Schools in various parts of the state are reporting delayed openings due to Monday's nor'easter

Soggy conditions, road closures and other problems related to the nor'easter that swept across New Jersey Monday night have forced some schools to announce delayed openings and closures for Tuesday, Jan. 24, according to individual district Web sites and WABC 7 New York, as well as News 12 New Jersey. 

This list will be updated as more information becomes available. 

ATLANTIC COUNTY 

Brigantine public schools, 2-hour delayed start 

BURLINGTON COUNTY 

Bass River Township, New Gretna, 2-hour delay

MONMOUTH COUNTY 

Henry Hudson RSD (2-hour delay) 

Atlantic Highlands (10 a.m. start) 

Highlands Boro schools, 2-hour delayed start 

Monmouth Beach Elementary, 9:45 a.m. 

MORRIS COUNTY 

Click here to see Morris County delayed openings-closures 

OCEAN COUNTY 

Barnegat Township schools 

Lacey Township schools 

Lighthouse Christian Academy, 2-hour delayed start 

Little Egg Harbor Township,m 9:50 a.m. 

Long Beach Island, two-hour delayed start 

Manahawkin Methodist preschool, 11 a.m. start 

PASSAIC COUNTY 

West Milford public schools 

SUSSEX COUNTY 

Click here for Sussex County school information 

UNION COUNTY 

Honor Ridge Academy, Clark, two-hour delayed start 

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

The victim was not immediately identified

PATERSON-- Police are investigating a fatal shooting at a city gas station Monday night, Public Safety Director Jerry Speziale confirmed.

City and Hawthorne police responded to Rt. 20 and 1st Avenue around 6 p.m. on a report of a shooting. The victim, identified only as a white male pending notification of next of kin, was found lying on the ground, Speziale said. He was taken to St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center, where he later died.

Anyone with any information is being asked to call 973-321-1120.

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

Get your nominations in for the winter edition of our statewide contest

UPDATE, Jan. 24, 11:15 a.m.: We've added a few new nominations to the photo gallery above. Congrats to those schools nominated, and thanks to the fans who sent pics. (And Haddonfield, you're in - you can take a break.)

If your school isn't represented in the photo gallery, what are you waiting for? If you're waiting for the rain to stop - well, it slowed down, at least. Games should be back on. It's time to take a pic and get your school nominated, the first and most essential step to having your school community participate in this contest.

The nomination period only lasts until next Monday, Jan. 30, at 11:59 p.m. There's no time to waste.

Nominating your school couldn't be easier. Just take a pic, and use the form below to submit it.

Can you feel the gym shake? Are you looking at a sea of red, white and blue, or have the bleachers become a balmy beach scene in the middle of January? Is that organized cheer still rattling in your head?

Student section at work.

Whether it's themes, cheers, chants or banners, we know there are some student sections that help the team catch fire - home or away. We want to know which N.J. school has the best student section this winter, and we're relying on those student sections - and the rest of the school community - to show us - with pictures, with testimonials and in the end, with votes.

We're launching the winter version of our best student section contest (Oakcrest won the football version this fall). It's journey that will last until the end of February, and it starts with an critical first step - a nomination.

To be a part of all that follows, your school has to get a nomination by Monday, Jan. 30. That's not a ton of time, but nominating a school is super easy.  Someone just needs to take at least one picture of the student section and use the form below to submit it.  That's it. Done deal.

Our photographers will also be around the state looking for student sections, and we'll use some of our photos to make nominations too, but don't count on us - we can't be everywhere. Make it a sure thing, and nominate your school with a pic.

Contest format:
Nominations will be open through Monday, Jan. 30. We will then split the nominations into regions and launch a one-week qualifying poll for each region. Your voting in the regional qualifying polls will determine the schools that move on to an elimination bracket, with week-long head-to-head voting matchups to determine regional finalists. We will skip the regional finals and have one big statewide final for all the would-be regional finalists.  The whole thing is targeted to wrap up Monday, Feb. 27.

Nomination and photo submission notes:
• The form below will work with your cell phone - you can nominate your school from the game!
• NJ.com staff will also make nominations with our own photography.
• Only upload photos you have shot or that you personally received permission to use. We can't use photos from other media outlets. Please don't grab and submit photos from other websites.
• Multiple nominations for a school are welcome, but we may not use every photo.
• Submitted photos will be added to the gallery after some processing time; nominations will be compiled and listed on top of this post after the weekend's play.

