The 20-year-old wanted in Warren County is driving a maroon 2004 Jeep Liberty, police said.

A woman who is wanted in a pair of Hackettstown robberies was spotted Monday in northeast Pennsylvania, town police said.

Kayla C. Rodriguez, 20, who most recently lived in the 700 block of Herbert Street in Scranton, was seen in the parking lot of Preferred Meals at 4135 Birney Ave. in Moosic, Lackawanna County, police said.

Kayla Rodriguez (Courtesy photo)

She's driving a maroon 2004 Jeep Liberty with Pennsylvania plate KDC4126, police said.

Rodriguez -- who is white, Hispanic and 5 feet 7 inches tall, with brown eyes and brown hair -- worked with her boyfriend, Franklin L Williams Jr., 20, of Wilkes-Barre, to befriend then rob people, police said.

Have you seen her?

She is charged with robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery, burglary and conspiracy to commit burglary in a June 19 incident in Hackettstown and robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery in a June 27 incident in town, police said. Her total bail is $250,000, police said.

Williams was arrested Wednesday but released under 24-hour medical care while he awaits a court date, police said.

If you know where Rodriguez is, you are asked to call town police at 908-852-3300.

Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.

All the honors for the 2016 girls soccer season.

GIRLS SOCCER SEASON IN REVIEW, 2016

Luciana Zullo of Hunterdon Central is the NJ.com Player of the Year

Hunterdon Central is in the NJ.com Team of the Year

Mike Juska of Wall is the NJ.com Coach of the Year

ALL-STATE TEAMS

First Team All-State

Second Team All-State

Third Team All-State

All-Group 4

All-Group 3

All-Group 2

All-Group 1

All-Non-Public

All-Prep

FINAL RANKINGS

Top 20

Group Rankings

Conference Rankings

CONFERENCE REVIEWS

Eva Hurm of Northern Highlands is the Big North Conference Player of the Year

Jessica Dimaond of Burlington City is the Burlington County Scholastic League Player of the Year

Tia Dupont of Our Lady of Mercy is the Cape-Atlantic League Player of the Year

Rebecca Rossett of Woodbury is the Colonial Conference Player of the Year

Katarina Nilsson of Hopewell Valley is the Colonial Valley Conference Player of the Year

Sabria Glasgow of East Brunswick is the Greater Middlesex Conference Player of the Year

Merrin Keim of Kearny  is the Hudson County Interscholastic Athletic League Player of the Year

Nicole Thomas of Park Ridge is the North Jersey Interscholastic League Player of the Year

Jamie Irwin of Roxbury is the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference Player of the Year

Amirah Ali of Eastern is the Olympic Conference Player of the Year

Frankie Tagliaferri of Colts Neck is the Shore Conference Player of the Year

Luciana Zullo of Hunterdon Central is the Skyland Conference Player of the Year

Zoe Steck of Nutley is the Super Essex Conference Player of the Year

Laurn Twaddell of Williamstown is the Tri-County Conference Player of the Year

Christina Rodgers of Scotch Plains-Fanwood is the Union County Conference Player of the Year

Brandon Gould may be reached at bgould@njschoolsports.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrandonGouldHS. Like NJ.com High School Sports on Facebook.

The firearm-only season started on Monday. Watch video

NEWTON -- Hunters killed 27 bears on the first day of the second section of the 2016 bear hunt, bringing the total number of bears killed by hunters this year to 589. 

The 2016 bear hunt could set the mark on Tuesday for the highest number of bears killed since the annual hunt reopened in 2010, during which 592 bears were killed. 

The DEP has set a target threshold for the bear hunt based on the total number of bears tagged by state wildlife officials in the current year of about 30 percent of the 197 bear tagged in 2016.

Of the 562 bears killed during the bow-and-arrow and muzzleloader season in October, 46 tagged bears were killed -- about 23 percent of bears tagged in 2016. No tagged bears were killed by hunters during the first day of the firearm-only season. 

DEP has said the bear hunt will end early if hunters hit the 30-percent threshold, a total of 59 tagged bears. 

