Author: James

VILLAGE HALL WILL BE CLOSED TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12th

Due to the Lincoln’s Birthday Holiday, all Village of Ridgewood offices will be closed. There will not be any sanitation or recycling collection February 12th.

Abraham Lincoln is regarded as one of America’s greatest heroes due to both his incredible impact on the nation and his unique appeal. His is a remarkable story of the rise from humble beginnings to achieve the highest office in the land; then,a sudden and tragic death at a time when his country needed him most to complete the great task remaining before the nation. Lincoln’s distinctively human and humane personality and historical role as savior of the Union and emancipator of the slaves creates a legacy that endures. His eloquence of democracy and his insistence that the Union was worth saving embody the ideals of self-government that all nations strive to achieve.

https://www.biography.com/people/abraham-lincoln-9382540

Abraham Lincoln 16th President of the USA 1861-1865
https://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/abrahamlincoln

Lincoln warned the South in his Inaugural Address: “In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. The government will not assail you…. You have no oath registered in Heaven to destroy the government, while I shall have the most solemn one to preserve, protect and defend it.”

Lincoln thought secession illegal, and was willing to use force to defend Federal law and the Union. When Confederate batteries fired on Fort Sumter and forced its surrender, he called on the states for 75,000 volunteers. Four more slave states joined the Confederacy but four remained within the Union. The Civil War had begun.

The son of a Kentucky frontiersman, Lincoln had to struggle for a living and for learning. Five months before receiving his party’s nomination for President, he sketched his life:

“I was born Feb. 12, 1809, in Hardin County, Kentucky. My parents were both born in Virginia, of undistinguished families–second families, perhaps I should say. My mother, who died in my tenth year, was of a family of the name of Hanks…. My father … removed from Kentucky to … Indiana, in my eighth year…. It was a wild region, with many bears and other wild animals still in the woods. There I grew up…. Of course when I came of age I did not know much. Still somehow, I could read, write, and cipher … but that was all.”

Lincoln made extraordinary efforts to attain knowledge while working on a farm, splitting rails for fences, and keeping store at New Salem, Illinois. He was a captain in the Black Hawk War, spent eight years in the Illinois legislature, and rode the circuit of courts for many years. His law partner said of him, “His ambition was a little engine that knew no rest.”

He married Mary Todd, and they had four boys, only one of whom lived to maturity. In 1858 Lincoln ran against Stephen A. Douglas for Senator. He lost the election, but in debating with Douglas he gained a national reputation that won him the Republican nomination for President in 1860.

As President, he built the Republican Party into a strong national organization. Further, he rallied most of the northern Democrats to the Union cause. On January 1, 1863, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation that declared forever free those slaves within the Confederacy.

Lincoln never let the world forget that the Civil War involved an even larger issue. This he stated most movingly in dedicating the military cemetery at Gettysburg: “that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain–that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom–and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

Lincoln won re-election in 1864, as Union military triumphs heralded an end to the war. In his planning for peace, the President was flexible and generous, encouraging Southerners to lay down their arms and join speedily in reunion.

The spirit that guided him was clearly that of his Second Inaugural Address, now inscribed on one wall of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D. C.: “With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds…. ”

On Good Friday, April 14, 1865, Lincoln was assassinated at Ford’s Theatre in Washington by John Wilkes Booth, an actor, who somehow thought he was helping the South. The opposite was the result, for with Lincoln’s death, the possibility of peace with magnanimity died.

The Presidential biographies on WhiteHouse.gov are from “The Presidents of the United States of America,” by Michael Beschloss and Hugh Sidey. Copyright 2009 by the White House Historical Association.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/abrahamlincoln

 

Village : Seeking Residents to Volunteer to Serve on the Planning Board

The Village Council is looking for residents who are interested in volunteering to serve on the Planning Board.

The Planning Board reviews site plans and subdivision applications; prepares, adopts, and amends the Master Plan; and makes recommendations to the Village Council regarding amendments to developmental regulations and the official map.

All interested residents should fill out a Citizen Volunteer Leadership form (found on the Village website under “Forms”), and send it along with a cover letter and a biography or resume to:

Heather Mailander

Village Clerk

Village of Ridgewood

131 North Maple Ave.

Ridgewood, NJ 07451

Deadline for submissions is February 20, 2013.

Senator Menendez at Ridgewood REORG

Report: Menendez emails sought to aid donor’s firm
Monday, February 11, 2013    Last updated: Monday February 11, 2013, 5:02 PM
HENRY C. JACKSON AND STEPHEN BRAUN
Associated Press

WASHINGTON  —   Emails between Sen. Robert Menendez’s office and the Homeland Security Department describe efforts by his staff in January to thwart U.S. donations of cargo-screening equipment to the government of the Dominican Republic. Donated equipment could have jeopardized a port security contract benefiting a close Menendez associate and fundraiser.

The emails came six months after Menendez raised concerns about the Dominican government’s port security in a Senate hearing with senior officials from the State and Commerce departments. A company run by Dr. Salomon Melgen, Menendez’s biggest political donor, has pushed to secure a lucrative port security contract with the Dominican government.

