Thanksgiving Day Service – November 24th – Senior Bus Available
All are invited to attend the Annual Interfaith Thanksgiving Service to be held at the Old Paramus Church on Tuesday, November 24 at 7:30PM.
The Senior Bus will be available for transportation for this service. Reservations for the bus can be made at 201/670-5500 x203
Old Paramus Church to Host Community Thanksgiving Service, Nov. 24
Complete with a community choir, the Interfaith Religious Group of Ridgewood Thanksgiving service will be held at Old Paramus Church on Tuesday evening at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 24. The participating congregations will share the different expressions of their own faith as they all give thanks together. The community choir invites anyone interested to join them as they rehearse under the direction of Stewart Holmes, Old Paramus Choir Director, beginning at 6:45 p.m. immediately before the service.
Old Paramus Church is located at 660 East Glen Ave., Ridgewood. It is handicapped accessible and there is ample free parking. Additional questions may be addressed to the church office weekdays, from 9 to 1:30 or visit the church website, www.oldparamus.org
NOVEMBER 23, 2015, 10:19 AM LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015, 2:03 PM
BY STEFANIE DAZIO
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
A man accused of fatally stabbing a woman in Troy, N.Y., Monday morning was arrested several hours later following a chase on the Palisades Interstate Parkway and the New Jersey Turnpike, authorities said.
David Campos, 45, allegedly killed Denise Gely, 44, with whom he once had a romantic relationship, around 5:45 a.m., Troy Police Capt. Daniel DeWolf said.
The couple had a history of “domestic issues,” DeWolf said, but Campos had never been arrested in Troy previously. At one time they lived together in Troy, but they were not at the time of her death, he said.
One of the couple’s three children called police to report the alleged attack, DeWolf said. Two were home at the time.
Troy is about 150 miles north of New York City along the Hudson River and authorities sent police departments a description of his vehicle, a black Chrysler 200, and his license plate.
Officers on the New York side of the Palisades Interstate Parkway discovered the car and a chase ensued into New Jersey around 9:40 a.m.
Officer Donald Liu, a Palisades Interstate Parkway cop in New Jersey, joined the pursuit at Interchange 5, Chief Michael Coppola said in a statement. Coppola, Detective Lt. Roman Galloza, Lt. Jesse Cohen and Officers Travis Philhower and Timothy Conboy jumped in as the chase continued south on the parkway.
Rep. Scott Garrett enjoyed his recent visit to Parkway Elementary School in Paramus to discuss his job as a Congressman with the 4th grade class. As you can see by the picture, they had a lot of great questions!
Rep. Scott Garrett , “My top priority is the safety and security of the American people”Garrett Statement on the American SAFE Act
Nov 19, 2015
Ridgewood NJ, Rep. Scott Garrett (NJ-05) issued the following statement after voting in support of H.R. 4038, the American Security Against Foreign Enemies (SAFE) Act.
“My top priority is the safety and security of the American people, and last week’s horrific attacks on Paris are a stark reminder that our enemies are willing to impersonate refugees and go to great lengths to commit acts of terror. Today the House voted to pause our refugee program until we can fully examine our vetting process to ensure that every refugee admitted to the United States does not pose a threat to our nation. The Syrian people seeking refuge need the continued support of the international community, and we must continue to work on a balance between helping these people and our national security. The United States is, and will continue to be, a world leader in humanitarian aid operations, and those who are suffering from unspeakable horrors at the hands of oppressors will always have our support while we work diligently to advance policies that protect our country.”
NOVEMBER 19, 2015, 7:27 PM LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2015, 7:11 AM
BY ALLISON PRIES
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
PARAMUS – Gary M., of Park Ridge, clutched a packet of tissues in one hand as he dabbed tears from his cheek with the other.
Listening to a presentation at Bergen Community College, titled “Caught in the Web: Heroin Addiction” the 27-year-old personal trainer blended into the crowd of mostly 20-somethings who stopped into the all-day event between classes.
Then, he moved to take his seat at the panel, where he told the dozens of attendees inside the Moses Family Meeting and Training Center that a weight-lifting injury at 19 got him a prescription for Oxycodone.
“I loved it,” said Gary, who asked that his last name not be published because he is in recovery. “Pills became too expensive and heroin was a whole lot cheaper.”
The tale is one that resonates throughout New Jersey, said the event’s keynote speaker, Michael DeLeon, a Vineland man who has made it his mission to inform whoever will listen about the danger of drugs in general and the heroin epidemic.
Parents don’t start young enough in talking to their children about drugs and they don’t do it often enough, DeLeon said. By the time they’re doing heroin, “you have a problem you might not win,” he said.
