A fire discovered by a DPW crew that was spreading salt started sometime before 9 p.m. in the basement of a house that hadn't been occupied in at least a month Watch video

"The fire is currently under investigation," Battalion Chief Chris Szczygiel of the Passaic Fire Department said. "The arson bureau is currently following up."

A Passaic Department of Public Works crew that was out plowing following Saturday's snowstorm called in the fire at 9:20 p.m., when they saw smoke billowing from a house at 58 Bond Street, Szczygiel said.

Upon arriving at the scene, firefighters first thought the blaze was on the first floor of the house, and entered the front door but immediately had to back out after realizing that flames were concentrated in the basement, Szczygiel said.

"When the guys first went inside they almost fell through the floor, because the floor was almost burnt through," Szczygiel said.

Firefighters then fought the blaze from the outside of the house, eventually bringing it under control without injuries to any of the 50 men who responded.

Szczygiel said the fresh snow itself did not present a problem getting to or battling the blaze -- all the department's trucks have automatic chains for traction, he added. But, as with many cold-weather fires, he said, water used to beat down the flames soon froze and made footing difficult in and around the house.

The fire was fought by department's full contingent of firefighters on duty, Szczygiel said, so Clifton firefighters were put on call in case any other fires had broken out in Passaic.

Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveStrunsky. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Dogs and cats throughout New Jersey await adoption.

The history of pet photography goes back quite a bit further than the founding of icanhas.cheezburger.com. And for the record, I have both a dog and a cat, so don't read anything into which I talk about first.

courtesy of mashable.com 

The photo at right has long been accepted as the oldest photograph to show a human being. Taken in Paris in 1838 by Louis Daguerre, the scene captures a man having his shoes shined in the lower-left portion.

But Amanda Uren notes on mashable.com that modern researchers believe they've also located a child and a dog on the opposite side of the street. They have not yet been able to determine if he was leashed or being properly curbed ... yet.

courtesy of i09.com 

Cats weren't too far behind. Cyriaque Lamar states on i09.com that "the progenitor of shameless cat pictures was probably English photographer Harry Pointer (1822-1889), who snapped approximately 200 photos of his perplexed, albeit jovial, Brighton Cats. Pointer began his career shooting naturalistic photos of cats, but he realized in the 1870s that coaxing felines into ludicrous poses was an exercise in delicious absurdity."

"Pointer often arranged his cats in unusual poses that mimicked human activities -- a cat riding a tricycle, cats roller-skating and even a cat taking a photograph. Pointer increased the commercial potential of his cat pictures by adding a written greeting such as "A Happy New Year" or "Very many happy returns of the day."

Had the internet existed in Pointer's day, he would've been a very wealthy man.

Here's a gallery of pets in need of adoption in New Jersey. More homeless pets can be seen by clicking here and here.

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

Hospitals would be particularly hard hit, said one hospital president.

PATERSON -- Lawmakers and medical professionals painted a grim picture for hospitals and the state of health care overall in N.J. if Obamacare is repealed and not replaced with an alternative plan.

U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-9th Dist.), U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-6th Dist.) and Kevin Slavin, president and CEO of St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center, discuss the ramifications of repealing without replacing the Affordable Care Act on Monday at St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center.Sara Jerde | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com 

The lawmakers and other professionals gathered at St. Joseph's Medical Center days before President-elect Donald Trump, who said on the campaign trail that his administration would "repeal and replace" the Affordable Care Act, takes office.

Republicans have vowed to follow suit in repealing the health care law, but few details have been released on what would replace the law.

Kevin Slavin, president and CEO of St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center, said that under Obamacare the conversations with patients have changed. Since more patients are insured, he said, the focus is now on encouraging people to receive more comprehensive care rather than to worry about what is or is not covered.

But those discussions might change if the roughly 800,00 residents who Elizabeth Ryan, president and CEO of the New Jersey Hospital Association, say rely on Obamacare or Medicaid for insurance, once again become uninsured.

