The tournament opens Monday. Seven area teams are involved.

Wrestling beat writer Brad Wilson picks his 10 top wrestlers in the area regardless of weight.

Owen Thomas won an event and tied for 1st in another.

Phillipsburg boys swimming team placed second in the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex championships on Saturday at Kittatinny High School.

The Stateliners boys finished with 199.5 points, only behind 11-time defending champion Hunterdon Central, which had 343. North Hunterdon was seventh in the meet and Warren Hills came in ninth.

Phillipsburg's Owen Thomas swam a 52.78 to win the 100 backstroke. He also swam a school-record 52.83 to tie for first in the 100 butterfly with Hunter Klingener of Newton Lenape Valley.

The Stateliners also broke records in the 200 medley relay (1:43.60) and 200 free relay (1:33.93), finishing second and third in the events respectfully.

Patrick Vidal earned a fifth-place finish in the 200 individual medley for the Stateliners with a 2:12.08 and then finished sixth in the 100 breaststroke with a 1:07.75.

Brendan Viera of Phillipsburg came in second in the 100 freestyle with a 51.28 and fourth in the 50 freestyle with a 23.29.

In the 100 butterfly, Jared Sander of Phillipsburg was fifth with a 58.96.

Kaizen Frith of Phillipsburg was sixth in the 100 freestyle with a 54.48.

Phillipsburg finished third in the 400 freestyle relay and North Hunterdon was fifth.

North Hunterdon was fifth in the 200 medley relay and Warren Hills was sixth.

Josh Folck may be reached at jfolck@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoshFolck. Find Lehigh Valley high school sports on Facebook.

The Stateliners won the 200 and 400 freestyle relays.

Phillipsburg's Elise Devlin, Marlee McCormick, Hannah Davis and Olivia Powers won both the 200 and 400 freestyle relays with school-record performances at the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex championships on Saturday at Kittatinny High School.

The 200 free relay team swam a 1:42.78 and the 400 free relay team posted a 3:46.56.

The Stateliners girls team came in third place at the meet with 162 points.

North Hunterdon was second with 212 points. Warren Hills was 10th with 54. Hunterdon Central won its 17th straight H/W/S title with 343.

Aziza Ganihanova of North Hunterdon won the 500 freestyle with a 5:10.68. She also teamed with Ashley Kolpan, Ariel Lonoff and Shannon Hesse to win the 200 medley relay with a 1:53.81.

Phillipsburg's Devlin set the school record in the 100 butterfly with a 57.58 to finish second at the championships. McCormick of Phillipsburg was fourth in the 100 butterfly with a 1:00.94.

Devlin finished second in the 100 backstroke with 1:00.61 and Phillipsburg teammate Justine Drake was third in the event with 1:02.87.

Powers of Phillipsburg finished second in the 100 freestyle with a 56.33 and also earned fourth place in the 50 free with a 25.50.

Ganihanova of North Hunterdon finished second in the 200 individual medley with a 2:10.34. North Hunterdon's Lauren Lee posted a 2:21.78 in the 200 IM to finish fifth. Hesse was third in the 50 freestyle with a 25.49 and fifth in the 100 free with a 57.18. Lonoff of North Hunterdon swam a 1:00.74 to finish third in the 100 butterfly and teammate Kolpan posted a 1:02.01 to finish fifth in the event. Lonoff also came in fourth in the 100 breaststroke with a 1:11.04, followed by Kolpan, who finished fifth with a 1:11.43.

Belvidere's Emma Beaney finished second in the 100 breaststroke with a 1:09.50.

Gabby Sizemore of Warren Hills was third in the 200 individual medley with a 2:17.26 and third in the 500 freestyle with a 5:30.89.

North Hunterdon was second in the 200 freestyle relay and Warren Hills finished sixth in the event. The Lions also came in third in the 400 free relay.

Josh Folck may be reached at jfolck@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoshFolck. Find Lehigh Valley high school sports on Facebook.

George Chando grew up going to Phillipsburg schools and will finish his career at the end of the 2016-17 school year.

George Chando grew up going to Phillipsburg schools.

That's where his career began. And, after 42 years, that's where it will end.

"When you grow up in a town like that and you are a product of it, you want to see it succeed," said Chando, the town's schools superintendent, days after the district advertised his position will be opening up July 1.

Chando, who now lives in Forks Township, said he made the decision last summer to retire at the end of the 2016-17 school year, when his five-year contract as superintendent expires. The contract was up for renewal discussions in August.

He started as a history teacher in 1975, working his way up the ranks first in the high school as athletic director, then assistant principal and principal. He made the move to the district's central office in 2001 and was named superintendent in 2012.