State officials said the firearm-only season started sluggishly on Monday. Robert Geist, a spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection, speculated the numbers could be reduced due to the October hunt as well as cold weather prompting bears to hibernate. 

The slow start to the hunt provided little solace to animal rights activists opposed to the hunt, though no arrests were reported.

The county-by-county totals through Monday:

• Sussex County - 319
• Morris County - 100
• Warren County - 97
• Passaic County - 57
• Hunterdon County - 13
• Bergen County - 3
• Somerset County - 0
• Mercer County - 0

Five bear hunting zones were open to hunting in Bergen, Hunterdon, Mercer, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex and Warren counties.

More information on the bear hunt is available on the DEP's bear hunting season website.

Justin Zaremba may be reached at jzaremba@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinZarembaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

The man succumbed to his injuries after being airlifted to a Morris County hospital, police said.

A 47-year-old bicyclist died after being struck by a vehicle along Route 57 in Mansfield Township.

The crash occurred at 3:35 p.m. Monday at the entrance to the Shoppes at Mansfield, township police said. The strip mall houses a Shop Rite, Cold Stone Creamery and bagel shop, among other businesses.

Police identified the victim as Richard S. Paszkowski, of Washington. He was airlifted to Morristown Medical Center, where he later succumbed to his injuries.

Police didn't specify in a news release what led to the crash and an officer wasn't immediately available Tuesday to provide more information.

The investigation is ongoing and is being conducted by the Mansfield Township Police Department and Warren County Prosecutor's Office Serious Crash Analysis Reconstruction Team.

Also responding to the call were the Mansfield Emergency Squad, Tri-County Fire Department, Mount Bethel Fire Department and paramedics from St. Clare's Hospital in Denville.

Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.

Students on social media said a note was written in a high school bathroom.

UPDATE: Bomb threat was cause for disruption to school day

Phillipsburg High School was on lockdown late Tuesday morning, but officials weren't immediately saying why.

Lopatcong Township police cars at 11 a.m. were blocking the main entrance to the new school at Roseberry Street and Belvidere Road.

Police said the school was on lockdown and it wasn't clear when it would be lifted.

Phillipsburg Mayor Stephen Ellis clarified to say it was a soft lockdown, meaning movement is permitted within the school but no one can enter or leave.

Students on social media shared a photo of what they described as writing on a bathroom wall. The writing said a bomb would go off and there would be gunfire at 11:30 a.m.

This image from SnapChat was making the rounds among Phillipsburg High School students. 

High school senior Tyler Simon said a number of students had exchanged a picture of the note. Simon was unable to get back into the high school after attending a program at Warren County Community College.

A person who answered the phone at the school referred all questions to the Education Center.

Superintendent George Chando didn't respond to phone messages and texts, and township police Chief Jason Garcia couldn't immediately be reached.

Photographer Saed Hindash contributed to this report.

Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.

It wasn't immediately clear why the school was in that protective status.

Phillipsburg High School was on lockdown late Tuesday morning, but it wasn't immediately clear why.

Lopatcong Township police cars at 11 a.m. were blocking the main entrance at Roseberry Street and Belvidere Road in the township.

Police said the school was on lockdown and it wasn't clear when it would be lifted. Phillipsburg Mayor Stephen Ellis clarified to say it was a soft lockdown.

A person who answered the photo at the school referred all questions to the Education Center. Superintendent George Chando didn't respond to phone messages and texts and township police Chief Jason Garcia couldn't immediately be reached. A person who answered the phone at the police station said everyone was out.

 Photographer Saed Hindash contributed to this report.

Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.

Roads around the chemical company were also shut down.

A gas leak reported late Tuesday morning briefly forced the evacuation of a chemical company facility in Warren County and shut down nearby roads.

Borealis Compounds, 176 Thomas Road in the Port Murray section of Mansfield Township, was cleared of workers, township police confirmed. The first call was reported about 11:20 a.m.

A routine check of a gas meter preceded the evacuation, said Ken Wiecoreck, president of Borealis Compounds in New Jersey. Normal operations had resumed as of 1 p.m. 

No injuries were reported.