So start talking and sharing - rally the troops to nominate, vote and make your student section officially the best in N.J.

SUBMIT YOUR NOMINATION PHOTOS

All 14 No. 1-ranked wrestlers remained at the top but several newcomers found their way into the top eight.

Leaders from the North Jersey Super Football Conference think an expansion of the playoffs would help regular-season scheduling.

The leaders behind a new proposal that would drastically change the high school football playoffs want you to answer this question.

How is this not better?

“We have what we think is a sound plan,” said Westwood athletic director Danny Vivino. “It’s not perfect, but it’s better than what we have. That’s the key word -- better.”

BELOW: Read the proposal in it's entirety

The new proposal, which was crafted by Vivino, River Dell athletic director Denis Nelson and the North Jersey Super Football Conference, is aiming to revamp the entire playoff structure in an attempt to make regular-season scheduling fairer and more equitable. 

“The whole plan was motivated by scheduling and making scheduling as equitable and fair as possible,” said Joe Piro, Nutley athletic director and President of the North Jersey Super Football Conference. “This proposal enables you to make great matchups and not be afraid to play great games or perennial powers because if you lose, you won’t make the playoffs.”

The keys of the proposal are to: 

• Create public-school playoff brackets by splitting the state into seven groups based on enrollment and two sections based on geography. That makes 14 sections with 16 qualifiers in each from a pool of 22 teams. That increases the number of public-school qualifiers from 160 to 224 and means 73 percent of the state's public schools qualify. In the current format, 52 percent qualify. 

• Keep the state's three non-public sections the same but increase the number of qualifiers in each from eight to 12. The increase would ensure automatic entry for every team in Group 3 and Group 4 while five teams would miss the cut in Group 2. 

• Maintain eight- or nine-game regular-season schedules despite adding an extra round of the playoffs. Teams can accomplish that by playing from Week 0 to Week 8 or starting Week 1 and using Thanksgiving week. 

• Keep the power-point formula used to qualify essentially the same with a slight tweak to accommodate the new seven-group format. 

"We want to be as transparent as possible," Piro said. "We don't want to hide anything. We want everybody to take a look at it and understand it. We're willing to speak in front of any organization to explain what it's all about and hopefully by the 2018 season, we would be able to institute it." 

The proposal, which was presented to league presidents last Tuesday and will be presented to the NJSIAA's Football Committee tomorrow, hopes to fix several inequalities that popped up this fall for teams like Butler and Northern Highlands. 

Butler missed the NJIC-based North 1, Group 1 playoffs at 6-2, losing to North 2, Group 1 finalists Weequahic and Shabazz by eight total points, while Northern Highland missed the cut in favor of a Fair Lawn team that it beat, 44-14. 

In this case, Fair Lawn was 7-1 at the cut against teams that finished 20-59 while Northern Highlands (4-4) lost four games to two sectional champions and two finalists during an eight-game stretch against teams that finished 55-33. 

It brings up this question. 

"With football under attack and programs potentially folding, do you want to give Fair Lawn a murder's row and let them go 1-9?" asked Vivino. "On the other side, is it fair to Northern Highlands when it was clearly one of the top eight teams in the section?" 

Whether that question can be answered or whether those types of issues exist around the state is still to be determined but critics of the proposal argue that expanding the playoffs creates more problems. 

Bud Kowal, Ewing athletic director and President of the West Jersey Football League, argues a team like Northern Highlands would have been out-matched anyway. 

“If you want to say that some teams are not getting in that deserve it, I’m going to say that more teams that don’t deserve it are already getting in anyway, and the teams that theoretically deserve to get in don’t really have a chance to win the championship," Kowal said, pointing out first-round games that would pit a No. 1 seed against a No. 16 seed.

In the case of the hypothetical section South Jersey, Group 6, top-seeded Manalapan would play a West Windsor-Plainsboro South team that was 2-6 at the cutoff. 

On the other side of the argument, Vivino said one-sided games already happen, noting that the top two seeds in each section went 37-3 in the first round with an average margin of victory of 29 points. 

Last season, there appears to be seven teams that missed the playoffs with records better than .500. If the proposal was put in place last season, 57 teams that were sub-.500 at the cutoff would have qualified. 

Kowal said that's the type of situation that led to conference expansion in the first place. 

"The West Jersey Football League got together because we had mismatched games that we couldn't do anything about," Kowal said. "Now you're going to put those type of games in the playoffs?"