DeLeon founded the non-profit Steered Straight back in 2000 after serving 12 years in jail for drug-related crimes.
The kids need a night out – and so do you!
No need to stress over finding a babysitter-send your kids to us and enjoy a child free evening! Don’t consider it babysitting, but a great night for them to enjoy their own age appropriate fun activities. Kids Night Out is staffed by our professional team of childcare providers who excel at creating a stress-free, fun and safe environment. Activities include a Wii console, arts & crafts, beading, games, activities, snacks and much more! Sibling discount applies. Children must wear sneakers. All YWCA activities are peanut free zones. Prices listed are per evening.
Children must be registered and all forms submitted by 5 pm on the Wednesday prior to attendance.
See ywcabergencounty.org for registration form.
To register for the 360 Membership, please call our Membership Office at 201-444-5600 x400.
Local Business Partnerships Now Available to Parents!
YWCA Bergen County is proud to partner with businesses in Ridgewood to ensure parents enjoy a wonderful evening while your children have an awesome night of their own! Offers include:
10% off at:
29 Chestnut Italian Trattoria
A Mano Neapolitan Trattoria
Lisa’s Mediterranean Cuisine
Pearl Restaurant
Super Cellers Fine Wines and Marketplace
East Coast Burger will donate 10% of your order to the YWCA Bergen County
15% off your total order at The Office Beer Bar & Grill
Paramus NJ, Crunch Fitness of Paramus raised over a thousand dollars in support of The Valley Hospital Breast Cancer Fund during October as part of Breast Cancer Awareness month.
On Saturday, October 24, the employees and instructors at Crunch Fitness worked together to make and sell pink hair ties and healthy baked goods. They also offered special exercise classes to all members interested in “Sweating it Out” to raise money for breast cancer. Approximately 100 members participated in this event and attended master fitness classes, which included cardio and conditioning, boxing, and a loud, energetic zumba party.
The following week, Group Fitness Manager Sam Aguirre and Club Manager Terri Surdyka of Crunch Fitness presented a check for $1,010 to The Valley Hospital Foundation.
The American Cancer Society estimates that 231,840 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in US women in 2015, and approximately 7,310 of those new cases will be in New Jersey. The Valley Hospital Breast Center, which has been designated a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence by the American College of Radiology, is the hospital of choice for many newly diagnosed breast cancer patients. Valley’s multidisciplinary team of experienced physicians, radiologists, cytopathologists, nurses, researchers and coordinators collaborate on all aspects of breast care for their patient-focused comprehensive breast care program.
The Valley Hospital Foundation is grateful for Crunch Fitness’s generous donation to the Breast Cancer Fund.
Battle over Northern Highlands Regional district’s field lights heading to court
NOVEMBER 15, 2015 LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2015, 9:59 AM
BY MARINA VILLENEUVE
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
ALLENDALE — The Northern Highlands Regional High School Board of Education is going to court to defend the new electric-powered light trailers on its athletic fields.
Three neighboring residents are suing the school district, claiming it’s unlawfully using the mobile trailers with lights up to 72 feet tall in defiance of state and local statutes and past court rulings.
On Thursday, the school board, the Northern Highlands Regional High School Sports Association and the Allendale Planning Board and Board of Adjustment filed a civil action in Superior Court in Hackensack asking a judge to dismiss the neighbors’ lawsuit and declare that the school’s use of the lights is legal.
The school has been using mobile, diesel-powered light trailers ever since the late 1990s, after the Planning Board denied the sports association’s application to build permanent 70-foot-tall light towers with a concrete foundation.
The board is arguing that mobile light trailers don’t require any kind of zoning variance or site-plan approval because they don’t fall under state and local definitions of “structure,” “fixture” or “development.”
The school says that it’s used the new electric-powered light trailers about 30 times since they were delivered in September, and that they’re less noisy and smelly than the previously rented diesel-powered trailers.
“As a result, hundreds of children have been able to safely use the turf field at Northern Highlands after dark,” reads the counterclaim filed Thursday.
The school “shall continue to utilize mobile light trailers in connection with its lawful lighting of the athletic fields on the property,” reads the counterclaim, which seeks compensatory, consequential and punitive damages.
In two counts of the neighbors’ eight-count lawsuit filed in October, they claim the new lights will be a public nuisance harming neighbors and that the Board of Education will be liable for damages.
“The development will give rise to a continual invasion of adjoining property by reason of light trespass and light and noise pollution,” reads the lawsuit, which also claims the taller lights will lead to lowered property values and a worse quality of life.