"For us to think about moving our organization through another dramatic, sudden and rapid change and being able to stay solvent financially is agonizing," Slavin said.

Hospitals are a "perfect example" of how "chaos" would ensue if the law were repealed without being replaced and thousands in New Jersey are left without insurance and in need of so-called charity care, said U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-6th Dist.) on Monday.

"They're going to come back to the emergency rooms at St. Joseph's, the uncompensated care is going to go up, the state's not going to have the money to pay for it," Pallone said, adding the process "becomes like a death spiral."

"This idea of repeal and not replace and just delay is just absurd," Pallone said.

20 youngest towns in Bergen County

Under Obamacare, more state residents became eligible for Medicaid, which Gov. Christie expanded under the healthcare law, but in return most hospitals lost millions in state aid.

If the system were to have a complete overhaul, and the state didn't increase the money set aside for charity care, it "could have a devastating impact on hospitals," Slavin said.

U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-9th Dist.) had his own critique of the healthcare law on Monday, including that he'd like to see a repeal of the "Cadillac tax," a tax penalty on employers who offer insurance plans deemed too expensive under the law.

Pascrell said he'd be willing to work with Republicans, though they don't seem interested in discussing the issue.

"These folks haven't come up with a replacement since 2009. What makes anyone think they're going to be able to do it now?" Pascrell asked.

As open enrollment date closes Jan. 31 nears, thousands of New Jerseyans have continued to sign up for Obamacare on healthcare.gov. U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwel visited the state last month to encourage people to sign up.

Burwell paid the visit along with U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D), who said Sunday that Republican lawmakers' efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act without a replacement were "reckless and dangerous." 

Sara Jerde may be reached at sjerde@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SaraJerde.

An insurance broker and the former president of United Auto Workers Local 2326 allegedly left Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield on the hook for millions.

NEWARK -- A former union official and an insurance broker have been indicted on conspiracy charges after allegedly defrauding a Newark-based health insurance provider out of approximately $6.6 million, federal prosecutors announced Monday.

Under an indictment returned in U.S. District Court, Sergio Acosta, 66, the former president of United Auto Workers Local 2326, and Lawrence Ackerman, 53, both face one count each of conspiring to defraud Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield and conspiring to defraud the union's self-insured healthcare plan, according to the office of U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman.

Acosta, of Passaic, was responsible for overseeing the local's benefit plan during his time as president, and continued serving as a trustee even after taking a job with the union's national leadership, according to prosecutors.

Union president gets 3 years for embezzling $200K

Prosecutors say Ackerman, of Old Tappan, created two shell companies -- Atlantic Business Associates and Atlantic Medical Associates -- that he used to market healthcare insurance to people who weren't actually employed by the companies.

Prosecutors say the two men used Ackerman's companies to cover 700 to 800 ineligible participants, who Ackerman allegedly recruited from across the country.

Acosta allegedly permitted some of those ineligible participants to remain on the union's self-insured healthcare plan after Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield discovered the fraud and rescinded coverage.

Acosta and Ackerman each face up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Prosecutors say both will be arraigned at a later date.

Thomas Moriarty may be reached at tmoriarty@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ThomasDMoriarty. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

The victims were in their 80s

WAYNE-- An 80-year-old man shot and killed his wife Monday before turning the gun on himself, the Passaic County Prosecutor's Office said.

Authorities say Daniel Martone fatally shot Barbara Martone, 81, around 3:30 p.m. at their Dwyer Street home and then shot himself.

The investigation into the incident was ongoing late Monday, the prosecutor's office also said.

Paul Milo may be reached at pmilo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@PaulMilo2. Find NJ.com on Facebook.  

Dennis Pride was shot in Paterson Monday.

PATERSON -- A city man died Monday after being shot, authorities said.

Dennis Pride, 30, was shot at about 6:32 p.m. in front of a restaurant on Broadway, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes said.

He later died of his injuries at St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center, Valdes said. Police have not made any arrests.