Among his proudest accomplishments is overseeing the completion of a new $127.5 million high school in Lopatcong Township, which opened last fall.

P'burg legend revisits humble beginnings

"I feel very fortunate," Chando said, thanking the school board, his colleagues and staff. "It was a unique opportunity."

Chando will be 64 in May and said he hasn't given much thought to what retirement will bring, though he is looking forward to time with his family and continuing to volunteer with groups around the community.

When asked who he wanted to see succeed him, Chando said there are "a lot of good people" in the district but that the decision is up to the board.

"It's time for somebody else to have the opportunity to lead the district," he said.

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

One new team enters the top 10 as teams in both states start their quest for state championships.

The property that once held the heavy manufacturer is now called Phillipsburg Commerce Park, with plans for a warehouse hub. Watch video

Before it was called Phillipsburg Commerce Park, the tract off Route 22 was home to Ingersoll Rand -- a giant of Warren County and the town's biggest employer for decades.

The heavy manufacturer of pumps, drills, rock compressors and steam condensers employed thousands over the years -- about 4,500 at its mid 20th century peak.

The foundry is silent now and plans are in the works by owner Opus Investments to turn the nearly 400-acre property into a distribution hub with eight warehouses totaling 4 million square feet.

Plans for the development at the border of Phillipsburg and Lopatcong Township have sputtered over the years, but the developers have said they're getting interest from several large-scale logistical companies.

Amazon and FedEx already have facilities not far away in Pennsylvania.

The buildings that remain at the old industrial site are be demolished to make way for warehouses, and there was activity there as we scoped out the scene recently with a drone flight.

Get a look at the images and video we captured above.

Saed Hindash may be reached at shindash@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @SaedHindash. Find lehighvalleylive on Facebook.

See the latest rankings.

A 24-year-old man was killed on Feb. 2, 2017, in an industrial accident on Musconetcong River Road, the Hunterdon County Prosecutor's Office confirmed.

LEBANON TWP. - A 24-year-old man was killed Thursday afternoon in an industrial accident on Musconetcong River Road, the Hunterdon County Prosecutor's Office confirmed.

The prosecutor's office, along with the township police, are investigating the accident, Hunterdon County Prosecutor Anthony P. Kearns, III and Lebanon Township Police Chief Jack Gale jointly announced.

Kearns said the man "died of injuries that appear to have been the result of an industrial accident." His identity is not being released until a family member has been notified.

"The investigation is ongoing and more information will be released at a later date," Kearns said.

Joseph Otto would allegedly stay and watch the emergency response.

The gunmen were fake, but the charges against the 18-year-old accused of falsely reporting them in three towns are very real.

Joseph Otto, 18, of White Township, is accused of calling 911 with false reports of gunmen in at least three Warren County municipalities. (Courtesy photo | For lehighvalleylive.com) 

Joseph Otto faces a third round of charges filed this week alleging he called 911 to say a man with a gun had entered a store, this time a QuickChek in Washington Township on Dec. 7.

Otto, of the 100 block of Windtryst Way in White Township, was previously charged in December with making similar calls at the Wal-Mart on Route 22 in Pohatcong Township and Skoogy's Deli in Belvidere.

Pohatcong police Sgt. Scott Robb previously said that Otto told them why he made the calls: "He said it was boredom."

"He would sit in his vehicle, make the phone call, observe the police activity," Robb said. "At no time was there a man with a gun, nor did he want there to be a man with a gun. He did it so he had something to do."

Authorities said a cellphone provider helped trace the calls back to Otto.

3 homicide trials pending in Warren County

In the Washington Township case, Otto is charged with one count each of creating a false public alarm, making false reports to law enforcement and misuse of 911.

That's in addition to one count each of misuse of 911 and making a false report to law enforcement in the Belvidere case and four counts each of those charges, plus four counts of creating a false public alarm from Pohatcong.

The most serious charges carry a potential sentence of three to five years in prison.

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

Hayden Balboa, 24, of Washington Township, has been identified as the victim of a fatal industrial accident that happened on Feb. 2, 2017.

LEBANON TWP. - A Warren County man has been identified as the victim of a fatal accident that happened on Thursday. 

Hayden Balboa, 24, of Washington Township, owner of Califon-based SMY Landscape Services, died from injuries suffered while operating a wood chipper at a residence on Musconetcong Road on Thursday afternoon, Hunterdon County Prosecutor Anthony P. Kearns, III said.

High Bridge Fire and Rescue and paramedics from Hunterdon Medical Center in Raritan Township responded, it was stated in a news release. The accident was investigated by the prosecutor's office and township police, Kearns and Police Chief Jack Gale said.

"This appears to be a tragic accident and our condolences go out to the family and friends of Mr. Balboa during this difficult time," Kearns said.