Paramus NJ, High winds caused a tree to topple into a home located at 180 Farview Avenue, Paramus shortly before 11 AM on Friday, 11/13. The home was unoccupied at the time and structural damage appeared to be moderate. Paramus FD and Rescue Squad units were dispatched to the scene, but were called back after it was determined there was no life hazard present. A Paramus PD Patrol Officer prepared a property damage report.
NOVEMBER 13, 2015, 12:44 PM LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2015, 3:01 PM
BY STEFANIE DAZIO
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
GLEN ROCK — The borough’s middle and high schools were locked down for two and a half hours Friday after a shell casing was found in a classroom.
Lt. Daniel Dour said the .38 caliber shell casing was discovered in a second floor classroom in the middle school around 10:30 a.m. There was no bullet in the casing. The middle and high schools are in the same building.
Authorities searched the lockers of the students who were in the classroom at the time but did not find anything.
NOVEMBER 13, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2015, 12:31 AM
BY AIMEE LA FOUNTAIN
CORRESPONDENT |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Fair Lawn’s Radburn Players will present Sharr White’s drama “Annapurna,” opening on Nov. 13. The production is directed by Ridgewood resident and Radburn Players President Amy Sellars.
“Annapurna” tells what happens when Ulysses is confronted by his estranged wife Emma after 20 years apart. The play stars Stuart Aion of Caldwell and Erica Kresch of Hawthorne.
“It’s got the oldest device of two actors in one room forced to work out their problems simply by proximity,” Sellars said. “It’s very character-driven. The plot unravels throughout the course of the show and it’s quite a dramatic finale.”
The characters were the primary reason Sellars chose the play. “I like to work with actors based on character development, so that’s part and parcel why I chose it,” she said. “As a published poet, there was something about the way Ulysses used language and poetry that was so stunning and poignant that I personally connected with it.”
The show isn’t recommended for children due to its strong content, but Sellars hopes it attracts young adults. “Live theater has a lot to offer and you can learn a lot from a production that challenges the way you think,” she said. “It’s an important step away from reality TV culture.”
NOVEMBER 12, 2015 LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2015, 1:21 AM
BY JOHN CICHOWSKI
THE RECORD
Ping!
As anyone with one foot on the gas pedal and an eye on the GPS knows, that sound is technology’s quaint way of telling us there’s traffic congestion ahead – a turn of events that can make grown-ups talk back to their global positioning systems.
“Tell me something I didn’t know,” I told the noisy little screen on my dashboard.
When you drive on Route 17, you expect such things. It was Monday and my Honda and I were approaching the Garden State Parkway in Paramus where crews were toiling at revising a connection that might someday make moving between these two asphalt marvels the kind of safer, seamless driving experience it should be.
But no, this wasn’t the sour song that my GPS was singing or pinging about. This backup was centered on the Ridgewood Avenue exits where a new restaurant is being built. It’s the same location that a persistent caller, Richard Compagnone, had been telling me about.
“In 55 years of driving, I can’t remember a construction job so small taking so long,” said Compagnone. “What’s going on?”
On the surface, what’s going on is a relatively small job to build a Panera Bread sandwich shop and connect it to necessary pipes and wires. But what was really going on was a tiny example of the daily delays and heart-pounding danger that, according to reader feedback, easily make Route 17 Bergen County’s least-favorite highway. Spurred by low gas prices and population growth, this north-south artery is experiencing some retail growth and even heavier-than-usual traffic.
Rep. Garrett tours key railroad tracks and infrastructure carrying crude oil through NJ-05 in Haworth (left) and Harrington Park (right) with local officials.
Nov 10, 2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Harrington Park NJ, Rep. Scott Garrett (NJ-05) toured key railroad tracks and infrastructure carrying crude oil through NJ-05 in Haworth and Harrington Park with local officials. The tour allowed Congressman Garrett to see first-hand the measures being taken to prevent an environmental disaster and listen to the concerns of local elected officials about rail safety.
“The safety and security of northern New Jersey is my top priority, and it’s important that everyone knows that my office is a resource for the towns in my district,” said Garrett. “We need to ensure an open line of communication exists between local officials, the rail industry, federal officials, and New Jersey residents, and that’s why I’ve demanded answers from federal agencies such as the FRA, the DOT, and the OMB. I will continue to work with the mayors to guarantee the safety of our communities.”
Background:
With an increased number of trains carrying crude oil throughout the country, the safety and reliability of the train tracks and infrastructure carrying this oil through New Jersey is a top priority for Congressman Garrett. This year, he has called on the Department of Transportation (DOT) and OMB to finalize a rule about the safety of DOT-111 tank cars that carry crude oil, introduced an amendment to increase funding to rail safety and operations, and requested information from the Federal Railroad Administration about safety reports.