Anyone with information should call the Paterson Police Department Detective Bureau at (973) 321-1120 or the prosecutor's office tips line at (877) 370-PCPO or email tips@passaiccountynj.org.

Passaic County had 20 homicides in 2016. Pride's death and an apparent murder-suicide in Wayne appear to the first of the year.

Myles Ma may be reached at mma@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MylesMaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

After shocking Phillipsburg last Saturday night, Cranford makes the biggest move up in the NJ.com Top 20 wrestling rankings this week. Click through the slideshow to see how high the Courgars climbed.

The number of reported crimes in Paterson reached a 25-year-low in 2016, according to data reported by the city.

PATERSON -- The number of reported crimes in Paterson reached a 25-year-low in 2016, according to data reported by the city.

Overall reported crime fell by about 12 percent from 2015 to 2016. The drop is the second annual decrease for the city, after 5,060 crimes were reported in 2016.

However, Paterson had 19 homicides, the same as in 2015, according to the city Uniform Crime Report. Robberies fell by about 20 percent.

Mayor Joey Torres said he was encouraged by the statistics and said he was confident Police Director Jerry Speziale would continue to reduce crime.

Speziale credited the work of city police officers.

"Together with the administration we will continue to work together to find new and innovative approaches to further reduce crime and improve our residents' quality of life," he said.

Wayne man kills wife, self, police say

City officials announced a large policing initiative at the end of 2015 after a spate of shootings left three people dead in two days.

The number of shootings spiked in August 2016, with four people killed and 16 wounded. The city received a $750,000 federal grant in July to put New Jersey State Police patrols to Paterson to curb gang violence.

City budget shortfalls have forced the police department to reduce overtime payments, but Police Director Jerry Speziale has said the reduction wouldn't lead to an increase in crime.

The city had its first homicide of 2017 Monday, when a 30-year-old was fatally shot on Broadway.

Reported crime also fell in Newark in 2016, to a near-50-year low.

Myles Ma may be reached at mma@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MylesMaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Prosecutors say Salvatore Conte is the fifth physician indicted in connection with the FBI investigation, which has seen 27 doctors plead guilty under agreements with prosecutors.

NEWARK -- A Passaic County physician has been indicted on fraud and kickback charges in connection with a long-running bribery scheme involving a Parsippany-based clinical laboratory, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday.

Under the 10-count indictment, Salvatore Conte, 52, is charged with both conspiring to violate and actual violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute and the Federal Travel Act, as well as wire fraud statutes, according to the office of U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman.

Conte, of Totowa, is one of more than two dozen physicians charged in connection with an FBI investigation into Biodiagnostic Laboratory Services LLC, which prosecutors say involved millions of dollars in bribes paid to physicians in exchange for referring patients for testing.

Conte is specifically accused of soliciting more than $130,000 in bribes from Biodiagnositc representatives in exchange for referring patients, a practice prosecutors say generated more than $525,000 in business for the company between February 2009 and April 2013.

He is the fifth physician indicted in connection with the FBI investigation, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office; a total of 27 physicians, including one of those indicted, have pleaded guilty to various charges under agreements with prosecutors.

Bernard Greenspan, the first physician to plead not guilty to charges from the investigation, was indicted in March 2016 and is scheduled for trial Jan. 31. Ahmed El Soury and Thomas Savino were both indicted in December.

Another physician, Brett Ostrager, also was indicted in August 2015 but pleaded guilty later that year. He was sentenced in June to 37 months in prison.

The company itself pleaded guilty in June to conspiracy charges before U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chesler in Newark, who ordered it to forfeit its $56,000 in remaining assets.

Few details have been publicly released about the nature and extent of the investigation, but in at least one case a doctor implicated in the scheme wore an FBI body wire and recorded numerous conversations with laboratory representatives and other physicians, according to statements made in U.S. District Court.

Doctor who wore wire avoids jail time

A total of 41 people have pleaded guilty in connection with the investigation. Authorities say it is believed to be the largest number of medical professionals ever prosecuted in a bribery case.