Kowal, who also questioned the proposal's schedule, is a member of the NJSIAA's Football Committee that will listen to the proposal tomorrow morning.

"I'm not opposed to change, but it has to be change that's good for everyone and not just good for the elite that want to say we half a half state champion. That's the end game." 

Ruskin Magamedov, 57, of of Fair Lawn was shot about 6 p.m. Monday at First Avenue Gas.

PATERSON - A Bergen County man was identified Tuesday as the victim in a fatal shooting at a local gas station, according to the Passaic County Prosecutor's Office.

Ruskin Magamedov, 57, of of Fair Lawn was shot about 6 p.m. Monday at First Avenue Gas, located at First Avenue near Route 20, authorities said in a statement.

Magamedov, who was found lying on the ground, was taken to St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center, where he died shortly after the shooting.

Authorities did not say what may have motivated the shooting.

"The investigation is active and ongoing," Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes said in a news release.

Investigators ask anyone with information about the crime to contact the Passaic County Prosecutor's Office at 1-877-370-PCPO or tips@passaiccountynj.org.

Callers may also contact Paterson police at 973-321-1120.

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

ATM skimmers were installed in Bloomingdale from Dec. 23 through Dec. 26, police said.

BLOOMINGDALE -- Police are asking for the public's help in finding two men caught on surveillance footage installing ATM skimmers at a local bank last month. 

Police in Bloomingdale and Jefferson released images of the two suspects on their Facebook pages Monday in hopes of catching the men.

Police said the devices were installed at Lakeland Bank at 28 Main St. in Bloomingdale on Dec. 23 and removed on Dec. 26.

A number of residents called police to report unauthorized withdrawals on ATM/Debit cards, after the incident occurred. Similar incidents were reported in Jefferson Township and Lincoln Park at other Lakeland Bank branches.

Jefferson police have said at least 20 people had money stolen from their bank accounts between Dec. 23 and Jan. 2 due to ATM skimming at 5729 Berkshire Valley Road.

Police are still warning residents who used the ATM during the timeframe to change their pin numbers, monitor their accounts and report any unusual activity. 

Anyone with information can contact the Jefferson Police Department at 973-697-1300 or the Bloomingdale Police Department at 973-838-0158.

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

The most fun photos are the ones that just ... happened.

Posed vintage photographs are invaluable, certainly.

Who doesn't treasure the formal wedding photos that show the bride, groom and attendants donning styles of the times. Similarly, the prom picture taken by a professional photographer captures a memorable moment in one's timeline.

In truth, the prom picture also probably has a lot of people asking themselves, "What possessed me to wear that?".

MORE: Vintage photos around New Jersey

Families take holiday photos each year that allow friends to see how children have grown. Graduation photos are lovingly mounted on mantles and walls by parents and grandparents.

Yet I think a lot of people would agree with me that the most fun photos are the ones that just ... happened.

In my family, simply saying the words "knobby knees" makes everyone think of the same photo -- this one. That's me on the left. 

I'm talking about pictures that were taken with cameras that did not allow the photographer to see what the shot would look like until the film was developed - you know, the pre-Polaroid, pre-digital days (we've all left rolls of undeveloped film in drawers for longer than we'd like to admit, haven't we?).

But it was this same inability to know what the picture looked like that resulted in some of the best candid photos. Like the ones in this gallery, all from pre-digital days, candid photos can provide a chuckle or simply a natural look into a time and place from days gone by.

Here's a gallery of such vintage candid photos from New Jersey. Enable captions to read about them, and if you'd like more, click here and here to see previous candid galleries.

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

Linda Hardan, 22, pleaded guilty last year to sexual assault and child endangerment.

PATERSON - A former high school substitute teacher who sexted with students and engaged in sex acts with them reportedly has been sentenced to three years in prison.

Linda Hardan (File photo) 

Linda Hardan, 22, pleaded guilty last year to second-degree sexual assault and two counts of child endangerment as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors that called for a five-year sentence.

However, a judge on Monday said there were mitigating factors that called for no more than three years in prison, according to a NorthJersey.com report.

Superior Court Judge Miguel de la Carrera, sitting in Passaic County, said the woman - due to her strict religious upbringing - apparently lived a sheltered life that stunted her emotional growth, according to the report.

In court last year, Hardan admitted to sending sexually explicit photos of herself to a 16-year-old student, performing oral sex with another 16-year-old student, and engaging in similar sexual activity with a 14-year-old she met while working as a substitute teacher at the Haledon public schools.

