Hometown Heroes honored

Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-5, honored 21 life-saving first-responders, veterans, volunteers, community leaders and residents during his Fifth District Hometown Heroes Ceremony, held at the Hackensack Performing Arts Center.

“If you tune into cable or go onto social media, there is far more attention these days on what’s going wrong with America and far too little attention on what’s going right. But then, stories crop up here and there of a firefighter rescuing a young girl from a burning building or a high school athlete reassuring kids just like him that not even cancer can stop your dreams,” he said.

“You realize that we just don’t spend enough time showcasing all of the good that happens every day - not enough time recognizing what it means to be a great citizen in the greatest country in the world.”

Among the Hometown Heroes:

• Nicholas Soltesz and Peter Wunk of West Milford. Both men serve in the West Milford Police Department. Late one Saturday night, they responded to a call about a car crash on Clinton Road. Wunk was first on the scene, where a car was pluming smoke with two passengers trapped inside. He raced in to assess the injuries of the passengers, when the smoke broke out into a fire. He immediately pulled out a knife and cut the driver out of his seat and began dragging him up a hill. Soltesz ran down to get the other passenger out, tearing a ligament in his hand doing it. Within one minute after bringing both passengers to safety, the car became engulfed in flames. Despite their injuries, the officers saved two lives that night.

• Paul Rubacky of Ringwood. Rubacky is a volunteer firefighter with the Skyline Lakes Fire Department, where he earned the Northwest Bergen Mutual Aid Association’s Meritorious Service award for fire rescue, helping save an 11-year-old girl from a burning second-floor bedroom and his fellow firefighter, John Smith, who had lost consciousness from exhaustion during the rescue. Rubacky also has served on the board of trustees of the College of Mount Saint Vincent and on the Ringwood Board of Education and Ringwood Council.

• Stephen Mihalovic of Vernon. Mihalovic, who recently turned 100, is a World War II veteran who served in the U.S. Navy as a radioman, combat crew and rear gunner from 1942 to 1946. During his service in the Pacific Theater, he served on the USS Enterprise, USS Intrepid and USS Hancock, surviving both a torpedo and a kamikaze attack. For his service to the nation, Mihalovic received the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with three gold stars and the Combat Air Crew Roll of Honor. He is an active member of St. Francis de Sales Church in Vernon and a trustee of the Knights of Columbus.

• Ashleigh Mallo of Newton. Mallo, a nurse, adopted Missy, the service dog of a long-term patient and veteran who no longer could care for his dog while receiving treatment for metastatic cancer. She brings Missy to see her original owner, giving him weekly updates about Missy, including photos and videos, and taking them both outside to spend time together as he continues treatment during his long-term hospital stay.

• Diane Taylor of Lafayette. Taylor started Pass it Along, a nonprofit organization that has helped North Jersey families and developed compassionate young children for more than 25 years. She also created the Birthday Brigade Program, where local youth throw birthday parties in homeless shelters so everyone can be celebrated no matter their circumstances. For her work, she has been awarded countless accolades, including the 2005 Feed the Children Certificate of Recognition and a 2012 Letter of Recognition from former Gov. Chris Christie.