Prosecutors say Conte will be arraigned at a later date.

Thomas Moriarty may be reached at tmoriarty@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ThomasDMoriarty. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Officers at the jail strip and cavity searched inmates brought in for minor offense's, in violation of state law, a lawsuit alleges.

PATERSON -- A class action lawsuit alleges that officers at the Passaic County Jail improperly strip-searched inmates in violation of state law. 

The lawsuit filed in Passaic County Superior Court alleges that strip and cavity searches were performed on those arrested for minor crimes.

Two Paterson men brought the lawsuit on behalf of themselves and others who may have been improperly strip-searched at the Passaic County Correctional Facility.

Cornell Johnson and Dondre Goodwin claim they were both strip-searched at the Paterson facility after being brought in during the summer of 2016 for non-payment of child support. 

Both men claim they did not consent to the searches and the lawsuit claims that Johnson was released before he even saw a judge because it was determined that he didn't owe any child support. 

A written policy at the jail called for everyone entering to be strip-searched and without medical personnel. This violated state law, the suit alleges. 

In 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a New Jersey cases that people arrested for minor offenses can be subject to strip-searches, citing security issues. The case was brought by a New Jersey man who said he was degraded when he was strip-searched twice in Essex and Burlington counties after being arrested for an unpaid parking ticket. 

The issue was brought up again in 2015 after a similar lawsuit by a man strip-searched in Essex County after he was arrested for non-payment of child support. Like the lawsuit in Essex, the suit in Passaic differs from the Supreme Court ruling because it deals with those who have yet to see a judge. 

Since Sept. 2007, thousands were illegally strip- or cavity-searched when arrested for minor crimes such as disorderly person offenses and unpaid traffic tickets, the suit alleges.

Strip-searches were also performed simultaneously on three inmates in the same room, the lawsuit alleges.  

The county allegedly stopped the practice of strip-searching those brought in for minor offenses after the lawsuit was filed. but the case is still seeking judgment against the county, an injunction against future searches and monetary damages. 

Sheriff Richard Berdnik and Warden Michael Tolerico were named in the lawsuit.

A request seeking comment from the Sheriff's office was not immediately returned. 

Fausto Giovanny Pinto may be reached at fpinto@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @FGPreporting. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Residents and business owners can register their cameras with police.

WAYNE -- Township police are using a "camera share" program to quickly access home surveillance videos, NBC New York reported.

Police have asked residents and business owners to voluntarily register their private cameras with the department, allowing investigators to quickly access the video if crimes occur nearby.

The Wayne Police Department doesn't have live access to the cameras. Rather, residents consent to email clips to police.

Housing complex fire hospitalizes 3

The state passed a law in 2015 allowing towns to create registries of private surveillance cameras.

A number of other towns have created registries, including Linden, Trenton and Lindenwold. In these towns, police map the locations of the registered cameras and know to access them if crimes occur.

Trenton police officials said mapping private cameras would also help inform decisions on where to place city-owned cameras.

As part of the Linden program, the city plans to provide surveillance cameras to senior citizens in addition to registering existing cameras.

Myles Ma may be reached at mma@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MylesMaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Police announced charges in homicides from July 2015 and November 2016.

PATERSON -- Police announced murder charges Tuesday against three men in two separate homicides.

Brothers Jamere and Nygee Williams were charged this week with murder, attempted murder and weapons charges in the death of John Williams--no relation--and the shooting of Kamar Cooks in July 2015.

John Williams, 24, and Cooks, 26, were shot on Rosa Parks Boulevard and Warren Street.

Both Jamere and Nygee Williams were already in Passaic County Jail on unrelated drug charges, Paterson Police said in a press release.

Also on Tuesday, police arrested Domenick Deavereux on Franklin and Summer streets. The 30-year-old Paterson resident was wanted on murder and weapons charges in the death of Antonio Johnson and shooting of Otis Johnson, police said. The Johnsons are distantly related.

