Readers Say Turf Fields Exacerbate Village Flooding
Is seems ever time it rans now , significance damage is done to our playing fields and Village property .
We were told the turf fie;ds would drain faster , well yes they sure do but the water still needs some place to go like the Village Hall , the Ridgewood library .
Since the Village Hall Rebuilding Fiasco , and the addition of turf fields along the Ho Ho Kus brook the 50 year flood has now become an almost yearly event .
Is it time to recognize the damage to the environment all this turf is doing ?
The problem is not just the fields at Stevens ,Maple and the RHS Stadium but the many turf fields all along the banks of our rivers all over Bergen County . Again the water needs some place to go .
The Ridgewood News Superintendent’s Corner June 2014 by Daniel Fishbein, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools 201-670-2700 ext. 10530 (fax) 201-670-2668 Round-up The following column appeared in The Ridgewood News on June 27, 2014. Each June I reflect on the many great opportunities the Ridgewood Public Schools and the Village of Ridgewood provide our youngest citizens, culminating in the Ridgewood High School graduation at the close of the school year.
Turf Field Supporter We now have 3 turf fields that get used almost non-stop. That means more kids participating in more activities and being more active
Could we please stop with the turf field bashing, or at least get some facts straight? First of all, the turf at Maple is still there and still being used so I have no idea where “we only got 7 years out of Maple” comes from. Secondly, how could it be “way too much money” when the field at Maple was paid for with private money? And in regards to the loss of the 90 foot diamond after moving the track to BF that falls on the past Village Council. The Master Parks and Field plan called for all of the upgrades/changes that were made including moving the undersized/unusable track from RHS to BF. Almost all of the upgrades/changes were to BOE properties. The only component in that phase of the plan that fell to the the Village of Ridgewood was to renovate/expand Lower Hawes so to accomodate a 90 foot diamond to make up for the “lost” diamond at BF. They never did it. So now the focus is on Schedler.
We now have 3 turf fields that get used almost non-stop. That means more kids participating in more activities and being more active. That is a positive in my book. If we had not passed the bond and we still had the old facilities the RHS Stadium Field would be gettng used a maximum of 12 to 15 times a year instead of dozens of times a week. The same goes for Stevens. I actually disagree that the “turf looks nice.” I’d rather see real grass, I think it looks better but the reality of the situation is that with our limited number of fields and the sheer numbers of children we have involved in sports from the youth level thru the HS there is no alternative if we want safe, usable, fields. In fact I would bet we’ll be seeing a couple of more fields “turfed” in the next few years.
MONDAY, MARCH 10, 2014 LAST UPDATED: MONDAY MARCH 10, 2014, 12:22 PM
By ALFRED P. DOBLIN
RECORD EDITORIAL COLUMNIST
JEFF SPICOLI would have been right at home in Ridgewood. The fictional Spicoli went to high school in Southern California in the early 1980s. In “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” Spicoli was a stoned teen played by Sean Penn with a serious case of the munchies.
Regarding “Bag the lunches” (Editorials, Jan. 22):
I cannot help questioning the motives of the Ridgewood schools superintendent and also ask the editors if any of them really cares or knows anything about the security of our schools.
School district faces financial challenges
Friday, April 12, 2013
The Ridgewood News
School district faces financial challenges
Jim Morgan
Ridgewood
To the editor:
Ridgewood’s annual school election is next Tuesday, April 16. Ridgewood is unique in that we are one of approximately 40 school districts that still submit its budget to the voters for approval. Dr. Fishbein and the members of the Board have attended 13 public forums around the village to explain and answer questions about the budget.
Ridgewood NJ, On February 11, top RHS athletes celebrated their college acceptances by posing for the camera. (Standing l to r) Cormac McCooe, Billy Maltz, Noah Pounds, Connor Kubikowski, Dan McKenna and Younghoe Koo, (seated l to r) Maura Feeney, Lauren Beausoleil and Maggie Carver.
Chinese Club at Ridgewood High School celebrates New Year
Friday, February 15, 2013
BY LAURA HERZOG
STAFF WRITER
The Ridgewood News
Based on the Chinese lunar calendar, Feb. 10 ushered in the “Year of the Snak
This year brings more attention to those born in previous years of the snake. The Year of the Snake is sometimes considered a “mini dragon,” and the dragon is a Chinese symbol for good luck.
In Louise Cheng’s Ridgewood High School (RHS) Chinese classroom last Tuesday, during the Chinese Club’s annual Chinese New Year Festival, students and educators invited to the free lunchtime Chinese banquet had a little good fortune.