Borealis works with polymers, base chemicals and fertilizers. The company is headquartered in Vienna, Austria, and employs around 6,500 in more than 120 countries.

Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @type2supernovak and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.

The shelter in place has ended at the Lopatcong Township school.

What Lopatcong Township police described as a shelter-in-place order after a bomb threat on Tuesday at Phillipsburg High School has ended, according to a news release.

New Jersey, Warren County and local authorities determined the threat was "low level" and "law enforcement implemented best practices as recommended by Homeland Security and the New Jersey State Police Bomb Squad," township police Chief Jason Garcia said in the news release.

EARLIER: Phillipsburg High School on lockdown

An official said the new school in Lopatcong Township was searched.

A student, citing a shared photo, said the incident began when someone scrawled "There will be a bomb going off at 11:30 a.m. and gunfire" on a bathroom wall.

This image from SnapChat was making the rounds among Phillipsburg High School students.

Garcia wouldn't confirm or deny the student's report.

Once it was determined there was "no credible threat," the shelter in place was lifted, Garcia said.

The shelter in place, which "shares the same understanding" with a soft lockdown, began about 10 a.m. and was over by 11:40 a.m., he said. A soft lockdown means people can't enter or leave the school but they can move around inside.

Police remained on the campus off Roseberry Street and Belvidere Road as classes resumed, Garcia said.

Campus visits were restricted but will return to normal at dismissal, Garcia said.

The investigation is continuing and further information won't be released for now, Garcia said.

Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.

The rest of the state will get rain beginning sometime late this afternoon

More snow could be on the way to northwestern New Jersey Tuesday evening, and other parts of the state could be in for a decent soaking of rain.

Snow is likely in northwestern New Jersey this evening, according to the National Weather Service. (National Weather Service) 

Forecasters say up to 2 inches could fall in and around Sussex County, where a winter weather advisory will be in effect from 4 p.m. Tuesday until 6 a.m. Wednesday.

A wintry mix of wet snow, sleet and rain is expected to overspread the area between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., the National Weather Service said in its morning forecast discussion. 

Any snow will change to rain later in the evening, though some higher elevations could receive freezing rain.

The rest of the state will see rain, mainly after 3 p.m. 

Until then, we'll have cloudy conditions. Temperatures are in the 30s in most of the state as of 7 a.m. and should climb into the mid 40s this afternoon.

Rain will continue through the evening before gradually tapering off from southwest to northeast. Lows in most places will be in the mid to upper 30s. 

Here are rain and snow projections from a private forecasting company, the Eastern PA Weather Authority. (Eastern PA Weather Authority)  

On Wednesday, morning clouds will give way to sun. Highs will approach 50 in South Jersey and be slightly cooler elsewhere.

There's a slight chance of showers Thursday on what will otherwise be a cloudy day with temps in the 40s.

Timing and impact of Tuesday's precipitation

Here's the latest forecast on the timing and impact of Tuesday's storm system in Sussex County, as well as Carbon and Monroe counties in Pennsylvania, according to the National Weather Service. 

Timing: "A wintry mix of rain, wet snow and sleet will overspread the area late this afternoon in the Poconos and northwestern New Jersey. Precipitation then changes over to snow and could become moderate at times this evening. Snow will then change over to rain during the overnight in the warmer valleys. However, pockets of freezing rain or drizzle may develop along the high-elevation ridges."

Impacts: "Untreated roads, bridges and overpasses will become snow covered and slippery this evening. The evening rush could be impacted if steadier snow arrives in time. Hazardous travel may continue through late tonight, especially where a light glaze of icing forms."

Staff writer Len Melisurgo contributed to this report. Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

More New York City area weather

More Philadelphia area weather

Rep.-elect Josh Gottheimer has tried unsuccessfully to meet with the lawmaker he is succeeding in Congress.

WASHINGTON -- Rep.-elect Josh Gottheimer isn't waiting by the phone, but he'd still like to hear from the lawmaker he will succeed in January, Rep. Scott Garrett.

