BUZZWORTHY
To be considered for Buzzworthy , contact Cindy Schweich Handler at handler @ northjersey . com
Hawthorne
STUDENT AUTHOR BECOMES SCHOOL BENEFACTOR
It is impressive , but not news , that PAUL DUERR , 17 and a senior at Hawthorne High School , has written a book . Steel and Bone , a 92-page Western , is his fifth work to date ( his other titles are 1864 , a Civil War novella , and High Horse , AShot in the Dark and The Ultimate Resolution , three historical fiction books with military themes .) What is new with his most recent title is what he did with $ 1,000 in proceeds from its sale : He gave it back tohis school , which he says has “ changed my life so much .” Duerr went on an online shopping spree , buying $ 1,000 worth of merchandise for teachers and for the high school library . Among the items he purchased were 90 glue sticks , 144 boxes of tissues , 160 dry-erase markers , 216 pencils and 432 pens . Duerr ’ s haul also included five board games and 18 books that the library specifically wanted .
“ Paul carries an immense amount of school pride and cares deeply about our school ,” says principal Kevin Pfister . “ He ’ s an outstanding representative of our student body and has demonstrated once again that his talents extend far beyond the classroom .”
To buy aKindle version or paperback copy of Steel and Bone , orany of Duerr ’ s other books , visit amazon . com or paulbduerr . com / bookstore . — PHILIP DEVENCENTIS
Clifton
HOUNDSTOWNUSA
Steve Garibell , who grew up in Clifton , worked in the retail and financial service industry for 20-plus years , but it wasn ’ t until he adopted his dog , Cooper , that he saw a need for an interactive — read : playtime-filled — dog care experience . With his friend , Anthony Mitchell , he opened a HOUNDS TOWN USA franchise in Bergen County . Now , the two have opened their second location in Fairfield . Pet owners can find pet boarding , dog grooming , a pet taxi and retail services there , but most of all , lots of stimulation for their canine companions . “ Fully interactive pet daycare is designed to be challenging both physically and psychologically for the dogs ,” the company ’ s website notes . Pets who come home exhausted aren ’ tsick , itsays , suggesting that instead ,“ They might just have aHounds Town Hangover !”
— CINDY SCHWEICH HANDLER
Clifton
PRESERVING THE PRESERVE
Eagle Scout projects typically range from significant to monumental in scope . Even so , projects like Eagle Scout candidate Logan Bateman ’ s “ Alonzo F . Bonsal Trail and River Restoration Project ” remain an outlier . Bateman ’ s project , completed over the summer , improved five walkways along nearly two-thirds of amile of trail in the 21-acre ALONZO F . BONSAL WILDLIFE PRESERVE on the Montclair and Clifton border , planted 40 native trees , and added four bridges for people to traverse the muddy , mucky stretches , which the trail straddles . Despite the heat , Bateman , now a senior at Montclair High School , led agroup of30volunteers including fellow Scouts , MHS rowing teammates and friends and family . The improvements follow upgrades financed by the city of Clifton last fall , including the addition of 280 native trees and shrubs . Apollinator garden is also being added .
— MATTFAGAN
DUERR : ANNE-MARIE CARUSO ; PRESERVE : PHOTO COURTESY OFLOGAN BATEMAN ; HOUNDS TOWN USA : COURTESY OF HOUNDS TOWN USA
4 FALL 2022 WAYNE MAGAZINE