When we first got the photo from a curious reader, we thought, “hmmm, someone did a good job with Photoshop.” But the reality is Mayor Michael Melham confirmed Elmo was actually there at the last meeting of the Belleville Mayor and Council — and at the previous two meetings, someone in a clown costume paid visits, too. No one seems to know who these “characters” are — or why they’re there. But we feel content knowing, at least in the case of Elmo, there was a police officer nearby to prevent any shenanigans from breaking out (and shenanigans aren’t rare at Belleville council meetings.) Perhaps Grover, Kermit or Snuffy will be visit next?
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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, a place where he has served on and off since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on Facebook Live, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to West Hudson to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.