In the emails, an unidentified staffer for Menendez told U.S. Customs and Border Protection that the Dominican government wouldn’t use any U.S.-supplied security equipment as effectively as the port’s private contractor, which the aide did not mention by name. “My boss’ concern is that the CBP equipment will be used for ulterior purpose and asks that you hold off on the delivery of any such equipment until you can discuss this matter with us,” the staffer wrote.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/Report_Menendez_emails_sought_to_aid_donors_firm.html

a dog deemed “dangerous”

While I believe some bans are simply a infringement on one’s rights banning smoking in a public park is not unreasonable
February 9, 2013
Tracy Frasche

While I believe some bans are simply a infringement on one’s rights, i.e. over sized soft drinks, Big Macs, $700 fines for dogs deemed “dangerous” etc., banning smoking in a public park is not unreasonable.

We are all aware of the health hazards associated cigarette smoking. It’s not a myth. Why should a nonsmoker be subjected to second-hand smoke in any public venue? No one is suggesting that smoking be banned in someone’s home. Only in places in which other people’s health could be effected by the habit.

It’s true, that if there is something to complain about, someone will find a reason to complain. Personally. I can’t complain that the Village Council is trying to protect one’s personal safety.

Reader asks where does the Council stand on budget issues and the Tiger Team Report?

Reader says No question that BOE budget/contracts need to be addressed. While that is bigger portion of tax levy, there are some different issues than those involved with municipal budget.

A great first step would be to establish the financial board that was recommended to begin to tackle municipal issues and then eventually work with BOE. We have an opportunity to make meaningful changes in municipal budget right now. There is no reason to put that off until changes are made with BOE.

While BOE budget is bigger, there are $millions of reductions that can be achieved in municipal budget more quickly, much of which does not require any change to contracts.

We need an “all of the above” approach and cannot afford to accept excuses for inaction by ANY of the Village Council members. Taxpayers need to hold the Village Council (and the Village Manager) accountable right now.

I’d like to hear where each of them stand on this issue? What is their plan? Are any of them opposed to following the recommendations? If so, which ones and what is their rationale? If not, why aren’t they discussing this at every meeting? Let’s hear hear them explain their time table to address these issues.

Senator Robert Menendez at Ridgewood REORG

Menendez and Melgen: An inside look at how the money and access flowed
Star-Ledger Staff By Star-Ledger Staff
on February 10, 2013 at 12:05 AM, updated February 10, 2013 at 2:16 AM

Enlarge Star-Ledger Wire Services Robert Menendez pumps his fist and jumps in the air as he arrives on stage at the East Brunswick Hilton as Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) is re-elected to his seat on the US Senate. With him are his children Rob, 21, and Alicia, 23 (right). 2006 ANDREW

By Ted Sherman and Matt Friedman/Star-Ledger Staff

Last fall, despite predictions of a sweeping victory on Election Day, Sen. Robert Menendez continued to campaign hard, taking nothing for granted.

But county Democratic leaders made no secret of the need for cash, and lots of it, to fund a meaningful get-out-the-vote effort if Menendez wanted to boost turnout in some of the state’s critical voting districts.

The money soon appeared. In the weeks leading up to the election, four big checks totaling $103,500 were sent to Democratic county committees in Passaic, Union, Essex and Camden, all through a donor in Florida whom nobody had ever heard of before — a West Palm Beach eye doctor named Salomon Melgen.

Charlotte DeFilippo, the Union County Democratic chairwoman, said Melgen’s money helped Democrats up and down the ticket, but that it was especially meant for Menendez. “I said to him, ‘We need additional funds,’ ” she said, recalling her conversation with the senator. “He said he’d see what he could do, and I received a check.”

https://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/02/menendez_and_melgen_an_inside.html?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Wake%20Up%20Call%20NJ&utm_campaign=Wake%20Up%20Call

Valley Hospital offers Hypnosis for Weight Control Program, March 6

Ridgewood NJ, On Wednesday, March 6 beginning at 7 p.m., The Valley Hospital will sponsor a two-hour Weight Loss Program that will provide behavior modification and hypnotic suggestions to participants so they can make permanent lifestyle changes to lose weight naturally and successfully.

It is widely known that going on a diet doesn’t address the reasons for overeating.  Often, people cling to unproductive habits such as overeating to ease stress or relieve boredom.  This program will address the internal and external triggers of these unproductive habits by using hypnotic suggestion and behavior modification techniques to recognize them.

Hypnosis is a universal way of reaching the subconscious mind and effectively communicating new ideas and suggestions to enhance motivation and change.  When a person understands why they overeat, they can make subtle changes to reduce their weight without feeling denied or deprived.  By communicating in a relaxed – or hypnotic – state of mind, internal strengths and resources are brought to light, alternative behavior patterns are discovered, motivation is increased, and the self-confidence to overcome the unhealthy habit is achieved.

Participants in the program receive a 30-day reinforcement audiotape and a series of behavior modification cards to be used daily as positive reinforcement.  The program fee is $75, which includes the cost of materials and revisits to future seminars for one year for reinforcement.

conduct the program.  Ms. Van Duyne has more than five years experience in the field of habit control.  She has conducted wellness programs on a monthly basis in more than 20 hospitals through out New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania.  She is a member of the International Association of Counselors and Therapist and the National Guild of Hypnotics.

For more information, or to register, please call 1-800-VALLEY 1 (1-800-825-5391).