According to SMY Landscape Services' website and Facebook page, the company started in 2008. Balboa is listed as a 2010 graduate of Voorhees High School in Glen Gardner, according to NJ Advance Media archives.

A shelter-in-place order was lifted after the building was searched.

Phillipsburg High School was ordered to shelter-in-place for a time around midday Friday as authorities investigated a bomb threat.

The threat was found to not be credible, like another instance from almost two months ago when a threatening message was scrawled on a bathroom wall. The exact nature or method of Friday's threat was not disclosed.

Police cars from both Phillipsburg and Lopatcong blocked the entrance to the school around 1 p.m. New Jersey State Police assisted at the scene.

A shelter-in-place order was lifted after authorities searched the building, Lopatcong police said in a news release about 2 p.m. Officers remained at the school as classes resumed on a regular schedule.

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

See who is swimming the best this season.

Here are the top times in the area for boys swimming individual events and the top scores for diving this season.

These are only from results that have been reported to lehighvalleylive.com. Meets should be reported to sports@lehighvalleylive.com.

(Note: The times in this post will update automatically as results are entered. There may be a delay in entering results.)

Josh Folck may be reached at jfolck@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoshFolck. Find Lehigh Valley high school sports on Facebook.

One suspect, 42, is accused of distributing heroin in the presence of children under age 18.

Two Phillipsburg men face heroin charges following a two-week investigation into dealing that led to the execution of a search warrant Thursday night, town police said.

The Warren County Tactical Response Team along with members of the Phillipsburg Police Department Special Operations Division and Warren County Prosecutor's Office Narcotics Task Force executed the warrant about 8:45 p.m. on two apartments at 177 Mercer St., town police Capt. Michael Swick said.

Charles H. Dorn, 32, was found in Apt. 2 and taken into custody on charges of conspiracy to distribute heroin and possession of heroin, police said.

Tyrone Fowler, 42, was found in Apt. 1, where three children under age 18 were also present, according to police. He is charged with endangering the welfare of a child, unlawful distribution of heroin and heroin possession with intent to distribute.

Teacher who had sex with student seeks freedom

Dorn and Fowler both lived in the apartments where they were arrested, police said.

Fowler was ordered held in Warren County jail by Judge Peter Tober. Dorn was issued a court summons and released.

Dorn was subsequently involved in a minor car crash Friday afternoon in Lopatcong Township, according to police. He crashed his vehicle at 2:38 p.m. into the rear of a car at Belvidere Road and Roseberry Street, Sgt. Jon Eriksen said. Damage was very minor, but Dorn was cited for careless driving and failure to produce insurance, police said.

In the Phillipsburg search, the counts against Dorn are third-degree charges, carrying a maximum penalty upon conviction of five years in a New Jersey State Prison. The endangerment count against Fowler, for allegedly distributing heroin in the presence of children, is a second-degree crime carrying a maximum penalty upon conviction of 10 years in state prison.

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

See the latest top 10.

See who has put up the best times this season.

Here are the top times in the area for girls swimming individual events and the top scores for diving this season.

These are only from results that have been reported to lehighvalleylive.com. Meets should be reported to sports@lehighvalleylive.com.

(Note: The times in this post will update automatically as results are entered. There may be a delay in entering results.)

Josh Folck may be reached at jfolck@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoshFolck. Find Lehigh Valley high school sports on Facebook.

The Lions stand 19th. Phillipsburg is fifth and Delaware Valley 11th.

North Hunterdon has cracked the top 20 in this week's New Jersey Wrestling Writers Association (NJWWA) poll.

The Lions received 27 points from the state-wide panel and ranked 19th.

Phillipsburg remained fifth while Delaware Valley dropped one spot to 11th.

As has been the case every week for the last four years, Bergen Catholic remains No. 1. They will likely meet No. 2 Delbarton in Sunday's Non-Public A final at Toms River North.

1. Bergen Catholic (10-4), 260
2. Delbarton (14-2), 247
3. South Plainfield (25-1), 234
4. Cranford (17-0), 221
5. Phillipsburg (11-1), 208
6. Pope John (15-1), 195
7. Hunterdon Central (20-2), 182
8. Howell (25-1), 169
9. Hanover Park (13-4), 156
10. Paulsboro (18-0), 134
11. Delaware Valley (18-3), 133
12. Don Bosco Prep (9-6), 106
13. Delsea (20-4), 103
14. Raritan (24-2), 94
15. Seton Hall Prep (24-1), 79
16. Monroe Township (16-1), 64
17. Middletown North (21-3), 45
18. Mendham (18-3), 39
19. North Hunterdon (16-5), 27
20. DePaul Catholic (9-4), 14
Others receiving votes: Egg Harbor Township 11, Bound Brook 6, Queen of Peace 3

The Stateliners advanced in the first round of the North 2 Group 4 tournament.