Following a nasty election with charges and countercharges over ethics violations, assault charges and embracing extremists, victorious candidate Gottheimer called and wrote to Garrett (R-5th Dist.), seeking a meeting to make sure that the transition goes smoothly, especially in regard to constituent requests for help.

"I"m eager just to make sure there's a smooth transition and for the people who we both represent, the constituents in the 5th District, nothing falls through the cracks," Gottheimer said. "If they have an issue, as far as you're concerned, there's no difference in the service that you get. Helping a veteran out is not a partisan issue."

Garrett's final legislative act

Garrett told The Record, which first reported the lack of contact between the two men, that there was no reason to meet yet.

"We'll contact him when there's something to tell him," Garrett told the newspaper.

While Garrett already has vacated his congressional office to make room for incoming members of the next Congress, spokesman Chris Carofine said the lawmaker's staff was making sure that the constituents' requests would not be lost in the transition.

"In accordance with House rules and procedures, the congressman's office is informing every constituent with an open case about their options going forward, and the process is moving along as scheduled," Carofine said. "Any information that needs to be forwarded to the incoming office will be sent in a timely manner depending on each constituent's preferences, as has been done in the past."

Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook 

The afternoon crash knocked down a utility pole and forced a brief closure of the road in Hope Township.

The driver and a passenger of a car were taken to an area hospital after a single-vehicle crash into a utility pole Tuesday afternoon in Warren County, according to New Jersey State Police.

Neither was believed to have been injured in the Hope Township, and both were taken to be evaluated as a precaution, a trooper said Tuesday night from the Hope barracks.

Reported about 12:15 p.m. in the 1000 block of Route 519, the crash remained under investigation, according to police.

Authorities closed the road for a brief time until the sedan could be towed.

The utility pole was knocked down, but anyone who lost power as a result had service restored as of Tuesday night, according to the FirstEnergy website for JCP&L.

Bomb threat disrupts school day in P'burg

Assisting state police at the scene were the Hope Volunteer Fire Department and Blairstown Ambulance Corps., according to reports from the scene.

Freelance photographer Robert Halberstadt contributed to this report from the scene.

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.

The eight-day total of 607 - including a six-day season in October and the second stage starting Monday - is the greatest number of bears killed since the annual resumed in 2010. Watch video

FREDON - New Jersey set a record with 607 bears killed during this year's hunt after 18 bears were reported killed on Tuesday, officials said.

The previous record of 592 bears killed was set in 2010, when the annual hunts resumed after a five-year absence.

A total of 562 bears were killed during an extended bear hunt during six days in October. Hunters killed 27 bears when the second stage of the season opened Monday and another 18 on Tuesday, the state Department of Environmental Protection said.

The hunt continues through Saturday.

Bears killed in the hunt are being brought to weigh stations operated by DEP, including the facility at the Whittingham Wildlife Management Area where protesters again gathered Tuesday.

Darlene De Santis of Palisades Park was among four protesters standing across the street, just before 3 p.m.

"It's a disgrace to our state," De Santis said.

Of the 45 bears brought in Monday and Tuesday, only two had been "tagged," or previously recorded, in 2016, DEP spokesman Robert Geist said.

Under the rules of the hunt, it will end early if the cumulative percentage of tagged bears that are killed reaches 30 percent, or 60 out of 197.

The tagged bear total through Tuesday was 48, including 46 in October.

That a new high would be achieved in 2016 was not unexpected. For the first time, the hunt was extended into October, when bears are more active during warmer weather.

In 2015, when the hunt lasted 10 days in December, a total of 510 bears were killed.

Six-day hunts were held from 2010 through 2014, and also in 2005 and in 2003, the year bear hunting resumed in New Jersey after a moratorium of three decades was lifted.

Annual totals from 2011 to 2014 ranged from a low of 272 to a high of 469.

Hunters killed 298 bears in 2005 and 328 in 2003.

Geist was stationed Tuesday at the weigh station in Fredon, where he reiterated DEP's commitment to other measures aimed at reducing bear encounters, such as securing garbage.

Hunting, he said, "is just one aspect of our comprehensive bear management plan."

"Obviously, it is the one that gets the most attention," Geist said.