“While many of us hear about the threats facing our country, a few extraordinary men and women have come face to face with them. They looked our enemies in the eyes and took a stand against tyranny, violence, oppression, and terror. Today we thank our veterans for preserving the rights and freedoms we hold dear. May God bless our veterans, and may God bless the United States of America.” Congressmen Scott Garrett
The values and principles of the United States are preserved by the willingness of brave men and women to stand and defend our nation. These men and women—our veterans—sacrifice time with their families, the comforts of home, and their very safety in the name of freedom. Today our country stops to recognize their service. It is Congress’ responsibility to ensure our veterans receive the benefits and recognition that they deserve when they return home from the front lines.
Last year, we were all disturbed to learn that thousands of veterans waited more than 90 days to see a doctor at the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) health care facilities. In the aftermath of these revelations, I led the New Jersey delegation in demanding answers about the VA health care facilities that service New Jersey veterans to ensure our heroes are receiving the best possible care.
In addition to this request, the House of Representatives took legislative action. We built on last year’s Veterans’ Access to Choice and Accountability Act by passing the VA Accountability Act of 2015. These pieces of legislation would help get veterans off wait lists and expand the VA secretary’s ability to fire employees who have been negligent in serving veterans.
I am also a cosponsor of the Keeping our Promises to Veterans Act and the Military SAVE Act. These bills would expand the eligibility for participation in the Veteran Choice Program by allowing veterans to find health care outside the VA health care system that is closer to home and by shortening wait time goals from 30 to 15 days.
Finally, if you or someone you know is a veteran that is having a difficult time with the VA or other federal agencies, please let me help. My offices in Newton and Glen Rock have helped countless veterans receive the benefits they’ve earned and they’re available to you any time.
While many of us hear about the threats facing our country, these brave men and women have come face to face with them. They looked our enemies in the eyes and took a stand against tyranny, violence, oppression, and terror. Today we thank our veterans for preserving the rights and freedoms we hold dear. May God bless our veterans, and may God bless the United States of America.
NOVEMBER 9, 2015, 5:52 PM LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2015, 5:52 PM
BY JIM NORMAN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
A 48-year-old Ridgewood man has been arrested on charges of sexually assaulting a woman in front of her apartment complex in Westwood, then riding off on a bicycle, authorities said Monday.
Alan Broadbent was arrested Sunday after the victim provided a detailed description to police, said Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli.
The investigation started on Friday, when police in Westwood received a 911 call from a neighbor who had seen the victim struggling with a man. When police arrived, Molinelli said, the woman told them she had just been attacked and sexually assaulted by an unknown man who fled on a bicycle.
NOVEMBER 8, 2015, 3:26 PM LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2015, 3:26 PM
BY LINDA MOSS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
PARAMUS — Borough police, using a plan that was modified in the aftermath of a shooter entering the Westfield Garden State Plaza here two years ago, held an emergency-response drill at the mall Sunday morning.
The exercise kicked off at 10 a.m., and lasted less than an hour, involving about 100 police officers, said Paramus Police Chief Kenneth Ehrenberg. The participating police departments included not only Paramus but the Bergen County Sheriff’s Department regional SWAT team as well as ,Maywood, Hackensack, Rochelle Park, Fair Lawn and Ridgewood.
“It went well,” Ehrenberg said.
The drill was to test how quickly officers were able to respond to the mall in keeping with the plan that’s in place for any police emergency that occurs, including an active-shooter situation, Ehrenberg said. He described it as a “staging drill,” in which police reported to one of the shopping center’s parking lots.
“All we were doing was practicing and exercising our ability to call in mutual-aid towns to the Plaza,” Ehrenberg said. “It was more of a staging drill: how we could get people there and just practice our emergency-response time. … Even though it was at Westfield, the drill is to cover all our shopping-center infrastructure. … It’s a test of our reaction in case of a police emergency at one of our shopping centers.”
Local police have “enhanced” their emergency-response plan from the lessons learned from two incidents at the mall, according to the chief. In November 2013, 20-year-old gunman Richard Shoop entered Garden State Plaza and fired six rounds with a rifle, sending shoppers fleeing. He then killed himself. And in May last year, shoppers panicked and fled in cars and on foot when there were reports of gunfire inside the mall. It turned out that there was a car fire in a parking lot, and reportedly the sounds of the vehicle’s tires popping was mistaken for gunshots.