Paterson has good news in fight against crime

Police found Antonio Johnson on Nov. 18 in a red Cadillac that had crashed on Godwin Avenue and Rosa Parks Boulevard. He was hospitalized for a gunshot wound, but later died.

Otis Johnson walked into St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center later with several gunshot wounds. He survived.

Detectives with the Paterson Police Department and Passaic County Prosecutor's Office determined there were shootings at the scene of the crash and half a block away on Godwin Avenue.

Anyone with information should call the Paterson Police Detective Bureau at (973) 321-1120.

Myles Ma may be reached at mma@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MylesMaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Daniel Martone had diabetes and was due for heart surgery, while Barbara, 81, had battled cancer and had recently been diagnosed again, a neighbor said

WAYNE -- The township couple who died Monday when the 80-year-old husband allegedly shot his wife and then turned the gun on himself faced a host of health issues in the months before their deaths, a longtime neighbor said.

Marilyn Cooke-Gabriel, who grew up next to the Dwyer Street home of Daniel and Barbara Martone, tearfully recalled the "wonderful people" and polished dancers who lived next door.

The prosecutor's office didn't return messages Tuesday seeking more details on their deaths.

Daniel Martone had diabetes and was due for heart surgery, while Barbara, 81, had battled cancer and had recently been diagnosed again, Cooke-Gabriel said.

Private cameras keep watch over Wayne

"I don't like to go by what their last months were," said Cooke-Gabriel, who grew up on Dwyer Street and moved back when her husband died.

She remembered the Martones as the life of every party, and who took regular ballroom dancing lessons. Daniel Martone was an avid photographer.

Barbara Martone comforted Cooke-Gabriel after husband and mother passed away, she said.

"They were just really wonderful people," Cooke-Gabriel said.

The couple met at Grinkers, a restaurant in Passaic where Daniel Martone worked, according to their obituaries. He served in the Army in Germany and worked for Eastman Kodak and Agfa.

Barbara Martone worked for Easter Seal fundraising for the disabled. The two are survived by two sons and two grandchildren.

Visitation is scheduled for Friday from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Marrocco Memorial Chapel in Clifton.

Myles Ma may be reached at mma@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MylesMaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

NJ.com introduces the top 15 wrestlers in its pound-for-pound toughest wrestlers in N.J. rankings.

The owner of New Jersey Stallions Soccer claims FieldTurf, the leading U.S. maker of artificial sports fields, brushed aside repeated complaints about deterioration.

The owner of a New Jersey soccer facility claims in a new class-action lawsuit the leading U.S. maker of artificial sports fields, FieldTurf, repeatedly brushed off complaints about his failing field and told him conditions would improve over time.

The complaint, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court for New Jersey, is the third proposed class-action to be brought by customers in the state against FieldTurf in response to an NJ Advance Media investigation that detailed potential fraud.

The investigation found FieldTurf and its executives for years earned ballooning profits as sales of its popular turf, Duraspine, skyrocketed, all the while knowing fields were falling apart and would not live up to marketing and advertising claims.

Despite warnings and candid internal discussions, FieldTurf officials kept selling Duraspine and never changed their sales pitches. The turf was phased out in 2012.

FieldTurf officials have maintained they did not hide anything from customers, and that fields in New Jersey have performed well. Spokesmen for FieldTurf and the soccer club did not immediately return requests for comment.

The latest lawsuit is the first to raise concerns about indoor fields, calling into question whether FieldTurf had problems with Duraspine other than the premature deterioration of outdoor fields it has attributed to ultraviolet radiation from the sun.

Richard Gentile, owner of New Jersey Stallions Soccer in Clifton, alleges in the lawsuit his 2010 field began to deteriorate soon after installation, but FieldTurf officials told him to groom the surface and that some fraying was normal.

Gentile claims company officials told him to be patient and that conditions would improve over time. But, according to the lawsuit, the field continued to fall apart, and is now slated to be replaced this summer, after about six years of use.