School stocks OD antidote

The Passaic County Prosecutor's Office has said two of the students were from Manchester Regional High School and the other two were from Haledon Public School.

Hardan, who has been on house arrest, will be eligible for parole after one year and on probation for the rest of her life, according to NorthJersey.com.

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

The NJSIAA football committee approved changes to its qualification system and sent a proposal to blow-up the current playoff format back for revisions

ROBBINSVILLE – The NJSIAA Football Committee approved changes to its power points system on a trial basis and sent a proposal that would revamp the playoff format back for revisions before being voted on by the general membership next December on Wednesday.

Multiple members of the football committee, speaking to NJ Advance Media on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly about the meeting, said discussions about power-point amendments and the Westwood High School proposal for playoff expansion “were tense and lengthy.”

“What we need is a qualification system and a playoff format that is equitable for most of the kids playing football in New Jersey,” said Marlboro athletic director Dave Ryden, a football committee member. “You are never going to get a perfect system.

“It isn’t going to be solved in a day, a week or a month, but there are enough intelligent people in this state to come up with an equitable plan. This is about the 15 to 18-year-olds playing football in our state. It isn’t about North vs. South.”

The committee approved a power-point adjustment plan submitted by the North Jersey Super Football Conference.

Under the adopted plan, NJSFC Red and White division teams will still gain automatic entry to the playoffs. However, there were significant changes. Gone are the double power points for games featuring Red Division opponents and victories being awarded to both teams.

Here are the changes:

• In games involving United Red vs. United Red, the winner would get 32 power points and the loser 16 points. In the event of a tie, both teams get 24 points.

• In games involving United Red vs. United White: The United Red team would get “natural” power points for a victory. If United Red loses, it would get 12 points. In the event of a tie, United Red gets natural power points. United White teams would get 36 for a win, 24 for a loss and 30 points for a tie.

• In games featuring an out of division team against United Red, the out of division team would get 54 points for a win, 36 for a loss and 45 for a tie.

• In games featuring out of division teams against United White: the non-divisional team would receive 48 points for a win, 32 for a loss and 40 for a tie.

• Out of division teams that use the power point incentive (play a team from United Red or United White) and lose to a team within its section head-to-head can jump the loser even if it has a lower power-point total. If No. 8 was an incentive participant and lost to No. 6, it could jump No. 6. It would have a trickle-down effect – No. 6 would move to No. 7, No. 7 to No. 8 and the original No. 8 could be forced out of the playoffs. This rule does not impact non-incentive teams.

• Out of division teams that use the power-point incentive and have a 2-6 record or lower can be jumped in their section if teams below them have a lower power-point total.

Last season, Linden missed out on the playoffs despite having a better record than Columbia.

"There has to be some failsafes in it where teams with losing records just because they have a, let’s just say, a super conference team on their schedule, they shouldn’t be guaranteed the points simply for playing them," said Linden head coach Albert Chiola.

Sources told NJ Advance Media the power point proposal passed unanimously, although it was the only proposal under consideration. 

“It's a crock,” said one committee member. “It was either accept this proposal or go back to what we have now. At least this proposal was a little better than the one they used this year.”

“These other schools down there need to wake up because they are where we were 10 years ago,” said Montclair coach John Fiore. “So why not get these extra points and take a shot one game a year?”

“Why don’t they do it then,” said Ewing athletic director and WJFL president Bud Kowal, a committee member, in response to Fiore's quote “They are right across the street and won’t play those teams (United Red and United White), but they want people two hours away to come up and play them.”

“We’re trying to schedule one of those guys,” said St. Augustine head coach Mark Reardon. “We can’t play a full schedule of them. I don’t want to take four bus rides over two hours a year.

“We have been actively trying to add or strengthen our schedule for a long time, if that’s a team from New Jersey or Maryland or Pa. But with the WJFL, we have a set schedule and we’re fine with that.

“It’s easier for a private school to schedule another private school. First we need a public school on our schedule to agree to drop the game and we have a team who might be willing to do that. But then we need to find a game on that date and they need to find another public school, probably, on that date for a 2-year commitment and that’s really hard to do. It’s hard for a public school to find a game. It’s almost impossible.”

The proposal drafted by Westwood athletic director Danny Vivino, River Dell athletic director Denis Nelson and the North Jersey Super Football Conference, is aiming to revamp the entire playoff structure in an attempt to make regular-season scheduling fairer and more equitable.