Cradles, arm bars, half nelsons, power-half nelsons, a body press or two.

Phillipsburg High School’s wrestling team threw just about every pinning combination in the book at visiting Sayreville on Monday.

And as the final score suggests, the Stateliners success rate was mighty high.

Phillipsburg racked up eight falls to overwhelm the visiting Blue Bombers 58-9 in in the quarterfinals of the NJSIAA North 2 Group 4 tournament.

“There were some mismatches, but they also put some solid kids out on the mat, too,” Phillipsburg coach Dave Post said.

The top-seeded Stateliners (12-1), ranked No. 5 in the state by the New Jersey Wrestling Writers Association and sixth in the lehighvalleylive region, advance to Wednesday’s sectional semifinals, where they’ll host No. 4 Woodbridge, a 45-18 winner over No. 5 Scotch Plains-Fanwood. The Stateliners are looking for their 36th sectional crown in the 38 years of the tournament.

Junior standout Brian Meyer set the bar early by pinning Aaron Bartlett in a lightning-quick 8 seconds in the second bout of the night at 152. Meyer’s fall, which followed Jayson Zinsmeister’s 35-second opening-bout pin at 145, was two ticks off the all-time program record of 6 seconds, set by former Stateliners standout and current Centenary College head coach John Garrigues in 1997.

Sayreville (13-10) entered the match as decided underdogs as the eighth seed in the NJSIAA's new expanded format.

“One thing you want to see from the team is them going out there and being aggressive,” Post said. “Obviously, extending the tournament one more day, you don’t want to get any injuries. I thought we wrestled all right. Some things to work on, obviously. But we’ll do that.”

Sophomore Travis Jones almost matched Meyer by flattening Scott Mish in 13 seconds at 113 pounds. State runner-up Robert Melise also got in the act, body pressing Benedict Arthur in just 53 seconds at 220. Tyris Manley pinned Ralph Feola in 56 seconds at 120.

Drew Horun (195), Cullen Day (106) and Cody Harrison (126) also pinned for the Stateliners.

The Blue Bombers got decisions from Corey Knoth at 160, Mike Porcaro at 285 and Trevor Mastoria at 132.

Porcaro (30-1), the fourth-ranked heavyweight in the state by NJ.com, used a second-period escape to squeeze out a narrow 1-0 decision over P’burg’s Justen Carabello.

“I was really happy for Justen,” Post said. “That’s one of the top heavyweights in the state and he held up well. He held position well. We had him take neutral (in the third period). He was giving up so much weight there. We didn’t want to put him underneath there. But that was a big confidence builder for him.”

Mastoria (23-6) used a big 5-point move in the first period to build a lead and defeat Kyle Tino 11-4.

“Kyle got caught out of position in the first (period) that led to that 5-point play and then he had to try and make ground up,” Post said. “But once he made the adjustments, he wrestled (Mastoria) even. And he had a great third period, but you can’t get behind like that.”

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Kelvin Lashley was named Easton Hospital's 2016 Employee of the Year.

Co-workers say Kelvin Lashley went above and beyond when the Easton Hospital nurse dug into his pocket and paid for a ride home for a discharged patient whose ride fell through.

Kelvin Lashley (Courtesy photo) 

They say it's a typical gesture for the eight-year hospital employee.

In recognition of his work day in and day out, Easton Hospital named Lashley its 2016 Employee of the Year -- the highest honor given in the roughly 1,000-person workforce.

Hospital officials announced the honor Tuesday. Lashley was chosen from six people who were nominated.

 
"Health care requires a special blend of great people skills, tireless energy and the ability to work well under pressure," said Karen Vadyak, the chief nursing officer. "People who work in health care share the common desire to help others and make a difference in people's lives. It's a pleasure to recognize our employees for their dedication to our patients and to providing outstanding care."

The Lehigh Valley's biggest private employers

Easton Hospital in a news release said Lashley typically goes beyond bedside care to help others.

When a patient's ride home fell through, the hospital offered a taxi voucher that the patient was grateful to accept. But when Lashley found out the taxi service wouldn't take the patient into New Jersey, Lashley handed over money so the patient could be dropped off at the patient's front door, officials said.
 
"Kelvin approaches everything with a 'can-do' attitude," his supervisor, JoAnn Garrett, said in a news release.  "He is a team player with his co-workers and is truly liked by the physicians.  Kelvin's patients love him because he takes the time to chat with them and makes them feel comfortable being in the hospital."

Jim Deegan may be reached at jdeegan@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @jim_deegan. Find lehighvalleylive on Facebook.

How you can help to bring these kids home.