"It is time for FieldTurf to be held accountable for its intentional and egregious conduct," the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit, based largely on NJ Advance Media's reporting, accuses FieldTurf of fraud, breach of warranty and unjust enrichment.

In court testimony in 2014, Ken Gilman, FieldTurf's former executive director, said failures of indoor Duraspine fields were "common" and became such a big problem that sales of the product to indoor facilities were banned.

Gilman said indoor Duraspine replacements included the field at 422 SportsPlex in Pottstown, Pa. The facility did not immediately return a request for comment.

Gilman did not testify on what caused the problem or when the ban was issued. After the ban, he said, FieldTurf sold a different type of turf, known as slit film, indoors.

http://fieldturf.nj.com/

Christopher Baxter may be reached at cbaxter@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @cbaxter1. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Jim Jarmusch's film, starring Adam Driver and inspired by the poetry of William Carlos Williams, was filmed in Paterson Watch video

In the movie "Paterson," the main character, whose name is Paterson, is a bus driver in Paterson who crafts poems in his spare time, when he isn't working or walking his bulldog, Marvin. 

When Paterson (Adam Driver) and his wife (Golshifteh Farahani) go on a movie date, they go to the theater "in the mall." 

And yes, the movie was filmed in Paterson. So news that Fabian 8 Cinema -- the theater in Paterson's Center City Mall, and the only theater in the city -- will soon be screening the film seems all too perfect, except for the fact that the movie opened two weeks ago, on Dec. 28. The Paterson Press reports that the film will arrive at the Main Street theater for a one-week stay on Friday, Jan. 27. 

It was actually another town in northern New Jersey, Rutherford, that saw an early screening of the film at the William Carlos Williams Center for the Performing Arts. The theater's board quickly seized on the connection between Williams, author of the epic poem "Paterson" -- who serves as an inspiration to Driver's amateur poet in the film -- and Rutherford, his hometown, and contacted director Jim Jarmusch's production company to make the screening happen. Jarmusch and the movie's producers attended the screening on Dec. 12.

Yet another irony is that after the single Rutherford screening, the upcoming run at Paterson's mall theater will so far be the one place the limited-release movie can be seen in New Jersey. "Paterson" is currently only available in a small number of theaters in the region -- Lincoln Plaza Cinemas and Landmark Sunshine Cinema in New York City and Ritz at the Bourse in Philadelphia. 

Tom Arnold, the Fabian 8's manager, told the Press that he had requested the film be screened at his theater on its opening date in late December, but was denied. 

"They said it was only being distributed to the top markets that show independent films," Arnold said. He learned on Tuesday that the movie would at long last be coming to Passaic County.

Joining Arnold in his efforts to bring the movie "home" were local government and civic leaders including Paterson Councilman Andre Sayegh, who was at the Rutherford screening. He had asked Carter Logan, a producer of the film in attendance who had also scored the movie, to help get the ball rolling on bringing the movie to Silk City. 

We've all enjoyed what winter has to offer at some point in our lives.

I have been going through photos for these galleries for a long time and it only now has occurred to me what makes vintage winter photos particularly special.

Look at pictures from other times of the year and you'll see people involved in a multitude of different activities in a variety of places with an equally diverse number of "toys."

Samuel Leeds Allen of Cinnaminson invented and patented the Flexible Flyer sled in 1889.Courtesy of Distejon 

But with the snow scene photos, there is a certain commonality; snow delivers a quiet sameness regardless of the locale.

People building a snowman? Looks pretty much the same everywhere. Sledding? Well, other than the fact that it's called sleigh riding in north Jersey, it looks the same.

Ice skating, shoveling, whatever activity goes with snow and ice, anyone looking at these photos would have little difficulty placing themselves in the picture. And, so many experiences were shared; plastic bags in boots to try to keep feet warm, adapting to fingerless mittens or the snow caked on winter clothes at the end of the day

MORE: Vintage photos around New Jersey

In fact, we want to see you in your photos and hear from you as well. What was the best sledding hill in your town? Best lake or pond for ice skating? If you have photos taken before 1987, attach them as .jpgs and send them to the email address shown below, and we'll use them in the Part Two of this gallery next month.