The plan would blow-up the football format as we now know it.

RELATED: Read about the NJFSC's playoff proposal

“There were major concerns with playoff expansion and No. 1 playing No. 16,” one committee member told NJ.com. “There were also some concerns expressed by some members about starting on zero week.

“The plan will not be voted on as it was submitted. There will be revisions about what was discussed today and probably even more changes moving forward. They are going to run some mocks to see how things would have turned out.”

Once the revisions are made and approved by the football committee, it would go to a vote of the full membership in December. If passed by the membership, the new playoff format would be implemented for the 2018 football season.

Joe Zedalis may be reached at jzedalis@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @josephzedalis. Like NJ.com HS sports on Facebook.

Some of New Jersey's top football recruits have been changing their allegiances regarding their college destination.

Notable people who died in the Garden State.

Police arrested six juveniles who were soliciting nude pictures of other teens on the internet, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes said.

PATERSON -- Police arrested six juveniles who were soliciting nude pictures of other teens on the internet, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes said.

The juveniles were four boys and two girls between the ages of 13 and 16 who live in Passaic County, Valdes said.

They're charged with distribution of child pornography, maintaining child pornography, invasion of privacy and cyber harassment. Three of the juveniles created social media accounts, identified with the word "purge," asking followers to send nude pictures, Valdes said.

The investigation focused on two accounts: "P Paterson New Jersey Purge" and "P Passaic County Purge," Valdes said. The inquiry started in December 2015 when three girls, ages 13, 15 and 15, said they had seen nude pictures of themselves on social media.

The girls told investigators they shared photos of themselves with people they know, but never gave permission for them to be posted on social media, Valdes said. The people they shared the photos with passed the photos to the youths running the "purge" accounts.

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The accounts had more than 4,300 followers combined and had posted hundreds of images, Valdes said.

Valdes said the incident should serve as a cautionary tale.

"Juveniles, and anyone for that matter, should never send nude images to anyone, and if they do, they must be mindful of who they're sending them to because that person in turn may send them to someone else," she said.

The six juveniles who were arrested will likely not be tried as adults, Valdes said. They were arrested over the past several weeks and have been released to their parents.

She praised the three girls for telling their stories to police and asked others to come forward as the investigation continues.

The Passaic County Prosecutor's Office worked with the Passaic County Sheriff's Department, the Paterson Police Department and the North Haledon Police Department.

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Police from several jurisdictions chased two drivers in separate incidents on Route 17 on Wednesday.

PARAMUS - Three people face charges after drivers fled police in two harrowing chases Wednesday on Route 17.

The first occurred shortly after 2 p.m. when a police officer tried to stop a 2000 Audi with New York plates in the 400 block of Route 17 South. The car had a defective brake light, according to Paramus Police Chief Ken Ehrenberg.

When the officer activated his lights and sirens, the vehicle carrying two occupants fled on Route 17 South, turning onto the Garden State Parkway South at Exit 163, police said.

"A short time later the Audi attempted to merge onto Route 80 west where it spun out and hit a guard rail," Ehrenberg said in a statement.

As the driver pulled back from the guardrail, his car hit the police car, Ehrenberg said.

From left, Nicholas Vizzone, Steven Pena, Andre Felix. (Paramus PD) 

Police arrested two suspects: Andre Felix, 18, and Steven Pena, 20, both of Paterson. Felix was charged with eluding police and illegal possession of prescription drugs. Pena was charged with illegal possession of prescription drugs, Ehrenberg said.

Less than two hours later, the Oakland Police Department issued an alert for a black, Volkswagen Jetta whose driver was wanted for questioning in a suspicious incident at a Walgreens store.

When officers tried to speak with the driver, he fled the scene, Ehrenberg said.

"Paramus Police Officer Thomas Holden observed the suspect vehicle on Route 17 south in the area of Midland Avenue," Ehrenberg said.

When the officer tried to stop the Jetta, the driver sped south on Route 17. When the car reached Farview Avenue, it jumped a curb and struck a car, Ehrenberg said.

"The Jetta then turned into the Coach USA bus yard located on Pleasant Avenue," Ehrenberg said. "It then fled into a storage yard belonging to Paramus Honda also located on Pleasant Avenue."

While in the Honda lot, the Jetta struck three parked cars belonging to the business, Ehrenberg said.

The driver then rammed two patrol cars, causing significant damage to one, Ehrenberg said.