Valley’s $500K donation to fund health programs for Ridgewood students
MONDAY NOVEMBER 19, 2012, 9:24 AM
BY LAURA HERZOG
STAFF WRITER
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
The Valley Hospital will be incrementally donating $500,000 to the Board of Education (BOE) over the next five years to improve student well-being, starting this school year. The half-a-million-dollar donation agreement represents Valley’s largest single donation commitment to the district.
Each year from now through the 2016-17 school year, the hospital will donate $100,000 to the BOE, according to board officials.
According to Valley spokesperson Maureen Curran Kleinman, the donation will be used to support both new and existing initiatives in the areas of health education, fitness and wellness, as well as disease prevention programs aimed at raising awareness and promoting the benefits of a healthy lifestyle to Ridgewood students and their families.
In a statement, Valley’s President and CEO Audrey Meyers promoted the hospital’s longstanding education commitment, including its sponsorship of the Ridgewood Academy for Health Professions (RAHP) program and annual community events.
“As part of its commitment to community benefit, The Valley Hospital has a long history of supporting the students who attend Ridgewood Schools,” said Meyers. “I am very pleased that Valley is able to continue this tradition of support with this donation to the Ridgewood public school system, especially since it will be used to enhance the health and wellness of Ridgewood’s students.”
RHS Backwoods looks to answer the age old question ,where does a high school teen go on Friday and Saturday nights? To old to be a kid but too young to be an adult , creating a safe yet fun environment for teens .
The Ridgewood High School Home and School Association, the Administration and the Ridgewood Guild are collaborating to provide an opportunity for our high school students to have a place to go on Friday and Saturday nights after a game or activity.
We want to bring our students “Back to Ridgewood” (BACK WOODS) after 9:30pm instead of spending time in someone’s basement engaging in unsafe activities. Our goal is to have downtown Ridgewood restaurants staying open until 11:00pm or later each Friday and Saturday during the school year. When other communities have turned out their lights for the night, we want our students to enjoy coming “Back to Ridgewood” for a meal, a snack, a cup of coffee, ice cream or finding a new good book to read.
Our goal is to have restaurants develop a cost effective menu for students to enjoy. At BACK WOODS, we plan to have fabulous entertainment at restaurants and businesses for you to enjoy.
This is a collaborative effort aimed at providing healthy venues for our students on Friday and Saturday nights.
We plan to launch our BACK WOODS program on May 20, 2011 with a Band Slam at Van Nest Park. After the Slam, we hope to have some restaurants participate in a pilot for the program.
N.J. bill making evaluations key to teacher tenure may soon be introduced
More than a year after state Sen. Teresa Ruiz began gathering evidence on how to overhaul the state’s century-old teacher tenure law, a bill that would link the job protection to regular evaluations may soon be fast-tracked in Trenton.
Ruiz (D-Essex) said during an editorial board meeting late last week that she has meetings scheduled Monday to hammer out the bill’s contents and expects to introduce an updated draft of the legislation as early as this week.
“I’ve wanted to focus on tenure reform since I came into office,” she said. “This month, I intend to post a bill that will be passed and a bill that will be signed.” (Calefati, The Star-Ledger)
The Ridgewood blog Urges all residents to support Jim Morgan for Board of Education and vote ‘NO’ to the Ridgewood School budget PJ Blogger and the Staff of the Ridgewood blog April 16,2012
(RIDGEWOOD-NJ) So another Ridgewood School Board election is upon us and once again residents are asked to vote for the school budget and support the usual cast of community members who will speak with one voice for the Ridgewood school district .
The BOE has asked taxpayers once again to tighten their collective belts ,while it spends lavishly on copper roofs for the dilapidated Board of ed building on Cottage place that has long out lived its usefulness and should have been condemned and raised years ago .
The criticisms of the BOE are the same now as at anytime in the last 10 years, which can be boiled down to a few key issues ; 1) the BOE always puts its politics ahead of educations and the taxpayers ,this has been made abundantly clear over the years where not only has the BOE actively opposed all school reform but now even takes time out of their regular meetings to issue proclamations on opposing teacher tenure reform or immediately writing off Mike Doherty’s “Fair School Funding Act” which could potentially save the Village over $40 million. It still some what astonishes this poster that the BOE so often and so willing goes on record in opposition to both taxpayers ,parents and students. This leads to why most longtime resident remain skeptical as to the well scripted claims of “getting tough on the teachers union ” and assume the day after the election another huge give away will be announced.
