The township's board of education members may begin their search for Superintendent of Schools Dr. Frank R. Alvarez's successor as early as Feb. 27, if not sooner.

The Feb. 27 meeting, set to start at 7:30 p.m. here at the George Inness Annex Atrium, 141 Park St., would be the first public meeting since Alvarez told them of his intention at their Feb. 6 session.

The seven members may have begun talking about who among them will start a search committee during their scheduled Feb. 9 executive meeting at 22 Valley Rd. offices, and/or their Feb. 13 workshop back here at 141 Park St. Such discussion may have been a late addition for the Feb. 9 occasion; the workshop's agenda was not posted on montclair.k12.nj.us.

Alvarez posted his resignation letter on the Website at the start of the Feb. 7 business day. While he announced his intention to step down on June 30, he added, that "over the next few months you'll hear from me with regard to a transition plan."

Forgotten among the anticipated battle between the New York Giants and New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI at Indianapolis Feb. 5 - and an emerging dispute between Govs. Christopher Christie and Andrew Cuomo over where to hold a prospective Giants victory parade - lies a fact that may warm the hearts of fans in and around Orange and Newark.

Orange and Newark once had a National Football League team of their own in 1929-30. East Orange was also present during the team's formation.

Granted, two years are almost footnotes in the NFL's 92-year-old records. Edwin "Piggy" Simandl's team became one of at least 51 defunct NFL teams in the league's first 40 years. Simandl, his players and other traces of the team are long gone - as well one of its five venues.

But Newark and Orange were part of what became North American football's premier league. That team played the Giants four times - and the Giants play a team that might even have ancestral roots to the Newark and Orange franchise on a yearly basis. The team's name even lives on at the high school level.

Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray, joined by Attorney General Paula T. Dow and other Essex County law enforcement officials, announced on June 21 the creation of a county-wide Essex County Prosecutor’s Homicide/Major Crimes Task Force.

The Task Force will be made up of a total of 29 officers from the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, the Essex County Sheriff’s Office, Newark, East Orange, Irvington and Orange Police Departments. In addition, assistance will be provided by the New Jersey State Police and several suburban towns will assign officers one day a week during the summer months of June, July and August to give officers experience investigating major crimes and to enhance the partnerships among law enforcement agencies.

The incumbent ward council candidates, in a pattern found among most other primary election results elsewhere in “Local Talk” territory, turned back slate and independent challengers here June 7.

Registered city Democratic party voters who mailed in ballots or checked off their choices at polling stations endorsed sitting council members Andrea McPhatter, Jacquelyn Johnson, Quilla E. Talmadge, Sharon Fields and Lonnie P. Hughes. The party faithful picked those over a slate advocating city charger changes and several independents.

The unofficial results, barring any independent candidates who may have filed before 4 p.m. June 7 or are conducting a write-in campaign, makes the Nov. 8 General Election almost a formality. There were no city Republican candidates on June 7's ballot.

There were, however, three upsets among the primary results for municipal, Essex County and State Legislature seats.