One officer was injured and taken to Hackensack University Medical Center for neck and back injuries and released, Ehrenberg said.

After striking the cars, the suspect drove through a chain-link fence and locked gate, back onto Pleasant Avenue where it fled onto Passaic Street into Hackensack, Ehrenberg said.

Hackensack police and New Jersey State Police followed the Jetta on the New Jersey Turnpike, where it fled south, according to Ehrenberg.

The driver struck another car in the area of Exit 15W, Ehrenberg.

Drunk ditches car on tracks

It was after the 15W crash that state police, with assistance from East Rutherford police, took the man into custody.

The suspect was identified as Nicholas Vizzone, 24, of Roseland. He was charged with reckless endangerment, eluding police and criminal mischief. He was also wanted for violation of parole, Ehrenberg said.

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Facts and FAQs about this year's event.

The "Super Snowshoe Shuffle" is being moved from Sparta to Mountain Creek

VERNON -- A planned snowshoe race that appeared doomed by a lack of snow has moved from a public park to Mountain Creek, a large facility with snow-making capability.

Originally planned for Station Park in Sparta, the "Super Snowshoe Shuffle" on Feb. 4 is being moved to the ski resort in Vernon, about 20 miles away.

Race director Andy Ball said Thursday night that he has accepted Mountain Creek's offer to host the event and that he had mapped out a course atop the mountain for the 5K event.

Eva Bonner, the ski resort's creative brand manager, said the race will serve as preparation for a nighttime snowshoe walk that Mountain Creek is planning to host in March.

"I think this is very exciting for us," Bonner said.  

The Super Snowshoe Shuffle, so named because it is happening the day before the Super Bowl, is being held for the first time.

It is the only upcoming snowshoe race in New Jersey certified by the U.S. Snowshoe Association.

Ball had been holding out hope that the race would proceed in Station Park. However, with Tuesday's modest snowfall melting away and no snow in the forecast through Super Bowl weekend, he accepted Mountain Creek's offer.

"If there's no snow, we have no problem, we have no hesitation bringing it to Mountain Creek," Ball said.

Snow shoe competitors will take a cabriolet to the course at the top of the mountain, he said. As of Wednesday, about 60 participants had signed up.

Katie Rosa of Byram, a finisher of the 2016 New York City Marathon, said the event will be her first race in snowshoes.

"I would say it's a lot more challenging on the leg muscles," she said. "Instead of being able to pick your foot up off the pavement or ground, you have the resistance of the snow, and also trying to balance an object around your foot."

Rosa and Kim Torbick of Blairstown, who also are taking part in the race, are members of the Byram-based Salt Shakers Running Club.

Asked about the race, Torbick said, "I've never snow shoed at all, never mind running (in snowshoes), so I'm pretty excited."

Additional information and signup for the race can be found on the Sparta Police Athletic League website.

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

Dennis Barrett of Paterson and Jorge Martinez of Garfield, both 21, are charged with murder.

PATERSON - Two men have been arrested in the shooting death Monday of a 57-year-old Fair Lawn man working working as a gas station attendant.

Dennis Barrett of Paterson and Jorge Martinez of Garfield, both 21, were arrested Thursday in the death of Ruslan Magamedov, according to Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and Paterson Police Deputy Chief Troy Oswald.

Barrett and Martinez, who were arrested without incident, are charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit robbery, robbery and weapons possession. If convicted, they face life in prison with no eligibility for parole for 30 years, Valdes said in a statement.

Magamedov was was shot about 6 p.m. at First Avenue Gas, located at First Avenue near Route 20, authorities said.

Did you know these celebrities died in N.J.?

The victim was found lying on the ground and taken to St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center, where he died shortly after the shooting.

The victim worked at the gas station for about eight months.

Investigators say the slaying remains under investigation. They asked anyone with information to call the Passaic County Prosecutor's Office at 1-877-370-PCPO or email tips@passaiccountynj.org.

Callers may also contact the Paterson Police Department Detective Bureau at (973) 321-1120.

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Their son lost his ability to walk at 4, but renovations to the house have given him greater independence.

N.J. home makeover is a regular feature on NJ.com. To submit your renovation for consideration, email home@starledger.com with your full name, email address, phone number and town/city. Attach "before" and "after" photos of what you renovated.

Jeanmarie and Ken Falco made a small addition to their Passaic County home about 10 years ago, gaining room for an elevator that could access its three levels.

