meeting at Greater New Point Baptist Church on Paine Avenue, Elouise McDaniel, the…

Irvington High School 1992 graduate Hassan Carter, who led the Blue Knights to Essex County Tournament championship and the state Group 4 title game in his senior season, died on Sunday Jan. 1, four days after collapsing on the sideline while coaching the Shabazz boys’ basketball team during a game against Newark Vo-Tech.

Carter, 37, died at University Hospital in Newark. He collapsed during the first quarter of the semifinals of the Newark Public Schools Tournament on Dec. 28 and was…

Dashana and Denesha Ransome, both sisters, won individual titles to lead the Irvington High School girls' indoor track and field team to a third-place overall finish at the Super Essex Conference-American Division Championships on Friday Dec. 30 at the Jersey City Armory.

Dashana won the 55-meter hurdles in a meet-record time of 8.50 and Denesha took gold in the 55-meter dash in 7.42.

Janaya Lewis also won the shot put for the Lady Blue Knights with a meet-record throw of 36…

The Irvington High School indoor track and field teams garnered 28 medals at the Holiday Relays at the Jersey City Armory on Tuesday Dec. 27.

IHS varsity results

Boys

55-meter dash: Kaz Morgan, third place, 6.7.

4x200-meter relay, Joe Clarke, Charles Michael, Samaad Jenkins, Kaz Morgan, third place, 1:40.36.

Girls

55-meter hurdles: Dashana Ransome, first place, 8.1

Shot Put relay: Janaya Lewis and Sarah…

By Chris Sykes, Staff Writer

Recently it seemed as if the problems with eroding foundations, sinking backyards and flood-related issues that the homeowners and residents of Berkeley Terrace and other parts of the East Ward have been dealing with for years were now spilling over into Irvington’s schools and affecting children too. That forced the Board of Education and its President Anthony “Tony” Vauss to get involved.

In an email dated Dec. 7, Principal Wanda A. Carter of…