ORANGE - City officials lifted a nearly 28-hour "boil water" advisory on March 19 and anticipate repairs to be made on or by March 27.

City Engineer and Director of Public Works Arlene Kemp said that two breaches in a 20-inch diameter main within South Mountain Reservation should be repaired and flushed by the end of this week.

I have received anonymous phone calls that the City of Orange is planning on closing down the firehouse at Lincoln Avenue and maybe even the one on Washington Street. They are trying to negotiate collaboration with West Orange's Fire Department. I immediately contacted Mayor Eldridge Hawkins Jr.'s  publicist, Linda Cofer-Hawkins, to respond on the issue.

Dhiren Shah: Is there any company surveying the Orange Fire Department?

Linda Cofer-Hawkins: No. The City of Orange has commissioned no such survey. Private surveys and polls take place all the time.

Students of the Orange High School Dance Ensemble and Voices in Harmony will take their talents to the stage at "Kids in Concert 2010" this Thursday, March 25 at Long Branch High School.

The concert will begin at 6:30 p.m. and this year's theme is "The 20th Century - By Decade." The event marks the 12th Anniversary of the Education Law Center and is being presented by the New Jersey Education Association.

East Orange teacher Jodi Cenac was honored as "Charter School Teacher of the Year" at the New Jersey Public Charter Public Schools Association's conference March 18.

As part of the award, Cenac accepted a check for $10,000 from the association. It was the first time the association awarded a cash prize to the teacher of the year.

"That's a lot of money for a teacher," said Kean University President Dawood Farahi, a trustee of the association who presented the award. "But it speaks loudly about how important teachers are to the charter school movement."