WINTER BLAST An early January storm dumped several inches of snow on the region. Earlier this week, resi- dents were forced to dig out from yet another snowfall. Page 4 mm AND THEY'RE OFF! Eighteen horses seem to have been startled right before they broke free from the safety of their home at the Watchung Stables in Mountainside and took an early morning stroll down Route 22 on Sunday. Page 14 CHARITY FILMS Angelica Velez is an actress who starred in Mountainside native Jim Riffle's horror film 'Night of the Day of the Dawn, Part 5.' Page 20 IN THIS ISSUE Police Blotter 6 Opinion Page 10 Letters tothe Editor 11 County News 14 Obituaries 18 Healthy Living 19 School Zone 20 Arts & Leisure 22 Sports 26 Classified 36 ."'•••••'iii.: • , . ;;• :. ; Incorporating The Eagle, The Observer, The Progress THURSDAY; JANUARY1J672O11 LOCALSOURCE.COM VOL794 50 CENTS Towns struggle to cut costs By Cheryl Hehl Staff Writer Trying to stay under the 2 percent stale- imposed spending cap has some local officials working late into the night to find new ways to cut expenses. Although the budget process For all munici- palities is still in the early stages, town officials are doing what it takes to get their spending Taking back control Prosecutor pulls out of local PD By Cheryl Hehl Staff Writer SPRINGFIELD — The prose- cutor's office has officially pulled out of the Police Department after stepping in to help with restructur- ing efforts nearly six months ago. However, former township mayor Ziad Shehady, who wa. not re-elected to the committee in the November election, felt Union County Prosecutor Theodore Romankow let politics influence the timing factor. Shehady said last week he was more than happy to hear the police department was finally on its own, but took issue with the fact that Romankow sent the letter to "Mayor Keffer" on Dec. 31, two days before the new mayor took the oath of office. Romankow sent the letter, dated Dec. 31, 2010, to "Mayor" Hugh Keffer, notifying him that effective "Jan. 2, 2011 at 12:01 a.m." his office would be relinquishing con- trol over the police department. Shehady took exception not only when the letter was sent, but also See UCPO. Page 12 plans under control. In some towns that might mean looking closely at shared services with a nearby community, furloughing or laying off employees or asking the local finance board to consider excluding certain fees from the munic- ipal cap. In Summit, the governing body is having serious discussions with Millburn, which is in Essex County, about merging fire departments. According to Mayor Jordan Glatt, that could possibly amount to thousands in savings for Summit. The city has been looking into such a merger since 2009, even bringing a consultant aboard to examine all facets of such a merge, including a complete merger of both fire depart- ments or sharing of services and equipment. Summit officials are not sure such a merger See OFFICIALS, Page 12 HEAD FOR THE HILLS — Above, with schools closed due to a recent snow storm, chil- dren gathered at Echo Lake Park, which straddles Westfield and Mountainside, to do some sledding. Below, two friends take advantage of the recent snow storm to dosome cross-country skiing in Union County's Watchung Reserva- tion. imrinrrri\irrn\\ ^io rN 3aisr~t~ixH Experience the E-E xoo-s *:scoa 3OIS11XH HJT33 x« YOUR NEWS, YOUR WAY! Whether pit have movedout of slit, gone off to college orjiist want put hometown newspaper available whenever anil wherever you choose. For more information or to see a demo of our E-Ediiion log on to wvw.localsource.com