While the hunt is taking place in eight counties, much of the activity has been in Sussex County, where 328 bears - more than half of the total - have been killed in 2016.

A hunt opponent, Doreen Frega of Saddle Brook, said Tuesday she will be protesting at the Fredon site "every day until it stops."

"It's a sinister event," she said of the hunt.

The county-by-county totals through Tuesday:

• Sussex County - 328
• Morris County - 102
• Warren County - 100
• Passaic County - 61
• Hunterdon County - 13
• Bergen County - 3
• Somerset County - 0
• Mercer County - 0

More information on the bear hunt is available on the DEP's bear hunting season website.

Rob Jennings may be reached at rjennings@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @RobJenningsNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

A chance discovery became a special Christmas gift. Watch video

When David Penner lost his wedding band at least 15 years ago, he never expected to see it again. The ring had fallen off his finger somewhere among the many acres Wyckoff's Tree Farm in White Township, and a return visit to search for it proved fruitless. 

But on Monday, thanks to a chance discovery by the farm's owner this year, the ring was back on Penner's finger after years hidden among the soil.

"I thought it was a miracle," said Penner, who is 68 and lives in Great Meadows. 

At this N.J. farm, Christmas trees come in pink, purple and blue (VIDEO)

The reunion was bittersweet for Penner. His wife, Nancy Penner, died on Sept. 30 at the age of 67, after the couple had been married for 42 years. With the return of the ring she gave him on July 20, 1974, he feels a part of her is back in his life. 

"This was a piece to come back to me, in her absence," he said. 

John Wyckoff, a third-generation tree farmer, came upon the ring by chance one morning in April. As he rode on the back of a tractor sticking trees into the ground, he caught a glint of something in the soil. He asked the driver to stop, and sifted through the dirt to find a ring. He had often found lost trifles on the farm, like sunglasses and children's toys, but never something as valuable as a wedding band. 

Noting a distinctive pattern on the outside and, inscribed within, "To David. Love, Nancy" and a wedding date, Wyckoff hoped with a large enough platform, the news of his discovery might reach the right person before Christmas. He got his wish. 

A video and post on NJ.com last week drew interest from readers, and soon people were reaching out to Wyckoff. 

"I got probably about half a dozen emails of people trying to give me leads," Wyckoff said. "One was right on."

Penner's sister-in-law was the first person to call him to alert him to the discovery. Watching the video on Saturday, he was immediately sure that it was his ring. His sister-in-law urged him to call Wyckoff's as soon as possible. But Penner didn't call -- he drove right over. 

The farm was swarming with people on the busy Saturday, but Wyckoff took the time to invite Penner into his house to see the ring. Penner knew the date within the ring, which Wyckoff had withheld when sharing the story. But Wyckoff wanted to be prudent, and asked for a wedding certificate as well. Penner offered to show ID, but Wyckoff insisted. 

"That's no problem," Penner remembered saying. "I'll go to the safe deposit box on Monday get out the certificate."

Penner is now wearing a wedding band for the first time since the day he lost it. He never replaced it, feeling there could be no proper replacement for the original ring. 

"We had each other," said Penner. "That was the main thing."

Andrew Doerfler may be reached at adoerfler@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @adoerfler or on Facebook. 

See which players, coaches, and teams were honored by NJ.com

BOYS SOCCER SEASON IN REVIEW, 2016

• Mason Toye of Seton Hall Prep is the NJ.com Player of the Year

• Christian Brothers Academy is the NJ.com Team of the Year

• Evan Baumgarten of Ramapo is the NJ.com Coach of the Year

ALL-STATE TEAMS

• All-State first, second and third teams

• All-Group 4

• All-Group 3

• All-Group 2

• All-Group 1

• All-Non-Public

MUST WATCH: NJ.com's Top 25 plays of 2016

FINAL RANKINGS

• The NJ.com Top 50

• Group and conference rankings

CONFERENCE REVIEWS

• Sebastian Varela of Ramapo is the Big North Conference Player of the Year

• Matt Horner of Bordentown is the Burlington County Scholastic League Player of the Year