Their 17-year-old son Patrick uses a wheelchair, and the elevator now lifts and lowers him between the third-floor bedrooms; the main floor's kitchen, family room and dining room; and the basement-level garage.

But more recently the Falcos decided on a bigger renovation project: They wanted to make their 1960s Cape Cod-style home in Bloomingdale more accessible to Patrick's 300-pound power wheelchair, while also enhancing the appearance and efficiency of their kitchen, and the comfort of the family room and dining area.

In the kitchen, the original wood cabinetry was a sturdy classic style that could be updated with a simple color change using Annie Sloan chalk paint in an antiqued pure white finish. The painted cabinets were complemented by new granite counters and an updated ceramic tile backsplash.

"We replaced the floor with a vinyl plank flooring that looks like wood, which was better with the wheelchair," Jeanmarie Flaco said. The commercial-grade flooring was used in the dining room, kitchen and family room.

Patrick's movement through the kitchen is made easier by the addition of a custom-designed island on casters. The moveable work and storage area has a hinged shelf that can be lifted or dropped to one side as needed.

"I love it," Falco said. "It just looks great, and it's much more functional," she said. With its wooden butcher block top, the island is used for food prep and as a work station where she can help her son with his homework.

The renovation project began with a plan to update and reorganize the home's main level. "It started with the kitchen and family room and worked its way into a dining room," Falco said. "The family room was next to the kitchen, so we opened up the doorway so it is more of a great room feel."

Just outside the kitchen, a new built-in dining table was installed in the family room with the same granite surface as the kitchen counters. "The table was custom designed so it's a good height for my son to get underneath with the wheel chair," Falco said. "We were very particular with what we bought to make sure it worked for him."

Patrick Falco, 17, has the neurological disorder Leigh's Disease, and he lost the ability to walk at four years old. While the elevator has given him a degree of independence in the family's home of 21 years, it was an imposing feature in the family room, creating an awkwardly shaped space that had been difficult to use and maneuver.

Heather McManus of Artistry Interiors in Kinnelon redesigned the room. "Heather had cabinets built along the wall with a seating area that has a cocktail table and chairs," Falco said of one of her favorite new features. The banquette and cabinetry made use of the mostly unused fireplace wall, adding storage space, seating and architectural detail. The room's previously pine-colored woodwork also was updated with paint.

"Painting the woodwork white made such a difference," Falco said. "It looks like a new house."

Structurally, McManus had a closet near the elevator removed to make room for the new dining table near the kitchen while improving use of the room's square footage. Furniture was selected and placed for wider passages.

"Everything we designed in this last round of renovation was with Patrick's needs as of today in mind, and thinking ahead if further changes are needed," McManus said. She also managed the project, coordinating purchases, demolition and installations.

Falco, director and chief executive of a medical practice, said she never had time to go shopping. "Heather brought things to my house," making the project decisions and improvements possible, she said. "I work full time and my son is disabled, so there is no down time."

Ken Falco, who is director of billing for a medical practice, managed to find time to paint a few walls for the project.

The couple splurged on floral print fabric used for window valances and to upholster cushions of the banquette seating area.

"It ties it all together," Jeanmarie Falco said. "It makes the family room and the kitchen blend."

The family room also has a new sofa big enough for Patrick to relax and watch his favorite sports programs with his parents. "We did put in a 60-inch TV for him," his mother said. "He also likes being able to get around more easily in the family room and the kitchen."

What they renovated

The kitchen and family room. They also redecorated the dining room.

Who did the work?

Heather McManus of Artistry Interiors, Kinnelon; N&S General Contractor, Hawthorne, wall alterations, backsplash installation, trim; Heaven On Walls, Kinnelon, painted cabinetry; US Kitchens & Baths, East Hanover, built kitchen island; Joey's Woodworking, custom woodwork and refinishing; The Carpet Girl, Springfield, flooring; Digital Home, Montclair, television and sound system

How long it took

About 6 months, including planning. Work began in April 2016, and the bulk of it was done by June.

What they spent

$85,000

How they saved

The kitchen cabinetry was painted rather than replaced since in was good condition

What they did themselves

Some painting

What they'd have done differently

Possibly opening the wall in the kitchen more. The design plan had specified a larger opening, but the couple didn't want to risk possible electrical issues related to moving and electrical outlet.

Kimberly L. Jackson may be reached at home@starledger.com. Find NJ.com Entertainment on Facebook.