2) The BOE has demonstrated a clear lack of transparency and will tolerate no dissension.We all saw how the so called “Math Moms” who were good enough to meet with the President of the United States yet were harassed and dare I say “bullied’ out of town for simply pointing out the folly of a math program that does not include simple addition and is primarily prescribed for inner city youth and not Ridgewood’s over indulged affluent children. The recent public spat with popular former RHS Principal Jack Lorenz added one more layer of disenchantment and reminded residents once again that taxpayers and the BOE are often working at cross purposes.
3) The rush to turf and the expansive use of field lighting all hours of the night has done nothing but make the BOE once again look beholden to sports groups and tone deaf to critics who questioned the wisdom of turfing in a flood zone .Yes I would agree that the turf has opened up field usage time but at what cost and who are these people playing sports all hours of the night? It is time for us all to recognize that flooding is not a one off event but a regular part of life in Ridgewood and we should expect the $30,000 plus bill after almost every rain event ,this seems to mitigate any cost savings promised with the turf and cut the tur’sf life expectancy significantly again erasing claimed cost advantage. The other issue that has rankled so many is lack of turf fields in the Willard school district . Many still find it odd that an overwhelmingly large amount of voters in that district embraced the “turf bond” yet remain deprived of virtues turf fields.
However we do commend the renewed emphasis on math and science at the schools but given the ridiculousness math program many remain skeptical as to its value .It is also of note that the BOE has since the Jack Lorenz debacle made a effort to better communicate or at lest give the appearance that it is interested in comunication . It appears to be only one way but it is nice to see the BOE be more forthcoming with their intentions.
Lets face it there is little danger in voting NO on the school budget .While BOE has so often extolled dangers and disastrous consequences of voting down the School Budget ,it would seem little risk given the propensity of the Village Council to make only a token cuts and send the budget back to the board. The Village council has a very full plate cleaning up the mess created since the late 1990’s by irresponsible fiscal policies and has neither the time nor the expertise to tackle the school budget especially one as formidable as Ridgewoods.
Unlike the BOE we prefer vigorous debate and are very skeptical of the “speaking with one voice” concept . While many of you have experienced the total distaste the BOE has for public participation at their meetings we suggest a more vigorous debate could have spared the schools the “dumb dumb” math program as well as some of the other “folly’s ” that have befallen our once great school system .This is not to diminish the effort by many residents, tutors and teachers who still hold the high standards that once made Ridgewood Schools the envy of the nation and yes they were that good.
It is time to make the “Tradition of Excellence ” something more than a bumper sticker slogan and it is no longer responsible just to sit back and claim the “state mandates’ are lowing standards or cling to the “happy beat Newark mentality that has taken over the school system in recent years. In a field of same old ,same old, yes men or women only one candidate has shown any fortitude in this years contest and that is Jim Morgan .Morgan is the one candidate that can make his presence known on the board and will bring a fresh voice to school issues. Morgan considered the outsider by many has clashed with the BOE from time to time in the past on field issues and some even call him the anti-sports group candidate. While he is clearly not beholden to sports groups the label of anti-sports is a bit of a stretch. Morgan has given a voice to all those who question flood zone turf and policies that promote field lights on till 10 pm giving voters a sensible alternative to the “turf town” crowd . Morgan, who served on the Ridgewood Education Foundation’s board for 15 years has a keen grasp of issues relating to schools and the simply fact that his candidacy has been met with such hostility from the likes of BOE regular Charles Reilly shows how effective one voice of descent can be. The Ridgewood blog fully endorses Jim Morgan for BOE.
THURSDAY MARCH 8, 2012, 2:22 PM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
The controlled chaos that rumbled inside Somerville School last Thursday was rather soothing, as if everyone was comfortable within the confines where 200 or so men clamored around chomping on sandwiches and downing soft drinks from plastic cups. It was, after all, a Dads’ Night rehearsal – what were the chances that an event arranged solely by men would start with anything but a little ruckus?
The tradition-filled, 68-year history of Dads’ Night, the all-male variety-show fundraiser benefitting students at Hawes and Somerville schools, permits those brief moments of madness. But with this year’s team, everyone has been on the same page since day one; last week’s commotion was more a call to get the motor running, a plea to get the show on the road.
>Ridgewood News editorial: Keep voting in April
Thursday, January 26, 2012
The Ridgewood News
Governor Christie recently gave local school boards the option to decide whether to move elections to November in a cost-saving effort. The Ridgewood Board of Education made the right decision this week when members voted to keep elections in April.
THURSDAY JANUARY 19, 2012, 1:37 PM
BY BRYAN WASSEL
NORTH JERSEY MEDIA GROUP
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
In order to give the community a more casual venue to meet with school officials, the Ridgewood Board of Education (BOE) has started a series of quarterly get-togethers with a focus on personal interaction.