• Jack Sarkos of Mainland is the Cape-Atlantic League Player of the Year

• Sean Murphy of Haddon Township is the Colonial Conference Player of the Year

• Sam Serxner of Princeton is the Colonial Valley Conference Player of the Year

• Matt Mischler of Monroe is the Greater Middlesex Conference Player of the Year

• Paul Kondatowicz of St. Peter's Prep is the Hudson County Interscholastic Athletic League Player of the Year

• Deydiry Chamba of Harrison is the North Jersey Interscholastic Conference Player of the Year

• Steven Hadley of Delbarton is the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference Player of the Year

• Elliot Cumba of Cherry Hill West is the Olympic Conference Player of the Year

• P.J. Ringel of Marlboro is the Shore Conference Player of the Year

• Steven Bednarsky of Gill St. Bernard's is the Skyland Conference Player of the Year

• Walter Hernandez of Newark East Side is the Super Essex Conference Player of the Year

• Sinan Tuzcu of Glassboro is the Tri-County Conference Player of the Year

• John Murphy of Scotch Plains-Fanwood is the Union County Conference Player of the Year

Brian Deakyne may be reached at bdeakyne@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrianDeakyne. Richard Greco may be reached at rgreco@njadvancemedia.com.  Follow him on Twitter @RichardGrecoHS . Find NJ.com on Facebook.

'Had the Pohatcong Township officers not responded so quickly and efficiently, my dad wouldn't be here with us today.'

The trauma may prevent Jeremy Hewens from remembering all the details of the crash. But they're clear to his family.

"Unusually warm weather for January, a typically deserted road, a blind corner, a distracted driver, and my dad (who probably could have won an award for bicycle safety, if there was such a thing) all collided in one terrible moment. Timing was everything, as I guess it usually is when accidents occur," his daughter, Chelsea Hewens Davis, said in a statement thanking Pohatcong Township police for their aid.

Jeremy Hewens (Courtesy photo) 

Hewens, of Hunterdon County's Holland Township, stood with family and officers in a photo posted with the statement.

He was 66 at the time of the Warren County crash, and the assistant director of Hunterdon Family Medicine at Delaware Valley, where the grandfather and 2014 New Jersey Family Physician of the Year had spent his entire medical career.

On Jan. 7, he was riding north along the Delaware on River Road when he was hit by a car going in the opposite direction.

He suffered serious head trauma. During his recovery, the family's statement said, he had to be reminded of details of the crash and those who helped him.

"Had my dad left a minute later on his bike ride, or stopped for a few minutes longer to take pictures of the river or a passing train, perhaps the accident never would have happened," Hewens Davis said. "But it did, and that same precise timing is what also saved my dad's life. Had the Pohatcong Township officers not responded so quickly and efficiently, my dad wouldn't be here with us today."

The family's full statement is below:

The 59-year-old driver suffered a medical emergency prior to losing control, according to Greenwich Township police.

A 59-year-old Warren County man was flown by medical helicopter for treatment following a single-vehicle crash Wednesday afternoon on Route 57, authorities said.

Frank Umbrello, of Thatcher Avenue in Stewartsville, Franklin Township, experienced a medical emergency while driving east, veered off the road and hit the sign for Beacon Street before striking a large tree in the 700 block of Route 57 in Greenwich Township, according to township police Lt. Dennis Cahill.

Umbrello was trapped in the Honda Element and had to be cut free by the Greenwich Township Emergency Squad, police said.

He suffered minor injuries in the crash and was flown by a New Jersey State Police helicopter to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, New Jersey, due to the medical episode, Cahill said. Citing privacy laws, police declined to elaborate on the medical emergency.

Tractor-trailer tangles with tree

No other vehicles were involved in the crash, which occurred about 3:25 p.m., and Umbrello had no passengers at the time, police said.

In addition to the squad and state police, Greenwich Township police were assisted at the scene by Lopatcong Township police and the Stewartsville Volunteer Fire Company, and at the landing zone by the Franklin Township Fire Department.

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.

The "golden age" of supermarkets was the 1950s and 1960s.