Here's a gallery of vintage photos of wintertime in New Jersey. 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 Greg Hatala on Facebook.

The man was located after allegedly passing a police officer and cutting off two other vehicles

A missing New Jersey man was among two people charged with stealing baby formula from a CVS in Rockland County, N.Y., authorities said.

Justin Kasper, left, and Eric Hawk.Suffern (N.Y.) police 

Police in Suffern, N.Y. found the man after an officer used a license plate reader on a car that passed him on Lafayette Avenue. The police officer learned that the vehicle was registered to a man who has been reported missing.

The cops then pulled over the vehicle on East Park Place after observing the driver operating erratically and cutting off two other car, police said.

While talking with the driver and a passenger, officers said they noticed a CVS shopping cart and seven large canisters of formula.

Police determined the items had been stolen from a CVS in Montebello, N.Y.

They arrested both people in the car and charged them with possession of stolen property.

NorthRockland.DailyVoice.com identified the men as Justin Kasper, 40, of Rutherford and Eric Hawk, 35, of West Milford. Kasper, the driver, had been reported missing.

Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook. 

The land will allow for an expansion of the park area near the falls. Watch video

PATERSON -- The state has paid $5.7 million to preserve a tract of land overlooking the Great Falls.

The state Department of Environmental Protection announced the purchase of the 8.5 acres Wednesday.

The land sits 100 feet above the Passaic River, northeast of Hinchcliffe Stadium and between Ryle Road and Totowa Avenue. It offers views of the Paterson Historic District and the New York skyline, said DEP Commissioner Bob Martin.

The property is also next to the Paterson Great Falls National Historic Park, allowing for the possibility of expanded trails and additional park features.

"Preserving this land is very important to enhancing the Paterson Great Falls Historic Park and preserving another aspect of the site's important heritage," Martin said.

Paterson has good news in fight against crime

The Great Falls became a national historic park in 2011. The waterfall in downtown Paterson is second to Niagara in terms of water volume east of the Mississippi River.

The falls once fueled a booming manufacturing industry in Paterson. Alexander Hamilton selected the area as the country's first planned industrial city in the late 1700s.

The state purchased the land from Paterson Renewal Associates, a limited liability corporation with an address in Lakewood. The land was previously slated for a housing development.

The New Jersey Sierra Club, which opposed the planned development, praised the purchase.

"Now what was going to be an ugly housing development is going to be an important part of the park that people can use and enjoy," said Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club.

The DEP will partner with the city to improve and manage the land.

Myles Ma may be reached at mma@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MylesMaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Two of New Jersey's all-time greats will try to help their teams win when Penn State hosts Rutgers Friday.

There are 21 wrestlers with ties to New Jersey in the NCAA rankings but only two are undefeated, four-time state champions.

Anthony Ashnault and Nick Suriano will always be linked by their unblemished high school careers, but for the first time in their collegiate careers, the two will be on opposite sides of the mat when Rutgers takes on Penn State Friday in State College, Pennsylvania. 

SLIDESHOW: N.J.'s nationally ranked NCAA wrestlers

While the duo never has and most likely never will square off individually, Ashnault's South Plainfield team defeated Bergen Catholic in the 2012-2013 season. At the time, Suriano was a freshman at Bergen Catholic. 

Suriano, now a true freshman at Penn State, is one of N.J.'s highest-ranked collegiate wrestlers, checking in at No. 3 at 125 while Ashnault, a redshirt junior, is ranked sixth at 141. 

How about the other 19? Check out the slideshow above to find to find out who they are, where they landed and whether or not they moved up or down in this week's rankings. 

Pat Lanni may be reached at planni@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @PatLanniHS. Like NJ.com High School Sports on Facebook.