Clear MRI, Closed Roads Top Long Valley News

The week began with a holiday and ended in full swing of the school year. It was another news-filled few days, so let’s take a look at what took place.

The news Long Valley–and more specifically, Glenn Lightner–has been waiting for finally came. The 13-year-old’s most recent MRI showed no tumors visible on his brain for the first time in three years. Lightner and his family have been battling his brain cancer since 2007 and may have taken the next step in their journey.

Washington Township Schools and West Morris Central High School opened their doors for the 2012-13 school year on Wednesday. Students filled buses that morning throughout town, but it was the parents who seemed to be smiling more than the pupils. See our photo gallery by clicking on the headline, and don’t forget to upload your own back to school pictures by going here.

After years of engineering and finding funding, reconstruction of the Middle Valley Road Bridge finally began this week. Original time table for the work was stated to take as long as eight months, but Morris County engineers believe there’s a chance the bridge could be passable before the winter months roll in. In the meantime, though, motorists will have to abide by posted detours.

With the start of the school year comes the kickoff of fall sports. We met with West Morris Central head football coach Kevin Hennelly who gave his take on the upcoming season and what to expect from the team. The ‘Pack’s season opener was Saturday on the road against Morris Knolls.

A handful of bicycle group leaders came together to pen an opinion piece recently about the need for motorists and bicyclists to respect each other on the roadways in New Jersey. This is an ongoing issue in Long Valley, as roads are windy and bike lanes are few and far between.