For parents navigating the aisles of a supermarket with a child in tow, the seat section of the shopping cart is a necessity, I'd say.

It's better to keep young'uns confined in the wagon than risk having them slip unwanted boxes of sugary cereal into the cart when mom isn't looking, or worse, handle and drop things leading to the dreaded call of "cleanup in aisle five!"

When I was a kid, I had to accompany my mother on countless grocery shopping trips. And, to fight the boredom, I would mentally add up the running total of everything my mother bought and see if it matched what the cashier rang up at the end.

Then, New Jersey instituted sales tax in 1966 and messed everything up.

MORE: Vintage photos around New Jersey

The "golden age" of supermarkets was the 1950s and 1960s, according to groceteria.com. Supermarket ads dominated daytime television and advertisements were a great source of revenue for newspapers. The centrally located stores stocked everything we needed.

Well, almost everything.

Where a supermarket didn't fill the bill, local food stores and shops completed the task. One of the most enduring aroma-triggered memories many of us have is the delicious smell of the local delicatessen, ethnic food store, butcher shop or mom-and-pop grocery.

Here's a gallery of vintage food vendors large and small in New Jersey. Be sure to have captions enabled to read all about them.

Want more? Click Here and here for a couple of galleries from previous years.

Greg Hatala may be reached at ghatala@starledger.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregHatala. Find The Star-Ledger on Facebook.

Newly released data from the 2011-2015 American Community Survey indicates the state is still having a difficult time recovering from the recession.

The most remarkable thing about post-recession New Jersey isn't that the state is struggling, it's how indiscriminate the pain has been.

A middling farmer in Cumberland County. A poor resident of crime-torn Newark. A member of the state's highest tax bracket in Somerset County. 

All are likely worse off today than they were a decade ago. 

New data from the Census, released today, shows wide swaths of the Garden State remain slow to get back on their feet following the Great Recession.

There are exceptions, of course. Urban-adjacent communities like Maplewood, Summit or Westfield have seen growth in most key economic areas, but overall the news is not good.  

Census data show median income in the state fell nearly 5 percent from the years leading up to the recession when compared to the five years that followed, outpacing the national decline during that time period. 

Housing values too have dropped 20 percent in New Jersey between those time periods, while they fell only 13 percent nationally. However, housing costs have the opposite trend -- New Jersey housing costs fell less than the national average, and remain higher than the rest of the nation.

A closer look at year-to-year data reveals weak growth in the past few years. New Jersey was ranked last in the nation in income growth from 2014 to 2015. 

The state has been lagging behind the country in unemployment as well, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. While unemployment has dropped from its high in 2009, the state has not quite reached pre-recession levels. 

New Jersey entered the recession in a difficult fiscal situation, which put it in a tough spot when the economy began to tank, said Jon Whiten, vice president of New Jersey Policy Perspectives, a liberal-leaning, Trenton-based think tank.

"The impulse of the state legislature and governor was to cut costs, when usually a recession is a time to increase revenue," he said.

In an era of growth concentrated on urban centers, the state has continuously struggled to revive major cities that could attract jobs and businesses, he said. 

Many young people are leaving the state to get better access to jobs and better living environments, he said. The state has the highest percentage of millennials living with their parents, a large obstacle to growth in New Jersey.

"When you combine high costs with a stagnated economy, there's no path for people starting out in the job market," he said.

Meanwhile, Census data has previously shown that residents have been moving out of the state, leading to a slowdown in its population increase.

Erin Petenko may be reached at epetenko@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @EPetenko. Find NJ.com on Facebook.  

The command hierarchy for the next several years, and a succession plan beyond that, is being developed.

The command hierarchy for the next several years within the Phillipsburg Police Department is taking shape.

Robert Stettner was named the department's acting chief effective Nov. 27. As captain, he served as officer in charge following Chief James Faulborn's retirement Aug. 1.

The long-term holder of the chief's position will be determined through a civil service test next spring, along with a plan for succession within the command structure, Mayor Stephen Ellis said. That becomes particularly important as higher-ranking officers near retirement.

As P'burg chief steps down, captain steps up

Beneath the chief are two captains, five lieutenants and five sergeants. There are 36 officers total on the Phillipsburg force -- along with two unfilled positions -- four or five of whom are in or near the 20-to-25-year range, Ellis said.

By setting civil service tests for the chief, lieutenants and captains in April, the mayor said a command structure through the remainder of this and the next four-year mayoral term should be in place by May, with a succession plan developed after that.

In the meantime, Stettner, who did not return a call for comment, heads the department.

Police chief salaries in Warren County

The acting chief title -- a provisional appointment pending the civil service test results -- was warranted to recognize Stettner's authority and merit, Ellis said.

"We want someone in a leadership role," the mayor said. He later added: "I'm comfortable right now that we have the right leadership structure in place."

Stettner was promoted to captain in 2012 when Faulborn became the full-time chief. He is the son of former town Councilman James Stettner and his brother, James Stettner II, is also on the force.

The step up to acting chief will boost his salary. The chief position, under an ordinance approved in March, has a base salary of $125,041.27 for 2016 with annual increases up to about $132,000 by 2019.

Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @type2supernovak and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.

Hunters killed 13 bears on Wednesday, the lowest single-day total of the December hunt so far

FREDON - New Jersey's record-setting bear hunt tally rose to 620 on Wednesday, with three days remaining on the season.

Hunters brought 13 bears to weigh stations operated by the state Department of Environmental Protection on Wednesday, officials said.

Eighteen bear kills were reported on Tuesday, when New Jersey surpassed the previous high of 592 bears killed in the 2010 hunt.

The second stage of the 2016 bear hunt began Monday with 27 bears killed.

A total of 562 were killed during a six-day season in October, the first time since bear hunting resumed in 2003 after a three-decade moratorium that the season was extended beyond December.

Hunter sues over social media claims he killed Pedals the bipedal bear

Only three of the 58 bears killed in the second stage so far had been "tagged," or previously recorded by DEP in 2016, decreasing the prospects for an early end to the hunt scheduled to conclude Saturday.

Under the rules, the hunt would be suspended if the cumulative percentage of tagged bears that are killed reaches 30 percent, or 60 out of 197.

However, with 46 tagged bears killed in October, that total has risen only to 49 in three days.

Elaine Dunn, a bear hunt opponent from Bloomingdale, said protesters are moving ahead with plans for a demonstration on the hunt's expected final day, Saturday, across the street from the weigh station at the Wittingham Wildlife Management Area in Fredon.

Protesters began arriving in Fredon on Monday morning, about a half-hour before the first hunter arrived.

DEP spokesman Bob Considine said no arrests had been made during the hunt's second stage.

Three protesters were arrested in Fredon on the first day of the October hunt and charged with disorderly conduct and other offenses after allegedly straying beyond the area reserved for demonstrators. They are due to appear Thursday night in Andover Township municipal court.

While the hunt is playing out in eight counties, much of the focus, as in prior years, is on Sussex County. More than half of the bears killed in the hunt were in Sussex County, DEP officials said.

New Jersey Fish and Game council member Phil Brodhecker, contacted Wednesday by NJ Advance Media, reiterated his support for the hunt and said farmers had experienced the impact of the growing bear population.

"You shouldn't really need electric fences around chicken coops. That's a true indicator we have too many bears," said Brodhecker, a farmer from Hampton.

New Jersey Sierra Club Director Jeff Tittel, a critic of DEP's approach to bear management, questioned assertions of bear population growth.

"We don't really know how many non-tagged bears there are," said Tittel. He said the DEP has focused too heavily on hunting and should be considering non-lethal strategies to reduce bear encounters with people.

Considine said last week that DEP's management plan includes measures other than hunting, such as encouraging residents to secure their garbage.

The county-by-county totals through Wednesday:

• Sussex County - 335
• Morris County - 104
• Warren County - 103
• Passaic County - 61
• Hunterdon County - 14
• Bergen County - 3
• Somerset County - 0
• Mercer County - 0

Rob Jennings may be reached at rjennings@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @RobJenningsNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.